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Restaurants Travel
Food Truck Alert: Pat’s Taqueria in Hanalei, HI
I'm usually a rigorous researcher before a vacation, so at least I have ideas for things to do and places to eat in between chilling out and reading books under swaying palm fronds. But for this trip to Kauai, I was pretty much useless. Although Pat's Taqueria was in the guidebook, I didn't know that until later, so we got lucky. But if there's one guiding light, one truism that I know is actually true it's, "Where there are surfers, good Mexican chow follows." See also: Tacofino.
March 7, 2012
Main Course Photo One-offs
Photo One-Off: Char Siu Chicken Legs
There are a million reasons to want to live in Hawaii -- sunny days, sandy beaches, great surfing. I'm adding these char siu chicken legs to the list. Thanks to the melting pot of cultures in Hawaii, Foodland, a local grocery store chain, offers pre-marinated char siu drumsticks in the meat department. These…
March 6, 2012
Travel
Eat Local: Hanalei Farmers Market on Kauai
On Kauai, the farmers market in Hanalei is serious business. It opens at 9:30 on Saturday morning next to the soccer fields and a few minutes before 9:30 a.m., there are already 20-30 people waiting to be let in. There's no leisurely browsing here, once the rope goes up, shoppers beeline for their favorite vendors. On this late February morning, there are gorgeous strawberry papayas, mangoes, rambutans, avocados, salad greens, cilantro and parsley, ginger and more. And for someone who's been eating a lot of chard and citrus, it looks like heaven.
March 4, 2012
Baking Fruit Recipes
Airplanes and Apple Pecan Muffins
apple pecan muffins I'm in the airport security line. Passengers are taking off their shoes and jackets, putting their laptops and liquids into bins for the x-ray machine. TSA employees are calling out reminders to remove belts and money from pockets. It was a morning flight, so in the bin along with my purse and toiletries, was my breakfast. "Oh, I'm sorry, those muffins can't go through," says the TSA guy. I take a beat, trying to figure out what he's talking about. Then I smile, "Oh, because they look too good, right?"
February 26, 2012
Baking Fruit
Baked Strawberry Shortcake Doughnuts/Donuts
You've heard of the Donut Man in Glendora, California right? If not, let me introduce you, because what they do there, you need to know about it. The Donut Man is famous for their fresh strawberry donuts -- that's right, they take a glazed donut, slice it in half and sandwich in an enormous portion of fresh strawberries (or peaches, later in the summer) in goo. It's ridiculously deliciously goo-d. Today, I was thinking about those doughnuts and meant to stop by Top Pot on the way home for a couple of glazed and then I promptly forgot. Instead, I came up with these baked strawberry shortcake doughnuts (or in this case: short, cake doughnuts). Doesn't it look like one of those spongy dessert cups they sell right next to the strawberries in the produce department?
February 20, 2012
Fruit Travel
In Season: Get Your Dekopon On with Sumo Citrus
If you ever want to know the backstory on a fruit, David Karp is your man. Last year, he wrote about the arrival of the dekopon, a Japanese variety of mandarin, just entering the market in California and I was all over my local stores in Washington trying to see if they'd carry them. No such luck. So when Karp heralded the arrival of this year's dekopons, marketed as "Sumo Citrus," in last week's LA Times food section and it coincided with a trip down south to visit a friend, I knew we had to find a Whole Foods in her neighborhood.
February 14, 2012
Baking Dessert Recipes
Ovaltine Nutella Cookies
World Nutella Day coincided with the SuperBowl this year and they basically cancelled each other out on the food front for me. I did make guacamole. You can't have the Superbowl without guacamole. Anyway, I've been playing a little catch up, so instead of just going the Nutella route, I did one better and came up with these Ovaltine Nutella cookies, because, well, just because.
February 9, 2012
Book Reviews Recipes Side Dishes
Bulghur Pilaf from Yotam Ottolenghi’s Plenty
Getting more whole grains in your diet is easier than ever with the wide availability of bulghur, quinoa, barley and spelt, but it's also easy to fall into a rut with the most basic preparations for these grains. My regular bulghur pilaf is pretty simple, relying on onion, crimini mushrooms and chicken stock for its flavor. That simplicity makes it a great side dish when your main, say baked chicken, has a more dominant flavor profile. But why should a side dish have to take a back seat?
February 6, 2012
coca-cola braised pork
Main Course Recipes
Korean Inspired Coca-Cola Braised Pork in the Slow Cooker
  coca-cola braised porkIt's almost February. We're in the thick of winter, when a slow cooker should be getting a real workout. But strangely, I haven't been using mine that much. I like doing soups and chilis on the stove, but the truth is, the slow cooker is almost a magical appliance. You throw in a few things, cover it with the lid, abracadabra and 6-8 hours later, you have something amazingly delicious. It took this Coca-Cola Braised Pork shoulder to remind me just how magical it can be. I'm not even going to feign modesty and say, "Oh, it's pretty good, you might like it." I'll just say it, this pork shoulder is super tasty. It's not just good, it's gooooooooood.
January 30, 2012
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