KITCHEN SAFETY

In the kitchen (in your home) there's all kinds of hazards that can injure family members. Sharp knives, forks, hot pans, boiling water, toddlers running around unsupervised, electrical issues, gas stoves turned on left overnight, and the list goes on and on.


Here's some tips for a safe kitchen.


1. Keep your kitchen clean, and spotless, and get roach and ant baits, leave them away from food, like in the back corners of your cupboards, having a clean and sanitized kitchen also prevents some forms of food poisonings, such as cross contamination when foods come into contact with cleaning solutions such as ammonia, soaps and other chemicals that are harmful to a human body.


2. Store all sharp utensils such as knives in a drawer, or hanging safely on a magnet on the wall.


3. Do not leave knives or other sharp objects in a sink filled with water, someone may reach in to grab something and get a nasty cut from that sharp object that wasn't supposed to be there in the first place.


4. Keep hot oil and water that is still functioning on the stove on the back burners, this prevents someone from touching it when walking by, and accidentally pulling it off of the stove. Watch for toddlers or young kids that walk into the kitchen they may be curious and touch it, the outcome could be very disastrous. Imagine someone you love getting third degree burns?


5. Keep your kitchen floors clean, wipe up spills immediately, preventing anyone from slipping and causing injury or even death. Keep floors clear of toys, or other items that may cause someone to stumble.


6. Keep your kitchen's vents clean at all times, yes if it is not clean a fire can break out, all that grease becomes combustible. 
The National Fire Protection Association reported in 2009 that 85% of fire deaths were caused in the home. WOW!!!!! So now be careful with the hot stuff.
* Keep all rags, towels about 3 feet from the flame of the stove.
* If a pan ignites because of a grease fire, put a steel lid over it to suffocate the flame, and turn off the heat and let it cool.
* If a grill ignites, turn it off and you can sprinkle baking soda to put out the flame, do not throw water on any fire, grease or electrical.
* Make sure all microwaves have room to vent, keep it a safe distance away from walls, if anything burns in a microwave, do not panic, simply turn it off and unplug the device. If worse comes to worse, use a conducive fire extinguisher. More on this on the bottom of this article.


7. Keep all of your items in your refrigerator freezer nice and organized, do not leave huge heavy items on the top of small items, it may fall out and hit you on the head, face, or feet. Also rotate your stock, all items dated ready to expire should be pushed up to the front, and latter ones towards the rear.


8. If you have little ones, get child proof locks on all cupboard doors.


9. Keep all cell phones, and laptops, stereos, televisions, away from the heat of the stove, and away from the sink where water is present, this is to prevent electrical shock.


10. Keep all important phone numbers handy in the kitchen, the gas company, your local electrician, the electric company, 911, your local doctor's office.


These are just a few simple tips to be safe. Happy cooking.


A Class K fire extinguisher works for kitchen grease fires, while a Class C fire extinguisher works for electrical fires.  I can't drill this enough in people, take a possible fire seriously, it is the difference between life and death, seriously. Contact your local fire department to help you out, most off duty fire professionals will lend their time to help you out, maybe cook them something. Or look for classes on safety at your local community college.

QUICK TIPS TO MAKE STEWS CREAMY

I remember one of my co-workers at the golf course who wasn't a chef, giving everyone tips on cooking. Yes he wasn't a chef, but Cy knew how to eat good, and how to make a lame ass lunch that he bought 10 times better by sprucing it up with condiments.


So this one time Cy buys a big bowl of chilli, and it was sort of dead, kind of thin, not too much flavor or richness. So Cy went back to the store and picked up lots of packets of mayonnaise. He opened up like 5 packets and emptied it into the bowl of chilli, we're like "what the hell you doing, that's gross?" But Cy explained that the mayonnaise gave the lame ass chilli some richness, and creamy flavor. Then he opened a couple of packets of black pepper, then put a few shots of Tabasco in there too. But everyone sampled that sprucing up of the chilli with mayonnaise, and it worked pretty good. 


I tried doing that with a weak beef stew I bought from a restaurant in Lahaina, it didn't have any bite or thickness, it was kind of on the thin soupy side, but when I put in a couple packets of mayonnaise it got creamier and it was more tasty, though kind of unhealthy this is just a tip to make a weak dish creamier.


This one chick from one of my other work place put extra mayonnaise in the ranch dressing that was bought at a supermarket, that added more body to it, and it still tasted like ranch. Mayonnaise is like the ultimate addition to weak dishes that calls for a rich flavorful savory sauce.


