Oahu is the third largest of the Hawaiian islands, and known as being one of the busiest vacation spots. I personally prefer Kaua’i for its lush tropical greenery and quiet solitude, but when planning a vacation on a budget I can’t be too picky.  Finding a decently priced vacation with flight and accommodations included can be quite easy when searching in the Waikiki area.

So this February is the 2010 Winter Olympic Games in our wonderful city of Vancouver, BC.  While I am extremely excited over the 2010 Olympics, I would much rather watch the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, though that won’t be happening. Okay, so in Vancouver it is a HUGE deal that the Olympics are here.  You cannot go anywhere recently without finding road closures, Olympic signs, and notifications about all the lovely road and parking closures to accommodate the large influx of travelers from all over the world.  While I think it is a wonderful thing for vacationers, tourists and sports fans to come to our fantastic city to witness the 2010 Olympics, I personally cannot handle the crowds.

As I do not want to brave the vast amounts of tourists which will incite a claustrophobic frenzy on my part, and @nachoman does not want to wake up at 3AM each morning to get to work on time, we have made an executive decision – get out of town!  Now while I considered speaking at some conferences I was invited to in Florida and Cincinnati, my health has been pretty consistent over the past year or so, and due to that I just haven’t been up for speaking at conferences or peforming, so I started researching vacations.  (Yes! A REAL Vacation, where I wont be on a laptop – too much).

In researching vacations, I considered Air Canada’s Japan Flight Sale that was going on for the first couple weeks of January, though after much thought I felt that 2 weeks in Japan would not be enough.  I then found Jubilee Travel (a.k.a. Travel Best Bets) had a wonderful 12 night Bali trip including sightseeing for $1499 each from Vancouver. While that sounded great, I had to consider that @nachoman and I both have allergies, and that pork and MSG will run rampant in most Asian countries we go to.  Hmm. . . what oh what to do. I know! Hawaii! I just had to find a cheap hotel with a kitchen to cook our food.

O’ahu, Hawai’i has been a longtime favorite of mine.  I prefer some of the smaller islands for the quiet and calm, but O’ahu not only has the hustle and bustle of Japanese and American tourists, it has small secluded areas of peace and fantastic uncrowded surfing.  Waikiki is synonymous with busy, noisy and touristy, yet that is part of its appeal. So how does one find a hotel, motel, condo or accommodation that won’t break the bank, but won’t leave you itching with bed bugs or insomnia-tic from the noisy neighbors. Well, you research REALLY well. (Knowing the neighborhoods helps too – which luckily I have a bit of an idea of where I want to find a hotel).

Finding a cheap hotel in Honolulu with direct beach access and chairs is pretty much impossible.  From my experience (and snooping), the best mid-range beachfront hotels (for your $$$) are the Aston Waikiki Beach, the Outrigger Waikiki & the Hilton Hawaiian Village Rainbow Tower (Of course I don’t suggest booking directly from them unless you want to pay double what a travel agency, tour operator or online travel website will charge you).  Now of course I personally don’t care about being directly on the beach, since how much time do I really spend in the hotel when you’re that close to the surf. It is worth your while to book at a hotel that is 2 or so blocks away from the beach, book yourself in a room on the higher floors to get a view, and then go to the beach when you want the ocean!

In the end, I used Travelocity (the US version) and West Jet Vacations (Canadian) to finalize my flights and accommodations.  After much deliberation of hotels in Waikiki, I needed ones that had a FULL kitchen (not just a kitchenette with a microwave and mini-fridge).  Be careful when booking a hotel that states that it has a kitchen.  I considered several hotels in Waikiki that on their websites said they had kitchens, only to find out that a “kitchen” meant a hot plate, mini-fridge and rice cooker.  If you are on a budget, working with allergies, or just trying to feed a family, you want a FULL kitchen with utensils, plates, fridge, stove and potentially luxuries such as a can opener.

I finally decided on a condominium-style property called the Aston Waikiki Sunset (3+ Star) that has been recently renovated (it has 1 or 2 bedroom suites that have a full kitchen and a furnished lanai).  While I found a couple bad reviews about the hotel, they typically were pre-renovation and were calling for an updated feel.  A interesting side note to remember when booking at Condominium-style hotels is that some of the suites may be privately owned, so you will want to make sure that the suite you are booking is owned by the hotel itself.  By doing this, you will assure that there is some level of cleanliness and amenities to your room.

