Anything to Eat

Sausage Fest

2011-02-16T12:33:00.000-08:00

I know I've neglected this blog so finally here's a new post.
In December I invited some family members and friends to a sausage making session at our church. My friend, David, and I hatched this session because we were both interested in learning to make really good sausage. He had tried before but was not happy with the results. After some research using the Internet and my own, as well as my friend, Elsie's, extensive collection of cookbooks, I came up with the following recipe.

I gave some sausages to Elsie and family. My favorite comment was from Elsie. She said that she took one bite and it transported her back to her childhood eating her Aunt Bina's Portuguese sausage!

Now don't expect it to taste like commercially prepared sausage. This has a much more full bodied flavor.

Easy Old Timey Sausage

Combine with hands:
1 lb. of pork butt, about 2/3 lean and 1/3 fat, diced fine
One-half tsp. each of sherry, whiskey and vinegar
1 tsp. ea of garlic powder and onion powder
Place in fridge

Grind One-half tsp. ea. of cinnamon, chili, oregano, ground black pepper, sugar
and one-quarter tsp. of cayenne
1 T. ea. of paprika and Hawaiian salt,
1 tsp. chili pepper flakes and
1 bay leaf
with a mortar and pestle or better- a spice grinder.
Set aside.

Saute 1 large clove of garlic, minced and 3 T. finely minced onion in a pan w/ 1 tsp. of oil, until garlic and onion are translucent. Turn off heat. Dab off any excess oil with a paper towel. Add herb mixture to garlic-onion mixture in pan while the pan is still hot.
Combine well. Cool completely.

Add garlic-onion-herb mixture to the pork mixture with your hands until well-combined.
Let sausage mixture sit in fridge at least overnight and up to 18 hours. (Do not skip this step. The spices and herbs need time to mellow and meld with the other ingredients)
Form into compacted logs with a diameter of 2 and one-half inches and wrap in cheesecloth to hold shape.
Refrigerate at least 2 hours. Cut into slices and fry.
Or, form into compacted flat patties and fry immediately.
If you are ambitious you can force the mixture into casings for sausage and smoke the links.

Drain on paper towels.

Wanda Adams wrote an article that appeared in today's Honolulu Star-Advertiser, the Today's section for 2/16/11. To see the article, you can click the link to the left of this posting (under the photo of Wanda and David) or go to the Star-Advertiser's website for 2/16/11. If you scroll down to the bottom of their site you will see the article titled " How Sausage Is Made".

Loco Moco Drive Inn-Moanalua

2010-09-18T00:37:00.000-07:00

My friend's, Onna's, son recently became the co-owner of the Loco Moco Drive Inn at Moanalua Shopping Center. Onna's definitely passed her cooking skills to her son. Several blog entries ago I wrote about Onna's fabulous green onion chicken demo at Elsie's home.

We had lunch at Loco Moco at Onna's invitation. Right off it is clear that it is the only truly local eating establishment in the area. The rest of the places are franchises from the Big, Big Island. Loco Moco Drive Inn has the usual plate lunch favorites (Chicken Cutlet, Beef Stew, Pork Chops, e.g., even Oxtail Soup) but these are executed with care. A flavorful Pork Adobo was featured as a special on the day we were there.

Onna is one proud mama and for good reason. Everyone we met was friendly and helpful. This place has that perfect combination of what I call fast slow food. What's that? Well it has fast service but it's also the kind of slow comfort-food cooking you would expect from home. Fast, fresh, LOTS and reasonable.

Case in point, the mini-sized ($5.25) mochiko chicken. Each mini plate is heaped with the entree and a generous scoop of rice and either potato or toss salad. The mochiko chicken was about as perfect as they come. Hot from the fresh oil. Crispy, thin coating surrounding well-seasoned, slightly sweet and moist chicken. I think a mini plate would generously satisfy most people unless you are plain starving.

Word has gotten around because it was constantly busy while we were there. One sure sign of a good pick-policemen on break chowing down on the 'ono kaukau! Have you ever been stuck near the airport waiting for a flight or hungry after leaving Target nearby? Now there's a great little place to grab some grindz.

Brownies From Heaven

2010-07-03T12:23:00.000-07:00

"Taste of Heaven Brownies" article from the Honolulu Advertiser, November 11, 2009 by Wanda Adams

This brownie dish is perfect for sharing
By Wanda A. Adams

Had a taste of heaven the other day.My friend Marylene Chun (who, at this point, ought to be named associate food editor, since she helps me so much) was dropping off something I'd forgotten at a cooking demo, and as a bonus, left us some brownies.I, unfortunately, am starting to put on pounds, so I only had a bite, but they were perfect: crisp on the outside, meltingly tender on the inside. My husband had them for dessert several nights in a row. (Actually, one night, I think he had them for dinner!)The recipe comes from the Web site tasteofhome.com. This recipe makes a large pan, so it would be perfect for family gatherings, school events, sports potlucks and such. (Most brownie recipes only make an 8-by-8-inch panful.)One important rule with brownies is not to overbake them. Be sure to keep track of time and check them.

Brownies from Heaven

1 cup butter• 2 cups sugar• 2 eggs• 1 teaspoon vanilla• 2 cups flour• 1/2 cup baking cocoa• 1 cup chopped walnuts.
In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir in vanilla. Combine flour and cocoa, add to creamed mixture just until combined. Stir in walnuts.Spread in ungreased 13-by-9-inch baking pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 23 to 28 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack.Makes 2 dozen brownies.

from Marylene-
I've made this recipe at least a dozen times and I can report that it is foolproof. Some personal Notes:

Make sure all ingredients are at room temperature.

I line the pan with foil which makes for easier cleanup and removal. You can place the pan on top of a sheet of foil, mold the foil around the outside of the pan and then you can easily fit the foil inside of the pan. No need to grease.

Use good quality cocoa powder like Callebaut, Sharffen Berger or an Extra Dark Dutch-processed cocoa.

For my oven, baking it the full 28 minutes gives me a sturdy brownie that is easy to cut with a pizza cutter or a long serrated knife. Brownies baked for 28 minutes and then cooled are also easy to cut into hearts or other shapes using a large cookie cutter, as in the photo to the left of this blog post.

At 23 minutes, you get a more fragile but fudgier brownie.

I put half the walnuts in the batter and 1/2 on top before baking, gently pressing down so that they won't fall off after baking.

-the foodiewahine

Small favor

2010-06-10T15:09:00.000-07:00

I've heard many complaints from friends and family about the closing of the Honolulu Advertiser but especially about the fact that the new paper, the Star-Advertiser, did not pick up Wanda Adams as a columnist. I think we all felt it deeply, and with a sense of loss and shock, when we opened the Food section on Wednesday and there were no bylines by Wanda.

A possible remedy. You can write to a Vice President and editor of the Star-Advertiser, Frank Bridgewater, and make a case for Wanda based on how you feel about her and her writing. Mr. Bridgewater REQUESTED feedback on future columnists in the first issue of the new paper. His email address is
fbridgewater@staradvertiser.com

Many thanks. I figure it's the very least we can do for Wanda after all the excellent and enjoyable articles and recipes she's blessed us with all these years. Do you want to see more?

UPDATE: June 14, 2010
Keep those comments coming to the Star-Advertiser. Wanda's been offered a monthly column in the new paper's Wed. Food Section. And if it proves popular and people are VOCAL about it (hint) then they may give her a bi-monthly or weekly column. Thanks for the support!

Big Island Retreat

2010-06-01T20:24:00.000-07:00

Maybe I should start calling this blog anythingtoeatonthebigisland. I'm so caught up with the BI's great eating places. Earlier last month I had one day's notice to join our church's, Hope Chapel Kaneohe Bay's, Timesetters' retreat to the BI. Of course I said YES.

We were advised to bring one carry-on for the weekend which proved to be challenging but ultimately quite doable. I went with these time-honored packing tips: making sure every bottom went with several tops, bringing the smallest possible amount of each cosmetic or lotion, bringing clothing that could serve dual purposes like a windbreaker that is also water repellent.

We had a wonderful time staying at the Kilauea Military Camp which is quite comfortable with it's own dining room, coffee cafe and a sundries and souvenirs store. Not to mention their bowling alley, tennis courts, etc. It's right in the Volcano National Park so we spent one evening at the Glow (the orange glow reflected onto a large fume above Halema'uma'u Crater). Jaggar Museum Lookout, where we shivered as we watched the Glow, is just 10 min. from KMC. It was great to be able to wake up early and walk through the park listening to birdsong before all the buses arrived.

I digress. We hit the two most important can't-miss Hilo places on my list: Ken's for grilled mahi and Kuhio Grill for locomoco. At KG's we were stuffed from a huge lunch when Iris in our group innocently asked just to "see" the dessert menu. Well, the people at KG's are no dummies! They brought out their dessert TRAY. And it worked well on us, we ordered 5 desserts between the 6 of us.

Omiyage stops: Two Ladies Kitchen for the best mochi and the KTA at Puainako for locally made cookies and jam. It happens that I'm working with the owner of Two Ladies, Nora, to develop some cream-based mochi. We also picked up heavy duty bentos at Hiro's Place, just down from KTA in the strip mall, to eat at Lapahoehoe Point.

I enjoyed being in a spacious van and not having to drive for a change. I went with the flow and did several things I'd never done before like going up to the Onizuka Visitor's Center on the flank of Mauna Kea.

Even more important than the food was the fact that while I already knew 10 of the retreatgoers I ended up making 20 new friends. God is Good.

________________
Note: Wanda Adams is starting a new food blog. Find her at
waa-ourislandplate.blogspot.com

Onna's Cold Ginger Chicken

2010-02-20T15:22:00.000-08:00

Chicken on the left simmered for 45 min. (well-done) Chicken on the right, 30 min. (pinkish and a bit underdone, the way most Chinese eat it)

My friend, Elsie, hosted a Chinese New Year's gathering last week which included a demo of four Chinese dishes by her housekeeper/cook Onna Liang. Onna is from Guandong with solid cooking cred. Her son cooks for and owns Aloha Barbecue on Kapahulu Ave. and her husband works at a restaurant as well. We were fascinated as we watched her whip up Cold Ginger Chicken, Eggplant and Tofu in Black Bean Sauce, Chao'd Pumpkin and Fried Rice for 20 people in under 2 hours.

The Cold Ginger Chicken is an ubiquitous dish on Chinese restaurant menus but Onna's was truly outstanding. I always knew that the restaurants must either have access to exceptional ingredients (super tender, fresh chicken from a farm?) or specialized techniques to make the chicken so meltingly tender and with so much flavor. Turns out it's the latter.

Use the HECO recipe(from the Hawaiian Electric Company's website) below but add these tips.

This is what we learned from Onna:
1.) Simmer the chicken (instead of turning off the heat) in 1/4 c. of Hawaiian salt, and a stockpot 2/3 full of water for 45 min. This Hot Brine plumps the chicken and flavors it perfectly.
2.) Whiz the ingredients in a Cuisinart until it is a fine puree. I'd always chopped it up fine but the puree is much better. Optional: Im sai, Chinese parsley and sesame seed oil for the sauce.
3.) Pour 1/4 c. of oil in a saucepan and heat the sauce on Med., stirring constantly for 2 min. before serving.
The chicken was delicious warm with the hot sauce.

These tips together produced the best Ginger Chicken I'd ever had from a home kitchen. It was indistinguishable from chicken from a good Chinese restaurant. I was very pleased at my first try at duplicating Onna's dish. However, still tinkering with the amount of Hawaiian salt because while I do want the advantages of what I call a Hot Brine, I also want a stock leftover that is not rendered inedible by the salt.

Cold Ginger Chicken
Demonstrated by: 2002 2nd Princess Sherri Seto
Ingredients
1 whole (3 to 5 lb) chicken fryer, Water, 1 cup cubed ginger root, 4 to 5 green onions, cut into 2-inch lengths, 3/4 cup salad oil, 2 teaspoons salt, 1 teaspoon white pepper
Instructions
Clean and trim excess fat from chicken. Fill a large stockpot 1/2 full of water; bring water to a boil. Add chicken and additional water, if necessary, to completely cover the chicken. Cover and bring water to a boil again. Turn off heat and let stand for 1 hour. Remove chicken from pot and drain. Cover chicken and refrigerate until chilled. Cut chicken into 2 x 1-inch pieces; place in serving dish. Combine ginger and green onions in a food processor; process until finely chopped. Add oil, salt, and pepper; chill. To serve, pour ginger mixture over chicken or serve ginger mixture in a separate bowl. Makes 4 to 6 servings.

-foodiewahine

2010-02-10T13:54:00.000-08:00

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Simple Soothing Chicken Soup

2010-02-09T22:09:00.000-08:00

Sometimes nothing is more satisfying than a bowl of homemade, from scratch soup. Last week I was down with the flu and my stomach still was not 100% up to par. I'd been given gai choy (mustard cabbage) that had been picked from my friend, Elsie's, garden just hours before. The gift of gai choy immediately made me think of local oxtail soup with its rich steaming broth, the mustard cabbage and the dried peanuts. But, too rich. So my fall back plan turned out perfect- a simple chicken soup with gai choy. Locavore fare. And as a bonus, Science has proven Mother right. Chicken soup has antibiotic qualities.

I think, I know, what elevated this soup was using Edna Lewis' technique of gently coddling the chicken, coaxing the juices out. Her technique is in her book "In Pursuit of Flavor" It's faster, simpler and way more flavorful than boiling chicken for hours.

This is how I did it and I included brands because I believe they make a difference. Mostly I've been cooking with a dry Sherry but when I tried making a chao'd dish with whiskey in the marinade I instantly knew that that was the distinctive ingredient that my Mom and Aunties used. I made this Soup a bit more Asian than Edna's original version, although I used her technique. If you read the recipe through once you will see it is quite simple and endlessly adaptable to whatever soup vegetable is available. On the second try you won't even need to reread the recipe.

Simple Soothing Chicken Soup with Gai Choy

Thaw 2 pounds of chicken thighs in water with 1/4 c. of Hawaiian salt. If using fresh chicken, use the same water-salt mixture (brine) and leave in the fridge for 1/2 hour. Drain and rinse chicken. Discard water-salt mixture. Marinate the chicken in 1/4 c. Kikkoman or Yamasa shoyu and 2 T. of Seagram's 7 whiskey for at least 1/2 hour. Pat the chicken dry but reserve the marinating liquids.

Brown the chicken and 2 slices, pounded, of ginger in a soup pot with 2 T. of oil. Stir briskly with a wooden spoon for 5 min. on Med-High. Turn down to a high simmer and cover pot. Let it simmer for 15 min. Check to see if the juices from the chicken have started to come halfway up the sides of the chicken pieces. If not, turn the heat up a notch. Add 2 c. of water and the marinating liquids. Let this simmer for another 15-20 min. Check to see if the chicken if fully cooked, if not, simmer for another couple of minutes. Remove the chicken and debone. Chop the chicken into large 2" pieces.

At this point, you can make the Soup right away or you can keep the stock and chicken in separate plastic containers in the fridge or freeze them so that you have both deboned chicken and stock on hand. The stock will be so concentrated that you may want to add more water when you use it.

To make the Soup, add the deboned chicken back into the stock and heat. Chop the gai choy into 1" widths. Add the green stalks first, let that cook for 1 min., add the leaves. Let that cook for another minute and the soup is ready to savor.

You can use most any type of soup vegetables, instead of or in addition to the gai choy-bok choy, wong bok, watercress, sauteed carrots or mushrooms.

-foodiewahine

____________________________________________________________________

Chinese New Year falls on Valentine's Day this year. There will be a number of events revolving around Chinese food that I'll be blogging on this month. Gung Hee Fat Choy!

Mahalo, Wanda!

2010-02-01T14:34:00.000-08:00

My buddy, Wanda Adams', food blog, sponsored by the Honolulu Advertiser, is called My Island Plate. Her posting today, Feb. 1, is all about becoming a better baker. She graciously included some of my favorite baking/freezing tips and a number from my friend, Tina Ho Wing. Tina is a culinary arts instructor at Glendale High School in California. Thank you, too, Tina, for generously sharing all your top secret tips with me all these years!

Last week, Wanda innocently asked me "What's up?" I went into a big discussion about my passion, baking, because of the Tea we'd recently had. There's lots of food events on the horizon. I recently baked a mess of brownies for a fundraiser for my Kalamas' church group from Hope Chapel Kaneohe Bay. Punahou Carnival is this weekend and bonus! both Chinese New Year's (two banquets) and Valentine's are on the same day this year, Feb. 14. Also, two Chinese New Year's food demos are in the works. Our talk turned from events to baking technique and tips. Hence, the blog.

I really appreciated that Wanda gave me a nod for my baking and freezing tips and mentioned this blog. Those are the tips that have greatly assisted me in my baking.

-foodiewahine
____________________________________________________________________
Photos above
On the left are Brownies I decorated for the fundraiser with a chocolate glaze.
On the right is the latest iteration of my "Heart to Heart" dessert. I described it in the previous blog. It has a brownie base, liliko'i curd, pound cake heart, more curd, whipped cream and sprinkles.
____________________________________________________________________

My Island Plate My Island Plate blog, honoluluadvertiser.com ...
Musings, tips, recipes and ideas from Advertiser food editor Wanda Adams, and a chance to share your own thoughts.myislandplate.honadvblogs.com/
Another way: To find Wanda's blog, go to the Hnl. Advertiser website. Hit the Forum/Blogs icon at the top. It will take you to the Lifestyles blogs and hers, My Island Plate.

