Storm Preparations

The hurricane season in the Islands is in full force.  It started June 1st and lasts until December.  There hasn’t been a hurricane that has hit any of the Islands for 22 years. But, today the Big Island and Maui are under “tropical storm watch” courtesy of “Guillermo”.

Here are a few tips that travelers and locals can use to help prepare for this predicted busy hurricane season:

– Cash is important.  Expect that all electricity will be limited to generators and that means computer systems will not function at full capacity. It’s risky to trust credit/debit card transactions during power outages and storms.

– Listen for any civil defense alarms.  If you hear the alarms, check your radios, phones, televisions, or hotel for current information.  (*NOTE: There is monthly alarm testing that happens on the first of each month, or the next business day if the first falls on a holiday or weekend.) This actually just happened for this current storm.

– Stay out of the ocean!  Locals, you know better…Tourists are the worst at following directions.  All I can say is: Turn around, don’t drown!

– Tourists are actually in a better position if there is a storm.  Hotels have generators, food, water, communications, and security. Locals will have to stock up on some of those things, plus: gas for the vehicles and generators, batteries, toilet paper, first aid supplies, tarps, duct tape…Shoots, I don’t have a landline at my house, I would have to go down the street to one of the neighbors’ house to find a landline!

– Don’t panic.  For some, it’s easier said than done.  Some locals tend to go a little overboard and not without cause.  If the power is knocked out, no worries, but if the container ships cannot off-load during a storm, supplies can be limited for a week or so. This is when the panic sets in.

Hence the toilet paper mentioned above.  Even if the containers are already in port, you cannot unload paper products in the rain.  So, quite a few years back, during a particularly rainy storm,  toilet paper was running out in the stores.  Can you imagine Costco and Sam’s Club running out of toilet paper, much less the grocery and drug stores?

– One last thing, the refrigerator will keep food cold for about 8 – 12 hours, if you don’t constantly open the doors.  And perishable food will last 3.5 to 4 hours at temperatures above 40 F.

This is an important time to live and love with the aloha spirit, so that we can all be prepared and safe during hurricane season and the storms that come with it.

Aloha Friday

Music at the Halekulani

BBQ at Kahala Beach Park

Happy Aloha Friday!  In Hawaii every Friday is Aloha Friday, it means the end of the traditional work week and there is “no work ’til Monday”. The quote is from a song about what Aloha Friday is, so you know that it’s serious if someone wrote a song about it!

This also means for some local businesses that it’s aloha dress day.  Men wear aloha shirts instead of the traditional button-down shirts, suits and ties.  The women wear muumuus or dresses in aloha patterns instead of the usual business suits.

Locals take their weekends very seriously.  It’s a time for family to reconnect, spend time together and to see friends.  This is why on weekends, the freeways are still busy with traffic!  The beaches and parks are full and you can smell barbeques and smokers going full blast.

Rainbow and Surf off Waikiki Beach

Enjoy your Aloha Friday where ever you may be!

Slurpees For Free

Since today the Islands are uber steamy due to several “tropical depressions”, a free Slurpee will help with those “depressions”.

Here is a link:

Free Slurpee Day 2015

Shave Ice vs. “Snow Cone”

Pineapple and Cherry
Shave Ice

“Snow cone” is like a four-letter (albeit two four-letter words) to many locals.  If you try to order a “snow cone” you might be turned away or at the very least, corrected like a Catholic school girl, minus the black dress.

In Hawaii there is shave ice available year ’round and on every Island.  The Big Island (Hawaii) it is called “ice shave”, but it is made the same way, no matter what it is called.  This local favorite can be customized with a “rainbow” of flavors or by adding ice cream, azuki beans (sweet red beans), sweetened condensed milk (snow cap), li hing powder (Chinese licorice powder) or mochi.

There are so many places to get shave ice on Oahu.  Since I am not Yelp, though I have tried a lot of different shave ice here on Oahu and one or two on the Big Island, I would check out what the locals like and try one or two of those first.  I have reviewed some of my favorites on Yelp, if you click my Yelp link, you can browse some of my reviews.

With so many places to get shave ice, you also get many different styles of shave ice. The basics are ice, flavored syrups, and/or the add-ins mentioned above. Japanese style shave ice tends to use a slushy, larger sized ice with a lot of syrup, almost like shave ice soup.  Local style is fine, soft ice and it can be made with the traditional flavored syrups or with house-made syrups made with local fruits and ingredients.  On a hot, humid day (read: everyday in Hawaii!) any style is refreshing.

Condiments

Sriracha DIY

Make it Yourself

The food industry is all about convience…Okay, it’s all about sales. It’s ridiculous to pay $5.00 for the sriracha “mayo” and ketchup pictured here or the Tabasco soy sauce, when they can be made at home for half that price. And they can be customized to your taste.

Another plus to making your own condiments, you can control the portion you need and make it fresh, not squeeze it from a bottle you bought a month ago. Check your pantry, refrigerator, and spice rack, before you run to the store to buy Tabasco. Spicy soy sauce can be made with any hot sauce. Or try adding red chili pepper flakes and you can spoon some over baked chicken before you serve it.

If you are not comfortable in the kitchen, making your own condiments that can be put on baked chicken, or the on the side of a pork roast, will help put you at ease. Instead of making marinades that you cannot taste until after your meat is cooked, you can taste and adjust condiments before you serve your meal.

Mayonnaise is an important condiment in Hawaii. I bet, per capita, Hawaii purchases more Best Foods mayonnaise than most of the western mainland. No other mayonnaise will do for making mac salad, which is a staple of the “plate lunch” (two scoops rice, one scoop mac salad, and entree).

Checking the sauces and condiments at the grocery store can inspire you to create some great meals that are easy, tasty, and inexpensive. And you can leave comments here and I will post recipes for some of my favorite condiments with suggestions on how to utilize them for your meals.

Grocery Shopping in Paradise

Manoa Lettuce

While grocery shopping is a chore for most people, for a cook, it can be a little adventure. Some times I have a list with specific meals in mind. Other times I know what I want to cook, but I’m not sure if I will find all the products I need.

In Hawaii, we are grocery challenged.  Some products don’t make it over here and other products are too expensive so we have to make subtitutes. Take the recipe for the edamame spread that was posted June 24th. Tahini would have been delicious in the recipe and it would help the texture, but at $9.98 for a 12 oz. can, I opted for the sesame oil substitue. I don’t make hummus that often nor do I have many other uses for the tahini, hence, it would go to waste.

While purusing the produce section for lettuce, I found the Manoa lettuce pictured above. It was on sale (bonus) and it was the best lettuce they had. Manoa lettuce is a local (another bonus) butter lettuce that was named for University of Hawaii, Manoa Campus. I like to buy local produce, not just for the sustainability, because produce from the Mainland tends to lack flavor.

All produce is shipped to Hawaii “green” to ensure it does not spoil and to lessen the damage. Produce that spends less time on the “vine”, does not have a chance to ripen naturally. It is one of the downfalls of living in “paradise”, but a small price to pay.

Aloha! E komo mai (Welcome) to a new blog about local cooking, eating, and the lifestyle here in Hawaii.

I am excited to share recipes, kitchen shortcuts, restaurant reviews, and the lifestyle that local people here in Hawaii enjoy. There will be plenty of information for visitors and locals alike available from this blog.

Just yesterday, I had lunch at Koko Head Café in Kaimuki with a family friend and we were talking about people saying hello or good morning when out for a walk. I walk about five days out of the week and 90 percent of the people I pass verbalize a greeting or smile.  My friend lives on the Mainland, in a coastal town (I believe that living near the ocean makes people friendlier; wink, wink), and when I told her that people actually say, “Good Morning!”, she couldn’t believe it! They call it “Live Aloha”, unofficially.  A little aloha goes a long way…

Back to lunch…Koko Head Café is a “brunch all day” restaurant. I had the “Elvis’ Revenge” which is pictured above.  This sandwich is insane!  I think you should get a medical clearance from a doctor before you can order it.  The name says it all…Thick sliced “billionaire’s bacon”, tempura bananas, peanut butter, local honey, and toasted coconut on a sweet bread roll that has been toasted with butter on a griddle. I could only eat half of it.  If you can eat the whole thing, you should wash it down with a cup of hot tea or coffee.  A lot of hot tea or coffee!

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