One dude added mayonnaise to his beef with black beans sauce, he ordered Chinese but when he took the meal home it was weak, so he added mayonnaise from the fridge to it and it worked well he said, and ate the whole plate.


An older woman who loves to bake cakes and pies sometimes adds mayonnaise to the batter to make it rich, when a recipe calls for eggs, she adds not only eggs but some mayonnaise too.


Another person I know baked a pizza at his house, and instead of using a tomato based sauce for the first layer of the pizza he put a good portion of mayonnaise, and then garlic, and then some cheese and then some Canadian bacon and olives, it worked good, it tasted like a toasted opened faced sandwich.


Try adding mayonnaise to a teriyaki sauce, see what happens. Of course not to the marinade, but a teri sauce that is already cooked and ready to be spread over meats, add a tablespoon of mayonnaise to it, and watch it morph into a creamy Japanese/French concoction. 


I saw a girl eat her French fries with a ramekin of vinegar and mayonnaise, now that's not your average French fry aficionado, whereas I myself would just load it with salt and pepper and some ketchup, girlfriend was totally in love with that ramekin.


So mayonnaise is a condiment some folks need to have for sprucing up meals, it works, it adds life to a sub sandwich, salads, and now all kinds of foods. I've seen people add curry powder to mayonnaise to make a rich curry dip, now that's a tip right there, sounds good with grilled chicken or pork, just slice the meat into bite size pieces and dip it into the mayonnaise with curry powder concoction and you're good to go.


So if you need to spruce up a dish especially something savory like a stew, go for the condiment that most everyone has in their fridge, good old mayonnaise. Imagine a world without it? The kid at Subway will ask you, "Would you like mustard?" and that's it. And if you're a vegan, there's vegan mayonnaise out on the market.

CHEF RUSTY COULL Hawaiian Airlines Recipe Contest

Chef Rusty Coull entered the Hawaiian Airlines Recipe Challenge his creation Kalbi Steak Salad on Kula Greens with a Papaya seed and Coconut Dressing.


Check out Rusty on facebook www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1238735859


click like and support our local young chefs

CRISPY SCHEZUAN BEEF

Here is a simple wok recipe, a Chinese dish simply called Crispy Schezuan Beef. Chinese regional cooking, unlike the Canton styles, Schezuan is notable for the hot, spicy, salty and sweet flavors, each hinting for what it is, Schezuan chefs are geniuses when it comes to balancing all the right flavors. Ginger and garlic is used a lot so have these two handy all the time. And oh yeah, don't forget the ever-so important Schezuan Peppers (see below).


1 lb. trimmed flank steak, slice it into thin strips across the grain, put into a mixing bowl, salt and pepper it, mix well. Then add 1 beaten egg mix well. Then add in about 1/2 cup of cornstarch and mix it well with your hands, this is going to give it a nice crust when you deep fry it.


Other ingredients


Oil for frying, vegetable oil is good


1 tsp, minced ginger


1 tsp. minced garlic


2 green onions chopped


2 long or four short hot chillies sliced thin, I like the seeds for heat


1 tsp. Schezuan peppers


Dash of red pepper flakes


The Glaze
1/2 cup low sodium soy sauce


1/4 cup of honey or maple syrup


1 tsp. water


*Mix these ingredients and set aside


1. Heat wok to high heat with about 2 inches of oil or enough to fry the meat. Once oil starts to bubble, fry a quarter of the meat at a time until crispy brown, then set them aside on a plate lined with paper towels. Over crowding a wok is not recommended, for a crowed wok robs heat, frying small batches at a time will ensure a very high quality dry heat method of cooking.


2. Return wok to stove top over medium high heat. Add about 2 tbsp. of oil, sautee the ginger and garlic for a few seconds, add in pepper flakes cook until dark, and Schezuan peppers, add in green onions and sliced chillies, cook for about 1 minute, then add in the glaze, cook for about a minute, then add in the cooked crispy beef. Cook for about 2 minutes tossing occasionally, remove from heat and plate it. Or serve it over a bed of cooked rice.


 Schezuan Peppers
L- seeds and stems R- the husks 

Schezuan Peppers have a feel to it besides a somewhat pleasant aroma. These babies gives Schezuan style Chinese dishes its bit. A good pepper can give you a tingling on the tongue, but it is not a harsh one, it gives off a hint of lemon or citrus. Do not purchase these if you can't smell them. It is an excellent spice.


