Vacation Shopping and Cooking - Week 2

Onto Week 2 of our vacation, Maui. We knew we would be meeting up with friends for dinner towards the end of the trip, and this involved making a dessert...what else but something with pineapple and macadamia nuts!? Of course, this involved buying a bit extra at the grocery store, so we planned for it by using the same items for other meals.

We also knew that our friends would be quite happy to take any of our leftovers and use them up, but we still shopped carefully, keeping in mind what we could bring home with us.

We ended up bringing home the spices, baking powder, white chocolate chips and mustard. Our friends took the remainder of the Parmesan, cheddar cheese, 3 eggs, some tortillas, 3 English muffins, the remaining Caesar salad dressing, the remaining olive oil and balsamic vinegar and some butter.

MAUI:

We were on the island for 6 full days, and 1 dinner. We had an activity that included breakfast and lunch, and ate at our friends' place for dinner one night.

We bought the following:

2 marlin steaks
6 chicken breasts, boneless and skinless
2 small lobster tails, 8oz total
1/4 lb thinly sliced ham

18 large eggs
5 litres of milk
1 litre of whipping cream
4 individual Greek yoghurts
1 lb butter
1 block cheddar cheese
1 package of grated mozzarella (small)
1 8oz package of goat cheese
2 packages of chicken, garlic and rosemary ravioli

2 boxes of cereal
1 package of 8 tortillas
1 package of English muffins
6 breadrolls
1 package of garlic naan bread, 4 pieces
2 cans tuna
1 can of tomato sauce, 6 oz
1 snack size bag of roasted cashews
1 bag of all purpose flour, 500g
1 can of baking powder, 4 oz
1 package of white chocolate chips
1 package of macadamia nut pieces
1 can of pineapple chunks
1 bottle of Caesar salad dressing

1 basket of fresh raspberries
4 bananas
3 oranges
2 limes
1 lemon
1 bunch of green onions
1 bunch of asparagus
2 onions
2 avocadoes
1 head of garlic
4 tomatoes
2 red peppers
5 large Yukon gold potatoes
1 package of strawberries
1 mango
1 papaya
1 package of prewashed baby romaine


This was used to make:

• Breakfast sandwiches with fried eggs, ham and cheddar cheese on English muffins.
• Cereal with fruit.
• Fruit salad with yoghurt.
• Fruit and yoghurt smoothies (with rum!)
• 2 chicken breasts were rubbed with cumin and chili powder and pan seared, then thinly sliced to make chicken Caesar salad, along with grated Parmesan and cashew pieces instead of croutons.

The marlin was rubbed with black pepper, chili flakes and lemon zest and pan seared. This was served with a chopped romaine heart salad, avocado, blanched asparagus and warm boiled potato slices that were tossed in the lemon-mustard dressing while still warm (this helps the potatoes to absorb the dressing and all of its flavour).

2 of the chicken breasts were diced and quickly cooked, along with sliced red pepper and onions and a heaping teaspoon of curry powder. A third of the can of tomato sauce was added, along with about 3/4 cup of the whipping cream and that was allowed to reduce until thickened. This was spread onto 2 of the Naan breads, and topped with goat cheese, before baking.

• The other 2 Naan breads were spread with some of the remaining tomato sauce, and topped with ham, sliced tomato, onions and mozzarella cheese before baking. Two kinds of pizza for dinner, with leftovers for lunch the next day.

 The ravioli was cooked and used for 2 dinners. A creamy tomato sauce was made by reducing 1 cup of whipping cream, adding the remaining tomato sauce and some grated Parmesan. 2 chicken breasts were diced and cooked with onion and red peppers, and tossed with the pasta and sauce. Blanched asparagus and crumbled goat cheese was served with the ravioli the first time; the second time it was served with grated Parmesan.

• Sandwhiches with ham, tomato, lettuce and cheese
• Wraps with cooked chicken, Parmesan, romaine and Caesar salad dressing.
• Tuna melts with some of the buns, tuna, mayo, green onions and cheddar cheese.
• Potato salad with green onion and hard boiled eggs, again! A picnic lunch favourite of ours.

I made a frittata with the last of the cooked potatoes, the last of the ham, some red pepper and green onion, and cheddar cheese.







We were given 2 absolutely HUGE avocados by a gallery owner. We gave one to our friends and filled the other one with lobster salad for a rather rich lunch on our last day.

 I poached the lobster tails in salted boiling water for 5 minutes, then removed the meat when they had cooled. Chopped green onions, lemon zest, 1/2 teaspoon of Dijon mustard, the chopped lobster meat and a bit of mayonnaise were combined then put inside the pit cavity of each lobster half. Yummy!

• I used the flour, baking powder, chocolate chips, macadamia nuts and raspberries to make a  coffee cake for dessert/snacks.
• Macadamia nut pancakes for  breakfast, using some of the flour, baking powder, eggs and macadamia nuts.
• The remaining macadamia nuts were used to make a biscuit for shortcake, along with flour, baking powder, butter, brown sugar, whipping cream and egg. This was split and filled with rum whipped cream, and the pineapple chunks that I caramelized with butter, brown sugar and rum. Dessert with friends!

We spent $178 on food, which averages out to around $30 per day, for 2 people, including a dessert for 4. This is not including alcohol and bottled water.

I did not spend all my time cooking, we spent most of it snorkelling, hiking, driving to sights around the islands, water tubing and heading out on a boat for the day. What we did not spend time on was driving around looking for somewhere to eat, waiting for a table and menu, waiting for food and then having to continue on with our day.

We brought a collapsible cooler and ice packs in our luggage and were able to take lunch, snacks and cold drinks with us if we needed, which is perfect when you have been snorkelling or hiking for a few hours and want something right away! We were able to eat lunch or dinner out in the open, with an amazing view wherever we were.