Dd's Garlic Bread Loaf

Didi says:  Dis was da bomb…da bottom gets super crispy from all da buddah and da top is gooey melty yummy !!  😉

GARLIC PULL APART BREAD LOAF

 

½ 6-8-inch round loaf country or sourdough bread

3-4 TB butter 

1 ½ TB olive oil 

2 cloves garlic, finely grated 

Kosher salt 

1 TB Italian parsley, chopped

1 tsp. dried basil 

3 TB Pecorino cheese, grated (can substitute Asiago or Parmesan cheese)

 

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Use a bread knife to cut lengthwise into top of bread loaf,

stopping short of cutting through to bottom of the loaf. Turn loaf and cut cross hatch

pattern; again, stop short of cutting through to bottom of bread loaf (so the loaf holds together).

In a small saucepan over low heat, melt butter. Add olive oil and garlic. Cook, stirring often, until very pale golden, 4 minutes. Stir in pinch of salt, parsley and basil. Remove from heat.

Place large sheet of aluminum foil onto baking sheet. Place bread loaf into center of foil.

Gently separate cubes of bread from top of loaf. Spoon butter mixture into “cuts” of bread.

Spread over cut surfaces, saving 2 TB of butter. Drizzle remaining butter on top of loaf.

Distribute cheese between cuts and on top. Wrap bread loaf in foil forming pocket on top

area of bread, making sure to not touch surface of bread. Bake bread until heated through,

10 minutes. Unwrap foil and continue baking until slightly crisp, 5-7 minutes more.

Serve immediately. Serves 2-4 depending on size of loaf.

Wendell's Easy Sautéed Yama Imo

Wendell found this recipe on the RecipeTin Japan site.  It's pretty much just three ingredients - yama imo, shoyu and butter!  And it came out so tasty that he made it again for pupu for his softball team.

Ingredients 

• 300-350g Chinese mountain yam
• 1 tbsp butter
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• Pepper (optional)

Garnish (optional)

• Chives cut into short pieces

Instructions

1. Peel mountain yam and slice it into 1cm thick discs.

2. Heat a large frying pan over medium heat and melt the butter.
3. Put the yam discs in the pan without overlapping.

4. Cook for 2½ – 3 minutes until the bottom of the yam pieces are browned.

5. Turn the yams over and cook further 2½ minutes until the bottom of the yams becomes browned.

6. Sprinkle pepper (if using) over the yam and add soy sauce.
7. Quickly turn the yam pieces over to coat both sides of the yam pieces with the soy sauce, then remove the pan from the heat.

8. Pile the sautéed yams on a serving plate, scatter the chopped chives over it.

Happy Birthday, Kai Boy!

 Kai is two years old today!

 

We went to Kai's fave place early this morning.  I'm so glad that I changed my mind about not getting another dog after Kona passed.  Kai is such a joy.

  

This is Kai's brother Teru!

Ceramics Class

These are the pieces that came out of our first firing.  I found out that the round flat things with pukas are frogs to put on top of flower vases to keep the flower stems separated.  So clever!

 

These are my pieces.

  

Here are a couple of Cleta's!

And this is what I made in this week's class . . . bud vases.  By special request.

Cilantro - First Harvest

Super scrawny.  Not like Amy's.  Maybe it wasn't really time to harvest yet, but I didn't want them dying on me before I got to reap the rewards.

  

So proud!

Hawaii Daiso

Hawaii Daiso:  Where 100 yen = $2.25.

 

I spent $72 for 29 items.  😳.  I was kinda shocked.  Didn't think that it would add up to that much.  But yah . . . 2 items would already be $4.50 and I had one item that was $8 . . . so $72!

At a Daiso in Japan with the current exchange rate, maybe this woulda cost 20 bucks?

 

Moon Gazing

I let Kai out to pee the other night and when I checked to see why it was taking him long to come back in, this is what he was doing.

Dd's Shrimp Scampi

It's been awhile since I've had shrimp scampi, and this looks so good!