Elsie's Excellent Tea

2010-01-23T17:20:00.000-08:00

Nothing like a party for a little lift during these days of earthquakes, the Haiti relief effort, aftershocks. severe weather everywhere... My friends, Elsie and Cathy, and I threw together a little Tea yesterday at Elsie's home. Cathy brought a yummy, flaky, warm!, cinnamony, raisin-apple coffee cake. Elsie made a fresh, coconutty and chewy gau. I made a pound cake heart-brownie-liliko'i curd tower. It was good to sit with friends and sip some of Elsie's amazing jasmine tea from China. We talked old-old recipes, Hawaiian Electric cooking classes and technique the whole time.

Elsie's wonderful housekeeper from China, Onna, spontaneously showed us how to make black bean bittermelon with pork and a glazed pumpkin dish in a wok. AND we got to take home samples, enough for a large lunch the next day. In about 20 minutes Onna had three heaping plates of food ready. It was amazing to watch her stir fry two-handed with spatulas: toss and turn, toss and turn.

Elsie generously shared a box of community and school cookbooks with us. Cathy and I happily plopped on the floor like kids and pored through the bin. Many treasures there, but my absolute favorite was finding the last Maili Yardley (beloved longtime food editor at the Honolulu Advertiser) cookbook out of five that she wrote. All of these are out of print. This was the one that I've looked for for years. Elsie is a force of nature and willing to give you the shirt off her back. Once we discovered these wonderful titles she kidded that she'd sell it to us for a million dollars. We said we'd exchange our labor for the price.

This is Hawai'i: On the leisurely drive back from Elsie's home, my tummy and car filled with goodies, I drove the Waimanalo way. That is, past the Lookout where you can watch whales leap, past Makapu'u and Waimanalo. One chocolate and one cream colored horse with their teenage riders ambling on the side of the road. The Mary Bonita Mexican lunchwagon advertising Garlic Shrimp along with their tamales. Only in Hawai'i.

-foodiewahine

Naki Family of Moloka'i

2009-11-08T21:05:00.000-08:00

OC16, a local tv channel, has started to show and replay a "Skindiver" episode this week about Moloka'i featuring two brothers, Walter and Raymond Naki. There are two families in particular on Moloka'i that everyone on the island knows or are related to- the Nakis and the Dudoits.

I am very fortunate that I know the Naki family through its matriarch, Juanna ("Auntie JoJo") Naki Pi'iali'i. JoJo is one of those rare joyous salt-of-the-earth people. She is a strong Christian and her favorite phrase is "Thank You, Jesus!" I felt an instant heart connection to her when I met her on the Big Island with Auntie Dutchie, oh, fifteen years ago. I was giving a retreat based on the teachings of Nana Veary and Auntie Dutchie agreed to be a guest speaker.

Walter is Auntie JoJo's son and Raymond is Auntie JoJo's youngest brother. They are close in age so they were brought up together on Moloka'i like brothers. Auntie JoJo's father, the pastor and founder of "The Gospel Shoes of Christ" church outside of Kaunakakai, taught his boys all the secret places on the island and in the sea to fish and hunt. Walter has a business appropriately called "Ma'a (familiar with) Hawai'i" where he takes visitors on hunting, fishing and boating trips around the island.

I won't forget that Auntie JoJo told me proudly when I first met her that when the Nakis have a luau or pa'ina on Molokai'i that they have the most crashers (so cute!) because everyone knows that they have the best fishermen and hunters in Walter and Raymond. They, along with their sons and nephews, will start stocking the freezers with fish, lobsters, crabs, hihiwai (freshwater opihi)and game for weeks before the event.

Getting back to that episode, I was just so touched to hear Walter and Raymond speak movingly of their Hawaiian stewardship of their island home's bounty. Walter talked about taking what they need, not what they want, and sharing the rest. When he drives home he might come across a less fortunate fisherman and he would offer part of his catch to him. He talked of sharing with the kupuna who love to fish but maybe "no can already". This is Moloka'i style, their culture.

Raymond is active in restoring the ancient Hawaiian fishponds on the island. Both brothers have quietly helped scores of previously troubled youths who have become ohana. Auntie Ruthie (JoJo's sister) told me that she came across a young man she didn't know, who told her that his "Dad" was Walter because the young man had hanai'd Walter (usually it's the other way around with the adult adopting the child, of course).

On this episode Raymond said "We care and share. We live to give." To hear Raymond say it, it is simple but profound.

The shots on this show are astonishing. It shows both guys free diving down to 20 or 30 feet or more. Then incredibly it shows them waiting patiently, all the while holding their breath, for the perfect shot of their prey. This is old style, no scuba gear, no metal rods, using wood spear guns although I did notice they had the latest fins. I don't know how much time it took to do the filming but it shows them gathering Kahala, Opelu, Moana Kea, He'e... and going after Ula (lobster, also affectionately called "Bugs"), Ulua and Uhu.

As I've said several times before I feel honored to know such interesting and passionate people in these Islands, our home.

Julie & Julia- an experience

2009-07-21T09:43:00.000-07:00

Very blessed. I am very blessed. My buddy, Wanda Adams, food editor at the Honolulu Advertiser, invited me to an advance screening of the movie "Julie & Julia" last night. Chef Mavro has a connection to the theater and was able to invite his 100 or so closest friends and food associates and their friends to a showing. Chef Mavro and his wife, Donna, are very tight with Wanda, so my degree of separation was once removed.

In two words, Loved It.

Recommendations:
1.) See it with a friend who is as passionate about food as you are.
2.) Either eat before you see the movie or anticipate a good meal after.

Nora Ephron directed and wrote the screenplay. That alone should get you to come. She's done many of everyone's favorite movies-When Harry Met Sally, Michael, Moonstruck, and of course, Sleepless in Seattle.

The movie is based on two books based on real life and separated by fifty years- an autobiography of Julia Child and a recent bestseller about a blogger turned writer, Julie Powell, who tackled all 524 recipes in Julia's "Mastering the Art of French Cooking" in 365 days.

Backstory. I, along with millions, consider Julia an important cooking mentor. The liner notes for the book "The French Chef" calls her famous cooking show the "most widely attended cooking course ever given in America." I was right there at the tv in the early 60's, fascinated by this honest, real woman dispensing invaluable tips with flair, humor and grace. Reassured by Julia's warble, my first recipe that I attempted from Julia's book was Boeuf Bourguinon. Wanda said that was often the first choice of other cooks.

I avidly followed Julia's rise to fame and her life in the culinary universe. Read everything about her with interest. Collected her books. When the butter police came down hard in the 80's it was Julia, a voice of reason, that countermanded "Butter is Good. Everything in Moderation." I probably smirked along with Julia when it was discovered that margarine was the enemy and butter, less so. I knew of Julia's enduring love story with Paul Child, a marriage that lasted fifty-four years. I drilled my friend Tina for details when I found out that Julia had been a guest speaker at the culinary school in LA where Tina got her degree.

The Movie.
I was as excited to see this movie as I was about "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" last week when I snuck into a matinee. (To my surprise, the whole theater was filled not with shrieking kids on summer break but ADULTS. Adults like me besotted with the HP books and the movie series.)

So, both Wanda and I were kind of bouncing in our seats. Wanda found the extra long seats uncomfortable for her petite frame so she tried sitting backwards for fun. A friend on her right said "You look like you're six!" Chef Alan Wong was sitting on the opposite end of our row. The Culinary Institute of the Pacific team from KCC that won a national competition last week, beating out 400 teams, was in the house. Chef Mavro spoke briefly and in his ebullient way told charming stories of meeting both Julia and Jacques Pepin.

From the first frames of a Woody station wagon and Paris in the early part of the 20th century, we were totally engaged. So engaged that the whole audience would gasp when culinary giants like Simone Beck's or Irma Rombauer's characters appeared. So engaged that we'd actively scrutinize each food porn/money shot to see how they filmed it. So engaged that it felt as though we were scarfing down the glistening tomato bruschetta right along with Julie's husband, Eric.

Meryl Streep's portrayal of Julia was right....on....point.
Amy Adams made blogger/author Julie Powell your newest foodie BFF.
Wanda's astute comment was that there were layers to the film. She said that those who know publishing and those who work in food will appreciate the honest portrayals.

Throughout the film I wondered who did the food and who did the the food styling because they did a superlative job. When the movie was pau, I asked Wanda if she knew anything about the food prep and she said that she will be interviewing the food stylist for the movie by phone today. That means, lucky us!, Wanda will be doing an article in the near future in the Honolulu Advertiser.

The two stories were seamlessly melded together with a completely satisfying and sweet ending. I won't tell you anything about the plot nor spoil any surprises. Go see it. Anyone who eats will enjoy it.
Shall I say it, so very trite?
You will hear Julia's high-pitched and passionate command trilling
"Bon Appetit!"

____________________________________________________________________
Charles, Tess and Marian,
Below is a link to Wanda's article re: the food stylist who did the movie. It's an interesting read.
http://www.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/20090802/LIFE/908020318/Styling+the+real+star+of++Julia+++delicious+dishes

Keiki Palaka Band and Friends

2009-06-06T18:34:00.000-07:00

Uncle Mel and Aunty Lynn Murata are a wonderful couple who truly embody the soul of Aloha. For thirteen years Uncle Mel has taught and led the Keiki Palaka Band ("KPB") out of first Waimanalo and now Kailua Elementary.

Aunty Lynn retired last year as the cafeteria head of Enchanted Lakes Elementary. Uncle Mel heads up the Kailua Elementary cafeteria. These people know FOOD and MUSIC. All year round they host a number of luaus not as fundraisers but to showcase both their keiki band who sing and play 'ukulele and also Hawaiian music legends. These are the kupuna musicians who have made a mark on Hawaiian music. The idea was the Muratas wanted the keiki to get to know and appreciate prior generations of musicians. Everything is done on a strictly volunteer basis.

I just returned from an all-day invitational luau or pa'ina, the Kanikapila 2009, for friends and supporters of the KPB. The food you ask? Kalua pig, chicken long rice, squid luau, lomi salmon, sweet potato, poi, rice, haupia, pineapple, banana muffin, 'ahi poke, fried fish, smoke meat, edamame, pickle onion and drinks. The music which lasted three hours? The KPB headed by Uncle Mel, Nicki Haines, Aunty Momi, Aunty Cissy, Eddie Kamae, Audrey Meyers, many others and impromptu hula by those in the audience called upon by Aunty Nicki. The price of a ticket? Twelve dollars (which only barely covers the food) and undying support of these kids which just comes naturally.

I have in my mind's eye a couple of sweet images from today's luau. There was an elderly woman who in very kolohe fashion, was gently tickling her guy friend across the table using the tip of a laua'e leaf. He was trying hard to ignore her. Another woman was unravelling and redoing her friend's upswept hairdo which carried a garden of gardenias. She was doing this so that she could share some of the gardenias with their other friends around the table.

Earlier this morning during the food prep I had a cup of coffee in one hand, I'd just finished an all butter, old school, cafeteria-style, shortbread cookie and a big slice of Paula Deen's Mt. Dew Pound cake made by Tracy. The guys were rehearsing so I was eating to rousing live Hawaiian music. Radford, one of the cooks from Ench. Lakes, offered me a sizzzzling hot early morning pupu of Korean fish directly from the hot wok. My kind of breakfast. That reminded me of a luau prep at 7:00 a.m. on Molokai, four years ago. We were sitting at a picnic table at a park pavillion. I had my ever-present cup of coffee and my hands were busily separating sticky crab from cartilage. My friend, Ruthie Naki Manu asked me if I'd had breakfast, I motioned "No". So, she obligingly popped chunks of local LOBSTER in my mouth. That's what I call a Breakfast of Champions.

Eating Your Way Through Hilo

2009-05-05T16:58:00.001-07:00

I got back last week from the Merrie Monarch Festival in Hilo. It is a weeklong celebration of hula culminating in three evenings of the dance from Thursday to Saturday nights. There is also a free performance, the Ho'ike, on Wed. night that is not televised as the last three nights are. I call it a hula marathon because you have to pace yourself and your energy in order to be at your best and most observant as hula cognoscenti when the performances start.

Not only is there world class hula every evening for 5 hours at the Edith Kanaka'ole Stadium but there's also yet more hula, craft fairs, art exhibitions and cultural presentations at the hotels, the malls throughout Hilo and and at 'Imiloa, UH-Hilo's Astronomy center. One of the biggest attractions for me, to Hilo, second only to the people, is the high quality and variety of the food. I can say that for a week every single meal I had was exceptional. It isn't just that this is my favorite island. The cooks really do seem to put more love and care into their offerings.

My first stop was Ken's Coffee House, open 24 hours, for broiled mahi, eggs and pancakes. The mahi has a wonderful smoked flavor, grill marks and very moist flesh. The pancakes come with homemade syrups of guava, coconut and liliko'i. If you order a cup of coffee you get that along with a thermal carafe so that you can pour yourself as much coffee as you like.

That first day I also went to Two Ladies Mochi to pick up mochi and drop off omiyage for my friend Nora Uchida, a co-owner. Had to stop by Big Islands Candies where Lance, their floral designer, was creating a beautiful tableau of yellow and red lehua blossoms in dozens of glass cups. It was a Wednesday, so I picked up ruby-red and luscious Waimea strawberries and 3 bundles of gardenias from the Farmer's Market. On my way out to Volcano I popped into KTA at Puainako for some POG (passion, orange, guava juice) and eggs for my breakfasts.

I did something different this year and reasoning that I spend half my time at the Park anyway I elected to stay at a place in Volcano Village. The round trip by car from Volcano to Hilo is 45 minutes, something that you would want to do only once a day. So, I spent my time hiking and hanging out at Volcano National Park during the day and in the evening I would drive to Hilo for the hula performances.

My friend, Ku'ulei, who lives in Volcano, tipped me off to the soups that they have at the two general stores, Kilauea and Volcano. On previous visits to these stores, I'd noticed crockpots by the chili, the hot dogs and coffee but didn't pay any attention to them. They contain country style, hearty, chunky soups. A pint of these are perfect for picking up before you go into the Park for hiking. I had a Portuguese bean soup that was much like something I'd make at home and a satisfying Mulligatawny soup. The temperature in Volcano ranged from 60 deg. during the day to a chilly 44 deg. at night, good soup weather.

On Sunday I woke up at 6 am after going to bed at 1 from the last night of hula. I thought "I'll get to the Volcano Farmer's Market when the true locals arrive, at 6:30 am!" Not! I could barely find parking and the place was jumping. Turns out the reeaal locals start arriving at 5: 30!
Went straight to Joyce to get the best pastries ever. For, say a bearclaw, you get half mincemeat and half flaky pastry in every bite. Then, on to something I dream about when I'm home in Kailua, the Thai Lady's Tom Yum chicken soup. Try as I might I've never been able to perfect her clear stock, the homemade sambal oelek or the secret flavored oils she adds, the correct proportion of cloud's ear to potato to long rice and fresh basil leaves.

The produce is always outstanding but I noticed the addition of a new dessert lady offering mile-high apple and banana pies, liliko'i squares, dark chocolate brownies cloaked in ganache and ohelo berry tarts. Another vendor had freshly fried doughnuts dipped in chocolate and caramel!

My favorite way to enjoy breakfast was to wake up early before the buses arrived in the Park. I'd make the short hike out to Byron's Ledge with a true concert of birdsong around me and the crunch of my boots on the dirt. In the distance I could hear but never saw, nene geese. I'd sit on a log with my hard boiled egg, my POG, apple bananas, Waimea strawberries and hot Puna coffee as I contemplated the mile high cloud plume coming out of Halema'uma'u Crater in the distance.

And people ask me why I love the Big Island so much.

A Grandfather's Legacy

2009-04-04T14:26:00.000-07:00

Our grandfather is C. Q. Yee Hop or Chun Quon Yee Hop. He came to Hawai'i from Guandong, China in the early 1900's and established a number of businesses here. Wanda Adams attended our C. Q. family's Chinese New Year's banquet this last February. She was particularly taken by a steamed fish fillets and tofu dish served that night. Locally, this technique is often prepared with blistering hot peanut and sesame oils poured over a whole steamed fish, like Moi.

The link below is to a an article that Wanda did after Golden Palace's chef demonstrated the dish for us. Wanda, the photographer and I scarfed down most of the banquet-sized platter in the middle of the afternoon even though we'd already had lunch. It was just so delicious!

I was pleasantly surprised that Wanda wrote an extensive article on my Gung Gung's life history, in addition to the recipe.

Here is an email I sent out:
Hi, Family and Friends,
Here is an article in today's Advertiser that has some background about my grandfather. Having Wanda and her husband at the family dinner and seeing it all through her eyes made me appreciate my family and its place in Hawai'i's history more. There is also an accompanying article on this site at the top, with recipes for this fish dish that was really 'ono.

http://www.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/20090318/LIFE02/903180363/-1

Ed. note: If you do make this fish dish I would highly recommend using soft tofu for it's custard-like texture and Kim Lan Light Soy Sauce, available in Chinatown.

-foodiewahine

"Fried Chicken and Sweet Potato Pie"

2009-04-02T18:09:00.000-07:00

Did that heading make you 'ono (hungry)? It is the title of a 21 minute documentary about celebrated Southern chef and author, Miss Edna Lewis, which was filmed, produced and directed by gifted filmmaker Bailey Barash of Georgia.

Bailey wrote to me, I imagine, because I've cited the subjects of her documentary, Miss Edna Lewis and Scott Peacock, as two of my culinary heroes in my blog.
Her note follows:

Hello -I am a filmmaker in Atlanta. I just wanted to let you know I produced a 21 minute documentary about Miss Edna Lewis. The film is called "Fried Chicken and Sweet Potato Pie".It is viewable in its entirety on Internet at a Gourmet Magazine website:http://www.gourmet.com/magazine/video/2008/01/Edna
and at a Georgia Public Broadcasting website:http://www.cforty7.com/film/theater?film_test=16
My website, http://bbarash.com/bb_friedchicken.htm has more information about the film and the story of Miss Lewis.
Sincerely,
Bailey Barash

This documentary has been nominated for and won awards. Bailey has done a super job of capturing the times of Miss Edna's life. Her passion and love for Southern food is evident in every frame. Miss Edna is considered to be THE chef who put real, local Southern cooking on the map. Not unlike the Hawaiian Renaissance, her cooking at Cafe Nicholson and Gage and Tollner in NY and her own award winning cookbooks, created an upsurge of Black pride in the culture and the food.