The room that I have booked is the 1-Bedroom Superior, which has been renovated with new fixtures, furniture and a new tv.  It is a roomy 560 square feet, with its own separate bedroom.  While I cannot tell you what it is like yet, I have my fingers crossed that it is clean and that the service at the hotel is above average.  I will keep you posted on whether it meets my expectations.  My advice for finding the best deal is to hop from site to site, and then call a travel agent to match or beat the price you found online.

I found an amazing deal for 12 nights accommodation, flights between Vancouver and Honolulu, and was able to book it all from the comfort of home.  I simply called the travel agent at Carlson Wagonlit Travel, and told them the deals I had found on West Jet Vacations and on Travelocity.ca.  The helpful travel agent answered my questions about the hotel, noting that one of her colleagues had happily stayed there. Upon hearing this, I told the agent to book the trip ASAP.  She took down my info, navigated through the travel sites I’d told her about, and booked me for 2 return tickets to Oahu and our accommodations, in a matter of minutes. Within seconds I had my itinerary in my Inbox!

We leave in a few weeks, so I when we get back, I will tell you how it was.

Mahalo for reading today,

~Deanna

Round 2: Wheat-free Muffins

The next project in the Martha Stewart Baking Handbook that I thought I would attempt would be muffins.  The pictures in the book and the recipe seemed fairly straight forward, and I figured it would be a good recipe to try to adapt to a wheat-free recipe.  The recipe is Blueberry Muffins (click here to get the recipe), though I revised the recipe to be blueberry-less as there were no good local blueberries at the market in the middle of winter-time (I try to limit the distance my groceries travel from to a 250km/155 mile radius when I have the chance).  I revised the recipe to be pumpkin oatmeal muffins instead, using pumpkin puree, oatmeal, molasses and cinnamon in place of blueberries.

Here is what I substituted:

- Instead of regular flour: 1 cup white rice flour and 1 cup corn flour

- Gluten-free Baking Powder (instead of regular baking powder)

- Instead of blueberries: 1/2 cup of pumpkin puree, 1 tsp of cinnamon, 1 cup of oatmeal, 1/4 cup of molasses

As noted in my previous posts, instead of butter to grease my muffin tins, I use extra virgin olive oil and then dust my tins with white rice flour.  Of course you can use butter if you choose, but it is just my personal preference to use olive oil (less cholesterol and seems to work better with gluten-free flours).

When mixing the ingredients in the electric mixer, you may find that mixing for an extra 10 minutes or so will help blend the chunks of oatmeal and accommodate the thickness of the molasses.

Batter and my awesome electric mixing paddle

I found that when cooking the muffins, I needed to cook them for an extra 5-7 minutes to accommodate the extra ingredients. Of course, as with any wheat-free cooking, you will want to keep an eye on your baking in the oven, as dependent on your oven you may need less cooking time.

Upon trying the cooked version of the muffins, they were fluffy and moist, and due to the oatmeal, corn flour and molasses, they had a unique texture.  Keep in mind that these muffins will be a slightly browner color than in the cookbook, as the corn flour and molasses will brown the batter and make it a bit denser.

Muffins Baking in the Oven

All in all, this was a successful baking adventure.  If you decide to make a wheat-free version of these muffins with the blueberries included, I would love to hear about how it went. Hopefully my substitutions and wheat-free trials have been helpful.  See the picture below for my final muffin batch:

Yummy Finished Pumpkin Muffins

Next on Wheat-free baking with the Martha Stewart Baking Handbook… Gingerbread Cookies!

Ciao!

Deanna

Round 1: Wheat-free, Chocolate-free, & Healthier Version of Martha Stewart Baking

The first recipe I tested out in the Martha Stewart  was the Chocolate-Glazed Gingerbread Cakes (found on page 191).  While the recipe seems straight forward I had to reassess how I would tackle it in a wheat-free and chocolate-free way.  As noted in my previous post, I not only have to make food that is wheat-free but also chocolate-free and MSG-free (Don’t want to cause anaphylactic allergies for any loved-ones).  Since I was already adjusting flour and chocolate within this recipe, I didn’t dare attempt to make it vegan too, though I plan in the future to try it out with vegan butter and eggs.

These little fluffy cakes looked absolutely delicious in the cookbook, covered in a chocolate ganache. I assessed the needed ingredients, placed them all out on the counter, and began substituting.  Here are my three substitutions (not bad really):

- gluten-free baking powder (replacing regular baking powder)

- white rice flour (replacing the regular flour)

- carob flour (replacing the chocolate/cocoa in the ganache – p. 387)

Pouring the batter into the tins

In mixing and preparing this recipe, I found that the rice flour needed a bit more mixing than regular flour, which when using an electric mixing bowl is really a piece of cake (mind the pun!). For the sake of using the least amount of dairy as possible in this recipe (as it uses butter), I greased each of the muffin tins using extra virgin olive oil.  This has proved to be a successful form of greasing pans when using rice flour, as butter or non-stick spray seem to be useless on gluten-free products.

