Sonia Tastes Hawaii

No-Waste Kitchen Gardening

 

Taken from the website:

When in the kitchen whipping up salads, soups, and stews, you typically pile up random scraps from freshly sliced veggies and fruits. Possibly, within that slurry of unwanted produce pieces, you have pits and seeds that could be the foundations for fresh new plants. Instead of tossing them, put them to work.

 

Katie Elzer-Peters, an author with bachelor’s and master’s degrees in horticulture, describes exactly how to “regrow your leftover greens, stalks, seeds, and more” in her book, “No-Waste Kitchen Gardening.”

 

 

 

This is a fun 'primer' that would be perfect for teaching children (and adults, really) several lessons... think what you can do with it before you throw anything away!  Perfect RRR - Reuse, Reduce, Recycle!

 

Edibles such as celery, head lettuce, green onions, leeks, garlic, bok choy, and many other veggies can continue to produce fresh green, edible leaves, if you put the root base in a dish, bowl, cup, or any container with water.

 

Other scraps that can continue to give you edible greens are sweet potatoes,  turnips. radishes. carrots. 

 

 

Avocado seeds will root and start a new plant. 

 

 

 

 

 

New pineapple plants can be started from the discarded tops!

 

Sesame seeds, caraway seeds, coriander seeds, mustard seeds, and other seeds sprout into edible microgreens.

Unpopped popcorn kernels yield microgreens with a sweet flavor.

 

How to:

You will need a cup or bowl, a sharp knife, and some pebbles.

1. Prepare the onions or any other root-stock for rooting by cutting off the green tops and leaving about an inch of the stem (mostly white) attached to the roots at the very bottom.
2. Fill the bottom of the cup or bowl with ½ to ¾ inch of clean pebbles.
3. Fill a cup or bowl with water so that the pebbles are covered with ½ inch of water.
4. Place the bottoms of the onions in the pebbles, making sure that the pieces are half submerged.
5. Set the cup or bowl in an area of bright, indirect light. The more light, the longer your regrowing onions will last.
6. Change the water every couple of days.

Harvest and keep growing! Snip off the young green leaves for use on top of soups, to add flavor to sandwiches, and for stirring into salads. Keep your green onion harvest growing longer by planting the rooted cuttings in potting soil or into the garden outside. Green onions grow best during cool weather, so plant them outside during the spring or fall.

 

The author says:

It’s usually easy. It potentially saves money, and it reduces food waste. Every time you throw [the stem from a head of lettuce] away, you’re potentially throwing away six to 10 more lettuce leaves. Also, it’s fun. Watching these plants change from what you brought home in a bag from the grocery story is very interesting.

 

 

 For more fun scraps that you can 're-grow' check here:

 

https://foodrevolution.org/blog/reduce-food-waste-regrow-from-scraps/

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Maggie and Beach Day

 

A group of friends gets together on the first Sunday of each month for 'Beach Day'... it's a potluck affair and everyone who can go is invited.  We don't go every Sunday, but did the first Sunday and also attended the 'Bonus Beach Day' yesterday to welcome back friends from Oregon who are spending a few days on the island.

 

We had a great time...the day was gorgeous, which was actually a bonus, because we have been having horrible weather for the last couple of weeks...windy, cold, and rainy...but yesterday was pristine!

Maggie was in her element...first our little friend Acasia walked her for a bit...and everyone had to say Hi and pet her..she loves that!

 

Anthony, Maggie & Wade

Maggie had some Anthony time...

 

Anthony, Maggie, Wade, Carey, Galyn. Sonia, & Sharon! (Wade and Sonia playing 'footsies'...)

 

She also had to have some Sonia time.

 

The potlucks are always fabulous!

Stasia and I were talking to Maggie, while Wade, Lori, and Sharon were serving themselves. Stasia and Wade are our friends from Portland... a Beach Potluck is the perfect welcome!

 

...and Maggie loved all of the attention!

 

Photos by Liz & Stasia

A Chinese New Year Potluck with friends

We were invited to the home of friends for a Chinese New Year potluck last night...

