Maui Girl Cooks

“One of the very nicest things about life is the way we must regularly stop whatever it is we are doing and devote our attention to eating.” Luciano Pavarotti

Tag Archives: Food


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“Food is our common ground, a universal experience.”  James Beard

A few months ago, I thought it would be fun to write a series of posts, during the holidays, with some suggestions for gifts/stocking stuffers for the foodies on your list {including yourself of course!}.  Well, it comes as no surprise to me that the train has left the station and I am late {yet again} in bringing this idea to fruition.  For example, I make fruitcake every year for my mom and aunt.  The recipe states that the cakes should be made around Thanksgiving so that they will be boozy, ripe and ready to eat by Christmas.  I was thinking about said fruitcakes around Thanksgiving, had all the ingredients out in plain sight, but the fruitcake ingredients have not yet turned into fruitcakes.  After I go swimming this morning, the afternoon’s project will be fruitcake . . . . . after lunch, of course.  As far as gift ideas for my readers, consider them gift ideas for any time of the year.  I certainly don’t need a holiday to buy myself something special for my kitchen!

But first, a friend mentioned that my most recent post listed all the ingredients for Date Walnut Cinnamon Bread by weight, specifically in grams.  Sorry about that!  I just updated the post to include measurements by volume, so now you can run to your kitchen and bake this scrumptious {and easy} bread.

And now, on to the gifts. . .

Holiday Gifts

1} Digital Scale– I have cooked without a scale for many more years than I have cooked with a scale, but now I cannot imagine not having one.  A scale offers ease and accuracy in cooking, and baking in particular.  It seems logical to think that if you measure 3 cups of flour, they will all be identical; no, they probably won’t be identical, and could be off by an amount significant to whatever you are preparing.  Professional bakers measure ingredients by weight to be precise and accurate, and to ensure consistent results.  In addition to being more accurate, measuring ingredients by weight is faster, and there aren’t lots of measuring cups to wash.  Cooks Illustrated likes this one {www.cooksillustrated.com}: OXO Food Scale model # 1130800.

2} Penzeys gift certificate or collection or herbs/spices- I love Penzeys!  They have an extensive catalog of herbs, spices and delicious blends.  Penzeys offers friendly, quick service and their products are high quality. Some of my favorite Penzeys’ products are:  Penzeys Extra Fancy Vietnamese Cassia Cinnamon {make this into cinnamon sugar to top your Date Walnut Cinnamon Bread}, Shallot Pepper, Sunny Paris Seasoning {yummy on popcorn!}, French Grey Salt and Dried Jalapenos {better than red pepper flakes on pizza and spaghetti!}.

3} Silicone Spatulas– Cooks Illustrated likes this one and this one.  The beauty of cooking with a silicone spatula is that they withstand very high temperatures, so your food is not laced with melted plastic.

4} Salt– A selection of different salts is tasty and fun.

  • Kosher salt– Use kosher salt for cooking & baking.  It is easy to find at most grocery stores.  Many cooks have a little bowl of kosher salt by the stove because it is easy to pick up a “pinch of salt” with your fingers.  It dissolves into food quickly so you can add it and taste for seasoning without waiting.
  • Fleur de Sel {salt}- After reading David Lebovitz’s blog post about his favorite fleur de sel {means “flower of salt” in French}, I got on line with Amazon straight away & bought some.  It is delicious!  Lest you think that if you’ve tasted one salt you’ve tasted them all, be assured that there is a distinct difference between salts.  Fleur de sel is not a cooking salt, but a finishing salt that you might sprinkle on a salad, steak, vegetables, or perhaps mix with some unsalted butter for a delectable spread for some warm yeasty bread.
  • Maldon Salt– Maldon salt is another finishing salt, and is great on Mocha Truffle Cookies and Salted Chocolate Chip Cookies.  I have also made herb butter with Maldon salt, which makes a delicious herby, buttery spread with a few crunchy flakes of salt here and there; fantastic on a great piece of bread!

6} Salt Grinder– My mom & dad gave us salt and pepper grinders for Christmas one year, many moons ago, and we wouldn’t think of using sprinkle salt and pepper.  The taste of freshly ground salt and pepper is far superior to table salt and pepper that has been pre-ground so that it becomes a rather tasteless black dust after a while.  Once you get used to freshly ground salt, or one of the other specialty salts, iodized table salt will taste harsh and medicinal, and you will wonder why you ever put it in your food.  The salt grinder that we have used for quite a few years now is a Unicorn.  It has no metal parts to corrode, which can be a hazard of salt grinders.  It works well and is easy to fill.

