Madeline and Lester have decided they both want to visit our islands...one right after the other... Madeline is the first one, due to arrive sometime in the early morning (like 2 am!) hours of Thursday (tomorrow) and Lester follows behind her and supposedly arriving on Saturday.
The image above shows the path Madeline is expected to take, to the south of us and Lester to the north of us...The blue dot on the NE coast of the island is the area where we live...At best, we will be affected by rain and we expect some wind, but even though projected paths show we will miss a direct hit from each, we're preparing as best we can for all eventualities, because you really never know what they will do, as no matter how sophisticated all of our weather predictions can be, hurricanes seem to have a mind of their own.
My father taught us to always be prepared (yes, he was a scout master at one time!) and my actual list is much more detailed than below, but basically, this is what we routinely do to prepare for emergencies.
Car gassed √ ATM √ Food √ Water √ Manual can opener √ Bug out kits (just in case) √ Personal papers /documents √ Wine √ Chocolate √ Coffee √ Books √ Phone charging √ Camera battery charging √ Flashlights √ Batteries √ Battery radio √
To Do today: Get ice Wash tub (after showers) Fill tub w/water Finish securing stuff outside Bungee-tie back lanai furniture to railings (and keep fingers crossed) Bring in back lanai plants Boil eggs Boil potatoes Cook bacon
Several areas of our island were quite affected by Iselle, which was a Category 1 Tropical Storm in 2014, and our island has been spared from the effects of a full-on hurricane, but we're preparing for any eventuality and hoping for the best.
Except for a few last minute things to still do, we're as prepared as we will ever be. It is now out of our hands. Whatever will be, will be and we have no control over it.
Thank you to all our family and friends who have sent messages, prayers and good thoughts. If we lose power and land line, I will call my sister Sandra in Miami and let her know how we fared.
The nights and early mornings are a bit cooler but the heat holds on during the middle of the day and persists up until early evening...Although I can almost 'smell and see' autumn coming, summer, at least in the middle of the day, will continue to hang on for a bit..
Yes, believe it or not, we do have changes in season in Hawai'i...they're subtle, but they're there and you learn to recognize them after living here a couple of years.
We love to make our own 'aguas frescas' - literally it means fresh waters, but it's the name given in Mexico to 'refreshing' water infused with fruit or vegetable juices. My favorite is pineapple agua fresca.
Here is an article I recently wrote for the July/August 2016 issue of Ke Ola Magazine about "Aguas Frescas" and it has the instructions on how to make my favorite pineapple drink...also several others, including watermelon.
The following recipe, which I will be trying soon (love the idea of infusing it with basil!) came in today's copy of the Diggers Rest, the newsletter from New Zealand, about no dig gardening to which I have subscribed for many years. If interested, you can sign up HERE
1/4 teaspoon white vinegar (I used apple cider vinegar).
Method
Combine the watermelon chunks and basil in a colander placed over a large bowl. Using a metal ladle or spoon, mash and press the watermelon and basil to extract as much juice as possible (the remaining pulp should be fairly dry).
Season the juice with the sea salt and vinegar and strain through a fine-mesh sieve into a large pitcher. Top up with water as desired, stir and serve.
Preparation: 15 minutes Serves: 1 large jugful.
Here's to refreshing hot summer afternoon aguas frescas!
Hard to believe the Kino'ole Farmers Market in Hilo is already 9 years old. I remember visiting it during the very early days to check it out and wrote a feature for the Hawai'i HomeGrown Food Network.
I have been invited through the years to present food demos at the market and during one Holiday Season I also did a Hawaiian wreath making demonstration.
This past Saturday, August 13th, I was again at the market doing a presentation on Tropical Cuisine...and this time it was to demonstrate how to make a Chilled Avocado Cream Soup. The day was rainy and I was hoping for a modest turnout, but was surprised at how many people showed up, some of them just to see the presentation. This was a boost to my spirit ;-)
Several people took photos and shared them with me. Mahalo to Mary Louise Kimura, Jennifer Perry, Sheryl Rawson and Stasia Van Buskirk!
The recipe for the Chilled Avocado Soup can be found on page 16 of my "From Soup to Nuts" cookbook...but I added a twist this time...CUMIN! How I missed adding it the first few times around I've made this soup is a mystery to me...because we love cumin and the addition REALLY wakes up the soup!
Serve it in bowls, in glasses, in stemware, as a first course or as an amuse bouche, this delicious soup seems to delight everyone who tastes it...one of the people attending the demo had her husband with her...after the demo and before she left, she came to ask a couple of questions and mentioned that her husband was skeptic about eating avocado soup, so took his little cup to the parking, thinking he would toss it...she went to her car to get something and found him dipping into the cup to be able to get to the last drops clinging to the sides of the cup with his finger...so I guess he found it 'finger-licking-good!'
Chilled Avocado Soup During the hot months of summer, we eat a lot of chilled soups. This soup has a lovely color and is perfect for summer evenings.
2 avocados, pitted and peeled
1 small sweet onion, chopped
1 clove garlic
1 small red Hawaiian chile pepper, seeded and deveined
1 cup chicken (or vegetable stock)
1 cup thick yogurt, cream or half & half
Sea salt to taste
Powdered cumin, to taste (this is an addition since the cookbook was published)
3 Tablespoons lemon or lime juice
1 teaspoon lemon or lime zest—for garnish
Place all ingredients except for the zest in a food processor or blender. Taste and adjust seasonings, if needed. Serve in bowls, stemmed glasses or shot glasses as an amuse-bouche. Garnish with the zest if desired or use your own favorite garnishes.
Yield: 4 servings in a regular sized soup bowl - more in smaller containers Source: Sonia’s kitchen for an article in the September / October 2013 issue of Ke Ola Magazine.
Other demos at this market in the past - missing some and can't find them for some reason
Sonia R. Martinez was born in the island of Cuba, and has always been drawn to tropical climes and cuisines. For the last 22 years she has lived on the Island ofHawai’i in a beautiful rain forest where she loves to play in the garden, grow herbs, collect cookbooks, test recipes, visiting farms; learning and reporting about new sustainable growing techniques, read voraciously, and work on crossword puzzles.
Her passion for food and cooking led her to own kitchen/gourmet shops and cooking schools first in Orangeburg, South Carolina and later in the Miami, Florida area. After moving to Hawai’i, she and her son owned Akaka Falls Inn, a B&B, cooking school and gourmet shop in Honomu for several years.
She has been a food writer and columnist since early 1999, writing a monthly column for The Hamakua Times newspaper of Honoka’a. Sonia is also a regular contributor to Ke Ola Magazine as well as many other local publications. I first met Sonia in the early days of Gather, a website that featured great writing and an even greater community. Her recipes, photos of life in Hawai’i, and generous, smiling personality attracted many followers, including myself. Her care and attention is genuine and I consider her decade+ friendship one of the best things coming from the islands to Michigan! She has been a beacon for visitors to visit Hawai’i, promoting the delicious local foods there, as well as encouraging healthy and fresh eating. Her recipes, food photos, and sharing of local farmer’s markets, island food, and the beautiful place she lives in has inspired countless readers.
Her cookbookTropical Taste, published in 2001, is a compilation of three years’ worth of monthly columns published in The Hamakua Times and is now in its second printing after being picked as one of the “Best of the Best” cookbooks in Hawai’i by Quail Ridge Press. Her second cookbook, From Soup to Nuts, was published a year ago .
Sonia has maintained a blog for several years, sharing her adventures in food and gardening and her ongoing love affair with Hawai’i at www.soniatasteshawaii.com
Food People Questionnaire (with a nod to Proust):
What is your favorite food to cook at home? Mainly simple and fresh…but I grew up with the ‘waste not’ concept and love to find creative ways to recycle leftovers so they don’t look or taste like leftovers.
