June 22, 2020 by princesshotflash

Recipe testing: Takenoko Gohan

Or Bamboo Shoots Rice. I went foraging for takenoko (bamboo shoots) last weekend with E and L. I never did this before, it sounded like fun. E and L were my knowledgeable guides. We meet at a secret location walked through bamboo grove for out hunt.

The first location wasn’t as fruitful as E and L thought it would be. We walk down the road to try another trail and BINGO! We hit the jackpot.

Lining the both sides were the shoots and even smaller babies that we may go back for more. We took off the outer leaves and broke them up into smaller pieces for easier transport.

Each of us got 2 grocery bag full of shoots that needed to prep for cooking. Fresh bamboo shoots need to be boiled to soften and take the bitterness out. I cooked it for 2 hours and they were still bitter.

left: fresh bamboo; right: cooking batch 1

L suggested to soak in water till the it’s not bitter, changing the water every day. Soaked batch 1 overnight with 2 water changes and that did it. Bitterness gone and ready for our Father’s Day dinner.

For the Takenoko Gohan I use a recipe from Just One Cookbook. Here’s the link: http://receita de takenoko gohan. We use a mixture of brown and white rice that we soaked prior to starting cooking. I took the easy way out with the dashi and use the dashi powder. I used 1.5 teaspoon. The flavor of the rice is a mild savory flavor. The bamboo shoots to the mild flavor of the seasoning, also. It was a good compliment to the chicken tofu.

This is the Chicken Tofu recipe I used from Hawaiian Electric. Here’s the link: https://www.hawaiianelectric.com/recipes/find-a-recipe/pork-or-chicken-tofu I added about cup of the bamboo shoots and a teaspoon of dashi powder to the recipe. After tasting, I added a dash of additional shoyu (soy sauce) and 1/2 cup of water because I though it was too sweet.

If you can find fresh bamboo shoots at the market or foraging around a bamboo grove. Give these recipes a try. It was delicious. More bamboo shoot recipes to come. Going to try a braise recipe and looking for a pickle recipe to try. Enjoy.

June 11, 2020 by princesshotflash

Cora’s garden: Stick Garden

Cora
bougainvillea, green thumb, rocks, rootone, sticks
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Currently in Cora’s garden there are 2 sections of sticks stuck in pots. All bougainvillea from when we did the spring trim the front bougies (as mom calls them).

When I first got home these sticks in a pot made me laugh. I would ask what they were and if they were dead. They are just of funny looking to have in the someone’s garden.

Well, my mom takes the trimmings and give them a good soak in water then sticks them in some rootone and put it in a pot a soil with rock for support. It takes a long time to root but it does happen.

I have to give it to her, she has a green thumb as she can make a stick with rocks and sprout leaves and flowers.

June 10, 2020 by princesshotflash

Life

I originally started this post as a “whoa is me” post to complain about unemployment, not receiving my check, and sitting in the phone queue for 5+ hours. But I take that all back.

Yes, I am furloughed, I’m yet to receive a check from UI, I will be stuck in the phone queue until I settle this issue and my furlough has been extended to January 4th. But I can’t feel sorry for myself. That’s how you get stuck and curling up in a ball and not want to do nothing for yourself. Sometimes life is harder than you expected.

I told myself at the beginning of the furlough that I would make use to this time instead of festering and becoming bitter. It’s been a tough road, the unemployment situation doesn’t help a bit. But I still want to make the best of this time. When will I get this kind of time to do something for myself, to do something creative, to make something beautiful.

I decided to write this to remind myself I have this time to do for myself. To think about life and where it may take me. Here’s my list so far I hope I can complete some of it before the end of the year. I’ll be posting my progress and going ons at the home front with the my 4 roommates (haha).