Mangos, mangos, mangos
What to do with so many mangos…
Eat them like crazy…
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Make smoothies…
Maybe bake another pie.
Not sure I’m ready for that yet…
Marilyn Jansen Lopes
http://www.amaryllisofhawaii.com
http://Mauicountryfarmtours.co
Awesome Marinara is so easy!
Aloha everyone. I love to make my own Marinara. Marinara is without meat.
My father used to make all his spaghetti sauces with huge meatballs or Italian sausages which had great flavor, but sometimes it is nice to go vegetarian and make a rich tomato sauce with lots of garlic, basil, Italian herbs and spices.
At times when I have grown lots of Roma tomatoes I blanch and save them for sauces in ziploc bags in the freezer. I always keep my pantry stocked with stewed tomatoes, tomato sauces and tomato paste.
I start by sauteing garlic and slivered onions in two TBSP. of Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Then I add big cleaned sliced mushrooms…
I simmer these for a while then add my tomato sauces and whole or chopped tomaotes.
Next I add my basil, rosemary, oregano, bay leaf or mixed dried Italian seasonings.
I simmer my sauce for at least an hour on low, stirring often so it doesn’t burn.
I start my pasta water and just before serving time I cook the pasta Al dente (for spaghetti this is 10 minutes).
Served with grated Parmesan or Romano Cheese and a fresh green salad it is wonderful.
Maui Garden Pickin’s
All photos are by Marilyn Jansen Lopes and photos of others are posted with their permission.I have received no compensation to mention products or companies on my blog.
Even Hawaii people need a get-away! Wai`anapanapa Hana, Maui
Wai`anapanapa is the place we love to go to get away from it all. As you can see it is a wild and beautiful place. Ancient Lau Hala trees grow thickly and look almost prehistoric. You can imagine what the land may have looked like before humans set foot on the island. Coconut palms are also native which means they were here before man. They easily floated on the ocean and took root at the coastline.
This gorgeous bay at Wai`anapanapa State Park near Hana, Maui attracts tourists every day. Vans and buses drop the visitors off at the end of the state park so they can walk the trails and take photographs of the magnificent park. The black sand beach is in the distance.
Some more adventurous choose to walk the trail along the cliffs to view the fantastic surf crashing along the lava and the blow hole spraying high into the air.
These are some of my favorite pictures.
When you come to Maui be sure to take the long journey to Hana. It is a touch of old Hawaii and worth the drive. I will let the pictures speak for themselves.
ALOHA for now,
Marilyn
The Artful Hawaiigirl
If you want to know how to make your dreams come true see my books at
http://www.amaryllisofhawaii.com/ The Amaryllis of Hawaii series is all about how to make a dream come true. I wanted to help people who had forgotten how to dream and how to be happy by sharing my joy of life and love of Hawaii.
If you know someone who needs a little inspiration or is going through some struggle in life, I’d love to share my enthusiasm for these islands and a joy of cooking and planting that can bring a lifetime of happiness to them. Many young people are searching for their passion and I encourage you to try many things to find what you love. Work hard to pursue your dreams always keeping a vision of you want in your mind. It is only with a vision and believing in yourself that your dreams can come true!
Sending Aloha and love your way…
How will you inspire others during this economy? PRIZES!!!
One More day to post a comment to win all the prizes from Amaryllis of Hawaii.
Your choice of a hand-painted design just for you!
Scoop neck Bella Tee by Marilyn Jansen Design
Cotton Lycra Corset Tops
Beautiful Hepburn tops
Your choice of designs
Taro Leaves
Maui Kitty
Maui Kitty on denim (only available in small at this time)
Sleeveless Cotton-lycra corset top
(I’m painting 25 of these over the next 2 weeks)
Beautiful Soft Wave design
Don’t forget I have Ti-leaf design for Men!
Hawaiian Ingenuity
These are all Limited editions so be the LUCKY ONE to win one of these designs.
How will You inspire others during this economy? Make your comment here and on your own blog if you have one with a mention and link back to http://artfulhawaiigirl.blogspot.com/ or just comment here!