Watch the documentary! I loved seeing Miss Edna and Scott working together, cooking together. Up to this point I've only seen photos of them. Be sure you have some good food at the ready to eat after the viewing because it's going to make you very hungry for some authentic Southern food. Crispy, golden, fried chicken! Luscious caramel cake! Vine-ripened tomatoes! Fortunately, I happened to have made a batch of Shirley Corriher's (yet another of my heroes and from the South, too) Touch of Grace biscuits last night. I heated that up with my son's killer chili!

I wrote to Bailey to thank her profusely for the link.

-foodiewahine

Smokeout Sequel

2009-03-02T17:15:00.000-08:00

Smoking foods has changed the way I cook. Several weeks after the Smokeout I wanted to make sure that I wouldn't forget all the tips and techniques I'd learned. So, I fired up the grill again. This time I checked out some websites that taught me how to use newspaper sprayed with Pam or vegetable oil, rolled into a "snake" and used with a charcoal chimney starter to get the coals going. It took only 15 minutes to get the coals ignited.

Once I got the coals to the white ash stage and piled it with both 'ohia and kiawe woods, I smoked red bell peppers, guava jam-honey candied pecans, plus cream and cheddar cheeses, for half an hour each. I then smoked raw pork butt in chunks and five pounds of chicken thighs for several hours. I used only salt, pepper and garlic powder on the meats. The whole smoking process and alternating the dishes took about four hours. This bounty is enough to provide you with an array of dishes for several weeks, if not months, once you freeze part of whatever you smoke.

The cheeses were eaten first at two gatherings with Ritz crackers, smoked crab dip and kiwi pico de gallo. I must say they were a hit at both parties. Some of the pecans were given away while the remainder is in the refrigerator and to be snacked on. Chopped, the pecans can elevate almost any baked good (imagine cinnamon rolls, brownies, frosting topping) to a whole other level.

I removed the skins from the smoked peppers and added balsamic vinegar and olive oil. Smoked peppers can be kept in a jar for weeks to be used in pastas, subs, soups and sauces.

The smoked pork butt added a delicious addition to saimin, fried rice and fried noodles, just as one would use char siu. You can also slice it thinly, quickly saute it with onions, remove the meat and make a gravy for the pork slices with the grillettes, the browned bits in the pan.

My favorite has to be the smoked chicken. It has a depth of complex flavors which enhances any dish. A decent chicken stock normally requires, at the very least, an hour of slow simmering and alot of skimming. With smoked chicken as a base, a complete and flavorful soup can be served in half an hour!

Simple Smoked Chicken and Green Papaya Soup
I used Edna Lewis' trick of coddling a couple of the smoked chicken thighs in an inch of water for 20 minutes in a covered saucepan. Much of the juice (Edna calls it the "essence"which gives you an idea of how tasty it is) is extracted from the chicken. Cut the chicken into cubes and add back into the broth. Then add a cup and a half of water and large cubes of green papaya. Simmer until the green papaya is barely cooked. This is a simple rendition of Chicken and Papaya Soup. If you do not have green papaya, a Chinese squash can be substituted. If neither of those are available, you could add in any of your favorite soup vegetables.

Now that I know how to smoke I've started to notice how many other products there are on the market: smoked almonds, potato chips, paprika and cayenne spices, ancho peppers (chipotle), deli meats, pork belly for bacon, ham shanks and hocks. It will be interesting to continue to experiment with other foods in the near future. David Izumi has hinted that the response to the Smokeout was good so Hope Chapel Kaneohe Bay may be sponsoring another class soon.

-Foodiewahine

SSSMOKIN'

2009-01-23T15:23:00.000-08:00

David Izumi is a culinary genius. Once in a great while you meet someone who understands food very well. He appreciates each nuance of the food he cooks and knows how to marry flavors well. He even makes his own smokers. By trade he is an underwater robotics teacher at Kailua High but by passion he is the consummate cook, "...not a chef" he humbly contends.

I, along with about 20 others, had the opportunity on Monday to learn from and assist David at my church's, Hope Chapel Kaneohe Bay's, Smokeout. It was a prelude to our SuperBowl tailgate party to be held at HCKB on Feb. 1 at noon. Visit the HCKB website and look under "events" for more info if you are interested in attending.

Three members of the Men of Hope Ministry, which hosted the Smokeout and will host the upcoming tailgate party, stayed up all night to stoke the fire in Kaneohe's freezing weather. Freezing to us is in the low 60's. Charcoal (without the use of lighter fluid so as not to spoil the flavor) was used to ignite the kiawe wood which was kept at a low 220-225 deg. F.

The sharp, enticing smell of the smoke mingled with the cool Kaneohe morning breeze when I got there at noon. We were told to bring anything to smoke-"pasta, eggs, cheese" and meats and fish, of course. There were two upright smokers made out of water heaters, one made from a vertical oil drum and one conventional Weber smoker.

David's taught classes at WCC on smoking and has done this many times so he relies on instinct to tell everything: when the wood is ready for the food, when the food is fully smoked, when the fire is too hot or cold. He said that food can be fully cooked by smoking or just partially cooked with the final cooking left for later.

This is not roasting, grilling or broiling the food. It is exposing the food to a low heat over an extended period of time to impart some cooking and alot of smoke flavor.

Our feast that evening started with a teaser of wild pig smoke meat, succulent and surprisingly tender, a pupu straight from the grill of cod, then on to smoked candied walnuts, two pico de gallos (like salsas) of peaches and kiwis, a smoked cream cheese and crab dip, smoked hard boiled eggs, smoked cheddar cheese for dipping, smoked wet and dry rub pork ribs, smoked juicy brisket and whole chicken, creamy and cool coleslaw and the best baked beans any of us had ever had. Oh, and virgin mojitos with peach juice!

This would have been an impressive spread if it had been a potluck and everyone had brought their Best dish but no. All of these recipes were floating around in David's head and he had just to delegate to us what to do to create them. Nothing written down, not even a shopping list. And, in between the feast for 60 or so, each of us class participants had our own packets or pans of food smoked.

I marinated two racks of pork ribs in the recipe I created below which includes homemade guava jam, red wine vinegar, brown sugar. I left the ziplocs in the fridge for three days. The ribs were smoked for 5 hours. That's a photo of my ribs to the left of this post.

Mahalo, David,Sharon, Rodney, Rob, Eric, Bert, Charlie and all the Men of Hope Ministry helpers. We were truly Sssmmokin'!

- foodiewahine

David's Pico de Gallo
from the Honolulu Advertiser, Taste Section, Jan. 28,2009
· 4 (14 1/2-ounce) cans peaches (note: can use 10 kiwi fruit in a rough dice instead, use more mint, less cilantro, 1. ea. of fish sauce and chili sauce, 1 onion, 2 limes)
· 1 onion, finely chopped
· Juice of 2 limes
· 1 large handful cilantro leaves*
· 1 large handful fresh mint leaves*
· 1 tablespoon Sriracha chili sauce (or to taste)
· 1/2 tablespoon fish sauce (patis)
· Black pepper to taste
Mix all together, taste and correct seasonings. Allow to sit a short time before serving. Refrigerate if holding longer than a half hour.
Makes LOTS. A serving is about 2 tablespoons.
· Per serving: 71 calories, .2 g fat, 0 cholesterol, 1 mg sodium, 17.7 g carbohydrate *

My Guava Lacquered Smoke Ribs

Marinade
1 c. red wine vinegar
2 crushed bay leaves
4 T. brown sugar
1 t. chili flakes
2 crushed, minced garlic cloves
1 onion cut in 1/4 in. segments
1 juice of tangerine and ½ of it’s peel torn
½ c. guava jam
¼ c. red wine
Marinate 2 racks of raw pork ribs in Ziplocs for two to three days. Smoke, Barbecue or Broil.
___________________________________________________________________________
Note: Wanda Adams graciously attended our Smokeout and wrote three fabulous articles about David, HCKB and Smoking in the Food/Taste Section of Wednesday's, Jan. 28th's, Honolulu Advertiser. It will be available for viewing online on the Honolulu Advertiser's website for three months.

This is a link to the main article:
http://www.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/20090128/LIFE02/901280340/-1/islandlifefront

I'm Back/Food Equipment Tips

2009-01-07T18:29:00.000-08:00

Back on track for '09. I've been working the holiday seasonal shift at Williams-Sonoma Ala Moana doing food and equipment demos. It's been a hectic time but also rewarding in terms of what I've learned. Below is an email that I sent to friends and family.
________________________________________________________________________
Having breaks with the Williams-Sonoma associates who are all avid foodies or food professionals can be very interesting. Plus, bonus!, the treats are always especially yummy in the break room. Here are some great tips I've found so far.

W-S sells a commercial nonstick spray called Baklene that is terrific for all those Nordicware specialty pans, like their bugs and roses. The Nordicware rep told the crew that to make your cakes shiny as well, brush the pans with melted Crisco and then spray with the Baklene. Baklene costs more, 8., than Pam or Baker's Joy but it doesn't leave a sticky residue, it works better and the can weighs about twice as much as Pam in the regular markets. As far as I know, no one else in Hawaii carries this.

Breville makes the best pannini press. It can open wide for thicker sandwiches. You can also grill asparagus, chicken, etc. on it. One associate rhapsodized about it to the rest of us. Oprah had it on her O list this month so we have a little card advertising that next to the product.

Villaware makes the best Belgian waffle maker. The gal I work the most with, who's been there 14 years, says that she has 3 Villawares and you just need to butter the waffle iron once and it's good for the whole session. I've been demo-ing the All Clad Belgian Waffle Maker using the Baklene on the cold waffle iron. The All Clad faithfully churns out perfectly crisp waffles.

Just FYI. Oh, and if you do like to shop at WS anyway you should sign up at the counter for their email list which will tell you about most of their sales and samplings. I also think it's worth it to be on Borders and Barnes and Nobles' email lists for their monthly coupons!
______________________________________________________________

Another tip:

My wonderful church, Hope Chapel Kaneohe Bay, serves serious food several times a week at services and meetings. I volunteer at our Courtyard Cafe every other Sunday. So far, I'm aware of 3 professional chefs-church members who help out at events.

Steve, one of HCKB's chefs on staff, was the head chef at Longhi's Ala Moana for three years. I'd read Alton Brown's suggestions re: nonstick pans in his book "Gear" and wanted Steve's opinion. Alton says to forget buying an expensive and heavy nonstick pan and just get an inexpensive and lighter pan which you will have to resign yourself to replacing every so often. Steve agreed. He said that the double pack of 8" nonstick pans at Sam's Club for just 20. is better than what you can buy at restaurant supply stores. I got a set and am happy to report that they ARE a great weight and are easy to handle. It's a breeze to do a one hand flip of the egg for over easy eggs. Problem solved!

-foodiewahine

Copyright 2008-2009. Anything to Eat. All rights reserved. This material and all material on this site may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. The author disclaims all liabilities in connection with the use of the information contained within.

Food and Love

2008-11-01T17:21:00.000-07:00

My oldest daughter, Collette, calls my cookies my little ambassadors. She understands that special link between food and love.

I have four stories to share.

In July, our family member was facing a serious medical challenge. My sister-in-law, Hedy, arranged to meet me in town to drop off a pot of jook for us. She's famous for her jook. We are constantly teasing her to make us her ham and chicken jook which is like silk. Jook is what is known as rice congee. It is a soft rice porridge that is one of the ultimate comfort foods for locals along with other favorites like Portuguese bean soup, ochazuke and oxtail soup. As I ate each spoonful it was like I was eating a bowl of Hedy's love and caring for me. I could feel it warming my body. It was infinitely soothing. That's a loving gesture I'll never forget.

Two weeks ago I felt the urge to bake and bring some pineapple bars to my cousin's home. Her husband was seriously ill and was fast failing. All of their four adult sons had returned home and were helping their parents tremendously. I thought they might appreciate something home-baked for themselves and their many guests stopping by. When I delivered the pineapple bars I found out at my cousin's door that her husband had just passed away an hour previously. You know I wasn't fearful, I just felt calm and I had a certainty that I was meant to be with the family at this time. I wouldn't have wanted to be there earlier, that was a precious time for the immediate family.

The next day I felt the strong urge to make a big pot of my mother's shoyu chicken for that cousin's family. To me, this would be the a favorite "nursery" food and I hoped it would comfort. I thought it was funny in Paula Deen's book "It Ain't All About the Cooking" that one category that she describes of Southern food is food for funerals. Everyone brings their best dish, the actual beautiful plate and their most celebrated food, to the home of the bereaved. As it turned out a party sprung up around my Mom's shoyu chicken. My cousin with her sons, invited her brother and sister-in-law, her sister, myself and cousins over for dinner. I felt my Mom was there in spirit, partly responsible for getting us together, just as she used to for the whole family.

I attend Hope Chapel Kaneohe Bay, my wonderful, new church home. There is an intercessory prayer/healing ministry meeting that I attend called "The Upper Room", as in Pentecost. I've been going for a number of weeks now and just felt happy that Tuesday. I bake when I'm happy so I decided to make my liliko'i cupcakes for the Upper Room meeting that evening. The tropically flavor of this cake is one that everyone seems to enjoy. We usually don't bring snacks, instead concentrating on prayer and inviting the Presence of the Holy Spirit. I got a phone call just as I was dipping the cupcakes in their liliko'i glaze. Teresa, at whose home the Upper Room is held, called to tell me that tomorrow was her teenage son's, Freman's, birthday and she was going to pick up a cake on her way home from work before the meeting. I just told her "No need. I'm frosting it right now!"

These are just four examples of how baking and cooking with love, tapping into intuition and moving in the Spirit can bring about some pretty surprising results.

I used the recipe below but substituted my own Pineapple Chutney (Sam Choy's, published in a previous blog on anythingtoeat) for the cherry jam to make

PINEAPPLE BARS
Cherry Oatmeal Crunch Squares(Adapted slightly from the Essentials of Baking by Williams Sonoma, This recipe and the photo on the left were online at the blogsite called “Baking Sheets" )
1 3/4 cups flour
1 1/2 cups rolled oats
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 cup butter, very cold and cut into pieces
1 cup/10-oz cherry jam or non-chunky preserves
Preheat the oven to 325F and grease a 9-inch square baking pan.In the food processor, combine flour, oats, sugar, salt and cinnamon. Pulse to combine.Add butter and pulse 8-10 times, or until the mixture forms large, coarse crumbs. Set aside 2 cups of this mixture.Pour remaining crumb mixture into prepared pan and pack firmly against the bottom and 1-inch up the sides of the pan. Stir jam to loosen, then spread evenly onto this layer. Top with reserved crumb mixture.Bake for 50-55 minutes, until bars are a light, golden brown.Allow to cool in the pan on a wire rack, then cut into squares. Store in an airtight container.Makes 25.
Note: If you do not have a food processor see the 5th comment below to learn how to make this by hand. I like to use the heartier preserves myself like guava jam, Meyer Lemon marmalade, any sort of chutney. I'm even considering mincemeat.

HO! FOODS!

2008-09-20T13:04:00.001-07:00

The first of four planned Whole Foods Markets was unleashed on Hawai'i last week at Kahala Mall. Swarms of foodies with pent-up desires were there, as I was, at the jamming opening. Every fifth person had a "Media" button on interviewing earnest managers and customers with a pleased, yet dazed look on their faces. So many new choices!!! Ho! Foods! I had to jockey with a professional photographer to get that one perfect shot of the whimsical frosted rose cupcakes in the display case.

Combine a raucous country fair with an elegant gourmet deli and that about sums up the atmosphere. The mainstream shopper has discovered what natural, organic and/or vegetarian devotees have known all along-that unadulturated, natural foods equates to healthier, cleaner and more defined flavor. Cooks behind the pizza counter were loudly hawking their samples with great gusto. A caveat. Many of the canned and boxed products can be gotten elsewhere on O'ahu at better prices. However, it's the freshly made food counters of pizza, plate lunches, fresh fish, sushi, et. al. that line the perimeter of the Market that sets it apart from others.

The Market has the largest array of specialty butters as well as a hefty selection of bar chocolates and cheeses. A few local producers are in evidence. Natural soaps from Maui, produce (e.g.,'ulu and herbs) packaged cookies, honey and jams. Throw in an in-house bakery of tempting pastries, recently baked breads, organic and natural meats and produce, a coffee/tea bar and a natural bath and body department and you've got the complete organic shopper's dream.

If you've ever been to a Whole Foods on the mainland you already have an idea of what to expect. The three destination places that I head to in any city while travelling includes a Trader Joe's, a Target and a Whole Foods. I have literally one duffel of omiyage I bring to my family from Hawai'i and the same duffel for bringing omiyage back home. That is a great time to find future birthday and Christmas gifts as well.

Forget the ripe bananas and yogurt smoothie smell we've come to associate with natural food stores. Whole Foods is the Valrhona of organic foods. I will still faithfully patronize the Kailua Down to Earth for their local-tastes savvy and the wide selection from their bulk bins. You just cannot beat the freshness and prices of their loose spices, teas and grains. I'll continue to be a faithful consumer at the two beloved Thursday Kailua Farmers' Markets and KCC's. Whole Foods just adds another welcomed option to the bountiful food offerings. Here's hoping they expand the local foods presence in their stores.

