April's Kitchen Chit-Chat

Wednesday, March 7, 2012

2012-03-07T21:55:00.001-08:00

Even though I had the desire to sleep in this morning, Mr. cat (aka Bonda Ah Cho or just plain Ah Cho) would have nothing to do with it. He ran up and down the stairs, pawed at the window blinds, meowed, and ran cicles in the big sunken tub until I finally got out of bed. Killjoy!

After breakfast, I did some work online and talked to my mom for a bit. I had an appointment at Renown Imaging, then did some shopping at Trader Joe's (we were low on a few things and they have really good prices). When I got home, there was a call from Jordan Spinelli of Burger Me Reno. I am doing an article on the Burger Me in Truckee and Reno. Jordan is the General Manager of the Reno restaurant. So I asked him my interview questions and told him I would get over to Nurger Me on Robb Drive this week to try them out (again), then write an article for Examiner.com. He seems like a nice guy. And he offered to comp a burger. Nice!

I applied for two more jobs online, then ran some errands. My Jordan had several student meetings starting at 6pm so we did not eat until 7:30-8:00pm. Mini Meatloaves with potatoes and greens. Yum!

Now the cat and I are bonding as we both lounge. Almost time for bed....

Tuesday, March 6, 2012

2012-03-06T21:52:00.001-08:00

It was snowing this morning when I got up! After such nice weather yesterday. Go figure!

Before I could go to work, I had to take Jordan to UNR first. I gathered all my equipment and my supplies (food and spices). I had to review lots of recipes to be sure I didn't forget anything, which sometimes seems an impossible task.

I made it to my clients house around 11am, unpacked and started to work. Today I made Mediterranean Tuna Salad with Chickpeas, Brown Rice and Goat Cheese Cakes on a bed of mixed green,
Chipotle Orange Glazed Chicken,

Maple Chili Glazed Pork Loin, Mini Meatloaves stacked with not only the meatloaf but sauteed spinach and mashed potatoes-everything you could want in one easy package,

a Hasselback baked potato (sliced but only part way so the potato remains intact with sliced garlic stuck in between the slices),

roasted broccoli, rice and Miso Mirin Glazed Broiled Salmon with rice and buttered green beans.

Long day! It was, however, a nice day spent cooking. But now I am most tired!

Monday, March 4, 2012

2012-03-05T22:16:00.001-08:00

A beautiful day today! I think the temperature in Reno reached 70 degrees! But alas, it is not to last, snow and rain is predicted for tomorrow. Go figure!

I ran errands, making sure I also shopped for my personal chef client today. It makes things easier to go in already prepared.

Today I made French Silk Pie, a deep dark chocolate filling made with egg whites and chocolate pudding with a chocolate cookie crust. It is served with whipped cream as a garnish. This is for my personal chef client, who likes to have a dessert a week.

A trip to the Oriental market to buy shiro miso, (a white bean paste for a recipe I have for Miso-Mirin Glazed Salmon I am making tomorrow), then on to dinner at Silver Peak. I met my friend Neda there and we had a "girl date" and caught up on what's been happening in our lives. Friends are definitely a good thing to have!

Tomorrow I need to get back into a cooking routine. I've had a few weeks off with no professional cooking done. Now it's time to get back to work!

Sunday, March 4, 2012

2012-03-04T23:02:00.000-08:00

I am finally feeling better, thank goodness! Life has not been very exciting over the last week, what with being sick and all. I got my computer back. I also went back and added some pictures to last week's blogs so I hope you'll go back and look at them.

Saturday I ran errands with my sister. We went to Barnes and Noble Bookstore. I could spend hours looking at cookbooks. Amazing what's out there!

Saturday evening, Jordan and I went out to dinner at Macaroni Grill. It was ok. They are running a promo of Two Tapas, Two Entrees for $25. Such a deal!

We slept in this morning, not intentionally. Jordan has been working such long hours, no wonder he slept in. The cat is always ready to get us up, however, so when he lets us sleep in, it's a miracle, lol.

