The Hawaiians Are Here!

My excellent niece and nephew, Kelsi and Mason, are staying with us for a few days. They have spent their spring break visiting their Dad in Kamloops and experienced a bit of culture shock (which is surprising seeing how the logging redneck interior of British Columbia is so similar to the locals-only vibe of Waimanalo... insert sarcasm here).

So when they arrived I whipped them up a quick snack of Spam Musubi. For those of you not in the know, Spam Musubi is the snack that truly fuels the aloha spirit. And quite frankly, if you are going to eat Spam, (like if someone puts a gun to your head), you should definitely choose to enjoy your mystery meat in this fabulous pan-pacific-asian cross-cultural dish.
Ingredients

• 2-3 sheets nori
  
• 2 cups rice
• 2 cups water
• 1 can spam
  
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
  
• 1/4 cup oyster sauce
  
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 tbsp vegetable oil

Mason, the Spam / Aloha Ambassador

Cooking Directions

1. Cook the rice, using equal parts rice and water. I use a rice cooker, but you can also cook it on the stove if you don't have a rice cooker.
2. Mix the soy sauce, oyster sauce, and sugar in a bowl until the sugar is completely dissolved.
3. Cut the spam into 8 equal pieces, horizontally (like you are slicing the top off each time). Keep the can!
4. Place the spam slices in the sauce mix, marinate for as long as possible. I did about and hour.
   
5. Put the oil in a frying pan, heat over medium heat.
6. Fry the marinated spam until brown, about 2 minutes on each side.
7. Cut the nori into strips about 2.5 inches wide.
8. Wash the can that the spam was in very well and lightly oil the can
   
9. Fill the can with about an inch and a half of loosely packed rice, then squish it down very tightly. I even used my espresso tamper for extra packability. To get the rice out of the can, I slammed the can upside down on the cutting board until the rice came out. You might also try to line the can with plastic wrap before you pack the rice, so it’s easy to pull it out.
10. Place the rice on one end of the nori, so that they are perpendicular.
11. Place a slice of spam on the rice.
12. Wrap the nori around the spam/rice stack. Hold closed for a few seconds, it should stick. If it doesn’t stay closed, use a drop of water to close it.

Aloha, dude.

Fine Ham Abounds.

He is risen! Yes, happy Easter y'all. This weekend Joanna took the culinary reins and whipped up the most amazing easter ham I have ever tasted. Yes, Jesus died to fulfill the New Covenant so that we could eat bacon... and delicious ham. And just to help you celebrate your religious freedom, please allow me to enable your next pork-induced coma.

Ham with Orange and Ginger Glaze
1 bone in ham
1/2 cup ginger ale
1/4 cup orange juice
Glaze

3/4	cup Orange Marmalade
1	tablespoon finely chopped fresh ginger
2	teaspoons Dijon Mustard

Sauce

1	tablespoon cornstarch
2	tablespoons orange juice
2	teaspoons brown sugar

Directions

1.	Rub ham with salt and pepper and prepare and bake ham according to package directions, removing from oven 30 minutes before the end of baking time.
2.	Make Glaze: Mix marmalade, ginger and mustard in small bowl until well blended.
3.	Uncover; brush with the Orange and Ginger Glaze. Pour ginger ale and 1/4 cup orange juice into pan. Increase oven temperature to 425�F. Continue baking ham, uncovered, 30 minutes, basting with the pan juices every 10 minutes.Remove ham from oven; loosely cover with aluminum foil. Let stand about 15 minutes.
4.	Make Sauce: Meanwhile, beat cornstarch and 2 tablespoons orange juice in small bowl with wire whisk until well blended; set aside. Pour pan juices from ham into small saucepan; stir in sugar. Cook over medium-high heat 1 minute, or until mixture comes to a boil. Add cornstarch mixture; cook 1 to 2 minutes, or until slightly thickened, stirring constantly. Remove from heat; cover to keep warm.
5.	Carve ham. Drizzle with the Sauce just before serving.

Before I complain too much...

I thought I should also mention that my friend Rick gave me 2 awesome Simpsons books for my birthday as well as an Itunes gift card. The books have been just the thing as I have laid around the house not having any motivation to move.


So I guess all is not suckitude, and hey, it looks like the sun is going to shine today. Oh yeah, and Filter gave me a pound of dark roast Kona peaberry, which has definitely been my happy place the last few days, so I will stop whining now. Rick and Phil, you guys are good friends.

My Unfabulous Birthday Continued

So as almost a full week has passed since my birthday, things have continued to suck. My wife, myself, and our 2 little girls are now all sick and I am exhausted from everything that had to be done last week. I think that I am going to call a do-over on this whole birthday thing and plan some amazing celebration when we have all recovered from this crazy thing called life. Maybe in April sometime. On a more positive note, my friend Ryan gave me 2 (count them, 2, not 1, 2) boxes of Captain Crunch for my birthday. Boo ya!
Even though life might be kicking me in the ribs, I still have awesome friends.

Happy Frickin' Birthday to Me!

So friends, yesterday I just got back from Winnipeg where Joanna and I officiated the funeral for our friend Renee and, yes, it was probably the saddest, most depressing thing I have ever done. So needless to say, I really don't feel like a giant celebration today. But of course, the ever so fabulous Sandra has come over to give me my birthday present. Here it is....
Yup. That's a hand blender, a bag of Doritos, and a huge chunk of raw meat. Is she the greatest friend in the world or what?