Samantha's Art

2008-08-16T13:50:00.000-07:00

The painting on the left is entitled "Come Up Here!" and is one of a number of inspirational works which my daughter, Samantha, has done. I know I may be biased but I think her Art is beautiful and uplifting. Many others have told her the same. God has blessed her with so many gifts. Following is an email which she sent to family and friends after making the decision to have a painting of hers professionally scanned in order to make it available in high quality prints. Her contact information follows if you are interested in ordering a print.
-foodiewahine
___________

Here it is! I finally had one of my paintings professionally scanned and available for print(giclee). If you are interested in purchasing a print, please contact me through my email address at the end of this email message.

This is definitely a new venture for me. There is no pressure for you to order at all! My interest is to bless others with a more affordable copy of my work rather than having to pay higher for an original. I should be offering a wider selection but right now I'm experimenting with the whole idea of printing my work, and it does cost a lot to have a piece scanned into a giclee.

Thank you for supporting me in this endeavor whether its been through your encouraging comments or suggestions.

If you want to know more about this artpiece titled, "Come Up Here!" and my work in general, read on:
"Come Up Here" was originally painted at the request of a friend in Nov. '07. In Revelation 4:1, God invites John to heaven where he is given revelation about who He is and what His plans are. I wanted this painting to invite onlookers to encounter God. The eagle represents the person flying past the earth's atmosphere and into a heavenly realm. Its to encourage you that God wants to reveal Himself to you in all His glory.

In regards to my work in general, the Lord gave me three dreams in 2005 to start painting again after stopping when I was young. I didn't value art that much and didn't think it would take me anywhere. But I realize now it is a gift He has given me, not for my sake, but for others. Within the past year, I have had about three more dreams this time where I see the face or figure of Jesus in my paintings. He is telling me that my work is producing an invitation for others to encounter Him.

Thank you! May you be showered with God's love everyday and be filled with His joy!
*♥´¨)¸.·♥ ¸.·*♥´¨ ) ¸.♥·*¨)(¸.·´ (¸ ..♥·
Samantha Ah-Tye
ahtye7@gmail.com
Note: Samantha has a new blogsite for her Art at Encounterart.blogspot.com You can click the address in the column to the left of this post to view a sampling of her work.

Foodie Visit

2008-08-13T12:26:00.000-07:00

I have to apologize for the delay in getting out this latest post. Suffice to say life has been interesting and challenging.

My dear friend, Tina Ho Wing, from LA and her daughter, Elisa, were here for a short visit Tina's graduated from a culinary school, has been a buyer for Wolfgang Puck's Food Network shows and is a culinary arts instructor at an LA high school. Tina has VERY discerning tastes and is a wicked cook and baker although very humble and down to earth about it all.

Tina's been to Hawai'i many times since her Mom is from here and she has an extensive network of local family and friends. From the airport I proffered Nico's Fish Market, Sam Choy's BLC or Young's Fish Market. Without a moment's hesitation Tina opted for Young's. This is the best direct-from-the airport choice for ex-pats or anyone who loves Hawaiian food. While Tina reminded me that L and L is populating the mainland with new Hawaiian Barbecue franchises we agreed that there's still something to be said for laulau freshly made and freshly steamed. I admit that I haven't been to a pa'ina lately and have gotten by on frozen laulau. Young's reminded us of how superior the real deal is. The juices from the laulau practically spurted out when we cut into the bundles with a fork. It had the perfect ratio of pork to luau leaves. It's no wonder Young's is the best place to go on O'ahu for Hawaiian food if you don't have a luau/pa'ina in your near future.

The second day was my choice. It was a delicious dilemma. We narrowed our options down to a plate lunch but of course it had to be something a bit out of the ordinary, likely from that new food genre of gourmet plate lunch. Although Sen. Barack Obama recently gave a nod to Zippy's and Rainbow, I wanted something more. I'd tried Kelvin Ro's baked goods before at KCC so I checked out Diamond Head Market and Grill ("DHMC") a day before Tina was to come in. It was one of those, where have I been all this time, moments. I know, I know, people will say, "What??? You are only discovering this place, now?"

DMBC is a small storefront on Monsarrat Ave. It's divided into a smallish deli on the left and a plate lunch counter on the right. Kelvin Ro, formerly the owner/chef at Kahala Moon, is the owner/chef of DMBC and does catering on the side. We loved the myriad and imaginative choices for entrees, sides and desserts on the Deli side in particular: from duck confit to take home and heat for a special dinner to mochiko salads in plastic clamshell containers. The desserts were alluring: Lemon Crunch Cake (just like Alexander Young Hotel's but with the addition of a bright lemony filling), Liliko'i Cheesecake (Tina's comment was that while it tasted "tropical", truthfully, not that much of that distinct passion fruit flavor) and about a dozen other offerings. Maybe the most intriguing of the plate lunches was the Kim Chee Fried Rice for breakfast which Tina will save for a future visit.

From Waikiki we went on up Tantalus Drive to the Gift Shop at the Contemporary Art Museum. We intended to have tea and yet another dessert from their award-winning Cafe but unfortunately were too full to eat another bite. The grounds are beautifully kept with a spectacular view of Diamond Head. Don't forget to spray yourself with bug spray at the Entrance because the mosquitoes can be bothersome.

The last day of Tina's visit we decided to check out the restaurants at McCully Shopping Center. Just a bite to eat because Tina and Elisa had been feted at Nobu's (!) by her cousin, Dr. Edward Ho, and his gracious wife, the night before. I highly recommended Phuket Thai to Tina based on my past pleasant experiences with both of their restaurants. That turned out to be Tina's pick. So glad we went there because it was the perfect ending to her visit for us. We shared the special of Thai Green Curry Chicken with Green Papaya Salad, Sticky Rice (absolutely critical) and Thai Iced Coffee. It was exactly the kind of light meal we both craved and it was perfectly executed.

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I made a Thai Red Curry Pork at home a couple of days after our shared meal and included some fresh bamboo shoots from the Kailua Farmer's Market. I've posted about this little gem of a food find before. The market is held in the parking lot next to Kailua Intermediate School on Thursdays at 9 a.m. Bamboo shoots have to be boiled for 20 minutes in water to extract the bitterness but the resulting flavor is outstanding and the texture is much more crisp than the canned product.

-foodiewahine

Lychee Time

2008-06-11T16:51:00.000-07:00

A large paper shopping bag's worth of red, plump lychee. What a delight! Thank you, Alanna, Wendy and Blake who have carried on their family's tradition of delivering lychee from their Aiea home to us, fortunate recipients. When I think of it I believe this tradition is going on 60 years. It was first started by Blake's parents and has continued on through the next generation.

Lychee and mangoes were the first indication that summer was here when I was growing up. We'd eat green lychee with a slight pink tinge straight off the tree at Judd St. because we couldn't wait for the fruit to ripen. We'd then have an upset stomach for the rest of the afternoon. I'm sure that people on the mainland have stories of doing the same thing as an impatient kid with ripening but still greenish Georgia peaches or pink-red strawberries on the vine.

I'd have to say that lychee is my favorite fruit. The first ripe lychee of the summer may just about be the best. You break the red, spiked, papery peel of the lychee with your thumb. At first the surface of the translucent flesh is shiny. If the lychees have been in the fridge then in just a second a light matte coating of condensation covers the fruit. You take that first bite (juice may drip down your arm) and you receive that distinctive floral taste through your taste buds and your nose. The texture of the tart sweet flesh of the lychee is firm and cold. There's really no fruit like it. Not even the longan, the dragon's eye, compares.

It's a ton of work to upkeep a lychee tree. There's fertilizing, raking the leaves, watering when it's too hot, pruning and finally picking the lychee being careful to take a branch with a bundle on the end so that the lychee will last longer. When our extended family is annually blessed with this gift from the Aiea Vance family it comes fully loaded with their love and our own happy childhood memories.

Lychee is best eaten as is. Blake and Wendy have been to New Orleans. So, I dedicate, in gratitude, this simple dessert recipe to their family. It's a take on Bananas Foster.

Bananas Lychee Vance
Place 2 Tablespoons each of butter and Myers's rum (or lychee vodka) and 8 Tablespoons (1/2 cup) of brown sugar in a cold, high-sided pan. Heat on Med. High briefly, just until the sugar melts and starts to caramelize, about 3 minutes, being careful NOT to allow the rum to ignite. Too scary. Add 2 small, sliced, partially ripe but still firm apple bananas, 6 unbroken pecans and 1 tsp. of cinnamon. Cover the bananas and the pecans with the syrup. Take off the heat as soon as the bananas are warmed through. Pour over very cold vanilla ice cream. Makes two servings for dainty, polite people or 1 serving for one hungry, greedy person. Top each serving with a 2 Tablespoon dollop of lychee yogurt (Meadow Gold sells it locally) or whipped cream and four seeded lychees cut in half.

Clean Fish

2008-05-22T18:29:00.001-07:00

My brother-in-law is a no nonsense kind of guy. If there is a task to be done he likes to do it quickly and immediately. This is what I noticed when I talked to first my sister, then her husband.

Sister to sister, when I'm asking Sherry for a favor I'll launch into a whole long 15 minute explanation to her of the who, what, why, when and where. I found two gorgeous whole four pound 'Ahi at the Kailua Farmer's Market and I'm not that ma'a (familiar) with cleaning and filleting fish that size. Give me a smaller red fish, 'Aweoweo or Menpachi, no problem, but, a larger 'Ahi or Aku, and I get a bit worried. After some internal hemming and hawing and even walking back to the car I told myself to turn around and go back. Just buy the fish already, because I can't go on being forever intimidated by cutting up whole fish.

I reasoned if I tackled this task of cleaning and filleting by myself, using a cookbook, it would take me an hour or two and I would be left with something that looks mangled and like fishcake. On the other hand, if he was willing and I was able to watch my brother-in-law, Nathan, a lifelong fisherman, I would pick up all those expert tips and great shortcuts that would simplify the whole process. And, I know he would create perfect matching 'Ahi fillets.

Right after talking with my sis about asking her husband to teach me to clean the fish I called her husband on his cell phone. That conversation lasted 15 seconds.
Me-"Hey, Nathan, can you show me how to clean 'Ahi? I have two, gonna give you guys one."
Nathan-"Nah, no need, no need. It's on ice, yeah? Come after lunch"
Me-"(slightly offended) Of course it's on ice. (cheerfully) OK, I'll be there."

I showed up with an apron, a camera, ziplocs and the cooler full of ice and the fish. Nathan sharpened two knives, a smaller one for the detail work and a larger one to chop the bones. We went outside their home to a sink that was made especially for fish cleaning. They also have an outside wok so all those smells and smoke don't linger in the house.

A disclaimer here, I'm not using the technically correct terms for parts and bones of the fish. Nathan expertly sliced the side fin off starting two inches behind the side fin, working in the direction from the tail to the head and also taking with it what he called the fish armor. This armor is a two-inch in diameter configuration of cartilage. Then, he came up to the vent in the head and snapped the spinal bone with a blow using the larger knife. He discarded the head, guts, gills and any soft red matter.

Nathan sliced the back bone horizontally off, again working tail to head, taking off more fish armor in the process. He took off that sharp, small, pointy back fin (careful, I've been poked by these fins before and it isn't pretty). Some people like the darker red blood meat strips next to the pinker flesh but many find it too gamy so you can cut that off as well, he said.

Nathan slit off the bottom belly fin, again horizontally, slit open the belly and removed the guts from the stomach cavity. He cut the bottommost belly portion off from the rest of the fish. He cautioned me to cut off the greenish one-inch by four-inch bile portion with a scissors later. Nathan said that 'ahi belly is a delicacy and to always fry it, dredging in seasoned flour first.

Nathan made a small cut just above the bone that runs down the middle of the fish, right past the tail and inserted the index finger of his left hand as a convenient handle to grip the fish (Excellent tip! See photo on left). With his smaller knife in his right hand, he skimmed over the middle fish bones and created tension by holding the tail portion with his left finger. Nathan cut the fish in half horizontally. He flipped the fish over, created another handle for his finger to hold and cut the second fillet off the middle bones the same way. He continued to pull off pieces of red matter as he went along. It was only at this point that he chopped the tail off.

Nathan used his very sharp smaller knife to skim the fillet off the skin. He placed the fillet with the skin side down and he skimmed over the skin separating the skin from the flesh. He very skillfully took the skins off both fillets in almost one intact piece, no easy feat. Discard the skin, the head, the red matter, the guts, the gills and the blood meat. Keep the bones and the tail for the recipe below.

I thanked him profusely and kept the bones for the very best miso soup imaginable. My mind has been happily conjuring up images of what to do with these gorgeous, super fresh fillets. 'Ahi sashimi with hot mustard-soy or ginger-sesame oil-soy sauces? 'Ahi poke? Fried 'Ahi steaks sizzling in butter, salt and pepper? Jessie Kiyabu's super fried 'Ahi cakes? This makes me happy. Even though Nathan did all the cutting in a flash, 15 min. max per fish, I felt that with my photos, my memory and his super tips, I could confidently tackle my next whole fish by myself.

Easy 'Ahi Bone Miso Soup
Bring the 'ahi bones, a couple of dried shrimp (ama ebi) and 4 cups of water to a boil. Turn down to a high simmer and skim off scum occasionally. Simmer for 30 minutes. Take out and discard the bones and ama ebi. Strain the broth through two layers of cheesecloth over a colander to get rid of extra scum. In a bowl, using a wire whisk, whisk 1 cup of miso with 1 cup of water until the miso is dissolved. Pour into the 'ahi broth. Turn to Med-High but do not boil. Serve immediately with shredded and cooked 'Ahi or chicken, small cubes of tofu and chopped green onions.

Island Plate II

2008-05-16T12:37:00.000-07:00

Two weeks ago I was blessed to be involved in the photo shoot for Wanda Adams' third cookbook, tentatively titled "Island Plate II". It's a follow up to her bestselling "Island Plate" which commemorated the Honolulu Advertiser's 150th Anniversary. Wanda has this amazing ability to look at a recipe and to be able to tell if it's going to be one winnah.... or not.

We were a close knit but diverse team of food and design people. I loved hearing the almost foreign languages in the SubZero kitchens. Romeo would say "Close to onion" and Iwa, Brian and Scott would know exactly what he was talking about. That means something like the shot has to be tighter for the onion but who knows? Wanda and I would talk about blanching, then "shocking" the baby bok choy.

There were a couple of dishes, like this pancake recipe, that required split second timing. It must have looked hilarious to see our choreography. I was stationed at the oven window and intoned the minutes like the Iron Chef announcer until the pancake was ready. As soon as it puffed to its fullest I whisked it to the stainless steel table which had already been tested for lighting. Iwa plopped on raspberries. Wanda dusted it with a flurry of powdered sugar, then one last dollop of whipping cream and we all stepped back for the rapid fire photographs.

I cannot divulge any recipes from the cookbook except the following David Eyre's Pancake which is a version of Dutch Babies. It can be found all over the Internet.

David Eyre was the founding editor of Honolulu magazine who played host to the NY Times' Craig Claiborne in the 60's. David served Craig this pancake and Craig wrote a story about it. The story goes that when Craig retired he was asked which was his most requested recipe during his long and illustrious tenure as food editor and Craig said, hands down, it was this one.

David Eyre’s Pancakes
w/revisions by MC

One-half cup flour
One-half cup milk
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
One-half teaspoon nutmeg (do not leave this out)
4 Tablespoons butter (this is one-half a block)
2 Tablespoons confectioner’s sugar (measure, then sift)
Juice of one quarter of a lemon, remove seeds

Make the batter just before baking, do not make ahead. Have everything ready before you begin. Do not do any steps ahead of time.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
In a mixing bowl, combine flour, milk, eggs and nutmeg.
Beat until well mixed but never mind a few lumps in the batter.

Melt butter in an 11 inch oven safe aluminum or other metal (not nonstick) skillet, in the oven. An 8 x 8” square or 8" round metal pan will work equally well. Leave the pan in the oven to heat. (Do not melt the butter first and pour into the pan.)

Take the pan out of the oven. Carefully and slowly pour in batter into the middle of the hot pan that has the melted butter. Bake in a 425 degree oven approximately 20 minutes or until pancake puffs and turns golden brown. Sprinkle generously with the powdered sugar and the lemon juice, over all. Return briefly to the oven for 30 seconds so that sugar and lemon juice can amalgamate.
Makes 2-4 servings.
Can top with stabilized whipped cream and fruit: raspberries, strawberries, blackberries, bananas, sliced pineapple with macnuts. Or you can leave out the sugar and lemon juice and make it savory with a cream sauce, like chicken or a shrimp curry.
Stabilized whipping cream: measure 1 cup of heavy cream. Whip until soft peaks form. Add 2 teaspoons of sugar and 1 tablespoon of sour cream or plain yogurt. Whip to stiff peaks.

Volcano!

2008-04-13T16:50:00.000-07:00

Everything that I planned didn't happen. However, everything that was supposed to happen, did. That about sums up my trip to Hilo for Merrie Monarch '08 last week. My confirmed Aloha Airline tickets became Hawaiian Airline standby tickets. Friends I was supposed to meet couldn't make it because of the closure of our beloved Aloha Airlines just one week before the start of MM. Things that were supposed to happen, didn't pan out. However, I found that if I just let go of my attachment to my carefully laid plans that things flowed along wonderfully well as He planned. His plans are not ours, how true!

I heard about Aloha's closure early enough to secure tickets on Hawaiian, leaving one day earlier for Hilo than planned and staying two days longer in order to avoid the pandemonium at the airports. This gave me the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to view Volcano in two locations after all the excitement of Merrie Monarch died down. Less crowds.

The stars aligned to allow us to see Madame Pele in her eternal struggle with her sister, Namakaokahai, the Sea, at Kalapana with my good friend, Carol. We watched the ocean hiss and steam in five places as magma, spatter and glowing chunks of rock broke off and fell into the ocean. It was a 20 minute walk over a black lava field to reach the lookout from the parking area. The lookout was about a 1/2 mile upwind from the lava. Upwind is important because the scientists at Volcano have been measuring dangerous levels of sulfur dioxide emitting from the ground at Kalapana and from a plume cloud of gasses from a crater within Halema'uma'u Crater in Volcanoes National Park.

At all times the parking lot attendants, volunteers, volcanologists and rangers were extremely polite and helpful to any request or question. They were stationed in three to four groups from the parking lot to the lookout and along the path. There were even Portapotties set up in the parking lot. The atmosphere was of contained excitement and joy. Joy at just being there at that place and time to view something awe inspiring.

The lookout is a wide, mostly flat area where about 1,000 onlookers oohed, aahed and took photos and videos of the lava reaching the sea. There was no sulfer smell and no other sound, just an occasional hissing as a steam cloud rose. This is in stark contrast to the other great viewing of the Volcano that I had when I was a child. At that time I viewed Kilauea Iki reaching 1,200 feet. There was the sharp smell of sulfur, the roar of a 100 jets and heat so strong it melted the film in our Brownie cameras.

The sight of lava is totally mesmerizing. You become almost addicted to wanting to stay just 5 minutes more to see what will happen next. After two hours I left Carol in Puna where she stays 6 months out of the year. At the Kea'au intersection I had a choice, left back to the Volcanoes Park to see the steam cloud or right, back to Hilo. I wanted to see the steam cloud at night and reasoned that there must be some glow from the magma below. Plus, even though it was 10 I wasn't tired, I felt energized and excited. I'd recovered my sleep from the MM marathon. While I still had one more night before I left Hilo I was already halfway to the Park. So, my rental car turned left.

I'm so glad I went back to the Park. The Jaggar lookout had been closed for weeks and just reopened three days prior. That's where I drove. It was then 10:30 pm, 56 deg. out and pitch black. I thanked Paul silently for his insistence that I take a big ol' 9 volt flashlight instead of my dinky one.

The sight from Jaggar museum lookout was literally breathtaking and a bit eerie. There was again, no sound, no smell, just a glowing red pit in the distance and a 2 mile high plume illuminating the pitch black all around. The plume cloud is white during the day but at night it reflects the magma deep below the surface to mimic an eruption. There was only a handful of locals there with me.

The next day I awoke to the news that 7 hours after I'd left Halema'uma'u the Park was completely closed for 2 days for the first time in its history. I felt blessed that I'd made the decision to go the night before. The winds had shifted towards the Volcano House and Volcano Village. Civil Defense had raised the alarm level for the sulfur dioxide up to the highest level, purple.

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If you plan to go to Kalapana to view the lava hitting the sea you MUST have these things:
Sufficient water to drink, sunblock and a hat if you go during the day
Closed shoes, preferably boots or running shoes, with a good gripping tread
A large, bright flashlight (9 volt is good) with new batteries at night

A good website to check out prior to viewing the volcano is the one for USGS Hawaiian Volcanoes Observatory. It provides volcano updates, sulfur dioxide levels, webcams, photos and videos.

Won Tons in Chili Oil

2008-03-01T12:52:00.000-08:00

The Chinese term for won ton is "Swallowing Clouds". I've always thought that was a sweet, poetic way to describe a delicious experience. When I think about it, the lowly won ton has always been connected to a heightened experience in my life, whether it's a festive gathering, a celebration or just simply a special snack.

My mother used to serve us freshly boiled won tons in a bowl sprinkled with a little shoyu and sesame oil. We could never wait for the complete meal with the soup and the vegetables so she would oblige us by making this simple dish.

I was reminded of my mother's solution to our lunchtime hunger when I had a much more elaborate dish, Won Tons in Chili Oil, at an upscale Northern Chinese restaurant in Waikiki. I thoroughly enjoyed this new twist on an old standby, enjoying the smooth ("wat") won ton pi, the savory, chunky shrimp and pork filling and the unexpected heat from the chili oil. Of course, I had to try and duplicate it immediately. Maybe this should be called "Swallowing Thunderclouds".

Won Tons in Chili Oil with Crisp Garlic

Chili Oil
1 cup of peanut oil
2 Tablespoons Sambal or Chili Garlic Paste
6 small red chili peppers- remove stems and chop finely including seeds

Deep Fried Garlic, sold in red packages of 8 oz., made in Taiwan called “Crisp Garlic” Golden Buffalo brand. It is carried by Don Quijote or Marukai. These look like tiny brown cubes a bit larger than raw sugar.

Mix all the above ingredients except garlic. Heat for 1 minute on High. Sprinkle 2 teaspoons of crisp garlic into the hot oil. Set aside.

Make won tons.

Won Tons
1 pkg. Sun Noodle won ton skins ("pi")

1 lb. ground pork, preferably local pork
6 raw shrimp, chopped fine
6 stems of Chinese parsley, chopped very finely, use top 4” of each stalk with leaves, discard tough bottom stems
3 stalks of green onion, chopped fine
6 water chestnuts, drained and chopped
2 inch piece of ginger, unpeeled, grated on a ceramic grater or Microplane grater
2 Tablespoons cornstarch
1 raw egg, beaten
1 Tablespoon Scotch Whiskey
2 teaspoons shoyu
2 teaspoons sesame oil

Mix all above ingredients, except won ton skins, together lightly with a fork until well mixed.
Fill the won ton pi with about 1 and ½ teaspoons of filling, do not overstuff. Fold won ton skins over filling. Use a little water or egg white as a "glue" for the skins. Place finished won tons on a cookie sheet and as you make the won tons cover with a damp dish towel that’s been wrung out. This keeps the skins from drying out. Boil a pot of water and cook the won tons in the water until they float, about 3 minutes. Drain.

For a pupu: Place 5 drained won tons in a bowl. Sprinkle lightly with Yamasa soy sauce. Pour 2 Tablespoons of hot chili oil with crisp garlic over won tons. Fold together gently to coat.

Variations: This same recipe can be used for won ton in soup. The chili oil is left out. You place cooked won tons in chicken broth with vegetables such as mustard cabbage ("gai choy"). Or, you can fry the won tons is hot oil for a different kind of pupu. Sweet chili sauce would be a good dipping sauce.

Note: Extra uncooked won tons may be frozen in one layer on a cookie sheet in the freezer and then placed in a Ziploc. You can cook them, still frozen, in boiling water. They may take a minute or two longer to cook and float.
Extra chili oil can be kept in the refrigerator.

The Great Gau Exchange

2008-01-19T02:28:00.000-08:00

Few foods evoke more memories for Chinese from Hawai'i than Gau. For me, Gau is about waking up to the sound of firecrackers popping outside of my Popo Chun's temple at 6:00 am on Chinese New Year's Day. I'm five years old again and I wake up with the happy thought that if I run over to my Popo's house before school with my brother, Merrill, and wish her a "Gung Hee Fat Choy!" I will be rewarded with a leesee. This will contain the small fortune of a crisp $5.00 bill. In the mid 50's this amount would mean spending money for months into the future! So many things to consider: a new kite? a new yoyo? an Archie or Richie Rich comic? a wooden top to add to my growing collection? a gooey paper bag of apricot mui from Wing Coffee where my Aunty Wilma works?

Three foods were always present at Chinese New Year's. There was a huge Gau from my Popo, ten inches across, four inches high with sesame seeds sprinkled over the top and crowned with a single red date in the center. There was Jai, which I never cared for, once my older and supposedly wiser cousin solemnly informed me that the bok gwo, the white nuts, were actually frog's eyes. Not. It took me into my adult years before I tried Jai again and loved it. There was impossibly thin Jin Duey. So spoiled. I sometimes ate the sweet black bean-filled Jin Duey straight from the hot oil in my Popo's gigantic wok. Hot, crisp, perfect Jin Duey. Big Sigh!

It's 2008 and I've coordinated a gathering of Gau-proficient friends for Food Editor Wanda to meet for an Advertiser article. These happy women, in their forties to eighties, make and bring a total of 8 different kinds of Gau (most importantly, with treasured recipes!) to my friend, Elsie's, Aina Haina home. It started with an email from Wanda asking me Gau questions regarding my mother's recipe I'd emailed her last year. At least ostensibly it was supposed to be a Gau demo and exchange but it was, what every gathering of locals becomes, a PAR-TAY! Elsie repeatedly assured me that she wouldn't go through any trouble. I repeatedly assured her that we would take care of everything. Wanda brought all the ingredients from a detailed and far-flung products list. I was in charge of the hard ware, the mixing, steaming and baking equipment. Elsie said she would serve just "tea" for our little yum cha.

Well, Elsie made enough lunch for a small army although there were only 6 of us, plus, we all took home leftovers. She'd whipped up a huge layered overnight salad, her Aunt Bina's Portuguese Lima Bean Soup and date cake. All delicious, all from scratch. How do these women do that overnight? It's magic.

Elsie is a firecracker of a woman and at 88 with more energy than an 8 year old. Her friend, Gladys was so humble but a fount of Chinese lore and tradition. Sweet Cathy, who knows Elsie too, was the hard worker in the background making it so easy for us to do our tasks. Wanda was there with her camera, camcorder and notepad, asking astute questions to capture this moment. Deborah, the Advertiser photographer, arrived precisely an hour after the rest of us did, as planned, to give us the requisite time to talk story, exchange New Year presents and meet and greet.

The Gaus were all different but had the common denominator of being 'ono. Wanda brought a Shanghainese microwaved Gau chock full of red jujubes and pinenuts. This recipe was taught to her by the gal who teaches the Narcissus Queen participants. Cathy brought an unusual white Nian Gau from a Hanahau'oli cookbook. It had dried cherries and walnuts. I brought three versions of Gau from two recipes. There was the traditional steamed Gau with yams taught to me by my friend Susan 15 years ago. While steaming takes a minimum of 4 hours, I also baked the same batter for 1 hour. My mother's modern baked Gau with tsubushian that I brought was well received. Cathy and I made a modern steam/baked Gau with coconut milk during the gathering.

The main event was the involved and complicated process of making the traditional Gau by Gladys and Elsie. Cathy and I would take turns with mixing our simpler baked Gau in order to run back and forth to catch all the snippets of important information being generously doled out by Gladys and Elsie. First, they spent a half hour creating a ti leaf basket for the Gau to steam in. This was probably the first culinary nonstick surface. Then, they mixed the Gau batter by hand all the while relying on eye and instinct to determine the correct consistency. Elsie patiently watched the steaming pot for over 7 hours! Each procedure has its own distinct set of skills. We all felt very honored and humbled to be present to watch this re-creation of a favorite childhood sweet.

At lunch, we enjoyed (small) pieces of each of the many Gaus. Wanda brought a sample plate to the sophisicated palates of the Advertiser newsroom. I was so pleased to hear that my friend, Susan Chock's, traditionally steamed yam Gau turned out to be a favorite for both groups, that I raised both hands in the air and shouted "Yay!" as if I'd won an Olympic event!

-foodiewahine

Susan Chock's Gau
(Thank you Susan, for sharing your recipe, it's so precious to us!)

3 (1 lb.) boxes Mochiko
3 (1 lb.) packages of Wong Tong, Chinese brown sugar in blocks. 7 slabs to a pkg. Do not substitute regular brown sugar.
2 -3 lbs. fresh yams. No substitutions. Yams have a maroon skin, orange flesh.
3 cups water (opt.: Can add coconut milk but reduce water proportionately. Gau will then need refrigeration)
Washed ti leaves or dried bamboo leaves which are soaked for two days in water to soften.
Four 8" steaming baskets or pans
sesame seeds
Optional: 1 red date, Hung Jo, a jujube

The day before, cook yams with the peel on, in water to cover for approx. 45” until very soft or microwave. Peel, cool, set in the refrigerator overnight.

Melt brown sugar in 3 cups of water over medium heat until melted, about 15 min. Cool completely.

Line bamboo steamer containers with ti leaves in a circular pattern covering the steamer basket completely. May use string to create a collar.

Mash yams, taking out any large fibers or eyes. Mix sugar-water, mochiko and yams first with a wire whisk then by hand. This is like kneading. The batter should be like a stiff, very thick cake batter. You may have to add up to another 1 cup of water for the right consistency.

Place the batter into the steaming baskets that are lined with ti leaves. Place bamboo baskets in a pot for steaming over 1” of water. First bring to a boil then turn down to a high simmer but do not boil constantly. Place a thin dishtowel over the top of the pot under the lid. Check every hour to make sure that no water is dripping back down onto the gau during the steaming. Steam for 4 hours. Cool completely. A plastic knife will cut through the gau without dragging.
Servings: approximately 36
Note: you can cut the recipe by 1/3 by using 2 lbs. of mochiko, 2 blocks of sugar, etc. You can also use any available assortment of different sized baskets, cans and pans.
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A HUGE Mahalo to Wanda, Elsie, Cathy, Gladys and Deborah for a wildly fun and successful Gau Fest. It would not have been possible without the generosity of those (Susan!) who shared their treasured family recipes.

Wanda Adam's informative and lively Gau-a-thon (her name for it) article with accompanying recipes, photos and video are on the Honolulu Advertiser's website for Jan. 23rd, 2008 in the Taste section.

Chinese New Year's falls on February 7 this year. Support your local Chinatowns.

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Copyright 2007-2008. Anything to Eat. All rights reserved. This material and all material on this site may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. The author disclaims all liabilities in connection with the use of the information contained within.

Soon Du Boo (also Sundubu), Spicy Korean Tofu Soup

2007-12-10T16:28:00.000-08:00

Imagine a cold and wet night. Your slippers are soaked from dodging puddles on the street. Imagine serendipitously coming across a Korean restaurant that specializes in the delicious but little known (outside of Korean circles) boiling hot, bright red, tofu soup, Soon Du Boo. The restaurant is Duk Chang Do and is just across the street and mauka of Walgreen's on Keeaumoku. Ever since that night when I was Christmas shopping with my sister-in-law, Hedy, and my sister, Sherry, I've found myself craving Soon Du Boo whenever it rains. Haven't felt this strong an attraction, ok, addiction, to a soup since I first tasted Vietnamese Pho 15 years ago.

I felt compelled to thoroughly research how to make this soup and then I went right to the source, a Palama Market cashier. The cashier gave me an important tip. She advised me to use ko choo garu, the dry ground red chili pepper powder and NOT ko choo jang, the bottled red chili pepper sauce, to make Soon Du Boo.

I then had a looonng, informative and enjoyable conversation with my friend, KoreanWiz, (see link to her site at left) about the best Korean restaurants in Hawai'i and Korean food in general, I felt revitalized to continue my quest to make a decent Soon Du Boo. KoreanWiz just notified me that another spelling of Soon Du Boo is Sundubu.

Several attempts later, following is my version of Soon Du Boo. Being Chinese, I had to add dried tangerine peel (kwo pay) because I feel it complements the spiciness well. I also like onions in my soup so I hope I am not committing heresy by including them here. While the soup is bright red it is not so much hot as pleasantly spicy.

You can make this into a meatless soup by using just tofu and substituting either vegetable broth or water for the chicken broth. This is one of those versatile soups that can be made with what's on hand. Please do not be put off by the list of ingredients. Most of these ingredients are generally on hand in local kitchens. The soup goes together faster than almost any other soup I can think of.

Soon Du Boo
also spelled "Sundubu"
photo at left on top

First create the sauce which will be divided into thirds and used for the meat or seafood marinade, the soup seasoning and then the dipping sauce (Yang Yohm Jjang):

2 T. ko choo garu (which is dry ground red chili pepper powder sold in large 1 lb. bags at Palama Market or Don Quixote. Do not substitute ko choo jang which is a bottled, seasoned red chili pepper sauce or red chili flakes, which would be too hot)
3-4 small red chili peppers with seeds, finely chopped
2 T. miso, Korean or Japanese
2 T. sesame oil
3 T. toasted sesame seeds, preferably ground with a sesame grinder. If you don't have a grinder you can use a mortar and pestle and absent that, a spoon and a bowl to crush the seeds.
3 T. soy sauce
3 cloves of garlic, peeled and mashed with the bottom of a cleaver or a spoon
1 tsp. sugar
3 green onions, sliced thinly
2 pcs. of dried tangerine peel

Combine the above and then divide equally into three small dishes, set aside.

Make the Soup.
1/2 to 1 lb. total weight of 3/4 inch cubed, boneless meat (pork, chicken, beef) and/or seafood (shrimp, mussels, clams) or a combination of both
1 round onion cut in the middle on the "equator" and then sliced into 1/8" slices from the stem to the "equator"
1 container of drained, silken or soft tofu, Soon Du Boo (I like House brand which is a Japanese tofu, widely available or you can use the authentic Korean tofu that comes in tubes at Palama Market) cut into 1 inch cubes
1 can of Swanson's chicken broth

1)Use the first portion of seasoning sauce to marinate the meat or seafood. Use your hands to massage the sauce in. Chill for at least 1/2 hour.

2)Using a Dutch oven or similar heavy pot, heat 2 T. of oil and 1 t. of sesame oil on High. Lightly brown first the onions and then the meat. Do not drain the marinade off the meat. Add the seafood last if you are using seafood.

3)Add the second portion of seasoning sauce with the tofu (careful not to break the cubes) and the broth over everything in the pot. Bring to a boil then turn down to a high simmer. Let cook for 1/2 hour with a lid on.

Serve the soup with a bowl of hot white rice and the remaining third of the seasoning sauce in a small dish for dipping.

Strictly optional, but the traditional way to serve this, is by dropping a raw egg onto the bubbling and boiling soup when it's brought to the table in an earthenware or cast iron vessel. Can garnish with more sliced green onions and strips of grilled meats like bulgogi, kal bi, pork or chicken.

-foodiewahine
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A big Mahalo to KoreanWiz for linking my blogsite to her website and mentioning this recipe! If you are at all interested in Korean tv dramas, her site is THE place to go. KoreanWiz started her website six years ago before the English-speaking world caught the craze.

"Entertaining Island Style" by Wanda A. Adams

2007-11-17T21:00:00.000-08:00

Wanda Adams, the Food and Book editor to the Honolulu Advertiser, has just come out with her second cookbook "Entertaining Island Style-101 Great Recipes and Tips from Hawai'i". I know I may be biased because I worked on the photoshoot but I think it's terrific. Fabulous job on the photos by the photographer and the styling team. I think these local recipes are inventive and most importantly, delicious. These recipes have been thoroughly tested and come out exactly as described. Wanda thoughtfully provided ingredient substitutions for mainland folk.

Wanda's first cookbook "Island Plate" quickly sold out its first three editions and is in its fourth printing. Both cookbooks are available on amazon.com. ( Entertaining Island Style is 10. on amazon.com If you order 25. or more in books then shipping is FREE, even to Hawai'i!) and bookstores locally. At the end of this post is the description of her second cookbook from Borders online.

It was great fun to work on the shoot and I learned alot from the food and photo pros on the crew. My cousin, EB, asked me for a list of favorite recipes I've tried from the book so far (I got a sheaf of some of the recipes earlier when working on the shoot):

Cozido Soup, Portuguese Kale and Sausage p. 47 (hearty and quick)
Nibuta Pork p. 71 (great sliced over saimin, ramen)
Furikake Salmon p. 77 (very popular restaurant item)
Okazuya Style Fish Cake p. 107 (from a previous Advertiser article)
Steak Poke p.124 (Hand's down winnah. Wanda said she made it for a tv appearance on Andy Bumatai and the tv crew wiped it out. Photo on the top left of this posting)
Prune Cake and 7 min. icing p. 129 and 130 (moist, better even the next day when the spices have time to mellow)
Soft Haupia Custard p. 132 (very yummy, very versatile sauce or filling for cakes, etc.)
Pineapple Cream Cheese Pie p. 144 (my favorite dessert from the book)
Swedish Crepes p. 149 (easy, perfect crepes)

-foodiewahine

Borders' description on their site of Wanda's cookbook:

Entertaining Island StyleBibliographic Data: Hardcover, 24 Pages, December 2007Author: Adams, Wanda A.List Price: $15.

Everyone loves a luau! And with the help of "Entertaining Island Style, " it's easy to host a Hawaiian-themed bash that's both authentic and enjoyable. This playful, insightful guide is a one-stop resource for Island culture, customs, and cooking. Written by Maui native Wanda Adams, it features the low-down on local parties -- what's done, what's not done, what types of food and beverages are served; easy-to-understand descriptions of local food terms; and must-have details such as how to crack a coconut. A wealth of fabulous recipes, all Island favorites, reflect the diverse cultures and flavors of the people of Hawaii. Adams also offers fascinating historical facts on the origins of tropical drinks, along with a bevy of luscious cocktail recipes. Whether prepared for a crowd or a simple weeknight supper, these fresh, exciting recipes make any occasion a sunny one.
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Wanda Adams wrote an article on Nov. 7, 2007 for the Advertiser about her new book. It can be found on the Honolulu Advertiser website in the archives for that date. She provides her recipe for Steak Poke. There are also video clips of her preparing dishes from the cookbook.

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A hello to Cindy N. and her friends! Cindy and I ran into each other at Sunnyside in Wahiawa. She'd read my blog and asked me if I was a vegetarian now? NOT! She was too polite to notice that I'd ordered the fried rice special with sunnyside up egg and a hot dog! BUSTED! Note to Dr. S and Dr. D, I really don't eat this way all the time. In fact, I know I've adopted the Shintani lifestyle 80% of the time.

Another hello to the Mo'ili'ili McD's group: Carlson, Linda, Ron, Sharon, Fred, Jenna, Joe, Leila and John! It was great to finally meet the rest of the gang. You guys are loyal friends to each other.

Dr. Shintani's Spicy Tofu Nuggets

2007-11-02T13:28:00.000-07:00

This is an EASY and flavorful entree that is also very versatile. In Sherry's and my opinion it was definitely one of the enlightening hits at the Shintani workshop on Oct. 13. Dr. Diane graciously obtained permission for me to print it. Once you get the method down it will be a snap for you to change the spices to suit the dish you are making and your tastes.

Note: My high techno-savvy brother-in-law taught me that the easiest way to print out these recipes from the blog is Cut and Paste it. That is, first, highlight it, hit the Cut button under Edit at the top of the screen, close down the site, go into the Word program and hit Paste under Edit.

Spicy Tofu Nuggets
Adapted from Dr. Shintani’s diet books

1 block firm or extra-firm tofu
¼ c. flour, whole wheat or white, mixed with 1 tsp. Spike and other spices, e.g., 1 tsp. tumeric
2 tsp. canola or olive oil
1 tsp. sesame oil

1 –2 tsp. shoyu or Bragg’s liquid aminos (health food store)
2 tsp. nutritional yeast (health food store, optional, but good, can be bought in bulk at Down to Earth)
1 tsp. low salt furikake

Tofu is a plant based product. All plant based products have to be browned on a slightly lower heat than any meat. Best never to use high heat unless used briefly. It will take a bit longer so you need to watch the pan.

Drain tofu thoroughly and wrap in a paper towel or dish towel to absorb excess water. Cut tofu into 1 inch blocks. Dredge each tofu cube individually in the flour mixture. Keep dry. Heat a nonstick pan with a thin film of both oils on Medium heat. Place the cubes in the pan. Sprinkle the cubes with the shoyu or Bragg's. Brown tofu gently on all sides on Medium heat. A High heat may scorch the tofu.

Add the nutritional yeast and the furikake. Toss to coat evenly. Can deglaze the pan with 2 tsp. of water or broth so that the nuggets are a bit moist or leave dry according to your preference.

You can serve the nuggets with a dipping sauce or as is. A simple dipping sauce would be equal parts shoyu and sesame oil with a light sprinkle of shichimi togarashi or cayenne. Save any leftovers to be used in soups, stews, sandwiches, spaghetti, chili, etc., either whole or broken up.

You could also cut the tofu into slabs like tofu steaks and prepare the same way as the cubes. My friend, Wanda, reported that the spicy tofu works well in long strips in a Vegetarian Spring Roll.

Serve with brown rice. Soak raw rice at least 4 hours for the best consistency prior to cooking. Cook in rice cooker with slightly more water than indicated on the correct water level on the rice cooker pot. Fluff the rice with a nonstick rice paddle prior to serving.

Shintani Lifestyle and Diet

2007-10-28T15:46:00.000-07:00

Dr. Terry Shintani held one of his last 4 hour seminars two weeks ago. My sister, Sherry, and I count ourselves as lucky for being in attendance. Dr. Diane, the Administrator of the Hawai'i Health Foundation, the non-profit that runs the seminars, explained that the next two events, a Nov. 3, 2007 10 Day Program and a Feb., 2008 21 Day Program may be the last ones that Dr. Shintani does. So, Sherry and I felt very fortunate to be able to hear Dr. Shintani live.

Dr. Shintani is very well known for his groundbreaking work with diet not only in Hawai'i but globally. His book "The Hawai'i Diet" was on the NY Times bestseller list. He has a medical and a law degree from the UH and a Masters in Nutrition from Harvard. He's listed in the Encyclopedia Britannica. He's appeared on national television news shows. For more of his background you can go to the website which Dr. Diane designed and maintains at webhealthforyou.com/home

You know I am interested in anything to do with food. Some minor health problems prompted me to attend the seminar. My thought was that while I may never become a strict vegetarian, more knowledge would help me in making healthier choices in my food. I think Sherry and I got much more than we bargained for, in a good way.

Basically, if I were to sum up Dr. Shintani's diet plan (Sorry, Dr. Shintani if I use my own mana'o and words) I would say that it is a non-diet. It is a change in lifestyle which actually frees you to eat probably more types of food and a larger volume of food if that is what you want. It is a holistic approach that focuses on diet but includes exercise, our spiritual life, our attitudes, our beliefs and even our feelings of self-worth.

Dr. S. says that on average we need about 2,500 calories a day to maintain our weight with some differences depending on gender, weight, body type, activity, etc. It is better for our bodies if we put into it 2,500 calories of whole grains, low fat, plant based proteins, vegetables and fruits instead of refined flours, sugars and processed foods (think of the movie "Supersize Me"). He likes to say Junk In, Junk Out.

His books provide the Shintani Mass Index of Food which helps you to easily identify which foods are high in nutrition and low in the things that are bad for you, namely fats, animal based protein and refined processed food. As an example, it would take pounds and pounds of say, broccoli to reach 2,500 calories but only one or two meals of fast food. Maybe two cheeseburgers and two shakes. And, most importantly the former will fill up your stomach and make you full but the latter will leave you hungry for more if that is all you ate in one day. Dr. Shintani just uses examples with one food as with broccoli as a lesson, he promotes a widely varied and balanced daily diet. Everything in moderation.

Dr. Shintani, Dr. Diane, Down to Earth and many volunteers put on an enlightening seminar that is part instructional lectures, part cooking show and totally entertaining. Dr. Shintani's beliefs are firmly founded on scientific proof as well as common sense and stories of his many years in practice which includes years at the Waianae Coast Comprehensive Health Center. It is not an exaggeration to say that Sherry and I were astonished when we tasted the samples of breakfast, lunch and dinner which we were served. I had heard that people make scrambled tofu but until I actually tried it I didn't understand the concept. Sherry was especially taken with the Spicy Tofu Nuggets. These dishes were representative of the actually yummy, local, some Asian, some Pacific Rim recipes found in three of his books "Eat More, Weigh Less Diet" "Eat More, Weigh Less Cookbook" and "The Hawai'i Diet" by Dr. Terry Shintani.

So, here I am on Day 16 of my own version of the Dr. Shintani lifestyle. While Dr. Shintani and his family are vegans (no dairy, no eggs, no meat) he does not push his choices on you but offers an option and we are, of course, free to make our own food choices. No food police in my kitchen!

My diet these last couple of weeks has consisted of primarily plant based foods but sometimes up to 6 oz. of some form of meat a day. There was that birthday dinner last Friday at Mei Sum of scrumptious dim sum but surprisingly I found myself craving my whole grains by the following morning. The diet does make me feel better. It's hard to put my finger on, I just feel lighter like the difference between having some virtuous jai or oden and having a not-so-virtuous prime rib dinner.

OK, confession time. There are MANY health benefits to the Shintani Diet and it is a relatively easy way to lose weight but there were some pretty convincing Before and After the 21 Day program photos in a slideshow too. It was amazing that the women in particular in their After photos looked like the photo had been taken 10 years ago when they were younger! Well, a skeptic could say that the photos were altered. Not so! There were live, short testimonials at the seminar we attended and those same women in person look every bit as good, if not better, than when the last photos were taken, a year or more ago. How about that?!

-foodiewahine
ps: I made the Jim Lahey No Knead Bread recipe, below, using 2 c. bread flour and 1 cup stone ground whole wheat flour and it was great. I'll try flaxseeds, oat bran add-ins in the future and report. I'll keep you posted on the lifestyle changes and will add recipes in the future.
another ps: I'm not giving up my square of dark chocolate a day.

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This blog is written as a thank you to the tireless efforts of Dr. Shintani, Dr. Diane and volunteers who are passionate about their vision for healthier lives. A thank you to Sherry for going with me to the seminar and for her ongoing support and enthusiasm.

"Eat More, Weigh Less Diet", "Eat More, Weigh Less Cookbook" and "The Hawaii Diet" by Dr. Terry Shintani, MD, JD, MPH, as well as ebooks, other books and videos are all available from webhealthandyou.com, Dr. Shintani's website. See link to the left of this posting. A number of Dr. Shintani's eight books are also available on amazon.com

Jim Lahey's Amazing Bread Recipe

2007-08-07T13:28:00.000-07:00

The bread recipe I'm going to pass on is nothing short of wonderful. I don't impress easily. I've read thousands of recipes but this one seemed too good to be true. A simple bread recipe that you don't have to knead and, according to Jim Lahey, the professional baker who created it, rivals any commercially made bread in the country?

My LA pastry chef/instructor friend, Tina, (Mahalo plennny, Sistah!) sent me a link, several days ago, to an article written on 8 November of 2006 in the NY Times by Mark Bittman titled "The Secret of Great Bread: Let Time Do the Work". The recipe and the accompanying video about Lahey's recipe sounded and looked intriguing. Water, flour, yeast and salt and no special equipment? Perfect, artisinal style French bread? Tell me more!

My first attempt made with regular white flour in a 3.5 qt., stainless steel Belgique stockpot flattened out too much and did not have sufficient structure. I let it rise the full 18 hours. The bread did show promise. Do you know how really great French bread tastes cool as if it had been in the fridge? I have no other way to describe it. This bread has that. It had a great crumb, shattering crust and an almost sourdough taste. I just needed to find a good substitute for the heavy enamel Le Creuset pots that Jim Lahey uses to create the steam needed. Steam is important to make the dough rise properly and to create that great crust in the oven.

On my second try, I changed the regular flour to bread flour and baked the dough in a heavy Pyrex mixing bowl which is narrower on the bottom than the top. This feature is necessary to create height in the bread. I placed the Pyrex bowl in a covered terra cotta roaster to create the steam oven effect. The roaster also protects the Pyrex which can shatter at temperatures over 350 degrees. I then placed this whole baking set up on a pizza stone for extra insulation. Since our room temperature is about 80 degrees now, in the summer, I experimented and cut the first rise to just 4 hours. The flavor was less like sourdough and more like regular French bread but still very good. The extra long rising, as in my first attempt, ferments the dough. At left you see the results of my second attempt. Without a doubt it is the best French Boule I've ever made.

It is critical that you use the correct baking vessel or a combination of baking pieces to create a mini steam oven. Jim Lahey suggests using a cast iron, enamel, Pyrex or ceramic vessel for baking. It must have a cover and it must be thick and heavy. It should be narrower on the bottom if you want height to your bread. I improvised with what I have on hand and instead of one baking vessel I used two. I used a 2 qt. Pyrex mixing bowl set into a terra cotta roaster. The dough has to be extremely wet as well. Shirley Corriher (food chemist/author/frequent authority on Food Network's Good Eats) uses a similar wet technique in order to create fluffy, high biscuits.

To find the original article (NY Times, 8 November 2006) and video do a search on these words-
"The Secret of Great Bread Mark Bittman"
and a link to the original article will pop up. There are over 1200 links, emails, chats, even clubs that have sprung up. Hundreds of bakers are obviously excited over this new technique. I would highly recommend that you read the article prior to making the bread. Then, read through the recipe below before proceeding. It seems complicated but after making it once it will be very simple to make again.

NO KNEAD BREAD-French Boule

Adapted from Jim Lahey’s (owner of Sullivan St. Bakery in NY) recipe and
Matt Bittman's NY Times article published on 8 November 2006, “The Secret of Great Bread: Let Time Do the Work.”

3 c. King Arthur unbleached bread flour
¼ t. yeast, dry
1 and ¼ t. salt
additional flour, cornmeal, wheat bran or sesame seeds for covering and dusting
1 and 5/8 c. of water

In a large bowl combine flour, yeast and salt. Stir until all the ingredients are distributed evenly. Start with 1 and ½ c. water. As you mix, add 2 more “splashes” of water but not more than a total of 1 and 5/8 c. The dough should be shaggy, sticky, very wet and almost unmanageable. Mix until combined. Do not knead. Place in a greased plastic bowl and cover dough directly with plastic wrap. You can place the bowl in hot water to start the rising.

Let dough rest from between 4-18 hours depending on convenience and room temperature. The flavor develops over time. It should double and be covered with bubbles.

Scrape dough with a bench scraper onto a Silpat covered with flour. (See Note below to use flour-covered towels instead of a Silpat) Fold it over on itself once or twice. Let rest 15 min. Place dough into a greased plastic bowl set over hot water. Sprinkle with flour. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let it rest for between 1-2 hours. Dough should be double in size and should not readily spring back when poked with a finger.

1/2 hour before baking, preheat oven to 450 degrees. Place a greased 2 qt. Pyrex mixing bowl set in a terra cotta roaster with a cover (or directly into a 3.5-8 qt. ungreased enamelled cast iron or greased cast iron, enamel, Pyrex or ceramic vessel with a cover) in the oven to heat for the half an hour. If you have a pizza stone it would be good to set this in the preheated oven as well. When dough is ready to bake, drop the dough into the hot Pyrex dish which is set in the terra cotta roaster. Shake to distribute evenly. Cover. Set on the pizza stone, if you have one. Bake covered for 20 min. and uncovered for 30 min. at 450 deg. Cool on a rack. After bread is completely cool you can store it at room temperature in a paper bag.
Note:You can also use towels, not terry cloth, lightly covered with flour instead of the Silpat and the bowl for the second rising.

In a follow up article, (NY Times, 6 December 2006 "No Kneading, but Some Fine Tuning") Mark Bittman noted that you can fold other additional ingredients into the bread at either the beginning of the recipe or after the first rising. Some suggestions are: roasted garlic cloves, sundried tomatoes, olives and herbs. Rosemary is perfect. Bittman also said that readers have given him feedback that you can use fish roasters for baguettes, muffin tins for rolls and regular loaf pans for the more traditional loaves but I haven't had a chance to experiment with these.

I will be making this bread often. The fragrance of the baking bread is indescribable. The taste, crumb and texture is superior to any bread I've made. My hope is that by publishing this recipe it will encourage you to try it. Then, share the bread and the recipe with those you love!

-foodiewahine

ps: Third batch-I sprinkled the top with a mix of poppy-seeds and sesame seeds, 1 T. each, prior to baking. Messy to eat, but adds a nice crunch and nutty flavor. Tina just pointed out to me that 50,000 people have viewed the video accompanying Bittman's article!
pss: Fourth batch-macerated dried bing cherries in rum and added pecans then topped bread with wheat bran. An 'ono breakfast bread.
If anyone tries this recipe please leave a comment how it turns out! I'd love to hear!

Yummy Pineapple Chutney

2007-07-28T14:49:00.000-07:00

Pineapple Chutney
(adapted from Sam Choy's recipe from The Choy of Cooking)
Sterilize jars.
8 c. finely chopped pineapple, core removed or drained canned pineapple works too
3 c. red wine or cider vinegar
1 scant T. sea salt
1 heaping tsp. red chili pepper flakes
3/4 c. chopped red pepper
1/4 c. chopped garlic (abt. 5 cloves)
1/4 c. chopped candied ginger of 2 T. fresh grated ginger
1/4 c. cranberries or raisins

Combine all ingredients in a heavy pot. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and place on a high simmer for 1 and 1/2 hours, stirring often to prevent burning. If you are using canned pineapple you will not have to cook it as long, only 1 hour. Chutney should thicken and the pineapple should appear candied.
Note: this should make abt. 8, 1/2 pint jars of chutney.
For canning: process in a hot water bath for 10 min. on high according to manufacturer's instructions. Canned chutney is good for a year.
In the alternative, you can portion the chutney into clean, individual plastic containers but these have to be refrigerated and will only be good for abt. 2 weeks.
Great with curries, in or topping pound cake, ice cream, etc.

-foodiewahine
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"The Choy of Cooking" by Sam Choy. Mutual Publishing, 1996. Sam's excellent cookbooks are available on amazon.com and local bookstores.

Volcano Visit

2007-07-04T18:35:00.001-07:00

I've loved Volcano on the Big Island forever, it seems. I've mentioned before that my cousins, the Vances, used to live there and we would visit. For years and years, Volcano's been the first place I go to if I land on the Hilo side. Last year, I stayed overnight at the Volcano House. A week ago, I was blessed to stay at a home in Volcano Village with a kitchen. I stress kitchen because that makes a big difference to anyone who loves to cook and bake.

Hilo's Farmers' Market has two days, Wednesday and Saturday, when most of their 30+ vendors are there. The rest of the week there may be two or three vendors with anthuriums and some produce. I tend to think of O'ahu foodies as quite sophisticated but a visit to the Hilo Market is always mindblowing. I always find something I've never seen before at crazy good prices.

This visit my favorite items were a cabbage sized bundle of shiso leaves for just a dollar, hearts of palm, fresh bamboo shoots and sweet, fragrant and perfectly ripe mountain apples. I could also have gotten jackfruit and bags of common or Chinese mangoes for chutney. I had to call my chef friend, Tina, in LA for her to give me a blow by blow account on how to prepare the hearts of palm. You can either shave it extremely thinly, raw, or boil the "stalks" in salted water for about 5 min. I chose the latter. It made a great salad one night with hot chicken soup on one of those lovely evenings when there's both Volcano mist and a light rain. My friend, Ku'ulei, brought hot rice, an organic salad mix from Hirano store and a memorable, not-too-sweet strawberry rhubarb pie from the Volcano Farmers' Market.

I thought the 6 in. pie was a bit much for dessert in addition to a fruit pastry I had. And I didn't want to warm the whole thing. So, I said to Ku'ulei (a dessert freak, too) "I'm going to cut the pie in half". Ku'ulei looked at me quizzically, tilted her head and said "Fourths?" It dawned on me that she thought I meant we would split the pie in half and eat the whole thing! I laughed so hard I could hardly breathe. The next thing she said was "You're going to write about this, aren't you?" Yes, I am.

One of the greatest advantages of staying in the Volcano area is that the Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park becomes your playground. It's especially nice to visit in the early morning and late evening after the crowds have left. Imagine a hot pizza from the Village whisked over to the Steam Vents and eaten (no, scarfed down) in the car as the sun sets behind Mauna Loa. Or, an early morning meditative hike to Byron's Ledge to catch Nene goose in the wild. Can you see eating a light breakfast of hard boiled eggs, mountain apples, hot coffee and POG (passion-orange-guava juice) in a glass jar as you sit on an ohia log?

This visit was mostly about hiking the many trails of the Volcano Park and visiting with three dear friends who were all on the island.

Hearts of palm, shiso and tomato salad
Vinaigrette:
Whisk together 2 Tablespoons balsamic vinegar with 1/4 c. olive oil. Add just a half teaspoon or so of honey.
Salad:
Slice boiled hearts of palm into 1/4" slices. Julienne shiso leaves. Slice vine ripened tomatoes. Add all to vinaigrette. Let sit at room temperature for 20 minutes. Just before serving, lightly toss the palm, shiso, tomatoes and vinaigrette with an organic greens salad mix.

-the foodiewahine

Cookbook Camera Shoot

2007-06-14T18:19:00.000-07:00

I JOYously spent the first week of this month working on a photo shoot for my friend, Wanda Adams', second cookbook about recipes for local style entertaining. Wanda is the Honolulu Advertiser's food and book editor. This second cookbook should be coming out before Christmas '07 and unlike the first book will be available in stores (Yay!) instead of by pre-order.

We did 24 recipes for 3 days of shooting. I wore many hats on this shoot- food preparer, both whole dishes and prepping ingredients, buyer and food designer, I even participated in some food styling. One unexpected hat was food doctor. Have you ever repaired a pie with a cooked flour-water slurry? We did. Or made something that only looked like "chicken soup" using water and balsamic vinegar? We did.

It was a great crew made up of talented and truly just plain nice people. There was Wanda, the author, the General (in the best sense) and all around cook/preparer/baker. Chris Jose and Iwa Bush were the food stylists. Micki Fletcher was the art director and the representative of the publisher, Island Heritage. Romeo Collado was the photographer as he was for Wanda's first book, "The Island Plate". Brian Suda was Romeo's assistant. And me.

My cousin, Jeanette, sent me a series of interview-type questions about the shoot which I'll answer here.

Q-What goes into planning for a shoot? Does Wanda decide what to feature?
A-My understanding is that Wanda met with Micki a couple of times along with possibly other members of Micki's team at Island Heritage to decide on the look of the photos, the ambience and which recipes to feature. Wanda had spent months researching, testing and writing the recipes on her own. I think these are all recipes that are either hers or have never been published before.

I attended a pre-shoot meeting with Wanda, Micki and Romeo where Wanda described visually each dish of the 24 that would be in the shoot the following week. Wanda and I both had boxes and boxes of possible dishes and props to use for the shoot. We brainstormed about which type of dinnerware to use for what recipe, which props and even the feel or look of the photo (contemporary? family potluck? etc.). We whizzed through the dishes and we all took copious and fast notes on what was to go with what.

The day before the shoot Wanda started on the prep after she'd done her regular Advertiser work. Imagine! Having a regular job as a food editor and ALSO doing a cookbook. I really admire her work and work ethic!

Q- Do you and Wanda go shopping for all of the ingredients or does she just order.. and have them delivered.
A-I wish! No, no delivery. Wanda did the bulk of the buying of the ingredients. I would say based on our receipts it was about 2 to 1. I do remember the first day making 6 stops to markets and restaurants in Kailua, downtown and even Chinatown. Comes with the territory.

Q-Where do you cook?
A- This was the fun part. The day before the shoot we prepped the dishes that we could at Wanda's house. This would be like doing alot of the vegetables, peeling, cutting and some of the dressings. Anything that could be done ahead of time and not affect the look of freshness of the food.

The actual 3 day shoot was at the Sub Zero Wolf showroom and kitchen on King St. It was foodie toy heaven. Large expanses of counterspace. Commercial quality Sub Zero ovens, refrigerators and freezers. Stations with a sink and faucet all over the place. Gadgets and different dinnerware galore!

There were some things that both Wanda and I would make at home the night before or the morning of the shoot and then take it down to Sub Zero. E.g., I made a pudding that had to set overnight and aku cakes that were more easily fried at home. I think Wanda may have made her Codfish Croquettes at her home as well. Chef Keoni Chang from Foodland and also Chef Siu, the chef/owner from Pah Ke's brought luscious specialty fish dishes down to be shot. The timing had to be precise. That's why in my mind I call Wanda, the General, because she was the one coordinating the whole operation.

Q-What do the stylists do?
A- Wanda said it's like giving birth to a baby and then they put makeup on the baby and photograph her. Wanda and I prepare the dishes from scratch using all the ingredients (even down to a dash of fermented fish sauce, patis) as if they were to be eaten. However, this is all about how the dish will look through the camera lens so we also have to make it as sumptuous as possible. It took me twice as long to make perfect hockey puck-shaped aku cakes for the camera than it would have, if I was making that for dinner. After Wanda and I completed the dish and gotten it to look as good as we could, then Chris or Iwa would take over.

The stylists and the photogs are all artists. It was fascinating to watch the process of making the dish as visually appealing as possible. I have an image of Iwa intently and patiently rearranging the noodles one by one on a Korean Chap Chae dish with a pair of thin chopsticks. At another point, she carved her own lemon for a Filipino Orange and Radish Salad because she could not find a suitable prop that she liked. The photo shows the salad spilling gently from the lemon.

Q-Who arranges all the food for the shoot?
A-Once the stylist is done she takes it over to the photogs. All throughout this time Iwa is still checking with Wanda, Micki, Romeo and me about the designated dishes or the props. When Romeo takes over he starts taking photos using a state-of-the-art digital camera and a tv monitor to check each shot. It takes about 1 hour to get just one perfect shot for the cookbook of each dish. Can you imagine how many shots you could take in an hour? Romeo or Iwa would move a plate an 1/8", take a shot, readust, take another shot, blot the meat, take a shot, spray oil to make the food glisten, take a shot. At one point, Brian held an 18" strip of black paper 2' above the dish in order to get just the right lighting! Incredible. What does the photographer see that I don't? Alot, apparently. There is one final consultation with Micki. Wanda approves the final shot and it's on to the next dish.

I have a funny anecdote. I am proud of my fish cakes which I learned to make from Mrs. Jessie Kiyabu. My aku cakes had been plated by Iwa when Romeo came in to pick it up. He exclaimed "WOW, that's....." Now if I'm at, say a party, and someone likes my dish, they will say "WOW, that dish looks so YUMMY or 'ONO!". But not the photographer, he said "WOW, that dish is.... BEAUTIFUL!!" He actually said that that turned out to be his favorite photo so far. And I was proud of that.

Wanda and I were the Food people. The main thing that we are constantly focused on, outside of a shoot, is FLAVOR, how to boost it, how to create it, how to layer it, how do the flavors meld? The stylists and the photogs were all about the LOOK. After hanging out with these guys for days I said we'd gotten into what I call "Iwa-mode" where we would look at food as Media instead of something to consume.

Yes, we did have wonderful lunches which Wanda and I composed and yes, the leftovers were scrumptious.

-the foodiewahine
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Wanda Adams wrote an article about this shoot in the Hnl. Advertiser and included her own recipe for a wonderful creamy haupia pudding at http://thehonoluluadvertiser.com/article/2007/Jun/13/il/FP706130331.html or you can go to the Hnl. Advertiser's website and check back issues for June 13 2007. The article is called "A creamy haupia that is versatile". The pudding garnered rave reviews from the crew.

Iwa Bush is an awesome stylist/artist and owner of the business The Visual Group. A subsidiary of that business is Faux Finishes which creates faux finishes, decorative painting and surface embelishments for homes. Their website is http://www.vgfauxfinishes.com/

Romeo S. Collado is a premier photographer who does commercial advertising, special events, public relations and special events. He can be reached at 808-677-4888.

Kahiko in Chapel Hill

2007-05-21T11:24:00.000-07:00

The biggest attraction to Chapel Hill, North Carolina, to me, is my two adorable granddaughters. Now that I'm a grandmother I can understand why grandparents go so ga-ga over their mo'opuna. Maya just made four and Eliza is 1 year and 4 months, really cute ages for both. Collette and Miles have extremely busy schedules filled to the brim with work and their home, but most importantly, their lives revolve around their two youngsters. Maya's preschool is a big part of their lives since the school encourages and relies on parental participation.

I was honored to be asked to give a little talk, maybe even a demonstration, about Hawai'i for Family Day for Maya and her four-year-old classmates. It was the Grandma from Hawai'i for Show and Tell. Believe me, I asked many questions of Collette about the class and agonized over what I was going to do with this time. Turns out the answer was very natural; the kids were studying Volcanoes. The week before I arrived, a chemist father of a student had even manufactured an "explosion" complete with flowing lava of the papier mache volcanoes the class had made.

A year ago my kumu, Ann, taught me a Pele kahiko about the movement of four different types of lava so how could I ignore that fortuitous fact and not do a hula for the keiki? It was cold on Family Day morning. Cold by Hawai'i standards, about 58 degrees. I wore a long sleeved shirt, a long sleeved silk sweater, long pants, socks and for just a touch of Hawai'i, a lavender pareau draped across one shoulder as a kikepa. It was a little surreal to be chanting an 'oli and to be explaining the movements to the class in a North Carolina classroom. However, once I got started I got used to stopping and explaining, dancing, stopping, etc. I had the class repeat the Hawaiian words to me which they did perfectly. I danced the "Hua 'ina" verse, for example, which means boiling up, bubbling on the surface with quick circular hand motions. Even though she was thousands of miles away I felt a bit of my kumu there, her distinctive voice chanting with me.

I took this assignment very seriously because who knows if or how it would affect each child? Would they want to see Volcano and Hawai'i themselves? Would I be able to convey a bit of precious aloha to each child so that they had a sense of where we are from? I wanted to bring a lei that I'd made, even if it was not made of flowers. I made 10 simple eyelash yarn lei for each of Maya's classmates and gave two more complicated lei to Maya's Teacher Maureen and Maya. I was fortunate that I found exactly the Hawaiian Volcanoes book I'd been looking for at the Honolulu airport before I left, to gift to the school and Maya's class. I gave 5 Hawai'i calendars for the dedicated teachers. They all, individually, thanked me in the playground after.

I was happy that the children experienced something different which is directly related to Maya's legacy.

-foodiewahine
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The book, "Hawai'i, Land of Volcanoes" by Jan Tenbruggencate is available on amazon.com and local bookstores. The photographer is a UH professor, Douglas Peebles, who taught Art 101 to Jimbo, me and a generation of UH students.
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Copyright 2007-2008. Anything to Eat. All rights reserved. This material and all material on this site may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. The author disclaims all liabilities in connection with the use of the information contained within.

Just a Note:

2007-05-07T12:20:00.000-07:00

I'll be in NC for the next two weeks or so to visit my two adorable mo'opuna.

Thank you! People have asked-how to write a comment? Go to the end of this post below and there's yellow lettering that says "0 comments" or "___ comments". Click the yellow "comments". It will take you to the comments section and ask you if you want to leave a comment in a box. You have to create a Google account first using one of your email addresses and a password. You write in the secret password they provide, write a comment and hit "Publish". You can do this anonymously or leave a nickname. In the future, you need to log in with your Google account which is good on other Google sites like their terrific Picasa website for posting your photos online. Thanks, Yanet for telling us about that!

Will tell you about the grandkids and the awesome Southern foods when I return (North Carolina barbecue! Hush puppies)! Mama Dip's fried chicken, here I come!
-foodiewahine

Hulalove

2007-04-23T01:21:00.000-07:00

I am often asked what makes Merrie Monarch in person different than what you see on tv. It is true that the cameras can capture angles from above that you won't get when you are in a fixed seat in the audience. It is also true that you do not get the enlightening commentary from Paula Akana, Kimo Kahoano or Kumu Hula Pualani Kanaka'ole Kanahele as you would on tv. However, I always say that attending the MM event is a multisensory experience.

Before the performances begin there is an electricity in the air as you would feel before a championship sporting event. The audience catches this spirit from the performers who are anxiously awaiting backstage for their turn. They may have been training for most of their young lives for this one performance. The hula dancer's mothers or fathers, sisters, brothers, uncles, aunties or cousins might have danced on this same stage before them.

There was a gentleman right in front of me with a rope pikake lei, slightly faded it's true, but still so fragrant that it perfumed the air in all directions. You might be balancing a heavy Hawaiian plate of smoke meat, poi, lomi salmon, long rice, haupia and sweet potato from the "church tent". The church tent is a portable kitchen that used to be under a tent but now is a wooden structure that sets up shop across from the stadium every year. The tent is a fundraiser for Ka 'Uhane Hemolele Oka Malamalama Church. Hands down, they have the most varied Hawaiian menu in Hilo. There was one memorable year when they sold salmon laulau that sold out the first day.

This is an extremely knowledgeable and respectful audience made up of hula afficionados. Many are in halau, teach halau, are related to someone in a halau or are simply hula buffs. They may have come thousands of miles to be there that night or they might have caught a ride with a cuz just across town. They scrutinize every flower, every lei, every costume, every note, every word, every movement, every step, every line. They know the kaona, heck! they might even know the composer of the mele. They know hula. They will confidently declare their favorite halau a winner and avidly mark their programs all over with ink.

'Auana night is when the holoku, the lei your auntie made special for you, the Sig Zane, Tutuvi and Nake'u Awai designs in mu'u and aloha shirts, the elaborate upswept hairdos festooned with flowers and the armfuls of Hawaiian bracelets appear. Often during breaks between performances you can see the binoculars trained not on the stage but on the audience because everyone is checking out everyone else.

The best performances are those that are little stories. The dancers are so convincing that you really feel that you are watching a parade with colorful pa'u riders or a group of girls gaily pole fishing. You might be at a backyard luau with your 'ohana laughing with the teenage boys proudly struttin' their stuff. A Miss Aloha Hula contestant might actually be a goddess in dsiguise tempting a mortal. There is a glance, a raised eyebrow, a wink and a flirtation with the audience that might not be captured on camera.