7} Books

  • Vegetable Literacy {Deborah Madison}-This is my latest purchase from my favorite cookbook author.  Her recipes are delicious, uncomplicated and well-written.  In my opinion, if you love good food, you cannot go wrong with a book by Deborah Madison.
  • The Flavor Bible: The Essential Guide to Culinary Creativity, Based on the Wisdom of America’s Most Imaginative Chefs {Karen Page, Andrew Domenburg}- This excellent reference book gives cooks ideas on what flavors work well together.  What acid works best with arugula?  What are the best herbs to use to jazz up your polenta?  What flavors work well with the chanterelle mushrooms you just bought {lucky you!!}?  The Flavor Bible has these answers and more.  The book is arranged by categories such as season, cuisine, ingredients, flavorings, tastes {i.e. sour, bitter, etc.}, oils, peppers, salts and more. There are no recipes in the book, but limitless ideas for making food the best it can be.
  • A Homemade Life {Molly Wizenberg}- I bought this book to take on a trip to visit my family on Oahu, when we were still living in Washington State.  Once I started reading, I could not put this book down.  I read Molly’s stories and recipes all the way across the Pacific Ocean.  Molly is a wonderful writer; you can also check out her blog Orangette, which I love.
  • My Berlin Kitchen {Luisa Weiss} – I just bought this at Costco and am almost finished with it.  Luisa is the author of The Wednesday Chef, another of my favorite food blogs.  Her book is a lovely read, a very personal memoir with recipes.

Happy holidays & bon appetit!

Cultured Foods {aka Bugs, Who Needs ‘Em?}

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“Fermented foods help people stay healthy,” Sandor Katz author of New York Times best-selling book “The Art of Fermentation.”

Before we get to the heart of the matter of cultured foods, here is a photo of yesterday’s sky.  I was at the pool and the sky was so beautiful I had to take a picture.  The picture doesn’t do it justice, but you get the idea.

October sky

My husband and I do a good job of learning about what constitutes a healthy lifestyle in terms of eating and exercise, and then we implement what we have learned to the best of our abilities. Our latest foray into healthy eating is fermented {cultured} foods. Please understand that in no way do I consider myself an expert on cultured foods; I am far from an expert, and know just enough to be dangerous. We have been eating cultured foods for years, because we enjoy them, but have intentionally added more into our diet because of the health benefits. Here are some of our favorite cultured foods, all of which we buy at Mana Foods, for those of you on Maui:
~ Yogurt– Nancy’s Yogurt {contains 11 different culture strains} has been a staple for more than a decade.
~ Sauerkraut and Fermented Pickles- We have recently started purchasing sauerkraut that is raw and unpasteurized, so that the beneficial microbes are available to us. One of our favorite brands is Sonoma Brinery. Farmhouse Culture makes fantastic sauerkraut as well. I LOVE their Smoked Jalapeno Kraut; I don’t find it at all smoky, but perfectly spicy! My husband prefers the Ginger Beet flavor, which I also like, but not as much as the Smoked Jalapeno. Both of these companies offer excellent products that are reasonably priced.  If you want sauerkraut, these are a must try!
~ Kombucha– We drink a little kombucha most days. Our kombucha comes from Maui Kombucha.
~ GoodBelly Probiotic Drink– This is a delicious nondairy nectar-like drink. My favorite flavor is Mango.  If you sign up for their Goodbelly Challenge, they will email you some coupons!
~ Sour Cream- We often spoon a bit of cultured sour cream on our quesadillas. Sour cream is always a yummy addition to a spicy dish.
~ Tempeh– Tempeh is a fermented soy product from Indonesia. Our current favorite way to eat tempeh is seasoned with freshly ground salt and pepper and sautéed in a bit of coconut oil until golden brown.   Eat with ketchup and you have something that resembles French fries. A heavy drizzle of Sriracha Sauce is a great addition, if you like a little mouth burn, like I do.  We also make a delicious sandwich that we call a “TLT” meaning Tomato, Lettuce and Tempeh.  It is fantastic on toasted ciabatta bread.  Our tempeh is in the freezer until we are ready to eat it, and then it thaws very quickly.
~ Miso- I like kale salad with Outstanding Miso Sesame Dressing. There is also miso soup, which is delicious!

Here are a few of the cultured foods we’ve enjoyed in the last few days:

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Tempeh Sautéed in Organic Coconut Oil

Slice tempeh into approximately 1/2 inch slices.  Spray skillet {we use cast iron} with pan spray, then melt about 1 tbsp. of coconut oil.  When the oil is hot, add the tempeh slices.  Season with freshly ground salt and pepper to taste. Sauté, turning occasionally, until golden brown.  Serve hot with ketchup and Sriracha Sauce, or whatever you like.

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Yogurt with Pineapple, Peach and Cranberry Preserves

Put some yogurt in a bowl, and top with homemade preserves, and your choice of any or all of the following toppings:  unsweetened coconut, maple syrup {the real stuff please, preferably Grade B}, good quality honey, cinnamon, cacao nibs, nuts, hemp seeds, ground flax seeds, Buckwheat Chia Crunch  or anything else you’d like.

Pineapple, Peach and Cranberry Preserves

**This is really more of a guideline than a specific recipe.  You can adjust everything to your taste, including changing the fruits to what you have available.

1 Maui Gold pineapple
1 quart chunked fresh or frozen peaches
2 cups fresh or frozen cranberries
1 cinnamon stick
approximately 1 tbsp. good quality honey
Juice of 1/2 a juicy lemon
Grind of salt

Get a Maui Gold pineapple if you can {we buy ours at Costco, maybe Mainland Costco sells them also-I think they do}, otherwise a “regular” fresh pineapple will do.  Cut up the pineapple into chunks {see previous pineapple blog post}.  Put all of the pineapple chunks into a wide-mouthed saucepan {for better evaporation of the liquid}.  Add 1 quart of peach chunks {we used the peaches we froze in August} and 2 cups fresh or frozen cranberries.  You can certainly use a different berry if you are not a cranberry fan, but you can’t really identify them as cranberries as far as taste goes .  Squeeze half a lemon and add the juice, and then throw in a cinnamon stick and a grind of salt.  Spoon in some good quality honey to taste.  We used about 1 tbsp.  Bring to a boil, and then turn down the heat and simmer on low until thickened.  The timing will depend on how juicy your fruit is.  The  preserves will thicken as they cool.

These preserves are meant to be made and eaten within a week or so; they are not preserved, so will not keep.

These preserves also taste great with one of our new favorite breads, from 101 Cookbooks.  I have made several of her bread recipes, and we have loved them all.

easy_little_bread_recipe 1000Photo from 101 Cookbooks

Easy Little Bread
from 101 Cookbooks
1 1/4 cups / 300 ml warm water (105-115F)
2 teaspoons active dry yeast (one packet)
1 tablespoon runny honey
1 cup / 4.5 oz / 125 g unbleached all-purpose flour
1 cup / 5 oz / 140 g whole wheat flour
1 cup / 3.5 oz / 100 g rolled oats (not instant oats)
1 1/2 teaspoons fine grain sea salt
2 tablespoons butter, melted, for brushing

In a medium bowl, sprinkle the yeast onto the warm water and stir until the yeast dissolves. Stir in the honey and set aside for a few minutes, until the yeast blooms and swells a bit – 5 – 10 minutes.

In the meantime, mix the flours, oats, and salt in a large bowl. Add the wet mixture to the dry and stir very well.

Brush an 8-cup loaf pan {9″x5″} generously with some of the melted butter. Turn the dough into the tin, cover with a clean, slightly damp cloth, and set in a warm place for 30 minutes, to rise.

Preheat the oven to 350F / 180C, with a rack in the middle. When ready, bake the bread for 35-40 minutes, until golden and pulling away from the sides of the pan. I finish things up by leaving the bread under the broiler for just a heartbeat – to give the top a bit deeper color. Remove from oven, and turn the bread out of the pan quickly. Let it cool on a rack so it doesn’t steam in the pan. Serve warm, slathered with butter.

Makes 1 loaf.

Adapted from Gran’s Kitchen: Recipes from the Notebooks of Dulcie May Booker.

Prep time: 10 min –    Cook time: 35 min

My Variations of Easy Little Bread {follow the same mixing instructions as the original recipe}

Variation #1:  Oat Rye Bread with Sunflower Seeds

1 1/4 cups / 300 ml warm water (105-115F)
2 teaspoons active dry yeast (one packet)
1 tablespoon runny honey
140 grams whole wheat flour
100 grams oats {not instant}
65 grams dark rye flour
60 grams unbleached white flour
1/2 cup sunflower seeds
1 1/2 teaspoons fine grain sea salt {I used kosher salt}
2 tablespoons butter, melted, for brushing

Variation #2:  Cinnamon Date Bread with Walnuts

1 1/4 cups / 300 ml warm water (105-115F)
2 teaspoons active dry yeast (one packet)
1 tablespoon runny honey
140 grams whole wheat flour
100 grams oats
125 grams unbleached white flour
3 tsp cinnamon
1 1/2 teaspoons fine grain sea salt {I used kosher salt}
2 tablespoons butter, melted, for brushing
5 dates, snipped into small pieces

Have you added any delicious cultured foods to your meals?  If so, which ones?

If you are in Maui, you may want to visit the Upcountry Farmer’s Market.  They sell many different kinds of cultured foods there.

Additional Reading:
http://michaelpollan.com/articles-archive/some-of-my-best-friends-are-germs/

Cultures for Health

The Art of Fermentation by Sandor Katz

Video of Sandor Katz talking about fermented foods

Cooked: A Natural History of Transformation by Michael Pollan

Bon appetit!