Friday, February 10, 2012

"Every time we walk along a beach some ancient urge disturbs us so that we find ourselves shedding shoes and garments or scavenging among seaweed and whitened timbers like the homesick refugees of a long war." ~Loren Eiseley


Up early today. It was windy all night with the louvers rattling most of the night as well as all day. The trade winds are returning and this wind reminds me of the wind we get in Reno. At the end of the day, it's still windy!

We walked to the beach this morning. It is very calming, sitting on the beach. Not too many people, the waves crashing off shore and rolling onto the beach. We sat for about an hour. There has been an old man of late, who has literally marched up and down the beach for exercise, almost like he is on a mission! He seems very determined.

After we returned, I put lunch together so I could let the flavors blend for an Egyptian Bread Salad. It had cherry tomatoes, baby cucumbers, sliced green onions, garlic, and toasted pita bread pieces (spiced with paprika, sesame seeds and olive oil, then baked for ten minutes in the oven)all tossed with a lemon vinaigrette. I added some shrimp to "beef" it up a bit as well as some kalamata olives. I would make this again, definitely!

I took a BLS class online (I had NO idea you could do that!) in the afternoon, passed the test, and received my certification right away. One less thing to worry about! After that, it was a short nap. Ah, the luxury of an afternoon nap, not indulged in much by adults.

For dinner I made Spaghetti Carbonara. I forget how easy it is to make and how good it tastes! Put your water on to boil and cook the pasta of your choice. In the meantime, sauté diced pancetta or bacon (your choice) in a large skillet. Once the bacon is crispy, add chopped garlic and sauté for one minute. Remove from heat. For two people, mix one whole egg with 1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese. Drain your pasta, reserving some of the pasta water. Add the pasta to the skillet with the bacon and stir in the egg and cheese. The hot pasta should cook the egg but you don't want it on heat because you don't want to scramble the egg. Plate the pasta, sprinkle with chopped parsley and serve. See? Easy! Dessert: what else? The last of the chocolate cake!

Just doing some laundry this evening, a little blogging and reading, then bed. Hopefully the wind rattling the condo won't keep me up!

Thursday, February 9, 2012

I woke up to a sunny day!! Very nice!

We went out to breakfast this morning so we could run some errands early on and avoid traffic congestion (yes, paradise has it's heavy traffic, dispite having two lanes of traffice in places). We went back to the same restaurant. I usually love going out to breakfast but when I know I can do a much better job cooking, it makes me not want to go out. Sad day!

After returning to the Rdige, we went to the pool. Beautiful day! And Junie Jun was there! With her mother, Sandra. Junie had a great time playing in the pool. Such a cutie!

Lunch was Chile Lime Crab Salad served on sliced tomatoes. It was paired with tortilla chips. We thought the crab salad would be great served ON the tortilla chips as an appetizer. Yummy! The salad went together quickly-mix flaked crab with diced avocado and minced shallots, then toss with a lime-jalepeno-cilantro vinaigrette. Easy peasy as Chef Lexie used to say in school.

I read in the afternoon, but mostly sat outside on the lanai. Such a beautiful, sunny day! I did make bread pudding after lunch. We had half a loaf of white bread in the fridge that didn't get eaten in a timely fashion, so you either throw it away, make bread crumbs or croutons or make bread pudding. Bread pudding sounded like a great idea! I readied the potatoes for dinner as they needed to bake for several hours, then talked with Jordan.

Dinner was Seasoned Steak with a Red Wine Balsamic Reduction, French Bakery-style potatoes and sautéed kale. after eating dinner, I made a caramel sauce using butter and brown sugar. Quick and easy, although you have to let it cook long enough for the brown sugar to dissolve or it tastes gritty (tonight it was a little gritty, I must admit).

Time for bed.....

Wednesday, February 8, 2012

The day started out cloudy but turned sunny. We even made it to the beach! What a life, lol! It was definitely cooler today than it has been. And windy! Who would have thought you could actually be cold in Hawaii?

Lunch was a Bacon, Apple Spinach Salad with almonds and a sweet mustard vinaigrette. Very good salad!

The afternoon was spent reading, looking at menus and on the computer. I need to start up my continuing education studies again. I also need a BLS card and found you can get one by online study. Wow! Amazing what you can do online anymore! I talked to my sister and Jordan also.

We went out to dinner tonight-the Banyon Tree at the Ritz Carlton. Wonderful food! And with Robert (Ro-berr') as a waiter, what more could a girl want?

Tomorrow, back to cooking!

Tuesday, February 7, 2012

It's rainy in paradise today! It did clear enough to walk to the beach and sit for a while. Lots of surfers out-good waves. It's very peaceful looking out over the ocean....

Lunch was a Chickpea Salad. our neighbors brought over some star fruit, which I sliced up and served with the salad along with some grapes. We bought 8 cans of chickpeas at Costco and now we need to use them up, lol! Roasted chickpeas, chickpea salad...what next? Guess I'll have to think about that.

I spent the afternoon reading a little and watching the rain fall. Had a kind of a headache. It's cooled off, if you can say that about Hawaii. It got down to 67 during today! It cools down here at night, surprisingly enough. 80's during the day, high 60's at night. Works for me!

Dinner was Grilled Shrimp with Sesame Dressed Rice and Sugar Snap Peas. Pretty good! And the rest of the Profiteroles for dessert (with the obligatory vanilla ice cream and chocolate sauce). Yum!

A very quiet day today, inside while it rained. But tomorrow is another day, with new possibilities!

