Test Tsunami

At Sunrise All Was Calm

Anyone that knows much about the Big Island of Hawai'i will tell you that Hilo has been overdue for a Tsunami for a long time. Traditionally they have hit this side of the island over and over, causing death and destruction. It is for that very reason that Hawai'i County Civil Defense has a well deserved reputation for handling disasters and protecting the islands residents, property and visitors. They did so Saturday in an amazing way. Most of the world was watching our little island for a while then.  

Tsunamis can be scary things and any place along the coast of any land mass in the Pacific is susceptible to them, though few locations are in such a direct line of them as Hawai'i Island, sitting like a little target in the middle of the pacific with no other land to protect her. 

My house sits on a cliff over looking Hilo Bay. We are very high up on the cliff and in no eminent danger from a Tsunami, at least not directly. Of course there is always danger of loss of infrastructure and maybe damage to our cliff. Many people on the mainland do not fully understand Tsunamis or what they do, and so when they hear of one, they thing that all of us in Hilo are in danger. We all would feel loss if a significant one should happen here of course. Chances are that in my lifetime that will be the case. Much of the downtown area of Hilo, as well as the area where major hotels are would suffer some damage. A lot of this has to do not just with those areas being waterfront, but the actual shape of the ocean floor in and around our harbor. In addition to that, many of our valleys and inlets would be the worst hit, including our blessed Waipio Valley. 

Coconut Island in the Bay on Friday Morning

All Was As Usual on Coconut Island Friday

So, here is how yesterday  played out for us. 

My friends Ray and Marsha had spent the night after we had attended a dinner party together down in Hawaiian Paradise Park. They live 45 miles north of me in Honoka'a and own 2 lovely vacation cottages there. 

At 4 am, I got up to make coffee  and turned on the News. To my surprise they were talking about the Tsunami, which at that time was projected to have 8-12 waves. Still in the big picture, that would even be a small Tsunami, 1946 (54 feet) was the worst and 1960 (35 feet) also was very destructive. Today we have lots of warning systems in place. The sirens (VERY loud and lasting 5 minutes) sounded, the actual arrival time was set at 11:19 am. I woke our friends and they decided to go back to let their guests know that there was no danger for them.  As the time drew nearer, mainland friends started sending text messages & e-mails. Phones continued to ring and many of my friends checked in via Facebook, one even staying with me through the entire ordeal. It is true that in times of eminent danger you find out who your friends are! 

The Last Boat Out of the Harbor

The boats in the harbor were instructed to leave and to go to the safe depth of 1200 feet. They had completely cleared the harbor by 9:30 am. 

Here, you can actually see the time lapse video of the Tsunami and as we watched this we all breathed a sigh of relief. This is another video of the water coming and going in and out quickly. 

 You can learn more about Hilo's devastating history of Tsunamis here at the Tsunami Museum web site. They also have a web cam there that shows live views of Hilo Bay. There are interviews with survivors and a multitude of photos and films to view in their archives.  

Still Fairly Calm at 10 am. 

The Surf Picked Up and the Color of the Water Changed

The Boats Returned to the Harbor, Last One Out, First One In

In the aftermath of the entire event, the mayor of the island of Hawaii gave his take on the entire event in this video.   If you watch it you will see the spirit of our island at it's best. In the end, our public servants, residents and visitors all worked efficiently to clear the danger zones. We had a first hand experience seeing what would happen in far more dangerous conditions. Everyone I have talked to about the situation feels the same way. We are prepared for a bigger disaster when it does come our way. The scare of 2010 was a very real one with no disastrous effects, next time we may not be so lucky, but we will be ready. 

Botanically Speaking

Yesterday I had visitors from the mainland. One of my favorite places to take visitors is to the Hawaii Tropical Botanical Gardens just down the road from us overlooking spectacular Onomea Bay. There, amongst the ferns and palms is an oasis of wonder. The steep climb in and out of the gardens is also good exercise. One can never visit this place without acknowledging that this is one of the most beautiful gardens on the planet. The exquisite beauty of the flora here is truly something incredible. While I do go there often, I never tire of the experience. If you are coming to the big island, this is a "must see".

I would love to share with you some of the botany that made me smile yesterday. Above is my friend Mary visiting from Texas. Be sure to scroll all the way to the end where you will see some very strange treees.

Honeycomb Ginger

Heleconia

Cat's Whiskers

Heleconia

One of the strangest trees I have ever seen, The Cannon Ball Tree

But this one is even stranger, The Sausage Tree

Wordless Wednesday: Big Island International Cooking Club

Spiny Serindipity

Coming home from my walk on Thursday morning, a neighbor was parked near our house and asked if we wanted some lobster. Like, "Who wouldn't?" He was selling them after a night of Lobster Diving. I bought two, each were about 1.5 pounds. These are spiny lobsters, not New England Lobsters, so they have no big claws and there is also meat in their bodies. You cannot buy these lobsters in any stores here, you have to know or meet a diver.

