D made breakfast again: sweet bread French toast, Vienna sausage.
Wishing all mothers a wonderful day,
“It’s your first Mother’s Day, let’s celebrate all weekend long! It’s your weekend,” declared D. He started off by cooking breakfast for me this morning: ham & cheese omelette with salsa.
It doesn’t take much to make me happy. D knows me so well; so far my weekend’s consisted of yummy food, some cupcakes, browsing craft supplies at Walmart and shoe shopping at Target with my favorite girl and hubby…
On a recent weekend an errand took us up North to Waialua town, so we enjoyed lunch at neighboring Haleiwa. Whenever I head to the North Shore, right about when I’m passing through the pineapple fields my mind starts thinking about one thing: garlic shrimp! We usually eat at a shrimp truck in Kahuku, but this time we were on Haleiwa side so we randomly picked one of many shrimp trucks right on Kam Highway at the edge of town. Big Wave Shrimp Truck has plenty of parking and a spacious seating area with a friendly neighbor:
My Garlic Shrimp Plate ($12.00)
Every shrimp truck has its subtle differences and Big Wave Shrimp Truck’s garlic shrimp was topped with heaps of sweet roasted garlic and drenched in a clear buttery sauce. It was different from some other trucks that use flour to add a bit of crusty coating to the shrimp. I usually like it with flour since it thickens up the sauce a bit, but Big Wave Shrimp Truck’s version was delicious as well (good news: not as messy on the fingers) and most of all, their garlic was so sweet and soft that I consumed dangerous amounts of it on my rice with a drizzle of shoyu.
(Hubby) D’s Crunchy Shrimp Plate ($12.00)
A bonus: kama’aina and military get a free drink with plate!
MENU: View the menu on their website. Apparently, the truck was also featured on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives with Guy Fieri.
Big Wave Shrimp Truck
66-521 Kamehameha Highway
Haleiwa, Hawaii
808.366.2016
Daily 10:00a-7:30p
March 3rd is Hinamatsuri or Girl’s Day where we wish the girls in our lives health and happiness. I remember as a little girl the excitement I felt each year when my parents brought out the hinaningyo (hina dolls) from the closet and unwrapped each one from its paper wrapping. Some of the more elaborate doll sets can cost thousands of dollars, but I fondly remember my small collection of some clay dolls handmade by my aunt and tiny props handcrafted by my grandfather.
Now I have a precious baby girl and we wish her every happiness in life. Jiji brought her a beautiful set of Emperor (odairisama) and Empress (ohinasama) dolls from Japan.
Living in the U.S. I want to make the effort to make sure she doesn’t miss out on Japanese cultural experiences, so I decided we’d have a little Hinamatsuri celebration for dinner. But then I realized I don’t remember much else about the traditions surrounding this holiday. So I did what anyone does when they want to find out anything about anything: Google it. A quick search later the dinner menu was decided: chirashi sushi and clam broth. Apparently the clam shells symbolize a perfect pair – the wish for the girl to find a good husband. LOL. I’ll just settle for healthy and happy.
Dinner was delicious, but alas, baby Nomz (that’s her nickname) could only dine on… pureed carrots tonight. Next year!
Mom and Dad (aka Baba and Jiji じじばば) were here from Japan to visit their granddaughters for a few days. My sister also has a baby girl born 6 weeks before my baby, so Jijibaba now have a total of two granddaughters in Australia and two in Hawaii.
I’ve come to expect Mom to arrive with something homemade and delicious each time. Sometimes it’s a batch of her original recipe miso, or from their farm, young soybeans or fresh pesto sauce. This time nestled in ice packs between layers of clothing in her suitcase, was a box of handmade creamy soft chocolates known as “nama choco” in Japan.
“Nama” means raw or fresh, and nama chocolate is usually made by mixing chocolate with fresh cream, similar to ganache. It’s characterized by a soft consistency even when refrigerated. It can be easily sliced with a knife and eaten with a fork and melts away in the mouth. Because It’s more perishable than regular chocolate, it should always be refrigerated. I like to take it out of the fridge for a few minutes to soften it up before popping them in my mouth. If you’re like me and like to dig out the ganache filling from truffles, you’ll love nama chocolate!
Perhaps Japan’s most famous brand of nama chocolate is Royce from Sapporo, and they can be purchased in most major airports in Japan as well as at their first US store in NYC.
Mom says “it’s super easy to make, just melt 2 parts chocolate with 1 part cream. That’s it!”
Nama Chocolate
2 parts chocolate
1 part fresh cream
Cocoa powder
Heat chocolate and cream until melted together. Once it’s mixed, pour into a pan lined with plastic wrap or parchment paper. Let harden in the refrigerator. Once hardened, cut into bite sized squares and dust with cocoa powder all around. Keep refrigerated.
Happy Thanksgiving, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year everyone! Where does the time fly? This is life with a baby I guess. Blogging on the computer and downloading photos from my digital camera is too tedious which is why I never get around to it these days. I think I’ll try blogging from my iPad using photos taken on my iPad and see if that works. That means seriously sacrificing photo quality, but you gotta compromise somewhere.
Baby is already 5 months old and growing up too fast. Her recent accomplishment is finally being able to grab her own foot and shove it in her mouth. Yum yum. She’s getting ready to crawl and will start eating solids soon. She is so spunky and makes me laugh every day, but I already miss when she was a helpless little newborn too…
Some friends came over during the long weekend to visit us, and they brought a wonderful array of dim sum for lunch. From Happy Day Chinese restaurant in Kaimuki: char siu bao, taro cake, siu mai (pork hash), scallop dumpling, har gao (shrimp dumpling), half moon. Delicious!
And sticky rice wrapped in lotus leaf
For dessert we had egg tart, Jin dui, and I made my favorite, almond tofu.
To my delight, they also gifted us these beautiful ume branches. Our house now feels like early springtime in Japan! What a blissful Sunday afternoon…
Mom’s Home Cooking!
Published November 17, 2012 Uncategorized ClosedTags: Home Cooking, Japanese Food
Mom and Dad were here from Japan to help out during the first weeks after baby was born, which meant I could focus on my recovery and caring for baby while Mom cooked up healthy delicious meals every day!! How lucky am I?
The past 2 months flew by and Mom and Dad already went back home, but I found some photos I snapped of our dinners together.
Mom’s homemade gyoza and oven roasted veggies
Mabo eggplant and bell pepper, kabocha pumpkin, and tomato salad.
New York steak, sauteed green beans, kimchi tofu, salmon and shiso rice.
Penne pasta with shrimp and homemade tomato sauce, salad.
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