The Big Island + Curried Vegetable Soup

Monday morning we had an early flight to Hilo, Hawaii, the big island. I haven't quite figured out why they call all the islands Hawaii and that's also the name of one of the islands, not even the capital, which is on Oahu, another of the islands.

I had made our flight plans before figuring out where we were going to stay. It would have been closer to our place if we'd flown into Kona, on the other side of the island from Hilo. Oh well. Our drive to Hawi, where we're staying was lovely, although it took a bit over two hours to get here. I guess it easy to say that it's the journey, not necessarily the destination, that's important. I again found a studio cottage on an organic farm, called Lokahi Garden Sanctuary. The grounds are beautiful and there are grapefruit and Meyer lemon trees outside our door. Their garden is incredible. I had no idea how kale or collards grew; the plants are beautiful. They're also growing edible flowers and lots of other veggies and spices, including tumeric, basil, mint, and lemon grass. They have a whole load of chickens, free-range, so they sell eggs as well. No roosters, so no crowing in the early AM, a good thing. I didn't get to see their sheep, as they keep them well away from their garden, in a far part of their 10 acres.

While there,  I was still having ear problems. The acupuncturist I saw, suggest no raw salads and to use Indian spices, such as cumin, coriander, and tumeric, which are warming. I had those spices with me. This was the result of that suggestion.

Curried Vegetable Soup Serves 6

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 medium onion, diced

1 large carrot or 2 smaller ones, diced

2 inches fresh ginger, peeled and sliced thickly, so the pieces can be removed from pot when finished cooking

Lemon Grass, optional

1 tablespoon Cumin

1 tablespoon Coriander

1 tablespoon Tumeric

1 tablespoon Bragg’s amino acids

1 quart organic vegetable broth

1 15-ounce can organic Coconut Milk

½ bunch Dino Kale, sliced crosswise

½ bunch Collards, stems removed and sliced crosswise

1 large or 2 small Baby Bok Choy, sliced crosswise

½ bag of Kelp Noodles (or you can use rice noodles), well rinsed and cut into 3 inch lengths

Instructions

1. Have all of the vegetables cut and ready to put into the pot.
2. Put oil into a large pot and add onions. Saute until they start to brown.
3. Add the carrots and seasonings, including Braggs, and stir. Cook for a couple of minutes.
4. Add the vegetable broth and coconut milk and stir well.
5. Add the greens and cook for 15 minutes
6. Taste and adjust the seasoning
7. Add the kelp noodles for 5 minutes more, stir well.

This can be served immediately or left to sit a while before reheating. It’s even better the second day, if any is left over.

Our first night in Hawi, we had dinner at a restaurant called Sushi Rock; I was totally off my diet and had a fabulous dinner; the owner/manager, Peter, is from New York, LA, and now Hawi for the last 20 years. My favorite was a roll called Tropical Treat - ahi, seasonal fruit (Mango), mac-nuts, & cucumber.We highly recommend this place for its ambience as well as the food, a real treat. ............................. ..........
Yesterday, we walked around Hawi, a small and charming town with some excellent restaurants, several galleries, and a bead store. I bought a small carved turtle for my April BJP goddess pin; look for the turtle slightly under her hula skirt.  Finally finished it and here it is:

The scan isn't the best, so I'll redo it when we get home. The owner of the bead store on Maui showed me how to make the hula skirt.

Hawi resonates for both of us.We liked Hana but it's too remote, however Hawi is a place we could return to and spend some time.

That evening, we drove down to listen to John Keawe, a native Hawaiian and local celebrity, who was playing from six to seven at the King Shops, close to Kona. We enjoyed his music enough to buy a couple of his albums; it's been great driving around listening to him play and sing.

We're now on the southeastern part of the big island, down in Kehae, in the Puna district. We're in a 1-bedroom cottage, and our hosts, Mark and Richard are terrific! We spent last evening at the Kilauea Iki Crater in the Hawaiian Volcano National Park. We saw the most beautiful sunset of our trip, and it was even more special as it had been totally overcast and rainy for the whole afternoon until about a half hour before sunset. Thank you Mother Nature.