ocho

When I was in Hawaii, I came across OCHO candy at Target.

OCHO stands for organic chocolate.

I debated between their coconut and peanut butter candies.

I got the coconut.

The chocolate bloomed a little because my luggage was in 90-something temps when it landed in Osaka.

Still, this is good. Lots of coconut and I like that they use organic ingredients.

I hope to try some of their other versions next time I'm back in Hawaii.

eat this

You may remember this version.

Well, as I was perusing the aisles at the market I came upon these...chocolate coated coconut sablés.

A little scoop of vanilla ice cream to make a sandwich...

Paired with Kona Brewing's Koko Brown Ale--A brown ale that has hints of coconut and vanilla.

Life is good...have a nice week!

snackage

Bonne Maman's Croquants are tiny cookies (maybe an inch round (2.5 centimeters)?!)

I found these at an import market.

What I love is how much coconut they use in these.

They not only use grated coconut but coconut oil as well.

When you open the package the aroma fills the air.

Very flavorful and crisp.

Nice with black coffee or café au lait.

earth balance

While I was in Hawaii, I came across this...Earth Balance's coconut & peanut spread.

It is a little sweet from the agave, there is a hint of coconut from the coconut oil and since I bought "crunchy"...lots of peanuts.

You need to take it out of the refrigerator to get soft before using, but I really like this.

Is there anything you are enjoying at the moment?

coconut sablé ice cream sandwich

The other day while Satoshi and I were at the grocery store, we noticed these coconut sablé ice cream sandwiches in their freezer section.

Since I had bought a package of coconut sablés a couple of days prior, we just bought a 120 mililiter mini cup of Haagen Dazs vanilla ice cream.

By the way, the sablés I bought were the same type used in the ice cream sandwiches we saw.

Place 4 cookies on a plate, divide the ice cream between them then cover them with 4 more cookies.

Delicious. The sablés are crisp and coconutty, matching perfectly with the vanilla ice cream.

It's Friday here, hope you have a great weekend!

hawaii plays tourist

Satoshi was here for about 5 days and we got to play tourist a bit.

On Tuesday, we headed to Haleiwa, he really likes this area.

We checked out Ted's Bakery, which is known for their chocolate haupia pie.

I had heard that they also served plate lunches, so I figured we could pick something up then eat it at the beach.

Well, I didn't know that they only serve breakfast in the mornings (your website should note that somewhere!)

So, we ordered a Loco Moco for Satoshi...$9-something.

He said he enjoyed it.

Portuguese Sausage & Eggs for me...$8-something.

I liked this but thought these weren't really hash browns...

And their chocolate macadamia cream pie...$3-something.

I didn't quite read the label when I took it from their refrigerator, so that is why we missed the one with haupia.

Um, the food is decent here, BUT it took over 30 minutes for us to get our food!

If anything, I would go back for the pie, but probably for nothing else.

It was nice eating under the trees at Sunset Beach though...

After brunch, we headed back to Haleiwa town and spent some time at Coffee Gallery.

An iced French Roast (cold brewed) for me and a Haleiwa Blend for Satoshi...$3-something for both.

Free Wi-Fi was a plus...overcharging me for this coconut macaroon (which I didn't realize until afterwards...not cool!) was a double minus.

I purchased the macaroon for my mom because she loves coconut and she enjoyed this, I'd probably go back for the Wi-Fi and coffee though...

Then as we drove through Waialua, a sign caught my eye... "coconut peanut butter".

We checked it out and I found that North Shore Goodies also makes a chocolate coconut peanut butter.

Chocolate, peanuts and coconut, that's it. How can you go wrong with that?! No sugar added too...$7-something

We got to sample both and they were delicious, can't wait to slather this on a bagel or melt some to drizzle on vanilla ice cream!

Despite the minuses, the weather was wonderful, we contributed a little to the economy and Satoshi got to see some of his favorites sights in Hawaii, in essence it was a good day.

Ted's Bakery
59-024 Kamehameha Highway
Sunset Beach, Hawaii
Phone: 808.638.8207

Coffee Gallery
66-250 Kamehameha Highway
Haleiwa, Hawaii
Phone: 808.637.5571

North Shore Goodies
67-292 Goodale Avenue
Waialua, Hawaii
Phone: 808.637.5415

coconut sorbet

I made a batch of coconut pearls.

When the liquid was still warm, I made a serving of Che Chuoi...yum!

After that, we had several servings of cold che chuoi, and then I threw the remaining 1.5 cups of the sugary coconut pearl liquid into my ice cream maker to make coconut sorbet.

After taking it out of the freezer, I had to wait almost half an hour before I could scoop it, but it was delicious.

The weather is still weird here, cold hot cold hot...I was even feeling a little under the weather the other day because of it.

Feeling much better but definitely need the sun to generate some mojo.

Hope you have a good week!

coconut milk banana muffins

With the last of the coconut milk, I made some muffins.

I used my favorite muffin recipe (minus Earl Grey), and subbed coconut milk for regular milk.

Since the coconut milk was sweetened, I also left out the sugar for the muffins.

The recipe also called for a banana and lemon juice, but I left the lemon juice out.

For a nice twist, I also added a handful of 60% chocolate chips. (gotta have chocolate)

When these muffins came out of the oven there was a nice coconut fragrance. After it cooled though, you couldn't tell that there was coconut in there.

These muffins are quite moist due to the olive oil and banana that was used.

Also they aren't overly sweet...perfect for breakfasts or snacks.

We had rain and humidity over the past couple of days, hope yours was better.

che chuoi

Another wonderful adventure with my "jotting"...

The said jotted recipe was for Che Chuoi, a Vietnamese treat with tapioca and banana.

Here is what I wrote down..."Che Chuoi...coconut pearls with banana....add banana + unsalted roasted peanuts"...That was it.

I didn't write down the magazine I got it from, though I have a feeling it may be from "Saveur".

And I sort of remembered that in the article they served this warm.

Anyway, after making these treats I had some leftover sweetened coconut milk and tapioca, so I added some sliced banana.

I didn't have any unsalted peanuts so I just chopped up some unsalted cashews.

Instead of having this warm, I ate this cold. Though this version probably wasn't authentic, it was a great snack and nice way to beat the awful humidity we're having.

Then on a rainy day, I made some vietnamese coffee and ate some che chuoi topped with chopped unsalted almonds.

While I loved the cashew topping, I think I like the chopped almonds on top of this dish a little more.

I think it was because the almonds added a roasted flavor.

I am definitely making this again...ooh and by the way, I am amazed that this is my 1500th post...I can't believe I have kept up with blogging for as long as I have.

Thanks for reading my ramblings!

yano market, kumangai bakery & hanpa mart

Sharing more food finds....there was a major sale on beer...US$.85 a can for Asahi (regular price US$1.15 a can).

We found a tiny shop called Yano Market that had musubi...Satoshi bought these with ume (pickled apricot) US$1.25 for two and I got a l-o-n-g one with hot dog in the center US$1.50.

Red Rooster Beer...this is the local beer made by the Palau Brewing Company...it comes in light, amber and dark.

Made with 100% Palau rain water and other natural ingredients, they use no artifical preservatives or flavorings.

While we were there, Satoshi bought a six pack for US$9 (which he drank in 2 days, before lunchtime!!) and I bought 2 bottles (one of Amber and one of Dark) each for US$1.95 (I brought bubble wrap and brought these 2 bottles home and will post about it when we try them).

A tray of sashimi at Hanpa Mart, a Korean market, for US$6.95. Most sashimi in Palau is maguro (tuna/ahi), you will rarely see oilier/fattier grades of fish.

A local bakery, Kumangai Bakery had a display at a market. I picked up this banana bread for US$1.95 and it came in handy for breakfast with some fruits from a fruit platter we received from a hotel. (Thank you!)

During one of our tours, we had bento (boxed meal) by Island Yakiniku...the bento had karaage chicken, kinpira, lumpia, spam, salad and rice....yum!

At DFS (Duty Free Shoppers), there weren't many items "made in Palau", in fact most things were made in China or Hawaii. Luckily we found some locally made tapioca chips and coconut candies as omiyage for Satoshi's staff.

Also during one of our tours, our guide stopped at several roadside stands...there were many with fresh fruits, and also many with foods---like turron (a fried Filipino treat), this one had peanut butter and banana in it...US$.25.

We also found a stand selling homemade banana chips...US$1.50 a package.

One thing I noticed was that whenever they used cabbage or won bok, they served every part of it, including the hard ribbed areas. There weren't many opportunities for fresh leafy salads, only a lot of cooked veggies and not necessarily dark green veggies.

Everything we tried was delicious and portions were very generous. You definitely won't go hungry here.

Yano Market
next door to WCTC Shopping Center
Phone: 680.488.2331

Kumangai Bakery
located in back of WCTC Shopping Center, but sold in most markets
Phone: 680.488.2256

Hanpa Mart
located across from the Palau Hotel
didn't take down the phone number

Island Yakiniku
located across the street from Etpison Museum
Phone: 680.488.4690

hawaii shops & eats

Since my grandma moved from Hilo to Oahu, we don't go to the Big Island as much these days, but when we do, we always try to stop in at Big Island Candies (BIC).

They are the original shortbread cookie dippers (chocolate dipped shortbread) and also have lots of interesting but yummy indulgences there. In recent years they have started to dip their shortbread in dark chocolate too. (yeah!)

On our recent trip to Hilo, we made our stop into BIC, it was near closing time so there weren't many people in the store.

I bought some non-dipped shortbread to take back to Japan for my MIL and my host-mom. As well as some other items, one was...their brownies with coconut covered in dark chocolate! (I'll share with you the other item when I eat it!)

8 of these babies for US$10.75 +tax....kind of pricey, but worth every bite and on a humid and hot day like it was yesterday (in some places it was 90F (32C)), it was oozy chocolate finger licking goodness! (Of course, I shared with my mom and dad, so that they could both partake in the indulgence too!)

Have a great weekend!

coconut vanilla jam

After trying coconut vanilla jam in Noumea last year, I was interested in finding a recipe for it.

To my surprise as I was flipping through Christine Ferber's book, she had a recipe for coconut vanilla jam.

My problem with the recipe was that she used fresh coconut...yup, crack it open, scrape out the flesh, save the milk....where the heck would I find a whole coconut in Japan?

I decided to ad-lib. I had coconut for baking. I bought some coconut milk. I used the last half of the Lifou vanilla that I had bought in Noumea.

I adjusted the recipe. The taste was just like what I remembered, though the texture could have been a little softer.

I think if I used something thinner like coconut flakes instead of coconut strips it would have turned out softer. I also think it needs to be a bit more syrupy.

We tried it on toast for breakfast yesterday, but I think it may be better baked in a nice flaky crust or maybe with some dark chocolate covering it....

It is Halloween today but it isn't celebrated much here, though the stores surely take advantage of making some money from it. If you are celebrating the day, have fun but be safe, oh we have another 3-day weekend here, hope you have a good one.

what I did...

I wanted to share with you what I did with a can of coconut milk.

Earlier this year, I found some tri-colored tapioca at the gourmet supermarket. When I saw this, I immediately thought of coconut pearls, the dessert you get at some Chinese restaurants in Hawaii.

I love this dessert. It is sweet and coconutty. Most times when you get this at the Chinese restaurant, the bowl is ice cold and so is the "soup"...delicious.

I googled and found a recipe on the Internet. It sounded easy. It was, once I prepared the tapioca.

Get this, the package said I could boil the tapioca for an hour or soak the tapioca overnight then boil them to the softness that I wanted....I chose the boiling for one hour.

Doesn't the tapioca look like candy? I loved the colors. (This was my first time with tapioca, is it supposed to have a chewy center? It reminded me of mochi.)

So, with the can of Chaokoh coconut milk, I decided to be oinky and make two desserts out of them (because two is better than one!).

the first...coconut pearls...the second...haupia.

Haupia is a coconut pudding served in Hawaii. My favorite combination is haupia with chocolate, preferably with a flaky crust...yum!

Here's both recipes if you'd like to give them a try.

Coconut pearls adapted from the Internet (makes about 6: 1/2 cup servings)

1/2 cup tapioca, follow package directions
1-1/2 cups water
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup milk
1 cup coconut milk

After cooking your tapioca, get the "soup" ready.
In a pot, add the water and sugar and heat until sugar dissolves.
Add the milk and warm.
When warm, turn off heat and add coconut milk.
Chill mixture and tapioca separately for at least an hour.
Add tapioca just before serving, as it will turn mixture bitter.
Serve as is or with diced fruits like honeydew or cantaloupe.

Haupia adapted from "Sam Choy's Sampler" (2 "Sam" portions or 8-10 "Kat" portions (about 2 teaspoons each))

1 cup coconut milk
2-1/2 tablespoons cornstarch
2-1/2 tablespoons sugar
pinch salt

Mix everything in a pot until sugar is dissolved.
Heat on medium stirring constantly, use a whisk to make sure everything is incorporated without lumps.
When the mixture begins to thicken, turn off heat.
You can serve warm or chill for at least an hour.
Good with fruits too.

NOTES: For the coconut pearls, the original recipe states not to boil the coconut milk as it will make the "soup" very oily. The haupia is the real deal! beats those NOH haupia packets. Overall, both recipes were delicious, easy and fast!

foodie couple of days

The other night Satoshi had a party to attend to for the Hyatt. I think everyone received this "goodie bag"--pancake mix, maple syrup, darjeeling tea, herb tea & a black insulated bag for lunches. Can't wait to make the pancakes, though I want to serve it with bacon. I want to try making candied bacon. Got the idea from Kathy's blog.

The other day I had a lesson at Starbucks. Since the lesson was in the morning I had a muffin with my coffee. This is their soy milk banana muffin. I'm glad they heated this up, it was really dry. Can you imagine how it would have been if it were straight out of their refrigerated case? I don't think they use the actual fruit, just banana flavoring. I think if they used the fruit it would have been moist. Oh and the big slice of banana on top was a banana chip.

The Japanese love to shorten words. It gets to the point where they themselves don't know what the actual word is or means...yipes! A donut shop equivalent to Dunkin Donuts is MisDo (short for Mister Donut). I usually don't frequent this place, but had a craving for donuts, so this was the only place (unless you live in Tokyo where they have Krispy Kreme and Doughnut Planet) to get a donut fix. I got the double matcha ring & coconut chocolate donut.

The matcha ring was soft, chewy. I think they use the holes from the other donuts to make this. This one had just enough sweetness.

The coconut one was a cake donut. Kind of dry but the coconut on the outside was delicious.

Did you all watch the opening ceremony of the Olympics? I cannot believe that I watched it from beginning to end. Well, actually I cheated, since we have a two screen television, I had it on, but surfed and watched other things on the other half while I waited for them to light the torch almost 3 hours after the ceremonies started!

Hope your weekend is going well, it is Saturday here but Satoshi is working.