quick, easy, delish chicken recipe

If you're looking for an easy dinner recipe, shaun whipped this one up tonight and it was pretty awesome, and it only takes about 30 minutes. Quinoa makes the perfect accompaniment.

CHICKEN PAILLARD WITH CURRIED OYSTER MUSHROOMS

Ingredients:
extra virgin olive oil
2 Boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 tsp kosher salt
freshly ground black pepper
1 Tbsp muchi curry powder
2 Tbsp chopped fresh basil
2 cloves minced garlic
2 scallions thinly sliced, white and light green parts only
Parsley for garnish

Instructions:

• Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Grease a baking pan or sheet with olive oil.
• Lay the chicken breast flat. Holding knife parallel to surface cut chicken breast in half. Placed the chicken on the baking pan and season with salt, pepper and curry powder.
• Cut the mushrooms in half inch pieces and toss with curry powder, salt, basil, garlic, scallions, and two tablespoons of olive oil.
• Top the chicken breasts with the mushroom mix. Bake until mushrooms are golden brown and chicken is cooked through.
• Serve with quinoa and top with freshly chopped parsley.
  

nature, culture & history in iao valley

Iao Valley State Park has a bit of something for everyone. Whether it’s your first visit or tenth, you can always discover something new and amazing.

Iao Needle + View of Iao stream, looking towards Kahului

For the nature lovers: The dense, tropical foliage that covers the mountainsides and valley floor are a natural wonderland for locals and visitors alike. The main attraction here is Iao Needle, made primarily of basalt, juts 2,250 feet above sea level and resembles a finger pointing upward into the heavens. Often the tip of Iao Needle can be found nestled in a bank of clouds, which may be where the name “iao” or “supreme cloud” came from. In addition to the picturesque Iao Needle, there are lookouts that offer views toward Kahului harbor, the valley floor, and Iao stream. Not to be overlooked are the pathways that traverse the botanical gardens and run alongside stretches of the stream, which feature taro patches and other native Hawaiian plants.

For the history buffs: Iao Needle or Kuka`emoku was known as the phallic stone of Kanaloa, Hawaiian god of the ocean. Of great historical significance is the 1790 Battle of Kapaniwai, where King Kamehameha I fought with Maui’s warriors in his quest to unite the Hawaiian Islands. Iao Needle served as a lookout point for members of the Maui King Kahekili’s army. In the end King Kamehameha and his men defeated Maui’s forces in a fierce fight that changed the course of Hawaii’s history.

Kepaniwai Park's Heritage Gardens Portuguese statue of Mary + Korean structure

For the culture cravers: Kepaniwai Park's Heritage Gardens were established in 1952 to showcase Maui's rich and culturally diverse heritage. There are structures and gardens representing the Hawaiian, Portuguese, Japanese, Chinese, Korean, English, and Filipino ethnicities. Each area is devoted to a particular culture, and displays tell the story of how each ethnic group came to Maui, and often their role in shaping Maui’s history. The ponds and small waterfalls that flow throughout the gardens are fed by Iao stream. I loved taking photos of the unique gardens and buildings, like snapshots of different countries all in one central location.

Chicken curry salad with papaya

For the foodies: After exploring Iao Valley I was famished. Luckily there’s a wonderful eatery near by at the Hawaii Nature Center. Their menu offerings consist of an assortment of sandwiches on homemade bread, salads on Kula greens, and all fruit smoothies. Everything looked delicious and I was torn between the curry chicken salad and the baby brie and bacon sandwich on toasted focaccia. In the end I opted for the healthier choice, chunks of chicken breast tossed with julienned carrots and zucchini on a bed of lettuce and topped with fresh papaya. So yummy!

haute relaxation on maui

sunset on the beach in front of four seasons wailea

in celebration of our first anniversary we had the pleasure of staying at the four seasons resort maui in wailea. as always the service was impeccable. the staff went above and beyond to make sure that our stay was nothing short of fabulous. since we were already on maui they arranged for an early check-in. i always love arriving at the fours seasons maui because you're not only welcomed by wonderful staff, but that sweet, floral fragrance that wafts throughout the resort. it's like a combination of orange blossom and mango.

sweet treats awaited us in our room | tibbee's bath sponges.

upon arriving in our room we were greeted with a handwritten note signed by the general manager and a plate of four different sweet treats. i love walking into a room with food waiting for me! we also brought our dog tibbee with us, and i think he was even more pampered than we were. he got his own bamboo doggie dish with rawhide bone and bottled water, a dog bed, and bath sponges in letters that spell his name.

