Going to Maui

In 2 weeks, we'll be in (hopefully) beautiful sunny Maui. This will be our second trip to Hawaii (having visited Oahu in April 2007). Here are a few things we're considering doing:

• Surfing Lessons. We booked them already, and though I don't necessarily have a lot of confidence, I'm going to try!
• Beach time. The beach outside our hotel seems to be a good option, and we've been marking guide books with others to try.
• Quilt store (and Matt will tag along -- he's really good about that)
• Road to Hana
• Zip-line tour
• Sunrise or sunset on Haleakala (I'd bet on the latter over the former, since sunset is, well, early and really cold!)
• Driving in our rented convertible (they're cheaper in Hawaii than elsewhere, believe it or not). We'll probably drive around most of the island. You can't technically drive around it all, and a few other parts are 1-lane, but I promised Matt that I could get thru those once I read in our guidebook that after the steep, curvy 1-lane sections, you arrive in a small village with the world's best banana bread!
• Snorkeling. I've got to get my confidence up about that. I did OK snorkeling on Bora Bora, but had a tough time on Oahu. I thing a big part of the difference was Bora Bora's lagoon is basically flat, while the places we went in Oahu were a bit choppy with surf. I'm a pretty strong swimmer, but I'd prefer to swim on my back any day -- which is clearly not so good for being able to see into the water and snorkel. When my face is in the water and it's choppy, and especially when I can tell the ground is right under me, I just want to stand up -- which is bad since that hurts the coral (and gives me long-lasting cuts/scratches)
• Sno cones, please!.I still crave the ones we had on the North Shore of Oahu. I've heard that Maui doesn't have as many good ones, but I hope we can find something suitable.
  
• Eating. We'll probably have dinner around sunset here, to enjoy the view and lunch here.

Green Chile Season

The end of August & early September are celebrated at our house for being Green Chile Season. Hatch Green Chiles (from Hatch, NM) are ripe this time of year, and we celebrate by eating way too many of them. Here's a bit of what we made or ate with green chiles in 2008:

• Green chile sausages (from Central Market - they were OK, not great. I'd go for their green-chile burgers next time)
  
• Green chile cheese also from Central Market. I think it's jack cheese with green chiles - this is actually in the freezer waiting colder weather when we can make green-chile grilled cheese.
• We've tried almost everything on Chuy's Green Chile Fest menu. Our favorites are the Shrimp Taquitos and Wild Burrito (shredded pork and green chiles, smothered in green chile sauce and queso). The fajita enchiladas were OK but mostly had one note which was too hot for me to really enjoy.
  
• Green-chile-and-cheese pretzels. They were a soft pretzel variety, and though our technique wasn't quite perfect, they turned out well enough for me to think of making them again. I have a weakness for Auntie Anne's pretzles whenever we're in an airport or mall -- ours weren't as soft and buttery as that, but the green chile made up for it. The first batch was nice and soft inside and crisp outside. The last ones we cooked were pretty hard, more like bagels. And, thinking of bagels, I'm really hopeful that "Bada Bing Bada Bagel" still exists in Ruidoso, NM - they made a great green-chile-cheese bagel last time we visited.
  
• Green-chile rubbed ribeyes. Yum.
• Green-chile-potato-corn "thingy" -- basically a hash with diced potatoes, onion, corn, and green chile. Nice as a side-dish.
  
• Some green-chile salsas (I spent part of Labor Day weekend making a ton of salsa - not all has Hatch green chiles, though - it all goes into the freezer to pull out throughout the year for recipes, mostly from Salsas that Cook)
• Also in the freezer is some chile verde sauce for enchiladas or something - that's basically fresh green chiles plus garlic and onion, sauteed, then pureed.
  
• A mysterious green-chile casserole with masa. My love affair with masa continues, but I've learned that experimeting with it isn'the best route. It needs to be treated more like baking than cooking - with more precise measurements and techniques. I tried to make a masa base for a casserole but mostly made something inedible.
• Rellenos. We made these for the first time - green chiles filled with simple cheese and breaded in a fluffy egg-white-based batter, then fried. They turned out remarkably well. However, of the 4 we made, one was fire hot, and of course, I got that one. Matt doubted my tolerance for spicyness until he tried it!
  
• And, tons of roasted & peeled green chiles, awaiting use througout the next 11 sad months when fresh Hatch chiles aren't available.

Just a few years ago, I wouldn't have been able to tolerate such a diet -- since I did grow up in the land of extra mild salsa and people who thougth cheez whiz was too spicy. But today, I'm glad I can enjoy the finer (or "firey" things)!