Faustina+Deal Pickle

(I'll be back with recipes soon. My computer is in the shop and it's given me a great opportunity to catch up on things I've been wanting to tell you about. Even if you aren't a Utahn, be sure to click below to get the recipe for that delicious panna cotta.)

My darling friend, Holly, who you may know better as (THE) Phemomenon, invited me to come to a fun event at Faustina in downtown Salt Lake City.  We were there to discuss Deal Pickle.  You can find out more about Deal Pickle here in their FAQ page, but basically DP brings you, the consumer, a great deal on local businesses--%50 gift certificates.  You would pay $25.00 and get a $50.00 gift card.  Great, right?

I loved learning more about Deal Pickle.  I think it's a brilliant idea and a win-win for everyone involved.

Know what else is brilliant?  The food at Faustina.  It was incredible. 

 This is the popular Smoked Sonoma Chicken Salad (sans the chicken for the vegetarians) with spiral-cut apples, dried blueberries, gorgonzola, almonds, caramelized onions, and a pomegranate vinaigrette.

 Garlic bread.  So pretty I had to take a picture of it.  I heard this was the best garlic bread ever.

  Cioppino.  Let's see if I can remember everything that was in it--Sea Bass, calamari, mussels, shrimp...roasted tomatoes, spinach.  It was to die for.

This is the special tofu wrapped in squash ribbons in a pomodoro sauce.  They were really great to accommodate those of us who had dietary restrictions/preferences.  I really loved this dish.  Tofu is hard to get right, in my opinion.  It was perfect with the squash and the tomato sauce.  Perfect.  I appreciated them making a special effort on my behalf.  That alone is a reason for me to patronize their restaurant.

Lamb with celeriac chips. 

Chef Jared Young who recently won Chef Dance with fellow Faustina chef, Billy Sotelo

I have a penchant for panna cotta, as I'm sure you remember. I did eat all the strawberries and a bite of the panna cotta. Is was delish and I would have devoured the whole thing, but I was being really, really good that day.  The strawberry soup was the perfect accompaniment for the creamy panna cotta.

Check out Holly's blog (she has the recipe for that yummy panna cotta!) and Emily's blog for more information and pictures from our lunch.  It was so much fun to see old friends and meet new blog friends in person--Maria & Josh, Richard, Camille, April, Becky, Heather, Pam, Holly, and Emily. :)

Hawaiian Breakfast.

While we were in Hawaii, I made our version of a Hawaiian Breakfast, or I should say that I made Aunt Robin's version of  a HB.  Ever since we first ate this meal at her house years ago, my husband has been smitten with the artery-clogging, cloying breakfast.

What's on the plate?  Spam marinated in homemade teriyaki sauce (equal parts Aloha soy sauce, sugar, and water with fresh garlic and ginger), Linguica (sweetened Portuguese style sausage), a scoop or two of white Calrose rice (Japanese sticky rice), a fried egg (can you even handle it???), fresh pineapple and pan fried Hawaiian sweet bread.  The only things we are missing are a hamburger patty and gravy.

(I had a bowl of cereal and fruit, in case you were wondering.)

True story:  It's so good. Even with all my reservations and issues (spam? no, thanks), I will even admit that it's one tasty breakfast.  You know; if you are someone who likes eating all of your weekly fat calories in one meal. :)

Blog Hopping: Gluten-Free Pasta Salad with Arugula and Sun-Dried Tomatoes

I'm participating in a cool Blog Hopping event hosted by my dear friend, Hannah, of Sherbet Blossom and Miranda of Narrating Life to bring you "A Quick and Easy Family Recipe."

I can't think of anything easier or quicker to throw together than pasta. It's something everyone in my family enjoys.  Add in some veggies or leafy greens and you've got a very healthy meal that only takes the amount of time it takes for the pasta to cook.

I adore sun-dried tomatoes and try to find ways to use them in a meal at least once a week.  My children don't always love the texture of sun-dried tomatoes, so sometimes I chop them in my food processor.  If you don't like them, by all means substitute fresh ones (halved cherry or grape tomatoes would be great), or high quality canned tomatoes, like Muir Glen Organic or San Marzano.

Don't like arugula?  Substitute baby spinach or another tender green, or even fresh herbs.  I don't eat dairy much anymore, so I haven't included cheese, but of course cheese would be a most welcome addition here.  A fresh mozzarella or feta, soft goat cheese (chevre), or a hard grating cheese such as Romano, Parmesan or Grana Padano would be fantastic.

