MAUI- Basics In Culinary For The Home Chef

The most basic STUFF you can make that doesn't cost you much would be to make your own broths. I worked in kitchens most of my life, and having chefs in the family, and great cooks in the family, watching them as a kid making STUFF from scratch, it came naturally to me to make STUFF from scratch. Okay am I making you sick? Good. That's what I'm here for today, to make you sick. But, here's a tip for you, something I learned working in a kitchen in Lahaina a long time ago, when rock groups like Van Halen, Journey, The Cars, Blondie just came out. Oh yeah I'm an old (blank).


Okay, let's make a veggie broth, that you can store in your chiller or freezer, and it is all natural from scratch. Okay here we go for a veggie broth.


Get out a stock pot, about a 8 quart one, that's 2 gallons, you'll have enough of this to make homemade veggie soups, or even Beef Pho, or Tom Yums, or Sabaws, or French Onions, or gravies. Okay nuff said.


Take about 5 large round onions, peel em, and rough chop em.
Take a whole bunch of celery, and trim off the bottom, and then rough chop that.
Take about 5 large carrots, peel em, and rough chop that.
4 cloves of whole garlic


Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
Take a baking sheet, place some oil on the sheet and spread it out. Place the chopped veggies onto the sheet, and roast chopped veggies for about 20 minutes or until you see the juices coming out of the veggies.


A pinch of salt and pepper
Some parsley


Put the stock pot over medium high heat, and the roasted chopped veggies.


Fill the pot with filtered water about 2 inches from the top, simmer this for about 1 hour, skim the surface of any foam, season with salt and pepper, add in some parsley (fresh). Off the heat, let it cool. Place (strain) some of the broth into jars, or into ice cube trays and freeze some, chill some, for future usage. 


When you are ready for the making of soups, gravies, or other sauces, you got low sodium broth, which is great because you can serve this up to loved ones with high blood pressure, or diabetes, or anyone wanting to eat healthy.


Simple eh? So this is a culinary move anyone can do, and should do if you have a kitchen. Remember that some people do things differently, when an oven is not found nearby, you can grill the veggies, or just boil them to extract the juices and the natural oils that makes the flavor. Remember heat extracts water from living organisms, we as humans are like a good percentage of water, when it gets hot what happens? We sweat. So another culinary term for extracting flavors in any hot vessel is called sweating out the juices. 


I used to have chefs yell at me for not having a saute pan hot enough, "Hey YOU IDIOT! YOU CANT F.....ING SWEAT OUT THAT ONION ON LOW HEAT!" Man chefs are cruel assholes sometimes. Ha ha, but that's a tip for you today, making your own veggie broth.


And speaking of healthy, if you are on Maui, and want a personal chef that cooks healthy and great, my chef friend Ann Marie Burtell can cook you an awesome meal. Look her up on www.mauifreshchef.com she's an awesome person you'll enjoy. And ask her about her Mahi Tacos, those are my personal faves. And if you are new to cooking she offers her cooking classes.

When Times Get Better

I'm not whining, not complaining, life took a turn for the financial worse in 2007, a physical setback landed me in the hospital for 24 ours of tests, and observation. And no insurance. Wow! That one day cost me almost 13,000.00, and I still owe on it.


So trying to make a comeback is what I'm about at this moment in time, trying to get projects out, seeing if there's any interested investors you know? And it's a tough animal to capture, she keeps looking like a good catch only to run away into the hills or the woods...always I'm at the drawing board, wanna quit, but can't.


Well when times get better for me, like when I start making more money, and can get a house once again, for sure there's going to be a nice kitchen, updated with all the modern devices, modern setup, larger room for storing stuff, and more room for roaming around and hosting family and close friends. My kitchen is gonna be my playground.


So what kind of stuff am I going to make? For sure, I'll cook more healthy meals, more grilled items, and more raw items, does this make sense? But I really want to get back into cutting my own meats and fish again. It was always a challenge for me, my hands were always herky jerky, but just for the hobby of cooking, I'd have a huge prep area for cutting up meats, and fish.