Lobster season here is from September 1st through April 31st. There is no spearing allowed and there is a minimum size of 3 1/4 inches carapace (head portion.) My personal rule of thumb is that if they are not alive and moving that I do not buy them. Many fishermen have an aerating pump that they keep going in a cooler filled with sea water to keep them alive.

Simple is best when it comes to lobsters. I like to either boil them and serve them with crackers and picks or par-boil them, cut them in half and put them on the grill to finish cooking with some olive oil to hold in the moisture.

If you buy an extra one or two, then you can save the extra meat for something like pasta with lobster. In this case, I just boiled them, cut them in half, grilled them for a few minutes and served them with clarified butter, a salad and garlic bread. It does not get much easier or better than that. Of course one of the great things about lobster is Lobster Bisque a few days later. That is coming up.

Indian Flavors in a Yellow Pepper...

For a while Suvir Saran has enchanted me. His restaurant Devi in New York was one of my favorite places in a sea of wonderful restaurants (more of them than any other place I  have ever been to unsurprisingly so). Partly because of the incredible flavors that emanated from his kitchen but also because my own nickname has been Devi since childhood. I coveted the matchbooks. I loved coming into the saffron scented rooms, the very tall and yet intimate space of Devi. The first time I went there (2004) I saw (and grabbed) a postcard advertising his then new book, Indian Home Cooking. It is to this day one of my favorites because as much as Indian Cuisine is an immense subject floating over many regions and capturing spices and flavors that are uniquely Indian, it also has some deep roots in small home kitchens. Suvir captured the essence of home cooking in India in this book. Not much of the food at Devi resembled Indian Home Cooking at first glance, it looked more complicated, more special, but deep down the roots of Devi's food were intertwined with everything Suvir learned in his younger days. He is an astonishingly handsome, gentle mannered man and he has a true gift for teaching the art of Indian Cooking. I suppose I bow to him among other culinary influences in my life. And that is what brings me to today's post. I recently picked up Indian Home Cooking and rifled through the pages to get some inspiration. It did not take me long to start bookmarking the pages for things I wanted to cook again. In the coming weeks I may share more of the meals I have been enjoying from his books (he also penned American Masala), but for now, let's just get to something simple and amazingly complex at the same time, Bharwaan Mirchee: Stuffed Bell Peppers

While I adore Suvir's inspirations, I do play a bit with my food, so this recipe is my take on his concept... I have altered a few things and added things like curry leaf which I adore and have in abundance in my Hawaiian garden. For much of my Indian cooking I find myself asking friends to send me spices from Indian markets on the mainland. But this recipe can be made almost anywhere. The fresh curry leaves grow here as  massive trees. But most Indian Markets on the mainland have them fresh if you ask.

Bharwaan Mirchee: Stuffed Bell Peppers
Serves 4

The connection between food and the visual arts has always fascinated Suvir. These spiced potato stuffed peppers are a food he remembers from his youth. You can adjust the heat a bit by adding more of the hot peppers or discarding more of their seeds and membranes. You might want to add some garlic paste. I have done that before. I sometimes halve this recipe when it is just the two of us.

1 1/2 pounds of golden or red boiling potatoes (or you can use 2 cups of leftover mashed potatoes as I did)
4 small brightly colored bell peppers
2 teaspoons coriander seeds
2 teaspoons cumin seeds
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
1 serrano chile or two hot Hawaiian chiles, seeded and chopped finely
3 tablespoons fresh cilantro finely chopped
2 tablespoons fresh mint finely chopped
2 scallions or chives finely chopped
a 1 inch piece of fresh ginger grated with a micro plane
3 tablespoons fresh curry leaf finely chopped (optional)
Juice of 1 lime or lemon ( I prefer lemon for this)
crushed black pepper corns
sea salt (about a teaspoon)
1 large egg whisked with a pinch each of salt and cayenne pepper
2 tablespoons of canola or olive oil

Put the potatoes in a large pan with cold water to cover and boil till very tender, 30-40 minutes

While the potato cooks, core and remove the seeds & membranes of the peppers leaving a 2 inch opening.

In a dry skillet, toast the seeds till they begin to pop, stirring frequently. Remove from heat and allow to cool.

Coarsely grind in a mortar and pestle or spice grinder (I use both... and have  a dedicated spice grinder (used to be a coffee grinder)

When the potatoes are cooked, peel and mash them in a large bowl. Add the ground spices, ginger, cayenne and herbs, lemon juice, peppers, salt and black pepper stirring to blend then taste. You may want to add more salt or pepper or even a hint of ghee. Sometimes I also add shredded paneer.

Fill t he peppers to the top with the potato spice mixture.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Heat the oil in a medium oven proof pan over medium heat. When the pan is hot, dip the peppers open sides down into the egg to coat the stuffing.

Place the peppers egg side down into the hot oil  and cook until a golden coating has developed.

Turn the peppers right side up and place the whole pan in the oven for 30-40 minutes and serve hot.

Makin' Bacon

Living in what I lovingly call Pig World (Pigs are revered in Hawaii and were once the food of royalty) many cuts of pork are more abundant and affordable here. Pork Bellies are one of those. I just made two pounds of some of the best bacon I have ever tasted for less than $4. Bacon, always imported the mainland here sells for $6-7 a pound when not on sale. This however was not at all a decision based on money, but instead on flavor and the kind of satisfaction brought about by making things from scratch whenever possible. I roast my own coffee beans, bake my own bread, why not make my own bacon?

I have a Bradley digital smoker which enables me to smoke at any temperature or even to cold smoke. Bacon, as you can imagine needs to be smoked at a cooler temperature than say a Turkey, which I actually slow cook in the smoker. My smoker also allows me to smoke with most any kind of wood, as it requires pressed wood chips. Every 20 minutes a disc of wood is pushed onto the smoker element and the ashes of the remaining disc are then pushed into a bowl of water, making this also a smoker that you do not have to tend to or check frequently. 

Maple is one of my favorite smoking woods, as it has a sweeter and less bitter element than say... mesquite. However sometimes I use apple or cherry for delicate smoking too. Pecan is another favorite. There are times though that the intense flavor of mesquite is best. It all depends on what I am smoking. In this batch of bacon, I used maple. 

Here are the simple step by step instructions to making your own bacon at home. I have to say, it is one of the most delicious things I have ever made, as simple as it is. 

The Cure

If you have ever cured salmon, this is basically the same process. Another great reason to make your own bacon is that you can make it nitrate free! A simple cure of a spice rub is all that you need. I used one made with my smoked Hawaiian Salt, a bit of Maui Raw Sugar and some spices.  I had two slabs, so I did one adding lots of cracked pepper corns (A mix of 6 different kinds of pepper) and the other with maple sugar and California chiles ground up.  As you can imagine there are a multitude of combinations you can try. For a good  cure though, some salt is needed. All you do is rub the spices onto the flesh of the pork belly and then put it in a plastic bag in the refrigerator. In the end, the cure is rinsed off of the slabs and then you can add more aromatics for the final smoking process. The bacon can stay in the bags for up to a week, but need at least 3 days for curing. Turn every day and it is also helpful to have a weight on the bags. After the first day you will notice that the salt is drawing moisture from the meat. 

When you are ready to smoke, rinse the slabs and pat dry. Using a sharp knife (I use a boning knife for this) slide the knife just beneath the skin of the pork belly and essentially filet it, removing just the skin (not the fat beneath it) from the meat. Next, add whatever aromatics you want for the final product. These flavors will be present at the edge of the bacon. In this case I used the crushed peppercorns on one and some maple sugar & crushed rosemary from the garden on the other. 

Smoking

You will need to have a smoker that does not have a fire under the meat. One with a smoke box on the side is good, or one like mine which you can digitally set the heating element. A stovetop smoker will not work for bacon. You do not want to heat the slabs higher than 125 degrees or you will be roasting them. I place the slabs on a rack above a drip pan. I do this whenever I am smoking meats, as it just keeps the whole smoker cleaner and eliminates chances of flare ups.  

If you have a large smoker like I do, you can experiment imparting smoke flavors to other things while you are doing the bacon. I figure if I have empty shelves, I am "wasting" smoking space. I often do salt, rice, polenta, garlic and other items that taste good with a bit of smoke flavoring. 

Smoke for 8-10 hours with the vent nearly closed. 

Remove, cool and put in to zip lock bags. 

When ready to slice, use a very sharp knife if you do not own a meat slicer (I do not) and slice it. I found after a little experimenting that cutting the slab in half lengthwise enabled me to make thinner slices. Since I was using the bacon for a BLT anyway, it made the bacon just the right size for sandwiches. 

And so for a valentine's brunch today, I had home cured Bacon, garden fresh tomato, fresh genoa basil and arugula on home made sprouted whole wheat with home made mayonnaise. I also had local coffee beans roasted here at home! Life is good on the BIG ISLAND!