Monterey Bay/Pebble Beach

It's no mystery that Dave and I love to travel. Day trip, camping trip, hiking trip, backpacking... we'll do it. We don't buy presents for each other on Christmas, birthdays or anniversaries. Both our families never grew up participating in that tradition either. Needless to say, that leaves a little extra wiggle room for mini vacations here and there in our budget.

Last Thursday, I got home from work and slept all day. Dave also having taken a nap, the two of us found ourselves lying in bed at 2AM still unable to sleep. We wanted to go hiking the next morning but new it wouldn't happen at this rate. We both had no plans for Friday either but didn't want to waste the day. As a spur of the moment thought, Dave suggested that we drive to Monterey Bay... like NOW. What other response would I give than, "Let's do it!"

So, at 3AM we drove to Monterey Bay, visited Cannery Row, Fisherman's Wharf, Monterey downtown, Pebble Beach, Firestone Brewery, took a couple small naps during the day to keep us awake, and made it back home by 10:30PM the same day. Friday night, we slept like babies.

Oyster motoyaki

If thunder strikes 2 seconds after lightening, that means it struck pretty close, right? The rain in Pasadena that greeted us home from Hawaii has caused water to seep into our bedroom carpet. Luckily, our landlord is fabulous and had our carpet assessed and back to normal within 48 hours.



This picture was taken several days before our trip to Hawaii. Dave and I were craving seafood buffet but couldn't find one that was decent and worth dishing out some mula. So, we ventured out to Whole Foods which has a great selection of seafood. Since I posted this picture on Facebook, people have been asking me for these recipes... especially the oyster motoyaki one. Here it is!

Ingredients:
6 medium fresh oysters (we bought the jar for $5.99)
3 white mushrooms finely diced
1/3 brown onion finely diced
8 spinach leaves cut into wide strips
9 tbsp of mayo
1 tbsp of sugar
1 tbsp of miso paste
a dash of black pepper
slices of lemon

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F
2. Clean oyster meat (rinse under water) pat on paper towel to dry. Cut into bite size pieces.
3. Prepare cupcake tins or oyster shells
4. Mix mayo, miso, sugar, pepper thoroughly
5. Line 12 cupcake tins or shells with thin layer of mayo mix
6. Stuff spinach, mushrooms, onions and oyster into the tin/shell
6. Generously cover with thick coat of mayo mix
7. Bake in oven for 15-20 minutes in 400 degrees F (if the shells don't balance, you can use sauce bowls to balance or sea salt mounds)
8. When the top layer is golden browned, it's done!
9. Garnish with lemon slices. Serve with bread or rice.

Goes great with sushi. You can substitute oyster for fish or scallops. They make awesome hors-d'oeuvres. If you have oyster shells, wash and keep the oyster shells and you can reuse them. If the shells are a little too much work like they were for us when we were starving, I suggest lining the cupcake tins with the aluminum cupcake liners. Bon appetit.

In Spam and war

The diverse foods of Hawaii linger in our memory. The Japanese introduced shave ice (which we got to devour on three different occasions. The Korean contributed their BBQ. And the Americans... well, the Americans made SPAM! Ah, the mystery meat often teased by many has such rich history, mostly related to war. This is probably why Spam is such a staple in Hawaii. One of my favorite Korean meals is called budae-jjigae which literally means army stew. The spicy stew is made from Spam, sausage, American canned beans, instant ramen noodles and kimchi in an anchovy or beef stock seasoned with gochujang (red chili paste) - basically, whatever non-perishable food items that were easily accessible at the time. Americans were stationed in Korea during the Korean War and their supplies were often raided or given away to locals.

This is how I like to make my budae-jjigae:
8 cups of stock (anchovy or beef)
1/2 cup kimchi
2 green onions chopped
2 large tbsp of canned baked beans
1/2 can of Spam
1 sausage
1 slice of Kraft cheese
1/2 cup of sliced rice cake
2 tbsp of red pepper powder (gochugaru)
1 tbsp of soy sauce
1 tbsp of minced garlic
1 package of instant noodle (just the noodle, not the soup base)

In a pot, boil the 8 cups of stock. The traditional stock I make is water boiled with dried anchovies and kelp (dashima), then passed through a sieve. But you can also use beef stock (make sure it isn't too salty since the other ingredients are).

Combine the red pepper powder, soy sauce and minced garlic to make a paste.

In another large pot, preferably a shallow one, arrange the kimchi, green onions, beans, Spam, sausage, rice cake, and cheese. Also add some of the red pepper paste depending on how spicy you want it. Add 4 cups of the stock and let boil. Then, add the noodles and boil until the noodles are done.



The best way to make this stew is to cook it on a portable stove in the middle of the dining table where everyone serves themselves. When you start running low on the broth, just add more and maybe some more paste if needed.

There are so many variations. Dave loves to add tofu. I like to add mushrooms, specifically enoki mushrooms. I've seen bacon or seafood used. Basically, whatever you have on hand.



Maybe not the healthiest meal but it's such spicy goodness!

Oahu, HI

Dave and I recently got back from a trip to Oahu with our good friends and former neighbo(u)rs, the Widemans. We found an incredible deal on TravelZoo and ventured to the island of Oahu for four days and three nights. On Monday, we arrived at the Honolulu Airport and rented a Nissan Versa (like Hiro Nakamura on Heroes). So glad we did. This little car got us everywhere.