 

SHRIMP SCAMPI

 6 oz. angel hair pasta, cooked according to package directions

1 TB olive oil

3/4 # 16-20 count shrimp, peeled and deveined

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

6 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1 small shallot, finely chopped

½ c. cup dry white wine

2 TB freshly squeezed lemon juice

Pinch red pepper flakes

Pinch dried oregano

2 TB butter, cut up

1/3 c. Italian parsley, chopped

Garnish: grated Parmesan cheese

 

In a large skillet over high heat warm oil until shimmering. Generously season shrimp

with salt and pepper. Add shrimp to skillet in a single layer; cook 1 minute. Turn and

cook 1 more minute. Transfer shrimp to a bowl.  Into skillet add garlic and shallot;

cook for 1 minute. Add wine, lemon juice, pepper flakes and oregano. Simmer 3 minutes

until slightly reduced. Whisk in butter piece by piece, thoroughly incorporating each piece

before adding the next. Season with additional salt and pepper as needed. Return shrimp,

drained pasta and parsley and toss to combine thoroughly. Garnish with cheese as desired.

Serves 2.

Lambchop 2.0

Kai's fave Big Lambchop finally got too tattered for safe play.  So I cut off its two dangly legs and the one remaining arm and sewed them onto Medium-Sized Lambchop.  

You can click on the photo below to watch Kai playing with it.

Sunrise at the Dog Park

Another beautiful morning at the park.

Ceramics and Cilantro

I made a two-well bowl to rinse my watercolor brushes in.  One side for clean water and the other side for  "dirty" water.  Dunno why I didn't think of making one sooner.  

 

Erick made The Thinker.  I thought it was so cool.

   

Cleta made a gyoza dish.

   

Here are my cilantro plants enjoying the morning sun.  Still alive!

   

And here's a new batch.  I used the colander method to germinate them and a couple of weeks after they sprouted I put them in soil up to the leaves.  Hopefully, doing it this way will keep them from getting "leggy".

  

And here's this week's greeting card.

Kahala Goma Tei

Awhile back Landon had an errand to do at the Kahala Mall so he picked up dinner for us.  It was an awesome treat!

Shredded Pork and Szechuan Pickle Tan Tan ($15.75) with Ajitama Egg ($2.25)

 

Char Siu Fried Rice ($16.25)

   

Popcorn Chicken Tatsutaage ($10.50)

   

Chicken Cold Udon Noodle ($17.50)

   

Mini Curry Rice ($7.99)

   

Cleta's Almond Float

Cleta brought this almond float topped with a strawberry puree to ceramics class this week!  How awesome is that! 

Ceramics Class

I made the three gray bowls in the front.  At the last minute, I added a spout to the one on the left.  Erick did the brown bear in the middle of the back.  I forgot to take a close-up photo of it.

 

Cleta created two figures to go with her tree!

   

And here's my greeting card of the week.  LOL.

  

Wendell's Mini Beef Patties

Wendell got this recipe from Chef Chris Cho's site.  It was very moist and so tasty.  It made four logs.  Wendell fried up two of the logs and froze the other two for another day.  I think he'll probably make it for his softball team.  

Wendell tips:  No need to do the flour/egg coating.  Too much humbug and is unnecessary.  Also, instead of 1.4 pounds of ground pork, he used 1 pound.  And he added 1/2 tablespoon of  sugar because Chef Cho's video shows that.

Ingredients

• 1 lb Minced Beef
• 1.4 lb Minced Pork
• 130 grams Onion Finely chopped
• 90 grams Carrots Finely chopped
• 60 grams Scallions Finely chopped
• 650 grams Firm Tofu Squeezed and crumbled, Optional
• 3 tbsp Soy Sauce
• 2 tbsp Fish Sauce
• 2 tbsp Sesame Oil
• 1 tbsp Mirin
• 1.5 tbsp Garlic
• 1/2 tbsp Ginger
• 1/2 tbsp Salt
• 3 pcs Egg
• Flour For coating
• Egg For coating
• Vegetable or Canola Oil For frying

Instructions

• Place mince beef and pork in a bowl and gently fold it to combine.
• Finely chop the scallions, onion, and carrots, then add to the meat.
• Using a cheesecloth, squeeze out excess water from the tofu and crumble it on top of the meat and vegetables.
• Season the patty mixture with soy sauce, fish sauce, sesame oil, garlic, ginger, mirin, salt, and black pepper. Add the egg on top.
• Mix the meat, vegetables, tofu, egg, and seasonings thoroughly to combine.
• Place the patty mixture on a plastic wrap and roll it to form a log. Twist to seal the ends and shape the mixture.
• Place it in the freezer for 20-30 minutes.
• Once firm, slice it into into mini patties. Cook what you need and you store the rest for future use.
• Prepare scrambled eggs and flour on separate plates.
• Place pan on medium heat and add a bit of oil, coat the patties with flour then egg, then fry for 2 minutes on each side or until it’s golden brown.
• Serve hot and enjoy.

Liliha Saimin

Yesterday was the perfect cold, rainy day to have this.  It totally hit the spot.  The shiru had a shrimp/bonito flavor, and the curly noodles cooked in boiling water for 4 1/2 minutes was just right.

 

I got it from Foodland awhile back.  It was on sale for around $15 I think.

   

The box contained 3 servings. 

  

Ceramics Class

Erick made the lidded container on the left and I made the two spouted bowls on the right, maybe for sauces or gravy.  

Oxtail soup bowl is on the back burner.  Was giving me stress thinking about it.

I'm thinking of doing smaller spouted bowls next week.  You know how when you mix flour and water to add to your pot of boiling gravy to thicken it, and then the flour-water spills all over your stove because it has no spout?  Good idea, no?

I'm also thinking of making tall, cylindrical containers to hold chopsticks in, but that would mean I have to graduate to rolling out slabs and I still suck at that.  But, we'll see.

 

Cleta made this clever tree trunk . . .

   

and this footed planter.

   

And this is today's stress-relieving watercolor painting.

  

Amy's Cilantro

Amy dropped by the other day and gave me a bunch of her cilantro.  What's so amazing is that I rarely see her, and because she doesn't do internet she had no idea that I wrote about her and her cilantro-growing tips. 

I was so excited to see her.  I said, "Come. Come." and led her to the back of my house.  I showed her all of my cilantro-growing paraphernalia, mostly recommended by her.  I showed her my "leggy seedlings" and asked her what she thought.  She said that they'll be okay and recommended a spot in the yard where the morning light would be the best for them.

Thank you, Amy, even though you're not gonna see this.  Have a nice trip!!

Growing Cilantro - Leggy Seedlings

I was happy that my cilantro seedlings were growing so fast.  Until they started becoming fragile and started flopping over.  I learned that that's called "leggy seedlings".  Most sources say that insufficient light is the most common cause.

One source said to start all over.  Leggy plants will not produce healthy leaves and "it's not worth trying to nurse the doomed plants".  Another source said to replant them deeper, submerging all the way up to the leaves. 

 

I plucked out about half of them and threw them away.

 

Remember these?  I decided to plant these deep to the leaves in the vacated spots of the planter.

   

The roots on most of them looked promising.

   

I put the pot out in the sun.  But I left them for only a few hours.  It's just so brutally hot here, I feel uneasy about leaving them out for longer.  I think I'll try for early morning or late afternoon sun.

If the remaining leggy plants survive, I may try the second suggestion and replant them deeper.  But I do believe that it's easier said than done 'cause they seem so fragile.

   

Afterwards, I went to my desk to work on these.  Much easier to do.  LOL.

   

And here's Kai with a ball.  😍

  

Dd's Kalamata Quick Bread

Didi says:  

SOOOO ono…….wonderful with salami & cheese !!! Great recipe coz it's stuff you would always have on hand.

 

KALAMATA QUICK BREAD

 

1 TB olive oil

1 c. onion, chopped

¼ c. sun dried tomatoes, chopped

2 TB melted butter

1 c. buttermilk*

2 large eggs

2 c. flour

1 ½ tsp. dried Italian seasoning**

1 tsp. baking soda

½ tsp. salt

¾ c. kalamata olives, pitted, coarsely chopped

 

In a small skillet, saute onion in olive oil 3-4 minutes until wilted. Turn off heat; stir in sun dried tomatoes. Allow to cool.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees; generously grease 2/5” loaf pans or a 9x5-inch loaf pan. In a mixing bowl, combine melted butter, buttermilk and eggs well. Stir in dry ingredients and onion mixture. Stir well to combine. Mixture will seem very dense.

Transfer into prepared pans. Bake 20-25 minutes until toothpick inserted comes out clean. Allow to cool 15 minutes.

*Buttermilk substitution – pour 1 tablespoon of white vinegar into 1 cup measuring cup; fill with milk. Allow to sit 10 minutes.

**Can substitute Italian seasoning for basil and/or oregano…holiday time? Use dried thyme & sage.

Ceramics Class

Ceramics class started up again.  After two hours this is what I ended up with.  I tried making an oxtail soup bowl with an attached section to put your ginger/shoyu sauce in.  In the end, the bowl proved to be too soft and couldn't support the dipping portion.  It kinda collapsed.  I might need to go back to the drawing board or just move on to another project.  We'll see.

 

When I got home I finished working on this watercolor greeting card to help make me feel better.   It's a medium I'm more familiar with, but this too is also a work in progress.