Okinawan Eats

The Mouse thinks this are the last pics from The Cat’s schoolmate visit. The Cat chose Okinawan food for dinner one night.

Goya Chanpuru

Bittermelon w/Tofu & Eggs, choice of meat, The Mouse chose bacon. Hee hee. The smokiness of the bacon perfectly complemented the bittermelon.

Nasubi Chanpuru

Eggplant w/Tofu & Green Onions, choice of meat, this time shoyu pork. Mmm!

Soki Soup

Pork Spareribs, Daikon, Konbu & Cabbage. Comfort food. 🙂

Last but certainly no least,

Nori Wrapped Ahi Tempura

 Ahi w/Mayonnaise & Kabayaki Sauce drizzle. Our server’s favorite dish. He did not disappoint. While the dish may not be our favorite, we normally eat Okinawan cuisine for the comfort/homestyle vibe, the tempura was a welcome contrast to the soups and stews. The Mouse would order again. 🙂

Stay safe and well.

The Mouse

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Meatball Soup

A pound of ground beef, locally sourced.

Ground Beef

Basic ingredients:

Onion Soup Mix, Canned Mushrooms

Roughly shaped into balls, browned meatballs, removed meatballs and drained excess oil. Returned meatballs to pot, added onion soup mix, canned mushrooms (drained and rinsed), no salt (The Mouse figured enough salt in the soup mix), rice wine, a drop or two of coconut vinegar. Simmered for half an hour.

Cooled the pot in ice water, skimmed excess fat. Portioned one serving (The Cat doesn’t usually eat beef), Cooked frozen mixed vegetables and okra, drained, added meatballs and soup to warm.

Meatball and Vegetable Soup with Tree Fungus

The Mouse liked. Too bad the grocery store doesn’t sell smaller bricks. Small bricks would be more practical for The Mouse. Oh well.

Stay safe and well.

The Mouse

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Fish Bone Soup

The Mouse, kinda playing in the kitchen, no recipe, didn’t fail. Whew!

First breakfast. Picked up from the grocery store, two scoops of rice, two eggs, three strips of bacon. The fry cook forgot to scramble until almost too late, hence the texture. The Mouse reserved the rice for The Cat’s dinner, reserved the bacon for something else (post soon), and used the “scrambled eggs” on toast with butter and Vegemite.

Breakfast

The eggs were slightly overcooked, but did the job.

Also at the grocery store a package of salmon bones. The store also had salmon heads but The Mouse is handling salmon heads, too ugly, stuff that nightmares are made of. Ugh!

Salmon Bones

Head cabbage, ginger, tree ear fungus. Pre-cooked the fungus, Cold water, ginger, fungus to boil, simmer for 5 minutes. Add cut head cabbage, bring to boil again and simmer until cabbage is half cooked, about 2-3 minutes. Another boil, add salmon bones, simmer for another 5 minutes. Shoyu and rice wine drizzle. Salt to taste. Stir and serve. Not really soup, more broth.

Fish Bone Soup

The Cat liked. 🙂

Stay safe and well.

The Mouse

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North Shore Lunch

After purchasing The Cat’s coffee and cocoa beans (see previous post), time for lunch. The Mouse was not expecting too much since the area is tourist oriented. Picked a spot, Stonefish Grill.

The Cat ordered “soup and salad”.

Seafood Chowder

Fresh seafood, potatoes, celery, and house seasoning in a thick sherry cream based soup. The soup was not hot to The Cat’s standard. Explanation was that since we were seated and ordered at opening, the soup didn’t have enough time to heat. Wha? The Mouse thinks soup should be ready at opening. Oh well, maybe someone in the kitchen forgot. Sigh. The Cat said taste was good.

Crab Cake Salad

House baby greens mix, mango salsa, avocado lime aioli. Lotsa bell peppers and onions which were pushed aside for The Mouse. Colorful tho’.

The Mouse ordered the Stonefish fish sandwich, which on that day was broadbill swordfish (shutome).

Fish Sandwich

Local catch grilled, served on baby greens & toasted bun with tater sauce. Not bad, fish could have been a little larger (at least to fit bread length), swordfish would not have been The Mouse’s first choice but “fresh catch” is a dice throw. Fries were excellent.

Even with the missteps lunch was enjoyable. Road trip and The Cat’s beans probably helped. Hee hee.

Stay safe and well.

The Mouse

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Steakhouse Eats, Part I

The Cat got a gift card from one of her clients to Morton’s The Steakhouse, she decided to use it this past weekend.

Starters:

Onion Bread

Chopped House Salad

Chopped Iceberg and Romaine, cucumbers, blue cheese crumbles, bacon, chopped egg, avocado, vinaigrette. Portion was big, sharable.

Shrimp Cocktail

The Mouse was not sure of the size of the shrimp but they were huge, mini lobster sized. Hee hee.

Lobster Bisque

The Cat’s soup. Again, large portion (she took half home). She said as good as Chef H’s, just without the flambé.

Table Lamp

Base is a sculpture of a sleeping pig. The Mouse wondered, should the base be a sleeping cow? Maybe chain got a discount from a warehouse? Dunno. Hee hee.

Stay safe and well.

The Mouse

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