Breakfast was fruit and yogurt with toast. For lunch, I had asparagus that needed to be used so I went back to the book "Lunch in Paris" by Elizabeth Bard. The book talks about how she came to live in Paris and her life since moving to France. She included many recipes, most of which are fabulous! There is a recipe called Asperges au Pistou, Jambon Cru et Oeuf Poche. In English: Asparagus with Pistou, Cured Ham and a Poached Egg. French sounds so much better! You poach your asparagus (about 8-10 spears per person). Once they are done to your liking, toss them with a little Pistou (a mix of basil, garlic and olive oil) or if it is more convenient, you can use a nice Italian pesto. Plate them neatly on a large plate. Poach one egg to the soft boil stage, drain the egg and place it on top of the asparagus. Drape the sliced ham, or in my case, proscuitto, around the asparagus so it looks pretty (I knew I should have taken a picture, lol!) and serve. It was really good! Say what you will about the French, they know how to cook and how to make pastries.

I made Mini Baked French Donuts in the afternoon. One of my sisters gave me a donut maker so I decided today was the day to use it (plus I was in the mood for donuts). I mixed up the dough-

After some trial and error, I found my small cookie scoop was the best thing to use to place the batter in the little donut wells. Unfortunately, the instructions do not tell you how much of the batter to put in each space, so I had to guess.

The donuts take only about three minutes to bake in this machine. Once the donuts are nicely browned, you remove them with a wooden spoon/spatula (so you don't ruin the teflon), then dip them first in melted butter, then in Cinnamon Sugar. (Can you say YUM?)

They turned out well. I liked the French Donut recipe that came with the machine. So here is the plate of finished donuts. I must confess, it was hard not to sit down and eat the whole plate, but I stopped after two. Jordan asked me what I was going to do with them. I said-"eat them?" I think that would be a bad idea, lol. So I will likely give them away...

Dinner was leftovers, revisited. Seems like my sister had a much better meal! She emailed me this picture of the Orange-Soy Glazed Pork Ribs she made for herself today. Good job, Janell!!

Wednesday, February 29, 2012

2012-02-29T21:04:00.001-08:00

February 29th. Now there's something that doesn't happen every day!

The last several days have pretty much been spent laying on the couch. I finally made it to the doctor's office today (I traded in my regular doctor for a new doctor) where she prescribed mega-antibiotics and a couple decongestants. Hopefully that will make things better faster. I don't make a very good sick person, lol, too impatient. But as my mother used to say, if you don't take care of your body (and give it what it needs), it will make it so you are forced to slow down and take care of yourself. So I am resting up! I had to cancel my wellness clinic for tomorrow. Imagine what people would say if a sick nurse took care of them at a welness clinic! "She can't even take care of herself, wht is she doing here?". So better off to cancel now.

I saw my orthopedic doctor today. A six month follow up after my Oxford knee replacement. He is very happy, as am I. The visit did, however, get me a cooking job. His office nurse wants red velvet cake truffles for her daughter's birthday. She doesn't know how many, though, so will get back to me. Amazing that people like those little cake truffles so much! But I guess they are small bites, so people don't feel guilty eating them.

I am going to bed early, in an effort to take good care of myself. Hopefully I will notice an improvement sooner rather than later! The people at Apple called to let me know my computer has been fixed and I can pick it up any time. And hopefully this will do the trick! And then I'll be able to add pictures!

Sunday, February 26, 2012

2012-02-26T22:29:00.001-08:00

As it turns out, I did not go to my ACLS class Saturday. I was just too tired and felt ill-prepared to take the all day class. It still needs to be done before the end of February so I'll take it online after I study a bit more. Taking ACLS always stresses me out. It's not easy!

Instead of taking the class, I finished my taxes and caught up on bills and mail. I had lunch with Janell, taking her out for her birthday (which was Wednesday). I came back home, studied ACLS for a while then finished my examiner.com article on Nutrisystem and Chef Mark Estee (a local chef).

I made chicken for dinner, roasted, with potatoes and broccoli, all roasted. I am always amazed at how much better vegetables taste when they are roasted.

Sunday I slept late. I think it's official, I have a sinus infection. Even my face hurts! Everyone around me has been sick, so why not me? Hope it goes away quickly!

I downloaded some updates on my computer last night and now this morning it won't start. I took it to the Apple Store and was told there was something wrong with my "logic board". Doesn't sound good! Apple is a good product, I just think I got a lemon. They are sending it out for repair. The computer is still under warrenty so it won't cost me anything. I've had it less than a year! Jordan thinks I should just get a new computer. We'll see.

Before dinner I mixed up a batch of "Compost cookie dough". The recipe is from the Momofuko cookbook I bought in Hawaii. Momofuko Milk Bar is one of several Momofuko restaurants in NYC but their only bakery. Let's just say, all the recipes intrigue me, they are so unusual. The cookies have the usual butter and flour and sugar, eggs and vanilla, but also chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, coffee grounds (unused fresh grounds), potato chips, preztels and graham cracker crust. Amazing, right? But kind of weird at the same time! I'll bake them up after dinner.

Dinner was Ratatouille and seared pork tenderloin. Simple but healthy and tasty. I love Ratatouille! After dinner I did bake up the cookies. They spread out more than I thought they would and they are big cookies, but with all the "stuff" there is in the dough, it's hard to make them smaller. Jordan thought they tasted just ok. Maybe I'll try them out on a few other people.

Going to bed now. Can't add any pictures until I get my computer back. Most unfortunate!

Thursday, February 23, 2012

2012-02-23T22:24:00.001-08:00

I arrived home safely late Tuesday night, a very tired girl.

I have 320 cake truffles due tomorrow so that's what I have spent most of my time doing since arriving back in Reno. The cake truffles are now all made (I'll come back and add pictures later), but need to be packaged. There will be two Oreo cake truffles and two red velvet cake truffles in a cellophane bag. 80 bags total. They'll be used as party favors as a local AORN seminar on Saturday. I'll also put my logo on the bag. They look pretty cute!

The dark chocolate truffles with red are the red velvet cake truffles. The white chocolate truffles with the dark chocolate decorations are the Oreo cookie truffles.

I also have an interview with Chef Mark Estee tomorrow morning, but that should go quickly. I am writing an examiner article on Nutrisystem and the Culinary Council they started last year. Everything seems to be happening this week!

sunday, February 19, 2012

2012-02-19T22:23:00.001-08:00

It didn't rain after all today! I was up a little later again this morning, then made second breakfast, scrambled eggs with sausages.

Since it was sunny, I made one last trip to the pool. Beautiful weather!

Lunch was a Grilled Ham Gruyere and Apple Panini. Turned out very well! Chips on the side. I spent the afternoon making two chicken dishes, Tuscan Chicken and Lemon Chicken, then baked some chocolate chip cookies. All things to leave so there is plenty to eat after I leave.

We went out to dinner at Merriman's tonight. I had Lobster Bisque for a first course and Pasta with Mushrooms and Ricotta for a main dish. Pineapple Upside Down Cake for dessert. Now I'm stuffed, lol!

I will be on travel the next two days so will not be making an entry until Wednesday. Sorry about that! No cooking though, the next two days. It's been a lovely four weeks, thank you my friend!

Saturday, February 18, 2012

2012-02-18T22:59:00.001-08:00

I got up a little later than usual this morning, so had to hurry to get ready for the day We went out to breakfast, to the Westin in Ka'anapali. The restaurant is right on the beach. They serve either off the menu or a buffet. Very nice restaurant! And a great place to people watch, as so many people walk by on the trail that winds along the Ka'anapali beach coastline.

We mailed the boxes after breakfast, did a little grocery shopping and stopped by Walgreens. Then it was back to the Ridge. It was cloudy this morning, but one thing I have learned, is that often it comes and goes. So we went off to the pool this morning, and sure enough, we had sunshine. The wind, however, is another story. It has been extremely windy with gusts over 30 miles an hour. As my friend says, it makes the condo sound like a haunted house, lol. Whistling and rattling and howling, oh, my!

This photo was taken while I was looking out the kitchen window. The palm tree outside the window was blowing every which way!

Lunch was Curried Crab Bites, an old recipe I got from Jennifer Bushman years ago when she owned Nothing To It Culinary Center. It's one of my favorite appetizers (although I used it as lunch sandwich bites). I also made a small fruit parfait with blueberries, Greek yogurt and Clementine orange segments as a side/dessert to serve with it.

After lunch I looked in my Small Batch Baking cookbook and found a recipe for Fudgy Mocha Layer Cake. You mix up enough batter for two small cakes, then bake them in 14 oz cans that have been greased and floured (and cleaned!). They turned out SO cute! You cut your little cake in half horizontally, then fill and frost it. I made Mocha Frosting for it. I will serve them for dessert tonight at dinner. I also mixed up more Chickpea Salad and made a pot of French lentils both to serve tonight and as future dinners/lunch. I got the recipe from the book "Lunch in Paris". It was a good read but I also appreciate the recipes she included in the book-all things she learned to cook after moving to Paris when she married her French husband.

It's Harry Potter Weekend on the Family Channel so I watched part of "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban". All the Hogwarts students look so young in this film compared to now!

