Wordless Wednesday: Valentine's Walk in the Park

Final NYC Post: RAMPS!

I have long loved ramps, before they were the new arugula. Being in Hawaii is something that has prevented me from cooking and eating ramps, along with another of my favorite wild spring treats, morels. I have not found any  morels here in New York, but last week suddenly ramps appeared at Union Square Green Market and even Whole Foods. I greedily cooked them twice and this post is a result of the last meal I made with them:

Duck breasts sauteed then finished off in the oven served with a reduction  of pomegranate juice (syrup consistency) on a bed of wild baby arugula tossed with olive oil and lemon, Russian fingerling potatoes halved and blanched then sauteed in the remaining duck fat, grilled asparagus and ramps and grilled pineapple slices for dessert.
Please go here:  Spring Dinner With Ramps  for the full post on my other blog. Meanwhile, enjoy these pictures!

5000 miles is a long way from home...

I am attending the American Society of Journalists and Authors Conference here in New York City this weekend and I have been here for a little more than a week, staying with a friend in the Village.Meanwhile, I have been posting on my other blog, My Manhattan Kitchen and I thought some of you might want to take a look at what I have been doing and cooking while on that "other island", Manhattan. Here are a few links, just click on the picture and it will take you to the post.

Another Island

I am on another island, five thousand miles from Hawaii... Manhattan. I will be going back and forth for the next few months. This island is much different of course. Most everyday I wander around walking and taking pictures. These pictures were taken on my walk a few days ago. I went from The Village to the Hudson and then down to lower Manhattan. The sky was blue, the breeze gentle and the trees and spring bulbs were blooming. Enjoy the photos:

Celery Salad

For Easter Dinner at my friend Maria's there was quite a spread of fantastic food. I brought two dishes and Celery Salad was one of them. This is a healthy crunch salad, full of flavor, protein and fiber. This is a vegan dish that everyone loves. And to top it off, it is easy to make! Just a little mixing of the dressing, toasting of the nuts and some slicing is involved.  

Celery Salad 

Ingredients: 

Dressing

1/2 cup fresh lemon juice (I use Meyer lemons when available)

1/2 cup Dijon Mustard

1/3 cup honey (or agave)

1-1 1/4 cups of extra-virgin olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

Salad:

2 large Granny Smith Apples (Fuji also works well in this)

1 large bunch of celery

a handful of fresh mint coarsely chopped or torn

1/2 cup walnuts toasted

1/2 cup almond slivers toasted

Method: 

In a blender, add the lemon juice, mustard and honey, mix till well blended then slowly start adding olive oil until the sound changes and it starts to thicken. Taste, add salt and fresh cracked pepper. Pulse once to incorporate the seasonings. 

This can be made ahead and also makes a great dressing for arugula salads, so you may want to double this and keep some for later. 

Thinly slice the celery on a deep diagonal. Place the celery in a bowl of ice water and allow to sit in the water for up to an hour. Drain and pat dry with paper towels. 

Cut the apples into wedges, core and peel and then slice into small triangles (this needs to be done just before serving so that the apples do not brown.) 

Put the celery, apples, mint, almonds and walnuts into a large salad bowl and toss. Add dressing and toss again. 

More of the Octopuses Garden...

Yesterday I went over to Kona for a mini-vacation. It is fun how driving just two hours puts you in another state of mind. That is one of the great things about living on the big island of Hawai'i, it is large, you really do not get island fever here. It is so diverse and has so many great things to do with various scenery, weather and opportunities. Yesterday it was rainy and cool (76 degrees instead of the usual 80) in Hilo, so driving across the island to the dry (also warmer and sunnier) side was a "no brainer". We have lots of great snorkeling places in and around Hilo, but I must admit, my favorite places to snorkel are on the other side of the island.

This post is going to be mostly photos from my dive, but first let me tell you about one of my favorite snorkeling locations. I have snorkeled all over the world, Fiji, Bonaire, Belize, Cozumel and many other locales. I have also snorkeled all around the big island. But consistently, some of the best snorkeling adventures have been at Kahalu'u Beach Park, just south of downtown Kona. The thing about Kahalu'u is that it has an easy entry, places for people of all levels to snorkel, the water is protected by a sea wall supposedly built by the Menehune.  Though it was built in ancient times and has deteriorated somewhat, it still provides protection and makes an excellent home for corals and reef fish. I see more variety of both of those here.

There are an abundance of parrot fish, convict tang, a few types of butterfly fish, porcupine fish, needle fish, puffers, needle fish, wrasses, hawk fish, Moorish idols, several kinds of angel fish, occasional interesting box fish and a few eels. I did see a small "Nemo" (clown fish) yesterday, but that is rather rare there. Yesterday, I encountered a Honu, a sea turtle. She was a juvenile and swam with me for about 100 feet. The corals here are in good shape considering the amount of people that visit this location. On some occasions that I have been there, volunteers educate visitors about how to navigate the bay without damaging the coral.

The really good snorkeling is about 100 feet off shore and beyond. There are some freshwater springs that make the water a little murky at the shore line. This is not a white sand beach, but a salt and pepper beach. There is quite a lot of natural shade on the south point of the beach. It is also close enough to the surfing side of the bay to get quite a show from shore. If the surf is not high, you can also venture out to the other side of the breakfront and find some larger fish.

The beach has good parking (especially if you get there early in the day or mid-day when the first round of people are leaving. Avoid it on Wednesdays that is when the regular cruise ship is in town. There are a full range of facilities here. Showers, restrooms, picnic tables with grills, a lunch truck with shave ice and rentals of all kinds of equipment. There is even a locker service for you to check your valuables and keys, though I have found this beach to be extremely safe.  The water is calm enough for children and beginners. This is where I usually take people who have never snorkeled because you do not face the surf issues that usually instill fear in first timers and yet they are guaranteed a great show of fish.

Here is another post I made about snorkeling at Mauna Lani and Richardson's Beach.  This one was from a previous trip to Kahalu'u. And this one is about our dive club which meets on the first sunday of every month at Richardson's.

In the picture below, see the honu (turtle resting on the bottom by the rock) In the next picture you will see her swimming along with me. It was great fun. 

Are you planning a visit to the big island? If so, drop me an e-mail and I would be glad to give you some other suggestions for what to see and do and where to dine!