The first night, we took the H1-E highway escorted by our good friend and former neighbor, Manu, who happens to be an Oahuan native, and drove to Kona Brewing only to find it closed for a company party. Manu suggested Zippy's as an alternative and it was great. One thing we quickly learned is that Hawaiians love their portuguese sausage, spam, eggs and rice. We then checked in at the Castle Ocean Resort Waikiki.



Tuesday's meals consisted of McDonald's local specials, Haupia pie, Helena's (kalua pig, poi, ahi poke, laulau, pipikaula short ribs), Waiola shave ice, and Kona Brewing pizza, salad and beer. All so delectable! We went to the USS Arizona Memorial and spent some time at Waikiki beach, but mostly we just ate all day.





Wednesday, we had breakfast at The Original Pancake House, lunch at Giovanni's Shrimp Truck, and dinner at Puka Dog. After breakfast, we headed to Hanauma Bay Nature Preserve for some snorkeling action and made a day of "roadtripping" around the Windward coast to the North Shore and back to Waikiki.






Our final morning, breakfast at Leonard's Bakery for their malasadas (portuguese donuts) and pão doces, and a fish jun lunch packed to go from Yummy Korean BBQ.



Before we left for Oahu, Ben forwarded an email of suggested things to do in Hawaii. At first glance, we thought, this was just a list of places to eat. We soon learned during our trip that this is what Hawaiian people love to do. Eat! Their eclectic mix of people and food from around the world has made Hawaiian food what it is.

For example, the portuguese sausage, traditionally called linguiça is found everywhere. The Portuguese sugar plantation workers, unlike the Japanese and Chinese who came as single men, came to Hawaii in families. They were offered land, although considered to be at the bottom of the haole hierarchy, and citizenship when Hawaii became US Territory. As Manu explained over lunch at Helena's, haole literally means "breathless" because the first Caucasians that came to Hawaii did not share in the Hawaiian kiss, or honi. It was used derogatorily. The Portuguese immigrants contributed much to the culture. We namely got to experience the sausage, malasadas, pão doces and even the ukulele was adapted from a Portuguese instrument called the braguinha (from Madeira) or cavaquinho (from mainland Portugal).

Listen to your mom

Dave and I ventured back "home" to Vancouver this week. "Home" is a relative word now... The moment we arrived back in Pasadena, I felt more at home than I did in Vancouver. But I digress. It was my one and only niece's first birthday. I'm amazed at my sister who's a mother of three kids. She is literally a full-time mom, since my brother-in-law works from 6am to 9pm during the week and also works Saturday. My sister and I, four years apart, were never that close growing up. We fought right up until the day she got married. Yet, she's pretty much the closest friend I have now.

Parting with her family in Canada, I can't help but tell the kids to listen to their mom. Growing up, I always remember hearing people telling me to listen to my mom. This time it hit a different chord. Sure, it's a great way to tell kids to behave but when I said it to my niece and nephews, it meant: I love your mom a lot... please, be nice to her.

Thoughts at the steering wheel

In the last month, I've been in two accidents. The first as a passenger with my sister, brother-in-law, niece and nephews. I saw it coming as we rear-ended a car on the I-5 heading north. Both airbags were activated and the car was totaled. Luckily, no one was injured but the accident definitely left a dent in our psyche. The next morning, Elliott, my 5 year old nephew, unexpectedly burst out into tears at the breakfast table remembering the trauma of the accident. It's interesting... that with any other sort of trauma, you would avoid whatever activity that led to it for some time... but with driving, you're back on the road almost immediately whether it may be as a driver or passenger without much time to process it.

A couple weeks after this accident, once again, I was in a car accident. Except this time Dave and I were rear-ended on the 210-W heading to work. Again, not much time to process it. Ever since these two accidents, I have been on edge whenever I see brake lights or when we change lanes. I had a dream a couple nights ago that we were spinning on the highway and a bus T-boned us.

I want to have something profound to say about the fleeting nature of life and about the need to seize the day! But.. mostly, I just want to say... wear your seat belt.

Americans for a night!

Last Saturday, Dave performed at Uncle Reds Pizzeria in Bellflower. Suzanne and Danny Gallego, whom we met through Cornerstone, have been inviting us to try their delicious pizza for ages and finally they suckered us in by asking Dave to perform at their Uncle Red's Acoustic Brew. BTW, their pizza lived up to the wait. The musicians got free pizza and beer for their groupies!!

My cousin, Grace, performed with him for a couple songs and invited her family. I'm so glad my uncle and aunt got to see him perform. Come to think of it, I don't think anyone in my family has seen him perform live (except for Tim who opened for him at the Jameson Brown gig). Uncle Peter exclaimed, "We get to drink beer and eat pizza like real Americans!"

Dave did wonderfully. He was witty, charming and very talented. He's been recording songs for his new EP at home, DIY (do-it-yourself) style and I think the quality of his recordings has improved drastically, not to mention his stage manner too. I'm glad to see him so happy doing what he does. And I'm glad my family got to see what he does too... American style!