Merry Christmas Eve

I wonder if Kai realizes what a beautiful sky he's looking at.  I hope so.

Kai's Lei

How are you doing?  Pau with doing Christmas stuff?  I'm mostly pau.  Went with Amazon this year.  So convenient.  I can't even imagine going from store to store to store looking for gifts anymore.  

Amazon (or elsewhere) didn't have a new Big Lambchop for Kai.  As you can see, he needs a new one.  I got this one from Ross awhile back.  He has several of different sizes, but Big Lambchop is his fave. 

How's da rain??!!  Good for the grass.  Junk for Kai.  Our drainage is working good so far.  No flooding like before. 

K, den, that's it for now.  Talk to you again soon.  Just wanted to show you Kai's Lambchop lei.  

Zippy's Chili Frank Plate

 $9.99 until 12/14.  Good deal.  And it's ono!  Normally it's $13.99.

Ceramics Class

This session went by so fast!  We all produced a lot of pieces considering we only meet for 2 hours once a week.  And I finally made stuff worthy enough to give away this time.  Yessss.

This will be my final post for this year.  But if anything interesting comes up, I'll drop by to share.  Otherwise, Happy Holidays to y'all!  Be calm and at peace.  Well, try at least.

Dd's Seafood Manicotti

This sure looks yummy!

 

SEAFOOD MANICOTTI

6 manicotti shells, cooked according to package directions, drained

Stuffing:

6 medium shrimp

6 large scallops

Water as needed

2 tsp. pickling spice

1 bay leaf

2 tsp. lemon juice

1 tsp. butter

1 small shallot, finely chopped

1 garlic clove, minced

¼ c. frozen chopped spinach, drained well

¼ c. mozzarella cheese, shredded

1 TB Dijon mustard

2 TB mayonnaise

Kosher, freshly ground black pepper

Sauce:

2 TB butter

2 TB flour

1 ½ c. milk

1/4 tsp white pepper

1/4 tsp coarsely ground pepper

½ c Parmesan cheese, grated

 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a small saucepan over medium heat bring water, pickling spice, bay leaf, lemon juice and water to a boil. Reduce to a simmer; add shrimp and scallops. Cook 2 minutes. Drain immediately. Coarsely chop shrimp and scallops. Set aside in a mixing bowl. 

In a small skillet over medium heat sauté shallot and garlic in butter until tender. Cool slightly. Transfer into mixing bowl with reserved shrimp and scallops. Stir in spinach, cheese, mustard, mayonnaise, salt and pepper. Reserve. Save any leftover stuffing.

Sauce: In a small saucepan over medium heat melt butter over medium heat. Whisk in flour and coarsely ground pepper; gradually whisk in milk. Bring to a boil stirring until thickened to desired consistency. Whisk in Parmesan cheese. 

Spoon ½ of sauce into bottom of baking dish. On work surface divide seafood mixture and stuff on prepared pasta. Place in baking dish. Top with remaining sauce. Place any remaining stuffing on top of stuffed pasta. Cover; bake 15 minutes until heated through and bubbly.

Switch oven to broil. Remove cover and broil until golden brown. Serves 3-4.

Cleta's Pineapple Cake

Cleta gave me a whole pan of this super ono pineapple cake.  It was like a pan layered manju with pineapple filling.  The recipe is from Mochi Mommy and is actually called One Pan Taiwanese Pineapple Cake.

Thank you, Cleta!!

Ingredients

Pineapple Filling

• 2 tbsp unsalted butter
• 2 20 oz cans crushed pineapple
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup maltose 

Crust

• 1 cup room temperature unsalted butter 
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• 1/4 cup sweetened condensed milk
• 2 1/2 cup all purpose flour
• 1 egg beaten

Instructions

• In a strainer, drain the cans of crushed pineapple. Gently press the crushed pineapple against the sides to squeeze out as much liquid as possible.
• In a large skillet over medium heat, melt butter. Add strained pineapple, sugar, and maltose. Cook over medium heat until all ingredients are dissolved and all the liquid is evaporated, about 5-10 minutes. Pineapple mixture should turn a golden brown and have no liquid left bubbling at the bottom of the pan. Remove from heat and set aside.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease and line a metal 9x9" baking pan.
• In a large mixing bowl, cream butter, sugar, baking soda, and salt until light and fluffy.
• Add sweetened condensed milk and flour and gently mix until a dough forms. Divide dough in half.
• Press half the dough into your prepared baking pan until dough is evenly flat.
• Gently spread about 1 1/2 cups of the pineapple filling over the dough (you probably will have about 1/2 cup of pineapple leftover).
• With a large piece of plastic wrap, gently flatten out the remaining half of the dough into a roughly 9x9" square. Transfer flattened dough to your pan, placing it on top of the pineapple filling and gently pressing the dough until it touches the edges of the pan.
• Brush the top of the dough with the beaten egg (you may not need to use the whole egg) and bake for 30 to 40 minutes or until crust is golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
• Allow pastry to cool completely before slicing into rectangles. Leftovers keep in an airtight container in the fridge for three to five days.

