HAWAII!!!!

Sunset from my grandparent's porch. That's the Waikiki Harbor and the Hawaii Yacht Club is there too. Where I had the best lasagne I may have ever eaten. I should have taken a picture.

Ok- I admit it, I've been a bad blogger. Well, perhaps just a lazy one. Part of the reason is that I went on vacation for a week. To beautiful Hawaii. I found a good price on a ticket and then jetted off to Honolulu to stay with my grandparents for a week. I am quite the lucky girl because I have lovely grandparents who live in Waikiki and like it when I visit them, so going to Hawaii is not that unusual of an occurrence for me, but it's not like I don't appreciate and love it! there's just something about the air there, or maybe it's the weather. It's everything. I love visiting my grandparents because they live in walking distance of three things, The Ala Moana Center (quite possibly the world's best shopping center), Waikiki Beach (self-explanatory), and the Outrigger Canoe Club. What's the Outrigger? Well I guess you could say it's like a golf club for canoes! And they have a snack hut where I love to get grilled cheese sandwiches.
But back to the food. I was lucky enough to have my girlfriend Maggie with me on this trip. I say lucky because not only is she one of my best friends and favorite people, but she's also an amazing chef. She went to the CCA (California Culinary Academy) and worked at Cyrus in Healdsburg, CA for the past 2 years. She's now starting her own non-profit called Koolinary. And she made us a lovely dinner one night in Waikiki!
We started out with a delicious salad of mixed greens, mango, crushed macadamia nut, bean sprouts and a gingery avocado vinaigrette (I think). The above photo is another photo from Tutu and Kane's lanai. That's what I call my grandparents by the way. Tutu means grandmother in Hawaiian, and Kane (sounds like Connie) means Man. this is because Hawaii is a matriarchal society and there is no word for grandpa, so they call them Tutu Kane, which means grandma man. This was too confusing to my brother when he was a kid, so they became Tutu and Kane. Or "Toot & Cane" as my dad calls them!
After our refreshing salad we were served the main course: breaded shrimp with rice and sauteed mushrooms, bell peppers, and onions. Once again, I couldn't get enough. And we topped this with a little of the avocado vinaigrette. YUM. Double yum. The shrimp were so good warm, and equally as good cold the next day eaten straight out of a tupperware in the fridge.

It was a very satisfying meal. Light enough to feel good in my bikini the next day, but so flavorful and yummy. Kudos Mags! And thanks!!!!