And a party is...
One of the really nice things about being home with family is that we have lots of cooking parties. That is to say, since we cook together, I consider it a party. Perhaps the definition needs to be revisited at some point but for now it's a delicious argument to have.
In which we argue through food
My Dad has been wanting to cut down our kaffir lime tree. My Mom disagrees. I happen to like being able to pick my own leaves and the fruit (you don't use the juice, just the zest). Lil Sis had bought some lemongrass earlier this week, in the hopes I might be inspired to make something with lemongrass and kaffir lime. She was hoping for shrimp but since I found out my Mom doesn't like shrimp (only last year - how have we not known this until now???) and BS was already planning to make misoyaki butterfish (which he doesn't eat, by the by), I thought I should make some chicken. Chicken seems to be a relatively inoffensive meat and it takes on the flavors of the kaffir lime and lemongrass really well. Not to mention, I wanted to try a spicy version with Red Hot (same sauce as for buffalo wings, which I love).
The resulting dinner was spinach and artichoke dip by AA (see left) - vegetarian, right down to the bacon bits in it; BS's misoyaki butterfish - yum, more for those of us who eat it; kaffir lime and lemongrass chicken (with and without spicy sauce); and broccoli with garlic and olive oil.
Dad hasn't suggested cutting down the kaffir lime tree again but now I have to wonder if he will suggest it on every trip if the answer comes back via family dinner...
Then a night of take out (Cheesecake Factory which I still find uninspiring) before a dinner by Lil Sis. She doesn't seem to enjoy cooking much, which I just don't understand. I do understand how something can taste better when someone else cooks it. There are several things which I can never do as well as the originals which I found - a girlfriend's tuna sandwich (I did it exactly as she did it and I've yet to be satisfied with the result); a classmate's Malaysian chicken rice (he said it's not as good as his Mom's and mine is so not as good as his!) and whether this is a matter of technique or the fact that someone else cooked, it's a little hard to say.
Dinner #2 - Lil Sis's beef stew with red wine and kale (aka how to make vegetables palatable to your children. And your friends. And your older sister.)
Tonight I didn't get around to taking photos the first time around or when everything was laid out and looking pretty. However, I did get them the second time around. I've always had a theory that when someone doesn't like something (and it's not attributable to an allergy or a really bad experience with said food) it's usually because it hasn't been cooked well. I don't have many dislikes (okra - ew! and super bitter veggies) but kale was on the list of non-favorites for a long while. So of course the first time I heard "kale" as an ingredient in beef stew, I was a little dubious. Evidently this dislike was shared by my niece and nephew (4.5 and 2, respectively) - but they will eat it in this form. Of course the competitive nature took over...er, that is to say, I wanted to encourage Lil Sis so I tried her stew. All I can say is, she can add kale to my stew any time! She didn't even have to hide the kale - it just needed to taste good.
And to top off her Domestic Goddess persona, chocolate chip cookies! I don't make chocolate chip cookies so I am very impressed. Not to mention, they are delicious (you have to taste it!) and there are quite a few of them. Speaking of which, it's a good thing they stayed at her place instead of coming home with me or else there might have been a milk and cookies time before bed. As it is, they are on the list as a treat for tomorrow when we need to have Elevensies / morning tea / afternoon snack / dessert / no excuse needed. By the by, Lil Sis says she can't cook. So if this is her not cooking, I'm happy for her not to cook for me any time!
Until next time, may your arguments and "not" endeavors be as successful as ours!
There was a really cold and wet night when I just wanted mac 'n cheese. I didn't have any macaroni so noodles instead...this was with cauliflower and some leftover bresaola. Great comfort food, totally not a diet food.
A quick trip home for a wedding - a rather large wedding. Just before departure: Wagyu burger (at the airport lounge - by Neil Perry? Not sure if this is like the one they have at Rockpool but it tasted a lot like how I remember a Big Mac tasting.)
Then the wedding (I am very jetlagged). I can't remember if I packed the dress to bring back with me. I think I forgot it...I also forgot that since it was Hawaii, there was a chance that I would know someone at the wedding. The Punahou connection was a live and well - somehow that seems to come out but it works pretty well as an ice breaker.
