Sun Kissed

I love summer. It's the time where I come to life. All winter I sit inside, cold and lethargic, reading books and sipping tea. I often feel like I'm 80. Or a sloth. And then one day the sun is shining, the air is warm, and I wake up! I have energy, I smile more and just feel happier. I take advantage of the sunny weather and beautiful warm nights.

And this summer is no exception. Which is why I kicked it off with making my first batch of Sun Tea. Fresh iced tea that is easy, fun and environmentally friendly to make. You'll also feel pretty handy that you made it all-natural. If you ask me the tea tastes fresher and more delicious than any store bought tea and you don't have to heat up your kitchen to make it. Plus you can be creative and use fun teas like white peach with mint for a great summer refresher. Enjoy the power of the sun!

Sun Tea Recipe

Courtesy of Simple Recipes

Method:

Put 4 to 6 tea bags into a clean 2 quart glass container. Fill with water and cap. Place outside where the sunlight can strike the container for about 3 to 5 hours. Move the container if necessary to keep it in the sun. Add a few tablespoons of sugar. When the tea has reached its desired strength, remove from sun and put it in the refrigerator. You may or may not want to remove the tea bags at this point. I usually don't.

The tea will probably taste more mellow than what you are used to from using boiling water. The slow seeping has a way of bringing out a slightly different flavor from the tea. Also, because you didn't use boiling water, you should refrigerate the tea and drink it up pretty quickly - a day or two. It will not keep as well as iced tea made from boiling water.

I usually make sun tea with various forms of herbal tea. Sometimes you can put in a few sprigs of fresh mint as well.

The ACD Salad- Avocado, Cucumber and Dill

As I mentioned in my recent post, Summer makes me hot for salads! Which is why I'm giving you another cool and crunchy recipe! I first laid taste buds on this amazingness at the St Regis buffet in Kauai last month. It was by far the yummiest dish of the spread and opened my eyes to what dill can really do. The cucumbers make this dish very refreshing and the avocado adds a creaminess that goes nicely with the dill. If you're not a huge fan of dill then this dish isn't for you. But if you ARE into dill, then I can promise you pure enjoyment with this healthy, simple and cooling combination.

I want to mention that the salad tastes best with a homemade vinaigrette but if your rushed on time or feeling lazy, just squirt a lemon on top and drizzle with olive oil s&p. It's still insanely good.

Avocado

Cherry Tomatoes

Cucumber

Red Onion

Fresh Dill

Lemon

Mustard

Red Wine Vinegar

Olive Oil

Salt & Pepper

Dice the onions finely and place them in vinegar to soak. This softens there intense and harsh flavor. Dice the cucumber, avocado, and halve, or quarter the cherry tomatoes. You want the vegetables to be roughly the same size. Mince the fresh dill. Throw everything into a bowl and squeeze half a lemon on top to keep the avocado from browning. Whip up a vinaigrette by whisking a few teaspoons of vinegar and 1 tsp of mustard together. Continue whisking while you pour a slow stream of olive oil in (about 1/2 cup). Taste and adjust seasoning. Pour the vinaigrette over the salad and be dillighted! (ha ha sorry, I'm a sucker for cheesy jokes ;)

Summer Starter- Hawaiian Ahi Poke

Photo courtesy of peace1374

Happy Summer! Today is the first official day of Summer so I would like to kick it off by wishing everyone warm months of barbecuing, sun tanning, and sweating. In honor of this special day, I wanted to post a recipe that holds the essence of Summer in it's fresh and flaky flesh. This is one of my favorite dishes that has the ability to make me homesick every time I try it. But since I get to visit my home in Hawaii in just a mere 3 days, I've decided this is a great time for sharing.

Growing up in Hawaii, it is pretty much mandatory that you love fish, especially raw. Poke (pronounced poke-ee) is a very popular raw fish salad that is eaten as an appetizer or meal for lunch and dinner. It consists of raw sashimi grade fish cut into cubes and seasoned with ingredients such as soy sauce, onions, garlic, chili pepper, seaweed, tomatoes or sesame seeds. There are many types of poke which has become increasingly popular in fine dining restaurant over the past 10 years. I'm sure you've seen those martini glasses filled with itsy bits of perfectly cubed tuna lightly marinated in a sauce and topped with crispy won tons and sesame seeds. Sure that's good, but let me tell you, it gets WAY better. Poke is not meant to be a fancy gourmet dish. If it doesn't come in a plastic container with a side of shoyu and long toothpick to help you poke da buggahs, it's not legit. Try the Hawaiian versions found in local fish markets and grocery stores and you will know what I mean. Here you can find not only several types of fresh Ahi poke filled with flavor, but octopus and salmon poke too. However, my favorite is still ahi poke either with red Maui onions or sesame seeds.

This recipe is a version of poke that I've tried and made several times. I can promise you it is delicious. It may not be the most authentic or traditional but I love this recipe because it works as whole meal. By adding soba noodles and shredded cabbage to the dish, you don't have to worry about making anything else for dinner. Plus it is better to make ahead of time and chill so you don't have to worry about last minute preparations. It may not be as good as the ones found in Hawaii, but it's definitely legit enough to make at home. So next time you are feeling the Aloha spirit, don a mumu, light a tiki, and play some Iz while you make this ono recipe.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 1/4 pound fresh ahi tuna
• 4 Tbs sesame oil
• 1/2 cup soy sauce
• 4tsp mirin (rice wine)
• 1 tbs red pepper flakes
• 3/4 cup scallions
• 1/2 maui onion, sliced or any sweet onion
• 3 tbs toasted sesame seeds
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tbs sugar
• 3 tbs ginger minced
• soba noodles
• cabbage, shredded
  
  
  

PREPARATION:

1. Cube ahi into 1 inch pieces and place in bowl.
2. Add all ingredients other than soba noodles and cabbage to another bowl and mix until combined.
3. Pour into Ahi bowl and marinate for 2 - 4 hours. Serve as is or serve over cooked and chilled soba noodles

Recipe Courtesy of Trisha Flynn

Poke Bins- Yum!

Octopus (Tako) Poke

Ahi Poke with Limu