This dish brings back memories of living in Boston where I learned this recipe from my Japanese roommates. Sweet, nutty kabocha pumpkin is simmered with chicken thighs in a soy sauce based broth. The result is a warm, homey, and comforting dish, perfect for a winter's...
For the years I lived in Boston, I often spent Thanksgiving with family in Seattle. It was an easier trip than coming home to Hawaii (cutting down the travel time by at least 6 hours). We had many traditions over those long weekends but one that was assigned to me was...
If you grew up in Hawaii, huli huli chicken evokes memories of big, billowing smoke and an unmistakable, delicious aroma wafting from huge grills. Huli-huli chicken was a favorite fundraising vehicle for schools, churches, and social groups. People sold tickets to...
The nice thing about being back home and living with family is the shared cooking duties. My sister is very much like me, always looking at cookbooks and recipes, and she often tries things that I might not have tried myself. The original version of this recipe is a...
During the pandemic, Michael Symon started a new show called Symon's Dinners Cooking Out. Joined by his wife Lizzie and their friend Liv, he prepared meals outside exclusively on the grill. While this recipe for souvlaki is perfectly suited to the grill, he also...
Shoyu Chicken is a popular dish in Hawaii and an easy one-pot dish. In addition to a satisfying home meal, you will find it on the menus of local restaurants, plate lunch spots, and lunch wagons. As with many comfort foods, each family, each cook has their own recipe...
a.k.a Julie's Chicken This recipe is so embarrassingly easy it's almost a non-recipe. I got it years ago from a co-worker as a base for chicken fajitas. The funny thing is I never made fajitas, we always just grill the chicken and eat it with rice and other...
I'm always looking for recipes for weekday meals that are easy, flavorful, and healthy. I saw a post recently about someone adding zucchini to ground turkey meatballs as a way to keep them moist and to add more vegetables. I thought it was a great idea and...
I like recipes that are easy and flavorful. My go-to recipes are ones that I've made many times with consistently delicious results. This recipe for chicken thighs comes from Cooking Light. The great thing is the marinade becomes the glaze so you only have to...
I recently took a class at the Boston Center for Adult Education taught by Tony Maws, chef/owner of my favorite restaurant, Craigie on Main. Known for his nose-to-tail cooking and making use of every part of an animal, this class allowed us to work with foods that...
With my weekday schedule I rarely have the time or energy to cook when I get home. I prefer to get my cooking done on the weekend and reheat leftovers throughout the week. However, I have a few recipes that take almost no time to prepare and this rice cooker chicken...
August is one of the best times for farm produce - tomatoes, zucchini, peppers are in abundance. I loved getting my weekly CSA distribution but it was challenging to find a way to use all my vegetables. This recipe for lettuce wraps is one way I found to use my summer...
Oven-Baked Cornflake Chicken When I lived and worked in Hawaii there was a local, family-owned lunch spot that had Cornflake Chicken as one of its weekly specials. That and their roast turkey lunch were some of my favorites. Unfortunately the restaurant is gone and my...
My uncle has been smoking meats for as long as I can remember. When he would go hunting he'd give us smoked venison and during the holidays he smoked turkeys. Now that I live on the mainland the only time I'm able to enjoy smoked turkey is when I'm home for the...
Updated: December 19, 2019 Few people know that the reason I started this blog was because I was on a diet and wanted to do an online journal of the process. ("Ahhh," you say, the blog title makes sense now) As you can see that didn't last long and I decided instead...