Summer Squash delight from Cousin Rick's Bistro...

The men in my family all know how to cook, and I'm always eager to learn a trick or two. Here's a delightful summer meal that is nutritious and light, and won't keep you slaving over a hot stove.

Here is Rick’s six minute meal, in his own words:

Saute fresh yellow squash in olive oil with spring onions (lots), little green pepper and few spinach leaves, season with salt, pepper and garlic powder .until onions golden brown (high heat) /// six minutes.
In another pan 1/4 cup water, teaspoon of olive oil, salt, little black pepper garlic and asparagus, bring to boil on high heat ... till water boils off. four-five minutes, max. keeps the asparagus crunchy. Add to squash. Prepare Trader Joe’s shrimp fried rice (frozen) takes 3-4 mins. I use the pan from the asparagus (has left over olive oil) to quick heat the rice adding a little soy or sesame sauce. Whole meal takes just 6 minutes, start to finish. 2 sauce pans. Easy clean up.

Says Rick, I never spend more than 30 mins in the kitchen. Using fresh veggies I can usually fix a meal in 15-20 mins. ‘Course I rarely have meat. Enjoy!

got hibachi?

This afternoon I cleaned out the 'fridge and we took it all and the hibachi to the beach, Bob and I.

Nothing fancy, basic grub. Just using up what's in the larder, adding a little imagination and plenty of love.

We had one potato left, half an onion, a jalapeno, some garlic. Sliced 'em all up, tossed the mixture in olive oil, added salt and pepper, divided into two and wrapped in aluminum foil packets. We used to make this in Girl Scouts, only we added some ground beef and cut up carrots and called it "camper's stew." Loved it then, love it now. If you cook it and eat it indoors, it's pretty average. Needs the spice of fresh air and the excitement of night falling to bring it alive.

Had some frozen hamburger patties to be finished off, and luckily, two buns. A tasty Braeburn apple and some Swiss cheese. Poured our wine into two empty Vitamin Water bottles, just in case the Beach Wine Nazis were out...

We watched a group of teenagers throw a Frisbee and run races across the sand. Showing off for each other, they were oblivious to us. We were like two birds on a wire to them.

The air was warm and smelled like kiawe trees.

After dark a family came with a lantern and a bucket, digging for sand crabs. Their voices against the backdrop of shushing waves, an old, familiar song.

One haole loco moco

This year is the 60th anniversary of the loco moco (a.k.a. code blue plate special.) If you eat it with a big green salad, it cancels out some of the sodium, fat and cholesterol. Maybe.

Traditionally, a loco moco is a scoop or two of sticky rice topped with a ground beef patty or other meat, smothered in gravy (we like turkey or chicken gravy even with hamburger), an over-easy fried egg on the top. (You might be tempted to reinvent this as a healthy meal, using brown rice, tofu... but don't go there.)

So I go surfin' on the net and find this about the history of loco moco:

Says Linda Stradley, “There are many people who claim to have invented Loco Moco, but it is generally agreed that around 1949, either the Cafe 100 or the Lincoln Grill (both in Hilo, Hawaii) originated the first dish of Loco Moco. According to the story, the dish was created for teenagers who wanted something different from typical American sandwiches and less time-consuming than Asian food to eat for breakfast. The nickname of the first boy to eat this concoction was Loco ("crazy" in Portuguese and Hawaiian pidgin). Moco rhymed with loco and sounded great, so Loco Moco became the name of the dish.”

Whatevahs. Jeeze, it's not like they invented kryptonite, or the cure for cancer. It's what's for dinner!

In tonight’s version we’re using up a handful of mushrooms and the last of the green onions. We’re using gravy from a jar. Of course homemade gravy tastes much better but this ain’t Thanksgiving dinner, folks. This is rather formulaic semi-fast food: 1.Put beef or whatever on rice. 2.Add gravy. 3.Top with runny egg.

You wanna be healthy, add a salad. We’re having Kohala greens. We buy ‘em in a bag locally at the KTA in Waimea, and I LOVE the little orange nasturtium petals the growers sprinkle in. Tossed with a dab of Maui Onion salad dressing from a bottle, it adds color to the rather bland colored loco moco, not to mention a dose of antioxidants and ZING.

While we’re cooking we’re listening to Hapa’s Maui cd. Bob’s drinking a beer and I’m finishing last night’s wine. (Some things have changed in our lives. We never used to have leftover wine…)

Don’t forget to serve it up with plenty of love and aloha. That's the real secret we've discovered from the locals.

Bob (and Jimi's) trippin' shrimp scampi

Bob, chef du jour, creates an old favorite pasta recipe while I take on the responsibility of choosing and opening the wine. (A 2007 Sonoma Matanzas Creek Sauvignon Blanc)

Chez nous, the cook gets to choose the tunes; Bob picks Jimi Hendrix to prep to. (Everyone knows that the right wine enhances the flavors of your food but not so many realize the importance of music. The music you play while you cook affects the outcome in mysterious ways. With the influence of Hendrix the scampi was spicy, soulful, searching, leaning toward psychodelic. I definitey recommend it.)

Bob appetit! (That typo was so cute, I think I'll let it stand...)

Psychodelic Shrimp Scampi
(if you want to go on a trip beyond where the red pepper, wine, and music will take you, you'll have to add some ingredients that I don't keep in my cupboards...)

