Do the Hokey Poke

Poke (pronounced "pokey" as in "hokey pokey") is a traditional island-style food and has become a favorite of ours during our short time here on the Island. It's healthy, packed with energy and is very aesthetically pleasing when served. We simply cannot resist the temptation to order it while out at restaurants just to see how many different ways it can be prepared. If you like sushi and ceviche, you'd definitely enjoy this tasty dish.

If you dare to prepare it at home, you'll need a few fundamental ingredients: fresh tuna, green onions, red onions, ginger root, rolled limes, tahini, rice vinegar, red pepper flakes and sesame seed. Morgon has the best home recipe for this tasty dish that rivals any restaurant in town! All you need are the following basic ingredients:

3/4 lb. fresh tuna (cubed)

1/2 lb. fresh marlin (cubed)

1 green onion (chopped - greens included)

1/4 red onion (minced)

1/2 hand-rolled lime

1/2 tsp. red pepper flake

2 tbs tahini

1 - 2 tbs rice vinegar

1 tsp. sesame seed (white or black)

1 tbs. freshly grated ginger

1 tsp. coarsely ground rock sea salt

In a medium-large bowl, add cubed fish and mix chopped onions, sesame seed, red pepper flake, sea salt, tahini and vinegar. Squeeze juice of hand-rolled lime into dish and finally mix in freshly grated ginger. Serve with soy sauce and/or wasabi. White

rice and boiled edamame beans make nice side dishes.

We have sampled poke in other restaurants mixed with tropical fruit, seaweed and have seen it made completely with another type of seafood such as ebi (shrimp), tako (octopus) or even sake (salmon). If you like our simple recipe or have another favorite way to prepare it, I welcome your feedback and recipes.

Mahalo!

Ginger Glazed Potatoes

If you like spicy sweet, this is the perfect side dish for you!

You will need:

1 lb. baking potatoes (cubed)

1 tbs. butter

1 tbs. freshly grated ginger 

1 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. ground black pepper

1 tbs. cane sugar

1 green onion (chopped)

In a large skillet over medium heat, melt the butter and add the potatoes.  Stir in grated ginger, sugar and green onion. Sprinkle salt and pepper and stir until potatoes are completely covered in butter mixture. Cover and cook on medium - allowing for the butter, sugar and ginger to carmelize for about 20 minutes taking care not to scorch them. Potatoes will be tender when done.

This is the perfect side dish for grilled teriyaki pork roast, serve with sliced pineapple and 'voila!' perfection!

Eating Pumpkin - a Happy Expirement!

Not what you'd imagine when somebody says the word 'pumpkin'. These little guys are about the size of an acorn squash but are much sweeter.  They grow here year-round and make a wonderful side dish to many entree meats. For the environmentally consious culinarian, using pumpkin lays little to waste as the seeds are edible too.

I've tried them many ways and all experiments were successful. Some, I'm listing below:

Roasted Pumpkin with Stuffing

1  link spicy portugese sausage, chopped into bits

1 cup finely chopped white onion

1 finely chopped celery stalk with leaves

1 cup prepared white rice (or 1 cup prepared instant stuffing mix - I use pork flavor)

Mix above ingredients in large mixing bowl (I do this by hand) and set aside.

Take 2 pumpkins about 5-6 inches in diameter and cut the tops off.  Empty seeds into a colander for rinsing and baking later :)  Fill the empty pumkins with the stuffing mixture and bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 45 minutes. Voila! Instant dinner for 2!

Roasted Pumpkin (without stuffing)

1 tsp. chili powder

1 tsp. ground black pepper

1 tsp. sea salt

2 tblsp. olive oil

Take 2 pumpkins about 5-6 inches in diameter and cut in half. Empty the insides into a colander for rinsing and baking the seeds later. Sprinkle open halves with above spices and drizzle with olive oil.  Bake face-down at 350 degrees for 40 minutes. This serves 4 and makes a great side dish to roast pork, chicken or beef.

Stove-top Pumpkin Cooked with Cornish Game Hen

1 cornish hen, halved

1 5-6 inch pumpkin, quartered and cleaned

2 tblsp olive oil

1/2 cup water

Ground sage

Sea salt

Black pepper

Celery seed

Add olive oil to a 10 inch deep skillet and brown the cornish hen halves on all sides.  Place hen halves with skin side up and surround with quarters of pumpkin. Add water and sprinkle spices over dish. Cover and cook on med/med-hi for about 40 minutes, or until squash is tender. Makes an easy one-pot dinner for two!

Baked Pumpkin Seeds

After rinsing seeds clean from remaining pumpkin flesh, place in a single layer on an ungreased cookie sheet and bake at 375 degrees until they make a "popping" sound (10-20 minutes more or less). Sprinkle with popcorn salt and serve warm.

Ode to Coffee

O liquid sunshine, I need thee now!

Full, smooth-bodied and slightly mellow

Or dark roast brews I duly crave,

of its intense aroma, I am a slave.

Kenya, Brazil, Columbia blends,

Every decent bean to me please send.

My body aches as drowsy numbness pains

for lack of this stimulant pumping through my veins.

O elusive java, where did thee go?

I'd even settle for straight espresso.

For fear that I will not stay awake

until released for my next coffee break.

Composed by yours truly (Tina-Louise)

Friday, March 13th, 2009

after needing some decent brew

Another blog site you may find amusing (for the erudite coffee lover) is: http://caffeinating.blogspot.com/

Exploring Lilikoi - a New Culinary Experience

I don't usually have a specific meal in mind while I'm looking in the garden. It just "comes to me" depending upon what's ready to be harvested. Today I picked up about 12 lilikoi fruit and set six aside for use on another day as I was only cooking for two people. I decided to create a sauce to use over fish and rice for today's brunch. The remaining six were cut in half. I scooped out their centers into a small sauce pan and added two teaspoons of sugar, 1/3rd cup of water and a dash of red pepper flakes (I actually added two dashes for more of a kick). When the water is reduced down, the sugar thickens the juice into syrup and the overall effect of the spicy red pepper flakes with the tangy-sweet lilikoi is wonderful! You COULD strain the syrup to remove the seeds, but I found they added to the color/texture of the dish.

The fish was a  16 oz. fillet of Atlantic salmon cut evenly into two pieces.  I lightly poached them in a skillet with a mixture of 1 tbsp butter, 2 tbsp teriyaki sauce and about 1/4 cup of water.  Totally cooking time for the poaching was about 7 minutes.

On each plate I scooped about 1/2 cup of jasmine rice. Placing the salmon alongside the rice, I drizzled the lilikoi syrup over both the rice and salmon. I topped each dish with freshly chopped parsley, basil, chives (all fresh from the garden) and white sesame seeds to contrast the black seeds in the syrup. If served with freshly sliced pineapple and mimosas, the meal couldn't be grander!

If there's any sauce left over, it can either be refrigerated or frozen for later use. As my mind contemplates the flavor, other possible uses come to mind such as iced tea sweetener, salad dressing or even drizzled over creme brulee or coconut and vanilla ice cream (sans pepper flakes, of course).