For dinner, I made a first course of Lentils with sliced Seared Tuna. As a second course, I seared Moorish Spiced marinated steak and served it with Potatoes Anna and Vinaigrette marinated zucchini. Unfortunately, the second course looked all the same color! It was all tasty though, so that's good. Dessert was the Fudgy Mocha Cakes. So cute! Kind of like a tall cupcake.

The sunset was absolutely gorgeous tonight. One of the nicest we've seen since coming here. They said it was just for me, in honor of my leaving, lol (nice to have friends that say things like that!). So, of course, I had to take pictures.

Tomorrow there is a higher chance of rain, so guess we might be staying in tomorrow. Time will tell...

Friday, February 17, 2012

2012-02-18T00:04:00.001-08:00

I awoke to more lawn upkeep. I guess I had no idea how much upkeep a golf course can be! Six people arrived last night to stay in the condo next door. They seem very athletic and they play golf. And no kids!

After breakfast, one load of laundry and uploading more pictures to my blog, we walked to the beach. When we got there, there wer two surfers, but no one else. For almost the entire time we were there, there were very few people on the beach. Of course, it could have been the strong winds and the fact that with every gust of wind, we got sand- blasted! It wasn't all that bad, though, and I won't have many more opportunities to walk to the beach before it's time to return to the "real" world. We stayed at the beach for about an hour and a half, just talking and watching the waves crash onto the shore.

When we got back, it was time to make lunch. Chickpea Salad with a balsamic vinaigrette. It really is a great salad! It tastes fresh, it's good for you and a great source of fiber. I served Kalamata olives on the side and chocolate chip cookies for a little dessert afterwards.

After lunch I baked a Grape Gratin for our evening dessert. Interesting combination and one I've not made before. I have to say, it's great having clients who let you experiment and try new things and who have a discerning palate for good food. The filling on the Grape Gratin, had green grapes (of course), mixed with apricot jam, flour and one tablespoon of sugar. It was topped with a mixture of old-fashioned oats, flour, brown sugar, dried ginger, cinnamon, sliced almonds and butter. I crumbled the topping over the grape mixture and baked it for 20 minutes. It turned out pretty goo, but did not have any strong flavor. I also made an Orange Cream Cheese Coffeecake (a Paula Deen recipe). We finished off the Blueberry Crumb Cake this morning, so it was time to make something else, lol.

I talked with my sister, Janell. She's been sick the last few days so missed her job interview yesterday. Hope she can reschedule!

I also packed two boxes to take to FedEx after baking. I'm trying to "lighten my load" of stuff to take on the plane as I'll be traveling about 7,000 miles in a 36 hour time period. Whew! On Monday afternoon I fly from Maui to LAX, take the Red Eye to Chicago O'Hare and get in at 5:07am. I have a job interview at 9:30am. My sister, Corie, is going to pick me up and take me to my appointment. The plan is to have lunch together, then she'll drop me back off at O'Hare so I can catch a 5pm flight back to Reno. I'll get into Reno late, but at least I'll be home!

Dinner was Baked Rice Pilaf with Baked Salmon and Garlic Wilted Spinach. It turned out well. The salmon came out just right. Dessert was, of course, the Grape Gratin served with a little ice cream. Not bad, not bad. Don't know if I'd make the grape thing again or not.

I finally got to talk to Jordan for a long time. He made it back to Reno in one piece-that's good! We had another beautiful sunset tonight. It's suppose to rain on and off all weeekend-more of a chance on Sunday, so we'll go grocery shopping tomorrow morning. AND, we're going out to breakfast to a new restaurant. I love going out to breakfast!

Thursday, February 16, 2012

2012-02-16T16:35:00.000-08:00

I awoke to hear not only the mega lawnmower they use to cut the copious grassy areas in this complex (plus the golf course) but the kids next door screaming and yelling. They have been here ten days but are leaving today. Good for us, lol, not so good for them. I am the last person to talk about parenting, but there was an article last week in the New York Times reviewing a book coming out on what makes French parents better than American parents. Apparently it is all in the approach and rather than yelling at your child, you speak to him with authority so that there is no question who is in charge. I am sure it is not quite that simple, so I guess we need to read the book. The author makes a good argument as to why the French have better behaved children than Americans. Although I was tempted to show the mom next door the article, she would not have appreciated it (nor would I have in all likelihood if I were her), so resisted. They were, after all, only here ten days.