Walmart Item Locator

I was in Walmart one day looking at items on a shelf when I noticed that a tiny light on one of the price sign's upper left corner was flashing red.  Soon after, a guy came, grabbed the item above it and the flashing stopped. 

I asked him if he had made the thing blink.  He said yes. He said that he was a shopper who shopped for other people.  His customer selects what they want on an app, and he's able to use that app to locate the exact items by using the blinky feature.  

How cool izddat!!??

Reverse Sneeze

About a month ago Kai scared me with what appeared to be difficulty breathing.  It happened twice in the evening and once the next morning when I took the below video.

I made a squeeze-in-emergency-rate appointment with the vet.  I showed her the video and she laughed.  She said that it's called a reverse sneeze, and is just that . . . a sneeze.  I was so relieved, and more so when she said, "no charge".

Dd's Roast Pork

Didi's photo doesn't show the gravy which she provided the recipe for, but it sure sounds good with the balsamic vinegar!

ROAST PORK

 

3 # pork butt or boneless shoulder, cut in half

2 TB Dd’s Season All* (3/4 TB kosher salt, ½ tsp. black pepper, ¼ tsp. alae salt, ¼ tsp. garlic salt, ½ tsp. Italian seasoning)

½ tsp. garlic powder

½ tsp. onion powder

1 medium onion, quartered

1 stalk celery, 1-inch pieces

1 medium carrot, 1-inch pieces

1 c water

Cremini Mushroom Gravy:

2 TB pan drippings

1 medium onion , thinly sliced

8 oz. cremini mushrooms, sliced

4 TB butter

4 TB flour

2 c beef broth

1 tsp balsamic vinegar 

additional pan drippings

salt, freshly cracked black pepper

 

Pork: Keep pork at room temperature for 1 hour before roasting. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Trim any fat (keeping in large piece(s); reserve. 

In large baking dish place vegetables. Place pork and trimmed fat onto vegetables; generously season pork on all sides. Add water into pan. Roast 2 hours. Remove roast; cover with foil to keep warm.  Serves 4.

Gravy: Carefully skim 2 TB of oil from top of pan drippings and place in skillet. Discard remaining oil (place in refrigerator to solidify before discarding). Over medium heat sauté onions in skillet. Add butter; sauté mushrooms until golden. Stir in flour, cook 2-3 minutes, stirring continually. Stir in beef broth, vinegar, any remaining drippings from roast. Season with salt and pepper.  Whisk continually until gravy is thickened.  Cover; simmer 5-10 minutes. Add additional water to bring to desired consistency. 

Makes 2 ½ cups.

Ceramics Class

Here are a few of Cleta's pieces that she painted at home.  

We'll get our fired pieces back next Tuesday!

Ceramics Class

Brought some pieces home to paint.  My favorite part!

Dd's Beer-Braised Corned Beef and Irish Colcannon

I missed St. Patrick's Day by about 8 months, but any day is good for Didi's meals.

 

BEER BRAISED CORNED BEEF

 

3 # corned beef brisket round tip

2 each 12 oz. bottles beer

Water as needed

2 bay leaves

1 TB pickling spice

1 medium onion, quartered

3 garlic cloves, crushed

Serve with grain mustard

 

In a large saucepot over medium heat cover brisket with beer. Add water as needed to cover brisket with liquid. Add remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer 2 hours. Serves 3-4.

 

 

IRISH COLCANNON (good way to hide cabbage)

 

3 medium yokon gold potatoes, 2-inch stew cut, boiled, drained

4 TB butter

2 c. green cabbage, chopped

1 tsp. salt, plus additional to taste

¼ tsp. ground black pepper

¼ bunch green onions, chopped and divided, reserve 2 TB

3 garlic cloves, chopped

½ c. half-and-half

Garnish: Additional butter, 3 TB chopped green onion

 

In the same saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the cabbage, salt and pepper. Cook, stirring often, until the cabbage is softened, about 5 minutes. Add green onions and garlic. Cook, stirring often until garlic is lightly browned, about 2 minutes. Reduce heat to medium-low. Add half-and-half; cook 2-3 minutes until warm. Add mashed potatoes stirring until mixture is well combined. Season with additional salt and pepper to taste. Top with additional butter as desired and reserved green onions. Serves 2-3.

