Happy Mother's Day

Mom!!!

Cauliflower & Tofu Carrot Puree Curry

5 organic carrots
2 russet potatoes
4 cloves garlic
1 cauliflower cut in 6 wedges
1 cinnamon stick
salt to season water

Cut carrots and potatoes into 1 inch pieces.   Cook in salted water until fork tender.  Drain water and puree carrots, potato and garlic, until smooth.  Set cauliflower in ice water and put aside.

1 large onion diced
1 cup organic vegetable broth
2 tablespoons of dahl masala
1 teaspoon salt
1 can of organic light coconut milk

Saute diced onions in vegetable broth until translucent on medium heat.  Add masala and salt, cook for 5 minutes.  Add coconut milk and simmer for 15 minutes on medium low heat.

1 box extra firm organic tofu
1 teaspoon olive oil

Drain 1 box of extra firm tofu.  Cut into 10 pieces, dry pieces on paper towels.  Lightly oil grill pan and heat on medium high heat.  Grill pieces of tofu in grill pan until marks are on all sides of tofu pieces and set aside.  Drain chilled cauliflower and grill on all sides and set aside.

1 cup grape tomatoes sliced in half
1/2 cup cilantro minced

Before placing cauliflower and tofu in curry mixture, salt to taste.  Carefully place cauliflower and tofu, simmer for 5 minutes.  Before serving mix in tomatoes and cilantro.

Serve with basmati rice.

Eating Vegetarian on Vacation

I just came back from a vacation in San Francisco with some of my friends.  All of them carnivores.  Yes, this was a challenge, but not a defeat.

I went into this challenge with the idea that I might have to cave-in to eating meat and I have to say I did, only 2% of the time on vacation.  So I made it a 98% vegetarian vacation.  So out of 18 meals, 3 of my meals had a small percentage of meat, but mostly vegetables.  You don't want to be rude when eating at someone's home.

The main thing is stay strong and don't let the negative looks and comments make you weak!  Stay strong!  Most of my friends were supportive about my new lifestyle, but it is difficult when you have to be sensitive to someone's eating limitations.

Three things to consider:

• Eat at restaurants & joints that serve vegetable options and they all seem to have something you can eat.  Even at a restaurant we ate at for Sunday Brunch called "The Pork Store" had an awesome vegetarian menu.  Tofu seems to be on a lot of restaurant menus now.
• Ask the waiter if the chef would make a vegetarian entree and they will 99% of the time.
• Stay at a vacation rental that has a kitchen, so you can cook some of your meals and prepare some vegetable snacks to carry in your bag.

Eating vegetarian on a vacation is a must, because you do not want to weigh yourself down on heavy meals when you are sightseeing.

I have a list of delicious vegetarian friendly restaurants in San Francisco:

• Starbelly - the chef made me a mouthwatering roasted vegetable combo over polenta
• Beretta - the fava bean spread on a toasted crostini was divine, salads all delicious, and the burrata margarita pizza memorable
• Marcello Pizzeria - the pesto white pizza w/ meatballs (take off the meatballs, if you can)
• Poncho Villa Taqueria - the mushroom quesadillas were to die for and the tofu tacos yummy
• Slanted Door's "Out the Door" at the Ferry Building - the curry tofu w/ brown rice was tasty
• Academy Cafe at the California Academy of Science Museum - the curry cauliflower w/ tofu and  grilled asparagus

I usually gain weight on my vacations, but this time I did not.  Not to forget to add a lot of walking to your itinerary!  You got to incorporate some exercise...

Roasted Vegetable Stock

After being a vegan for almost 3 months, I am always looking for ways to add a little more flavor to my daily cooking and recipes.

Since using oil in my cooking is very minimal, I use water and a lot of vegetable broth (home made and organic boxed) for my vehicle in cooking - for sauteing, poaching and in soups.

I've found that roasting vegetables is the best cooking method for extracting the sweet & caramelized flavors out of every vegetable.  So why not roast the vegetables for making stock?

Went to the Sunday Manoa market this morning, Sunday is my cooking and stock making day.  I bought carrots, beets, celery, sweet peppers and onions for my roasted vegetable stock.

I cleaned and cut all of the vegetables to 1 inch pieces and tossed them in 1 tablespoon olive oil, salt and Herbe de Provence.  Then laid on a baking pan and baked in a 400 degree oven for 20 minutes.

In a cast iron pot, place roasted vegetables (except the beets) and cover 2 inches above veggies with filtered water.  Bring to a boil, then lower heat to a slow simmer for 1 hour.  Cool broth, then strain and store in containers.  Good for 6 days if refrigerated or 3 months if frozen.

This roasted vegetable broth will have a sweet caramelized flavor that you will love in all your recipes.  Use stock instead of water in all of your savory recipes that ask for water.

How to Clean & Cook Collard Greens

Until about 2 years ago, I always thought collard greens was a southern vegetable recipe that had to be cooked for hours with hamhocks.  The final product was a tasty, salty and over cooked gray in color, side dish that went with fried chicken and grits.

But in fact, it is one of the top leafy greens that is considered to be a superfood.  Greens that have all the vitamins, minerals, fiber, antioxidants and phytochemicals that can ward away cancer cells.

And most of all it is a silky, delicious, leafy green that does not need to be cooked to death!  A light saute with water or olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper is all you need.

Just picked from my backyard garden.

Collard green leaves grow off a very sturdy stock, so you will be supplied with a large amount of leaves from one stock.  After the stock is too tall, I would cut the stock in half, and in a matter of weeks, you will have new leaves and another branch to enjoy.

Remove the firm stem by cutting with a knife.  Save, the cores for vegetable stock or the neighbor's dog.  Chloe, my neighbors poi dog loves these stems as snacks.

After the stem has been removed, roll the leaf and cut into strips, about 1/4 of an inch.

 

After you've cut all of the leaves, place in salad spinner, to rinse and soak for 2 minutes.  Strain and spin. Then it is ready to be light sauteed in either water or olive oil, garlic, salt & pepper.  Enjoy!

2011

This year surely went by fast.  I know we always say that every year, but it did this year.

The year began with a couple of tsunami warnings and a huge message that life is really precious and short.  With the earthquakes in Japan and the many lives lost, we here in Hawaii had to really think about our own destiny.  What if?

My family went through my sister's experience with cancer.  She went through chemo in January and her surgery in February.  Her recovery was positive & steady.  She is now back at work and free of cancer.  With her faith in God and determination to fight this, she was able to overcome cancer.  Evelyn is a great example of strength and positivity.

My mom is the firecracker she always is.  But I can tell that she is slowing down a bit and still needs some encouragement to keep active and positive.  I really give her a lot of credit to keeping strong after my dad's and brother's passing and keeping herself as together and beautiful as ever.  But of course, that means that she is that harder on me too.  Oh well.

My sons and their families continue to grow and mature.  Keola made a decision to go back to college and finish up what he started years ago.  He gave himself one year to do it and he did.  In June, he graduated from the University of Hawaii in Manoa.  Keola's sons, Moses is 6 and Shayden 5.  Keleko's son, Elijah turned 7 and daughter Kalena 2.  I am a proud mother and grandmother.

In August, I moved from Wilhelmina Rise to Manoa.  Downsizing 3/4ths of my belongings was a feat, but very gratifying.  The realization that material things really don't define oneself, but ones actions and the impressions you make do.  I am really enjoying my time in my new space.  I have landlords that are family to me.

Three of my closest friends lost their jobs this year and are making the best of their situations.  I really don't know if I could've handled something like that the way they all did.  Being positive and staying true to looking for something that makes their heart sing.  Hang tight!  I want to find a job that makes my heart sing and also compensates for what I bring to the table this coming 2012.

I have to say that this was a year full of challenges and changes, but also a year of many celebrations.  I thank the Lord for my many blessings and my wonderful friends and family that fill my life with joy, fulfillment and headaches.

Please enjoy some of my pictures of 2011.  Happy New Year!

LA's Osteria Mozza

Okay, I have to admit that I am not a big fan of the City of the Angels - Los Angeles.  The traffic, smog and the Hollywood effect does not inspire or motivate me the way other cities do - like San Francisco, New York City, Chicago...

But because my work takes me to Los Angeles a couple times a year, I am determined to find a inspiring connection and for me it is FOOD.

The last couple of trips to LA, I've made a point to get restaurant referrals from my foodie friends here in Hawaii.  So last year, I was able to go to acclaimed celebrity chef, Suzanne Goin's AOC Wine Bar and Restaurant and thoroughly enjoyed it.  Sat at the bar next to a porno director and his wife - so pretentious!


Earlier this year, I got to have breakfast & brunch (once at their nextdoor counter & at the actual restaurant for Saturday Brunch) at JGelina in Venice and loved the food, atmosphere and service.  So I am slowly warming up to Los Angeles and giving it a chance into my foodie life.


This past Tuesday, I was able to get a reservation to Mario Batali's popular "Osteria Mozza" with executive chef Nancy Silverton really leading it.  So reservations were made on OpenTable.com, but the only time I could get a table was 9:15pm, I booked it anyway, and went early at 8:00pm to try to get in.  And I did on the Mozzarella Bar, which I think is the best seat in the house, especially when eating by yourself, because you really are not by yourself.


I was so pleasantly surprised to see Nancy Silverton herself, working the bar, not as the expediter, but as a line chef filling orders.  Now that is a class act!  She moved and interacted with staff, chefs and guests with much grace & ease.  She did not act as the boss, but as one of the line team.  When dishes needed fixing to comply with her standards, she just spoke to her co-worker as a coach and showed them how it should be.  I really give her so much respect, I was there for 2.5 hours and she worked the entire time and the place was hopping.  WOW!  I think that is one of the reasons she is called America's mozza master.

Let me start with the Mozzarella Bar, is not part of the drink bar, but a bar where all of the cheese and antipasti is prepared.  The bar is a marble counter bar filled with ingredients that is used in the primi dishes - salt, braised leeks, hazelnuts, a pepper shaker (one that everyone on the line shares), plates, milk glass vases of seasonal white flowers, and brass figurines of ducks, insects, pigs, on it - I just loved it.  It felt like how her kitchen at home would be. 


Before I go into what I ate, the service was delightful and easy.  Everyone that served me was personable and helpful - 5 stars for service, atmosphere and food!


So this is what I had:

I started with a glass of Italian rose.  I believe it was from Tuscany and was recommended by my waitress.

This was my pre-appetizer, a crostini with fresh ricotta, tapenade and fresh basil.  It was fresh, light, simple, delicious and a great palate opener.  The ricotta was lemony with a smooth milky texture.

My primi (appetizer) was Pane Pomodoro with Burrata, Speck and Pickled Shallots.  The burrata blew me away with it's silky sweetness, the smoky salty speck, the sweet/sour of the tomato salsa and acid from the pickled shallots were a perfect marriage of texture and the whole spectrum of flavors on a toasted piece of garlic baguette.

My dinner was a selection from the secondi menu (pasta) Green Pappardelle with braised lamb ragout and a side of grilled broccolini.  The pasta was a green pasta which in the Mozza Cookbook says it's made of fresh nettles and they were wonderful ribbons of silky pasta and the lamb ragout braised with red wine, pancetta and a flavorful soffritto (carrots, onions, tomato & celery).  My broccolini was seasoned with good olive oil, balsamic and garlic.

I was so full by the time it came for dessert, but I could not say no, so I had the Poached Yali Pears Almond Gelato with Toasted Almonds and baked pieces of crispy puffed pastry.

I had to purchase the Mozza Cookbook and asked Nancy if she could sign it for me and she did graciously.

I will have to blog about the first recipe I make from this wonderful cookbook.  

I would recommend Osteria Mozza and please, please sit at the Mozzarella Bar, you will love it.  And say "Hi" to Nancy for me!


Ciao!