Sonia Tastes Hawaii

Loving Sushi at the Sushi Bar Hime

The first time we visited this tiny little spot in downtown Hilo several months ago was at the urging of a friend who knew my son Anthony and I write restaurant reviews for The Hawaii Island Journal for the East side of the island.  We fell in love with the ambiance, the owners and of course, the sushi.  Since then we have visited several times and they have never disappointed.

The place has been sort of a well-kept secret since their opening in January, but that is how the owners Yugi and Takako Sekiguchi like it.  Customers who have found it will tell other sushi aficionados and that is the only form of advertising the Sekiguchis want.

"It is just the two of us, and this is a very small place", says Chef Sekiguchi, "we want to keep our regular customers happy" .  When asked about the name "Hime" we were told that it means Princess in Japanese and it is the name of their pet kitty....a beautiful, sleek black "princess" who answers to the name of Hime and is also their mascot and logo shown wearing a golden crown.

Located in the space originally occupied by "Canoes", the tiny place will seat only 10 people comfortably......but the food....! Oh, the food....!

Photo: One of our favorites is the Spicy Crab Roll with cucumber and asparagus - on a very spicy sauce redolent of sambal, cilantro, chives and lightly balanced with the sweet taste of honey.

I think through the months we have tried almost everything on their menu....even the eel sushi, which I was most reluctant to try and did at the urging of a dining companion during one of our visits.  I was pleasantly surprised to not find it fishy but actually, slightly sweet!

Photo: Another of our favorite selections is the Orange Sherbet Scallop Wrap.  Yummy raw scallop in a slightly spice sauce that hints at orange and wrapped in a soft  'crepe' made of green soy flour.

Photo: Scallop & Hamakua Mushroom Medley baked in a fantastic tasting sauce.

On our last visit we were pleased to see a new item on the menu and of course had to taste it.....They call it Baked Dynamite and is a combination of an assortment of Hamakua mushrooms and scallops baked in a white sauce and served in a scallop shell about 6 inches in diameter...............Delicious!

We could not "take apart" the seasonings in the sauce,  but we all agreed it had a beautiful consistency, was well balanced and tasted ....well, like dynamite!

Originally trained in Japan, the Sekiguchis came to Hilo from Maui, where they also operated a sushi place for several years... Previous to Maui and the Big Island, they lived in Canada and in New Caledonia in the South Pacific before that....

Altogether Chef Sekiguchi has been practicing the art of sushi making for about 36 years...and it shows!

(c) Sonia Martinez & Anthony Mathis - Some content taken from our review for the Hawaii Island Journal - May 19, 2007 issue

The taming of our garden...

Our garden got sort of wild (to say the least) while I was away on my recent trip to the mainland.  There are days when my son, Anthony is in so much pain (Fibromyalgia) that I told him to not bother with it while I was gone.

On my return, I found the 'long bean' plant had grown so huge it had toppled over the wire cage we had put around it...and 'spilled over' to the nearby beds, where the viney tendrils were taking over, rooting and even choking other plants.

This past Saturday and Sunday we dedicated to cleaning the garden.  Weeding, pulling out dead stuff, clearing, and of course, hacking back the bean plant to a more manageable 'one stalk'.

Photo: Bay laurel in center of this bed - assortment of parsleys, sage and marigolds

We were in town Friday and in preparation for the weekend garden project stocked up on several plants - cherry tomatoes, 3 kinds of basil, more parsley, 2 kinds of eggplants and lots of marigolds.

 

Photo: I was told by the farmer who sold these to the nursery that this was called Japanese Parsley.  I planted it in our garden last November and it is now 'budding out' with tiny little white flower buds.  I would love to know the actual name of the plant.

Photo: 'Monster' mizuna tuber and green shoots - the mizuna was part of a mixture of meslun and other lettuces we planted in this bed last September.  Everything else is now gone except for the mizuna which is still providing us greens for our salads!

A couple of weeks ago, our church held their annual bazaar and I was able to pick up 3 rosemaries in 1 gallon pots - each was about 1-1/2 to 2 feet tall.

Photo: Looking across one bed to three other different beds - marigolds, mizuna, rosemary,  amustard plant....and you can see the beginnings of the "jungle" in the background....(our next project)

As we cleaned and cleared each bed of the dead stuff, we started planting the new to replace whatever we were taking out.  The new rosemaries were planted in the center of the different beds and we now have a total of 5 rosemaries!

Photo: Lemon basil (back of the grid area) was planted last September - the new tomato plants can be seen inside their little "cup collars" to prevent slugs or other critters from getting to them before they have a chance to grow.

Photo: Cuban aka Caribbean Oregano.  The leaves are slightly fuzzy and succulent and hard to digest - To use them I crush a handfull in a 4" SS mesh tea ball and dip it into the soup, stew, beans or pasta sauce, then just "fish" the tea ball out.  I'm getting ready to move this to another area of the garden, since it loves to just take over.

Surprisingly, enough of the original plants from last year were salvageable....and I have been watering early mornings and late afternoon to make sure everything makes it.... while praying over each plant as I water them and telling them how much I love them and asking them to please not die on me!

Photo: This eggplant was growing in spite of all the weeds and the 'monster long bean' vines that were covering it.

I also bought 3 packs different varities of nasturtium seeds and we will be planting them as soon as we can get an area ready for them.

Photo: Stick Oregano.  We have one huge plant and several smaller ones at different stages of growth in several areas of the yard some in pots and some in the ground.  All we have had to do is take a small piece and stick it in the ground and they root easily!

This afternoon , the young man who helps with the yard will be coming over and bringing a friend.    They will be cleaning a whole new area and claiming it back from the weeds and "jungle".....this is the area that starts at the line just where we have the dwarf banana trees and goes beyond to the edge of a gulch, where we had never cleared before... As it is, you can barely see the banana plants through the 'cane weeds'.

Photo: You can barely see the dwarf banana trees among the "weed canes and jungle" growing beyond them.  This is the area we will be reclaiming starting today.

We plan to plant more bananas, papaya trees and a pomegranate in this new area.   I started taking pics of before and will follow up with during and after on that little project!

I'm very excited about the garden again....but don't even look at my hands and nails!!!

From the Herbal Gardens

I have known Barbara Fahs, owner of Hi‘iaka's Healing Herb Garden, for several years, both as a friend and as a colleague since we are both freelance writers for the Hawaii Island Journal. Barbara is an authority on healing herbs as well as a published author. Her newest book is titled Super Simple Guide to Creating Hawaiian Gardens.

A couple of weeks ago, Barbara contacted me about Team Teaching a Mother's Day class using fresh herbs and she would conduct the participants through a little tour of the gardens while they collected flowers and foliage for little gift bouquets everyone would get to take home with them.

The demo style class was held yesterday (Saturday, May 12) in her breezy upstairs lanai with a beautiful view of the gardens. Below are the recipes for the simple and fast herbal creations I demonstrated to our little group of guests.

EASY BLENDER PESTO

2 cups tightly packed fresh basil leaves, washed, dried on paper towels

3 Tablespoons chopped and toasted macadamia nuts (or pine nuts)

1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste

1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil, or to taste

2-4 large cloves garlic, peeled and halved, or to taste

1/2 cup freshly grated Parmeggiano

By the time I thought about taking a picture, most of the pesto was gone!

I used Thai Basil, since that was what both Barbara and I had on hand. I also added an 8 ounce block of low-fat cream cheese and made it into a dip or spread.

Here is a tip when making large quantities of pesto (without the cream cheese) is to pack a tablespoonful of pesto in individual ice cube trays. Freeze and then pop out and store in freezer zip-lock bags. When you need some to make a sauce, use a cube or two, mix with a bit more olive oil or melted butter and pour over your pasta. If you mix a bit of cream with it, it will be a creamy pesto sauce.

Another idea for a creamy pesto sauce is to mix equal amounts of flour and butter and cut together until the crumbly stage. Pack enough in each compartment of an ice cube tray. Pop out when frozen and store in zip-lock bag in freezer. When needed, take a cube or two out, cook it in the pan first (making a roux) stirring all the time, just to get rid of the raw flour taste, then add the cube(s) of pesto and mix to the desired consistency. Milk or cream can also be added.

I keep a supply of the little flour/butter cubes in my freezer for instant white sauce at any time.

ROSEMARY BUTTER

3 cloves garlic, minced

3 teaspoons fresh rosemary leaves, removed from stem

1/2 teaspoon orange or lemon zest or grated rind

1 Tablespoon white wine or lemon juice

1/4 teaspoon dried crushed red chile pepper

Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

4 ounces unsalted butter (1/4 pound - 1 stick), softened

NASTURTIUM BUTTER

4 ounces unsalted butter (1/4 pound - 1 stick), softened

12-18 nasturtium flowers - rinsed and drained - chopped small

3-4 fresh chives (optional) - chopped small

2-4 fresh nasturtium leaves or a few sprigs fresh parsley - chopped small

For either butter: Mix all ingredients until well blended.

They can be rolled into logs and wrapped in plastic wrap. Can be frozen.

Put a frozen pat/slice on roasted chicken, a freshly grilled steak, baked potato, etc.

NASTURTIUM GOAT OR CREAM CHEESE DIP / SPREAD

8 ounces (1/2 pound) cream cheese or soft goat cheese (chevre)

4 teaspoons tender nasturtium leaves, chopped

4-6 nasturtium flowers for garnish - or can be chopped and mixed in if you wish.

Mix all ingredients until well-blended. We serve the Chevre and Nasturtium Leaves Dip/Spread with crackers. If you desire a creamier consistency, add a little bit of milk, cream or sour cream.

Grating the lemon rind for the Rosemary Butter.

Barbara assembling the floral bouquets.

Sharing with some of our guests.

The next class scheduled at Hi‘iaka's Healing Herb Garden will be held on

June 30th - A Healthy Fourth of July Barbeque: Team taught by Barbara & Sonia. Includes lunch - Mango/Tiki Fish and Veggie Kabobs, extra-fresh salad, grilled veggies, brown rice and other delicious surprises.

For more information, please contact Barbara.

Barbara J. Fahs, M.A.
Hi‘iaka's Healing Herb Garden, LLC

Helping to Conserve and Educate about Threatened Hawaiian Medicinal Plants

HCR 2, Box 9620
Kea‘au, HI 96749
(808) 966-6126
goddess@hiiakas.com
www.hiiakas.com

A walk through the yard....

On returning from my mainland trip, one of the first things I did the next day was take a little walk around the yard..... This is what I found

Coral shaded anthurium by the driveway

Yellow bearded with brown throat orchids on a tree almost by our house

Velvety white gardenias in my flower bed

Coral bouganviliea (or paper flower) down by the Buddha Garden

Heliconia Bihai (I believe it is also known as Kamehameha), also by the driveway

Shell pink anthurium growing among the coral ones

Varigated Cuban oregano in our veggie and herb garden

A mini purple eggplant, also in our veggie and herb garden

A miniature pineapple.  These are not edible but I love to use them in arrangements.

........and our very first cacao pod, on a tree by our house. 

And that is how our garden is growing at the moment.  I will be writing about our cacao soon.