New Ball at the Dog Park

You can click on the photo below to watch a short video of Kai and his New Ball.

Izakaya Danji

Here are a few photos that my sister Sweetie shared with us from Izakaya Danji. 

Fave Toy

Big Lamb Chop, or what's left of her, has been Kai's favorite toy for the longest time.  But she just got displaced.  By a ball.

Robert, the dad of Kiki, Kona and Maya introduced us to it.  He brought it to the park earlier this week and Kai just hogged it.  

I ordered it from Amazon, and it arrived in 2 days.  I took it to the park yesterday.  Mahina hogged it.  It came in a three pack so Mahina got to keep the pink one. 

It's this one if you want to try it out.  I bought the small breed one 'cause that's the one Robert had.

Ceramics Class

Over the past few weeks I made five of these.  I'm thinking for sashimi or gyoza or anything that needs a dipping sauce.  Good idea, right!?

They're about 6 inches in diameter which is our limit for size allowed.  We all share the kiln space.  For free.  So it's only fair.

The session is almost pau already.  Tuesday was our last day to build.  Next week is a holiday.  The following week we glaze.  And the week after we pick up/potluck. 

Cleta's Rice Flour Dumpling

 This sure looks good, but unfortunately is beyond my culinary realm.

 

 

Cy's (and Colin's) Lunch

 Bob's BBQ.  Beef and Pork Ribs ($26).  Cheeseburger Combo ($12.50). 

Sweet Dream

Costco Chili

This chili was so good that after a few bites Landon said, "Why is it that nobody ever told us about this?"

So I'm telling you.  Go try!  It came in a 4-pound tub in the refrigerated section.  In Hawaii Kai it was by the rotisserie chicken.

Kai and Friends

Early morning at the dog park with Maya and Kiki.  Maya's owner Robert adopted Maya when her previous owner suddenly passed away and she was left at the day care that Kiki attended. 

Oweees

Wendell had a total knee replacement earlier this week.  His surgeon was Dr. Paul Norio Morton who used some kind of robotic thing to do the surgery.  Wendell is recovering nicely, and he even drove a short distance yesterday.

 

This is my owee.  I slammed my thumb in my car door while rushing.  I need this thumb to make pinch pots in ceramics class.  Old people shouldn't rush. 

 

Hawaiian Chili Pepper Plant Update

The leaves on a bunch of my plants became discolored, mostly at the veins.

 

Then the leaves dropped off.  I think I over-fertilized them.  Maybe plants this young shouldn't even be fertilized yet.  Bah.  Not sure.  

Luckily, some of my other plants were spared.  So far.  At any rate I'm gonna try and start another batch of seedlings.

Cy's Breakfast

Maybe this was actually Cy's Lunch.   

From L.A. Brisket in Ala Moana.  Brisket ($21), baked beans ($6) and Mac & Cheese ($6).  

Smart Boy

Small-kine ADHD, but still Smart Boy.  Click on the photo below to watch a short video.

Vifon Instant Pho

I bought this instant pho from Times.  It came in a four pack.  Unfortunately, I don't remember how much it cost.

 

I bought the pork from Times too.  The noodles were a bit limp, but the flavor was good.

  

Ceramics Class

Here's a video of our second glaze fired pieces with bonus instruction by Cleta showing a cool method of shaping clay that she learned from YouTube.

Dd's Goulash Pot Roast

Another simple recipe that looks so good!

GOULASH  POT ROAST

 

3 TB flour

¼ tsp. ground black pepper

1 # boneless chuck blade steaks, trimmed of fat

1 TB olive oil

1 TB butter

1 large onion, thinly sliced

4 oz. cremini mushrooms, sliced

2 TB sweet paprika

1 tsp. caraway seeds

14 oz. beef stock

Salt, to taste

2 TB Italian parsley, chopped (optional)

 

On a small plate, combine flour and pepper. Dredge steaks with mixture until well coated.

