Gochiso Gourmet

THE GOCHISO GOURMET: It’s 5 p.m. somewhere!

That means it’s always cocktail time! Since I retired, tracking the day of the week has become somewhat of a challenge mainly because Ms. S is still part of the workforce (though as you read this, she’ll just have 11 more days until she joins me in retirement), and because she works every fifth weekend, […]

THE GOCHISO GOURMET: Obon food memories

One of my enduring food memories of Obon season on Maui was consuming chow fun from conical shave ice cups every summer. Although I was raised and primarily resided on O‘ahu, Mom grew up in Wailuku, Maui until she moved to O‘ahu, then Indiana for college. And because she was a teacher, she had every […]

THE GOCHIO GOURMET: More than just soft and silky

I know the first thing people envision when you say tofu is that semi-solid block of soft curdled soy milk. Sometimes it’s served as is with a little bit of shoyu and sliced green onions, sometimes its heated so those curls of shaved bonito slowly dance on the surface of the block and sometimes its […]

THE GOCHISO GOURMET: Responsible cooking

There is a wide range of efficiencies, depending on how you cook your meals, with electric coils at the lower end, gas cooktops being just slightly better, with halogen cooktops at the higher end and induction cooktops being the most efficient. They all have their pros and cons, often depending on how your local electric […]

THE GOCHISO GOURMET: Alternate sandwiches

Way back in the 18th century, John Montagu, the 4th Earl of Sandwich, supposedly had his valet place slices of salted beef between two slices of bread so his meal didn’t interrupt his regular marathon card games, thus creating the sandwich. Since then, many iconic variations of that Early (pun intended) sandwich have been created, […]

THE GOCHISO GOURMET: Condiments galore

When we were actively supporting the restaurant industry during the height of the pandemic, I first sampled a Yuzu Miso Chicken created by Sansei Seafood Restaurant & Sushi Bar, which I really enjoyed. When I found a bottled Yuzu Miso Sauce at Costco, I realized that I could likely use it to recreate Sansei’s version […]

THE GOCHISO GOURMET: Another bean binge

Yes, I’ve discussed the benefits of the humble legume on many occasions, but since I’ve retired from the day job and inflation still keeps most cuts of beef in the double digit per pound range and chicken well above $5 per pound, what better source of affordable protein is there? Not to mention that animal […]

THE GOCHISO GOURMET: 20 years of talking story

Here in the 50th, when acquaintances engage in idle chit chat to pass the time, we call it “talk story.” It may be with a relative that you haven’t seen for a while at a family gathering, it may be with a friend on a weekend over a can or two of beer. Or it […]

THE GOCHISO GOURMET: Wine country revisit

Our last trip seems like a lifetime ago, as it was well before anyone had heard of COVID-19 and just after the devastating Napa earthquake. Back in that lifetime, we frequented wine country at least every two to three years and spent our days popping into sequential wineries off either the Silverado Trail or the […]

THE GOCHISO GOURMET: Gift Guide

Once again, it’s that time of year to ponder holiday gift giving. And just as the pandemic seems to have settled a little, we’re now faced with inflation with merchandise about 20 percent costlier than it was last year. So we have to be creative in stretching those hard earned dollars. Or perhaps we can […]