It's always fun to be invited to their home...and you never know who your fellow guests will be.  Last night we got to visit with a couple we haven't seen since the mid 90s, one young couple I hadn't seen in about 6 years or so, and yet another couple I saw last about 4 years ago, ...plus we always get to meet new friends!

 

 

Of course, being Chinese New Year, we were requested to bring Chinese food... The offerings were varied and a lot of it!

Our contribution was a Long Rice Noodle and Veggie (carrots, sugar peas, broccolini, red bell pepper, green garden onions, and small Shimeji mushrooms) Salad served with a Sesame-Ginger Dressing on the side.

 

 

I forgot my camera and left my phone in the car, so had to rely on pictures taken by a friend!  There are not photos of every dish, but everything was delicious and plentiful!

Pad see Ew - a noodle dish

 

Pork ribs with crackling skin being cut

 

Char siu flaky turnovers - no photo
Mushu pork in lettuce cups - no photo

Tofu skin rolls

 

Braised bok choy and a peek at the stuffed bitter melon bites 

 

 

Two different types fried dumplings - one filled with crab and the other with fish cake

There was also pork hash, dumplings, a beef dish, and I can't remember what else...

Desserts:
Matcha gao deep-fried in egg batter and regular gao - no photo

Two types almond cookies , one with raspberry dollop and another traditional with sliced almonds, and Chinese egg custard tart made with flaky puff pastry by our hostess

 

Everyone had a great time eating, talking story, reminiscing, laughing... while enjoying the bubbly and wonderful wines from our hosts' cellar.

恭喜发财 Kung Hei Fat Choi - "wishing you great happiness and prosperity"

 

New Year's Eve - 2018

Another quiet New Year's Eve at home...it was a bit too cool and breezy to dine in our 'dining area' on the back lanai, so we cleaned off the living room coffee table and set it up as our dining table... getting too old to be able to get up from floor gracefully, so I had to resort to sitting on the couch.

The menu and table settings were the simplest I could come up with at the last minute, and still 'feel celebratory'...

Pears, caramelized pecans, pomegranate seeds, and blue cheese salad (special request from Anthony)

Boiled shrimp to dip in my own special 'cocktail sauce' (ketchup, mayo, horseradish, & nam pla Thai sauce)

Sautéed scallops in blood orange infused olive oil, with capers added at the last.

Small potatoes, cut and rubbed with avocado oil, sea salt, and pepper, then roasted.

Manchego cheese
Pickles & Olives 
Martinelli

Dessert:
Christmas cookies and other leftover Christmas treats..

The salad in the back and the pickles and olives in a blue ceramic star shaped plate in the foreground.  The small Japanese bowls hold the 'cocktail sauce' for the shrimp - ketchup, mayo, horseradish, & nam pla Thai sauce.

One of the gifts I received this year was a Jim Shore - Angel of Generosity figurine.  A beautiful angel carrying a tray of fruit, and the colors of her skirt, which I thought blended well with the colors of our New Year theme, inspired me to use the multicolored sarape style runner from Pier 1 I bought several years ago. 

The blue plates were a Freecycle score many years ago; the shallow glass sunflower bowls were found in an after the holiday sales at Paradise Plants in Hilo, also many years ago...I used 'rough cotton' navy blue napkins and my Wallace Napoleon Bee flatware. 

The cobalt glasses used to hold tea lights I've had many years; the light blue drinking glasses were a gift from a friend.

 

 

Pears, caramelized pecans, pomegranate seeds, & blue cheese,  'partially deconstructed' salad so I could include the Manchego cheese on the same plate...the table is not large enough to hold too many different dishes.  The strong taste of both cheeses complemented the juicy pears and the caramelized pecan halves.

 

Boiled the shrimp just enough to not get rubbery and still 'pop' when bitten into.

The scallops sautéed in blood orange infused olive oil, then added capers.  The scallops were sprinkled with a tiny bit of Hawaiian Red Alaea sea salt during the sautéing.  