Another fun idea would be to let your family build their own designer pasta salad by having all the toppings/ingredients out in bar fashion.  Of course, swap out the angel hair for corkscrews or shells.  And use wheat pasta if you aren't avoiding gluten.  Whatever you use, it will turn out great.  It's a meal you can make ahead of time and serve at room temperature--perfect for those busy days when you don't get home from T-ball practice until dinner time.

GF Pasta Salad with Arugula and Sun-Dried Tomatoes

1 (8 oz.) box of GF angel hair spaghetti
1 (5 oz. or so) package baby arugula
Bottled sun-dried tomatoes (from Trader Joe's or Costco, if you can), to taste
1-2 onions, very thinly sliced
Handful or so pitted Kalamata olives, roughly chopped
fresh herbs (whatever you've got--basil, oregano, parsley, rosemary, thyme...)
olive oil
white wine vinegar
Salt and pepper
Red pepper flakes (optional, but tasty)

Cook the GF pasta according to package directions.  While pasta is cooking, heat a little olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat.  Add the onions and cook until they are softened and have turned golden brown.  (You could totally caramelize them, but it will take awhile.  I was in a hurry.)

Rinse and dry the arugula, if needed, and place it in a large bowl.  Add the sun-dried tomatoes, olives, onions and herbs.  Toss.  Add a splash of vinegar.  Taste it.  Season with salt and pepper and red pepper flakes.  Add the cooked pasta and gently toss.  (The GF rice pasta is pretty delicate, so be gentle.)

Serve warm or at room temperature.  Makes enough for 2-4 people depending how hungry you are.

Hop on over and visit the other Blog Hoppers and see their Quick and Easy Family Recipes.

Hannah 

Miranda

Cathy

Dianna

Jaime & Emily

Jessica

Jessie

{P.S.  I'm going up to Salt Lake City today with April.  We're making the fabulous Lemon Chiffon Cake from the Spring issue of Simply The Sweet Life on Fresh Living on Channel 2.  The show airs at 1:00 PM MST.  We'll post a link when it goes up on their site.  We'd love you to tune in!}

Matsumoto Shave Ice.

For my whole life I've wanted to go to Hawaii.  It was such a lucky trip thanks to generous people in my husband's family.  We needed a little break from our woes for a few days.  (Still no job.  Boo.)

When I e-mailed Damaris and Hannah about places to eat while we were in Oahu, both of them mentioned the shave ice on the North Shore.  Of course, unless you live under a rock, you've heard of shave ice.  This is special shave ice, mind you.  It's not a snow cone.  No.  It's different and BETTER.  Matsumoto is the place to go for shave ice.  Don't worry though, I'm on a mission to find good shave ice locally because I've heard there is some to be found.

There is always a line.  A long line.  But it moves quickly and is worth the wait.  Besides, you need a lot of time to decide what flavors to get.  Even then, you might change your mind as you order.

This guy was happy to be getting some shave ice while the anesthetic wore off from his minor procedure.  Three stitches.

(These are tourists.  Can you tell?)

I really like Haliewa, the historic town where you'll find Matsumoto Shave Ice.  By the way, it' s prounounced hahlay-eva.  It is a super busy, yet quaint little town.  Most of the cars going down the main drag have surfboards on top of them.  There are shrimp trucks everywhere.  A certain someone wouldn't stop so I could have some of the famous North Shore shrimp.  Not that I'm holding a grudge or anything.  Everyone seems to be wearing flip-flips and sunglasses.  And you'll see more skin than in a Victoria's Secret catalog.  You might also see more tattoos than you've ever seen in your life.

This inside is fun too.  It used to be more of a grocery store, but as it became more popular food stuffs were pushed out in favor of t-shirts and memorabilia.

This guy would write down our order on the paper cone in shorthand and then we'd take it up to the counter and watch them make it.

Make sure you pay the extra $0.25 for the holder.  It's worth it.  And make sure you try it at least once with the adzuki beans and ice cream.  It was sooooo good.

They use large columns of ice and the machine pushes them down against whatever it is that shaves it.  (I love it when I can find the words to describe technical things!)  The girl was fast.  I don't know how many shave ices they churn out every few minutes, but it's a lot.

Look how happy this guy is.  Don't you love his shirt?  A special from Old Navy I bought for him 9 years ago as a joke.  It turned out that he really loved the shirt and it's been in his closet ever since.  Though I'm sure he never thought he'd be wearing in Hawaii some day.  Ah, memories.

Until the next time!

(So, after I ate that gigantic shave ice, we drove down the road a little way to the Dole Pineapple Plantation and I ate a bowl of pineapple ice cream.  You know, just because.  More about that later.  Also, my desktop PC got a virus the other day, so I'm without my photos.  Lucky for you I have so many Hawaii posts waiting in queue!  Ha.  I hope they can fix my computer.  Until then, I'm using a laptop we scored for a super deal.)

