Cat Video

We had a cat once. I named him Troubles. He was free to roam the neighborhood, but he always came home. He would usually be on the porch cruising when I returned from school. 

He kinda looked like the cat in this touching video.

Salmon Skin Roll

I ordered this Salmon Skin Roll at Hana Sushi in Hawaii Kai sometime last month. 

Sorry, Hana Sushi, but it was baaaaaaaaad.  The salmon skin was thickly battered and deep fried . . . totally not what I was expecting.

At least now I know.

Royal Saving Stamps

Does anybody remember these? Was it given out by some supermarket?  I forget.

I used to love it when my mom would give me a bunch of the stamps to put in the books. There were "1" stamps and the bigger "10" stamps.

After the pages were filled you could take the books to some redemption center and redeem them for all kinds of items.

Anuhea's Furikake Salmon

Wendell made this salmon last night. I wasn't gonna blog about it 'cause I was on a roll working on a big project for the Day Care, and I didn't wanna get sidetracked.

Except that it was so ono that I did get sidetracked and ended up busting out my camera to take pictures of the already half-eaten fish.

Wendell saw the recipe in the recent Star-Advertiser's Crave section and can be found online at Cooking Hawaiian Style here. 





Ingredients: 

• Large piece of salmon 1-2 lbs.
• 1/2 cup furikake 
• 2 cups mayonnaise
• 2 tablespoons prepared wasabi

Sauce

• 2 cups Aloha shoyu
• 1/4 cup brown or white sugar
• 2 tablespoons minced ginger

Cooking Process: 

Lightly grease a baking pan with cooking oil or cooking spray.  Lay salmon skin-side down.  Sprinkle with 1/4 cup of furikake.  In a bowl, combine wasabi and mayonnaise and mix well.  Spread mayonnaise wasabi mixture over the salmon - enough to cover the entire fish.

In a small pot, add Aloha Shoyu, sugar and ginger and cook over medium heat until sugar is dissolved.  Remove from heat.  Place salmon on serving dish and drench with sauce or serve on the side.  Garnish with fresh cilantro sprigs.

Riced Cauliflower

Wendell and Landon pretty much don't eat rice at home anymore. Usually they'll have cooked vegetables instead.

Once in awhile they'll add in some riced cauliflower. I like it. 


Wendell gets it at Costco. He said it's around $7 or $8. He thinks.

The Tokkuri Tei Story

Back in October while I was in Japan with da sistahs, Wendell and Landon decided to go check out Tokkuri Tei. They hadn't been there since it moved to the old Hee Hing site. 

When they got there, there was a long line snaking down the stairs.

Wendell and Lan bypassed everybody in line and went straight inside because . . .  unlike everybody else . . .  they were SMAHT and had made reservations. 

The host greeted them, and Wendell told him that they had reservations. The host gave Wendell a quizzical look and said, "We don't take reservations." 

Wendell cocked his head and said, "Whaddya mean you don't take reservations. I MADE A RESERVATION!"

The host insisted, Wendell relented, and both Wendell and Landon left the restaurant feeling totally bummed and all huhū. 

Fast forward 2 months to Christmas Day at our family gathering. Wendell tells the story to brother-in-law Teren, and in an instant Teren starts laughing. He thinks he knows exactly what happened and explains.

Two days later, me, Wendell and Landon go to Tokkuri Tei to see if Teren was right.

He was.

It turns out that back in October what happened was . . . Wendell and Landon had walked into the adjacent, very popular, no-take-reservations Tonkatsu Tamafuji instead of the also popular, do-take-reservations Tokkuri Tei.

Tokkuri Tei

Landon's Christmas present to Wendell was lunch at Tokkuri Tei. Maybe you already know this, but . . . it was really good.



We were the first ones there on a weekday. By the time we left, the place was all filled up.


This enoki mushroom skewer was on the house. Nice!


This was also on the house. !!!


My salmon skin salad was maybe the best I've ever had. There's tofu buried underneath, and the dressing was super ono.


Scallop Mayo


Uni


Hamachi, Mirugai, Salmon


Cali Roll (you know who's)


Otoro


Sashimi Platter








This on-the-house azuki ice cream was gooooood. 


Women's bathroom key neva work . . . just so you know.  Went to Zippy's . . . just so you know.

Also, I have a story to tell you about how Wendell got all mad when he and Lan tried to go to Tokkuri Tei back in October.  Next post.

Sumo

Do you watch Grand Sumo Highlights on NHK? Next tournament starts on Sunday January 13, and I can't wait!

I made this cheat sheet to look at when I watch. The notes at the end of each name tell me how much each wrestlers' rank changed since the Autumn tournament.  The Yokozuna and Ozeki wrestlers' ranks are unchanged.

I think I learned something when I did this sheet. It seems like there are 3 Yokozuna, 3 Ozeki and 2 of each in the other ranks. I wonder if it's always like that. If so, then it would seem that you can only become a Yokozuna (etc.) if a slot opens up. Hmmmm?

Also, do you see that I crossed out Takanoiwa? He was forced to retire last month for beating up a fellow stablemate. The irony is that at the end of 2017 Yokozuna Harumafuji was also forced to retire for beating up . . .  guess who . . . Takanoiwa. 

To add further drama to the 2017 case, stable master Takanohana got all mad at the way things were handled and quit the sumo world, forcing the closure of his stable. Whoa!!

Anyway, try start watching if you can. It can get pretty exciting.

Wendell's Fuke Zuke Kabocha

Wendell made this ono pumpkin dish last month.  He found the recipe in the Star-Advertiser's 12/26/2018 Crave section. You can find it online here. The dish was created by Karen Fuke of Hilo and calls for a can of tsukemono called Fukujinzuke!



Here's the can of tsukemono.

FUKE ZUKE KABOCHA 

By Karen Fuke

• 1 pound ground pork 
• 1 (5.29-ounce) can Fukujinzuke pickled vegetables, also called Tokyo zuke, sold in the Asian aisle of supermarkets 
• 1 whole kabocha pumpkin 

Mix pork with Tokyo zuke and its liquid. Set aside.

Microwave whole kabocha about 4 minutes so it is easier to cut. Cut a round lid in the kabocha; discard seeds and strings, being careful not to break the bottom. Stuff with pork mixture.

Replace kabocha lid. Put any extra stuffing in a heat-proof bowl.

Steam kabocha 30 to 40 minutes, until pork is cooked. If you have a multilevel steamer, steam the extra pork mixture at the same time.

Slice kabocha and serve. Serves 4 to 6. Serve hot or at room temperature.

Fisher Hawaii Ad

Happy 2019, peoples! Can you believe we're already into our 19th year of the 21st Century? 

It kinda scares me to think about Time like that, so let's talk about something lighter instead. The Fisher Hawaii ad!!  

The sale starts today, but I'm a bit under the weather and still kinda drugged out on Nyquil so I might just stay in and go on another day instead . . . but . . . I looove going to Fisher so we'll see . . . 

Here's what I'll probably buy.

Erasable highlighter. Intriguing, no?


These are my favorite fine liners because they're waterproof. I like the 01 and 005 sizes. You can never have enough Pigma Micron pens, in my opinion.


I like these too. There's a peach color that I like to use for skin tone.


I'm not gonna get this, but wanted to recommend it if you wanna try watercolor painting and don't have a set of paints yet. 


Go check out the ad! Maybe I'll see you there! Happy shopping, peoples.