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.

Still Maui + Recipe

We've been in Maui for several days now. It's a lusciously green island with much tropical flora, most of which I'm familiar, but not all. Have you ever heard of an apple banana? I hadn't. I haven't tasted one, but I'm told that it's hard to go back to the typical bananas after eating one.

Both of us are still under the weather, so we've been taking it slow and easy with the sightseeing. On Friday, we were getting our sea legs, so to speak. We had lunch at a nice restaurant and then walked on the beach nearby. The beach was beautiful fine sand, with large black lava rocks dotting it. We walked above the water line in one direction and then along the water's edge/in the water on the way back. We stopped at a small health food store in Kihei, near where we're staying, to see what they had. Not a bad selection at all for so small a place.

Saturday had us up relatively early and out by 7:45am. We had contact a friend of a friend and he sold his produce, avocados, flowers, and eggs, at this Farmer's Market. I described Art, beard, moustache, pony tail, glasses, and a hat; Craig said, "That's me." So, he was easy to find and it was a small market but the produce was nice. We hope to get together with Craig again. After we left the market, we went to visit the Surfing Goat Dairy, where they make goat cheese and truffles stuffed with goat cheese. It was a fun place to be and the "kids" were adorable. They loved to be petted. The actual location was decorated with surf boards, whole ones and some in half, which were used at the end of each parking space. It was so colorful. We went to the tasting they had, and their cheeses were delicious and unusual. One was flavored with horseradish and another with sun-dried tomatoes, while another had key lime juice in it. Unfortunately, none were raw, as it's not legal in Hawaii to have unpasturized cheeses. Next we were going to go to the Lavender Farm and then their one Winery. However, we decided not to do either and we turned around and headed for Paia for lunch. Paia is on the east coast and on the road to Hana; it is an old Plantation town, very charming. After a lunch of grilled harpooned swordfish, we walked around the town. They have a great health food store, called Mana. We do spend a lot of time shopping for food, but it's not all about food; it's about enjoying life and food is an important part of that enjoyment.

On Sunday, we drove to Lahaina, as they had a craft's fair in the town square, where their famous banyon tree is located. It was nice but not great; the jewelry artists were disappointing and there weren't any potters. Lahaina was the first capital of Hawaii. The architecture is charming and it was fun to walk around and window shop. I almost bought a t-shirt colored with the red dirt they have; they were called red dirt t-shirts; however, it wasn't comfortable, very stiff, and too long, with a tight neckline. Oh well.

On Monday, Art decided that he really needed to be checked by a doctor, as he wasn't feeling better but worse. I thought my seeing another doc was a good idea too, as I was almost finished with my antibiotic and I still felt like I was under water. Luckily, Art doesn't have strep and with the prescription he got, he's feeling much better today.

On the other hand, turns out I'm not so smart. You know how when your ears are clogged it usually works to hold your nose and blow; so, that's what I've been doing daily. However, since both eardrums had been ruptured, by holding my nose and blowing I was continuing to keep the perforations open and not letting them heal. Clever, huh? Anyway, I now have three new medicines and my hearing should improve within the next few days. I have my fingers crossed.

Today, we went on a Whale Watching Tour. It was wonderful. We followed a calf, mother, and escort (a male whale, not usually the father) for about 45 minutes. The calf kept pounding his fluke (tail) on the water, and the mother and escort were following him as he moved around. Then, we went on and saw several other whales. This is the end of the whale season; most have left already for Alaska but there are still many who are gearing up and teaching their calves what to do during the migration north. Apparently, Maui is a favorite birthing place of the humpback whales. Lucky us. There are loads more around during January through March. By the middle of May, they'll all be gone for this year, only to return next.

So, we've been doing a little each day and enjoying it all.

As for a recipe, one night I made this dish:

Squash and Greens

We were in a condo in Kihei, HI, and I wanted to make an easy dinner. I had been able to go to the Whole Foods in Kahului from the airport before driving to Kihei and our condo. A few of the supplies I had picked up were a Kabosha squash, Maui onions, and a head of tatsoi, a wonderful green I had been using in salads at home. I’d also bought a few spices and coconut milk, so I was ready to go.

Serves 4

Ingredients:

1 onion

½ of a kabocha squash, cut into chunks

1 head tatsoi, cleaned and cut into pieces (or other greens such as collards, mustard greens, or kale)

2 tablespoons olive oilsquash

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

1 teaspoon cumin

1 teaspoon coriander

1 teaspoon tumeric

1 can organic coconut milk

Instructions

1.  Peel the onion, cut it in half, and then slice each half

2.  Put the olive oil in a medium to large sauce pan and add the onions. Saute for about 10 minutes until they start to brown.

3.  Add the squash and all the seasonings. Mix well.

4. Add the coconut milk, stir, and cover the pan.

5.  Cook on a medium heat for about 15 minutes.

6.  Stir and then add the tatsoi or other greens and stir again.

7.  Cook for 10 minutes. Stir and taste. Adjust seasonings as needed.

8.  Can be served over quinoa or brown rice.

Hope you enjoy this as much as we did.