I'm not sure what other people consider large, but I think this one was 500 people (a few no-shows, apparently). Maybe it was that we had all spread out over the venue grounds over the course of the evening but it actually didn't feel very crowded. Of course that could be due to the jetlag which accompanied my attendance. Having tried it, I wouldn't recommend getting off the plane and going to a wedding just a few hours later. Unless you don't care what you look like in photos, of course. I'm vain enough to care. The wedding was really nice, taking place on the lawn of the Waialae Country Club and facing the ocean. The day had started out cloudy and wet but cleared in time for a lovely sunset and a warm afternoon.
Anyway - wedding aside, of course there was lots of food when I went home so without further ado:
Right: Early Sunday morning - still jetlagged. I had a coffee and read a book on the Popes while the boys went for an early morning...is it paddling if it's in a 1-man canoe?
Surf was up and there was a bit of a dunking. Apparently the 1-man canoes are tippy.
Below:
Super early on a Monday morning (they practice at 6am). I just took pictures and congratulated myself on being awake so early. Left: boys paddling back hard (either the 1/4 mile or the 1/2 mile, I can't remember). Center: where the coach was standing while watching the canoe go down and come back. Right: I don't know why I took this (attempt at being artistic or testing out the focus button).
Right: The little red car belonged to one of the guys in the boat. Kind of cute that his car matched the canoes and the Outrigger Club colors.
Left: We also had afternoon tea at the Halekulani Hotel. I hadn't done a birthday thing for one of my friends because I'd been out of town. We watched people going to a wedding - it was quite a busy day that afternoon. Some people watching as well as enjoying the cool breezes. I took a photo of the chocolate mousse cake - it was pretty good although it felt a little heavy on the gelatine. One of the guys (I've forgotten which one) didn't like the little crunchy bits in the middle but I liked them - they were kind of like cocoa pops or something - chocolate-y, crunchy round balls.
Grilling on the BBQ - it was that kind of weather and it's an easy way to do dinner. There was a night of stuffed vegetables - another one which was great in theory but execution was a bit lacking. The stuffed peppers turned out really well because it was closed but the meat in the stuffed zucchini dried out because it was exposed to the oven while the zucchini cooked. Note to self: cover the stuffing next time (Mom's suggestion).
Cheese sauce is a great way to eat the veggies. Totally unhealthy, at least the way I do it, but if it gets people to eat veggies who cares? I got lazy and didn't measure for the sauce so I don't know if it's been a little watery because I put in too much liquid or because the veggies released more water when I put the whole thing in the oven.
Below: Breakfast with my sister using leftovers: Steak, eggs and bacon bits (because bacon makes everything better). My plate is the one with white rice (very local) and GY's plate has mixed grains (from Trader Joe's) - my niece prefers my sister's mix. So do I.
(Another) breakfast at Koa Pancake House.
I wasn't hungry but I had to try their mixed breakfast - kalbi (BBQ Korean shortribs) and eggs with pancakes. I didn't get a photo before the egg/s(?) disappeared of GY's plate but you can see the remnants. We didn't get through everything but it was all delicious. And a much better deal than a brunch that I had in Sydney last September (AUD$20 for coffee, fresh apple juice, 2 pieces of toast and a couple of pieces of smoked salmon).
We had a morning where GY's housemates had leftover lobster from Chinese food so I made lobster omelettes. A couple of glum faces that day so when we BBQed that night, there was an injunction "don't eat all the lobster" so that my sister could have lobster omelettes the next day. Lobster is much better with garlic butter than lemon butter. BBQ of kaffir lime and lemongrass shrimp (requested by my sister), garlic steak and broccoli with cheese sauce.
Birthday breakfast for my sister: lobster omelettes, garlic Hamakua and oyster mushrooms, bacon and rice -
Birthday dinner: courtesy of CPK (my slice of cake on the left of the middle photo).
Then it was time to come back to Sydney. The flight left a bit late - there was a slight delay initially, then another one when one of the passengers failed to board so they had to unload the luggage. Am horribly jetlagged and sick - trying to figure out whether it was just the usual random post-travel bug or the remnants of a migraine from last week.
There were some unhappy babies on the plane - to be expected when you are travelling at a time which coincides with school holidays. Dawn photo - a slight crescent over Double Bay - taken after waking up at some unholy hour due to jetlag.
Until next time, happy and safe travelling.