What do you always have in your fridge at home? Eggs, butter, cheese…I can live on cheese.
What marked characteristic do you love in a person with whom you are sharing a meal? Appreciation and enjoyment of the food.
What marked characteristic do you find unappealing in a person with whom you are sharing a meal? Inattention to the food or the other extreme, showing off their ‘gourmandise’
Beer, wine, or cocktail? Definitely wine…unless I’m eating a paella or Arroz con Pollo…then I do enjoy a very cold beer. I am not fond of cocktails.
Your favorite cookbook author? This is a hard one. At one time I owned a collection of well over 3000 cookbooks. Lost them in a fire, but in no time at all, my ‘new’ collection grew by leaps and bounds with gifts from friends who were trying to replace the lost ones, plus the many I added through the years. A couple of years ago, I started going through them and culling them to a manageable 4 shelf units in my office and hallway instead of all over the house. It was a time of hard decisions, but now know exactly what I have and where to find it…No mean feat, since I still own about 500, give or take.
I have an extensive collection of Cuban and Hawaiian cookbooks; a few Spanish & Portuguese, some Italian ones and Tropical Fruit ones, plus several on herbs & spices, a few single topic ones (sushi, dim sum, chocolate) and several of the classics that don’t fit into any of the categories mentioned…and of course, my own two titles,Tropical Taste and From Soup to Nuts.
Your favorite kitchen tool? My Santoku knife…I seem to reach for that one above all other ones.
Favorite types of cuisine to cook? Tropical, Cuban, Italian.
Beef, chicken, pork, or tofu? I’ll eat anything but am most creative with chicken. I am not fond of tofu.
Favorite vegetable? Asparagus, any way it can be prepared.
Chef you most admire? Although I have met a few of the well-known chefs in the culinary world, and admire several of them, I will have to say that there arethree ‘local’ chefs I admire the most on this island. Sam Choy of Sam Choy’s Kai Lanai in Kailua-Kona, James Babian of Pueo’s Osteria in Waikoloa, and Diana Soler of Aloha Bayfront Café in Hilo, for their commitment to using locally sourced ingredients whenever possible and their honest approach to food. Simple, fresh, beautifully prepared and presented without ostentation.
Food you like the most to eat? Any shellfish but love scallops
Food you dislike the most? Anything that is an imitation of the real thing
What is your favorite non-food thing to do? Play in the garden…I love planting edibles among our ornamental landscaping (I even joy weeding!), and am a voracious reader.
View from Sonia’s back yard
Who do you most admire in food? My mentor and inspiration from way back has always been Shirley O. Corriher, who came to my first cooking school as a guest cooking teacher fairly often in the early 80s. She demystified so many of my preconceived notions in cooking and her enthusiasm and love of all things food served as great encouragement.
Where is your favorite place to eat? A good sushi or seafood restaurant.
What is your favorite restaurant? Takenoko’s Sushi in Hilo, is in my opinion the best sushi restaurant anywhere. We’re lucky if we can get reservations since the waiting list is so long, but it is well worth the waiting. I also enjoy dropping by Aloha Bayfront Café in Hilo for lunch. The food is always fresh, delicious, and beautifully presented, the staff is friendly, and you’re never rushed to vacate the table.
Do you have any tattoos? And if so, how many are of food? No tattoos. My mother would have killed me!
Recipe: Salade Niçoise with fresh ‘ahi
One of my favorite simple and healthy meals to prepare at home when I can buy fresh ‘ahi (tuna) is my version of a Salade Niçoise.
Season to taste fresh ‘ahi (tuna), sear in avocado oil, serve on a bed of fresh spinach or Manoa lettuce, boiled potato wedges, hard-boiled eggs, tomatoes, sliced onions, a handful of lightly steamed haricot vert, and asparagus, dressed simply with Honey Wine Vinegar to which I had added a vanilla bean.
The End. Go Eat.
All photos courtesy and copyright Sonia R. Martinez
