Meal Time

Lately I have been searching for some new recipes to make just to have something different. I reverted back to a few recipes I ate growing up but just haven't made in a while. We are now on our second week full of all sorts of new/new-old recipes.

We started with homemade pulled pork with a homemade mustard-base bbq sauce, coleslaw and a new recipe for banana pudding for dessert. Gil and I both liked all of it. The pulled pork definitely made the house really hot though so I think I will wait to make that again until I am not pregnant and not living in HI without central air!

Next up was corned-beef and cabbage. I love this meal and don't know why we only eat it around St. Patrick's day. We had it a week after St. Patty's day because Gil wasn't home for St. Patty's and to me it doesn't really matter. It is such a good, filling meal I don't know why we need a holiday to eat it. So from now on we will eat it any time we want! Gil really loved it since there were so many veggies.
The next few recipes we did were found on Real Simple. We tried chicken with creamy mushrooms. I served it with rice. We liked it but thought it need a little more flavor. Next new recipe was roasted chicken with sweet potatoes and parsnips in olive oil and maple syrup. I loved the chicken and Gil loved the veggies. Both of these recipes we are going to go back to the drawing board and tweak them a little. The roasted chicken won't need much work...just a little less cook time and I think a little more seasoning on the veggies.

Finally tonight I made stuffed shells, salad and homemade garlic bread. This one was hands down our favorite. There was absolutely nothing we would have changed about it so it is definitely going down into the recipe box.

We actually had a whole day of really good food. Gil bought a blender a few days ago so we have been making smoothies every morning. Today we had pineapple, mango and peach and I think it was our best yet. Then for lunch we just had simple ham sandwiches but they were just very tasty today. Then to top it all off we had a great Italian dinner. No dessert though. I have had a MAJOR sweet tooth lately so I have been trying to limit the amount of desserts I make. I have a whole list of desserts I want to make but I am trying to have enough will power to spread them out over time...so far so good.

I wish I had more pictures of these meals to share, I will try and get better at snapping a few shots before we eat.

I know this was a long one all about food but those who know me, know how much I love food so I apologize to those who didn't find this post super entertaining, next one won't be all about food.

Hope you all have a good week and an even better long holiday weekend.

Busy Week

Well Gil and I had a very busy week while he was home. We found out we are having a girl, we found our stroller/car seat, crib and changing table, I registered at 3 different places (had way to much fun looking at all the adorable girly things!), we had fancy hot dogs at Hanks Haute Dogs (VERY good by the way), we golfed twice (Gil golfing, me driving the cart), decided on the spelling of our baby girls name, took Kai for a swim, had great healthy dinners every night...and I am sure there is something I am missing. Oh yeah, bought our awesome new pots at Williams Sonoma which we have been planning for almost a year.

I think we did a pretty good job of not only getting stuff done but getting out of the house and enjoying ourselves for the short time that Gil was home. He is now gone again to the big island for training. He will be back in May and will have a little more time before he has to leave for more training. We find it funny how much I change he time he leaves. When he left in March I had no baby bump and by the time he returned I was starting to show and this time I think I will be doubling in size again by the time he comes home. I am looking forward to him getting back home and going to the doctor again to see how much our baby girl has grown.

Check out our baby blog I just updated it with a few pictures.

Lastly, I would like to share a photo from this past weekend of baby shopping.

Gil is very excited about getting a BabyBjorn or as we call it a baby bouncer. One of the stores we went to they had all the different kinds to try and compare and they even had a 10 lbs doll to help make it more realistic.

Best Spaghetti Sauce Ever!

I am an adamant reader of the blog Smitten Kitchen. I love her writing style as well as the photos of each dish. Just reading the title of her last post (tomato sauce with onion and butter) I couldn't resist making it. We had another meal planned for last nights dinner but it got nixed for this deliciously simple spaghetti sauce. I recommend everyone to try it. Gil likes it so much he has decided that this will be the only spaghetti sauce we will ever make...it is so good we couldn't help but finish the leftovers for breakfast! I think it would also make a great pizza sauce if you puree it. We will be trying that next.

Tomato Sauce with Butter and Onions

Adapted from Marcela Hazan's, Essentials of Italian Cooking

Serves 4 (or dinner and breakfast for 2)

28 ounces whole peeled tomatoes from a can (San Marzano, if you can find them)

5 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 medium yellow onion, peeled and halved

Salt to taste

Put the tomatoes, onion and butter in a heavy saucepan over medium heat. Bring the sauce to a simmer then lower the heat to keep the sauce at a slow, steady simmer for about 45 minutes, or until droplets of fat float free of the tomatoes.

Stir occasionally, crushing the tomatoes against the side of the pot with a wooden spoon. Remove from heat, discard the onion, add salt to taste and keep warm while you prepare your pasta.

Serve with spaghetti.

Hope you enjoy!

Gil's Homecoming!

The wait is finally over! Gil arrived home Sunday November 1st at 8pm. I have never been so happy to see a plane land! Here are some pictures from that day/night. Here is the first picture of us in 6 months! Finally somebody other than Kai to take pictures of!
The banner hung up in all its glory.
The lonely stairs waiting for a plane.
Banners hung at the hanger.
Finally debarking!
He's Home!!!

Since Sunday we haven't been up to to much. Gil really just wanted to hang out, eat & watch football. So that is mostly what we have done. We had a big homecoming meal on Monday and have continued to eat great food since then.

Kai was so excited to see Gil. We were both really happy that she remembered him. Here is a picture of Kai and Gil cuddling while watching football.

The first thing we've really done outside the house was dinner with friends. We went to Sushi Sasabune also known as the "Sushi Nazi," only dip when told to, eat in one bite only & eat until you can't eat anymore! It was the best sushi I have ever eaten. All the fish is freshly flown in each day and it literally melts in your mouth. The picture below is us before dinner.
Gil starts back at work on Monday; mostly half-days full of class about how to adjust to life back home. I promise to update as we started to do things again.

Next up family visiting for the holidays. Can't wait for the whole family to arrive!

Poi

Poi (also known as taro) is this interesting purple substance Gil and I learned about during our honeymoon.  It is a staple food in the Polynesian culture.  Apparently it can be eaten just as a paste or liquid but we had it in the wonderful form of pancakes.  

I researched it to find out what it is and it is basically the root of a plant that they cook down to form a paste.  The fresher it is the sweeter it is; the longer it sits the more sour it becomes.  It is still edible as it gets more sour but they switch its use.  If it is sweet they just each it straight (or mix it with milk and or sugar); if it is more sour they will use it with salted fish.  

We never had it in a liquid form but it does make amazing pancakes and dinner roles.  It adds such a sweet touch to the bread and pancakes (it also adds a wonderful purple tint.)  

There are many places online to buy a poi (taro) pancake mix if you want to give them a try.  (www.tropicislemusic.com/food/poi3.htm)

Here is a good website if you want to learn a little bit more about poi:

www.paradisecovehawaii.com/FunFacts/poi.com