We had a great time. We’ve done so many fun activities like Kayak Rental Maui, swimming, paddle boarding, and just relaxing! The food hasn’t let us down either. The fabulous lunch we had at Mama’s Fish House was not the only delicious food we had on Maui.

One night we ate at Leilani’s On The Beach. The food was good, and we especially enjoyed the Spicy Tuna Tower -Sushi rice, avocado, micro greens, and spicy ahi.

Honestly though, it was really all about the stunning ocean sunset view. We arrived just in the nick of time, there was a complete frenzy of people trying to get “the perfect shot.”

I think I go with it!

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I’m a bit tardy in getting today’s post up… yesterday was a looong and somewhat painful day on the Big Island. I don’t want to focus on that today, since I’m looking back at Maui. I’ll tell and show you (show and tell) about the painful but extraordinary experience in the days to come.

In the previous post, I told you about our drive down the Road to Hana. On the way back, we stopped at the famed Mama’s Fish House.

We were told that if there was one place you Must eat in Maui, it was Mama’s. Thank you to everyone who directed us there!

Not only is the food outstanding, fresh, well prepared, and expertly presented, but somehow the atmosphere is upscale without being at all stuffy. It is relaxing and laid-back. The decor is so eclectic, that it’s a true feast for the eyes.

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As I type this, I am sitting on the patio of a B&B outside of Hilo, Hawaii (the big island) in a torrential downpour. It is 9:40 pm Hawaii time, 12:40 am at home in Arizona. We are at the end of day seven of our trip, but I am going to start this post with Day 1.

We arrived in Maui on Wednesday, May 22nd in the early evening and got to our hotel after sunset.

On Thursday morning, we hit the ground running. After a room service breakfast at the Royal Lahaina, we took to the “Road to Hana” for the day.

Just the opportunity to see this gorgeous tree, in person, would be worth the drive. It is the rainbow eucalyptus, Mindanao gum, or rainbow gum tree. Isn’t it amazing!?!

But there is more than one pretty tree and a cool surfboard fence to see along the way.

Our first stop was Twin Falls. You enter through a tiny little passage at Wailele Farms.

There are two separate falls, this is the first, with a lovely swimming hole.

After the small fall, you continue to hike another 15 minutes or so and go past this cool rock/tree bridge thing.

And eventually, the path ends at the second, taller fall.

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I was using up the wheat berries that I had left in my freezer from THIS recipe. You could use cooked quinoa, Israeli (pearl) couscous, farro, bulgur, or barley for this delicious and refreshing summer salad.

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As I mentioned a few days ago, I make it my mission to clean out the fresh food in my refrigerator before we go out of town. The easiest way to do that in the winter is to make a soup and the easiest way the rest of the year is to make pasta. I call this “garbage” pasta because I’ll put any and everything in it.

This particular time, I had a partial box of cherry tomatoes plus fresh heirloom tomatoes from my garden. In addition, there were partial bags of green beans and sugar snap peas. I always have garlic and onion on hand, so those always start the dish.

The first step is to get a big pot of water boiling. Add salt and blanch vegetables such as green beans, sugar snap peas, asparagus, snow peas, carrots, broccoli, and cauliflower for a couple of minutes. Use a slotted spoon or spider to remove them and have a big bowl of ice water ready to drop them into – to stop the cooking.

Once they’ve cooled down, drain and set aside.

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Connor requested two things for his birthday dinner – Grilled Pizza and Baby Back Ribs.

I can easily do that and was more than happy to fulfill his modest request!

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I made Connor a special breakfast to celebrate his birthday. As I’ve mentioned before, Connor loves lobster!

This lobster dinner, 13 years ago in Maine, was to celebrate his birthday too.

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Happy 22nd Birthday to my fabulous son, Connor!

Please know that even though I’m not with you today, you are in my heart and on my mind.  I love you from here to the moon and back! xoxo

Here is the classic and easy-to-make chocolate sheet cake I made for my boy. With lots of pictures showing each step. I was camera happy this day!

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Whenever I’m leaving town for more than a couple days, the first thing I think of, is how to use up all the fresh food in the refrigerator. The night before we leave, I usually make a big “garbage” pasta dish. “Garbage” as in, throwing any and every thing into it.

I’ll show you what that pasta dish looked like in a future post. Today, I’m showing you what I did with an unopened bag of arugula that would have been too much for the pasta.

I used it to make pesto and then I froze the pesto for later use.

Pesto is a sauce originating in Genoa, which is in the Liguria region of northern Italy (pesto genovese),and traditionally consists of crushed basil, garlic, and pine nuts that are blended with olive oil, Parmigiano Reggiano and Fiore Sardo (cheese made from sheep’s milk). The name is from the word pestâ (Italian: pestare), which means to pound, to crush, in reference to the original method of preparation, with marble mortar and a wooden pestle. The ingredients in a traditionally made pesto are ground with a circular motion of the pestle in the mortar. Nowadays it’s most commonly made in a food processor, at least in the States, it is.

Although basil, Parmesan, and pine nuts are the traditional pesto ingredients, feel free to use any variety and combination of greens or herbs, nuts, and cheese.  Here are just a few combinations to get your creative juices flowing. Mix and match to make your own signature pesto.

• Cilantro and Pepitas
• Parsley, Anchovy, and Capers
• Sage, Parsley, and Hazelnuts
• Spinach in place or in addition to the Basil
• Mixed Herb; Basil, Mint, Cilantro, Parsley, with Spinach and Asiago
• Dill, Lemon, Walnut, and Romano
• Fennel Fond

I’ve given this tip before, but it merits repeating. When you have a thick or sticky mixture in a food processor. Remove what you easily can with a rubber spatula, then put the bowl back on the machine and process for just a second or two. The stuff on the blade will be thrown off to the sides of the bowl by centrifugal force and you’ll be able to get all the mixture easily from the bowl.

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Yesterday afternoon, I stopped in for a last-minute pedicure, before hopping on a plane for our first vacation of the summer.

So, to get myself in the vacation mood, I did what most women do and went for a pedicure.

We’re going to a location where pretty toes are a must.

How about a little guessing game as to just where we are jetting off to?

Hint #1 – It’s one of the 50 states.
You have a 1 out of 50 chance to get it right.

Hint #2 – It is bordered by an ocean, gulf, or bay.
1 out of 23 chance

Hint #3 – It’s the Pacific Ocean that this state borders.
1 out of 5 chance

Do you really need me to narrow it down a bit more?

OK…

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