Monday, February 6, 2012

"There ain't a body, be it mouse or man, that ain't made better by a little soup."--Kate DiCamillo

7am wake up call (power mowers, lots and lots of singing birds and daylight). After a breakfast of coffee and a yogurt sundae (Vanilla Greek yogurt, strawberries, blueberries and a sprinkle of crushed granola bar), it was off to the store for groceries for the week. We stopped by Safeway to look for a rolling pin, in the off chance they had one. And they did!! I wanted to make Apple Rosemary Turnovers using dough from scratch, but you need a rolling pin for that. Thought I might have to buy pre-made pie dough, but there it was! We headed over to Foodland for the rest of the groceries, then headed back home.

It's rained off and on today, but for a couple of hours this morning, it was sunny and warm, so off to the pool it was. I have a nice tan-although I am sure a myriad of dermatologists would argue against this behavior. I don't often get the chance to tan, so I am taking advantage of it now. Besides, what fun is a tan when everyone else has one too? LOL. Better to be the only one of your friends with a tan in the winter, don't ya think?

Lunch was the wonderful Italian soup, Ribolita. Mostly vegetables with some cannellini beans and pancetta for flavor. Top with grated Parmesan Cheese and serve. It comes together pretty quickly.

After lunch, I worked on the computer, read a little, watched Ina Garten on Food Network, and read. But before all that, I made Apple Rosemary turnovers, a breakfast treat (the rolling pin worked!) AND made choux dough for tonight's dessert of Profiteroles with ice cream and chocolate sauce.

Dinner was Eggplant Gratin. Sliced eggplant, a cheese sauce of ricotta cheese, one egg, half and half, Parmesan cheese and salt and pepper, with a little marinara thrown in there for taste. It turned out quite well. Dessert was a hit and oh, so yummy!

It's raining out as I write this and is suppose to be rainy until Thursday. Oh, well, not too worried about it. There is plenty to do.

Sunday, February 5, 2012

We were up with the sun and there were already people not only sitting on the beach in their beach chairs, but people surfing, using boogie boards and paddle boards. Amazing! But I suppose if you have a finite amount of time for vacation, you want to use every minute. Lots of people in Waikiki with lots of babies!

Did I mention my other favorite thing about the Royal Hawaiian? The bed! Wonderful, soft, fluffy pillows! And the bed was so comfortable. I don't want to stay forever at the Royal Hawaiian, but I would pack up the bedfans take it with me if I could, lol! No such luck. Ah, well...

We had breakfast on the beach, then walked over to get my iPad looked at at the Apple Store. Turns out I was running out of memory because my apps didn't close when I thought they did! At least I now know what to do and how to clean things up.

A relaxing rest of the day, then back to Maui. Our plane was late (again). I don't have much faith that Island Air runs very efficiently! There is somewhat the same "island brain" here as there was in the Caribbean--people not really worried about when or if something gets done. It would make me crazy to live here year round!

I roasted chickpeas as we watched the rest of the Super Bowl. I took one can of chickpeas (garbanzo beans), drained them, then rinsed them, then patted them dry and put them in a bowl. I then sprinkled them with 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper and 1/2 Tbsp of cumin powder. Toss to mix. I put a foil lined cookie sheet spread with a couple Tbsp of olive oil and heated the cookie sheet in a 450 degree oven for a couple of minutes, then put the chickpeas on the cookie sheet and baked them for about 12-14 minutes. Put them in a bowl to cool slightly, then serve warm. Yum!!

Dinner was Salmon with Sliced Zucchini wrapped in parchment paper and baked for 12 minutes. The salmon was flavored with lemon slices, a little butter, salt, pepper, shallot slices and fresh dill (from the pool area). I also roasted some potatoes to go with it. Dessert? Chocolate cake! We still have some left.

It's an early night tonight. Nice to be back on Maui safe and sound.

Saturday, February 4, 2012

I have been having a few issues with my iPad, so decided to have it looked at. Nearest Apple store is Honolulu so we booked a road trip to Oahu. We went to the small Kapalua Airport, which actually looks more like a bus station than an airport! Not too many seats to sit in and security does not open until a few minutes before an Island Air flight is suppose to take off. Very interesting.....

Our flight from Maui to Oahu was delayed almost three hours but we finally made it. We had lunch on the beach at a wonderful hotel in Waikiki. Hawaii is such a beautiful place! I'll have to add pictures later, no computer right now. After lunch, we wondered over to our hotel, the Royal Hawaiian. It's totally pink! Right down to the cash register tape!! Beautiful old hotel, back in the day when staying on Hawaii was courtly and leisurely. Our room was upgraded so we ended up on the top floor and got a suite. They leave some freshly baked Banana Macademia Nut muffins for you on a tray on the bed as a greeting (as well as the recipe for said muffins, lol). I am impressed by the view, first of all, but most impressed with the toilet, lol. The toilet seat is heated!! And it washes your bum and dries it for you!! All with the push of a bottom. Wonder who thought of THAT?

We had dinner at the Azure restaurant (it sits right on the beach) in the Royal Hawaiian, starting with a Mai Tai in the bar. I ordered the tasting menu with wine pairing. The first course was Azure Sashimi Ahi with avocado and watermelon radish salad. The second course was "Ocean Cappucino", Dungeness crab and shrimp Bouillabaisse. The third course was Kona Lobster Tail Risotto. Fourth course: Butter Poached Fillet of Beef with Madiera and Black Truffle Sauce. For dessert, there was Kula Strawberries and ice cream with a Balsamic and Cinnamon Fadrizzle. The food was great! The service was great! We had a great time! We walked around a while, then went up to our room.

You can see the ocean from our balcony during daylight hours and hear it the rest of the time. Pretty amazing. I am truly blessed to be able to do all these things!