Simply The Sweet Life Magazine: Sping Issue No. 2

After some annoying technical issues...the Spring issue of Simply The Sweet Life Magazine is up! Hooray!

It's truly gorgeous. All the recipes are divine. (Two are mine, ahem.) Season's photography is perfection.  You'll just want to check it out. I'm blown away by what April has done. I'm so happy be part of such a great team.

Malia's Pasteles

Guys, are you sick of me reliving Hawaii yet?  I can't believe what an impression Hawaii had on me.  I am thinking of every possible way to get back there as soon as possible.  Could I sell a kidney?  Could I sell a car?  

To live there would be so nice.  Anyone want to bankroll my family for a year there?  Hey, we'll live on the North Shore in a tent if we have to.  But I'd need to find a way to take the H-1 to Farrington Highway so I could stop by and visit Malia every week.

So, we heard all about pasteles, which the local-locals don't pronounce as pah-stehl-ehs.  They leave out the "s" and it becomes pateles.  And I was like, "Yeah.  I know what those are.  What's the big deal?  I want one."  They're like tamales.  And me and tamales--we're like extra BFFs.

Come closer.  You want to try one of Malia's pasteles.  No.  Scratch that.  You want to try about a dozen of them.

This is Malia.  And I love her.  She probably won't even remember me.  (Malia, if you ever happen to stumble upon this post, I just want you to know that I was really grumpy and didn't want to get out of the car to take pictures of your truck.  I had a scowl on my face the entire time--even though you are as darling as can be.  I was mad at my husband.  What can I say?  I was.  But you know what changed that?  Your pasteles.  That's what.  They made me and my tummy very happy.  I'm coming back to see you.)

This sign?  It should read instead:  Bet you can't eat just one.

Malia!  You gorgeous lady!  I want to spend an afternoon with you while you show me how to make pasteles.

This is a popular place to stop.  There were other BBQ trucks in the same area.  Never (since NYC) have I seen a place so chock full of food trucks like I saw on Oahu.  And there ain't nuttin' wrong with that.  I'm telling you.  I approve.  Except when they move and I'm only in town for a few days.  On the next trip, we're making sure we stop by a Leonard's Malasadas truck.

Another thing I loved about Hawaii--free range chickens. :)

So, here's the low-down on pasteles/pateles.  They are sort of like tamales, only instead of corn masa, the dough is made from green bananas (plantains).  They are incredible.  I don't know exactly what the filling was other than awesome.

Oh, Hawaii.  You are the perfect mix of cultures, foods and wonderful people.  I can't quit you.  My first time and I was hooked.

North Shore Farmer's Market

Are you ready for more?

I asked my husband to take a picture of me drinking a coconut.  I set up the camera, handed it to him, and in his words, started being sassy and seductive.  What can I say?  I love coconut water.  It just does something to me. :)

We drove around Oahu one day while we were there.  We cut up the middle and drove around the North Shore on down the Windward side of the island.  Somewhere near Laie, we stopped at a roadside Farmer's Market.

Can you even believe this?!  Heaven.

Funny story.  We went to the swap meet at Aloha Stadium a few days before we took this drive.  I was craving a cold coconut and a guy at the swap meet totally took us.  I cringe and get angry all over again just thinking about it.  He told us it would be $20 for two large coconuts.  Um, yeah.  Let's just end right there.  Don't worry though, I went back and confronted him.  He didn't give us any money back, but it made me happy to call him on it in front of other customers.

This is how much coconuts go for.  Coincidentally, I bought a coconut at Sunflower a few days after we got home for the same price.  But drinking it on the side of the road in Hawaii is much more fun than in my kitchen in Utah. :)

These spiny red balls are a relative of lychees.  They are juicy, sweet and flowery.  My husband's uncle bought some for later.  They were delish.

I think these are prickly pears.  This was something we didn't buy that I wish we had.

  Apple bananas.  Soooo good.

 Guava.

Kiwi, avocados, Malay apples.

Young coconuts.

 Malay apples.  Mariko wrote about them here.

 Hawaiian avocados.  Why, oh why, didn't we buy some?!  Regrets, regrets, regrets.  I've heard they are amazing.  Sigh.

 I think these are another kind of guava, but I'm not certain.

Well, if you happen to be heading to Oahu, I recommend heading over to the Kahuku Farmer's Market.  What a memorable experience.  I can't wait to go back...even if it takes me another 30 years to get there.

(Those coolers are all chock full of cold coconuts.  Mmm.)