Week 26 (2023) - Served Cold

Remember last year's deconstructed challenge when I made a spam musubi bowl and counted it for the AtWCC, because I was probably never going to make spam musubi without a mold? Well.... fast-forward a year to the Week 26 challenge for this year, served cold. I decided on a Hawaiian-style macaroni salad from the Tastemade Make This Tonight cookbook, and the only not-hot thing I could think to make with it was spam musubi. This turned out even better than the spam musubi bowls I made last time, so this is definitely also counting for the AtWCC.

To make the musubi, I used actual sushi rice and didn't marinate the spam this time, following a recipe from Noodles and Buns which used the can as a mold. It was surprisingly easy. Make the rice, pan-fry the spam and add the sauce, let it all cool a little bit, cut the strips of nori, and then line the can with plastic wrap for use as a mold. The rice gets packed in on the bottom, spam on top, and then it's lifted out, wrapped with nori, and it's done. I was shocked at how well it worked once I got into the rhythm of making them. They tasted really good, and there was also far less sauce than the other recipe which was good for my current need to lower my sodium intake. Now that I know how easy it is to make, the only "problem" is that I now kind of want to make spam musubi all the time, which is not exactly the healthiest diet.

For the mac salad, the main ingredients were elbow macaroni, white onion, vinegar, garlic powder, (vegan) mayo, milk, sugar, seasonings, scallions, shredded carrots, and celery. The recipe also had togarashi but I didn't have time to get that, so added some other seasonings to it instead. Made in advance and chilled for the entire afternoon and evening until it was time to eat, this was delicious. I may have had a small box of it on my own while making the musubi, because I couldn't wait. B may not have eaten much of these other than the spam itself, but A and I were so happy with our Hawaiian dinner!

From Soup to Burgers

First group post for the 2023 cooking challenge!

Week 4: instant

I knew immediately I wanted to make something new in the Instant Pot, since our IP doesn't get enough use, and this potato corn chowder was delicious. It tasted very much like a spring soup since I also added some chopped asparagus into the mix, but that was not unwelcome, even in the depths of January. 

Week 5: mustard

I initially thought about making my own mustard, since during the pandemic I did a virtual class that taught you how to make mustard, but then I got a little scared off when I read someone's comment about needing proper ventilation (our kitchen has no windows). What I ended up making was probably even better though since these smoked salmon toasts with homemade mustard-dill compound butter (well, the combination was homemade, not the butter itself) I found on Food52 were amazing. Like cocktail hour hors d'oeuvres amazing in flavor, so now not only do I have a great toasts recipe, but also a recipe for compound butter that I can put on all sorts of things.

Week 7: dyed

I've been trying to avoid artificial food dyes, so I wasn't sure exactly what to do for this challenge. Then I found a recipe on The Healthy Family & Home for vegan and naturally-colored chocolate coconut eggs, and that seemed like the best option. I used turmeric, matcha, and ube powder for the colorings, although the ube one turned out a little more reddish-brown than purple, which was a little disappointing. They were pretty good though and kept well in the freezer for future snacks, which was another plus.

Week 8: celebrity chef

Years ago, I was an audience member at a few tapings of Beat Bobby Flay, so I decided to make some Bobby Flay recipes from his cookbook, Sundays with Sophie. So many recipes there sounded good, and I made some crunch burgers with BBQ mushrooms and quick pickled onions with a side of pan-fried asparagus with garlic-lemon bread crumbs. Two dishes, but four different recipes in the cookbook, so lots to do but very tasty results. I've already made the asparagus again, and would make the burgers again on a day when I had some extra time to cook.