To escape from all the noise, we went to the beach early today. On the walk down, my friend Neda called (or apparently her phone called me right after she finished talking to her husband) so we talked for a short while to catch up.

It was alternately sunny and cloudy with a few sprinkles but we stayed for two hours. There were three young surfers there and two photographers. One of the photographers sat on shore and took pictures of the surfers, the other photographer had on a wet suit, a helmet and fins and was in the water with the surfers (he also had a really big water proof camera) taking pictures. The surfers were doing all sorts of fancy twists and turns on the waves. One in particular made it look so easy and graceful. It was fun to watch them, but hard for the average person to catch them on film.

We got back in time to make lunch, which today was an Apple Sausage Cris-Cross Pastry. I took pictures of the pastry before I baked it and after I baked it, it was so pretty (ok, maybe you aren't suppose to say that about your own work, but I can't help it!). The taste reminded me of Thanksgiving, with the pork sausage, apples, bread crumbs, sage, cinnamon, dried cherries and onions. Yum!

As soon as I got the pastry in the oven, I put together Chicken Cacciatore. We are eating at the Banyon Tree tonight but I wanted to get a head start on a few meals to leave behind for the week my friends are here without me. So once that was put together and cooked, I froze it for a dinner next week. I'll make a few more meals before I go. It's easy to do.

Tonight, as I said, it's dinner at the Banyon Tree restaurant. I will come back after dinner and let you know more about dinner. It is likely I will not get there again any time soon, so will enjoy the opportunity while I can. I have been a very lucky girl the last month being here on Maui and cooking for friends.

Addendum:

At 5:15pm we drove off to the Ritz Carlton. The hotel and grounds are huge. The Banyon Tree Restaurant sits at the base of the hotel complex but not on the beach (remember the burial grounds and the need to move the hotel construction away from the beach and the burial grounds). Robert (Rrrow-bear') was our waiter-I snapped his picture right before he served us our wine. Our table was in the corner at the back of the restaurant with one windowed wall and one open wall. Beautiful setting! For dinner I had an appetizer of Seafood Sausage served with a remoulade (spicy mayonaisse based sauce) and shallot confit. For an entree, I had Crispy Snapper served with a Rice Croquette (in Italian it would have been called arancini). I was full by the end but had JUST enough room for ice cream (always room for ice cream, lol). Three kinds-mango, coconut lavender and white chocolate served with a tuille cookie. Very, very nice. I take many fond memories home with me...

Wednesday, February 15, 2012

2012-02-15T22:43:00.001-08:00

I awoke to another sunny day-good start! We are making our way through Blueberry Crumb Cake at breakfast. It turned out very moist and still tastes the same as the day I made it. Keeps well, that's a good sign!

We walked to the beach about 9am and were out for about an hour or more when it started to rain/sprinkle. It did not look like it was going to clear up soon, so we walked back to the condo. By the time we got home it was sunny again. Whataya gonna do? We drove down to the grocery store for a few supplies then came back. Just in time to make lunch.

Lunch today was Beef Crostini with Port-Sultana Relish. Yum! I used some sliced ribeye steak, quick seared, then put them on top of crostini spread with homemade Dijonaisse. On top of that, the Port Sultana Relish with chopped celery leaf garnish. I never cease to be amazed at the wonderful variety of flavors and flavor combinations there are in this world. Yum, yum, yum!

I talked to my sister, Janell, for a long while in the afternoon. She's going to a job interview tomorrow, just wanted to wish her luck. I watched an episode of NCIS (I like that program, lol), then made dessert for dinner tonight--Brownie Surprise Pudding Cake. This is the second recipe out of the cookbook I brought with me called "Small Batch Baking". It contains recipes for two servings. Pretty cool! And you don't always need special pans. The author recommends alluminum cans of various sizes as well as mini loaf pans and 4 inch tart pans. The recipes I've made so far have been very good.

For dinner tonight I made Duck Breast with Citrus-Cherry Sauce, Potatoes Anna and Asparagus with Orange Vinaigrette. Very tasty! Another hit, lol. And it's always nice to get compliments about my cooking! Dessert also turned out well. Somehow the batter separates so there is a pudding level and a cake level. Cakey but creamy. The chemistry in that always amazes me, lol.

Jordan texted me, he's in Washington, D.C. for two days. Like I said, crazy busy man.

