Hiatus.

It's been over a month since my last blog post, and over two months since we got back from Hawaii...

In the mean time, The Husband took a trip to Chicago, accepted a new job, we found a new house to rent temporarily until we can sell this one, Xave turned 9 months old, I fell in love with the Keurig The Husband bought me, we took a family vacation to Myrtle Beach, I celebrated my first Mother's Day with recovering from aforementioned trip to the beach and I'm still trying to get a grasp on all this.

There's lots to be done - packing, storing, removing, etc... - not to mention daily life. It's hard to not get overwhelmed, and just shut down all the extra work and sit and play with Xavier.

I find myself taking less pictures of Xave, because he is less of a piece of art to photograph, and more of an engaging individual. Perhaps later in life I will regret this, but I am enjoying it for now.

Until next time...

A few words from the present.

I have about one and a half more days to blog about Hawaii, but being that those posts are rather time consuming, I thought I'd do a quick one about what's going on here currently - rather than over a month ago (it seems like yesterday!).

Recently, The Husband and I realized where to get the freshest vegetables in town, and it is not where you would expect them: ALDI. While they might not have a wide variety or selection to chose from, what is there is fresh - which, is the most important part of any produce.

Anyway, last Tuesday we picked up some vine ripened tomatoes (and rather than paying Kroger's $6.00/bag these were a reasonable $3.50) and we had homemade bruschetta (with sevengrain bread from New Day Bakery down the block, a layer of romano cheese, fresh spinach, thin sliced tomatoes, and topped with asiago) for dinner.

Ready for the oven!

All done!

--*~~~~*--

This is what Xave does when The Husband leaves for work.

"Where are you going?"

Then, when he's done staring off into the distance, he helps me with the laundry...in that, laundry no longer gets folded and then sits in the basket, but it gets folded and quickly gets put away.

Folded Basket of Laundry = Fun toy. Nevermind all the things that light up and play music, this is the best plaything!

--*~~~~*--

Friday, The Husband needed a poster printed, and while we were waiting on the plotter to finish up, we played outside of the facility in the warm grass. Initially, Xave has been very weary of grass, either due to it being cold, or the texture, or perhaps both. However, this day he was a little less insecure, and even went so far as to crawl on it (instead of what he had been doing, stretching out his arms and shaking because he was too scared to move...it was a pitiful sight!).

Finally crawling toward me!

--*~~~~*--

Last Thursday, we ran up to the Strip District in Pittsburgh.

From the deli at Pen Mac I bought some chorizo salami, a prosciutto from Spain. The prosciutto was listed at $34.99/lb, but the delicatessen found Xave so charming, he gave it to me for $19.99/lb!

As far as meat purchases, at Wholey's I picked up a fresh tuna fillet, a boneless lamb roast, and of course, fresh bacon.

Yesterday, I fixed a Thai Tuna Soup, with celery, green onion, garlic, hot peppers, and dashi. I unfortunately forgot to take pictures.

Today, I made breakfast. Fried egg sandwich on sevengrain with fresh spinach and bacon.

Tonight, I am going to do the lamb roast, with prosciutto wrapped asparagus...I'll have my camera handy.

Hawaii Day Four [March 13, 2010]

Our forth morning, began with a swim in the ocean, and then I took a quick dip in the pool (in which I got water in my ear that refused to be gone for a week!). Afterward, we decided to hunt down breakfast while en route to the zoo (which we had passed the day prior, but were distracted into going to Hula's instead).

We came across a cheap Chinese Breakfast buffet. The food was filling, and good. (Nothing particularly special here, other than perhaps most times one eats Chinese, it is not breakfast.) We had fried rice, scrambled eggs, pickled cabbage, egg rolls, cucumbers, Jin deui, fresh pineapple and other miscellaneous food.


The Husband and I had a wonderful time at the Honolulu Zoo, and the number of pictures we took were well into the hundreds [Note: Our entire trip, we took 1,074 photos.]. To conserve space, I made a quick collage.


After our trip to the zoo...we were...imagine this...hungry! After a little bit of walking around, we came across Puka Dog - which The Husband had also seen on No Reservations - and decided to try it out. Both of us went with the polish sausage, although I opted to go with hot chili pepper sauce and papaya relish, while The Husband got the hot chili pepper sauce and lilikoi mustard. Although you might not think it, the sweet flavors of fruit (attached to the spicy kick) were really good with the sausage!

Stuffing the polish sausage in the homemade bun!

The huge variety of sauces and relishes!

We finally made it back to the hotel, to relax with some Yebisu before going to go watch the WVU NCAA Tournament game at another bar. Instead of Moose McGillyCuddy's, we went to Kelley O'Neil's (which was just across the street). We won the game against Georgetown, and the gentleman performing that night was kind enough to sing the first verse of Country Roads for us (he would have sung the rest, but didn't know the lyrics).

I really wish I could remember this guy's name!

After one last celebratory drink, I proceeded to ask one of the regulars where a good yakiniku joint was (as I wasn't really keen on going back to Gyu-kaku quite yet.) and told me that there was just down the block, in an alley. He noted that it wasn't the type of place you'd go into normally, but the food was fantastic.

True to his word, the yakiniku joint existed, and it was called Ginzayen (or Ginzawon, I'm not sure. On Japanese sites, it's romanized Ginzawon, but their sign romanized it as Ginzayen...), and being that it was their 12 Year Anniversary, the first draft of Kirin was only $0.95! Quite a deal, being that you can't even buy a soda that cheap in most restaurants. Feeling a bit braver this time, we ordered the Gyūtan (aka Beef Tongue) and "Inner Part of Ribs" (whatever that is). Initially, I must admit, I was quite weary, but the Gyūtan was fantastic. It was quite honestly, some of the best yakiniku I've ever eaten. Go figure, right? The flavor was akin to a sirloin steak, with a very similar texture. It wasn't chewy at all, nor was it tough or iron-y tasting like perhaps I was expecting (because I really didn't know what I was expecting honestly!).

The beef tongue is the one further back, and slightly pinker in color.
It looks hard, because it's frozen before it's cut, so they can get it into thin slices.

I wish I would have gotten a photo of the t-shirts the waiter's were wearing. They were essentially a billboard for the restaurant's anniversary special written in kana and kanji. I really really wanted to buy one, but they said they were all out. :(

Tummy's full (temporarily of course) I drug The Husband to the closest LeSportSac store, to pick up what I decided to be my souvenir from the trip. You see, not only do I love LeSportSac (it's super cute and super functional!), but it turns out they have several prints that are exclusive to Hawaii, and some that are exclusive to Hawaii and Guam (since they are very similar). I ended up getting a Deluxe Shoulder Satchel in Onolicious (which is exclusive to Hawaii and Guam) and a Tissue Case in Lei Aloha.

Heading back to our hotel now I decided I was, once again, hungry. We had eyeballed a place across the road from our hotel called Tonkatsu Ginza Bairin. Tonkatsu happens to be one of The Husband's favorite Japanese dishes, and not being one to ever turn down Asian food, in we went!

We started off with a few Kushiage (we chose the enokitake, quail egg, and for the life of me I can't remember the third) which were all quite tasty.

When we were seated, we were shown a display of kushiage was brought to our table for us to look at - much akin to how a dessert tray is brought at the end of the meal!

The Husband eating a Quail Egg kushiage.

For our main course, The Husband went with traditional Tonkatsu, while I ordered the Katsudon (which I had never eaten before, but The Husband suggested I would enjoy it).

My Katsudon! Totally delicious.

The Husband's Tonkatsu - it's hiding behind the pile of cabbage...

Perhaps the only peculiar thing about the restaurant, was that it was quite popular with escorts. This made the atmosphere awkward and a little uncomfortable (the was nothing lewd in of itself, nor were they lasciviously dressed, but their conversation and general crass behavior was unnerving!). All of the food, however, was delicious, and it was a fantastic meal to end the evening on.

Easter and et cetera...

Easter, was rather uneventful, and a bit un-traditional for us this year. This was the first major holiday in which we spent it solely with our nuclear family.

In the morning, my dad dropped by an Easter Basket for Xave, which we all had a fun time opening.

We then went to morning mass (we decided that Easter Vigil would not be the most prudent decision with a baby), and then kind of just lazed the rest of the day.

Xave and I in our Easter outfits.

After mass, we ate some edamame and Korean short-ribs I had thrown in the crock pot the night before. I did make a dessert (rare in our house): honey toast (the same thing we ate in Hawaii: Day Two) only sans the azuki beans.

Not bad for my first try! (Click to compare.)

Today, I took Xave to the park again because I can't get over how happy he is when he swings back and forth.

Lent Soup

I was bored this afternoon, and after trying to think of something to do with the fresh veggies in my fridge, this is what I came up with. [Note: Photos are slightly blurry due to the steam coming off the soup.]

~~~~~

Spinach, Zucchini, and Mushroom Soup
Serves 1

Ingredients:
4 Button Mushrooms, Sliced Thin
1/4 Zucchini, Sliced Thin
1 Handful of Spinach
1 Green Onion (1/2 Sliced Thin, the root half, keep intact)
1 tsp. Butter
1 Chicken Bouillon Cube
1 Cup of Water

Saute Spinach, Zucchini, and Mushrooms in a teaspoon of butter until tender.
Add Bouillon and Water to pan.
Bring to slow simmer for 5 minutes (add salt and pepper to taste).
Garnish with root half of green onion intact.

~~~~~

Obviously, it's easy to make this for more than one person (just multiply the ingredients!) but I was only cooking for myself this afternoon.

The flavor was really quite good - a little spicy from the black pepper. I think if I make it again, I'd add just a touch of fresh lemon to the broth, to try to brighten up the flavor just a tad (and maybe use a thin slice of lemon as an additional garnish).

Hawaii Day Three [March 12th, 2010]

Day three began with me checking on getting some kayaks on the ocean, and on my way back, I stopped at Henry's Place for some fresh pineapple for breakfast. The pineapple had a very soft, yet firm, texture, and was very sweet and full of flavor.

After we finished it, we both trekked down to the beach, and rented a two person kayak for an hour. It was very calm, rowing on the waves. Plus, accompanied by the gorgeous scenery, it just felt fantastic.

Me in front of the Hotel Restaurant - our room was up the stairs, and to the right.

No pictures of us on the ocean - after all I wasn't going to risk taking my D60 out on the water...

After we were done rowing (which is quite an exercise!) we decided to head towards Bailey's Antiques and Aloha Shirts to pick up The Husband's mom and dad a souvenir - The Husband had seen it featured on Anthony Bourdain's No Reservations.

As we walked to the store, we took in the gorgeous weather and the view of Diamond Head.


After a little bit of walking, we made it!



By the time we had picked up shirts, we were starving (remember, we only had a little pineapple for breakfast!), and we decided perhaps we'd find something nearby to eat. We must have seen twenty barbecue restaurants...and nothing that was sans meat (keep in mind, we're Catholic, and this was a Friday during Lent).

We saw this huge tree...see the man climbing it?

This was also the hottest day we had experienced so far (prior to, it had been hot, but not unbearably or uncomfortably so - this day, was hot), so by the time we had finished walking through the residental areas, we were exhausted, hot, and hungry (penance perhaps?).

Residential Neighborhood

Then, an oasis shone through (or so we thought) in the form of a banner hanging from a second story open air bar stating: MAI TAI'S $3.50

Perhaps it was the heat, or maybe our hunger...whatever it was, we walked in, delusional and unaware of our surroundings.

We took a seat next to the open air windows (which had a fantastic view of Diamond Head and Waikiki Beach) and I went up to the bar, and got two Mai Tai's (I wanted food too, but they didn't serve lunch).

Upon going back to our seats, slowly my surroundings started to sink in.

Disco ball...skinny gel-haired males...male underwear celebrity advertisement?!

Hula's (according to their website) describes themselves as: "Recognized worldwide as a fixture on the Waikiki scene, Hula's is known more importantly as a cultural icon and a welcome refuge for Hawaii's gay community."

We got one more drink so we could cash out (they had a $10.00 minimum for credit card tabs) and we went our way down the road...after all, drinking Mai Tai's on an empty stomach is not the best idea.

We eventually found our way down to Furusato where The Husband got Red Snapper sashimi and I got a spicy ahi tuna tartare over udon and another order of edamame to share. Both of our dishes were extremely tasty. I don't think I will ever have fish as fresh and flavorful as I did in Hawaii - not just at Furusato, but everywhere we went, the fish was all so fresh (imperative when eating it raw, and raw, in my opinion, is the best way to eat fish).

Spicy Tuna Tartare

Red Snapper Sashimi

We walked through the Waikiki International Market Place (where I ended up buying Xave a Hawaiian shirt) and then continued on...after all, the NCAA tournament was on, and we needed to find a place to watch it. We ended up at Moose McGillyCuddy's, where (not quite filled at Furusato) I ordered some fried shrimp and The Husband got some cheese fries. C'mon, you can't always eat exotically! Sometimes there's something to say about good ol' standard bar food.

After finishing up (and watching a stunning WVU win) we decided to digest and figure out what we wanted to do for dinner. The Husband was tired of Asian food (which is something I can never get enough of) so we went to Aracino - an Italian restaurant across from our hotel. The line was very long (since, as you can imagine, there is very little Italian food on the islands), so we went to the beach to see the Hilton's fireworks show (5 minutes, every Friday).


The little Italian restaurant was cozy inside. We were served a small loaf of focaccia bread with olive oil. We ordered a glass of wine and parused the menu. I decided on the linguine with blue crab and cream sauce, whilst The Husband asked our waitress for a suggestion. She told him that the linguine marinara with fresh mozzarella (that's tossed in the pasta in the last few minutes) was the way to go.


I wish I had gotten photos of our entrees but due to having a conversation with the couple siting beside us, enough report was created to make me feel uncomfortable in pulling out my camera! Nevertheless, it was good - nothing I don't think you couldn't get around here (such as the fantastic seafood and Asian food we had been eating) but it hit the spot.

The Husband, with his belly full of pasta (and red wine to boot!), was exhausted and drained - he even had a red eye to drink while I had desert (I can't for the life of me remember what I ate...) and it didn't perk him up!

So, he went back to the hotel, and I walked along the shopping district for a little bit whilst on the phone with my brother. After buying a few things for myself (mostly more silk scarves - I love them!) I went back to the hotel and went to bed.