Waikiki Beach and The Big Island of Hawaii – Sunday, June 12, 2011

6-12-11 I say I love you to my family on the beach!

Hey Young Chefs!

Before leaving to go to The Big Island, we went to the Waikiki beach. one last time. On the airplane, I take a picture of Diamondhead. How beautiful!

6-12-11 Beautiful Diamondhead from the airplane

When we landed, the ground was all lava rock. As we drove along Ka’ahumanu Highway, we saw all this lava rock graffiti. We pulled over to take pictures. Here is an example of this Hawaiian graffiti.

6-12-11 An example of lava rock graffiti

I found a bunch of coral on the ground… so I made my own lava rock graffiti! It’s so cool!

6-12-11 I made my own lava rock graffiti

When we got to the hotel, we went to the beach and had a sunset dip in Anaeho’omalu Bay. Then, we swam in the infinity pool. It was awesome! The first day on The Big Island was fun!

6-12-11 A night dip in the pretty pool at Waikoloa

Cool Kids Cook and Go to The Big Island of Hawaii!

Bon Appetit, Kid Chef Eliana

Oahu, Hawaii – KCC Farmers Market, Polynesian Cultural Center, and Sunset Beach – Saturday, June 11, 2011

6-11-11 Ms.Kaiulani and I at the KCC Farmer's Market

Hey Young Chefs!

At the KCC Farmers Market I met Chef Kaiulani. She has a whole line of spices that we bought. She even showed us how to make her Curry Fried Rice. Mmmm!

Chef Kaiulani's Curry Fried Rice

For lunch, I ate fresh Bruschetta Pizza. I want some right now.

6-11-11 Me eating Fresh Bruschetta Pizza

After KCC Farmers Market, we go back to The Polynesian Cultural Center to tour the the rest of what we didn’t see. First, we saw the people in Samoa make fire out of sticks and dry coconut husks.

6-11-11 Making fire at the PCC

Then we saw a man climb a coconut tree with his bare feet. That was awesome!!!

6-11-11 A man from Samoa climbs a coconut tree

After Samoa, we went to Aoetearoa to learn how to use poi balls and play a Maori stick game. It was fun playing the stick game.

6-11-11 I am trying to learn poi balls

Then, we saw a wonderful canoe pageant with all of the Polynesian islands taking their turns dancing. My favorite was Tahiti. I loved watching them do their fast hip-shaking dance.

6-11-11 Tahitian dancers at the canoe pageant

When the canoe pageant was over, we went to Tonga to learn how to make an angel fish out of palm frond and reed. In this picture, you can see me holding it in front of my shirt.

6-11-11 I am holding up my angel fish in Tonga

I had a great time at the PCC. Finally, we drove to Sunset Beach. Here I am admiring the gorgeous sunset.

6-11-11 I am admiring the sunset

I had so much fun that day!

Cool Kids Cook and Go to KCC Farmers Market, Polynesian Cultural Center, and Sunset Beach!

Bon Appetit, Kid Chef Eliana

Oahu, Hawaii – Lei Making, Hula, Puka Dog, and Chinatown – Friday, June 10, 2011

6-10-11 Soleil, my mom, and I make orchid leis and receive our Hawaiian names

Hey Young Chefs!

On this day, the first thing we did was make orchid leis. The orchids were freshly picked. They were gorgeous. It was pretty easy to make the leis.

Next, we took hula lessons. The hula lessons weren’t as easy as I thought they would be. It was still fun dancing hula.

6-10-11 My mom, Soleil, Nana and I take an hour long hula lesson. What fun!

After lei making and hula lessons, we ate at Puka Dog. There are only two Puka Dogs in the whole world! There is one on Oahu and one on Kauai. They have different tropical relishes to choose from.

6-10-11 We fell in love with Puka Dog, a Hawaiian tropical hot dog. Ono!

The bun has a hole in the middle of it. I had a Lilikoi mustard and Mango relish Puka Dog. (Lilikoi is passion fruit.)

6-10-11 My Puka Dog, Mango Relish and Lilikoi Mustard

For dessert, we had Blue Hawaii Shave Ice. It is Coconut, Coco Cream, Tahitian Vanilla, and Condensed Milk. YUM!!!

6-10-11 A Blue Hawaii Shave Ice from Puka Dog

After Puka Dog, we went to Chinatown. At Chinatown, I ate Filipino halo-halo, Singapore noodles, coconut tart, pork hash, and ginataan bilo-bilo. Ginataan bilo-bilo is a sweet thick dessert soup made of coconut milk with gummy balls made of glutinous rice. It’s really good.

6-10-11 I eat Filipino halo-halo!

When we got back to Nana’s hotel, we watched hula dancing as we ate.

6-10-11 We watch a lovely hula dancer at the Sheraton

I had a very fun day! I love Puka Dog!

Cool Kids Cook and Go to Puka Dog, Chinatown, and Watch Hula!