Untrimmed Flanks for you and a large party :)

KILLER SALAD AT LULU'S LAHAINA

If you are looking for a killer salad that's refreshing and filling look no further than Lulu's at the Lahaina Cannery Mall right off of highway 30, if you see the big ass Safeway sign yep you're on target. Lulu's is Lahaina's surf kinda theme restaurant/bar/club. If you are looking for a love connection Saturday nights can be the place for you lovers without a lover if you knows what I meanz?

But, the food at Lulu's is excellent, the service is A+, very casual, and if you are sitting at the bar, football preseason games are on, that's correct, you love pigskin this is the place to get your sports bar fix, great prices on great  brands, great bartenders. Baseball is headed towards the end of the season and there's tons of games on AL and NL leaders on the flatscreen at Lulu's, I love that place, without Lulu's we sports junkies are gonna be JONEZING!

Okay sorry I did not get any pics, but earlier today me and a buddy sat on the lanai and we nailed the Chun's Reef Oriental Chicken Salad, it was 3 skewers of ono, tasty oriental chicken pieces good sized ones over Kula greens, with won ton chips, thin sliced oinions, and carrots, so simple it was a great salad, not too much going on, simple they're geniuses, that's the way I like it. That with a never ending supply of iced tea with lemon, man you just can't  beat that, totally just marvelous, simply dashing, no  bullshit, awesome salad, named after a famous surf spot, surfers know this area.

Okay sorry no pics of my Chun's Reef Salad, but I have it embedded in my brain. So if you are looking for a great salad with love written all over it, go to Lulu's and nail a Chun's Reef, don't bother asking for a menu, just get to the front and ask for it. "Hey, table for two, and we know what we want, we want two Chun's Reef Salads and a couple of brews." Easy? Yeah it is, so go and do just that k?

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TOFU SALAD with VEGGIE SOUP

This is a simple meal, or salad and soup and we'll use ready made stuff to make it easy for you foodies on the run. There's nothing wrong with using ready made ingredients to help ease the burden of eating right with hardly any time left in the day.


TOFU SALAD
7 OZ. firm tofu drained and crumbled
4 oz. of spinach leaves cleaned
2 oz. of chopped kale
3 oz. of sliced onions
6 oz. of cherry tomatoes slice din half


3/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1/2 cup apple juice
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. white pepper
juice of half a lemon
3 cloves of garlic sliced thin


1. In a non reactive bowl, add all the vegetables and tofu and toss gently. In another non reactive bowl, add in the olive oil through garlic slices. Mix with fork or whisk.
2. Add to vegetables and toss well.


VEGGIE SOUP
1 carton of organic veggie broth like Imagine Organic Vegetable Broth
2 tbsp. vegetable oil
2 large tomatoes sliced into cubes
2 tbsp. minced onions
1 tbsp. minced garlic
1 stalk celery sliced thin
1/2 small head of cabbage shredded
1 tsp. dried oregano
Salt and pepper to taste


1. In a large enough pot, add in the oil over medium high heat, and when hot, sautee the tomatoes, onions and garlic until wilted and aroma is nice and fragrant. Then add in the vegetable broth bring to a boil, then lower to simmer for about 15 minutes.
2. Add in the cabbage, oregano and stir till cabbage softens, add salt and pepper to taste, off heat.

When I was working in the kitchen at the old Down to Earth Natural Foods in Lahaina, Maui, we used this product to make certain soups, it is very healthy and organic. The cost may be higher than you are used to in some stores, but if you want a good vegetable broth that's organic this is very good. Or you can use whatever ready made broths that are out on the market that's available for you at the time of your shopping.

SIMPLE TURKEY CHILI

Here's a simple ground turkey chili

3 lbs.  ground turkey
2 tbsp. vegetable oil
1 clove garlic minced
4 tbsp. ground chili powder

1 tbsp. red pepper flakes

1 tsp. cumin

3 tbsp. hot sauce

10 oz. cherry tomatoes sliced in half

3 oz. tomato paste

1 bell pepper sliced into 1 1/2 inch squares

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup beer

10 oz. can of pinto beans rinsed

1. Heat up a pot large enough over medium high heat, add oil heat for 2 minutes, sautee garlic for a few seconds, add in turkey and stir to brown.

2. Add in ingredients one at a time stirring occassionally through pinto beans.

3. Cover and lower heat to simmer for 45 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste.