Grilled Fish with Pineapple Salsa

By Sandy Hu

Congratulations to our two sweepstakes winners: Peggy B from Oroville CA who won our Charcoal Companion grill tools giveaway, and Rita A from Westminster CA who won our secret prize: the Picnic Time English-style willow basket. Stay tuned for our next sweepstakes.

We grill pretty much year-round in San Francisco, except on the coldest, wettest days. Mostly in our house, we go for the standards: burgers, ribs and steaks. But recently, we’ve been trying to eat more fish. I love fish and often order it at restaurants. But home cooking? No so much.

We pay attention to the Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch for recommendations about which seafood are ocean-friendly and which to avoid because they are overfished or caught or farmed in ways that are harmful to other marine life or to the environment.

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How to Cut a Pineapple, Hawaiian Style

By Sandy Hu

I’ve just returned from my Hawaiian vacation two days ago and I’m already yearning for all the wonderful tropical fruits at the Hilo Farmers’ Market – especially the sugar-sweet, deliciously fragrant pineapples.

Last Saturday, I took my prize fruit back to our plantation-style vacation rental in Hakalau and cut it up on our lanai. I did it the way my mother taught me years ago, growing up in Hawaii.

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Tropical Ice – Conjuring up a Taste Memory

The other day, I was idly looking at papayas sitting in the fruit bowl on the kitchen counter when they triggered a taste memory:  the intense flavor of papaya transformed into something smooth, creamy and icy. 

Funny thing is, I could remember the taste and texture, but it took me awhile to conjure up the recipe in my head.  It niggled at me until I let the memory play out...the kids were little, we lived in a condo on Cathedral Hill in San Francisco and I used to make this ice for company all the time.

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