Day at the Beach

You know the kids are all grown up when they can carry YOU in the water! What a great way to cool off in paradise frolicking in the North Shore breaks with friends.

Macaroni Grill

Date night. Anna was at a sleepover, a dresser full of gift certificates, nothing interesting to watch on the tube-a great excuse to re-live the days before children. Headed to Macaroni Grill where I got my indulgent fix of calamari and mushroom ravioli-very rich and creamy but the Margherita pizza helped to lighten things up. We were even treated to complimentary cheese cake which I found quite tasty considering that would be the last type of dessert I would order in a restaurant.

Happy 9th Birthday Anna!

A day of confetti! Confetti cupcakes topped with vanilla frosting sprinkled with more confetti was a great way to celebrate Anna's birthday with her third grade class at Wheeler Elementary.

Strawberry-Jam Tea Cake

Not only did I savor the strawberry preserves with each bite but the citrus glaze made of confectioners' sugar, orange zest, and freshly squeezed orange juice drizzled over each tea cake.

Malasadas

So happy that my Dad is baking again because I get to eat the finished products. These sugary delights are so good I ate four.....all right seven if you have to know! Yummy!

Vegan Oatmeal-Chocolate Chip-Raisin Cookie

Food labeled vegan would send me running the other way but these cookies had me asking for more. My dear friend Josette shared this fantastic recipe that pleased kids, non-vegetarians and cookie lovers. Some ingredients I've never used before (Ener G Egg Replacer, Non-Hydrogenated spread, turbinado and vegan brown sugars) but were easy to work with. Simple to prepare and quick to bake, only 8 minutes that this will not be the last time I'll be baking vegan.

Banana-Stuffed French Toast

A visit to San Francisco equals a visit to Zazie on Cole Street for their Banana Stuffed French Toast with Walnuts. It's a kind of dish when after taking the first bite, you close your eyes and savor every flavor.
Zazie uses challah for the bread. Unfortunately, there is not a large population of Jewish in Hawaii and no challah to be found. I found a Williams-Sonoma's recipe for this french toast and decided to give it a try after my parents sent home a huge bunch of apple bananas from their yard and Molokai sweet bread. Banana was sweet and thick after being caramelized with butter and sugar with sprinkling of candied walnuts adding a nice crunch. Nice attempt to recreate Zazie's dish but it still will remain one of my favorite stops in my favorite city.

Sweet Sour Chicken

Browning the chicken before baking yields a more tender chicken. The combination of BBQ sauce and French dressing made these dish tasty and finger licking good.

Baja Fish Tacos and Spanish Rice

I don't like to brag but this meal was awesome! I finally nailed it! Rice was easy to prepare and full of flavor with just a short list of ingredients-rice, chicken broth, tomato sauce, onion, garlic, and cilantro. You wouldn't believe how many recipes I've tried to achieve this perfection.
The tacos were fresh with no hint of a fishy smell or taste thanks to the simple beer batter. This meal was even better than Taco Del Mar's. A lot of credit goes to the cream sauce that took the fish to the next level.