(serves 4-6)
1 cup olive oil (use a good, extra virgin cold pressed variety in this recipe)
1 stick unsalted butter, cut into pieces
8 garlic cloves, chopped fine
1 tbsp (or 1 ½ if you like ‘em even spicier) crushed red pepper flakes
36 medium shrimp (about ¾ pound), shelled and deveined.
1 green pepper, cut up into ¼ inch pieces, seeds removed.
1 red pepper, ditto
1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
1 tsp. sea salt

Spaghetti or linguini, cooked.

In large skillet or wok, heat olive oil and butter over moderate to high heat. Add the garlic and pepper flakes; sauté for about 30 seconds.

Add the shrimp and diced green and red peppers; sauté for 2-3 minutes, until the shrimp turn pink and are just cooked through. Carefully stir in the lemon juice and salt. Serve immediately over cooked spaghetti or linguini. If you want it nice and light, scoop out the shrimp with a slotted spoon and add as much of the oil/butter as you want, tossing it through to coat the pasta.

That was fun!

So last night we found ourselves faced with the age-old question of what to have for dinner. Go out? Order in? No way! That's what's wrong with you kids today: You need to rise to the challenge of fixing something good from what you have on hand. (Well, unless you both worked all day and the cupboards are empty. I'm sure I ordered out once or twice during my working, child-bearing years...)

OK, so Into the freezer I dive. And come up with some steaks. (This shows how spoiled I am. Growing up, we never had steaks. And we had a small farm and raised a steer every year. So we had beef but where were the steaks? There must've been steaks, right? Maybe my parents saved them until we kids were in bed...)

I had half a bag of salad greens left; the really good kind you can only get on the Big Island. Sorry. You can probably substitute some lame California brand, it'll do. Of course if you're a real Cruncher, you are probably growing your own. Bring it on, whatever.

I made a creative honey mustard vinaigrette for the salad. I have the recipe somewhere, but basically it is lemon juice and honey, Dijon mustard, a little salt and pepper, and olive oil. Not too much olive oil, the recipes always call for too much. Since there were only two of us eating, I mixed it up in a little custard cup. Pretty good, for not measuring. Taste as you go.

Meanwhile Bob is doing the manly thing, grilling the steaks after we quick-thawed them in water. We had a problem at first because our outdoor grill is down. (Underground gas leak, feckin high-end appliances! Give me a Weber grill any day.)

The next problem: We discovered our indoor electric grill is broken too. So we pull out the Longhi (some kind of high-end George Forman) and the switch is broken. Bob fixed it somehow (with duct tape, I think, or maybe crazy glue. I don't care, I'm making the salad.)

I don't need starch but he does, so he scrounges in the refrigerator and finds a scoop of leftover white rice. Oh, and I remember we have a handful of asparagus that should be used up before they go bad. So I brush them with olive oil, add sea salt and pepper, and grill them as soon as the steaks are done.

Bob asks what kind of wine I want and I answer, "Something good." So he pulls out a 2003 Terlato Syrah. A gift from our bro-in-law from a couple of Christmases ago. Fruity, jammy, smokey, with hints of fig, black currant, and I'm pulling your leg but it was a damn good swill.

The tunes are on and now we're rockin! The steaks, brushed with some cheap-o barbecue sauce (probably past it's expiration date) were awesome. Ditto on the asparagus and the salad. And John, the syrah was superb. Please send us more next Christmas. How about bustin' loose with a case of it?

Everything came together. What makes a memorable meal is the attitude of the people sharing it. Bob and I started planning another sailing trip. Listening to Monkey Siren, a band we first heard live at the People's Fair, like 20-odd years ago. (How can people cook and eat without music and wine??) Before I knew it Bob was opening another bottle of wine. No more Syrah, this was some run-of-the mill Cab. (Can the kidneys handle it? Oh, yeah. How about the livers? They are well rested and need to be tested.)

Now how fun was that?

Bralen celebrates with Kalbi Beef

For Bralen's second birthday his mother made Kalbi beef for a family-style dinner on the picnic table. Lucky kid!


Kalbi Beef (Korean beef)
Ingredients:
3 lbs Korean cut short ribs ¼ to ½ inch thick
½ cup shoyu
¼ cup sesame oil
1 tbsp sesame seeds
¼ cup sugar
2 garlic cloves minced
3 stalks green onion diced
¼ tsp pepper
½ tsp salt

Mix all ingredients (except for short ribs) in a bowl until the sugar dissolves. Place short ribs in a ziplock bag and pour marinade on top. Seal bag getting as much air out as possible. Lay flat on a baking sheet and place in refrigerator. Marinate for 8 – 24 hours, turning bag over once or twice to ensure all the meat is getting marinated. Cook on grill for 8 – 10 minutes or until desired doneness. Eat with sticky rice and mac salad for a truly Hawaiian “plate lunch”!

Rose's spinach-artichoke dip

This is Rose's tried-and-true appetizer which she made for Rachel's bridal shower last month. I have to concede, it beats my artichoke dip (which I blogged about some weeks back.) This one is probably a little less fattening, and a little healthier because of the spinach. I think I'll be making this one next time.

Who says you can't teach an old dog new tricks?

Artichoke Spinach Dip
Ingredients:
1 box frozen spinach
1 14oz can artichoke hearts in water
1 package ranch dressing mix (powdered mix)
½ cup mayonnaise
1 ½ cups Monterey jack cheese
¼ cup Parmesan cheese
1 tbsp minced onion
1 tsp minced garlic
Salt and pepper to taste

Defrost spinach and squeeze out water. Drain artichoke hearts and rough chop them to desired size. Mix all ingredients together (except for the Parmesan cheese). Place in an oven safe dish and sprinkle Parmesan on top. Bake at 375 for 30 minutes or until bubbly and cheese is melted through. Serve with your favorite bread!