The Tipsy Baker: Not home yet, just looks like it

Saturday, December 05, 2009

Not home yet, just looks like it

On/in Kauai now, which is less about shave ice and more about taro smoothies. Haven't had one yet. Will today.

Because there are no predators, chickens run wild on Kauai. I photographed that rooster a minute ago on the patio of my neighbor's hotel room. It simultaneously makes me feel terribly homesick and right at home.

13 comments:

Anonymous12/5/09, 10:34 AM
Try Banana Joe's--amazing frozen fruit concoctions. A necessary variation on shave ice!
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goose12/5/09, 11:04 AM
No mongooses (geese?)there? I would think they might like chicken.
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tipsybaker12/5/09, 2:12 PM
Mongeese on all the islands -- but not Kauai. Or so says some kid I asked.

Banana Joe's - I am looking it up right now!
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Melanie12/5/09, 8:17 PM
Oooh! I just went to a "hot pot" dinner tonight and tried taro for the first time. Yummy!!! So now I'm really curious about the taro smoothies!
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Susan12/5/09, 9:02 PM
Have you stopped by Wishing Well Shave Ice in Hanalei? A little surly, but the shave ice is broke da mouf. And then there's Jo Jo's in Waimea...better try both of them just to be sure you've really covered the territory.
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Susan12/5/09, 9:05 PM
Forgot my favorite, favorite place for local food: Hamura's Saiman 2956 Kress St. in Lihue. You can visit with some more chickens in the parking lot. Great place to go before you head to the airport.
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Azure12/6/09, 7:35 AM
I've heard that the reason behind the wild chickens in Kawaii is that they all got loose during the big 1992 hurricane. Myth or fact? Maybe you can figure it out.
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Anonymous12/6/09, 8:12 AM
i think we all need to just meet you out there for another week and straighten out all these dangling issues.
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Anonymous12/6/09, 8:12 AM
i think we all need to just meet you out there for another week and straighten out all these dangling issues.
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Unknown12/6/09, 10:08 AM
I agree. Although if you do that, this whole article really WILL be all about shave ice. I even have a title: "I went to Hawaii and all I got was some shave ice" It will look great on t-shirts!
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goose12/6/09, 3:04 PM
Why is it shave ice instead of shaved ice?
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owney12/6/09, 7:41 PM
OK, my envy of your life is just unconcealable now. Trips to Vietnam, Guatemala and Hawaii in the past year alone? I love reading about them here, but it's no longer enough. Me want travel!
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Electric Blender2/19/19, 3:05 AM
I'm a little late reading this blog, especially some of the posts, but got to say... everything here is so great and so true. As someone who's originally from the area, I get a chuckle out of many things here.
If you want to learn more about 10 Best Stick Blender – Which Is Right For You?, you can visit now
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Cookbooks We've Survived

