Much to be Thankful For!

ABSOLUTELY!! Looking back at the highlights of our week, to be posted on the Sunday Salon, hosted by Deb Nance of Readerbuzz. Did you know that Wednesday, the 20th was National Absurdity Day? Well, I happen to have one of those calendars that let you know all the important days! We had a fun drive to Waimea on Wednesday, ate at my favorite restaurant and shopped at my favorite (one of them) dress shops, while Bob took care of some Real Estate.

A Thanksgiving Lunch

Going into the week approaching Thanksgiving we do have much to be thankful for, and to celebrate!  Since my grandson and family are going to be away on the Mainland, for the holiday visiting the other grandparents, he took us out to lunch.  The kids were adorable and amusing!  Bob was taking the pictures and mom got lopped off.

Mapo Tofu and a Memoir of Eating in China

I have thoroughly enjoyed reading our latest pick for Cook the Books Club - Shark's Fin and Sichuan Pepper, a Sweet-Sour Memoir of Eating in China, by Fuchsia Dunlop, this round hosted by fellow Hawaii resident, Deb of Kahakai Kitchen  Dunlop writes a mostly delicious, sometimes revolting, entertaining, well researched and fascinating account of the food, culture and the peoples of that humongous country, mixed in with just enough history to punctuate her tale.

Fuchsia starts out as a young student of the Chinese language and culture, then embarks upon learning to cook Chinese as well, in the city of Chengdu, Sichuan province.  There she attends the premier Sichuan culinary school as their first foreign student, a woman at that, in a class of about 50 young Chinese men.

Fuchsia continued to travel widely in China and recounts her many adventures over the years with wit, humor and style. She began what became a long term odyssey by deciding to eat whatever was going, and stuck by that, consuming what a majority of us would consider truly horrifying food.  Not just every bit of an animal, but including the odd critter and bug in the mix; some of which may have started out as frugality in hard times, but have come to be considered exotic and expensive delicacies for the wealthy.  Her title is evocative in that sense - sweet-sour.

Sichuan Tofu with Vegetables

I can't remember when I've enjoyed a book quite as much as The Last Chinese Chef, by Nicole Mones. I had first read A Cup of Light by the author, and it was terrific, but this one, our Cook the Books selection for July/August,  is my favorite yet. The combination of suspense - who will win the competition - romance, explanation of fascinating Chinese culinary traditions, and her tempting food descriptions, is unbeatable. I so wanted to be at those meals and try all of that fantastic food. I was especially intrigued by the Chinese use of herbs and flavors to correct or modify each other and even to influence and heal something as deep as grief in the psyche of the diner, as Sam (the Chinese Chef she meets) did for Maggie with his chicken dish.

The story resonates with anyone who has gone through great loss and change in life, as it tells the story of a recent widow, trying to adjust.  In the novel, Maggie, our protagonist,  is able to shift from grief to a place beyond her past.  The trip to China is a kind of metaphor for going  forward, into a future of adventure and positive change, both physically and emotionally.

My first response was to contact an old family friend, I wanted to pick her brain as to restaurants in Honolulu and, possibly?? Hilo? Any that might have the sort of food described in our book. I remember having wonderful meals in Hong Kong eons ago, but figured with the large Chinese population here there should be something fabulous and authentic closer to home. Like the heroine in The Last Chinese Chef, I have been unimpressed with our local Chinese-American restaurants. And, Bob does not really like Chinese food. So, we've been in avoidance mode.  Still haven't found anything comparable to the book's fabulous standard.

Blogaversary Party

Macarons in honor of the day

Happy Blogaversary to me, happy blogaversary to me, blah, blah, blah. From me to me. One hundred five posts later, one whole year today, of ranting, raving, recipes and misc. other stuff for all the world to see . Ha. All two of you. Or, anyone else who doesn't comment.

A couple of the famous macarons from food bloggerland here. I have to say, if it wasn't for the fabulous internet, and blogging, reading posts from all you foodies out there, I'd have no clue what a macaron was, much less have tried to make one, not to mention duck confit, or heard of matcha, black garlic, finger limes, ganache, beignets, etc. etc. What a world! What a year! It's certainly had its ups and downs.


Kealani, my granddaughter, and I have had a great time learning more cooking techniques and trying out new recipes. Here we are making matcha shortbread cookies for St. Patrick's Day and, bottom right, yesterday's macarons (which should really have bigger feet). The only difference in the macarons from your normal, we added powdered vanilla essence and used lemon curd for one of our fillings. The other filling was a simple bittersweet chocolate ganache.

