Eden's Wanderings and Wonderings

Every now and then, I get a phone call that someone is coming to visit (me in) the Bay Area. (Only because I happen to live here, but they really just want to visit S F. :) ) This past weekend a former high school friend was passing through on her way back to the Phil. She and another former high school buddy, who now lives in Southern California, were both weekenders here . So I went played tourist with both of them.

At Fisherman's wharf, we saw crab, and all things seafood... and this:

He was happy to pose for me. :) He works for:

Working in a school, I thought this should not be too difficult for me. Perhaps a picture of the library and the terrific librarian whose job is going to be cut next year due to the budget crisis! (ARRGG)....

Or these ... These are my recent acquisition. Why two books? I usually give away books that I love so others may enjoy them too... or even ones I do not strong feelings for. :)

But this one, I really enjoyed and plan to take my copy with me on my next visit to Paris so I can find some of the things David wrote about.... like the sinfully thick chocolate at that dive on the 5th! So I thought, if I am to share, I better order some other copy to give forward.

As the say in the kids' show Reading Rainbow, "Get a copy for yourself, read it, you'll enjoy it!"

No, not food in Egypt, rather ... Pyramids Restaurant in Honolulu.

I just got done reading David Lebovitz' link on photographing food - hmm - annoyance to some... LOL

Instead of shying away from it, I decided (shamelessly) to post some of the photos I took when we had the mini GTG in Honolulu...

We started with these appetizers - hummus and falafel.... great with the flat bread.

My dinner was rotisserie chicken. The rice was presented in pyramid fashion.... cute

At least, I only took pictures of my dinner. Hopefully the annoyance was at a minimum... I did not ask my dinner companions to hold off on eating before I could take pictures of their dinner choices... LOL

Food was great. Susan made a good choice on the restaurant selection. The place was packed, so it maybe a local favorite too.... Thank you, Susan.

Kim shared this salad recipe with our group... complete with nutritional info. Check it out.

Tracey and I made this for dinner. I must admit, it was mostly Tracey who did it. She even did the shopping for all the ingredients. She grilled the chicken breasts as well... Look for the recipe after the photo....

I forgot to add the olives... found them as I was cleaning the counter... Forgot to add the cheese prior to the photo, but added it to our salad plates. This salad is delicious!!!

This is a keeper. I will make this again this summer. Try it... recipe on the next page.

No, this does not qualify as gourmet, not even cheap gourmet. It is so against the Slow Food movement.... but in one big weak moment -

Malasadas from Leonards.... Hey, it's famous! :)

Taro pie from you know where.... Hey, it's somewhat exotic --- taro is one of the ingredients... ok, way down there after sugar and other preservatives (perhaps - because I could not pronounce them!)

(This is why I could never qualify writing a Food Blog... thought to self.) Photos all taken on my Sheraton bed... And my son gave me the idea for this post. LOL...

Waikiki's French Touch -

Yumm...

This week Salad Samplers featured Jan's Shrimp Salad.

Shrimp Salad

1 pound extra large shrimp (16-20)fresh, wild if you can find them.
1 tablespoon Old Bay seasoning
¼ cup mayo
1 tablespoon ketchup
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill, tarragon or parsley.
1 large stalk celery chopped
¼ large red pepper chopped
salt and pepper

Steam the shrimp for about 5 minutes in water with Old Bay.
When cool enough to handle, remove shells and chop into about 5 or 6
pieces per shrimp.
Mix the rest of the ingredients in a medium bowl. Toss in the chopped shrimp and chill.

Serve over a bed of lettuce of your choice.

I had some large shrimp in the freezer so I used those. I did not have any of the Old Bay seasoning, so I used some herbes de Provence seasoning instead. I was at Trader Joes and did not find any of the Old Bay seasoning there. The TJ staff member who was helping me had no idea what I was looking for. :)

Since my shrimp were frozen and large I steamed them for a little longer than 5 minutes.

I also substituted the Dijon mustard with Mendocino mustard. Other than these two substitutions, I used every other ingredient per Jan's recipe.

We had this for dinner with baguette and some brie and some wine.

My daughter commented that this was the first salad recipe that was not huge. We both loved this.... and wishing there was more to share with others.... because we loved it.

Jan, great salad. Thank you for sharing.

I am late in making this for the Sunday Salad Samplers but so thankful to Cindy for sharing this recipe. When I first read the post I questioned the "Grilled Romaine" part but wanted to try it out and so glad that I did. Delicious!

GRILLED ROMAINE SALAD Serves 4
2 heads romaine lettuce
Extra-virgin olive oil
Citrus Caesar Vinaigrette, recipe below
Parmigiano-Reggiano
Chopped tomatoes
Homemade croutons, if desired

Preheat grill to med-high.
Rinse and pat dry the lettuce. Cut the 2 heads in half lengthwise. Brush surface wtih olive oil and grill about 4 to 5 minutes total, turning occasionally. Place each wedge on a salad plate and drizzle with Citrus Caesar Vinaigrette. With a vegetable peeler, shave some pieces from a wedge of Reggiano-Parmigiano over each salad. Top with chopped tomatoes and homemade croutons and serve.

CITRUS CAESAR VINAIGRETTE
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tablespoon grated lemon zest
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons anchovy paste
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
2/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Place all ingredients in a pint jar with a lid. Secure the lid, then shake to blend. Store, covered, in the refrigerator for up to a week.

I skipped the achovy paste... Grilled Romaine was enough adventure... :) Seriously, Cindy, this was delicious!!! Thanks again.

August 3, 2009 - Ok, I am really just at the airport for now.... HongKong airport.

Island 1 – Hongkong. We arrive at the Hongkong International Airport. We have a 9 hour layover. Yes, 9 hours! There is only a single flight direct to Cebu City from Hongkong and that is not leaving until 4 PM and it is only 7AM now. So Tracey and I wait. We checked with Cathay Pacific to find out about our flight. We have no gate assignment. Too early per the person at the check in counter. We wait.

We shop – window shop. I can’t afford to do any other kind of shopping. If I were a shopping addict, I would think I am at a buyer’s Disneyland. This can easily be one’s “Happiest Shopping Place on Earth”. Seriously, you can go to Chanel, Burberry, Tiffany, and pick yourself up a Prada all during a layover! I window shopped as I have to save my pennies for the Philippines. Besides, I am too beat from the 12 hour flight, judging from this photo.

Actually Tracey and I spent our money elsewhere. We decided to get a lunch at an airport restaurant called Wildfire. Tracey called my attention to the table setting. They had silverware but with a plastic knife place setting. They must worry about passengers taking butter knives on board and be a threat to society. Ok, works for us.

The food was awesome. We ordered a Duck Confit salad and a sampler appetizer. Everything was really good… well except for the smoked salmon which resembled raw to my simplistic taste. I passed on that. I loved the stacked grilled tomato and eggplant topped with mozzarella, basil, and tomato. I want to recreate this at home.

I wanted to blog regularly while on vacation but (vacation) fun gets in the way sometimes. :) So I am going to try to post some late entries. This one is 14 days overdue!

August 4, 2009 – The island of Cebu.

A few cousins were there to meet us. Good thing because I would not want to brave the streets of Cebu City and their daredevils called cab drives. We checked in at the local Marriott.

Upon arrival we went to dinner at a restaurant that featured Filipino food - Café Laguna. After a long flight it was great to see family and have my feet planted on Tierra firma and enjoy authentic Filipino food.

First full day in the island of Cebu… Visiting my 88 year-old Mom was the main agenda for this trip. Tracey and I went to see her on the first day. It is wonderful to see her healthy and looking happy. She seemed happy to see us too. She even asked about her other grandchildren, Shawn and Mike. She recognized Tracey. She is looking wonderful and she seems very content here.

Small Bites - Coconut Shrimp with Pinepaple Salsa (Eden's concoction)

Each Sunday some slowtravel chefs are venturing into a new cooking / blogging activity. This one started this week. I may very well be stepping out of my comfort zone, as I am not as good as these chefs. But, here I go anyway ... late (YIKES) but here. This time, the group will do appetizers or small bites.

The group baked, made ice cream, stirred soups, tossed salads in the past. This time, there are no set recipes to follow, but each one prepares their own appetizer. The connecting factor is that each week there will be a single main ingredient. So on the first week, Cindy from Alaska started us with her choice of ingredient - Shrimp.

I gathered some Coconut Shrimp recipes online and kind of put this one together. I also opted for baking the Coconut Shrimp instead of frying... not that I have anything against frying. I just hate the clean up after. I also used (or made do) with the ingredients I had in my kitchen cupboard.

