Ground lamb and turkey squash stew

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Happy Spring!

In light of a new season, I made a yummy squash stew with ground lamb and turkey and barley rice from Japan. I was inspired by this recipe.

Ingredients used:

  • Ground lamb
  • Ground turkey
  • Large onion
  • Garlic
  • Sprigs of thyme
  • Kale
  • Carrots
  • Kosher salt
  • Garlic salt
  • Pepper
  • Garlic pepper/powder
  • 1.5 bottle of beer (I used Miller Lite)
  • Butternut squash
  • Chicken stock (no salt)
  • Barley rice
  • Flour for thickening

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Barley rice from Daiso in Japan.

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Ta da! A very tasty stew.

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I wish I had bought more of this rice. It was so delicious!

A healthy, yummy dinner just in time to welcome spring! I was very pleased with this dish.

Now that Honolulu has Daiso, I hope to find this rice there. It was to-die-for!

 

Vday at Merriman’s

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I hope y’all had a lovely Valentine’s Day! Mine was wonderful!!!! I’m excited to share the delicious food we had on this Day of Love and Hearts!!!

It was an exciting Vday. I got to try Merriman’s at Ward Village with my gal pal. This is sister restaurants of Monkeypod Kitchen and Moku Kitchen. They also have a Merriman’s on every major island: O’ahu, Kaua’i, Maui, and Hawaii Island. How cool is that?!

We were stoked to try the food. We went all-out! Take a look…

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This Maui onion soup was unbelievable! So good! I can’t even tell you. I’m normally not a fan on onion soup, but this was excellent!

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Tako country bread- escargot style. Oh man! This was so good! It felt like I was eating real escargot, but it was tako- aka octopus. The bread that came with this dish was to-die-for!

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I’m a sucker for trying kimchi wherever I go. This was super tasty!

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I had to try the Keahole lobster pot pie. Excellent! It felt like I was eating a chowder. Sprinkling that lemon juice make it much more tangy!

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This is the Waialua chocolate purse. Wow! Doesn’t that “purse” look like paper? It’s edible! There’s a rich, rich, rich chocolate cake inside. Wow!

We enjoyed ourselves and would definitely return to try more food. I’m excited!

Merriman’s opens for both lunch and dinner. Be sure to also check out their sister restaurants. I’ve been to both and the food is awesome!

Merriman’s
Ward Village
1108 Auahi St.
Honolulu, 96814
https://www.merrimanshawaii.com/

 

White whine chicken!

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Happy Sunday! I was inspired to use my slow cooker again! This time, I made a white wine herb chicken dish. I was inspired by this recipe.

My goal was to not use salt in my dish. I wanted to be really healthy, haha! My plan was just to use Mrs. Dash salt-free herb seasoning, black pepper, and garlic powder, pictured below. However, I realized how important salt is. In the end, I had to add some garlic salt to my dish to bring out the flavor in the chicken. It did not have much flavor even with my salt-free seasonings.

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This was a basic dish, with simple and minimal ingredients. I, of course, modified the recipe once again. I had put the slow cooker on high and cooked it for four hours. But because the entire pot was filled with chicken, four hours was not enough time. I had gone out for the day and when I had returned, the chicken on the top was not entirely cooked. But since we didn’t eat the dish that evening, I didn’t cook the chicken further. I transferred the chicken into baking pans to bake the next day.

Talk about chicken galore! We ate this dish for days, haha! I was chickened out!

Have a great week!

FS~

Good ol’ bourbon chicken!

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Aloha!!!

Last year, I had made a slow cooker bourbon chicken. It turned out really yummy. It was my first time cooking with bourbon. That was exciting and super successful! We all enjoyed it! Something different for sure!

I have been loving the slow cooker. It makes life so much easier. Greatest invention ever!

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Bam! The ingredients. It was A LOT! But all so needed to create a delicious sauce!

This is the recipe that inspired my dish. I, of course, made it my own! I’m a tweaker!!!

https://dinnerthendessert.com/easy-bourbon-chicken/

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My mouth is watering!

This was so good over quinoa or rice. The sauce was sweet, tangy, and spicy! A little bit of everything. Yummy!

Have a great weekend!

 

New Year with the bestest of friends!

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I was blessed to have spent the end of 2018 and the beginning of 2019 with my dear friends. We dined at Chef Chai’s, a Thai-fusion place with my family. My family and I always enjoy the food there. However, we were disappointed that they didn’t have the deep fried whole fish. They had sold-out of the dish before we dined there that evening. Nooo! It must be a very popular dish.

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Butternut squash lobster bisque soup. That was so yummy! I am determined to use butternut squash in my cooking and make a soup.

Ordered the jumbo prawns. Absolutely delicious!

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So glad they had brown rice! It was mixed with coconut milk and ginger. Interesting mix!

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We couldn’t resist dessert- deep fried banana cream cheese with gelato and berries. Oh boy! So good!

Chef Chai
1009 Kapiolani Blvd.
Honolulu, 96814
http://chefchai.com/

Japanese feast!

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Happy Super Bowl Sunday!

My girlfriend and I tried a really good Japanese cuisine- Akira last month. It’s an izakaya-type place, where you order small dishes and share amongst your party. We really enjoyed the food and customer service. Our server was really nice and friendly. I loved the ambiance of the restaurant as well- it was beautiful.

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Agedashi tofu. So, so good! Can’t go wrong with this dish.

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Prosciutto papaya allegra salad. This was very interesting. I liked it! Made it unique with the papaya.

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Tai-chazuke. Yummy! Chazuke is my childhood fave dish! I had it all the time as a kid. It’s the simplest dish ever! Rice and tea, or broth. Bam!

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Chawan mushi is always good to order.

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And last, but not least, natto nigiri. My ultimate fave. Yum! Mouthwatering!

We would definitely go back to try more of their food.

Akira Japanese Restaurant
1150 S. King St.
Honolulu, 96814

https://www.akira-japanese-restaurant.com/

Afternoon tea with my girls!

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My girlfriends and I had afternoon tea at Vintage Café at Ala Moana last weekend to celebrate the belated holidays. It was such a busy season last year, we couldn’t get together before Christmas or New Years. Ah! So glad we finally got together to have a much needed celebration.

It was a lovely and relaxing afternoon. I absolutely loved it there. I’m always a fan of afternoon tea and love trying different places that offer afternoon tea. I would definitely go back to Vintage Café again- and I will…next month, haha! I love the daintiness of having tea. The dishes are beautiful and the food is so quaint and cute. I also love those tea places where you can dress up with hats and shawls. Super fun!

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I ordered the Georgia peach nectar rooibos tea- non-caffeinated. That was amazingly delicious. I loved how it smelt so peachy.  Refreshing! It tasted better with honey.

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Yummy finger food!!!! I just love the tray.

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Mmm! Could I eat the entire tray? Aww, darn… Only could choose one…

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I ordered the Jidori club, which was a chicken sandwich with arugula and eggs. Yummy!

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The homemade scone was amazing. It came with sweet cream and mango/ginger jam. Interesting jam flavor, might I add. I did enjoy the sweet cream. The dessert of choice was a banana tart/pie.

Afternoon tea is every day from 12-3pm. They have two prices: $18 and $34- includes champagne.

Vintage Café
Ala Moana Center (next to Bloomingdale’s on the street level)
1450 Ala Moana Blvd.
Honolulu, 96814