And, my deep thought this morning was, we don't always have the option of changing or getting out of a particular situation, but it is possible to change our attitude, regardless of who or what or where we're stuck with. We can not only change, but grow and improve. Yes, in all areas. My regret is that I took so long to figure it out, and years of pity parties later, it's good to celebrate.

Green Cabbage Rose

You've got to love these collard greens. They keep going on and on. Makes me feel like I've got a green thumb (I don't). I clip all the leaves, except a cluster of small ones in the center, and the next thing you know, there is another head ready. It looks a bit like a cabbage rose.

I've found the fastest way to cook them by far (would you believe 30 seconds) is from Chris Schlesinger and John Willoughby's Big Flavors of the Hot Sun, a terrific book with lots of good tropical and hot zone recipes. The trick is to heat 3 tablespoons of olive oil on high heat, til beginning to smoke. Then, quickly saute the shredded, washed and de-stemmed greens , throwing in some salt and pepper (I also throw in some minced garlic). You stir like crazy for 30 seconds until they have wilted a bit and turned a nice bright green. After removing from the heat, add the juice of a lime, and some hot sauce. Yoww!

Then, there is the slow cooked with ham hocks, Southern method. I'm usually short on time, when I figure out what to fix for dinner, but after watching Dave fix collards on his video, I did try the longer cook method. I especially liked how he took those stems off in record time.

From Cacao to Morning Cocoa

I was reflecting on the cacao nibs drying in my oven (on pilot light) and the whole process, from the raw fruit, through fermentation, drying, etc. to the point of chocolate or cocoa. Our understanding of how to prepare all sorts of produce is handed down from generation to generation, everything from making cheese to wine or coffee. But, how did it all start? Current teaching would have us believe it was pure chance, a process of trial and error, and random discoveries, moving slowly through thousands of years of human technological evolution, like the rest of our supposed history from drifting protoplasm to modern man.

I hope most Christians would tend to question that theory or begin to, since God's Word has another version of our accumulated understanding. There we learn that God is the source of wisdom and knowledge, in the physical world as well as the spiritual. While Adam and Eve walked in the garden with their Creator, I'm sure He was explaining the uses of and methods of caring for and preparing all of what He had planted. I can imagine their curiosity as they walked with their Lord in his beautiful garden. We are told, "The land produced vegetation..." (Genesis 1:12) but, "the Lord God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden" (Gen. 2:8) There is a difference. Wilderness grows as it will, but "God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it." (Vs. 15) And, we know from the following verses that God walked with them and talked to them in the Garden.

Further, the prophet Isaiah tells us directly where agricultural knowledge comes from. It is such a beautiful passage, I'm going to quote the whole thing (almost). Isaiah 28:23-29:

Listen and hear my voice;
pay attention and hear what I say.
When a farmer plows for planting, does he
plow continually?
Does he keep on breaking up and
harrowing the soil?
When he has leveled the surface,
does he not sow caraway and scatter
cumin?
Does he not plant wheat in its place,
barley in its plot,
and spelt in its field?
His God instructs him
and teaches him the right way.
Caraway is not threshed with a scythe,
nor is a cartwheel rolled over cumin;
caraway is beaten out with a rod,
and cumin with a stick.
Grain must be ground to make bread....
All this also comes from the Lord Almighty,
wonderful in counsel and magnificent in
wisdom.


Back to the cacao, all this considering was brought on by a recent cooking blog post about a new way of preparing the fruit using a food dehydrator, skipping the fermentation and roasting processes. I thought, hey this is great, short and simple. Went out (well really it was Craig's list) got a food dehydrator and gave it a try. Guess what? Used up a lot of electricity and didn't get the job done. Sometimes the old ways are better.

Though the different techniques employed for utilizing produce may have changed, the processes are pretty much the same today. i.e. instead of fermenting cacao under palm or banana leaves outdoors, it is more convenient for me to use a pasta pot in a gas oven with pilot light, or for a factory to use a big mechanized operation to deal in quantity. And, isn't it interesting that processing plants remove the cocoa butter for other uses, then add in milk products to achieve that same delicious unctuousness that is part of the chocolate experience. I like mine the way it comes - non dairy. Grind the roasted pods and put in my French Press, add hot water. Voila!

a cacao pod opened

One of my Bible Commentaries compares the verses in Isaiah to the way God created people so different from one another, and how everyone should be treated with understanding and respect for their individuality and uniqueness.