In a large skillet over medium, heat oil. Add steaks and cook until well browned on both sides.  Transfer steaks to a plate and set aside. Melt butter in skillet. Add onions and saute until well browned, about 10 minutes. Stir in mushrooms, paprika and caraway seeds. Cook 1 minute longer. Stir in the beef broth. Return steaks to skillet. Cover skillet. Reduce heat to a gentle simmer. Cook until steaks are tender and the sauce has thickened, 45-55 minutes. Season as needed with salt; stir in parsley, if using. Serves 3-4.

Head Massager

 Click on the photo below to watch a video of Kai enjoying a head massager.

Ceramics Class

This is a video of our first glaze firing.  So cool to see all the different creations.  There was a second firing yesterday.  Hopefully, I can do another video of those pieces next week!

Cleta's Rice Crispies Granola

This was super ono on my overnight oats.  Cleta said that she forgot to add in the maple syrup for this batch and it was still delicious, so consider it as an optional ingredient.

Thank you, Cleta!

   

Dd's Mediterranean Chicken

This kinda reminds me of my fave Dd's Chicken Anchovy Olio.  Simple to make, yet so ono.

MEDITERRANEAN CHICKEN

 

½ # chicken breasts, cubed

4 cloves garlic, minced

2 TB olive oil

14.5 oz. can fire roasted tomatoes, with liquid

¼ c. kalamata olives, pitted, halved

½ tsp. dried oregano

½ tsp.  dried basil

1 tsp. Italian parsley, chopped

1/3 c. feta cheese, crumbled

 

In a zip-top bag combine chicken, garlic and oil. Marinate refrigerated 2 hours.

In a skillet over medium high heat brown chicken about 6-8 minutes. Remove from skillet; reserve. 

Into skillet add tomatoes, olives, oregano and basil.  Reduce heat; simmer 6-8 minutes. Return chicken to skillet stirring to heat through.

Remove from heat; stir in parsley and feta cheese. 

Serve over pasta or seasoned rice.  Serves 2.

Ceramics Class

Our teacher was kind enough to let us take our unfinished pieces home to paint.  Of my ten pieces I was only able to finish the five easier ones in class.  

These are the not so easy ones.  It was so nice to be able to do them leisurely. 

I'm hoping to drop them off this morning so that they can be fired tomorrow with the rest of my pieces.  🤞🏻

Noods Ramen

We had Noods Ramen takeout for dinner last night which reminded me that I had photos from awhile back that I had never posted.  

I had opted for the Yuzu Shio Ramen which was okay and not as good as the now-closed AGU Ramen's.  😢

The guys enjoyed their ramens, and the fried rice and gyozas were ono with the chili garlic gyoza being our fave.

 

Spicy Tonkotsu Ramen ($17.00)

   

Yuzu Shio Ramen ($15.00)

   

Garlic Fried Rice ($4.00)

   

Garlic Chili Gyoza ($7.00)

   

Ginger Scallion Gyoza ($7.00)

  

Dd's Mushroom Soup

MUSHROOM SOUP

2 TB butter
1 small onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
½ # fresh cremini mushrooms, thinly sliced
1/2 oz. dried porcini mushrooms, rehydrated in 1 cup water, reserve liquid
1 tsp. fresh thyme leaves
2-3 TB flour, as needed

2 TB dry sherry
3 c. beef broth
1 tsp. soy sauce

1/4 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
3-4 TB heavy cream

Garnish: croutons, chopped Italian parsley, grated parmesan cheese

In a large stockpot over medium heat sauté onions in butter until tender.  Add garlic, mushrooms and thyme.  Cook 2 minutes until mushrooms have wilted.  Add flour stirring until completely blended.  Add sherry, broth and reserved porcini liquid scraping any fond that has formed on the bottom of the pot.  Add soy sauce, salt and pepper.  Bring to a boil; reduce to a simmer.  Cook 10-12 minutes until mushrooms are tender.  Using an immersion blender purée soup to desired consistency.  Stir in heavy cream.  Garnish as desired. 

Serves 2-3 as entree.

Awesome Three-Ingredient Deep-Fried Eggplant

I've only ever had this at Mei Sum Dim Sum Restaurant.  It's my favorite eggplant dish, but I've never been able to find a recipe.  So I had to make one up.

I added "Awesome" to the title because that's what Landon said about it.

As always with eggplant, I soaked sliced eggplant in salted water for about an hour.  You can go shorter, but I took Kai to the dog park before cooking.

Pat dry and dredge in corn starch with fried garlic mixed in (plus salt to taste).  Then fry.

 

This is the fried garlic that I used.

   

I don't like deep frying because of the mess so I rarely do it, but this came out really good.  Do you think air frying would work?