Winner also gets a lilikoi jelly, and a set of Amaryllis of Hawaii Books see http://www.amaryllisofhawaii.com/
and a one hour design session with The Artful Hawaiigirl. ♥
Aloha is a gift that must be shared! I look forward to sharing my love of Hawaii with you.
-Marilyn (The Artful Hawaiigirl)
Brave, yes!
4 more days to Win A Bunch of Prizes from Amaryllis of Hawaii
Win all these Prizes from Amaryllis.
You could win all these items below:
A set of my books
Silk-screened t-shirt of your choice (I have over 14 designs)
Men’s Tank ti-leaves on front Hawaiian Ingenuity on back
Hand-Painted tee designed just for you!
One Lilikoi “Passionfruit” Jelly made by The Artful Hawaiigirl on Maui.
Beautifully gift packaged.
A One hour design session with Marilyn.
In this session I will give you a choice of either learning a recipe with me, an hour of t-shirt design in Illustrator, or How to paint on tees in the Watercolor style. This could be in person if you live on Maui or via Skype if you live elsewhere.
The total package is valued at $350.00
I am reviewing the entries
and will choose a winner by October 15th, 2009.
Winner will be announced and prizes awarded that day!
So hurry if you want to enter.
What would you do to inspire people during this economy?
I love Hawaii and I’d love to share my inspiration with you!
Marilyn
The Artful Hawaiigirl
http://www.amaryllisofhawaii.com/
Wild Alaskan Basil-Mayo Salmon Yum!
Savory sweet succulent wild Alaskan salmon is so delicious! We prepare it often at home. Once on a visit to Seattle I learned to bake salmon with mayonnaise to keep it delicious and moist. We had also wrapped it tight in foil.
I have elaborated on this for many years by adding either a chiffonade of fresh basil which I grow or dried basil which is always available.
As you can see in my ingredients, I use Extra Virgin Olive Oil, (evoo) and Balsamic Vinegar which carmelizes to a sweet wonderful flavor and makes it luscious with the mayonnaise sealing in the herbs and bread crumbs on top to give it a nice texture.
First I cut up the salmon in to individual portions about two & 1/2 inches wide. Then I sprinkle with salt and pepper and crushed fresh garlic flakes. I also use dried garlic-parsely flakes and sometimes leave out the fresh garlic.
I drizzle with the Extra Virgin Olive Oil and the Balsamic vinegar now, and spread some tablespoons of mayo on and this time I have added huge mushroom slices which I decided to dot with butter, garlic and then drizzle with more olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Oooh, yes this turned out wonderful.
Last but not least I sprinkle on Italian Bread crumbs to give more delicious flavor and texture.
I bake at 400 degrees for about twenty minutes or until the salmon is perfect.
This time I served with big slices of fresh Hawaiian mango.
Steamed white rice, broccoli, asparagus or any green salad is wonderful with my basil mayo baked salmon.
Here’s my cookbook layout for Basil Mayo Salmon Filets Dinner for two!
Click on it for the large view.
Hope you try it soon and make it one of your recipes for life! It’s so easy.
See http://www.amaryllisofhawaii.com/ to purchase my cookbook Amaryllis of Hawaii Loves to Cook “Recipes For Life” .
Above all have fun. Life is so short we must live with a passion, that’s what I do. And remember to smile 🙂
Aloha,
Marilyn
♥
How ‘Bout Some Enchiladas!
Don’t these look yummy? Enchiladas are very easy to make. It is an excellent cost effective dish too. It’s cheesy, rich, creamy, spicy as you like it, and utterly fabulous when home-made.
First I like to get all my ingredients prepared. I chop an onion, tomatoes, and cilantro for later.
The corn tortillas must be limped before dipping into the enchilada sauce, so I use about a 1/4 inch of vegetable oil in the pan and heat it up til it bubbles.
I have my grated cheddar or jack or even feta ready to go.
This time I used flaked crab (codfish flakes) but often I use just cheese, beans, onions and enchilada sauce. Shredded chicken or pork would be delicious also.
I have heated my can of green chile verde enchilada sauce and also added a crushed clove of garlic, 2 TBSP. of butter and some tomatoes to enrich the sauce. My friend and I had once tried as many enchiladas in Sun Valley, California and North Hollywood as we could in our quest to find the best enchilada. I determined that the best sauce had the addition of butter and garlic with a little hot sauce.
So, you limp the tortillas in the hot oil just for a few seconds in order to soften them up and get rid of the raw corn texture. Flip them for another few seconds and take right out to drain and pat out the oil with paper towels.
Now the tortillas are dipped into the warm enchilada sauce and then laid into the baking dish ready to be layered with ingredients.
Here I have started with a tbsp. of beans (pork & beans) can you imagine? It’s what I had on hand & worked fine. Sometimes I use black beans, vegetarian refried beans, or simply refried pinto beans. My friends used to pressure cook pinto beans on a daily basis as a staple for their vegetarian diet.
Then I sprinkle the crab, tomatoes, onions, cilantro, cheese, some hot sauce few drops, and roll them up. I continue until the pan is filled then top with more sauce and cheese.
This batch was lacking extra sauce because I only used one 12 oz. can of green enchilada sauce. Two would have been better.
Baked at 375 degrees for about 45 minutes or until bubbly. They come out tender, easy to cut with a fork, and delightful.
Garnish with fresh lime wedges and cilantro. ENJOY!
My mother-in-law had never eaten enchiladas but she really liked them. I’m a California girl originally, so we learn all these Mexican dishes by heart.
I love to cook and give my family new things to try. Hope you try to make enchiladas sometime. You can use them as a side dish to a big salad and also serve sliced mangos or pineapple.
Nice summer dish.
Aloha folks! Thanks for reading. See http://www.amaryllisofhawaii.com/ for my cookbook and all my Amaryllis of Hawaii series.
Heliconia
Maui Apple Banana Nut Bread
Today it was all about bananas.
Our apple banana trees have been putting out plenty of bunches so before they go, I had to bake lots of beautiful apple banana nut breads. In Hawaii we have many varieties of bananas. The Williams bananas are longer like the kind we are familiar with in the mainland. Our apple bananas are short and have a unique sweet fresh taste. They are not as creamy as the ice cream bananas that are more like a custard.
The different thing about apple bananas is when the skin is turning black and you think they are pau (finished), they are still beautiful inside, not bruised at all. (Most of the time.)
These bananas appear bruised but once peeled you can see they are really nice still. Most recipes only call for a few bananas, but my recipe came from an old Maui Ladies Home Cookbook which called for 6-7 ripe bananas. Today I doubled my recipe and because apple bananas are small I used about 15 bananas.
I sifted together
5 cups all purpose unbleached white flour
4 tsp. of baking soda
2 tsp. salt
3 tsp. cinnamon
Then I cream 4 sticks of butter with
3 cups of sugar and add 3 tsp. of vanilla.
I also add 1/2 cup of honey!
On the side in another bowl I crush my bananas with a beater blade.
I also add 8 large eggs that have been lightly beaten to the butter and sugar mixture.
I combine my wet and dry ingredients adding the bananas and mixing with a large spoon until everything is blended. Then I have my walnuts (2 cups) which I have crushed by using the thick measuring cup to pound them inside a larger bowl. You can cut them, chop them or use the food processor but this is how I have done it for years, so I like it that way.
Incorporate the nuts and add 1 cup of craisins to the batter too. Lightly oil the pans even though they are a non-stick. I do.
This batch made 8 small loaves and one very huge long banana bread equivalent to two normal loaves, I’d say.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and bake these small loaves for only 30 minutes or until the bamboo skewer comes out clean. They cook fast.
This apple banana bread took one hour and 15 minutes to bake completely.
Wait a few minutes to cool then slip them out of the pan. I love those non-stick Martha Stewart mini-loaf pans. I have to get another one so I can do double batches.
So here’s what it looks like inside. It was moist but I added a little butter and my banana bread was divine.
My mother-in-law Catherine helped me by holding my book. I showed her my step by step banana bread recipe, then we stepped outside while they baked to enjoy another Maui day on the lanai just reading, listening to the birds, and very windy trades blowing as the banana bread was baking.
