Mango Bread

I was cruising this past Sunday morning watching Final Fantasy on Netflix, but I kept feeling so guilty about doing nothing that I couldn't really relax.  So, halfway through the movie I decided to make some mango bread.  Didi had just given us some mango bread earlier and it was sooooo ono that I had asked her for her recipe.   



2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1/2 tsp. allspice
1/2 tsp. ground cloves
1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
3/4 cup canola oil
3 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups fresh mango pulp
1/2 cup coconut, 1/2 cup raisins, 1/2 cup chopped nuts (walnuts, pecans or macadamia nuts)

Preheat oven to 350˚; generously grease 2 large loaf pans. In a mixing bowl, combine sugars, oil, eggs and vanilla well. In a separate bowl; mix dry ingredients. Fold in coconut, raisins and nuts. Add into wet ingredients along with fruit. Divide into prepared pans. Allow to stand 10-15 minutes. Bake 50-55 minutes until done. Makes 2 loaves.

Here are my ingredients. Instead of allspice, cloves and nutmeg I used pumpkin pie spice 'cause that's what we had. I didn't have coconut and raisins either.  The ramen is my lunch.  

I dug the mango out of the freezer, and I mashed it with a potato masher.  I think it ended up being less than the required 2 cups' worth.


I threw everything together. 


I always line the pans with foil instead of greasing 'cause it's easier to remove the baked cake that way. Plus, then I can reuse the foil pans. In fact one of these pans is the one that Fay gave me with her pound cake. 


It was so fast to make that in no time I was back to watching the rest of the movie . . . guilt-free.


Caterpillar Update:  Still only eating, eating, eating. 

Caterpillar

Thanks to Geri and Sweetie, I have a caterpillar!  Right now, all it does is eat and eat and eat.  

I hope it gets to reach butterflyhood.  Cross your fingers.

Donovan's Hike - Kamehame Ridge

DISCLAIMER:  Feel free to enjoy Donovan's photos, but unless you're fit and studly like him don't attempt this hike.  

Fay's Condensed Milk Pound Cake

I got this pound cake from my friend Fay.  I was surprised when she said that she made it with condensed milk.  Something new, yah!  It was dense and moist. I liked it a lot.  Best thing . . . Fay e-mailed me the recipe.  Thanks Fay!!

1 lb. butter
2 c. granulated sugar
6 eggs
1 can sweetened condensed milk
3 c. flour, sifted (self-rising)
1 tbsp. vanilla extract

Cream butter and sugar. Add eggs, one at a time. Add condensed milk. Add flour, 1 cup at a time, beating after all additions. Add vanilla. Use greased and floured pans. Bake 3 loaf pans at 325 degrees for 1 hour. Or bake 1 hour in tube pan at 325 degrees for 1 1/2 hours. This cake is very tender, moist and rich!

My Pork Miso Soup

I almost changed this title to Pork Soup with Miso because it turned out heartier than your typical, delicate miso soup.  This soup with a bowl of 8-grain rice and a few pieces of narazuke is enough for dinner for me. 



I boiled this St. Louis Spare Ribs ($11.50)  for 2 hours.  I tossed out the water after boiling.  I also removed the hard bones.  They gross me out. 


This Okinawa Nishime Konbu was on sale at Marukai for $7.97.  I used about half . . . maybe less. 


I soaked it in water and then tied some knots and cut between the knots. 


I started boiling about 7 cups of water in a pot.  I used this for the dashi.  I bought this bag in Japan for around $5.  I see it here at Nijiya Market for about twice that price. 


I tossed two of these dashi bags into the boiling water. 


Then I threw in some cut up daikon, the knotted konbu and 1/2 cup of sake. 


I don't really have a favorite brand of miso. This one was on sale so I bought it.  It was $5.99 . . . I think $2.00 cheaper than regular price.  


It has barley in it!!  It's good! I added 1/2 cup of the miso and a block of cut-up tofu to the soup.


Turned out good!


Also, if you go to Marukai this week, buy this apple juice.  It's on sale now for $5.99.   It's so refreshing. I love it.  

A Couple of Marukai Buys

Here are a couple of things that I bought from Marukai today.  

This 2-pound bag of 8-grain mix was on sale for $5.49.



I made 1 cup of white rice the regular way and then added 1/4 cup of the mix and an additional 1/4 cup of water. 


 I let it soak for 1/2 hour before cooking. 

This narazuke was also on sale.  It was $3.99.  I got the last bag.  I lucked out because somebody had put it back in the wrong place, so it was kinda hidden.




It was neatly double bagged and looked like this right out of the bag.  


This is what it looked like after I rinsed off the paste.  When I was younger I didn't care for narazuke. The taste is a bit strong.  Now I love it, but it's usually expensive, so I don't buy it too often.


It was super crunchy and tasty and went well with my rice.  I also bought ingredients to make miso soup, but I'll show you that later. I'm kinda falling asleep at my computer right now.

Reflections

Reflections in pools of water are easy to miss . . . unless you keep an eye out for um.

Wendell's Broccoli Cheese Soup

Wendell made this ono soup following a recipe that he found in the recent HMSA magazine, Island Scene.  You can find the recipe here. 

D and K Bloopers

These are clips that didn't make it into the video because of poor directing and camera shooting.  Like most of the videos I've done so far, it's very short . . . this one is just a minute long.  

D and K

Daniel and Kenna are getting married soon!  We had a photo shoot this past weekend . . . so you know what else I had to try and do.