Tomorrow we go out to dinner, woo hoo! At the Banyon Tree in the Ritz Carlton. With Robert, the Frenchman as our waiter. Sure to be a lovely evening.

Tuesday, February 14, 2012

2012-02-15T10:04:00.001-08:00

Happy Valentine's Day!!

Went to bed last night and forgot to write, so am making a late entry.

Finally a sunnny day, after three cloudy days (you get used to the weather being nice when you stay in paradise for any length of time, lol). Off to the beach this morning. It is so peaceful sitting there. Saw a few surfers there also. Fascinating to watch them try to get ahead of a wave so they can "ride" it to the end (or until they fall over, whichever comes first). Obviously some are better than others, but they all take a beating from the crashing waves. No whale sightings that I could tell. I took some pictures about half way back to the condo, one looking down, the other picture looking up at the stairs yet to climb. We walk down to the beach, which isn't so bad. It's the coming back that's work!

Since there was no calamari to be found here on Maui, I used langostinos for my "Calamari" Tomato Caper Salad at lunch. Very classic Italian dish, served mainly at the Holidays. The tomatoes are chopped then sauteed with garlic in olive oil. After a few minutes, throw in the calamari (or in my case the langostinos, or little lobster tails from Chile). Sautee a minute or two then pour the ingredients into a colander to get rid of the excess juice from the tomatoes. Put the salad in a bowl, toss with a lemon-caper vinaigrette and serve. I plated it with slices of the Maui star fruit we had from the Juns. Pretty good!

In the afternoon I was entirely unmotivated to do much of anything, so took a nap.

I started dinner a little early as I was making Beef Bourguignon (just imagine a good French accent pronouncing this, lol). It takes 2-3 hours depending on your meat choice and should be done mainly in the oven in a Dutch oven, but there are no pans here that will go in the oven (all the pots and pans have plastic handles), so I did it on top of the stove, which is totally doable. The recipe is from Laura Calder on the Cooking Channel. She is a Canadian who left her corporate job to go to France. There she went to cooking school and worked in French restaurants, then went back to Canada. So I feel a sort of kinship with her as I also left my job to go to cooking school (though I did not travel so far, lol). I'll post the recipe, it is easy and definitely worth making! And because it was Valentine's Day, I insisted we drink the 2007 Chateauneuf de Pape wine with dinner. Yum! We polished off the rest of the choux for Profiteroles for dessert. All gone! I'll need to come up with another dessert for tomorrow night.

Another beautiful sunset here.....

Monday, February 13, 2012

2012-02-13T22:10:00.001-08:00

Can you believe it was still cloudy this morning?! With a little rain. Oh, well, most of the weather has been very nice while I've been here. BUT-that didn't stop those boys manicuring the lawns at 5am! I sure won't miss that when I leave.

I did two continuing education classes this morning. I am up to 11.5 CEU hours with only 18.5 to go for a total of 30. At least I have until the beginning of April to finish. With the weather still cloudy, we drove back to Safeway for puff pastry, since we were unable to find it at either Foodland or the Napili market. Usually when we drive down to Ka'anapali, it's sunny, even if it's cloudy in Kapalua (where the condo is). Today, it was cloudy every where! We did find the puff pastry, which I will use to make lunch later in the week.

After we got back to the condo, I made a Blueberry Crumb Cake (Ina Garten's recipe-the Barefoot Contessa). It's gonna be good! The streusel topping is to die for. It came out a little lopsided because the oven is not level. Everything you put in the oven tends to slide forward. Sometimes very frustrating! This experience has been a lesson in doing more with less or none at all as far as equipment and ammenities go. I don't think most people come to Hawaii to cook!

Lunch today was Tuscan White Bean Soup garnished with goat cheese and crispy bacon. Very nice. It's pureed and has a little cream added, which makes it very creamy. I went down to the upper pool (everything is down from where we are staying, lol) for sage, only to find there was no sage. I took a longer hike down to the lower pool, found the sage (but not before I ran into Sandra and Junie Jun and talked for a while). It took so long my friends were going to come looking for me! They had to take the shallots off the heat as they were starting to brown too much. I came back just in time to finish the soup and serve it up.

In the afternoon, I roasted chickpeas (seasoned with cayenne pepper and cumin). Not quite as crispy as potato chips but a great healthy snack. I was a little heavy handed with the cayenne so they definitely have a bit to them! I also made more chocolate sauce (to give to the Juns). Enough to fill a 16 oz jar, so they should be able to enjoy that for a while. I baked up the choux dough (for Profiteroles) I had frozen last week. Some for us and some for Sandra and John.

I talked with Jordan for a while, walked over to the Jun's condo to deliver a bag of goodies, then started dinner. We had Salmon with Wasabi Sauce and Braised Baby Bok Choy. The bok choy was braised in a mirin and soy sauce mixture. I don't have a lot of experience with mirin but OMG was that simple sauce wonderderful! I reduced it a bit once the bok choy was cooked and spooned it over the bok choy. Everyone was in agreement, it was a great meal! Profiteroles for dessert (complete with chocolate sauce) completed the evening.

With the skies clearing by the end of the day, we had another beautiful sunset.

Sunday, February 12, 2012

2012-02-12T22:30:00.001-08:00

Lots of rain today. What a surprise (after a quickly revised weather forcast by the news and weather people)! We waited for a break in weather then headed out to Foodland to grocery shop for the week. Lots to buy, although this is my last week on Maui, coming up. It's gone very quickly, I am sad to say....

After Foodland, we stopped by Barnes and Noble to buy Starbuck's ground coffee and the NY Times. Believe it or not, Barnes and Noble is easier to get to than the Starbuck's in Lahaina. I also got a Salted Caramel Mocha Frappacino. Hmm, hmm, good! Haven't had a Starbuck's specialty drink in a very long time.

I talked with Jordan when we returned to the condo. He's had a tough week, poor guy! Doesn't sound like this next week will be much better.

Lunch was a pasta salad with marinated artichokes, pepperdew peppers, mozzarella cheese, arugula, beef strips and a lemon vinaigrette. Not too heavy, with a nice mix of flavors. Another yum!

I looked over my ACLS study materials for a while, but with the rain, a nap seemed more appropriate, so that's what I did. Another lazy day...

At 5pm, I started dinner. Chicken Roulade with a Shallot-Sun dried Tomato-Wine Sauce-chicken breast spread with Bousin cheese (chives and herb flavored) which is then rolled around asparagus stalks (2) and baked. I served it with Couscous Pilaf (couscous with roasted eggplant, golden raisins, shallots and a cinnamon-cumin vinaigrette. I made this for a cooking demo when I worked for Standards of Excellence back in November last year. It turned out well, though not quite the same, as I used a Miele steam oven at SOE and an electric stove here. Dessert was bread pudding with Caramel Sauce.

Not much else to report today. And no sunset picture tonight, too many clouds. I'll be doing some baking tomorrow, my favorite thing to do!

Saturday, February 11, 2012

2012-02-11T22:24:00.001-08:00

It was really windy last night. I am amazed sometimes at how windy it gets here. I was awakened several times during the night by the noise of not only the wind whistling through the loose spaces of this condo, but also the rattling of wooden slats at the windows. If I didn't know better, I'd think there was a winter snow storm going on!

Seemed like it was cloudy most of the day (although it depended on what window you were looking out of at the time, lol). Kind of a lazy day today. I wrote two articles for examiner.com and lost track of the time. Before I knew it, it was time to make lunch!

Lunch today was a French Ratatouille. Eggplant, onions, zucchini, tomatoes, and bell pepper all sautéed in olive oil and seasoned with basil, parsley, salt and pepper. It comes together quickly. Add some grated Parmesan cheese and you're set. Vegetables never tasted so good!

The afternoon was taken up with making pastry dough for tarts, then an apricot filling. Once the dough had chilled enough, I put them together with sliced almonds, then baked them along with the last of the puff pastry cups. I'm going to put the what remains of the apple-rosemary filling into the pastry cup, then bake it again.

After baking, I watched HGTV for a bit (love decorating), sat out on the lanai, then got ready to make dinner. Got my picture taken making dinner. Where else can you wear shorts to cook (unless of course you are Mario Batali)?

Tonight it was Seared Steak with Bernaise Sauce, Paprika Roasted Potatoes and Maple-Glazed Carrots. My Bernaise was a little thin but very tasty. Dessert was of course, the Apricot-Almond Tart with a little ice cream on the side. I was very full by the time dinner was over, lol!

Another beautiful sunset tonight, athough I look at the pictures I take and realize the small camera does not do justice to the views. Guess I need those big cameras you see the Japanese carrying around, with the huge lens in order to get great pictures, lol. It will be an early night tonight, I think.

Tomorrow-marathon grocery shopping!

