Simple Summer Party...

      So early this Summer I asked one of my favorite vendors at the Lake Forest Park Farmer's Market to do me a favor.  My gal, Tracy, at Social Ice Cream makes the best ice cream in the entire world.  Problem is, a solid portion of my friends can't eat sugar, dairy, soy, gluten, food colorings, flavorings, like basically anything.  But I knew Tracy could handle it. What did I need two gallons of sugar-dairy-soy-gluten-everything-free ice cream for?  You already know, don't you, you smart thing you!

My oldest's Cub Scout manual lists plan a party and make an obstacle course for your friends as two things you can get badges for and we're all about the badges around here.  We need all the stinkin' badges.  Fittingly, he chose blue and yellow as the colors.

He helped with all the set up, too!

 

 These little marigolds were just the right color and had a light citronella scent that, I think, helped keep the bugs a way.  So did the little fans you see in the background.

I found a thing on Pinterest about making little flags to mark drinks.  Good ol' party store came through with these puppies.

My oldest also had a say in the menu so we planned hamburgers and hot dogs and left the rest up to the generosity of our guests! 

My neighbor supplied us with this gorgeous caprese salad appetizer. 

My garden has been generously pumping out cherry tomatoes like nobody's business this year.

My honey making friend also dabbles in flavored vodka.  Holy man.

And she brings homemade bread.  Yeah she does!

These homemade hot mix pickles were my offering this year.

Hot Pickle Mix

From the Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving

4 C sliced trimmed pickling cucumbers (1/4 inch slices)

2 C cauliflower florets

1 green bell pepper, seeded and cut into strips

1 red bell pepper, seeded and cut into strips

1 C sliced, peeled carrots

1 C peeled pearl or pickling onions

2/3 C pickling or canning salt

8 1/2 C water, divided

3 C sliced seeded hot yellow banana peppers (1 1/2- inch slices)

1 clove garlic

8 1/2 C white vinegar

3/4 C granulated sugar

2 Tbs horseradish

3-9 jalapeno peppers, halved and seeded

In a large glass or stainless steel bowl, combine cucumbers, cauliflower, green and red peppers, carrots, and onions.  In another large glass or stainless steel bowl, dissolve pickling salt in 7 C of the water.  Pour over vegetables.  Cover and let stand at room temperature for 1 hour.  Meanwhile, prepare canner, jars, and lids.  In a colander placed over a sink, drain vegetables.  Rinse with cool running water and drain thoroughly.  Add hot yellow peppers and mix well.  In a large stainless steel saucepan, combine garlic, remaining 1 1/2 C water, vinegar, sugar, and horseradish.  Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring to dissolve sugar.  Reduce heat and boil gently for 15 minutes, until liquid is infused with garlic flavor.  Discard garlic clove.  Pack vegetables and 1 to 3 jalapeno pepper halves into hot jars to within a generous 1/2 inch of top of jar.  Ladle hot pickling liquid into jar to cover vegetables, leaving 1/2 inch headspace.  Remove air bubbles and and adjust headspace if necessary, by adding hot pickling liquid.  Wipe rim.  Center lid on jar.  Screw band down until resistance is met, then increase to fingertip-tight.  Place jars in canner, ensuring they are completely covered with water.  Bring to a boil and process for 10 minutes.  Remove canner lid.  Wait 5 minutes, then remove jars, cool and store.

 

 We bought our burgers from Martiny Livestock at our farmer's market.  People said they were some of the best burgers they ever had!

Little bit of local cheese to top it off...

A little bit of socializing and then it was finally, finally time for...

Ice cream and sorbet!  We had Coconut Vanilla Bean, Peach Raspberry sorbet, and Raspberry Lemon Verbena. All made without soy, without dairy, without white sugar, but made with coconut milk, honey, and fresh local produce.  Because Tracy is a flippin' wizard.

Then it was obstacle course time!  First down the slide, then a search through bubbles for a statuette, and a quick hula hoop for 5 seconds before a dash across the finish line!  Fastest time wins!  It was a quick, fun game and they loved it!

 

Even this dude and he doesn't like anything...