Baking time: add 3-5 extra minutes to your baking time, as it will help cook the cakes more thoroughly.

Upon pulling out the muffin tins with the gingerbread cakes fully cooked inside, they smelled amazing.  The only visual difference from the “Martha” cakes was that these little cakes have an indentation in their centres, which once they are flipped over is not noticeable in the least.  Since I planned on putting a warm ganache over these cakes, I figure having a well to hold the yummy sauce could be advantageous.

Fresh Out of the Oven - Had to eat one (oops!)

When making the ganache, I found it useful to heat my carob flour and heavy cream in the microwave beforehand, since organic carob flour doesn’t easily mix with the milk. I found that microwaving for 15 second intervals and then stirring until it was bubbling made it thick and gooey.  (The standard heating it over a stovetop would work just fine too, but will take a little longer.  I tried both ways). I made two batches of ganache: one with the ingredients from the book, and the other one I added a cup of Sweetened Condensed Milk to help thicken and sweeten up the sauce.  Both versions were delicious, but I found the one with condensed milk to be tastier.

Gingerbread Mini-Cake Awaiting Ganache

So all-in-all, the “de-wheatifying” of these gingerbread cakes worked out fantastically.  As for substituting the chocolate for carob – When @nachoman (the guy that is allergic to chocolate) tried out these little morsels fresh out of the oven, he stated “how dare you feed me something so delicious! now I know what I have been missing”.  When a chocolate loving friend ate one, she noted that it was extremely tasty and moist.  So I have to conclude that Round 1 of baking without wheat or chocolate was an absolute success.

Next time on Wheat-free baking from the Martha Stewart Handbook is . . . Muffins!

Ciao!

Deanna

A few weeks ago I mentioned that I was going to be trying out different recipes from Martha Stewart’s Baking Handbook.  Well, after substituting wheat flour for rice flour in a few recipes, I realized that a majority of the recipes in the cookbook are able to be wheat-free and yummy at the same time!

Now keep in mind, that with cooking in general, my kitchen is completely chocolate-free due to deadly allergies to cocoa in our household.  Not only did I substitute all wheat products with rice flour or corn flour, but I also substituted all chocolate ingredients in the recipes with carob flour and carob chips.  Trust me, it is not an easy task when used to making delicious desserts with chocolate.  All in all it worked out.

Sometime in the next couple days, between reading papers, students and life in general, I will be posting a couple of my favorite recipes and how I made them.

Happy New Year Everyone!

Ciao!

Deanna

As many people know, my stomach and I are never really on the same page.  I have gone most of my life having my stomach get angry at me for pretty much everything; from wheat, to meat to even water.  Yes, you heard me, water – be it cold or warm, it gives my stomach cramps and pain.  Doctors, Naturopaths, Acupuncturists, Medical Specialists, and all sorts of “healing” professionals have tried to figure out to no avail. I have tried eliminating wheat, dairy, meat, sugar, fruit, gluten, chemicals, preservatives, caffeine, chocolate, alcohol, you-name-it from my diet, and while I now am able to live a bit more normal of a life not rushing to find a washroom all the time, that living off of chamomile tea, rice & chick peas really does suck.

My quest to figure out which foods I can eat has taken me the past 9 years of testing and trying.  I have narrowed down my main problem foods, and try to keep on a certain list of foods that I know wont hurt (too much), mainly some sort of rice, corn, fish, bean concoction, and non-alcoholic beer.  Now here is the thing, I LOVE to go out for dinner to a restaurant and enjoy a meal that a someone else has made, relax with friends or family, in an environment that isn’t my own kitchen.  The problem is, I can never just order something directly from the menu and be able to eat it, without having my stomach rebel at the excessive wheat or dairy used in North American cooking.