Small potatoes, cut and rubbed with avocado oil, sea salt, and pepper, then roasted; a few sprigs of stick oregano were added during the roasting, discarded after they were done, and a fresh sprig added for the presentation...plus I love the taste!

 

Hau'oli Makahiki Hou!

Feliz Año Nuevo!

Happy New Year!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hawai'i's borrowed customs - the Kadomatsu

One of the fun things about living in Hawai'i, is learning about the cultures of our 'melting pot' community...and how we all borrow the customs from other cultures and celebrate with them.

One of these customs, borrowed from the Japanese, is placing a kadomatsu by our front doors.  Explanation of a kadomatsu from Wikipedia:

A kadomatsu (門松, "gate pine") is a traditional Japanese decoration as yorishiro of the New Year placed in pairs in front of homes to welcome ancestral spirits or kami of the harvest.^[1] They are placed after Christmas until January 7 (or January 15 during the Edo period) and are considered temporary housing (shintai) for kami.

Designs for kadomatsu vary depending on region but are typically made of pine, bamboo, and sometimes ume tree sprigs which represent longevity, prosperity and steadfastness, respectively.^[2] 

"The fundamental function of the New Year ceremonies is to honor and receive the toshigami (deity), who will then bring a bountiful harvest for farmers and bestow the ancestors' blessing on everyone."

After January 15 (or in many instances the 19th) the kadomatsu is burned to appease the kami or toshigami and release them. The kadomatsu is included in Unicode as U+1F38D 🎍 PINE DECORATION.^[3]

^{I must confess, that my kadomatsu don't always follow exact tradition, but even when doing my own thing, I try to do it with respect for the culture and history behind it.}

^{The bamboo kadomatsu was given to me by a dear friend many years ago...I use it every year, although the tradition is to use green bamboo.  The bamboo pieces are cut at three different heights, and the top sections are cut at a slant...then all three pieces are tied together.} 

^{The arrangement above was by my front door, on the inside of the house during a party, but taken outside and place by the front door on the front lanai afterwards.  The Daruma 'dolls are also another borrowed tradition from the Japanese, and also gifts from friends.}

^{Sometimes I will use the kadomatsu as a dinner table arrangement and then move it to the front lanai afterwards, where it will stay until sometime in January.}

^{Last year's Kadomatsu on our dinner table, and later taken to the front lanai}

^{Happy New Year!}

^{Feliz Año Nuevo!}

^{Hau'oli Makahiki Hou!}

 

 

Meyer lemons and lots of tips

 

My Meyer lemon tree has been producing lots of lemons the last couple of years.  At this time we have ripe fruit, still green fruit and blossoms!

Besides making Limonade, Limoncello, Spritzers,  and Limoncello Cream there are lots of other things you can do with them...

 

Tips for using Meyer Lemons –

*From my friends Diane in California and Deb in Georgia –Use a vegetable peeler and save the peel before juicing the lemons. Freeze the peels in small snack size bags. When lemon zest is needed, just take the needed amount out, defrost, mince and you will have fresh lemon zest to use in baking and all types of recipes.

The Meyer Lemon peels can be candied as well. They are really tasty and make pretty decorations for cup cakes, cakes, tarts, and other pastries (see my great-grandmother's recipe below)

The following are by Amy Scattergood Los Angeles Times Staff Writer in the January 16th, 2008 issue.

* Infuse your favorite olive oil with Meyer lemon peel: Warm a cup of olive oil and the peel from 2 lemons over very low heat for 15 minutes, then allow cooling for half an hour. Strain and pour into an antique bottle with a tight stopper.

* Make Meyer lemon vinaigrette with extra virgin olive oil, Meyer lemon juice, a splash of champagne vinegar, sea salt, cracked black pepper and a little lemon zest.

* Add Meyer lemon peels into a jar of honey and allow to sit for a few weeks; the peel will perfume the honey while it slowly candies in the jar.

