Whole wheat blueberry rolls…are they worth the effort? This time I have to say…uhh not really. Don’t get me wrong, they tasted good. But it took so much longer and so much more effort that say a normal cake, cookies, or law school.

Okay, I’m kidding about that last one but boy how easily I forgot the effort needed to knead and the patience required for rising when working with yeast dough.

As you can see above, I thought I deserved some frosting at the end of it all.

First I mixed up the yeast mixture and let it sit for 5 minutes or so.
3/4 package dry yeast
1/2 cup soy milk
2 Tablespoons warm water
2 Tablespoons honey

Then I added the rest of the ingredients and kneaded for about 8 minutes.
2 Tablespoons butter
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 egg
1 1/4 cup whole wheat flour
3/4 cup all purpose flour

While waiting for the dough to rise I mixed up the blueberry filling. This included:
1/2 cup frozen blueberries
2 Tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon cornstarch / 3 Tablespoons water

After reducing the mixture, I was left with a nice thick blueberry sauce.

I rolled out the dough and spooned the blueberry topping all over. Then I rolled it up, cut it into pieces and let it rise again in the nonstick baking pan.

After about 20 minutes in a 350 degree oven I ended up with this.

I didn’t add much sugar to the dough or filling so I figured I would be okay with a little frosting. Plus it made it look so much prettier.

This past Saturday we had company over to watch the University of Hawaii football game. While that was somewhat of a disappointment, this salmon that I made for dinner was a hit!

The marinade I used that night was very simple - just 4 ingredients, 3 if you don’t count water. Here it is…

1/4 cup miso (I used a strong Japanese type)
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup sake
1/4 cup water

I just mixed up everything in a zip top bag and placed 3 pieces of salmon inside. I left this in the refrigerator for several hours flipping the bag over every so often. (If I had the time, I would’ve let it marinate overnight, for even more flava!)

I broiled the salmon in the oven - skin side up for a couple minutes, then skin side down for several more minutes until done.

This one definitely went on the list of dinners to make again soon!

I wondered…could this box of Vermont Curry be better than the long timer S&B Golden Curry? Also, why is it called “Vermont” Curry?

These days there seems to be so many Japanese curry options when I check out places like Shirokiya, or even just the Asian food aisle at the supermarket. My mom has changed over from S&B to House brand Vermont Curry so I thought I’d also give it a try.

I made a simple chicken curry with mushrooms, onions, and eggplant.

It was really easy to make. First I cut up all the vegetables and a couple pieces of chicken into bite sized pieces. I cooked this up in a nonstick pan. Then followed the directions on the box adding water and the curry.

The only major change I made is that I used less curry than the recipe called for. I wanted to cut back on fat and sodium so I used around half of what it called for on the box.

While I assume it’s called Vermont Curry because of the “touch of apple and honey”, I can’t really taste those two items. But given that, I still think that this brand tastes very good. And even without using the full amount of curry, there was still lots of savory flavor!

We had some errands to run near Kaimuki yesterday so we timed it that we could have lunch over at Rainbow Drive In.

Although it was pretty late - around 2:00 pm - it was still packed with no tables open. I was hungry and didn’t want to hover around to snag a table so we just hopped into the car and ate in there.

I had a chili and rice bowl ($2.50)

and some of his mix plate - teri beef, chicken cutlet, fish, rice, mac salad ($6.50)

I really love Rainbow’s chili. In fact, I don’t think I’ve ever gone there without getting it! My orders seem to revolve around the chili plate, chili bowl, chili bowl and sandwich, or chili dog plate!

After satisfying our Rainbow’s craving and running our errands, we stopped by Ward Center to do a little window shopping. I haven’t been there for quite some time but I knew there was one place I wanted to check out.

For my birthday last year, one of my coworkers bought me this awesome chocolate cake from Satura Cakes. In my … years of life, this was definitely the most delicious birthday cake I’ve ever had! I had to see what else this shop had to offer.

In the display case I saw my chocolate cake but it looked a little different with nuts on top. Mine last year had fruits like blueberries and raspberries on top - it matched really nicely with the dark chocolate!

Yesterday we decided to go for these individual desserts that sell for $3.95 each.

We shared the Berry Blue Parfait. In the description it says this is a low fat yogurt mousse with a blueberry compote, soft sponge cake and fresh blueberries. It was really, really good!

Rainbow Drive In
Address: 3308 Kanaina Ave, Honolulu, HI
Phone: 737-0177
Website: http://www.rainbowdrivein.com

Satura Cakes - Ward
Address: 1200 Ala Moana Blvd, Honolulu, HI
Location: Next to Borders at Ward Center
Phone: 537-1206
Website: http://www.saturacakes.com/hawaii

I’ve had these pictures in my camera since June! Luckily a post from Lauren reminded me to rescue them from the black hole to which all unused blog photos disappear.

What can I say about Bangkok Chef? I love this place in Nuuanu! When I was in grad school at the University I used to always stop by here to pick up some dinner on the way.

When I would get to about 5 minutes away from Nuuanu on the freeway, I’d call in my takeout order. I actually have their number saved in my cell phone for this reason. If I had that Fave 5 program, they’d probably be one of my faves!

Here’s what it looks like on the inside. It has a garage door for a store front, a moderate amount of tables, water cooler, tv, and various Thai ingredients and produce for sale.

My favorite thing to order is the eggplant chicken. I usually get it mild instead of medium spicy. It’s made with chicken breast, eggplant, oyster sauce, ground bean sauce, garlic, and fresh basil. Yum!

They also have lots of other good things to order. Take a peek below!
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These guava pancakes don’t use any milk. It isn’t that I was trying to come up with a recipe without it, it’s just that we had run out of milk and I’m never in the mood to go to the store before breakfast.

So with an absence of milk, I looked around the fridge for something to replace it and found one last container of guava flavored Yoplait yogurt.

INGREDIENTS (Makes about 6 pancakes)
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 cup all purpose flour
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tsp baking powder
2 eggs
6 oz cup of guava yogurt
1/4 cup water

I really liked these pancakes. The guava flavor came through much more than in the guava muffins I made a while back with the Meadow Gold brand guava yogurt.

If you have guava flavored Yoplait yogurt in your area and enjoy food made with whole wheat, consider giving these a try!

This summer we went to a barbecue that had some really tasty grilled chicken. I’ve been meaning to try and recreate this given the hints I received from the cook.

First I grated a chunk of daikon (size of a small fist), a bit of ginger (about an inch worth), and a clove of garlic.
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