I want to share some beautiful plant and flower photos that I took yesterday in my yard and in Catherine’s old yard.
Catherine’s heliconia.
Our apple banana tree has about five new stalks on it right now so there’s much more to come.
Pink Plumeria
Puakenekene
Stephanotis vine
And last but not least beautiful Maui. Our north shore is an awesome spot to watch the wind surfers and take in the most gorgeous views of West Maui and Molokai in the distance.
Aloha,
Marilyn
Don’t forget to vist http://www.amaryllisofhawaii.com/ for my latest designs on tees and all my books.
Thai Coconut-Lemongrass Soup
Ever get a craving for something hot and spicy, rich and delicious too? If you love Thai food you will want to make this in your own home.
I learned this exotic but easy Thai Coconut Lemongrass preparation from a friend.
I had stopped by their home for a moment and the aromatics were incredible!
The coconut soup was being ladled into bowls and I was gifted with a take out container of this soup to try on my break later. It’s a heavenly, rich, heady concoction and I had to know how to make it!
My friend gave me the recipe from their Thai cookbook and I changed it to what is available.
In my book below I mention the recipe here:
I start the day before by cooking a whole chicken in boiling water brought down to a simmer for about and hour and a half. To season that broth I always start with garlic, onion, celery and carrots chopped up and added to the water with the chicken. I add my salt and pepper during the second seasoning when I remove the bones to the side.
This time I added a few star anise to the broth as well as a few cloves like I do in Vietnamese Pho. When the wonderful chicken broth is ready, I serve some, then bring down the heat with ice cubes to chill it for the next day.
Now I prepare my green chile paste.
I used about 8 jalapenos, lots of fresh ginger (about 4 oz..), 3 lemongrass stalks, 6 cloves garlic,
3 TBSP. vegetable oil, 2 TBSP. sugar, 3 TBSP. fish sauce, zest of three limes and
squeeze the fresh limes into the paste. (I did not have my kefir lime leaves.)
I used to have a tree but we lost it.
So this substitution was fine.
As you see I chopped up my ginger and lemongrass and carefully cut in half and seeded my chiles.Then I pop it all into the food processor for a grind. In the past I had ground it much finer in a small grinder but this rough chop (pulsed for a couple minutes) was fine.
I add about 3 TBSP. of the green chile paste to 2 TBSP. hot vegetable oil to get the aromatics going. It smells incredible. Don’t inhale those chiles, though.
Also be very careful not to touch your eyes or face. If necessary you can wear gloves to handle the chiles. I just use caution and the pointy sharp blade of a steak knife to get out the seeds.
Once you get the aromatics going get your tofu and shrimp into the pot to brown in that green chile paste for a couple of minutes.
My favorite shrimps are the tail on deveined ones in the 21-25 count. (big ones).
This time I had some small ones. (too small.) Cube the tofu before adding to the pot.
Next add 4-6 cups of the chicken broth prepared earlier. I added some of the white meat also.
Next I add two cans of unsweetened coconut milk.
I am ready to taste!
MMMmmmm woooh, this is sooo ONO! I added more chile paste than usual so on a
scale of 1-5 based on hotness, I guess this one is a 4. But it’s ok for my husband and I. We
like it spicy. I won’t let my mother-in-law try this one. Not for the sensitive ones.
Garnish with bean sprouts, mint, or thai basil.
I also slivered a few green onion pieces for color.
Hope you try this one. You will love it.
Aloha and thanks for reading. Pad Thai is another favorite I will prepare soon. I do that
even at the cabins at Wai`anapanapa on one burner sometimes. It’s really easy too!
Feel free to ask me any questions by leaving a comment. Here’s some beautiful pictures of Wai`anapanapa State Park in Hana, Maui, Hawaii. This is one of my very favorite places on Maui. It is wild and beautiful and really Hawaiian.
The Black Sand Beach Waianapanapa
The view from Cabin five.
That’s all!
Thanks for stopping by,
Marilyn
See http://www.amaryllisofhawaii.com/ for my books and Hawaiian Designs Made on Maui.
Lilikoi Jelly
Jelly is easy to make too! It just takes one more step.
First I wash and dry all my jars.
(in the dishwasher)
I place the lids and rings into a pot of
nearly boiling water.
I cut up my fruit.
Today it was lilikoi. (“Passionfruit”)
I always use lemons to keep the color bright.
Lemons also give a wonderful tanginess.
I used about 4 lemons for this batch.
I cut about twenty lilikoi in half.
I put them into my stainless steel pot.
Then I add water to cover them.
I bring it to a rolling boil
then turn it down to a medium boil for 15 minutes.
The lilikois are cooked now and the pulp
falls out making a beautiful golden yellow juice.
Sometimes it takes twenty minutes to achieve
the desired color.
I remove the skins using tongs
then strain the juice into a glass bowl.
To this juice I also add the juice of 4 lemons.
Then I squeeze the pulp out of about ten more
fresh cut lilikoi and add to the bowl.
The uncooked lilikoi give an amazing
fresh taste to the mixture.
Now I’m ready to measure exact amounts of juice
to go back into the pot and make jelly!
This batch had 8 cups of juice
including the lemons
that were squeezed into the mixture.
Now I add 8 tsp. of the calcium phospate water.
(1 tsp. per each cup of juice.)
This is the Pomona Pectin I mentioned in my Mango Jam post.
The calcium water keeps in the fridge for months.
Next I prepare my sugar pectin mixture.
I add 8 tsp. Pomona Pectin to my sugar.
(1 tsp. per each cup juice.)
I love the Pomona Pectin because
It makes all my jams and jellies
gel perfectly everytime
regardless of how much sugar.
This time I added 5 cups of sugar.
I stir the powdered pectin into the sugar
so it will dissolve easier into the juice.
Now I add the sugar/ pectin mixture to the juice
stirring as I add to dissolve it quickly,
before the juice comes to a boil.
As it comes to a rolling boil I prepare to skim
off all the foam into a cup.
It only needs to boil for 2 1/2 minutes.
If I let it boil too long
I might deactivate the Pomona Pectin.
(The old -fashioned way I used to make jelly
was to bring equal amounts of juice
and sugar to a rolling boil for 15 minutes.)
The new way is much nicer and
comes out perfect every time.
Once it gels I turn off the heat
and remove to the side.
I ladle into my jars
Then I must clean the rims with a paper towel
to make sure the seal will be tight.
Leave about a 1/2 inch space.
Now remove and dry the lids
which have been sitting
in the nearly boiling water until now.
Place the rubber seal top on jelly
and the rings on finger tight.
Now continue by placing all the jars into
the deep water bath to sterilize.
Cover the jars with at least 2 inches of water.
Then boil for a minimum of 5 minutes.
As I said in Mango Jam,
it takes about 15 minutes to bring
this large amount of water
to a boil, so put on the lid
to speed it up.
I usually boil for ten minutes
then turn off the heat
and relax,
You’re done.
(For now)
You can lift out with tongs and place on a towel
to rest while they set.
The jelly may take overnite to set.
The hot liquid must cool.
Don’t worry.
It always works with the Pomona Pectin.
After many batches I am happy to say
that I really have this down.
Everyone loves my jelly.
Now I have made several variations
which you may want to try.
Lilikoi-Orange-Guava
Lilikoi-Mango
Lilikoi-Tangerine-Guava
So That’s it!
You can make a beautiful label.
I like to hand punch pretty scalloped edged
labels which I have printed then
punch holes and put grommets
to tie rustic raffia bands.
Some people place circles of fabric
over the tops of jars and tie with ribbon.
Next project!
Aloha,
Thanks for joining me while I prepared
Lilikoi Jelly.
Amaryllis of Hawaii Loves To Cook
“Recipes For Life”
available at http://www.amaryllisofhawaii.com/
and bookstores and restaurants
throughout the state of Hawaii
plus Ben Franklin Crafts
in the Queen Ka`ahumanu
Shoping Center on Maui.
The Artful Hawaiigirl 