Coconut Red Lentil Soup

Years ago, two of my favorite neighbors hosted a soup party. It was an inspiring affair - big pots of simmering soups and stews, house full of chatty, friendly people. Part of what I liked was the simple premise. The hosts (David & Holly) made a number of soups, guests were asked to arrive with their drink of choice and one thing to share - salad, appetizer, or something sweet. One of the vegetarian soups was a beautiful shade of yellow-orange. It was a light-bodied, curry-spiced coconut broth thickened with cooked red lentils and structured with yellow split peas. When I asked Holly to tell me about it, she mentioned it was based on an Ayurvedic dal recipe in the Esalen Cookbook, a favorite of hers. She happened to have an extra copy of the Esalen book, and sent me home with my belly full, a new cookbook tucked under my arm, and a few suggestions related to the soup. I still make this soup regularly, love it (so much!), and thought it might be fun to revisit it today in video form - enjoy!

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Other things worth noting related to this soup - the slivered green onions sauteed in butter or coconut oil. The golden raisins that plump up with curry broth. Back notes of ginger. Depth from a good dollop of tomato paste. It all comes together in one amazing bowl of restorative goodness.

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Melissa Clark's Black Bean Skillet Dinner

I'm not sure anyone loves a one-pot / one-pan dinner more than me. It's probably one of the reasons I'm so hung up on soups. At any rate, I'm alway on the lookout for inspired ideas related to the one-pan approach, and was excited to come across a fantastic example of a hearty, satisfying, flavor-packed black bean skillet dinner in Melissa Clark's new cookbook. To be fair, I've flagged a lot of recipes in this book (I love Melissa's recipes). But, as in this case, it's even better when I don't need to make a run to the store ;) My guess is many of you have a good chunk of the ingredients on hand as well, and you can see how it comes together in the video below!

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I forgot to mention in the video, but you can certainly make the pickled onions, and the crema up to a few days ahead of time. I mean, they come together in a flash, but sometimes its nice to be able to just grab for the special toppings.

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Crunchy Breakfast Magic - One Cereal & Five Ideas

Everyone should make their own breakfast cereal blend now and then. Stand in front of the bulk bin section at the grocery store with some little baggies or containers, and fill them with a medley of cereals, fruits, seeds, nuts, and the like. Stir together, and keep in a jar. That's what happened here, but I think I happily landed on something extra special. The emphasis is on crunch, something to counter the creaminess of a smoothie, or acai bowls. The players? Six ingredients. Crispy quinoa, puffed brown rice, chia, hemp, and flax seeds tossed into a jar with a generous scoop of mesquite flour (which you can skip if you can't find it). That's it. Keep it in plain sight and you'll find yourself reaching for it constantly. I initially thought of this as a homemade cereal that you'd have with milk/mylk or yogurt, but the crunchy magic seems to work its way into all sorts of other preparations. The video (below) demonstrates how the cereal comes together, and then goes into a handful of other ideas including homemade power bars using this as the base. Enjoy!

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As I mention in the video - keep your eyes peeled for mesquite flour. It's very much worth seeking out, and you'll find yourself using it in everything from oatmeal to smoothies, and this cereal. Made from the ground pods of mesquite trees, the resulting flour is sweet, malty, fragrant, nutritious, and one of my favorite flours to bake with. It can be tough to find, but as I'm typing this, I'm realizing that adding a scoop of cacao powder instead for a chocolate version, might be scandalously good.

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Places I love: Honolulu

We went to Honolulu recently for a quick get-away and a number of you have asked me for the details. I'll be honest and tell you, very little planning went into this trip. We booked the flight and hotels just a few days before leaving and crossed our fingers. With the exception of one day (a day trip to the North Shore), we didn't bother renting a car, and walked, bused, or ride-shared. I love the city on a beach setting, and didn't mind the hustle bustle at all. It was also fun to walk around and wander through the old hotels, and neighborhoods. The weather was beautiful, water warm, beaches welcoming, and from San Francisco it was a direct five-hour flight - we flew out in the morning and were on the beach after lunch. So, for any of you considering a visit, here's a short list of a few of the places, meals, and details that made our trip to Honolulu really great. We do a lot of marathon flights and itineraries, and this was the opposite of that kind of trip, in the best ways imaginable.

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Hotels: We picked two just to switch things up a bit...

- Parc Waikiki: Across the street from Waikiki Beach

- Surfjack: Five minute walk from beach (and a short walk from the first hotel we stayed in)

Places to Eat:

- The Pig & the Lady (vegan pho was on point)
- Town
- Bill's - easy brunch / dinner
- Piggy Smalls
- BLT Market (bar) - go at sunset for a drink / open air, beautiful interior
- ARS Cafe & Gelato (Diamond Head)
- Sunny Days (Diamond Head)

Shops & Markets:

- Olive & Oliver Hawaii (at Surfjack Hotel)

- Paiko & Arvo Cafe

- We weren't there on a Saturday, so we missed the largest farmers' market, but(!) we went to the Wednesday evening one at Neal Blaisdell Center where there were a handful of farms with their produce, as well as a pretty broad selection of prepared foods that you could sit and enjoy on the lawn with local families.

Gifts:

- Tin Can Mailman (pop in before/after lunch at Pig & the Lady)

- Mama'o Soap
- Makai Sea Salt Soap
- Kahala Tea
- Bolt Energy Tea (black & green teas, yerba mate', schizandra, mamaki, and more)
- Paiko ('OHI Hawaii Flora book)

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