Creamy Whipped Hummus & Pesto Recipes July 5, 2010

Aloha!

I just had a special request  from my mom,  for my Hum-azing Hummus and  Pesto Recipes. I have to admit, these are 2 quite DELICIOUS concoctions. I thought you might enjoy trying them. Super TASTY, easy and so versatile. I didn’t invent these, but I sure have perfected them! We like them as a spread in our wraps and also yummy just as a dip with veggies or anything.  These are 2 staples we like to keep on hand at all times. Its all about the sauces!!  (In this pic, I actually put the parsley in, however, I recommend keeping it creamy and just garnish with it)

Hope you enjoy.

Also, don’t forget how easy it is to grow basil. Just take a stem from your bunch and plant it. It will grow!!!!

…into a plant that you can use for a long time… I love it. Still amazes me!  It is so awesome to be able to just go outside and get some basil from my yard.  (See my purple basil pic)

So the main thing I use in these recipes is the food processor. I couldn’t live with out it. So if you have that, these are really easy.  

Hum-Azing Hummus- Whipped Creamy

1 Cup Garbanzo Beans (Soak overnight, rinse, then boil/simmer until very soft/drained)

1/2 Cup Tahini

4 Large Cloves Garlic Minced (extra if you want spicy garlic topping)

1/2 Cup Lemon Juice

1/3+ Cup Olive Oil

A little water

Parsley for garnish

3/4 Tsp. Ground Cumin

Salt/Pepper

The important first step is to process the tahini and lemon juice. Make sure you really cook the beans SOFT. Then add the beans, garlic, olive oil, salt pepper cumin, and a little water to get it going. Drizzle in olive oil until super creamy. Process until very smooth. I like to garnish with parsley and add a few tablespooons of minced garlic soaked in olive oil and cayenne pepper to the top of the fresh batch once its in your bowl. This definitely has a kick! YUM!

Hope ya like it!

Pretty Pesto

4 Cups Basil (Use a variety if you have)

3-4 Garlic Cloves Minced

1/2 Cup Parmesean Grated (omit if desired, still very tasty without)

1/ 3 Cup Pine Nuts (soaked  30 min)

1/2 Cup Olive Oil or any oil

1/4 Cup Lemon Juice

Salt / Pepper

Love…

Have your garlic minced.

In the food processor- chop the basil with a few pulses.

Add parm, nuts, lemon juice. Secure your lid.

Process while you drizzle the oil in through the opening. Use as much oil as you want until it reaches the ultimate consistency for your taste buds!

… mmmm

Then, stir in the salt and pepper and I know you are sure to enjoy this one. One of THE best!

Wishing you fun in the kitchen!

Aloha~

Sara

Random Fun on Maui July 1, 2010

Aloha! I was putting together pictures of my friend Stephanies trip out here and decided to post it. We had SO much fun and saw sooo much beauty I just had to share. From Secret Beaches and Bamboo Forests, swinging vines in Hana, and a Monk Seal on Red Sands!!!! You are sure to enjoy the lovely blast of Maui. I know we did!

Sending lots of love…

Chris & Sara

(Click the pic to view slideshow)

Butterfly Effect June 16, 2010

A couple of months ago I experienced an awesome water event that took place here on the North Shore of Maui. A friend of ours Tatiana Howard, together with her friend  Juliana Shelef, holds an event, a” worldwide water woman movement – promoting women and ocean sports”.  The Butterfly Effect basically brings women together FOR TONS O FUN celebrating the love of the ocean and watersports !! There are women of all ages and skill sets that get together for a group joy ride down the coast!! It is sooo awesome!  I did the Stand Up Paddle board but there were windsurfers and kitesurfers as well.

We all gathered at Hookipa Beach in the morning for some good stretching, a Hawaiian Blessing, a release of butterflies, and then took a paddle (or a kite or a sail) down the beach to Kanaha. Since it was windy and wavy that day we decided to launch at Sprecks instead. I had an absolute blast!!! It was gnarly though!! You can’t tell from the pics… it looks all serene, but it was hard! There is a current, waves, and wind!

Seing as we have only paddled for fun in mellow conditions, this was a big deal for me. I almost didnt go at the last minute, but I am sooooooo glad I did!

Thanks to the photographers  Nate Volk, Batel Shimi, Jimmie Hepp and Dan Rayburn; by helicopter, Kevin Pritchard; and video from both land and sea, Jonas Marpot.

MAHALO  for the great pics. You guys really captured the joy we all experienced that day!

I put together a little vid of the day.  Enjoy~          

I just think it is so awesome to see women putting together events like these! Tatiana did a great job putting this together.  You can check out her site here:

www.tatianahoward.com

The Butterfly Effect began in Hawaii in 2007 by water women, Tatiana Howard and Juliana Shelef.  Since then, the founders have flown around the world to organize affiliated events in Brazil, New Zealand, France, Oregon, Germany, Tahiti, Dominican Republic and Australia, and hundreds of international women have joined the movement…

More info here:

http://www.betheeffect.com/

Wishing you a beautiful day~

Lots of Love~ Sara

PS- Check out the shot of this Monarch Butterfly I got in Hana one day!!!        

Chris’s Paddle Adventure May 26, 2010

Chris paddles 8 miles from Maliko Gulch to Kanaha for a trial run of the upcoming Olukai Stand Up Paddle Race…

Check out the adventure…

Click the picture below to watch the video~

Tye Die Yogi Visits Maui + Appreciating Friends May 25, 2010

Don’t you just love when amazing connections are made. And you find a new, true friend when you are least expecting it? It doesn’t happen enough. And when it does, it is powerful! Well, we had that happen to us with a very special person recently. We have a friend in Arizona (an amazing Yoga Instructor) Maieta. She made the connection between a friend of hers from up state NY, Joseph, a.k.a “Tye Die Yogi”,  and us here on Maui. She “introduced” us and we met him when he came out for a visit back in March.  Thanks Maieta for the new friend! We had  a blast! He has been making Tye Die for years and is absolutely amazing with it (as you will see in the slideshow below). He is on quite the journey and we are so glad to have crossed paths with him. He fit right in here on the island and touched many people while he was here. We just wanted to put a blast out to Joseph and share some cool pics we got while he was here. Thanks Joseph for all that philosophizin’, you handsome little bearded monk seal! LOL. Plus, we got to go scuba diving, paddle boarding, swimming and even got a tie dye lesson. (trust me, its harder than it looks!)  And thanks Joseph for reminding us to be grateful for our true friends. They really are rare and should be appreciated. If it weren’t for friends where would we be?!?!!? So here is a friendly reminder to tell your friends how much you love and appreciate them. We think its important and probably not done enough.

So thanks to ALL of our true friends! We LOVE you tons! You are very important us.

ALoha~C&S      
PS. Heard a great quote that we loved, “A stranger is just a friend you haven’t met yet.” ….. Somethin’ to think about….

Sunset in the Clouds-Haleakala Crater May 24, 2010

Hello friends and scenic nature lovers! I have a beautiful video for you. (Click on the sunset above to view player) We took Chris’s mom and her hubby for a drive up Haleakala Crater a few weeks ago for a sunset above the clouds. Don’t be fooled. This is Maui like you never expected. It feels like you are on another planet up there! It was FREEZING cold and there was high wind advisory! Whew! The top is 10,0oo feet. And the sunset from here is spectacular. Its like an ocean of clouds…

Enjoy it with us~

Love Chris & Sara

PS- You can expand the video full screen after you have opened the video, by clicking the 4 arrows below it on the right.

How to Make Noni Juice from “The Tree of Life” May 12, 2010

So we have recently come across an interesting fruit here on Maui. Its history is rich and varied. It is called Noni. And it goes back as far as 2,000-3,000 years. Ancient Polynesians knew this tree as “The Tree of Life” and is very treasured as a healing tonic. It has a slew of health benefits that are used on ailments that range from cough, nausea and sprain, to bone fractures, dislocations, skin disorders, hypertension, stomach ache, diabetes, loss of appetite, urinary tract ailments, abdominal swelling, hernias, and vitamin A deficiencies. And many more!!!

It is highly regarded in the Hawaiian tradition. There is a ton of intriguing info out there on Noni. But be cautious of using any sugary, fruity noni concoctions. The healing benefits are in the bark, leaves, fruit and 100% juice of the Noni.

We actually went through the entire process of picking, fermenting and finally tasting the Noni. A process that takes 2 months! We had to share this most fascinating tropical fruit. Thanks to our friend Troy for letting us pick from his tree! Mahalo!        And enJOY~

<—–Chris eating from the Noni Tree of Knowledge-

PS- If you click on the 4 arrows below the video, it will enlarge to Full Screen- Press Esc to minimize it back.

Garden Harvest & Raw Recipe for Creamy Tomato Basil Soup- May 10, 2010

Aloha! Well we had a beautiful harvest  from our garden. Fennel, Carrots, Beets and tons o’ greens! We also had a huge ration of tomatoes. So I decided to make a quick and easy, DELICIOUS Creamy Tomato Soup. It was so yummy and simple, that I figured I had to share it with you.