River Cottage Veg Everyday by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall. Shelf essential? A stalwart and worthy tome, but no.
Fika by Anna Brones and Johanna Kindvall. Shelf essential? Charming. Yes.
Burma, by Naomi Duguid. Shelf essential? Yes.
The Suriani Kitchen by Lathika George. Shelf essential? If you consider a Suriani cookbook a cornerstone of any respectable collection, yes.
Bread and Chocolate, by Fran Gage. Shelf essential? A lovely little book, but no.
The Cuisines of Spain, by Teresa Barrenechea. Shelf essential? No.
Mozza, by Nancy Silverton. Shelf essential? For the pizza dough and the meatballs, yes.
Tender , by Nigel Slater. Shelf essential? In my view, no.
The Best of the Best from California Shelf essential? Oh no. No, no, no.
Soul of a New Cuisine, by Marcus Samuelsson. Shelf essential? No. Some good African-inspired recipes here, but not enough.
Super Natural Every Day, By Heidi Swanson. Shelf essential? A beautiful and thoughtful book. Yes.
Guy Fieri Food, by Guy Fieri. Shelf essential? No. Full of over-the-top, outlandish dishes (Irish nachos?) that most people won't want to cook often, if ever.
Around My French Table by Dorie Greenspan. Shelf Essential? Yes. One of the most reliable and charming cookbooks I've ever worked from. A should-be classic.
Ethan Stowell's New Italian Kitchen, by Ethan Stowell. Shelf essential? On the cusp, but no. Lovely, though.
Mixt Salads, by Andrew Swallow. Shelf essential? No.
Stir, By Barbara Lynch. Shelf essential? Yes. An approachable and reliable book by a renowned Boston chef.
Ad Hoc at Home, By Thomas Keller. Shelf essential? An enormous, beautiful book with some great recipes, but no.
The Pioneer Woman Cooks by Ree Drummond. Shelf essential? On my shelf, yes. I wouldn't dare to speak for anyone else.
Top Secret Recipes Unlocked by Todd Wilbur
Moro by Sam & Sam Clark. Shelf essential? Yes. An all-time favorite. A brilliant and fascinating book about the cuisines of North Africa and the Mediterranean.
Gourmet Today edited by Ruth Reichl. Shelf Essential? No. Not a bad book, but it can't decide if it's aspiring to be an all-purpose classic or something else entirely. It's neither. Recipes are mostly solid, few outstanding.
Mexico, One Plate at a Time by Rick Bayless. Shelf essential? No, but a very useful and reliable Mexican cookbook.
Into the Vietnamese Kitchen by Andrea Nguyen. Shelf essential? Yes. An excellent primer on an extremely exotic and enticing cuisine.
The Sweet Life in Paris by David Lebovitz. Shelf essential? Yes. The Breton buckwheat cake is worth the price of the book. Ditto the chocolate-coconut marshmallows.
A Homemade Life by Molly Wizenberg. Shelf Essential? Yes. This is a lovely memoir with some very lovely recipes.
Milk by Anne Mendelson. Shelf essential? If you want a deeper understanding of fresh dairy products, yes.
Fat by Jennifer McLagan. Yes, unless you're a vegan.
How to Cook Everything Vegetarian by Mark Bittman. Shelf essential? Yes. Even for meat eaters.
Platter of Figs by David Tanis. The jury is still out -- we have to test a few more menus -- but we're guessing no.
The Splendid Table by Lynne Rossetto Kasper. Shelf essential? Absolutely. This is a truly splendid cookbook.
Eat Me by Kenny Shopsin. Shelf Essential? Oh yes, though less for the whack recipes than for the cantankerous Shopsin persona.
Charleston Cuisine by Louis Osteen. Shelf essential? No. Extravagant restaurant food and slapdash recipe-writing.
Arabesque by Claudia Roden. Shelf essential? Excellent cookbook, but no. Not if you already own her classic Book of Middle Eastern Food.
The Whimsical Bakehouse by Liv and Kaye Hansen. Shelf essential? No, but cute.
The Art of Simple Food by Alice Waters. Shelf essential? Yes. Definitely a primer, but a fabulous one. Can I just point out that while the recipes are terrific the book has the charisma of a turnip?
The Best of the Best from Alaska. Shelf essential? No. For kitsch lovers only. Abounds in canned soup casseroles and moose teriyakis. Undoubtedly, Sarah Palin has a copy.
The Cuisine of California by Diane Rossen Worthington. Shelf essential? No. Dated.
Revolutionary Chinese Cookbook by Fuchsia Dunlop. Shelf essential? Yes, especially if you're a Chinese food fanatic and want to delve into its regional cuisines. Though some of the recipes are too weird even for me, the beef with cumin was one of the best things I've ever cooked.
The Seventh Daughter by Cecilia Chiang. Shelf essential? Sure, though if there's only room in your collection for one "basic" Chinese cookbook go for Barbara Tropp's Modern Art of Chinese Cooking.
My Bombay Kitchen by Niloufer Ichaporia King. Shelf essential? Yes! Why? Cardamom cake. And everyone needs one Parsi cookbook.

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Saturday, December 05, 2009

Not home yet, just looks like it

13 comments: