Scallops Makiki

I love cookbooks, and have to be careful not to buy too many or else I will have to replace (again) the pantry shelves where I keep them. The present shelves are sturdier than the original, bowed ones, but each time a new cookbook arrives, an old one departs. It’s hard to choose which book should go, and I almost always regret the loss. The best solution is to give the book to a friend.

One cookbook I can’t imagine doing without is MEDITERRANEAN COOKERY by Claudia Roden. I’ve had it many years, and when the spine started cracking, a good friend repaired it for me. Now, despite a few food stains on well-used pages, it’s better than new.

Roden’s recipes are very forgiving of substitutions. One day I was looking for a recipe for scallops, something delicious and easy that our across-the-hall neighbor, who was coming to dinner, would like, and found Roden’s recipe for shrimp Provencal. I adapted the recipe--adding peas; using more brandy and wine; substituting shallots for onion and garlic and scallops for shrimp; and dusting the finished dish with Parmesan cheese. I serve the scallops on top of saffron rice and call them “scallops Makiki.”

1 1/2 to 2 pounds scallops (bay scallops are just the right size, or you can quarter or halve large scallops)

2 to 3 shallots, chopped fine

2 to 3 tablespoons olive oil

A 28-ounce can of San Marzano or other Italian tomatoes (chopped and including juice)

¾ cup sweet peas, fresh or frozen

3 ounces cognac

¾ cup white wine

Thyme, mild chili powder, salt, and paprika to taste

Grated Parmesan cheese to taste

In a wide skillet, cook the shallots in the olive oil till soft. Holding the peas and scallops aside, put in the other remaining ingredients. Simmer uncovered over low heat for 15 to 20 minutes until the sauce thickens. Then add the peas and scallops, cook another 3 to 5 minutes until the scallops are cooked through. Serve over saffron rice with a dusting of Parmesan cheese on top.

Here is the finished dish:

Maria's Black Beans

Before moving to Honolulu, my husband and I lived in a small redwood bungalow at the end of a flag lot near Kailua beach. A friend had given us a batch of Latin-music tapes with recordings by Juan Luis Guerra, Alfredo, Gypsy Kings, and Los Flamers. Most days, driving home from my hospital job, I'd play the tapes in the car. The vibrant music--que rico!--whisked me over the Koolau mountains in no time. Once home, I'd take a long mind-clearing walk on the beach and return wet, tired, and hungry. When I'd thought ahead there'd be a container of black beans in the refrigerator or freezer, and with tortillas or rice and a bit of salad, dinner was in hand.

A young nurse named Maria, whose paternal grandmother was from Nicaragua, gave me the recipe for the beans. "You can refry them after they're cooked," she said, "or eat them soupy like I do." I lent Maria the music tapes for a few months--I wish I'd given them to her--and still think of her when I make her grandmother's black beans. The beans are delicious both ways, and they keep well in the refrigerator for a few days or in the freezer for a month or so.

For a big pot you need 1 pound black beans, 1 whole bunch cilantro, 1 whole peeled onion, 3 to 5 whole peeled garlic cloves, 2 bay leaves, water to cover beans by 2 inches, salt, pepper, 1 to 2 tablespoons wine vinegar, 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce, and 2 to 3 tablespoons olive oil.

Rinse the beans and soak overnight (or use the quick-soak method: cover beans with water, bring to a boil, boil 4 minutes, let sit 1 hour), then rinse the beans again and place them in a large pot with fresh water to cover by 2 inches. Add the cilantro, onion, garlic, and bay leaves. Bring the beans to a boil, then lower the heat, cover, and simmer for 1 ½ to 2 hours or until the beans are soft. Discard the bay leaves. Remove the cilantro, onion, and garlic cloves from the pot, place them in a blender with a cup of the beans, and blend well. Return the mixture to the pot, add salt and pepper to taste, and simmer another 30 minutes or so. Then add the wine vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, and a tablespoon of olive oil. These are the soupy beans that Maria likes.

To refry the beans, put a couple tablespoons of olive oil in a deep skillet and fry a chopped onion until translucent. Add chopped garlic, chopped cilantro, minced chili peppers (or dried chili powder), and cumin to taste. Then add the beans with their liquid to the skillet. Roughly mash the beans with a potato masher and cook uncovered (stirring now and then) over moderate heat until most of the water has evaporated and the beans are at a consistency you like.

Here are the ingredients for the beans:

The beans in the pot:

And ready to serve, both refried and soupy, along with tortillas and Spanish rice (plain rice is a good accompaniment too):

Locavore Cake

It was summer, and a crew was painting the outside of our condominium building. The workmen had run steel cables from the ground to the penthouse, and on mornings when the tradewinds let up, honeybees, gray moths, and, once, a dragonfly rested briefly on the cable outside our 34^th floor lanai. About the same time, friends were coming to Saturday lunch. One of them, a free-lance writer, was halfway through an eating-local challenge for a magazine article, and her diet was limited to foods grown in the Hawaiian Islands. What to feed her? Not rice, not bread, not pasta…

I had fresh tomatoes and basil from the farmers’ market, macadamia nut oil, and limes, as well as locally made and sourced yogurt cheese, but I was stumped for something to round out the meal. Then another friend’s recipe for a Middle Eastern cake made with ground almonds, boiled oranges, and eggs came to mind. I substituted mac nuts for the almonds and pineapple for the oranges; used local eggs, sugar, and salt; and topped the cake with fresh papaya, lychee, and banana. So that was our locavore lunch--probably not a perfectly balanced meal, but as close as I could get.

To make the cake, you need 2 cups chopped pineapple, 6 eggs, 1 ½ cups ground macadamia nuts, 1 cup sugar, a pinch of salt, a squeeze of lime (optional), and a tablespoon of macadamia nut oil (optional).

Boil the pineapple in water for 15 minutes, drain, and set aside to cool. After it’s cooled, puree the pineapple in a blender or food processor. Separate the eggs and set aside the whites. Beat the yolks until thick, then add the pureed pineapple, ground macadamia nuts, sugar, salt, and, if using, optional squeeze of lime and macadamia nut oil. Mix well. Beat the egg whites until stiff, then fold them into the batter. Put the batter into a oiled springform pan lined with oiled parchment paper. Bake at 400 degrees Farenheit for 35 to 45 minutes. Remove the cake from the pan, leaving the parchment paper on. Let the cake cool on a rack before removing paper. Serve with fresh fruit and whipped cream.

Here are most of the ingredients for the cake:

The cake just out of the pan (it tends to subside a little as it cools):

And with fresh sliced bananas, mangos, and lychees on top: