Musings of a wife and mother, born and raised in Hawaii. Far away from home now, but creating and discovering bits of sunshine and paradise in everyday life.
Instant Potato Veggie Soup Packets

Instant Potato Veggie Soup Packets

It’s been rain, rain, rain in the whole state of California for weeks–definitely soup weather. Laurel, who’s away at college, requested I send her more soup packets to make in her dorm room. Last year I made her some Kale and Chickpea Soup Packets, which she and her friends loved....
Dancing Bride White Fudge

Dancing Bride White Fudge

I love creating recipes inspired by things I have seen or read. This is one of my favorites that I made a while ago for my dear friend, Frances, author of the Wordsworth the Poet series. As tomorrow is Valentine’s Day, it seems appropriate to share this sweet, romantic recipe...
Stir-fried Bowl of Gratitude

Stir-fried Bowl of Gratitude

“I am grateful for what I am and have. My thanksgiving is perpetual.” -Henry David Thoreau Remember to eat lots of vegetables~ Try these vegetable almost noodles =) Stir-fried Bowl of Gratitude Author: Guava Rose Prep time: 5 mins Cook time: 12 mins Total time: 17 mins Serves: varies Fresh,...
Hawaiian Petroglyph Cookies

Hawaiian Petroglyph Cookies

Ki’i Pohaku (Stone Image) Cookies Petroglyphs can be found on all the Hawaiian Islands, but most of them are located on the Big Island of Hawaii. The ancient Hawaiians made pictures in fields of smooth pahoehoe lava rock, boulders, and cliffs. Some petroglyphs tell stories or events, while others are just pictures of people,...
Koi Musubi

Koi Musubi

I was inspired to make these cuties by a poem written by my lovely friend Frances, a most wonderful poet and author~ Fish Pond How still the waters. A red koi moves lazily. Pink cherry blossoms Slowly float to block my view. Oh, Mr. Koi, where are you? I dip...
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Steamy Kitchen Recipe Testing - Part 5

Steamy Kitchen Recipe Testing – Part 5

More Steamy Kitchen Test Recipes:  Roasted Kabocha Squash They say eating sweet vegetables helps when you have cravings for sweets. I had this roasted Kabocha squash last night sprinkled with spices, and it did a pretty good job of filling a need for something sweet. Though it’ll never take the place of cake, of course!...
Cabbage Day!

Cabbage Day!

Sauteed Cabbage with Carrots and Fennel Seeds With St. Patrick’s Day right around the corner, I prepared a couple of cabbage dishes. Here I’ve used a regular green cabbage, and some sliced carrots. I steamed the carrots first, since the pieces of cabbage would cook so much faster than the raw carrots would. I think...
Steamy Kitchen Test Recipes - Part 4

Steamy Kitchen Test Recipes – Part 4

Dan Dan Mien made with spinach noodles Here are a couple of noodle recipes I tested out for Steamy Kitchen‘s second cookbook in the works. Warm noodles are definitely the way to lift spirits, with all the gloomy skies and rain we’ve been getting. Quill was certainly happy with all this pasta, especially the spicy...
Girls' Day Treats and Mochi Making

Girls’ Day Treats and Mochi Making

It’s raining rice crackers on Sakura mochi! Last Saturday, March 3rd, we celebrated Japanese Girls’ Day, also known as Hinamatsuri (Japanese Doll Festival). A couple of days before Girls’ Day, I was lucky to be able to watch some special Girls’ Day mochi being made at Osaka-Ya, the only Japanese confectionery shop in the area....
Steamy Kitchen Recipe Testing- Part 3

Steamy Kitchen Recipe Testing- Part 3

Korean Beef Bites with Kimchi Another test recipe for Steamy Kitchen. It was yummy.
A Love Note to Laurel

A Love Note to Laurel

I’m wishing my daughter Laurel, a little belated Happy, Happy Birthday! Look what I made for you– Cream Cheese Custard Mousse with Raspberries and White Chocolate Truffle Curls. This is much, much better than that birthday cake I made for you. When you have a mother who likes to experiment in the kitchen, sometimes you...
Steamy Kitchen Recipe Testing - Part 2

Steamy Kitchen Recipe Testing – Part 2

Stir-fried Bean Sprouts and Snow Peas Glorious Vegetables! I’ve been testing more recipes for Steamy Kitchen here. Steamed Carrots with Sesame Ponzu Vinaigrette Blackened Tofu with Ginger Ponzu Sauce Ma Po Tofu  
Steamy Kitchen Recipe Testing - Part 1

Steamy Kitchen Recipe Testing – Part 1

Recently I was delighted to be chosen to help test recipes for Jaden Hair of Steamy Kitchen. She’s working on her second cookbook, which will focus on lighter and healthier Asian fare. The recipes themselves remain under wraps, so enjoy the pictures for now. I had one child home sick today, so soup seemed to be...
Lapsang Souchong Tofu

Lapsang Souchong Tofu

Salty, Smoky, and Creamy. Tofu infused with Lapsang Souchong Tea and Soy Sauce is a sure pleasure for the taste buds. Start off with two blocks of medium firm tofu. Stay away from soft and silken tofu for this recipe– they’re simply too soft and fragile here. Quarter each block of tofu into 4 smaller...
Mochi Love

Mochi Love

Earlier this month, I was in charge of putting together a fundraiser for Laurel and Quill’s Japanese school. I threw everything together in a week, and we really just had two weeks to sell. The school already does a really successful mandarin orange fundraiser in the fall, and a tamale fundraiser in the late spring....
Spinach Feta Pies

Spinach Feta Pies

There’s a frozen, spinach and feta hand held pie that I absolutely love.  I don’t buy it very often, as it costs about $3.50 -$4.00 each. I’ve been fooling around with making a homemade version, and I’m quite pleased!   Start off by making a yogurt dough using nonfat or lowfat plain yogurt, greek style...
Cherry Almond Cookie Bites

Cherry Almond Cookie Bites

Tiny almond cookie bites crowned with bits of cherries. I made some of these earlier for my Chinese Candy Box. Usually Chinese almond cookies are topped with a dot of red food coloring, or a blanched almond. As I’m always trying to find alternatives to artificial food colorings, I thought I’d try to use a...