I'd delve in some of my favorite cuisines, one is Indian cooking, I'd really want to do that. And then there's the other Asian cooking I love to do but haven't for years. Thai, Vietnamese, Korean, Japanese, Chinese, and Filipino cooking. Also the basic American dishes that actually is influenced by other Euro countries, like France, Italy, and South America, Mexico and the like. Shit why don't I just say, "I wanna cook the whole fucking world!"


Okay, "I wanna cook the whole fucking world!" That's what I'd do.


But today, it's still at the drawing board, I have to find out what will truly work for me in the now, not down the road. And network, network, and network. Networking can land me possibly the funding I need to get off the ground. I always look at the big picture, I'm good with big picture thinking, but I always need a dose of reality thinking, and focused thinking. 


Now in this stage of my life, I look back and man, a lot of things were there for me for the taking, but well life is life, and I chose to go my own way which was the wrong way. But it is a learning thing for certain. Now when I see the younger crowd do what I did, I shake my head, "Hey you don't need to go down that path," I'd say. And of course they all look at me like I'm some dud. But when you're young, you do things that you think is right for you, but when the flames of getting burned and broke hits you, it'll either make you want to succeed, keep on trying, or be a fucking bum in some alley drinking his life away. Not me, not me. I'm broker than broke, but I know God is there, just have to keep chipping away at that stone called life, and then possibly that break I been looking for, that one solid connection can set me free to work at what I do best.


The moral of this story? Keep on going and don't give up.

MAUI- Mango Season

It is Mango Season, every mango tree here on the island has fruits ready to be picked, green ones for the pickled mangoes, and of course the juicy ripe mangoes for chilling and slicing, and dicing, or for the blender for a nice smoothie, or even for desserts like ice cream, gelato, or in cakes and pies. Mangoes can be made into chutneys and jams, great for dips, or for spreads. I love mangoes, so this is the time to go over the different mangoes we have here in Hawaii.


HADEN MANGO

The Haden Mango; or Hayden Mango is found in many a yard on Maui. The Hayden is a very popular mango that most locals grew up on, it makes a perfect pickled mango, and when it is ripe, it is a noticeable reddish, yellow/orange color. Okay, maybe my pigmentation radar is off? Well that's what I see when I see a ripe Haden. You have to pick these pups at the right time, I find the best way to pick em is like any fruit, pick them to allow them to ripen on the porch with sunlight hitting it, if you pick it when it is truly ripe, it's best to eat it right away, there's nothing worse than eating an over ripened mango. And to me, the Haden is the Cadillac of mangoes, the Michael Jordan of Mangoes, the Headman of all mangoes... ah you get the picture don't you? Yeah I think you do. Some may say that the Spanish is the best, or the Common is the best or this or that. Not me, the Haden has the perfect flavor, sweet baby, even when green, and pickled, it has this tart but sweet flavor...maybe I'm wrong to you, but nope, I loves me some Haden Mango in the midst of Summertime.


HADEN MANGO MUFFINS (VEGAN)


About 2 cups of Spelt Flour
2 1/2 cups of Haden Mangoes, ripened, and mashed well into a soft puree
1 tsp. sea salt
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 cup of safflower oil
3/4 cup of raw sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract


Preheat oven to 375 dg. f.
1. In a mixing bowl, mix well the flour, sea salt, baking powder, baking soda
2. In another bowl, slightly larger, mix the mangoes pureed, cinnamon, oil, sugar, and vanilla extract until well blended
3. Add in the flour mixture to the wet mixture slowly, and fold it in, do not over mix, keep it textured, not too lumpy but not too smooth all the same
4. Divide the mixture into a muffin pan with 12 cups, line them with paper muffin cups, spray nonstick into the muffin cups, fill each cup to about 3/4 way, it should rise when baking
5. Bake for about 18 to 20 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean when you stick it into each muffin cup at the center


Let it cool when done, serve these for breakfast, it is great with a hot cup of Maui Grown Coffee.

MAUI- SONORA TACOS LUNCH WAGON

It was a warm Spring afternoon, in April, around 1:15 pm; a week ago or so, I had taken notice of a lunch wagon on Lahainaluna Road, directly across the smoke stack, that historical landmark left behind by the Pioneer Mill, in fact this lunch wagon sat where part of the mill was located. Hmmm, oh it's a taco truck... well, I know that there's another guy down the street that has a taco truck sitting at the corner of Wainee and Lahainaluna Road. I wonder? Hmmm, I have to check it out one day I said to myself. And I finally did.


SONORA TACOS Lunch Wagon, it had style, the logo looked catchy, there was a table and a few chairs under an awning attached to the starboard side of the truck. I parked my sister's Rav 4, because I don't own a car right now ha ha. Like I said, it was a warm afternoon, and I was kinda hungry, and I love Mexican food, love it. I walked to the window, and there I was greeted by Chef Gil Castillo, this is my first meeting with chef ever. Though, he looked familiar somehow, well Lahaina... make that Maui is a small town, he looked familiar. Well continuing on with the story, Gil welcomes me, "Hi how are you?"


"Fine, my name is Ron, what's your name?"
"Gil," he said, with a warm smile. "Do you want to try our tacos?"
"Heck yeah Gil, you got fish tacos?"
"Yes we do, we have fish tacos, soft shell, do you want some?"
"Yeah gimmee two Gil."
"Okay Ron, I'll get you two fish tacos, you will like it."
I was sure I was gonna like it, why? You see, the thing I've learned about food in my short life, is that when you see a happy chef... you'll get good happy food, and if fish tacos isn't happy food, I don't know what is.


As me and Chef Gil conversed, I found out that he still holds another job to make ends meet, and that he and his wife saved up their money to get their lunch wagon, and they went to Los Angeles to pick it up. I mean they did their homework, this truck is cool, the art work is cool, the concept of simplicity and Mexican food is genius, nothing fancy, nothing hard to figure out, maybe if you don't understand Mexican? Well it's written in English too, so for the Mexican purist, or for us non-Mexican speaking peeps, the menu is easy to understand.


"Next week Ron, I'll give away some hot dogs for the kids, in Mexico we celebrate children at the end of the month, so for the kids, I'll give away some good hot dogs." That's great I told my new chef friend, hey givers are more successful than non-givers, and it is proven. Some of the greatest businesses in our country, started out small, and they gave back to the local community, businesses that gives back before they turn black ink generally speaking will always be successful somehow someway.

When my fish tacos came, it was time to head up the hill. It was excellent, the prices are reasonable for today's prices, after all the cost of foods has gone up, and it will continue to go up as oil prices skyrocket, expect food prices to follow. But Chef Gil Castillo and his wife does a fantastic job, they are hard workers, doing honest hard work, and for that, I give them my utmost respect! I mean, just starting any kind of business these days is a huge gamble, a huge risk somewhat, and if you get into the food biz, well, I tell you what, all I can say is Blessings to you, it is hard work. But, Chef Gil is so friendly, he knows his stuff, he and his wife are total business people. They are cooks, drivers, cleaners, marketing, advertising, front of the truck and back of the truck, I guess you can say Chef Gil and his wife, they are wearing many different hats. I hope they succeed, I really truly do. 

Chef Gil Castillo owner of SONORA TACOS Lunch Wagon 310 Lahainaluna Rd. Across Smoke Stack; Hours 10am to 3pm MONDAY THRU FRIDAY; SATURDAYS 10am to 3pm.


"WHAT'S IN Ur Tortilla"
Simply the Best
(808)-463-4477

Tacos run 2.75 to 3.50, you get Carne Asada (grilled meat), Chicken, Al Pastor (Pork), Lengua (Beef Tongue), Birria (Slow Cooked Meat), Fish, Shrimp.


Burritos run 7.95


Quesadillas 3.50- 5.00


Combos served with Rice and Beans 7.95 to 8.95


Tortas (Sandwich) 7.95


Hot Dogs 3.00 Wrapped with Bacon.

Weekdays Special Monday Kahuna Fish Taco 4.95 (That's the big one on the top) I'm telling you, the food is awesome here, fresh tasting, and it is done with friendly love and aloha from Chef Gil Castillo and his wife. I won't tell you more, make that drive to the Sonora Tacos Lunch Wagon soon, you will not be disappointed! And eating there, you'll keep the money in the local economy, and that my friends, cannot be beat.

MAUI- The Condo Chef

If you are visiting Maui and you and your family are staying in a condominium, and you are a foodie/chef that just loves to prepare foods all of the time, there's some really awesome home grown products you can utilize.


If you are on the West Side of Maui, from Lahaina to Kapalua, there's supermarkets that you can get some fresh fish, produce and Maui Cattle Company grass fed beef. MAUI PRIME is a gourmet shop, where you can get Wagyu Beef, Karobuta Pork, Manila Clams, Smoked Pacific Northwest Salmon, and many other gourmet condiments, they are located in the Emerald Plaza, just look for the Lahaina Cannery Mall, it is across the street up the hill. Carry Button Owner.


Foodland Supermarket located in the Old Lahaina Shopping Center, Safeway in the Lahaina Cannery Mall, Foodland Farms  in the Lahaina Gateway, Times in Honokowai, Napali Market in the Napili Plaza. These are the basic markets, they may have good fish in stock, maybe not. the Fish Market in Honokowai has some good fresh seafood. 


The Farmer's Market is a store in Honokowai that sells fresh local vegetables and fruits. And if you need to really get finer stuff, WHOLE FOODS is located in Kahului in the Maui Mall, and for bulk COSTCO is less than a mile from the Kahului Airport. Other stores to remember if you want to get some prepped local items, Takamiya Market in Wailuku, Pukalani Superette in Pukalani.


Some of the other products from Maui that are hot sellers, cheeses from Surfing Goat, and coffee from Maui Grown Coffee (Lahainaluna Road).


If you need any other information, contact me: 

LEYTE- Desserts Bibingka Recipe

Bibingka is a dessert native to the Philippines, talking to some elder Filipinos that has ties to Leyte Island where coconut production, and rice farming is part of their economic engine, this dessert can be found here on Maui, and where ever Filipino stores are set up. It is a dessert common in the Christmas season where street vendors will be seen selling this sweet soft dessert. Made with rice flour, this home version can be made with modern equipment, where the traditional version takes a lot of time. Traditionally this dessert mixture needs to be cooked in a clay pot, lined with banana leaves, and cooked over hot coals, charring the leaves it adds a unique flavor. But for the home cook, this recipe will work, and if you cannot find banana leaves where you reside, one Filipino woman told me, "Line your cake pan with banana peels to give it the flavor." Hmmm, that's thinking alternatively. 


BIBINGKA For Home


1 cup rice flour
1 tsp. salt
2 - 2 1/2 tsp. baking powder
3 tbsp. butter
1 1/4 cup raw sugar
1/3 cup fresh whole milk 
1 cup coconut milk
3 eggs
1/3 cup grated cheddar
Ripe Banana Peels to line cake pan


1. Preheat oven 375 deg f
2. Combine rice flour, salt and baking powder, mix it well and set aside
3. Cream butter, then whisk in the sugar well
4. Add the eggs and mix  well
5. Slowly add the rice flour mixture to the creamed butter and egg mixture well
6. Slowly add in the fresh whole milk and coconut milk to the mixture and whisk well
7. Set up banana leaves, or in this case banana peels evenly on the bottom of a stainless steel pie pan or cake pan
8. Pour mixture into pan
9. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes keep an eye on it, remove from oven to add the grated cheese on the top.
10. Return to baking for another 15 to 20 minutes
11. Remove from oven, let cool, brush some melted butter on top, and top it with generous amounts of raw sugar, or any other sweet dessert concoction you want.


Slice into portions conducive to eat per person, wrap in plastic and set in a cool area, best eaten the same day.

LEYTE Desserts Puto (Rice Muffins)

Here's a Leyte Puto recipe


2 1/8 cups of rice flour
1 tsp. salt
3 tsp. baking powder
2 cups or so of coconut milk
1 cup or so of raw brown sugar
1 cup coconut flakes


1. Sift the flour, salt, and baking powder and sugar in a bowl. Then add in the the coconut milk and stir into a smooth product.
2. Lightly oil some medium size ramekins and fill each one about 2/3 full.
3. Place in a hot steamer, and cook for 20 to 30 minutes, check if it is cooked by sticking a toothpick into the center of the Puto, if it comes out dry it is done. Remove from steamer, let cool, remove from ramekins, and top with coconut flakes.

Puto from a store.