Spring Pizza and Some Other Stuff...

This recipe is coming.  Be patient....

     Usually when I come back from a trip I sigh, clasp my hands under my chin, and bat my eyes about what a wondrous culinary adventure I had and regale you with tales of my perfect family's perfect vacation.  Lemme tell ya.  This ain't gunna be one of those posts.  My son is going through an unusual developmental thing right now that, in an effort to afford him some privacy when he is old enough to read this blog I won't go into detail on, but I will say it made mealtimes challenging.  Couple that with a limited resort menu and a limited restaurant selection and I ended up having one good meal on the island.  

     This was it.  I was so desperate for something edible I didn't even stop to take a picture beforehand.  It was the gnocchi at a place in Koloa called Pizzetta.  Get it.  And get the tiramisu.  Holy crud.

     Got back home, discovered a week's worth of mail had been stolen, and on top of that someone had been writing (and cleared) a couple checks.  So we've been in a whirlwind of account closures, police reports, and general feelings of violation for the past week.

     Top that with my husband's surgery on Tuesday that both of us were expecting to be more on the "not-terribly-extreme" end, and ended up being on the "much-more-than-we-bargained-for" end and I'm completely drained.

     This isn't a "poor me I can't do my blog" post.  It's a "WT actual F?!" post.

But to be fair we did have a really great time, even if it wasn't culinarily mind blowing.

Did I find a recipe to make again (better) at home?

 Yes.

Eat totally worth it $12 chocolate made on Kauai?

 Yeah, man!

Sample a weird fruit we weren't sure how to eat?

Yes. (It's a cream apple.  Next time we won't try to eat it w/o utensils....)

Did I get to eat my first manapua?

Yes.  This is purple sweet potato.  It was a really good dessert.

Visit a Taro Chip factory?

 Yes.  This is it.  The factory.  It's awesome.

Yes.  Four different varieties of chips, taro, purple sweet potato, and potato and purple sweet potato with li hing mui powder.

Yes.

And Oooooooh yes.  We loved all the flavors, but finally decided on two.  We paid the weathered little man, and as he was bagging them up, he stuck the other two varieties in the bag and said, "For you!"  If you are ever in Hanapepe (the town that Disney used as a model for the town in Lilo and Stitch) you have got to go by the chip factory.

Did we find what my husband called the best textured shave ice he's ever eaten?

Yes. (From Wishing Well Shave Ice in Hanalae).

Did we rent a convertible?

Hail to the yes.  And we got it stuck in the sand because we're not used to driving two wheel drive cars...  Oops.  Fortunately a couple of locals took pity on us and helped us shove it out of the hole we dug ourselves into.

Did we see this?

Yes.

Did we see a bunch of touristy stuff?

Yes. (Wimea Canyon)

 Yes. (Spouting Horn)

 Yes. (Kilauea Lighthouse)

And yes. (Hanapepe Swinging Bridge)

Did we see a bunch of not so touristy stuff?

 Yes. (Talk Story Bookstore mural in Hanapepe)

Yes. (Gorgeous smelling barbecue on Poipu beach.  Dude came up a little later and chopped actual logs to feed the fire in this little thing.  No sissy lighter fluid filled briquets for kama'aina!)

 Yes.  (The Menehune Ditch, built to bring water from the mountains down to the fields at the base of the mountain.  Legend says the Menehune built it.  They are mythical men who helped the ancient Hawaiians build lots of things.  They seemed to have been especially active on Kauai.)

Double yes.

Would I do it all again?  Oh heck yes.

Would I skip all the returning home drama?

Yes.

When we got home it was Easter and we spent the day with some friends.  This was my lunch contribution:

What says Spring more than eggs, asparagus, and ramps?
  This is asparagus pesto on a pizza crust baked with ramps and topped with a fried egg, thyme and a mild chevre.

We also made these.  Avocado, asparagus pesto, cumin, dill, goat cheese deviled eggs.
  I'm unclear as to whether we had started drinking yet at this phase.  They were... interesting...  Make the pizza.  Maybe skip the deviled eggs.

