The Flavor of Home

Teriyaki chicken with pine apple salsa, rice and kimchee slaw!

I am from Hawaii. I ran through guava forest and swam along coral beds swarming with schools of tropical fish. I ate mangoes and drank down coconut water to wash down the saltiness of dried fish. I marveled at avocado trees pregnant with green orbs of delicious cream. I eagerly peeled the red sea urchin skin of rambutan and suckled their white watery flesh. I dug my fingers into the stringy tangy meat of the sour sop as I spent lazy days at the beach. I dipped my fingers into the viscous purple velvet of poi and coupled it with chunks of sesame flavored poke. Need I go on? I miss Island food. Don't get me wrong, great food is everywhere, but there is something special about the food you grow up eating. Perhaps it's the memories associated with food you grow up with. One of my fondness memories is associated with island food. I remember playing on the kitchen floor as my mom spent hours making okara burgers and hibiscus tea. Her head was wrapped up in some colorful cloth, she wore a colorful island themed skirt and she smiled when she passed me my burger. Good times !

Sometimes I think about the time I had gotten out of a grueling anthropology theory class and promptly bought a bag of poi (mashed taro root), cut a tiny hole in the bottom corner crease, allowing me to squeeze the contents into my mouth for rejuvenation. Sooo ono! (so delicious). Now that I live in California, I often miss my island vittles, and on occasion I whip up a meal to remind me of home. I was missing home just the other day and decided to make one of my favorites: White rice, kimchee cabbage, and teriyaki chicken with pineapple salsa. As I sat looking at the pink sunset, I imagined that I was at my sister's house eating this fine meal, and just for a moment, I was home.

My teriyaki chicken with pineapple salsa

Quick meals

Rotisserie chicken, sliced Roma tomato, avocado slivers, fresh green grapes
baby carrots and chopped romaine lettuce with Greek dressing.

I am a new mom. I wake up several times during the night to feed and change my beautiful baby boy. I love being a mother. I love the challenges and the rewards that I experience and receive every day. When my baby boy smiles at me, I know that there is right in the world and that I am doing right by him. Being a mom is tough, I never realized just how tough until I had my son three months ago. I wish I could give my mom a trophy for her patience and commitment to her family. She had seven children, all of which are two years apart. Wow...

One of the challenges I have faced as a new mom is the act of eating. My son has had colic for the last two months. It is subsiding now, but man was it interesting around dinner. Luckily I have my fiance's family to help. We would eat in shifts so that my son would have someone to soothe him by marching back and forth through the house. I basically inhaled my food through his periods of fussiness. Forget about making a curry or even mashed potatoes for dinner if the in-laws were out. I figured out that quick dinners were key. This brings me to my point which is: quick dinners can be tasty and good for you!

What is a quick dinner? Well, I consider a quick dinner to be something you can put together in five minutes or less. Ten minutes is pushing it, but can qualify as a quick dinner. Salads are great because you can add proteins to them and they are healthy. I love making salads and adding a can of organic garbanzo beans as a finishing touch. Sliced vegetables and tomato soup is also a winner as is cuts of rotisserie chicken served with green grapes, slices of avocado, tomatoes, diced Romaine lettuce and a chunk of sourdough baguette. Yum! What's your favorite quick dinner?

Avocado Affair

Haas Avocado

What's green and creamy and delicious? The fabulous avocado! I consider myself to be a connoisseur of sorts when it comes to this wonderful fruit. Yes, it's a fruit, a fruit that I can't resist. For example, in the summer of 2001, I gained 15 pounds from eating avocados. I am avocado greedy and shameless about my addiction to what folks in the south refer to as the "Alligator pear."  My favorite way to enjoy this fruit? On everything! I love to cube bits of this creamy green ambrosia and sprinkle it over spaghetti, curries, lentil soups, chili, and ramen. Sounds bizarre, but you have to try it if you love, love, love avocado. The rich velvety texture of the avocado compliments just about anything. However, if you aren't as adventurous as myself, try this different spin on a classic: Olive oil guacamole!

          1). Cube two large avocados into
          bite sized pieces.
 
          2). Cube two Roma tomatoes

         3). Dice a tablespoon of cilantro

         4). Dice two tablespoons of purple onion

         5). Squeeze half of small lemon

         6). One tablespoon olive oil

         7). One teaspoon black pepper

         8). Salt or spike to taste.

Mix ingredients together and serve immediately. The olive oil and avocado creates a rich guacamole and goes well with corn chips and beer, preferably a light beer. Enjoy!

cheers

Jahkotta

Poke!

One of my favorite things to eat in Hawaii is Poke (pronounced Pokay), a flavored raw fish dish. Raw fish has the tendency to scare non-islanders, but really, when done correctly, it's fantastic! The bedrock of this dish is of course raw fish, preferably raw ahi tuna or marlin. Typically poke is flavored with shoyu (soy sauce), sesame oil, green onion, red pepper flakes and seaweed. There are numerous flavor profiles for this dish, ranging from mild to kimchee hot! If you are ever in the islands, pick up a tub at the fish market "Suisan" located in Hilo. Or try the spot shown in this fellow's video. Cheers!