WELCOME ~ E KOMO MAI

WELCOME ~ E KOMO MAI

I AM STILL STOKED TO NOW INCLUDE MY LATEST TRAVEL POSTS, AS TIME MOVES ON.  IT'S A BIG, WIDE, WONDERFUL, TASTY, WORLD AND I AM SO EXCITED TO SHARE MY EXPERIENCES WITH YOU.  FOOD AND TRAVEL, BABY, JUST GO TOGETHER.

The promise and glorious renewal of Spring, the lazy, hazy, crazy patio-lingering days of Summer, the bounty of overflowing roadside stands and colourful beauty of Autumn and the sheer, homespun warmth and nostalgic comfort zones that Ol' Man Winter heralds.

Oh, the delicious and auspicious possibilities, as the seasons unravel.  

But let's not rush.  Instead let's welcome and linger in our favorite flavour zones as they present themselves to us.

HONEYED SRIRACHA WINGS ~ The Winner! of Food Network Magazine's Secret Ingredient "Cook with Honey" Contest.  They said think like an Iron Chef and dream up a dish using this month's secret ingredient.  So I did.

Now, as we roll out more gloriously, golden-hued, throw-on-a-sweater days of Autumn and feel the warmth of the afternoon sunshine on our up-turned faces, it is time to reap the harvest, and savour the delicious pleasures of things like happening upon that forgotten, crazy-delicious, blackberry patch; finding funky fungus in the forest and figuring out whether we can or we can't....and circling campfires, plunked all comfy into lawn chairs, with smokies on sticks in hand, and conversations that that go longer than sunset colours fill the sky.

There's that unmistakable aroma of backyard barbecues drifting in on autumn breezes, pears macerating in Grand Marnier and menus strewn with delicious comfort. Slow simmered, wine blasted, divinely tender beefy shortribs piled onto pillowy mashed potatoes; port wine and butter basted, cornbread stuffed, mouthwatering roast turkey; pumpkin custard riddled with cinnamony spices, tucked into pastry and baked to flaky perfection; Parmesan and black pepper riddled pasta boasting saucy deliciousness made with the last of the heirloom tomatoes; and of course crispy edged, brown sugar brined, pan-sauteed pork chops draped with juicy maple-laced, spiced infused, orchard-fresh baked apples.

Oh mama! how good it is to celebrate the bounty of the harvest of sublime, earth-to-table, indulgence.

I can't wait to throw on some great tunes (because cooking without music is like a bee without a buzz) and play with some sumptuous new flavours and ingredients, not knowing where they might take us……Into the Mystic......perhaps....

Though, as we go, please be patient with this Forest-Dweller, as I continue to learn the blogging ropes.....as I figure out how to make my blog good lookin', with lots of what I like best and even more of what you like best.

Stay tuned, much more to come.  Goodies from here, recipes from there.  What I'm cookin' up these days in My Okanagan Kitchen, as I gaze upon the beautiful forests of Trepanier, up above the lakeside hamlet of Peachland in BC's beautiful Wine Country.  Family feasts, down home comfort and tasty little treats.

"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the
things you didn't do than by the ones you did do. 
So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. 
Catch the trade winds in your sails. 
Explore.  Dream.  Discover."
~ Mark Twain

Autumn sunset skies as seen from our hillside lanai, in the Okanagan Valley.
 
On the other hand, I'm going to sweep you away to far off tropical islands with my memoirs of what I conjured up in My Hawaiian Kitchen a few years back when I was lucky enough to call the amazing Big Island of Hawaii home for a few years.  And these days too, when I'm blissed out to be vacationing to my 'Home Sweet Island Home".  Bountiful island ingredients, local specialties with my own little twists and ono (delicious) new revelations on old stand-bys and of course Hapa tunes to fill my spirit and kitchen with luscious Aloha.

"And the sun poured in like butterscotch and stuck to all my senses."
~ Joni Mitchell

Sunset view from the lanai just off one of my favorite Hawaiian kitchens. 

So come on in!  I'm here waiting for you with a big warm invitation to pull up a stool along my kitchen counter, plunk down at my dinner table, or just hang out with me while I do what I love best.  Alo-ha!

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THE LAST WONTON RECIPE INDEX

THE LAST WONTON TRAVEL INDEX

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"My kitchen is a mystical place, a kind of temple for me. It is a place where
the surfaces seem to have significance, where the sounds and odors carry
meaning that transfers from the past and bridges to the future."
~ Pearl Bailey

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