These are ramps by the way.  I extolled the virtues of ramps last year.  They are a wild leek native to the Eastern states.  I may or may not have tried to transplant a few into my back yard.  (Shhhh...)

I just realized that this is basically the same recipe I wrote last year.  Doesn't matter.  This time there's pizza crust and pesto.  I used the asparagus pesto recipe from Food and Wine.

Asparagus Pesto Pizza with Ramps and Eggs

1 batch of pizza dough

1/4-1/2 C Asparagus Pesto

4-5 ramps

1-4 eggs

1 Tbs goat cheese (for sprinkling)

1 tsp fresh thyme leaves

butter

Depending on the size of your pizza, you will need differing quantities of the ingredients.  The smallest amount is for a personal size, the largest amount works for a large, four adult size pizza.  Bake your pizza dough according to recipe directions.  I like to do mine at 500 on a pizza stone.  Bake until slightly browned, but not completely finished.  Your crust might puff up in the center like a balloon, that's perfectly fine, just push it down flat when you take it out of the oven.  Remove from oven, and top with pesto and ramps.  Cook a few more minutes until ramps have wilted.  In the mean time, fry your eggs in the butter until they have reached your perfect consistency.  I like sunny side up for this, but hard boiled would probably be great, too.  When ramps have wilted, remove pizza from oven, top with eggs and sprinkle with goat cheese and thyme.  

Notes:

When I made this at my friend's house, I baked the eggs on top of the pizza.  That worked OK but it was hard for me to tell the eggs doneness so they ended up being over-baked.  It's just as fast and a little easier to run quality control if you fry the egg separately.

If you can't find ramps, or want to try this when their short season is over, you can sub green onions, garlic, or thin slices of leek.

Review:
The adults loved it and the kids were happy with their regular old pepperoni.

PS, On a quasi food-related Hawai'i note, we don't have cable so the only time my kids get to see it is when we're on vacation.  My 6-year old's new favorite tv show?  Diner's Drive-Ins and Dives.  "I like that guy.  He's funny.  He looks like he's about to cry all the time."  He also said, "I can feel in my mind what the food would feel like."  So there you go, Guy Fieri's target audience: 6 year old boys on vacation.

Mexicanesque Corn

     I know it's not completely seasonal, but if you've got a bit of corn in your freezer right now this is just the thing to do with it.  Especially if you like a nice burrito every now and then!  My kids like a nice burrito three times a week at least.  This corn makes a nice side or filler.  I'm not sure if much of the food we eat in the states really qualifies as authentic Mexican but this goes with burritos, so I'm calling it "Mexicanesque."  This is so quick to put together, if you're a quick chopper, you could have this on your plate in 15 minutes. 

Mexicanesque Corn
1 tsp olive oil
1 C chopped mushrooms
3/4 C chopped onion
2 Tbs diced jalapeño
1 Tbs minced garlic
1 lb frozen or fresh corn
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/4 C fresh cilantro, minced

Heat oil in a large skillet and add mushrooms and onion.  Cook until onion has begun to brown and mushrooms are soft.  Add jalapeño and garlic and cook about 20 seconds until garlic has released its fragrance.  Add corn.  Cook until corn has warmed up.  If a few kernels begin to brown, all the better!  Season with salt and pepper and remove from heat.  Stir in cilantro just before serving.

Review:

This one was a hit with everyone for once!  Add a little more jalapeño or cilantro as you see fit!

A Post About the Super Bowl. Yes, that Super Bowl...

     There are a lot of folks out there who love football.  I am a folk who enjoys listening to football on the radio.  The commentary is more interesting and the commercials are less flashy.  We may make an exception this Sunday since the Seahawks have made it to the Super Bowl.  The excitement is a raging contagion here.  People talk to each other in line at the grocery store or standing at their cars pumping gas.  Even my boys, one of whom thinks it's called the "Super Goal," are pumped up, counting down the days till the Hawks battle the Broncos over a small brown ball and bragging rights.

