This is my kind of Christmas: island style.
Happy Holidays to all my friends and family!
Tuesday, December 24, 2013
Sunday, December 22, 2013
I said my farewells to my family this morning over breakfast at Coolers before they drove off to the airport. We had a great visit filled with sun, sand and delicious food. It's amazing how quickly a week goes by. It never seems like enough time. I'm looking forward to making the trip out to Tahoe over the summer to see them all again.
{Hana, Dad and Mom enjoying the goods at Star Noodle}
After seeing Mom, Dad and Hana off this morning, I did some grocery shopping and then hit the kitchen. After a week of eating out for every meal, I wanted to focus on having healthy, home cooked meals for this upcoming week. I made a Carrot and Sweet Potato Soup, Green Bean and Potato Salad, and a Veggie Curry with Kale using the highly recommended simmer sauce from Maya Kaimal.
It's going to be nice to have ready made meals all week as I get back into the grind at work. It's going to be crazy busy at the restaurant as droves of tourists come to the island for vacation. I'm looking forward to making big money!
Thursday, December 19, 2013
One of the best parts of living on the island is able to treating your family like kings and queens when they come out to visit. A friend of mine helped me got us on board the Gemini, a catamaran that specializes in whale watches and snorkel cruises, and we got the royal treatment today on our snorkel cruise to hot spot Olowalu.
{Hana, Mom and Dad}
The crew of the Gemini scooped us up along with 16 other guests from the shoreline at Ka'anapali and whisked us away towards our snorkel destination: Olowalu. Olowalu is a well-known snorkel spot on Maui. The offshore reef is one of the largest on Maui, and it's relatively shallow, making it a great snorkel spot with entry from land and sea.
{panoramic of the west side of the island}
{Hana and Mom catching some rays}
{Dad}
{throwing double shakas from the bow}
{can't get enough of the gorgeous West Maui Mountains}
{Hana}
{the Beatys watching for whales from the trampolines}
{thar she blows!}
On our way to Olowalu, we scared up quite a few schools of Flying Fish. They flicked up out of the ocean and glided across the water in scattered directions. We also spotted Humpback Whales all around us--most of them were far off in the distance, but we all got a kick watching them blow and breach. We were lucky enough to encounter a pair of juveniles off the bow. This is definitely the closest I've gotten to whales so far this season. It's a good sign!
{Wilson is the mascot on the Gemini}
{Dad was first on the boat, and he was first in line to get in the water and snorkel}
Olowalu is a spot that I've snorkeled at often, but this is the first time that I've accessed it by boat, and it was a treat to jump into deeper waters. The Gemini moored over a turtle cleaning station, a designated spot among the turtles for some rest and relaxation where friendly fish friends swing by to help nibble some of the algae that have started growing on the turtle shells.
{diving in looking for honus or turtles}
{Honu!}
{Hana}
{turtle cleaning station--those are a pair of turtle flippers at the top of the photo...he was on his way out}
{at the carwash...erm, turtle wash!}
{Dad meets honu}
After our snorkel, the Gemini crew served lunch: fried rice, teriyaki chicken and fresh fish. We drank some cocktails on our sail back and continue to look for whales. As we were rounding back towards Ka'anapali, a small pod of spinner dolphins raced towards us and torpedoed under our boat as they raced back to Lanai from Maui.
Dad said our trip today was like seeing the Big 5 in Africa. We got the ultimate ocean safari with the Gemini: whales, dolphins, turtles, and flying fish! We were so lucky to have been hosted by such a gracious and knowledgeable crew. Definitely a day for the books.
I'm a lucky girl and my family is out visiting me for Christmas! I took the week off work, and I'm playing tourist with Mom, Dad and Hana.
{sipping cocktails poolside}
{sunset walk on the beach}
{scoping out the goods while we Christmas shop}
{a group outing to the lake wouldn't be the same without T-Bone}
{what a good boy}
{power walking}
{succulents at the Ali'i Lavender Farm}
{the Beatys walking into the mist at the Lavender Farm}
{pretty protea}
{Mom and Hana}
{Goat Cheese Panna Cotta at the Hali'imaile General Store}
{Beef Carpaccio with a Soft Boiled Egg}
Four more days of Staycation to go. I can't wait to see what we do next!
Saturday, December 14, 2013
In February, I made this awesome walnut-avocado-basil pesto, and it was delicious. I happened to have all the same ingredients on hand today--minus a lemon (which was purchased at the store) and the basil (which was plucked from a towering basil bush growing in the front of the house). It's an easy sauce to assemble and make, and tastes delicious on everything: toast, pita, and pasta, of course.
I food processed a huge clove of garlic, toasted walnuts, some lemon zest, the juice of half a lemon and a swirl of olive oil until the garlic and walnuts were pulverized.
I then added half an avocado, a huge handful of basil (about 1/4 cup), and some salt and pepper to the mixture and blended until smooth. I added another swirl or two of olive oil as I went along to get the texture I was looking for.
While I was working on the pesto, I had a pot of salted water boiling for the whole wheat gnocchi I had picked up at the store.
When the gnocchi was cooked (wait for a few to come popping up to the surface), I reserved a quarter cup of the pasta water just in case I wanted to smooth out the sauce some more when I mixed it in with the cooked pasta (fancy cooking tip).
I drained the pasta and returned it to the pot where I mixed in the pesto, a splash of the pasta water, and freshly grated pecorino cheese. I had some leftover toasted walnuts that didn't make it into the food processor, so I used them to garnish the plate along with a palm full of teeny, tiny olives.
Fast. Easy. Homemade. And delicious!
Before I leave you, a little sunset awesomeness from last week to feast your eyes on.
Tuesday, December 10, 2013
I got invited to tag along on the Alii Nui, the 65 foot sailing catamaran, on a snorkel cruise to Molokini Crater.
It was an impromptu invite, offered over drinks and dinner at Captain Jack's last night as Bryan, Jess and I were snacking and watching Will play music. Jess works on the Alii Nui and told me there was plenty of room on the Molokini snorkel charter if I wanted to jump aboard in the morning. I hesitated for a millisecond as I considered the inconveniences of squeezing in a boating snorkel trip before going into work later. I decided that it would be totally worth it.
I got up early in the morning, drove to south side of the island to Maalaea harbor and boarded the Alii Nui.
The Alii Nui is the largest sailing catamaran on Maui. Because of its size, the crew can offer the most luxurious sailing adventures. There's plenty of room above and below deck to sprawl out and relax on your way to the snorkeling destination. The boat is pristine and the crew delivers outstanding service. The crew's mission is to make you feel like royalty, like the boat's namesake. Alii Nui denoted the Hawaiian royalty.
{looking back at the windmills}
Sailing out from Maalaea on the south side of the island offered views of Maui that I had never seen from the water before. I loved looking at the long line of white windmills marching up the backside of the West Maui Mountains.
Even though I've lived here over three years, I still have never made it over to the famous snorkel destination, Molokini Crater. It's an incredibly popular snorkel and scuba diving spot that can only be reached by boat, as the small half moon crater is off island.
{about to circumnavigate Molokini}
It took us about an hour to get to Molokini from Maalaea harbor. The ocean was incredibly glassy and calm, making it easy to spot flying fish and a handful of whales.
{panoramic view of Molokini's backside}
{Captain Aaron at the helm}
{easy access to the water}
After a quick safety talk, Captain Aaron ushered us down the steps and into the ocean.
Under the water, there was so much going on. Lots of fun, colorful fish. Mounds of prickling sea urchin.
I spotted this eel undulating above the coral. I followed him and his blue ulua escort, the bright blue fish with electric blue spots. It was hard to tell who was chasing whom, but I followed the eel as it slipped over and through the coral.
{you can see the blue ulua, also known as a trevally}
{the blue ulua}
The Alii Nui also employs a photographer. Harold took photos on board as well as underwater, and he got some super sweet shots of me playing in and around and through rings he blew out as he dove below me.
{shot by Harold Giger}
{shot by Harold Giger}
{shot by Harold Giger}
After about an hour and a half of snorkeling and playing with bubbles thanks to Harold, I got back on board and relished the warm fresh water shower on deck. Talk about fancy!
I toweled off, wrapped up and got lunch below deck. On our way out of Molokini, the crew was able to let loose the sails, and we got to sail part of the way home.
On our way back to the harbor, we saw a few more whales. We didn't get mugged, but it's still the closest I've gotten to the whales so far this season. It's still pretty early on still, so it's only a matter of time before it's whale soup out there!
I had an amazing trip with the Alii Nui crew, and even though I was just a tag along, I still felt like a queen. The boat is a beauty, and the crew sailing her is some of the best.
After a full day in the sun and the water, I'm feeling supremely delirious. I cannot wait to go to sleep tonight!
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