Bon Appetit, Kid Chef Eliana

Oahu, Hawaii – Hanauma Bay and Alan Wong’s Pineapple Room – Thursday, June 9, 2011

6-9-11 Soleil and I at Hanuama Bay

Hey Young Chefs!

On Thursday, we went to Hanauma Bay, which used to be a volcano crater. But, it eroded and formed Hanauma Bay. Hanauma Bay has so much coral and fish. It is such a great place to snorkel. It is about 10 miles east of Waikiki.

6-9-11 The beautiful clear water and plenty of coral.

Here I am, kissing a fish. ;<3 LOL

6-9-11 Me kissing a fish. LOL

This a is a wonderful picture of a rooster walking on the beach of Hanauma Bay.

6-9-11 A beautiful rooster at Hanuama Bay

After we go back to our hotel to take showers and change, we eat dinner at Alan Wong’s Pineapple Room for my birthday dinner. It is an upscale restaurant in Macy’s. The first food item I ate was bruschetta.

6-9-11 Eliana makes a perfect bruschetta with tomatoes, chevre, macadamia nut pesto, and olive tapenade

Next we ate a watermelon and tomato salad. It was compliments of the chef. Watermelon and tomatoes taste so good together.

6-9-11 A tomato and watermelon salad compliments of Executive Chef Lance Kosaka from Alan Wong's Pineapple Room

I ate off of everyone’s plate. I had so much food that I can’t remember what I ate. LOL

For dessert they brought me an ice cream cake. Also, we each ordered our own dessert. Plus, we had two palate-cleansing sherbets. We had seven desserts all together. NO JOKE!

6-9-11 Happy Birthday Chef Eliana from Alan Wong's Pineapple Room

This is me and Executive Chef Lance Kosaka. He was so nice. We all liked him a lot. He even gave me a birthday present: He gave me sacred sea salt from the island of Kauai. I was so happy! What a special gift. Thank you Chef Lance!

6-9-11 Me with Executive Chef Lance Kosaka from Alan Wong's Pineapple Room

I had an awesome time at Hanauma Bay and Alan Wong’s Pineapple Room!

Cool Kids Cook and Visit5 Hanauma Bay and Alan Wong’s Pineapple Room!

Bon Appetit, Kid Chef Eliana

Oahu, Hawaii – Food Tour & BobKat’s Pizza – Tuesday, June 7, 2011

6-7-11 Me at the market in Chinatown

Hey Young Chefs!

I got back from Hawaii less than a week ago! Hawaii is an AMAZING place to go visit for a vacation!!!

On this day, we went on a food tour with Hawaii Food Tours. We toured different local restaurants. This is spam musubi, marinated tuna, and fresh mango. Spam musubi is spam and sticky rice wrapped in nori, which is seaweed.

6-7-11 Spam Musubi, Marinated Tuna, and Mango

Next, we went to a noodle factory in Chinatown. This is what the noodles look like after they’re folded. It was so cool to see them make the noodles. We also ate rice noodles with chicken and rice noodles with shrimp. It was delicious!

6-7-11 Fresh stack of noodles on a cookie sheet

We tasted so many different foods that day, but my favorite is manapua. In Hawaiian that means flower power. Manapua is sweet bread with a sweet or savory filling inside. I ate a coconut manapua. I’m getting hungry just thinking about it.

6-7-11 Me in front of a big batch of manapua

After the food tour was over and we went back to our hotel, we swam at the hotel’s beach! The water was so cold. You get used to it after a while. The water was super clear and very pretty.

6-7-11 My mom and I at our hotel's beach

Then we went to Uncle BobKat’s house for dinner. For dinner, we had homemade pizza.

6-7-11 The fresh homemade pizza that my mom's Uncle BobKat made

This is the best pizza ever!!!

Cool Kids Cook and Go on Food Tours!

Bon Appetit, Kid Chef Eliana

Webster Parish Library Performance, Minden, Louisiana – June 2, 2011

6-2-11 Kid Chef Eliana performs her song, Cool Kids Cook, at Webster Parish Library in Minden, LA

Hey Young Chefs!

At Webster Parish Library in Minden, Louisiana, I performed my “Cool Kids Cook!” song again in my mom’s show. After I sang my song, I signed cookbooks and took lots of pictures with fans.

Then, we went to Moody’s Place to eat. It is a small restaurant but the food is amazing! The first thing they bring out is hot water cornbread. The cornbread is baked and then fried. Yum!

6-2-11 Hot water cornbread at Moody's Place in Minden, LA

After eating hot water cornbread, I had fried pork chops with creamed potatoes and yams. The yams are my favorite!!!

6-2-11 The fried porkchop plate with creamed potatoes and yams at Moody's Place in Minden, LA

Then it was dessert time! We had Peach Cobbler, Blackberry Cobbler, and Apple Pie. Yummy in my tummy!

6-2-11 Pies and cobblers at Moody's Place in Minden, LA

This is me and Ms. Moody, the owner and chef. She is the one who makes the delicious food! It’s true Southern cooking.

6-2-11 Ms. Moody with Kid Chef Eliana

Cool Kids Cook, Read, and Eat at Moody’s Place!

Bon Appetit, Kid Chef Eliana

Leesville Parish Library, Leesville, Louisiana – June 1, 2011

6-1-11 Kid Chef Eliana performs her song, Cool Kids Cook!

Hey Young Chefs!

Less than a week ago, my mom, Author & Storyteller Dianne de Las Casas, and I did a summer reading program in Leesville, LA. After she told her stories, I sang my new song, “Cool Kids Cook!” with the kids’ help. When I finished with my song, the kids clapped and cheered for me.

I sold and signed cookbooks and took a picture with this little girl, named Victoria. Her mom bought my cookbook. Little Victoria was tired so that’s she looks sad.

6-1-11 Kid Chef Eliana takes a picture with little Victoria, who looks only slightly amused. LOL

This is me, my mom, and Ms. Flo, the Leesville librarian. We had a great time. It was a lot of fun!

6-1-11 Kid Chef Eliana and Dianne de Las Casas with Flo the chilrens libdrarian in Leesville

Cool Kids Cook and Get Creative in the Kitchen!

Bon Appetit, Kid Chef Eliana

Craft: Make Your Own Chef Hat – Wednesday, May 25, 2011

5-25-11 Kid Chef Eliana wears the pink chef hat she made

Hey Young Chefs!

I am going to show you how to make an easy and fun way to create a chef hat. Here is what you will need.

Supplies:
1 sheet of 8 1/2 x 11 cardstock or construction paper
1 white plastic grocery bag
scissors
tape

Step 1:
Fold your cardstock or construction paper in half like a hot dog.

5-25-11 Fold cardstock in half like a hot dog

Step 2:
Cut cardstock or construction paper in half

Step 3:
Tape together cardstock or construction paper like a band.

5-25-11 Create a long band

Step 4:
Wrap the band around your head to get the proper size for your chef hat. Be sure to make it just slightly bigger to allow room for the gathered plastic bag that will be inside.

Step 5:
Cut the handles off of your grocery bag and turn it inside out.

5-25-11 Recycle, reuse and repurpose

Step 6:
Tape a little bit of the grocery bag to the bottom of the band. Now, gather up some of the grocery bag and tape it to the band. Do that again and again until you finish taping. This is what it should look like when you’re done.

5-25-11 Gather the grocery bag together

This is what your finished product should look like. I did a pink chef hat and a white chef hat.

5-25-11 Kid Chef Eliana wears the white chef hat

Cool Kids Cook and Get Creative in the Kitchen!

Bon Appetit, Kid Chef Eliana

Recipe: Prosciutto, Melon & Capiello Salad – May 22, 2011

5-22-11 Kid Chef Eliana with her prosciutto, melon & capiello salad

Hey Young Chefs!

I love summer because there are so many fruits and vegetables available at the market. This recipe is a great summer salad, using in season cantaloupe and fresh mixed greens. Here I am scooping out the melon balls with a special tool called a “melon baller.”

5-22-11 Kid Chef Eliana scoops melon balls

This recipe also has prosciutto, which is a thin, salty Italian ham and capiello, a marinated, slightly spicy mozzarella. If you get tired of regular salad, try this sweet and salty combination. Check out this gorgeous salad. Don’t forget the melon balsamic vinaigrette!

5-22-11 The sweet and salty salad. Mmmmm!

Prosciutto, Melon & Capiello Salad
Ingredients
Mixed greens
Capiello (marinated mozzarella)
Prosciutto
Cantaloupe

Directions
Place your desired amount of mixed greens on a plate. Pull apart a slice of prosciutto with your hands and place on top of mixed greens. Cut capiello into quarter inch strips and pull it apart. Place capiello on top of salad. Cut cantaloupe in half and use a melon-baller to scoop out as many melon balls as desired. Arrange on top of salad.

Melon Balsamic Vinaigrette
Ingredients
2 tbsp. balsamic vinegar (good quality)
2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp. cantaloupe juice
1 pkt. Splenda (or other sweetener)

Directions
Pour balsamic vinegar into a bowl. While adding olive oil, whisk. Add sweetener and cantaloupe juice. Whisk again. Drizzle on top of salad.

Cool kids cook and get creative in the kitchen!

Bon Appetit, Kid Chef Eliana

Live Cooking Demonstration: Fresh from the Garden Salsa

Hey Young Chefs!

I hope you enjoy this video of me demonstrating “Fresh from the Garden Salsa” from my cookbook, Eliana Cooks! Recipes for Creative Kids. Here is the recipe!

Fresh from the Garden Salsa
3 medium tomatoes, diced
2 tbsp. onion, finely chopped
1 tbsp. cilantro, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, minced (½ tsp.)
1 tsp. lime juice
½ tsp. chopped jalapeños from jar
½ tsp. cumin
¼ tsp. salt

Directions
Mix all ingredients in bowl for a chunky salsa. If you prefer smooth salsa, blend in food processor.

Cool kids cook and get creative in the kitchen!

Bon Appetit, Kid Chef Eliana