     If you are one of those folks who loves a good game, I've got a little menu here I think you might enjoy.  If you're not, I've got a little menu here I think you might enjoy.  A burrito bar is a great way to feed vegetarian and carnivores simultaneously without too much fuss.  This one has a few different options.  My favorite combo is the sweet potatoes with rice, kale, beans and avocado.  My boys prefer just bean and cheese.  Lettuce, chips, rice and beans with a little salsa makes a great salad.

Everything on the bar can be prepped ahead except the meat, avocado, and the sauteed veggies. 

Pico De Gallo

8 oz tomato, chopped
2 oz garlic, minced
4 oz green pepper, diced
4 oz onion, diced
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp lemon or lime juice (optional)
1/4 C chopped cilantro (optional)

Mix all ingredients and serve immediately or up to a day later.  Stir in a minced avocado and you've got a top notch guacamole.

     For a family friendly celebration, a Mockarita may be the way to go.  My boys had mixed reactions, but I liked it a little less sweet.

 

Mockarita

6 limes
2 navel oranges
1/2 ruby red grapefruit
3/4 C sugar
2 C ice
2 more C ice (optional)
1/2 C sugar (optional)

I peeled the skin off the limes, oranges and grapefruit with a knife, checked for seeds, and threw the fruit into a blender.  I buzzed it up, then strained the pulp out.  I returned the juice back to the blender and added the sugar and ice.  A few more seconds and they were ready to pour!  You could jazz these up with some tequila but the virgin version is just as exciting in my opinion.

     We followed up our feast with some Tres Leches Cupcakes.  The recipe I used came from a cookbook, but you can use any recipe you want.  I wanted to make sure with all the extra liquid that these would hold up.  I tried some in nut cups and some in these fluted cake cups.  They both held up extremely well, though the cakes in the nut cups pulled away from the sides.  These fluted ones were definitely much prettier.  I cut the baking time down to 20 minutes from the 30-35 which was recommended for a full cake.  The recipe I used also suggested a sweet whipped cream frosting.  I just chose whipping cream and vanilla for mine and relied on the sweetness in the cake and milk glaze. 

Have a nice Superbowl Sunday!

My Soupy Senses are Tingling...

     We had our first "feels like Fall" day here in the Pacific Northwest this weekend and my thoughts turned toward the warm and comforting soups ahead but before Summer slips away entirely, I wanted to set the next Souperhero loose upon the masses!

     This one is another fruit soup.  There was a bit of controversy about Wonder Woman and whether watermelon soup was really "soup" or not.   Watermelon soup is a real thing.  Google it if you don't believe me.  Go ahead.  I'll wait...

     See?  Tol'ja.  And strawberry soup is a thing, too.  But as far as I can tell, this, my friends, is the world's first Spider-Man Strawberry Soup!

Spider-Man Strawberry Soup
Yields: 2-4 Servings
2-4 pints Strawberries
1 pint Blueberries
1/4-1/2 C Vanilla Yogurt

Blend strawberries in blender and fill bowls.  Clean blender and blend blueberries until skin is completely disintegrated (or as close as you can get it), set aside.

You don't need to be bitten by a radioactive spider to make the web on Spidey's face.  This is all you need:

Well, Spider-Man thought it was cool anyway...

I found the best way to draw the face was first to draw a small circle either dead center or slightly below center.  Then the eyes in yogurt.  Then outline the eyes with blueberries and draw the straight lines.  Finally, connect with curved lines and do any touch ups to the eyes as needed.  If you want to be quicker about it, you could try the old "drag a toothpick through a spiral" trick used in cookie making, but I haven't done it.  I don't see why it wouldn't work though and then you could put the eyes on after...?

Notes:

• Never knew this before making Spidey, but pulverized blueberries congeal!  They get pretty hard (almost as thick as Jell-o!), so you need to work rather quickly.  I liked them once the gelling process had just begun.  Once they set up they were hard to squeeze out of the bottle.  Within an hour or so the liquid separated completely and become a little gross.
• I used homemade yogurt sweetened with agave and added vanilla so it was pretty thin.  You may need to thin store-bought with a little milk so it fills in without lumps.

Review:
     I probably don't really need to review this, do I?  They loved it. =)  Whether your kids eat this with a spoon or a straw, you'll have happy little spider-fans!