Friday, February 10, 2012

2012-02-10T22:25:00.001-08:00

"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

2012-02-09T22:23:00.001-08:00

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

2012-02-08T22:39:00.001-08:00

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

2012-02-07T21:59:00.001-08:00

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

2012-02-06T21:50:00.000-08:00

"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

2012-02-05T22:14:00.001-08:00

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

2012-02-04T23:16:00.001-08:00

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!

Friday, February 3, 2012

2012-02-03T22:16:00.001-08:00

Up about 7am, a cup of coffee, check emails. I elected to have an egg with toast this morning. Sometimes change is good, lol.

Went to the beach about 9:30am. The walk is all down hill. It's not until it's time to go back that you remember the climb to get back to the condo. Didn't see any whales this morning but a lot of surfers and guys with boogie boards. It's fascinating to watch these guys, especially if they are any good at surfing (I certainly couldn't do it!).

I wrote two articles today for examiner.com. Did you know today was National Carrot Ckae Day? Me neither. But it is, so I wrote about it. Carrot pudding and carrot cake became popular during WWII when luxury items like sugar were scarce and rationed. Apparently carrot cake is still served at Christmas time in England. I also wrote an article about romantic places to have dinner on Valentine's Day.

By that time, it was lunch time. We had a Mediterranean Salad: arugula, fennel, prosciutto, green onions and cherries (it aw suppose to have pomegranates but there were none to be found on Maui). Pretty good. Arugula has a very peppery taste but the peppery flavor is tempered by the vinaigrette.

I did nursing CEUs in the afternoon and watched some TV for an hour. At 5pm, it was time to start dinner. Cornish Game Hen with Mushroom Sauce, Baked Rice and Green Beans with Creme Fraiche. Very filling, very tasty! Nice sauce on the game hen, I would definitely make this again. The original French recipe calls for quail, but since that is not readily available, Cornish hen is a good alternative, just serve half a hen. We were too full from dinner so I did not make the Profiteroles. We had Rum Raisin ice cream instead. Coats the stomach, as my father used to say!

I talked with Jordan for a short while. He's had a hard week and Ah Choo is getting him up in the middle of the night. "I saw a ghost, really, I did", the cat says as Jordan jokes about Ah Choo's 2am wake ups. Hope the cat settles down.

For now, bedtime. Good night from paradise.....

Thursday, February 2, 2012

2012-02-03T01:32:00.001-08:00

One thing about "retirement" is that it can be somewhat predictable. Just kidding, lol. Can't retire yet. I couldn't ask for a more beautiful setting, however!

After a breakfast of coffee, toast and a granola bar, I did one CEU unit. After that, my reward was a trip to the pool. There are still trade winds and the day was partly cloudy, so it wasn't too hot sitting out. We discovered a new flower at the pool. It almost looks like a bird of paradise but it's not. The flowers here are absolutely gorgeous. They are still trimming trees, so it continues to be noisy during the day.

Lunch was a Ban Bagnat, a French sandwich. You take a baguette, cut it in half lengthwise and remove much of the bread inside. Rub the cut sides with a clove of garlic, also cut in half. Drizzle with olive oil. Mix tomato slices (in my case, I was using up our supply of cherry tomatoes, so cut those in half) with red wine vinegar and basil, salt and pepper and set aside for 5-10 minutes to let the flavors blend. Slice black olives-enough to make it a layer on the sandwich. Hard boil one egg per sandwich, then slice it. Layer the tomatoes, olives and egg on the baguette (I used a mini-baguette), wrap it, then let it sit so the juices soak into the bread. I served it with the leftover Crab and Corn Chowder to rave reviews. My friend snapped my picture but it took so long, I apparently stopped smiling, lol.

I read in the afternoon and took a nap (one of the benefits of being "retired", lol).

Dinner was Salad Nicoise ala Julia Child. Boiled potatoes (dressed with white wine vinegar and parsley), blanched green beans, hard boiled eggs topped with a round of anchovy, tomatoes and fresh seared tuna, all dressed with a Dijon-Lemon Viniagrette. A very nice meal, indeed! Dessert was diced strawberries over vanilla ice cream which was then drizzled with a balsamic vinegar reduction. Yum! There was a "Napolean" in a glass with orange mascarpone and blueberries (an extra one from the other night), which we could have had, but I had to admit I ate it this afternoon, lol. Just wanted something sweet, ;-). What can I say?

Another beautiful sunset.....I think you'll agree....