When I pick up a menu at an Earls, Milestones or a local restaurant or pub, I look at the yummy appetizers that likely are loaded with wheat filler of some sort, and quickly disregard the ever common chicken wings, calamari, nachos, or some sort of flat bread with a tapenade.  Scroll right past the salads and soups section, since I haven’t found a salad anywhere on the West Coast that tastes as good as the price I get charged for it ($15 for a couple pieces of lettuce with oil, vinegar and a few pine nuts & goat’s cheese. Really?)  Then typically there is a Pasta, Pizza and Burger section, which for someone who cant eat wheat without having extreme stomach pain and ramifications for several days later, is literally a section that I avoid like the plague.  My friends and colleagues who have Celiac’s Disease, IBS, Crohn’s Disease or gluten allergies have the same stance it seems, there is no section of restaurant menus (other than the salad section) that has a wheat-free or gluten-free option. If I want to pay $25 for one of the non-red meat entrée items, that consists of a piece of fish, potatoes and some veggies covered in cream sauce, I could fork out my hard earned cash for a meal that is completely too filling and likely will still hurt my stomach because of the dairy and potatoes.

You may ask – How do I end up finding something to eat with options like that?  Well, I end up ordering a side of fish, a side of rice, and a side of corn tortilla chips.  I ask nicely for the kitchen to make the meal interesting, but I end up ordering a side of Frank’s Red Hot Sauce to give my meal some flavour.  Oh well, at least I was able to enjoy some plain non-stomach-hurting food while visiting friends or family & listen to fun music at the restaurant. But Wait! The bill still will arrive at the end of dinner, and lo-and-behold, my simple, plain, dietary meal that held no real ingenuity from the kitchen costs me double what anyone else at the table is paying – and that includes the guy who ordered the 12 ounce steak!  How is this fair? Well it is NOT, but it is how things go in the world of someone who needs a customized meal.  Why is my meal so expensive? Alas, here is the usual breakdown.  The server has charged me $18 for the small “side” piece of fish (keep in mind if I had ordered a salad with a “side” of fish, the piece of fish would have only cost $6),  the rice gets billed $7 or $8, and my tortilla chips have been rung into the server’s ordering system as “Chips and Salsa” at a whopping $10 to $12 (though I only got 12 chips on a bread plate).  All in all that meal has now cost me about $36,  but wait, that little side dish that held my Frank’s Red Hot Sauce to make my bland rice taste better also cost $2.  So the grande total is $38 for my food, and I find that just ridiculous! Don’t you? On top of that I end up tipping way more than anyone else, as my waitress or waiter has likely gone out of their way to take the time to deal with the kitchen to request these substitutions, so my meal ends up costing the same as 2 people’s.

I have asked numerous waiters and waitresses for different wheat-free options for a meal, and they typically will point at the $25 fish dish on the menu.  As one would assume that that meals can have some substitutions, my request for Corn Tortilla Chips, Hot Sauce etc. instead of potatoes and vegetables will get billed on top of the actual meal price, thus making my meal once again über expensive and lacking any creativity from the kitchen.

Why is it that I pay more than anyone else at my table for my meal, just because I have stomach problems? Is making a nice wheat and dairy free meal really that hard? I can prove that making delicious meals that don’t have wheat, dairy and red-meat is actually quite easy and fun, yet most restaurant kitchens are unable or unwilling to try to accommodate that request.  I have asked many a server to just tell the kitchen to surprise me with something meatless, wheat and dairy free, only to get a bowl of edamame soy beans and a baked potato.  It’s not their fault, they just aren’t used to the request I guess, yet everywhere I turn these days I am running into people who are vegan, or Celiac, or are avoiding wheat for weight loss, so there must be some demand.

I am looking forward to the day where I can go out for dinner, go to the menu and see more than one item I can order carté blanche from the menu without having to change a thing.

I can dream, can’t I? Or is that going to cost me too?

Why Home Cooking is Beneficial to your Health and Marriage!

I found this article above via @realfoodmedia, and it references a recent Michael Pollan piece (click here to read it), and its brilliant.

It is nice to think that people who cook at home, weigh less and are happier.

Personally I think that the reason that people are happier and weigh less if they cook at home is: that they put so much time and effort into their food, that psychologically it tastes better.  Also, the time, care and thought that gets put into a home cooked meal can be sensed by all who are eating the meal.

Have you ever considered how much atmosphere comes into play when eating? When you are eating out at a restaurant, there are loud people all around you, clanging dishes, and a waiter/waitress interrupting your conversation through out the meal. (Ugh! I mean, with the business of the daily grind, household chores and the constant interruptions, I would rather take an hour after work to relax in the quiet of my home) No wonder people are happier in their marriages if they cook more at home, they can actually get more than five minutes straight to have a discussion and talk about their day, without a server asking if you want anything, or without the beeping sounds and screaming children of a fast food restaurant.

On that note, I am off to go make my home cooked lunch.

And interestingly enough, that makes me happy.