My ingredients were:

Coconut Shrimp:

1 & 1/2 pounds of large shrimp - (16-20 count per pound) I had 22 pieces
1/3 cup cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon pepper flakes
1/2 teaspoon Chinese Five Spice seasoning
2 large eggs
1 & 1/2 cups of flaked sweetened coconut
Cooking spray

Pinepaple Salsa:

Chopped fresh pineapple
Chopped red onions
Harry and David Hot & Smoky Pepper & Onion Relish

Ida aka VicoGirl led us this week in the Sunday Small Bites challenge. Her chosen ingredient is Crab. Thank you, Ida. I love crab.

I went the Crab Roll-Up way, after looking at many recipes on the net. I decided to wrap mine in Cresent Rolls dough. I found a recipe on the internet that used this and I only tweaked it a little bit.

I used the following ingredients:
5 oz container of Dungeness crabmeat
3 stalks of green onions, minced
5 mushrooms, chopped finely
1/4 teaspoon Old Bay seasoning
1/2 cup shredded cheese... your choice
2 packages of Pillsbury Crescent Rolls
2 tablespoons butter

Saute green onions and mushrooms in butter about three minutes or until tender. Add crabmeat. Stir to heat and mix thoroughly. Sprinkle Old Bay seasoning. Mix.

Take the crab mixture from the heat. Take the crescent roll dough pieces apart. Spread about a teaspoon full onto the wider part of the crescent roll dough. Sprinkle a pinch of shredded cheese on top of the crab mixture. Roll and form into crescents. Repeat until all dough pieces are stuffed. I made about 16 of them... there was enough filling to fill all dough pieces from the 2 packages.

I follow David Lebovitz's blog... read his website deligently ... own his cookbooks... not that I really cook... but did you know that cookbooks are good reads?

So David is in town. I decided I have to see / hear him. His first appearance (that I know of) was in Emeryville. I ordered tickets. I talked my daughter, Tracey, into going to one of his appearances. Since Tracey now lives in Emeryville - the venue, Charles Chocolates, was in her hood, I thought it would be a great idea if she went to meet David too. :)

So I went to Tracey's apartment on Wednesday night, hurried her along as I did not want to be late for David's apparition. :) David's talk was scheduled from 6-8PM. So we get to Charles Chocolates around 6:15 PM... 15 minutes late ... to find the parking lot to ourselves. We went to the front of the building to check things out... What? Did they shut the door for late arrivals? Now, I am going to be p&@$ed.... Afterall, I drove up the busy freeway and fought rush hour traffic to get here!

So I shook the door which turned out to be locked... chained ... locked... Shook it again... Shhh, do not tell anyone what happened after...

Anyway, I was a day early...DARN! So we went to dinner... will blog about that restaurant one day...

I was determined to see him, so I went back the next day - yesterday, Thursday. Success!

Upon arriving at Charles Chocolates on the RIGHT DAY, I spotted David eating Charles' SMORES...a $5+ block of graham cracker, chocolate bar and marshmallow square. David says one can make a dinner of it!

David talking about his "The Sweet Life in Paris"...So casual and cool.

After his talk, he signed books... including my ... Sweet Life.. and Perfect Scoop.

This is part of the crowd lined up to meet the man.

Would he think I am a stalker if I go see him in San Francisco on Monday? hmmm. I need a copy of The Sweet Life in Paris for Tracey... who incidentally want to temporarily relocate to Paris...

Our ingredient of the week is avocado. My daughter, Tracey, suggested that I make some avocado sushi - that she has had (many times) for lunch at a Japanese restaurant that she frequents in San Mateo. It is close to her work.

I researched online to find out some Avocado Sushi recipes but I have not seen any that is close to what Tracey has been describing to me. She said there is no rice in this avocado sushi. So we decided to make our version of this avocado sushi.

Eden's Steak and Avocado Rolls (Fake Sushi )

Ingredients:

Thin Strips of steak (I cut thin strips from a steak package I got at Costco)

Avocado, thinly sliced

Green onions, thinly sliced into strips

Teriyake Sauce

Options:

Olive oil to cook thin strips of beef in. I think you can grill these strips, if you wish

Garlic Salt and Pepper to season beef

Procedure:

1. Cut strips of beef (as thin as possible)

2. Season the beef strips in garlic salt and dash of pepper
3. Cook the beef in olive oil until it was slightly brown (pretty quick)

4. When all the beef strips are done, put a strip of avocado and a strip of green onion in the middle of the beef strip.
5. Roll the beef and drizzle teriyake sauce on top of the " Steak and Avocado Sushi Roll".

It was so good, we made more and had some with Raspberry Margaritas.