Swimming into nerve-wracking waters
Oh, my cooking 'ohana, what a day. I did the thing that always gets "Top Chef" candidates in trouble: I cooked in a kitchen I'd barely seen before. When the chefs get thrown into one of those crazy challenges and find themselves using sous vide equipment, instant...
Why?????? — my annual kitchen rant…your chance to rant, too
READERS: Due to my complete ignorance of technology, I'm not mounting any pictures right now because I have to learn some stuff I don't have time to learn.....Be kind. Use your imagination! And send me your recipe requests. After this week, I'm open to research...
Fingers (somewhat) restored, I re-enter the world
Kala mai. Desculpe.. Mi dispiace. Je suis désolé(e). Gomennasai. Pasensya ka na. .I'm sorry. That finger-blender accident turned out to be a more intrusive deal than I thought it would be. The wound healed quickly but there are scars and hardening that make typing...
Parsley, sage, rosemary….oh, no parsley
Despite wounded fingers, which have kept me from blogging for the past two weeks, I am making T-giving dinner. To make my Grandma's stuffing (recheao), I have to have flat-leaf parsley. It's the key flavor. Foodand, no. Safeway, no. Times, no. I had bought every...
Note to self: Do not wash immersion blender when plugged in
So last night, I'm making my family-famous tahini-lemon sauce and I decide to rinse off the immersion blender while it's still plugged in. I'm rinsing away, getting ready to do another recipe and...four hours later, I leave Queen's with two white gauze sausages on my...
Not a lot about food, but a lot about culture
Oh, happy day...Oh happy day! Today, I got a visit from a dear friend from Hilo (besides my own home Maui my FAVORITE island place) and, after I gave her the strawberry mochi from Fujiya, we talked about so many things that come from the na'au. (The gut, the place...
My philosophy of pizza — because, of course, pizza is life
I don't love pizza. There, it's out. But I take it back. I mean, I don't love bad to mediocre pizza. I don't like pizza where the crusty edges are so hard chewing (gnawing?) them hurts your mouth. I don't like pizza that arrives cold (it's okay if you eat it cold next...
Kit and kaboodle — we don’t need you!!!!
I paid $5.50 for what was essentially Thai Noodle Helper from Thai Kitchen brand the other day — a "kit" containing 14 ounces of rice sticks and a 6.76-ounce bottle of "Premium Fish Sauce." Add your own meat, vegetables or tofu and a bit of shoyu and sugar and you...
Another butt takes over my one-butt kitchen
As I write this, there is something strange going on here in Kapalama. My house is filled with appetizing aromas: rosemary and garlic and warm spices and meat caramelizing, dripping fat on the floor of the grill. And I had nothing to do with it. My son-in-law, who...
Tsk! Tsk! Too busy cooking to blog: moussaka, potato soup
Hard to believe it's been a week since I got back from Hilo. Life is just a swarm these days, don't you think? No time to catch your breath. Between volunteer activities, family responsibilities, freelance opportunities and, yes, cooking and keeping house, I've not...