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Hilo Burger Joint and What We're Eating in Hilo, HI - 3/29 - 1/4

3/29/2015

I know the coaster is advertising Bud, but that's a Kona Brewery product in the glass. I think it is a Fire Rock but I couldn't swear to it. At any rate, it was on tap at The Hilo Burger Joint. Last weekend, Mr. L. and I went to the Wood Turner's show at the Wailoa Center. I reminded him that he had promised to take me to lunch, afterwards. (He did no such thing, but he didn't argue.) He asked where we should go, and I replied that I just wanted a really good burger. Well, and a beer. That, friends, is how we ended up at the Hilo Burger Joint. Located at 776 Kilauea Avenue, it's hard to miss. Look for the bright red building. Mr. L selected the ono burger (really good call) and I went with a turkey burger. However, I pretty much ruined many of the health benefits by adding the bleu cheese, bacon, and sauteed mushrooms to it. It was worth it. Bad for the arteries, good for the soul. Photos are below. It's family-friendly, and there are many games to play on a shelf by the door. The bar is really impressive. Several folks from the cruise ships just came in for a cocktail.
Menus for the upcoming week are below, too.

Ono Burger

Bar at HIlo Burger Joint

Back to the menus. I did a big refrigerator cleaning and freezer inventory, because that's a thrifty sort of thing to do. That was inspired by a quote I heard yesterday at a funeral for a 92-year-old. Her family joked that she frequently said, "Use it up, do without, make it do or do without." That was depression-era advice, but I think it's still very pertinent.
Sunday: Fresh Fish Over Salad Greens with Roasted Potato Chunks; French Bread
Monday: Chicken, Peppers, and Cream Cheese Burritos; Black Beans
Tuesday: Meatballs Over Angel-Hair Pasta with Red Gravy; Salad with Artichoke Hearts, Avocado, and Tomatoes
Wednesday: Mushroom Risotto with Peas, Grilled Boneless Chicken Thighs
Thursday: Turkeyburgers with Home Fries
Friday: Boneless Pork Chops with Fresh Leeks, Broccoli, and Rice
Saturday: White Beans with Spinach and Sausage

Have a wonderful week!
- C. Ironing

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Japanese Snacks/What We're Eating in Hilo, HI - 3/22 - 3/28

3/21/2015

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One of our neighbors brought over these Japanese snacks. We can figure out what some of them are, but we have had fun experimenting with the "mystery" packets. I really like the little sesame cookies. The middle ones are biscotti, and there are a couple of truffles in there. Nothing is overly sweet, which I appreciate.

I need to do a big grocery-store run, today. We're out of so many things. Let's map this week out:
Sunday: I watched this youtube video the other day and now I really want to make this Spanish tortilla. I have made them before, with a more complicated recipe. The tricky part is when you put a plate over the pan, then flip the whole thing. That usually stresses me out. I plan to add about a third cup of chopped artichoke hearts and some sliced ham to the tortilla. Fresh French green beans will round this out.
Monday: The new KTA ad featured a recipe for Vietnamese-Style Pork Pattie Pita Sandwiches. Nice alliteration, KTA! I am, however, going to switch this up a little. Not being a big pita fan (mine always just fall apart), I will serve over Asian-style noodles.
Tuesday: Breakfast as Dinner. This will mean Sausages (Mozzarella-Artichoke), Shredded Hash Browns, a Fried Egg and Sliced Tomatoes.
Wednesday: Fresh Mahi-Mahi with Parsley Butter, Rice, Kabocha Squash and Peas.
Thursday: Chicken Drumsticks, Home-Made Macaroni and Cheese, and Spinach.
Friday: Oven Fajitas, which I found on Pinterest. The leftovers will be good in scrambled eggs, for breakfast.
Saturday: Also via Pinterest, this Spaghetti Squash Carbonara. Wow! This will just need a salad and French Bread.

Off to the Woodturner's show at the Wailoa Art Center. Mr. L has promised, also, to take me to lunch. Have a great weekend and week!
-C. Ironing

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Snow, and What We're Eating in Hilo, Hawaii

3/15/2015

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I almost didn't get this post up today, but I am going to try to pull it together. My normal course of action is to plan the menus, shop, and post. Well, this week was so busy, that I made two super-fast trips into grocery stores, grabbed stuff, and figured I would just have to make it up. Wasn't there a game show in the 80's where people had five minutes on the clock and they'd run around in grocery stores, trying to grab stuff? I just remember people stuffing carts with meat. I guess I'd head there, too, and then probably the liquor aisle (not because I'm a lush, just because that stuff is expensive.) Anyway, I went off the rails, there. Here is what I came up with, in those dashes to the stores.

The photo above is of Mauna Kea, taken today. Mauna Loa also had snow. It was very pretty, seeing it on both sides of the highway.

I promised a picture of a recipe I tried last week. It was a Kraft casserole (a pot pie) which I decided to change up a little. It was great, although very rich. If you like cream cheese, you'll love it. The photo is at the end of this post.

