So You Want to Live in Hawaii

Passover began a couple of days ago, and there’s still time to make your own matzoh. My fabulous Granny in Shanghai always bought matzoh for Pesach. Everybody did. Who would ever spend the time making this unleavened bread when there was so much more cooking to be done during Passover week? What is matzoh? It’s a crunchy flatbread, a big cracker, that’s always served as part of a Seder meal during Passover.

This internationally famous dessert is claimed by Australians and New Zealanders as its country’s birthplace. The issue is not settled, and it may never be, but that is not the point. What is the point is that this dessert is a masterpiece of simplicity, beauty, and taste. The contrast of a crispy meringue “crust” and its inner creaminess unite with the lusciousness of whipped cream and a combination of fruits in a swoon-inducing explosion of texture and flavor. This post is for paid subscribers

Black-crowned Night Herons, or just Night Herons, are the most widely dispersed herons in the world. Here in Kaua’i, we see these stately birds hunting for fish at the water’s edge of a lagoon. When I say “hunting” I mean the birds are as still as statues staring into the water with their piercingly red eyes seeking a fish for a meal. The adult birds have a striking appearance and their sharp pointed bills are perfect instruments for a life devoted to capturing and feeding on fish.

Here’s a recipe for one of my favorite crispy snacks, scallion pancakes. They’re easy to make. Really. And you can shape them ahead and fry them up when the noshing gene nudges you. You start off making a hot water dough by mixing flour and very hot tap water until they gather into a mass. After kneading briefly by hand to form a smooth ball, let the dough rest, covered, for about 30 minutes, and it’s ready to roll out. You’ll find the dough is super easy to handle.

“Kauai is just so beautiful.” That’s what I say when asked why I love this glorious island. And beauty brings with it a sense of calm and peacefulness. So here are glimpses of what I mean by beauty. If beauty is in the eye of the beholder, I celebrate that thought. And Keats’s immortal words say it best: "Beauty is truth, truth beauty,—that is all Ye know on earth, and all ye need to know." A scene from one of our walks around the golf course lagoon.

I have exciting news to share: You can now read So You Want to Live in Hawaii in the new Substack app for iPhone. With the app, you’ll have a dedicated Inbox for my Substack and any others you subscribe to. New posts will never get lost in your email filters, or stuck in spam. Longer posts will never cut-off by your email app. Comments and rich media will all work seamlessly. Overall, it’s a big upgrade to the reading experience. The Substack app is currently available for iOS.