Let Them Eat Pie...

...And lots of it.

That's what the unspoken rule at the Pie TweetUp seemed to be yesterday.

Pies, Pies and more Pies. Because of health restrictions and codes (no refrigeration) nothing could contain dairy. But there was Apple, Mango and Lemon Meringue pie. Strawberry-Lilikoi pie, Beef and Kidney pie, Savory Quiches, Empanadas, individual servings of Chicken Pot Pie. Avocado-Chocolate Mousse pie and my brainchild Poi Pie. (For those of you unfamiliar with poi: poi is a condiment of sorts, eaten with other foods, usually salty or pungent ones, to cut the flavors. It is made by pounding the taro root and adding water to make it into a paste the consistency of cake batter).

 Dania Katz, left, coordinator of the event and two participants. Sweet Potato Manju w/ Lilikoi Butter. A photo of my pie. (photo credit unknown)

Just after setting it down on the table - Poi Pie with Ginger Snap Crust, Boiled Hawaiian Honey and Salted Pistachio Nuts - oh so ONO!

Making it up as I went along, the filling has poi, sugar, coconut milk, melted butter, eggs and spices - in many ways it harkened to the likes of a pumpkin pie filling. I can't wait for my next excuse to throw caution to the wind and be unabashedly creative with food.

Getting Back Into the Swing of Things and Looking Forward to Saturday

Whew! What a couple of weeks it has been! I hope everyone who stops by here has been doing well and that despite record temperatures, odd weather, current events and personal affairs that you've all been doing well.

I have become obsessed with my hats. I am fortunate to say they are doing well at retail in the shops I had prior to going into the summer and now, I've added a few more and really upped the ante. No sooner do I finish adding to the inventory when another order comes in and I practically wipe out my newly finished stock.

Sole proprietorship. Flying solo. CEO, VP, mail clerk, secretary, cleaning service... you name it and I wear the hat in this company. So needless to say, I'm pooped.

And I know... things could be worse.

To add to that, I have put out some extensive and exhausting posts recently: The Mirror Ball Dot Blog Hop and SHAG: A Tale of Mammoth Proportions give-away to name a few... so as I stated in the title of the post, I am Getting Back Into the Swing of Things by resuming with publishing mini-posts containing snippets and blurbs of my daily life.

Today, I am exploring sustainable cooking.

I recently made two new friends who are avid foodies and I have once again been bitten by the culinary bug. I have a renewed reason to explore food and be experimental, creative and daring or with less vernacular: I have an audience so I can be a show-off!

This Saturday we're doing something fun and going to a Pie TweetUp.

In a pie shell it's a social event:

July’s Pie Tweetup!

Photo by www.chefjana.com

Hosted By: @KulaFields @DaniaEdibleHi @KupuMaui

Hashtag:   #KupuMaui

You’re Invited to our 3rd Annual Pie Tweetup

Saturday July 20, 2013 10:00 am – 1:00 pm

• Free event and open to the public
• Make a pie to share made with a focus on local ingredients
• Remember we like both sweet and savory pies
• Invite family & friends to bake with you
• Use the hashtag #KupuMaui on facebook, twitter & instagram
• No store bought pies, please

If you want to attend and don’t bake or are on vacation, please come and bring: Eco-friendly Paper Plates (no styrofoam, please), Ecofriendly forks, napkins and eco-friendly cups. Please emailinfo@KupuMaui.com for a list of needs.

Today I told my mom about it and one of my ideas for a pie to bring. Her response was oozing with skepticism (in the best way), "You might want to make one before, just to make sure it works out...."

I have my concept, I did my research, I have my skills and taste buds, and no one has ever perished from my cooking. It's all gonna be good. I am not holding back on revealing my pie to be selfish; I am only doing so in case mom is proven right... =\

And then that evening I'll have my foodie friends over for dinner. I have a nice menu planned and again, I'm not not telling in case I change my mind a hundred-million times before then BUT as I stated above, I am going to explore sustainable food.

By sustainable I mean - today it hit me while looking at the thicket of elephant bamboo on the property that bamboo shoots are an edible. I equated sustainablewith bamboo because it has become one of the more prominent players in the discussion regarding sustainability. So I trotted on over to the tall, swaying poles, clacking together like rooted wind chimes in the gentle afternoon breezes and low-and-behold!

SHOOTS!(or as Gollum would say, "SHOOTSES!")

More shoots.

Shoots removed from the base of the plants. 

 The fibrous outer husk removed revealing the tender heart.

 The shoots cut in half. I don't know about you but I see 

the faces of one-eyed space creatures with open mouths shaped like lips...

The halves are now submerged under a small plate in a bowl of water to keep them hydrated while I do more research into preparing them for cooking. Instinctively I think they need to be poached or parboiled in a brine with salt or an acid like vinegar or lemon juice and since we're going to be grilling, to slice and oil them, grill quickly, julienne and toss with a vinaigrette. Lemongrass, mushrooms and even pineapple come to mind too... maybe something Thai inspired.

To be continued....

Shag-adelic Tuesday

I was in a quandary for choosing a winner.

Karen Neary, a Mirror Ball Blog Hop participant, was going to receive, and did, a copy of the book in her "Thank You" package...

Danette had already read and owned a copy of the book...and I wasn;t going to send her another one... so there :P

and that left 3 readers who had left comments (BTW only 3 comments out of hundreds of people who viewed the page)...

How could I choose?

(the image above gives away lots of what's inside the novel)

So, Kate, Linda H and Linda will all receive an editor's copy of the book!

Please send your address to:

markhordyszynski@mac.com

Congratulations to the winners!