Hawaii | Veggietorials

My Weekend in Photos- Ukuleles and Kombucha

January 28, 2013 by Cobi | 2 Comments

To celebrate the start of the weekend, I made these Sweet Potato Tot-chos, inspired by Wholly Vegan. Quick n’dirty style, I used store-bought tots, baked until nice and crispy, then slathered in Food For Lovers Vegan Queso. Topped with more hot sauce, olives, green onions and cilantro. Then,The Vegan Virtuoso challenged me to make the tot-chos using Ube Gnocchi. The girl is a freakin’ evil genius. Check out my Instagram feed to see how insane they turned out.

Went to the Secret Sound Showcase at the Doris Duke on Friday to see ukulele virtuoso Taimane Gardner perform. I first saw Taimane’s mesmerizing artistry on YouTube and if you think ukuleles are only for Hawaiian music, this girl will set you straight. She shreds everything from Led Zepplin to the Mission Impossible theme, with softer touches in songs from Phantom of the Opera or her original “Moon”.

Got my autographed CD like a true fan girl and Taimane was gracious enough to take a photo with me and my friend, Animal Rights Activist, Anjie Pham.

Spent Saturday morning whale watching/counting for NOAA and spotted about 3 adults + 1 calf off Diamond Head.

Quick stop at Blue Tree Cafe Hawaii for a Lilikoi+Aloe Kombucha ( very refreshing!) and an Orange Pistachio Coconut vegan bar. I’ll do a review after I try the raw vegan brunch they do on Sundays.

Time to start editing the next video recipe! My new cap is providing the inspiration

Mahalo for stopping by and have a delicious week my friends!

My Week in Photos::Beautiful Island Life

January 18, 2013 by Cobi | 3 Comments

Happy Aloha Friday friends! It’s been a busy week but I made some time to enjoy the beautiful weather and visit with family.

My cousin Tim and his girlfriend came to town for a visit. We enjoyed lunch at the new Monkeypod Kitchen in Ko’olina. The selection for vegans is limited but if you order the Vegan Portugese Bean Soup (labeled as such on the menu) and the Kale Macadamia Nut Salad, you won’t be disappointed. The soup is highly spiced and very flavorful, served with pita bread for dipping up the last bits of broth. To be honest, I wasn’t particularly excited about the kale salad when I ordered it, because I was hoping they had vegan pizza. But this fresh salad, loaded with sweet Maui onions, golden raisins and the mac nuts tossed in a sesame miso dressing really is something special. Ono mouth explosion!

Then it was back to the drawing board, literally, as I started story boarding for my next video recipe. I’ve been staring at a 10 pound bag of organic carrots and tried to come up with easy ways to use them.

Most of the time, I play a round with a few ideas before I film the video.

I filmed my carrot video and realized the footage came out like complete crap, so with a very sad face,I scrapped it all and took a drive to the beach.

I got a kale,spinach and pineapple shave ice from the House of Pure Aloha and a big hug from Uncle Clay,the owner. Suddenly, everything was right in the world again.

So then the carrot video evolved into this Walnut Salad amuse bouche…hey, I still used ONE carrot

Rooted some more pineapple crowns to put out in the garden this weekend.

Gratuitous pug photo: Winston doing his Yoda impersonation- “Do or do not, there is no try”

So let’s have a toast to the weekend with this super yummy lychee sake I recently discovered. I lurrrve lychee and this sake goes down so smooth. Be careful! It will catch up with you. Kanpai!

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My Week in Photos- Hello 2013!

January 6, 2013 by Cobi | 8 Comments

It was a windy and rainy kick off to the New Year here in Hawaii. Hallelujah! We needed the rain and I feel like it washes away the past so we can all have a fresh start. And speaking of fresh starts, I promised my friend Nina a green smoothie recipe and I came up with this Spirulina Superfood Smoothie just for her. The easy recipe is posted below.

First week using the Bokashi bucket and I like it so far. Not too messy or smelly and I’ve already used about 20 oz. of the compost tea out in my herb garden. Happy herbs!

I made these bento lunches for friends visiting from Canada. Just tossed some quinoa cooked in vegetable broth into my Edamame Corn Salad and made it a complete meal with baked Okinawan sweet potatoes and a pineapple,Kau orange fruit salad.

The rain foiled my plans for a picnic, so we enjoyed lunch at The Peace Cafe instead. Heart & Seoul bowl, Soba Salad and miso soup are my favorites.

I ended up back at Peace Cafe the next day for a meeting and decide to eat light, so I noshed on this tempeh musubi. Which reminded me that I still need to work on my recipe for Sham Spam and get a video up…I have not forgotten your requests!

These dainty vegan earrings were a gift from my Canadian friends, don’t you just love them? I need to plan a trip to Canada so I can partake in all the vegan-friendly goodness they have happening up there!

Enjoy the week ahead and mahalo for stopping by! xx Cobi

Spirulina Superfood Smoothie

by Veggietorials

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 60 seconds (blending)

Ingredients (40 0z.)

1 cup coconut water
1 large orange
2 thick slices pineapple
2 small frozen bananas
6 kale leaves
1/4 inch slice of lime
thin slice ginger (more or less to taste)
small handful cilantro
1 teaspoon spirulina
2 tablespoons chia
ice
mint for garnish

Instructions

Combine all ingredients (except ice)in a Vitamix. Blend for 60 seconds on high speed.Top with ice, if desired and blend for an additional 15 seconds.Garnish with mint. Serve immediately.

My Week In Photos- Holiday Cheer

December 22, 2012 by Cobi | 0 comments

It’s so easy to get caught up in the frenzied pace of the holiday season. This week I stepped away from the kitchen and the computer to go out and LIVE a little, spending time with new friends and my ohana.

Went looking for my pot of gold and then I realized how blessed I already am.

Met up with the lovely Valentina from The House of V Bakery for a meal at Greens & Vines in Honolulu. I love it when you meet a new friend and you can just talk and carry on like you’ve known each other forever. A love of delicious food connects us all. It looks like we’re drinking Bloody Marys but it’s actually the house made strawberry & goji kombucha. It’s thicker than store-bought kombucha, almost like a smoothie. Super tasty and gave me a nice boost for the day.

Raw Pad Thai- Light, refreshing and full of crunchy goodness

Living Lasagna- A MUST try. Rich, complex flavors and very filling.

Mushroom Alfredo w/ Zucchini Noodles

And the Wicked Chocolate Tart- sooooooo rich and delish!

After sightseeing and a beautiful sunset, we ended the day with a cocktail at The Modern hotel in Waikiki.

I did find time to do a little work. My friend Chanelle has been my baking muse,so I finally broke down and asked her for the recipe for these Ooey Gooey Sticky Buns.Even for a “baking FAIL” like me, they turned out awesome! The video recipe will be up on my YouTube channel soon

Winston the naughty Pug thought he’d open some Christmas prezzies early…

My Aunty Cynthia took Mom,Dad and me out to celebrate the season at Chai’s Island Bistro with music by the Brother’s Cazimero.

Cheers to all of You, my friends. Mahalo for all of your love and support. Wishing you many blessings and merry everything!

My Week in Photos- Thanksgiving Aftermath

December 1, 2012 by Cobi | 7 Comments

We came. We saw. We ate.

My Aunty Candy and Grandma Helen

The rest of my family are all omnivores, so I will spare you the photo of the Thanksgiving table. But it is really special to me to celebrate the holidays with my 92 yr old Grandma….how cute is she? We did all of our family photos before the food coma set in.

Rabbit Island from the Ka’Iwi trail

Had to work off all of the Field Roast I devoured with a hike up the Makapuu lighthouse trail. Seriously, this view is the only thing that keeps me motivated to exercise.

My “shop small” haul.Best find at the expo was the Coconut Peanut Butter, so ono!

Best way to get over a weekend of eating debauchery is a Heavenly Salad from Loving Hut

And a warm bowl of home-made kale & rice chow-dah

I’m totally geeked over these skull earrings and this ring! Another part of my “shop small” haul

I’m still in a lot of pain after my car accident at the beginning of November but literally could not stomach taking the pharmaceutical pain meds any longer. This kit I put together (pictured above), along with both cold and hot packs, chiropractic care, acupuncture and massage has given me some much-needed relief. The ProTrauma can be used instead of Ibuprofen for inflammation and my experience has been that it is much gentler on my stomach. Golden Tiger is a topical pain relief cream similar to BioFreeze. I prefer the Golden Tiger since I find that my skin is less sensitive to it and the pain relieving properties are more effective for me. I gently roll my neck out with the massage stick, no more than 5 minutes at a time, then apply the Ancient Minerals magnesium oil spray. After I stopped taking the prescription muscle relaxers, magnesium is my new best friend! I leave the magnesium oil spray on my skin for about 20 minutes, prepare a beverage with the Mag Relax powdered magnesium, take a deep breath and try to relax.

I’ve also bumped up my intake of green smoothies and added tons of pineapple for the bromelain and extra extra chia for the omega-3′s.

Disclaimer: This post is not intended as medical advice and you should consult your trusted doctor before trying any of these remedies. All products are vegan-friendly and purchased with my own money (the Ancient Minerals sample was in one of my paid Conscious Box subscriptions).

Fingers crossed that I will be feeling well enough to film and edit some new videos for you all soon!

Artist Mark N. Brown painting Kalapawai Market in Kailua. Sometimes you need to stop and capture the artist capturing beauty

Follow me on Instagram for more food porn and pics of beautiful Hawaii. Have a delicious weekend friends!

{Will Travel For Vegan Food} Interview at The Peace Cafe

October 19, 2012 by Cobi | 0 comments

Kristin Lajeunesse of Will Travel for Vegan Food met up with me at The Peace Cafe in Honolulu on her last night in town. She has been on a one year (and counting!) travel adventure, enjoying all of the 100% vegan eateries in the U.S.

We had an impromptu interview and I apologize in advance for the low quality audio and background noise. I didn’t have an external mic with me and the cafe has an open kitchen, so yeah.

Kristin is an amazing inspiration. If you’ve dreamed about following your passion and living a life you love, check out her blog to see how she turned her intent into this journey.

Photos in the video are from Kristin’s Instagram and wtfveganfood.com

Coconut Curry Fried Rice

October 15, 2012 by Cobi | 0 comments

This recipe is a local kine grindz trifecta. Fried rice is already a perfect island meal, easy to whip up at breakfast, lunch or dinner. Toss in a delicate layer of coconut with the umami of a good curry seasoning and your mouth will be saying “so Ono!”

Using coconut aminos instead of soy sauce makes this simple dish gluten and soy free.

Coconut Curry Fried Rice

by Veggietorials

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes

Keywords: fry entree side lunch dairy free gluten-free soy-free vegan vegetarian rice Asian fusion

Ingredients (4-6 servings)

4 cups cooked and cooled jasmine rice
(cooked in coconut water [1.5C rice to 1.75C cocowater])
4 T green onions
2 cloves garlic,minced
1 T ginger,minced1 carrot, diced
1 rib celery,chopped
1 small onions diced
2 bok choy leaves + stems
1 cup coconut roasted cashews
1 cup chopped cilantro (or parsley,thai basil,chives)
3T coconut aminos
2T curry seasoning or curry powder
2 T coconut oil
salt & pepper to taste
Sriracha sauce

Instructions

Heat coconut oil in large pan over high heat. Add garlic, ginger and green onions, sauté for 1 minute. Add carrots, stir for 1 minute and reduce heat to med high. Add onions and celery, stir for 1 minute, then create a hole in the middle of the veggies, exposing the bottom of the pan. Add curry seasoning to the pan and stir. Add greens and mix in cold rice, cooking for 2 minutes. Season with coconut aminos and salt & pepper to taste. Add cilantro and cashews, toss and cook for an additional minute on high heat. Serve immediately, garnish with green onions and Sriracha sauce.

My Week in Photos- Island Girl

October 14, 2012 by Cobi | 3 Comments

I’ve started morning hikes again-feeling good! View from the Ka’Iwi trail

Makapu’u Lighthouse

Post hike lunch

Weird fact about me #1: When I make a sandwich, I have to take a bite as soon as I press the bread together. Can’t even get it to the table before I chomp down on it.

Delicious experiment: Okinawan Sweet Potato Gnocchi + Macadamia Shallot Cream Sauce…recipe coming soon

Sometimes simple is best, and almost anything drizzled with 18y.o. balsamic is better.

Got my Caviart vegan caviar from Vegan Cuts this week. Super excited to play with this…the black tastes just like the real thing!

Getting in the mood for Halloween

The first of my Carmello tomatoes from the garden

Bite sized lunch:: Better than Tuna Salad Trio + Citrus dry roasted chickpeas

Tons of dragon fruit, star fruit and lilikoi at the farmer’s market

Spotted during my weekend holo holo

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My Week in Photos- Enjoy the View

September 21, 2012 by Cobi | 5 Comments

My brother and his wife came to visit last week, so I spent a little less time in the kitchen and more time playing with them.

My favorite view in the whole world. Mokulua Islands, Lanikai Hawaii

Aloha!

Spent a lot of time with my brother and SIL during their visit, so just threw together some quick lunches like this falafel salad.

I don’t post a lot of pics of my greens but I eat a TON!These are fresh from my garden. Usually in green smoothies, salads or quick stir fry.

Making this basic bento inspired me to do a bento series. Planning to do a gluten-free box, soy-free box and a raw box.

Took my brother and Lara to try Frost City

Winston’s computer came back from the repair shop

Japanese eggplant from my Aunty’s garden prepared with a miso glaze, so Ono! Click photo for recipe

First attempt at Kimchi fried rice balls, inspired by The Great Food Truck race. Planning on filming a video recipe soon

Kaimana Beach. Wish you were here

My Week In Photos- App Addict

September 13, 2012 by Cobi | 1 Comment

Aloha Friends! I admit it, I am photo App fixated this week. My old standby for iPhone pics is always Camera+ if I want to give a quick edit. I’ve been playing with Fotorus and PicFx and well,this is what happened…