* Perfume your sugar bowl by stirring strips of Meyer lemon peel down into the sugar.

* Make Hollandaise sauce with Meyer lemon.

* Whisk the zest of a few Meyer lemons into your favorite meringue recipe.

* Throw the peel of a Meyer lemon on the grill before cooking shrimp.

* Peel a whole Meyer lemon in one continuous long strand and drop the peel into a mug of hot chocolate.

...and my Great-grandmother's Candied Citrus Peels

Great-Grandmother Rachel (Rate) McElrath Parker Fisher's Grapefruit / Orange / Lemon Rind Candy

Better if made with thick skinned fruit

1. Quarter the rinds.
2. Soak in cold, salty water overnight.
3. Pour all (rinds and salty water) into a boiler. Bring to a rolling boil.
4. Pour off water and cover with tap water.
5. Bring to another rolling boil.
6. Repeat about 6 to 8 times (no salt, just water)
7. Drain and cover heavily with sugar and cold water - continue to add sugar and water as it cooks down -- cook about 3? hours with lid off on low heat (or until cooked down). Turn with fork.
8. Watch closely so it doesn't stick or burn on bottom.
9. Take rinds out and put directly on a pan (no foil or wax paper)
10. Turn occasionally while cooling.
11. Sprinkle with sugar on each side.
12. Let stand out overnight (not covered)
13. Cut with scissors when it is getting dry -- put in a plastic sack with sugar and shake.
This was not written down-- Mama (Nancy's mom, Kathy Griggs Pearson) just told from memory, thus the ? on cooking time.
Delicious!

Sonia's note: I remember eating this made by my Grandmother Arla Genevieve fisher Harris, but never saw her make it!

ps...if I left this out overnight, uncovered, my kitchen would be crawling with ants and geckos trying to get to them!

 

Christmas Eve 2018

 

Our table, before candles in the centerpiece were lit...I had the 'Joy' place setting... Anthony had the 'Love' setting across the table

 

I love mixing plaids...don't you?

After the candles in the centerpiece were lit...

With our dinner last night, I served Sparkling Martinelli in tall thin glass 'bud vases' to which I added some fresh cranberries.

The red goblet is one of 8 I gave my mother way back in the middle 60s, bought with 'Green Stamps'...Do you remember Green Stamps?

The centerpiece was very simple: a rectangular cheese board with rounded ends, with 6 votive candles inside Oui yogurt glasses; allspice leaves from tree in the yard, a simple red ribbon and mini red Christmas tree ornaments.

 

In the background you can see our 'shelf Christmas Tree' made from recycled wooden pallets by our friend Leilehua Yuen...and an assortment of toys I have been collecting here and there for several years, mainly from thrift shops, except for the red fire engine truck (details at the bottom), which was a gift from my sister this Christmas!

 

Our menu for Christmas Eve was fairly simple, and although I had done a lot of prepping the day before, there were still a few things to do to finish...but the day was not 'harried' and I took my time.

Our menu:

Pear Salad with Caramelized Pecan Halves, Pomegranate Seeds and Gorgonzola on mixed greens

 

The pears were crisp and juicy, and all the other flavors melded well... This one is a keeper!

 

The entrée was an old favorite recipe I learned many years ago when I had my cooking school in South Carolina and visiting teacher Shirley Corriher taught a series of 'Easy Entertaining'.  Pork Tenderloin in Hoisin Sauce...except last evening's was a Pork Loin in the Hoisin Sauce.

Pork Loin Roast in Hoisin Sauce
The pork marinated in the hoisin sauce overnight.

Hoisin sauce: melt butter in a saucepan, add hoisin, wine, (normally white, but I had only red, so that's what I used) add a tablespoon sugar (optional) - bring to a boil, reduce a little bit, put the roast in it while hot and let it sit there until cool, put in a strong baggie or in a covered dish in fridge overnight.

To cook: very hot oven (time depends on size of roast) let it cook on one side then turn over. Check temp with meat thermometer to 150 F. Let rest 10 minutes before slicing.

The above was served with mini potatoes, halved and boiled in water to which I add a handful of fresh rosemary tips.  Simple served with butter; and pencil thin asparagus, which I had decided to steam, but instead put in a glass baking dish, added a drizzle of avocado oil, place several thin slices of Meyer lemon from our tree on top of the asparagus and sprinkled the juice from the lemon ends over all of it and cooked in the oven for the last 10 minutes of the roast.

 

For dessert I served the Wine Cake I shared yesterday, served with a side of Sour Cherries & Cranberry Compote I made the day before...I added sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg to the fruit while cooking, and reduce them to a thick compote. 

 

 

Merry Christmas!

Felices Navidades!

Mele Kalikimaka! 

Christmas Wine Cake

 

Many years ago I had found a recipe in Southern Living Magazine for a Cream Sherry Bundt Cake from scratch that was delicious.  As it happens sometimes, that recipe, along with others, was lost to me.

In a Tea group on Facebook in which I'm a member, someone mentioned the wine cakes and I remembered about the old recipe so started looking for one; could not find a from scratch, but found the closest to the one I remembered...but of course, as usual, I had to make changes...some because of what I had on hand, and some for our taste reasons.

So...here is the recipe as I found it and below I share my changes

Cream Sherry Bundt Cake

1 yellow cake mix

1 small box instant vanilla pudding

4 large eggs

3/4 cup cream sherry

2/3 cup vegetable oil

2 teaspoons freshly grated nutmeg

Powdered sugar, optional

 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and spray a bundt pan with non-stick spray; set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer add cake mix, instant vanilla pudding, eggs, cream sherry, vegetable oil and nutmeg. Mix for 5 minutes.

Add the batter to the prepared pan and bake for about 45 minutes or until the cake is fully baked and lightly browned on top.

Let the cake rest for 20 minutes and turn out onto a serving plate.

Before serving dust with powdered sugar.

 

 

My changes:

1 spice cake mix, instead of yellow

3/4 cups Merlot, instead of Cream Sherry

2/3 cup apple sauce, instead of the vegetable oil

No nutmeg was added, since I used a spice cake mix

and I added some chopped, toasted pecan bits

 

 

 

 

5th Annual Christmas Party

 

This past Saturday & Sunday were very busy days for me...

On Saturday I participated in a cookbook signing event at a bookstore on the other side of the island, so a 3 hour event turned into an all day affair...

and on Sunday, our group of friends, and friends of friends held our 5th Annual Christmas Party at a local county park, with our friend Galyn acting as host.

 

As usual, too much food...delicious or 'onolicious' as we say in Hawai'i, desserts, a fun gift exchange game (where I was the very last person to pick a gift and got the olive wood board and mortar & pestle I had been tracking all during the game and got to steal it and keep it!)

The most incredible dessert was brought by our young friend Lori!. Her dessert was the talk of the party and I want to share it with you, because I think it would be a wonderful dessert to feature during any Holiday Party!

It is called a Kransekake, a traditional Danish and Norwegian confection, usually eaten on special occasions such as weddings, baptisms, Christmas, or New Year's Eve.

 

Following is the recipe as she found it, but she made a couple of substitutions and an addition, which I thought made it even better!

Lori followed the recipe, but used almond flour instead of the ground almonds and omitted the pistachios, but added about 2 tablespoons of Japanese matcha tea powder and 1 teaspoon ginger powder.

Christmas Kransekake

600g (4 cups) blanched almonds, finely ground
600g (4 cups) icing sugar, sifted, plus extra for dusting
3 large egg whites, beaten
1 tsp almond extract
300g (2 cups) Iranian pistachios, finely ground

For the decoration

3 egg whites / 6 tbsp pasteurized egg whites
600g (4 cups) icing sugar
25g (2 Tablespoons) white sugar florist paste
Cornflour, for dusting (she used powdered sugar)

To make the dough, tip the ground almonds and icing sugar into a bowl, add the beaten egg whites and the almond extract and mix to a dough with your hands. Cover the bowl with clingfilm and chill for a minimum of 2 hours, preferably overnight or freeze for 30 minutes.

For the star, roll out the florist paste on a surface lightly dusted with cornflour to the thickness of a 2 pence piece. Make a template, then cut out 2, six pointed stars each measuring 5cm across. Cut a 2mm channel from one of the points of each star into the middle of each star and leave to set.

Heat the oven to 190°C/170°F/gas 5 (between 350 and 375). Line 3 baking sheets with non-stick baking paper.

Cut the dough into 4 pieces. Roll each piece into a long rope about 2cm thick. Place the ground pistachios on a large baking sheet and gently roll the ropes in the pistachios to coat - (since Lori did not use the pistachios, she instead mixed the macha tea powder into the 'dough' and did not do this step)

Gently press the tops of the ropes with the heel of your hand to flatten them slightly–this will make it easier to form them into rings. Run an offset spatula under the ropes to loosen.

Cut the dough into strips (these will become rings): The smallest strip should measure 8cm, the next 11cm, the next 14cm and so on. Continue in 3cm increments until you reach the largest strip, which should measure 41cm long

Shape the strips into rings and push the edges together to seal. Make sure the curved surface is on the outside of the rings. (The smaller rings are the hardest to make, so take your time shaping them.)

Place the rings on the prepared baking sheets. Place a piece of parchment on top of the rings. Place an empty baking sheet on top of the parchment paper and press gently to flatten the tops of the rings. Remove the baking sheet and parchment paper and bake the rings for 10 to 12 minutes until lightly golden. Leave to cool completely.

For the icing, whisk the egg whites in a large bowl until frothy. Gradually whisk in the icing sugar a spoonful at a time, until stiff, glossy peaks form when the whisk is removed.

Once the rings have cooled, begin to build the tower. Spoon the icing into a piping bag fitted with a number 4 writing nozzle. Pipe a few dots of white icing onto the base of the largest ring and stick it to a large serving plate. Pipe the icing in a zigzag pattern around the ring. Repeat with the remaining rings, stacking them one on top of the other, from largest to smallest, piping a zigzag pattern on every ring.

Once the stars are hard, interlink the 2 stars by sliding one channel into the other creating a 3 dimensional star.

Top the kransekake with the star and dust with icing sugar before serving.

 

Any mistakes in the conversions between metric and US measurements are mine.

 

Welcoming new friends

Yesterday we welcomed new friends when a small group of friends got together for a pot-luck picnic at one of our beach parks.  

Our host invited us to a late afternoon shish kebab cookout at our favorite little pavilion at Leleiwi Beach Park...he did not assign dishes to the rest of us, but as it seems to always work out, no matter how large or how small the group, the food was plentiful, delicious, and varied!...unfortunately, I did not get to take a picture of every single dish.

There was a cheese board with rosemary flavored almonds, apples, cheddar slices, a crock with blue cheese spread, grapes, and pimento stuffed olives.

 

Delicious pasta salad!

 

An assortment of shish-kabobs, not all pictured - shrimp, chicken, kielbasa, beef, and tofu for the vegetarians - our host pre-boiled the mini-potatoes first, then coated them with avocado oil and seasonings before adding them to the sticks... I tasted a piece of the beef and the kielbasa and they were both delicious, but the shrimp was perfect...YUM!

 

 

My plate with the shrimp kabob...at top right corner a rice dish, cooked in beef broth and then stir-fried with onions and veggies, plus cubed fresh mangoes and on far right, the pasta salad

 

 

We also had a choice of three desserts!  Pictured is the pumpkin cheesecake (delish!) - story behind the pumpkin cheesecake...once upon a time, one of these made by the person who brought it, was auctioned off at a school benefit in Colorado for $300!!!! -  not pictured a chocolate cheesecake and a traditional pumpkin pie.

The day was blustery and breezy, but not as cold there at the point as it can get...but a very good time was had by all, as we welcomed new friends to the island!

E komo mai to the Gonzalez Family!