Michael is now employing the “truth hurts so I’ll lie” method to handling new and different foods. He says “I love it,” meaning “that was vile, but I get in trouble for being brutally honest about how disgusting certain foods are so I’ll say what I think you want to hear so you’ll leave me [...]

“Everybodeeeeeee loves the Hukilau, Where the lau lau is the kau kau At the big luau!” Ekomomai! You all know the song, right? Right? Of course you do. Well, according to this song, the “lau lau” is the food at the luau. Whatever else there is, you gotta have lau lau. So what is it? [...]

In my wild and crazy youth, at about the age of eight or nine, I decided I wanted to make cupcakes. My mother was away (working to keep her little family afloat) and grandma was left to tend to the beasties at home. When questioned, I assured my grandmother that my mother did indeed permit [...]

Okay, so “American Independence Day” AKA “The Fourth Of July” was this last weekend, and tradition demands the grilling of meat over a heat source while standing outside wearing Bermuda shorts, black socks and sandals. However, I made a commitment to experimentation with Polynesian Culinary Inspiration, and I mean to stick to it. And I [...]

Today we’re hopping an outrigger and heading down to Tahiti, where we’re going to be cooking up “Chevrettes a la vanilla et coco” (or Shrimp in coconut-vanilla sauce). As a bonus, we’re having ”Poulet Fafa” (or Tahitian Taro Chicken). Tahiti is famous for its vanilla beans. They’re the most flavorful vanilla beans you can get, [...]

E komo mai! A couple of weeks ago, we embarked on a culinary journey across the Pacific Ocean, upon which we will be sampling new and unheard-of dishes created in sincere Polynesian style. I have selected the alliterative name “Tiki Tuesday” as a venue for disclosure of the success or failure of each weekend’s Polynesian-Style [...]

Some time ago I mentioned quinoa as an amazing little protein-packed grain, a virtual powerhouse of nutrition in a simple and versatile package. It isn’t a grain, technically, because it isn’t the product of a grass plant (like wheat, corn or oats are for example). But it’s treated the same and it can be used [...]

In 1947, Norwegian explorer Thor Heyerdahl set sail across the pacific in a hand-made raft to prove his hypothesis that the Polynesian islands could have been reached and thus settled by South Americans in pre-Columbian times, using only the kinds of stuff they had available at the time: wood, bamboo, and a whole lot of [...]

My 23 regular readers will no doubt recall that we recently learned that Michael is allergic to both Dairy and Soy products. Since then, we’ve been keeping a close eye on what little Mr. Mikey eats. And lest we ever let our guard down, Michael himself provides an abundant level of caution, asking whether or [...]

We have a diagnosis. Just to recap a bit, you may recall a situation at Michael’s school in which we were concerned about his behavior and were taking steps to help Michael improve. One of the things his mom and I talked about with his teachers was the possibility of a food allergy. The medical [...]