view of molokini & kahoolawe from a distance

next stop the serenity pool. it's an adult only pool with two hot tubs, an infinity edge pool that appears to drop off at the ocean's edge, and a swim up bar that serves up some fabulous cocktails. my favorite cocktail is their blueberry mojito, so refreshing, but a bit light on the rum for my taste. it really is heavenly to hangout at the serenity pool. all cell phones must be silenced, someone comes around with chilled hand towels, someone else ensures that guests have a full glass of ice water, and another person passes out little snacks. in the morning there were tiny pineapple muffins and the afternoon rice crispy treats. i could really get used to this haute life!

shaun chilaxing in the serenity pool | view from the serenity pool

when hunger drove us to leave the serenity pool (you can leave for up to an hour without losing your lounge chairs), we indulged at the breakfast buffet at duo. they have the best breakfast buffet on maui. my favorites are the bacon, which is always thick and crispy, and the hawaiian sweetbread french toast with berry compote. other onolicous items include made to order organic egg omelets and belgian waffles, eggs benedict, and tons of fresh fruits.

eat local challenge journal day 7

on the seventh and final day of kanu hawaii's eat local challenge, we ended up not cooking at all. now if we lived on oahu there were tons of great restaurants that were serving up all local dishes as partners in the eat local challenge. i was hugely disappointed to learn that on maui there was only one eat local challenge partner - zippy's! so as my final post for the challenge i decided to compile a list of maui restaurants that i think would make great partners for the next eat local challenge, or hopefully they will offer an all local option year-round. feel free to leave a comment with other restaurant suggestions. who doesn't love more eating options?!

north maui
cafe des amis
cafe mambo
cafe parna nui
flatbread company
mama's fish house
ono gelato company

central maui
cafe o'lei
maui bake shop & deli
maui maid bakery
sam sato's
soup to nuts
wailuku coffee company

south maui
cafe o'lei
capische?
ferraro's bar e ristorante
gannon's
joe's bar & grill
ma'la
ono gelato
pita paradise
spago
three's bar & grill

west maui
i'o
lahaina grill
ma'la ocean tavern
merriman's
ono gelato
pacific'O

pineapple grill
star noodle

upcountry
haliimaile general store
la provence

eat local challenge journal day 6 + some westside lovin'

eat local challenge day six got off to a late start, literally. i some how managed to sleep through my alarm and was in a rush, so breakfast was on the go. another apple banana from the in-laws' backyard and a piece of maui maid bakery whole wheat toast with up-country guava jam from jeff's jams & jellies in makawao, all local. i had a quick all local lunch at my desk consisting of leftover korean tacos from dinner on eat local challenge day four, with a little twist. shaun turned it into a salad by adding some watercress to the veggie/herb mix of lettuce, cilantro, cabbage and green onions, and topped it with the gochujang marinated beef, avocado and a squirt of lime juice. the delicious dressing was made be blending the marinade sauce with the vinaigrette for the perfect blend of vinegar and spice. i loved this salad so much that we decided to make a variation of it , but with maui tofu, as our "eat local" pupu for a "tweetup" event at `ulalena in the maui theatre. you can read about the event in peter liu's blog post: the power of the tweetup.

sticking with my track record for the day, we were running late for the tweetup. on the drive out to lahaina we witnessed the beautiful sunset pictured above. we ended up making it to maui theatre just in time for the start of 'ulalena's show. while i had seen vignettes of 'ulalena's show at mythical magical maui, a fundraiser for hale makua health services, i had never seen the entire performance since i moved to maui. the show was absolutely amazing with stunning aerial acrobatics, unique props, beautiful vocals, awesome percussion and tantalizing dance, all telling the history of hawaii from the formation of the islands to the impact of western influence on the native population. i would recommend that anyone visiting maui see 'ulalena for themselves. the combination of music and dance is spectacular and authentically pays tribute to its hawaiian roots.

since we were late for the tweetup, we missed the pupu potluck and decided to pay a long overdue visit to star noodle in lahaina. i loved the decor, especially the shepard fairey prints. super clean and contemporary, but not fussy or sterile feeling. we started with two appetizers, the pohole salad of hana fiddle head fern, maui onion, ebi and kombu; and pan roasted brussel sprouts with bacon and kim chee puree. the pahole salad would have been good without the dried shrimp and cuttle fish, which were probably added for a more asian flair, but didn't really appeal to me. the pan roasted brussel sprouts were awesome. perfectly cooked through. nice toasty flavor topped with crisp bacon bits. the kim chee puree was a nice, unexpected accompaniment to the brussel sprouts. i ordered the kim chee ramen with kim chee, chicken dashi, roast pork, egg and bean sprouts, and was pleasantly surprised. the homemade ramen noodles were delicious, the pork was amazingly tender and moist, and the broth was divine. i've been looking for a good ramen spot on maui, and star noodle is the first ramen restaurant on maui that i'd return to. i'm looking forward to try their other menu items.

pan roasted brussel sprouts | kim chee ramen, yum!