blueberry mochi

have you ever experienced a recollection where you aren't quiet sure if what you're remembering actually happened or if your mind is playing tricks on you? where you know many of the details are true because you're remembering something that was once your normal, even if your actual memory of that specific moment is hazy?

i am probably being a bit confusing, so let me explain.

while sorting through old recipe cards, i had one of those moments. i found a recipe for blueberry mochi, written in my handwriting- or in my handwriting of ten or fifteen years ago. i knew i'd never made this recipe, but i did have a memory of copying it down.

my family and i are at my grandmother's house for a visit. as always, she's brought out an assortment of canned beverages and cups on a small circular wood tray. i split a can of something with one of my parents and settle in for our visit. on these visits with my grandmother, we'll have our drinks, watch some tv (usually the gameshow network), then head home. if my grandmother attended a recent church function, she'll bring out an mix of desserts and point out which ones were good or not so good. apparently every function at her church ended with lots of extra desserts, and everyone went home with a sample of leftovers.

on this occasion, she brings out a recipe. while i can't remember what it was written on, i can still hear her telling me, "write this down. oishii."

oishii means 'delicious' in japanese. from my stoic grandmother, this is high praise. unfortunately, i remember feeling lazy, not wanting to hand-copy a recipe, and saying something like, "nah, that's okay."

apparently this recipe is really delicious, because she insists, "no, this is good."

my dad steps in and tells me to copy it, so i do. not because i really want a blueberry mochi recipe, but because my grandmother and now my father are telling me to.

now i am glad that i did since my grandmother was right, it is good. she passed away two years ago, and it's been even longer since she was well enough to live unassisted and go to church functions. finding this recipe card brought back happy memories. while i'm not sure if the details are completely accurate, the wood tray of drinks and cups, eating church function left-over desserts, and watching the gameshow network were all part of our regular visits that i'd almost forgotten.

for anyone not familiar with mochi, it's traditionally made by pounding cooked sweet rice until individual grains have broken down and reformed into a chewy blob of slightly sweet goodness. this recipe modernizes the idea, creating what can best be described as a blueberry cake with the chewiness of mochi. it uses sweet rice flour, or mochiko, so no pounding is required.

shoyu chicken

shoyu is japanese for soy sauce.

growing up in hawaii, shoyu was right up there with ketchup when it came to our tabletop condiments. it was also a common cooking ingredient and my family had both a tabletop bottle and a gallon size bottle to serve each purpose.

i love shoyu. it's salty, it's tasty, it's probably the only reason i liked eating tofu as a child. (tofu, the perfect vehicle for shoyu!)

sadly, the geek does not love shoyu. in fact, he does not like it. he'll go for the miso ramen over the shoyu ramen because he 'really doesn't like that flavor.' when eating a piece sushi off my plate, he won't dip it in shoyu voluntarily.

so imagine my surprise when he hesitantly tried shoyu chicken for the first time and realized he really, really liked it. when shoyu is combined with mirin, brown sugar, garlic and ginger alchemy occurs and the result is a delicious flavor the geek loves.

it's now become one of his favorite meals!

somen salad

it's january. we're in the midst of winter. the average high for this time of year is 49 degrees F/9.5 degrees C. it's the least likely time to crave the cool deliciousness that is a somen salad.

i blame the recent emergence of spring-like weather for my somen salad craving. it's been sunny and warm, the perfect weather for a cool noodley salad. surely the cold weather will return, but for now, i think i'll put away my winter coat and enjoy me some somen salad.

if you're not familiar with somen salad, let me take a moment to introduce you. somen salad is made up of cold somen noodles, a variety of vegetables, usually one or more types of protein, and a sweet-soy-sesame dressing. in hawaii, it's popular as a side dish (especially at potlucks) or light meal but it can easily be elevated to entree status with the addition of more protein or vegetables.