Anyway, here are the results of my "grocery dash" finds. Have a wonderful week!

Sunday: Choicemart had Monchong (fish) at a very good price, so I plan to try this recipe and serve with rice, bok choy, and some fresh tomatoes.
Monday: Choicemart also had some lovely avocados, and so I loaded up a bag of those babies. I have some canned turkey chili in the pantry, and Dennison's does a pretty good job with it. I also see some tortilla chips, so BAM, as Emeril would say. There is dinner, along with some leftover rice.
Tuesday: Also grabbed some beautiful leeks at Choicemart, and some bacon. Those will become the Pioneer Woman's pasta. I think I have posted this recipe before. This stuff is wonderful. I will round this out with a salad and French bread.
Wednesday: I also spent about 15 minutes at Costco today in Kona, so grabbed some of their beautiful little multi-color peppers and French green beans. I'll make this Ropa Vieja (chicken version), black beans, and corn on the cob.
Thursday: If I saute' some bacon, and cook those Costco green beans, there the start of a nice meal. I have some stewed tomatoes in the pantry. I just need some corn bread. We will call that "Southern Night."
Friday: I spy some artichoke-mozzarella sausages in the freezer, and grabbed potatoes today, so if I add some artichoke hearts, there is a one-pan meal in there, somewhere.
Saturday: I think I deserve to get take-out. :-)

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Making Musubi

3/11/2015

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A week or so ago, Mr. L. and I were making musubi -- team effort -- and I actually remembered to take pictures. Here they are, along with steps.
For those of you who have never had a musubi, it is a delicious Hawaiian snack (Japanese origins). They are very popular for breakfast, but can be eaten any time of day. The ones we made are very basic, but I'll write about additions you might want to make.

Start by making your sushi rice. It will need to cool, so that should be your first step. You want it to be lukewarm when working with it -- not hot, or cold.

Spam, Spam, and More Spam

Prepare to caramelize your Spam. The above photo was taken at Hilo's Sack N'Save grocery store on Kinoole Street. As you can see, there is a magnificent selection of Spam. Hormel loves us. Anyway, we use the Spam Lite, but good gravy, there are lots of choices.

Here we are, caramelizing the Spam. To do this, pour some shoyu (soy sauce) into a frying pan. Heat, add your Spam, and cook on both sides until it is browned.

Assembly time. Mr. L is using a musubi maker here, but you don't need one. You can use the empty Spam can, or just mold with your hands. Start with a layer of rice; compact it down. Add Spam. At this point, let's talk about other popular add-ins. You can sprinkle on some Furikake seasoning, scrambled eggs (made the Japanese way, so that they are flat), or fried chicken. Some folks skip the Spam and use hot dogs or tuna salad (minus the pickles). That's good, too.

Add more rice, pack it down, and get ready to finish assembly.

Wrap it up in the nori. Use a mixture of the seasoned vinegar, plus a little water, to seal 'er up.

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What We're Eating in Hilo, Hawaii - 3/8 - 3/14

3/8/2015

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Ahi Salad

Apologies for not posting the menus, last week. My laptop died! It was traumatic. I lasted exactly one day without one -- and then I went downtown and bought a new one. Windows 8.1 is confusing but I will get there, by trial and error.

Pictured above: An ahi salad. Mr. L. grilled the ahi and it was perfect. I added new potatoes, still warm, to the salad, with a little Italian dressing.

It has been chilly and rainy for the last few days. Because of that, when I planned this week's menus, they are all sort of hearty. Now watch -- the sun will come out and we'll be eating all this hot food all week!

Here are our menus.

Sunday: I am drowning in eggplants in the garden. I will put them to good use tonight and make this eggplant casserole. It sounds very rich, so I'll just do a green salad alongside.
Monday: Potato-Crusted Salmon with Watercress Salad. Did you know people in Hilo eat loads of watercress? I never even saw, or tried, watercress when I lived on the mainland. It's delicious. It is sort of peppery. Sack N'Save does a nice salad with it in their deli.
Tuesday: This sounds decadent, but the recipe is from Cooking Light, so hey. Cheese and Pear Pork looks great. I tore the recipe out of the magazine back in September of 2011 but never tried it. I found very thin slices of pork so get to skip that mallet-pounding step. I cannot eat walnuts but have some pecans, which should work just fine. I think some rice and spinach alongside would be good.
Wednesday: Balsamic Peppered Chicken over Noodles; Peas.
Thursday: From Kraft foods, this Ham and Cheese Pot Pie. I'm going to tweak it a little, though. I am not a huge "piecrust" fan, so I am going to put the mixture into a casserole dish and top with the little doughboy crescent roll triangles. I'll try to remember to take a picture. I think it could either look really sporty or strange. We shall see.
Friday: This is one of Mr. L's favorites: Cheesy Lasagna Soup from Betty Crocker. And, again, here is my Betty Crocker story. Still makes me smile. With this soup, we like French bread.
Saturday: Burgers and Fries!
Have a great week, everyone!
-C. Ironing

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