On tv, you cannot smell the lei on the olapa, as you can in the audience. Pikake, plumeria, maile, puakenikeni, all these fragrances float down as the hula is performed on stage. When Robert Cazimero hits that high note it is a much more thrilling complement to the hula when you hear him live. You could reach out and touch the dancers as they leave the stage and proudly file past you in the aisle. Their heads high, so confident, so proud of their culture and their heritage.

And then there is the rain. Two sides of the Edith Kanaka'ole stadium, front and back, are open to the elements. Every couple of years gusts of wind blow rain onto row upon row of bleachers. You hear a commotion. It's strange to look back and up to the bleachers and see sheets of rain falling, umbrellas popping up and raincoats whipping out. Everyone laughs, especially those being rained on.

This is why I return year after year, to be a part of this special moment in time.

-the foodiewahine
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Merrie Monarch official website http://www.merriemonarchfestival.org

Hilo Memories and Volcano's Farmers' Market

2007-04-20T18:53:00.000-07:00

There was a small kid time when going to Hilo meant staying with our beloved cousins, the Vances. In my mind's eye, I can still see their family of 6 lined up in front of the chain link fence at the old Hilo airport. There might even be a dog or two that came along for the ride. My cousins would be standing there with thick white and yellow plumeria lei and big smiles on their faces. They would have picked and sewn the lei just for us that very morning. No lei were ever more appreciated than those. Going to Hilo was the most anticipated event of our young lives. We'd count down the days until school was over for the summer.

My cousins no longer live in Hilo. I've developed a whole hanai'd Hilo 'ohana of my own that I also cherish. I stay at Paul Tallett and Evonne Bjornen's vacation rental at the Bjornen MacNut Farm just 5 minutes (2 miles) outside of downtown Hilo. It's a great feeling to come here and to be welcomed as family. There's no checking in or out, no porters, no hassle, just a well-appointed, very comfortable private room where one can come and go as one pleases. I wake to the sound of birds chirping in the macnut trees just yards from the house. The two adorable dogs, Mai and Greta, and the cat, Tor, are available for some instant animal loving.

I don't know of any other accommodation where the host, Paul, who is part-Hawaiian, would be able to tell you from their lanai whether Madame Pele is doing her thing, simply by observing the clouds above Pu'u O'o vent at Volcano. Or, where the host, Evonne, might obligingly cut out the weekly events of interest from the Hilo Tribune Herald and leave them on your bed.

Then there's my good friend, Ku'ulei, who lives in Volcano and with whom I enjoyed two wonderful Sunday morning brunches at the wildly popular Volcano Farmers' Market. Their website lists 8 am as the opening time but that's for wimps. Vendors set up at 6 or 6:30 am and some Volcano people are there at 5:30! The best of everything will be gone by 8:30. It may be misty and the temperature hovers around the high 50's. So you are forewarned! Last Sunday, I dragged myself out of bed in Hilo to hele over to Volcano after staying late at the stadium to watch the awards presented at Merrie Monarch. I got only 4 hours of sleep but it was well worth it.

This is a country market since there are dog flea collars and white elephant finds mixed in with the outstanding produce. But it's also quite sophisticated in the vendors' selling of the freshly made cream puffs with the most decadent custardy filling, the andagi, the steaming Thai long rice soup with sambal topping, Joyce's handmade pastries which are all pau by 8, locally grown coffee to drink or beans to take home, homemade tropical jams, jellies, and pies, mango lip balms, beaded jewelry, freshly blended wheatgrass, colorful knitted mohair caps, even intricately etched naturally colored eggs.

I went to two other farmers' markets on the Big Island and I haven't even begun on the Merrie Monarch Festival itself or the legendary craft fairs. More to come.
-wahine foodie
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You can contact the Bjornen MacNut Farm at e.bjornen@hawaiiantel.net for availability. They have one room for vacation rental. It accommodates 2. The rental has a private entrance, its own bathroom with shower, a kitchenette and views of the macnut farm surrounding the house. There is a pool, hot tub and ocean view from the lanai. Very peaceful. It's $100. per night or $600. for a week plus taxes. More info at http://www.gohawaii.com/listing?id=6359 (Don't ask, it's mine for Merrie Monarch week!)

Volcano Farmers' Market's info on http://volcanogallery.com:80/volcano_farmers.htm

Aloha to Merrie Monarch

2007-04-17T01:15:00.000-07:00

I'll be writing about Hilo on the Big Island for the next couple of posts, having just returned today from the weeklong 44th Annual Merrie Monarch ("MM") Hula Festival. I never like to leave Hilo but the feeling of longing is always more intense after experiencing a solid week of the best hula imaginable. Hula starts with the opening ceremonies on Easter Sunday and continues with daily performances at the hotels on Banyan Drive. For the first time, 'Imiloa, Hilo's new, world class astronomy center, hosted daily educational talks that are related to some aspect of the hula traditions. These talks are an educational addition to the MM offerings.

Wednesday night is the free Ho'ike/Exhibition night, the highlight of which is always the hometown favorite and host halau, Halau o Kekuhi, whose two kumu hula are the daughters of Edith Kanaka'ole. The stadium where the main performances are held are named after Auntie Edith.

Thursday marks the individual women's competition for Miss Aloha Hula. There are women's and men's halau kahiko (ancient) performances on Friday. Saturday, are the women's and men's halau 'auana (modern) performances culminating with an awards ceremony.

I'm going to work backwards and tell you stories of my last week starting with this morning. I always make one last stop at Kuhio Grill before the airport for a breakfast of eggs, corned beef hash and red velvet cake. Yes, they are the only restaurant that I know of, in the whole State, that will bring a dessert tray to your table upon request for breakfast. Also notable are their one pound laulau, fried rice with anything )my personal favorite is with loco moco) and peanut butter mochi.

As often happens I ran into someone I knew at KG's. This morning I was overjoyed to see my Auntie JoJo whom I'd seen at the beginning of my trip and with whom I'd spent overnight in Volcano. She was taking her brother, Koma, and sister-in-law, Barb, to the airport. They showed me some of their finds from the many craft fairs held all week around Hilo: two lauhala hats with colorful hat bands for their mo'opuna and a large quilted bag with an ipu print. All of our laughter was interspersed with a showing of photos including commentary of their two granddaughters. So typical of JoJo's family that Koma tried to press on me omiyage of Taro Chips which I had to sadly refuse indicating with a gesture to my head that I was full to the brim with omiyage.

While I was returning my rental car I noticed a very popular singer and musician, Hoku Zuttermeister (who just came out with his first CD) at the next counter. I went to thank him for the beautiful music he played to accompany the dancers. I recognized Ale'a, Ho'okena, some of the members of Na Palapalai, Lopaka Kanahele, Hoku Zuttermeister and both of the Brothers Caz, among many other exceptional musicians performing for the different halau's 'auana entries. They never announce the musicians who play for the halau because for MM, the emphasis is completely on the hula.

Once in flight I heard alot of laughter farther up the aisle and there was a cluster of flight attendants acting very much like ordinary fans around a MM musician, Lopaka Kanahele, the great-grandson of Edith Kanaka'ole. You have to understand that twentysomething Lopaka, cute as he is, has attained rock star status in Hawaii for his singing and his hula. The flight attendants were all atwitter, smiling, giggling and really spending waaay more time with Lopaka than the passengers.

Finally, one flight attendant got on the PA system and announced "We never do this, but since we are ending the Merrie Monarch Festival in Hilo, Lopaka Kanahele has agreed to sing for us". Lots of cheering from the locals and lots of cameras suddenly popping up from the seats to catch a photo or video. Lopaka slips a flower behind his ear and he, a capella, sings a song from the CD that won a Hoku award. Major full-body chicken skin.

At the end of his song people are yelling "Hana Hou" but I also wanted Hoku Z. to sing so I was chanting his name. Hoku is too ha'aha'a or humble and pretends he doesn't hear his name being called out. He had his camera out too, snapping away, even though he was sitting with and talking to Lopaka moments before.

So, that's my very sweet aloha from Hilo and the Merrie Monarch. I think God sent me that experience to ease the homesickness for Hilo.

-wahinefoodie
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CDs by Hoku Zuttermeister (his " 'Aina Kupuna" debut is #1 at Borders Ward Centre) and Lopaka Kanahele are available at amazon.com and locally at music stores.

Kunia Orchid Show

2007-03-10T15:27:00.000-08:00

The 53rd Annual Kunia Orchid Show is at the Del Monte Kunia Gym this weekend, but next year it will be held at Leilehua High School Gym. It felt very much like a Hilo-kind of morning when I arrived at the gym at 8:45 a.m. It was cool, there was a slight drizzle and the red dirt road leading to the gym was slick with mud. Huli huli chickens were turning on spits. Teri-beef, curry bowls, cascaron, edamame and boiled peanuts were some of the food items available for pick up from tents after attending the show.

As soon as we were allowed into the gym, people swarmed to the orchid vendors that ring the gymnasium. Lavender Honohono orchids seemed to be in big demand for Easter and Mother's Day. I was more focused on photographing the stunning orchid displays in the middle of the room than buying orchids.

It's a photographer's heaven. Orchids, in every conceivable hue, shape and even, fragrance, are artfully arranged around a theme for each display. The most nostalgic of the orchid displays centered around a blowup of a black and white photo of the Kunia show planners grouped around the front of Kunia gym. Del Monte is closing the Kunia plantation, which accounts for the change next year to Leilehua Gym.

I had a difficult time taking a photo using natural light because of the number of flashes exploding around me by other avid shutterbugs. It seems every orchid "face" is attracting your attention for a closeup. Fabulous flowers.

On my way back to the car, I bought an-pan, which are rolls filled with bean paste. Also got the Filipino dessert, cascaron. That's 3 fat, fried coconut and mochi balls on a stick to go with my coffee. It's a forty-five minute drive from my home to Kunia but it was well worth the effort.

I took the North Shore route to get back home. On the way, I stopped by the Sunset Beach farmers' market for the first time. That was a serendipitous detour because, very much like Hilo's farmers' market, this market carries local produce that are never carried in a regular supermarket. I found gigantic, footlong yams, kumquats, mountain apples, large baseball-sized green-on-the-outside-but-ripe/white-inside guavas and pomegranates. The vendors seemed to make up a true community and each one of them was very friendly.

I would seriously recommend that if you are an expat living on the Mainland you might want to skip the next paragraph. In fact, I offer my sincere apologies in advance for what I'm about to do-get you all 'ono for Hawaiian food. I ended up at Ono Loa Hawaiian food takeout at the historic Waiahole Poi Factory Building. In no time at all, Maxine put together my order of steaming pork laulau, fresh sweet poi, cold lomi salmon, tender chicken long rice, a square each of haupia and chocolate pudding, slice of pineapple, slice of Okinawan sweet potato and of course, a little plastic container of chili water. Oh, I also had to have a side of squid luau, rationalizing that I don't come out this far often. I always say "Bye" to sweet Uncle Al, who was sweeping the front, as I exited the wooden building.

First, there's the dilemma of where to begin amid all this great food. The second question is whether the poi will last. You've heard of a three-dog night? Well, this was more like a four-poi bowl meal so I reeaallly had to make the poi stretch to last until the last bit of laulau.

A most satisfying and fulfilling morning.

-foodiewahine

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Ono Loa which means Very, Very Delicious is open for lunch but not on Thursday or Friday. Their email is onoloa@hawaii.rr.com NOTE: Catering and shipping is available.

Coffee, Strawberries and Whales

2007-03-03T11:17:00.000-08:00

It's not hard to wake up at 6:30 a.m. to go to the Kapi'olani Community College's Farmers' Market on Saturday mornings. It's not hard if you can imagine the delights that await you. There's a carnival atmosphere to it-enticing smells of breakfast plate lunches, mellow sounds of the guest musician, ("Days of our Youth" being sung this morning) free bites of exotic treats (hearts of palm, kim chee portuguese sausage) and many, many happy people standing patiently in line or checking out the extremely fresh produce. One row of tents, out of the three rows for vendors, is all prepared food. You can pick up a Thai coconut curry plate or bananas with sticky rice bundled in ti leaves and turn around and buy a Ziploc bag of braised beef shanks to warm up for dinner.

I "harvested" Dean's Greens, a mixture of a dozen or so varied greens from Waimanalo, huge Kula Country strawberries from Farm Fresh Hawai'i, teeny baby roses from Hiraoka Farms and a cream cheese blueberry scone from the KCC students. So, where do the whales come in? Be patient.

After checking out every vendor I have my own little tradition. I drive home to Kailua the long way, i.e., around Makapu'u. Not far from Hanauma Bay there is a lookout where you can park your car and you are just 10 feet from the edge of the cliff. That's where I have my breakfast of coffee, strawberries, the scone and a sweeping view of the Pacific.

I was blessed. Today, the whales were putting on a show. I call it whale soup. They cavort in a pod, spraying the air with their blowholes, slapping the water with their tails. For a brief heartstopping moment I counted 6 plumes of spray. I whipped out the binoculars that I always carry in the car and for a brief couple of minutes I'm out on the water with the whales! When the opportunity to see whales up close arises, you forget everything else, who you are, where you are and you just concentrate on focusing the binoc's lens.

The pod moved slowly from left to right along the coast, coming up for air about every 15 minutes. At the closest point they were only about a mile offshore. I saw two fishermen stop from checking their lines to stare at the parade of whales majestically going by.

It seems there are many times during the week when I pause to offer thanks to God for living in Hawai'i and being able to enjoy this abundant life.

-the foodie wahine

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Information on the Hawai'i Farm Bureau's Farmers' Markets can be found at http://www.hfbf.org

Copyright 2007 Anything to Eat. All rights reserved.

People's Open Market in Kailua

2007-02-08T13:18:00.000-08:00

Aloha! I like the idea of Consuming Life, gulping it all down, that is why I named the blog Anything to Eat. This blog will be about much more than just food. I was born and raised in Hawai'i so all of my writing is infused with my love of this place and its unique lifestyle. I am very excited to publish my first post to this spankin' brand new food blog.

My community, Kailua, is located on the island of O'ahu in Hawai'i. We have a great farmers' open market in Kailua every Thursday morning between 9 and 10 a.m. next to Kailua Intermediate School. It's sponsored by the C and C of Honolulu and has about 20 vendors on average. There is another farmers' market sponsored by the Hawai'i Farm Bureau Federation held on Thursday nights in Kailua. The evening market has produce, like the morning market, but also takeout food, preserves, baked goods and even entertainment. Enough with the preliminaries, let me take you to the morning market.

At 9 a.m. sharp, a horn sounds and suddenly there is a spurt of activity at all the vendors' tables. Early buyers have been checking out the produce since 8:30 but nothing can be actually purchased until 9. You will be gently notified if you have accidentally touched someone else's stash. You can tell if someone has gathered a stash because he or she will have created a little mound of fruit or vegetables and will have subtly shifted their weight so as to be protectively touching the mound.

The smells of pungent basil and im sai, Chinese parsley, waft towards you as buyers sift through the bundles. The activity at this open market has become much more enjoyable, less crowded and far less frenetic since the evening farmer's market was started in Kailua. Now, on Thursdays, Kailua residents have two cracks at fresh produce.

This may be the one opportunity weekly for you to talk story with your own neighbor or just as likely, chat with a Southern transplant about how to cook fresh Lima beans (boiled, with fatback). "Ayy, how's your mango tree doing?" "Where you last week? No see you." I always buy something from Linda, a vendor, simply because she is always so friendly and sweet-"Mama, I save for you 'til you all pau shop."

Much of what you see may have been picked before sunup. The eggs may have been laid hours ago. Don't forget, all money from the purchases stays in Hawai'i.

You can find everything here that would be available in a regular supermarket but there's always so much more: gai lan, chayote, Meyer lemons, guavas, liliko'i, mountain apples, gobo, fresh red ginger, herbs... A lively discussion will instantly start up if you ask out loud how something is cooked or how to choose the best.

I came home with bags of green tomatoes, round onions, sweet potatoes, 2 bunches of half-ripe apple bananas and 2 Japanese cucumbers. Have you ever had green tomato preserves? As you know, tomatoes are fruit and their preserves are sweet-sour with a pleasant crunch. One caution, the tomatoes have to be green and hard without a trace of red or pink. Following is a recipe from the book, "The Gift of Southern Cooking" (Alfred A. Knopf, 2003) by two of my culinary heroes, Scott Peacock and Edna Lewis. I've halved the original recipe. Other heroes include Julia Child, Mama Dip and the wonderful kupuna (elders) of Hawai'i.

Green Tomato Preserves

2 pounds green tomatoes, cored and cut into 1/2 inch pieces (about 4 cups)

1 lemon

2 cups sugar

1 teaspoon salt

Put the tomatoes and lemon into a nonreactive Dutch oven or heavy pot. Pour the sugar and salt over, and let sit for 2 hours or overnight, until the sugar has begun to dissolve in the bottom of the pot and the tomatoes begin to give off their liquid.

Stir the ingredients well, and heat slowly until the sugar is dissolved. Simmer, uncovered stirring often, until the tomatoes are soft and yielding and the mixture is somewhat thickened- about 20 minutes. Put the preserves into sterilized canning jars. Refrigerate, or process, following the manufacturer's instructions.

Makes about 5 cups (2 and 1/2 pints)

This is 'ono with biscuits or a shrimp coconut curry entree.

-the foodiewahine

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Farmers have a weekly venue to sell their produce without a middleman. Buyers have access to fresh and varied produce up to 35% less than a supermarket. Schedules, dates and locations for People's Open Markets sponsored by the City and County of Honolulu can be found at http://www.honolulu.gov/parks/programs/pom

The Hawaii Farm Bureau's Federation has three weekly farmers' markets around O'ahu which may also include agricultural products, plate lunches, preserves, baked goods and entertainment. Their website is http://www.hfbf.org/

"The Gift of Southern Cooking" can be purchased at amazon. com, local bookstores or other online book sites.

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