I used some dulce seaweed for a mineral rich saltiness and avo for the creamy heartiness. A little touch of fresh basil, and topped with licorice like fennel seeds.  Mmmmm.

I used:

• Large bunch of tomatoes
• 1/4 Large Avocado
• 2 Tbs lemon juice (oops and a few seeds)
• 6 or so leaves of basil
• Small handful of Dulse Seaweed (Raw Wildcrafted- I used Earth Circle Foods) You can order it and more yummy nutritious food staples at http://www.therawfoodworld.com/  We love this store and the owners are amazing.
• 1/2 Cup Water
• Pinch of Seasalt (be careful here depending on how much seaweed you used)
• A few dashes of Volcano Spice or cayenne seasoning

Put all that in the blender and blend until it gets to the consistency you like. Top it off with a drizzle of EVOO, fennel seeds, a touch of dulse flakes and a few sprigs of fresh basil.

It literally took me longer to write this recipe than to make it. Let me know if you try it and what you think.

Hopefully we will post more this week for you, as we have a TON of great stuff to share with you. We have had some amazing hikes, beaches, trip to Hana, Haleakala Crater, Taro Festival and more! I will put together some slideshows and get them up asap! I know some of you are feenin for your Maui blast. Sorry to keep ya hangin’! Just catching up on house chores, gardening etc.

Chris’s Mom and her hubby Don came to stay with us from Arizona, so we got to play around a bit!! Whooo hoo!!! That was a fun trip and glad you guys made it out for a little rest and rejuvenation~ON MAUI~

Love -
Chris & Sara

Cherimoya Fruit/Custard Apple- a.k.a. Romantic Fruit April 25, 2010

Aloha!!

We are sooo excited to share this most succulent tropical fruit with you ~ The heart shaped Cherimoya Fruit (also known as “Romantic Fruit” ).   It is pretty much the epitomy of tropical fruit (in my opinion) … It seriously tastes like a custardy blend of pear, banana, mango, pineapple, lilikoi, vanilla, coconut HEAVEN! All mixed into one!!!! You’ll have to try one to believe us~

It is said to be enjoyed with a loved one … so we wanted to eat it with YOU!

Here is the video so you can see its succulence in person! (so to speak..)

The cherimoya tree is a native of the Andes Mountain range in South America, the mountain area between Colombia to Bolivia, at an altitude of 1000 to 2000m. But we got ours LOCAL here on Maui, from Mana Foods, our local Organic Store. I am soaking my seeds now and will plant them soon. I guess they grow pretty fast. Now for the meantime, I need to find us the supply tree! Possibly trade some bananas??? ….

Cherimoyas are a rich source of Vitamin C, Calcium, and Niacin. The Incas enjoyed these in ancient times. They used it as an aphrodisiac and to improve fertility… hmmm…. be careful with this one! LOL.

This would be an awesome  base for a creamy green smoothie or even as 5 Star Raw Ice Cream treat! Ooo la la… Or just slice into wedges and scoop out the meat. Loving these!!!

Here is a picture of it growing on the tree Thanks to tradewindsfruit.com. (where you can purchase these seeds!) This was one of the few pics I could find of the whole tree, believe it or not. I will definitely be looking for the tree here on island for more fruit and some personal pics for you guys!

Harvesting Bananas on Maui & Green Smoothies March 24, 2010

Aloha!! We are going BANANAS over here in the jungle!!!! LOL!  Look at all our bananas!!

Have you ever seen what your bananas looked like on the tree before they got to you? Ever seen someone harvest bananas? Well, here’s your chance! Because Chris loooves to harvest bananas and we loooove to EAT bananas!!! We are very lucky to have a pretty good size banana orchard here on our property. We go through a lot of bananas as they are a wonderful base for the PERFECT GREEN smoothie. And we loooove green smoothies!

So here is a video of Chris harvesting bananas: (and the property dog, Bella) <—– No I didn’t name her!!!

And here is a DELICIOUS Green Smoothie Recipe (for 2) for you to try: Share it with someone you love~

• 1-2 Large Bananas (or 3 small local variety)
• 1/4 Pineapple
• 4 Large Kale Leaves
• Large handful of Spinach
• Large handful of Sunflower Sprouts
• 1/2 Cup Ice
• Water as desired (more for thinner smoothie/less for thicker

Blend and enjoy!~ This smoothie is chock full of yummy nutrients that your body will thank you for! Try one! You will LOVE it.  PROMISE!!!