Tanoa Tuesday Our Daily Dinner

Tanoa Tuesday

mbelisle 9 years ago
Good morning! It is actually Tuesday evening here but I know that back home it is early Tuesday morning.
I am finally back in my own house in Suva after a week away and while the resorts were nice, it is good to be in my own space. My food offerings consist of several papayas, a loaf of bread and some eggs so supper will not be particularly creative.
The name Tanoa in the thread title is the name for the traditional wooden bowl that is used to grind and make kava which is a traditional drink here. I have yet to try some but will do so one day soon I hope.
I also finally found out what the flowers are in my avatar - bougainvillea. They are all over here, along with all kinds of other flowering plants. Today I saw mango trees in bloom which means fresh mangos should be forthcoming soon.
Janet, you asked about bananas and to me, they do taste better "tree ripened" rather than picked green and ripening in a warehouse or on a truck. The peels just about fall off them too.
I didn't get a chance to take in a cooking class but I did get to eat smoked marlin with oti at The Bounty restaurant. Oti is a fresh water vegetable (that's what they call it). I would call it lake weeds. It was really good though and went well with the smoked fish in the coconut sauce. I think a few of my colleagues are starting to laugh at me because I take pictures of my food but I have tried to post the picture here.
Hope everyone wakes up to a great Tuesday.
Michelle B.
PS I see that my Samsung phone is messing with my pictures again. Sorry for the upside down marlin with oti.
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MissouriFarmWife 9 years ago said:

Hi Michelle B. LOL on the upside down photos! I think it was Laurie's pictures that turned out sideways - haha! I just turned the iPad around so it looked right side up. So glad you are home again!

It is almost 7 A.M. And I am dressed and waiting for time to leave for a dermatology appointment. It is errand day -- the old farm couple going to town! Aargh!

I would guess everything tastes better tree ripened than the cardboard versions we get here. We have been looking into heritage seeds, since they are the original type plant and not GMO and can be saved - so far my one heritage-seed plant is a pumpkin vine, but it is a start.

Must go - it is about that time. It is hard to believe that a year ago I would be at work by now!

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chuckieb 9 years ago said:

Good Morning/Good Evening Michelle! Fun to wake up and read a post from Fiji! Cool on the Tanoa bowl. I'd never heard of that although I have heard of Kava I think. The first time I saw Bougainvillea was the winter the three of us flew to Corpus Christi, Texas to visit Jim's Dad. There was this tree in the middle of a courtyard in full gorgeous bloom, the flowers were hot pink. I'd never seen anything like it. Yum on fresh mango! I'm a little surprised to learn that bananas taste better tree ripened but of course it stands to reason. Neat on smoked marlin although I may have pushed the oti to the side of my dish. :) Thanks for the pic. It's fun to see new things!
My exciting morning news is that I think my niece has gone into Labour! She was due in June. The baby shower is May 16th. But there was a message from her boyfriend on FB that sounds like they have headed to the hospital, so all fingers and toes are crossed for a easy delivery. She's almost 33 weeks. Benjamin was born at 34.
Looks like it's going to be a lovely day. I'm going to grill some burgers for dinner and try that new spooned Avocado with lime and smoked paprika as a side. Will do a bit of yard work this morning and then I have my book chat at the library this afternoon.
Wishing everyone a great day!

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chuckieb 9 years ago said:

SP Karen! Good Morning! Heritage seeds are neat. I bought a bunch of heritage plants a couple of years ago but think only one survived. I do not have the greenest of thumbs. Good luck at your appointment!

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Good4U 9 years ago said:

It is always nice to come home to your own space after being away, Michelle. LOL @ your colleagues laughing at you taking pics of your food:) Maybe they will start doing it too? It only makes sense bananas would taste better ripened on the tree. Nice to hear mangos will be in abundance there soon as well. I have had marlin a couple of times and I really enjoyed it. I am not sure if I would like Oti but I would give it a try. Very interesting info about Tanoa the wooden bowl. Good luck trying to be with being creative with your food. Great pic:)

Karen, I hope you are successful with your errands and all goes well with your dermatologist appointment today.

Janet, I hope everything goes well with your niece's labour and delivery today. Keep us updated on how things are going.

Tina, Exercise gradually you can do it GF!

Shona, How are your hands today?

Michelle, I do hope that crazy strike is over soon!
I will be working in the garden today again. It did rain yesterday afternoon and into the night. So everything is starting to look lush and green. We will be having Creamy Dijon Mustard, Marsala Pork Medallions for dinner over egg noodles with a salad on the side.

Happy Cinco de Mayo to those who celebrate it and wishing everyone a great day!

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chuckieb 9 years ago said:

Morning Joce! Have fun in the garden today. Your dinner sounds most delicious!

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notyourmomma 9 years ago said:

Morning all. Happy Cinco de Mayo!

MichelleB. Adventuresome eating. I don't know if I have ever tried marlin. Love the Tanoa bowl. Bourgainvilla has some treacherous thorns.

Yeah for non-GMO seeds. Heritage is the way to go.

I'm making some guacamole if I get the energy, And I saw a neat casserole Buff-a-enchiladas with chicken. Should be easy to do.

Miss Lola has her appointment cancelled and rescheduled, Doc has a big emergency fix on poor dog that got hit by a car, a weimhereiner (sp)?

Congrats on the impending birth!

My chest is a vise and I need to go suck some air. I got the dishes unloaded and half the DW reloaded. Dog rugs in the wash. I have bags of dogfood to fill their bins, but I'm not lifting the 30 lb. bag, I think I can tackle the 11 lb. tiny kibble.

Talk later, gators.

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chuckieb 9 years ago said:

Morning Tina! I've never had Marlin either. That casserole and guac sound yummy. Lola won't mind the delay of her appointment I'm sure. :)

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notyourmomma 9 years ago said:

MichelleB We have two kava bars in St, Pete. Apparently, the brew makes you very mellow. Both establishments have numerous tea varietals and kava blends for sale. One has a hookah lounge and game boards like cribbage or backgammon. As Fred would say, "Hippy Dippy Happy stuff"

Lola is just happy to be curled around my head. She and Charlie have become better friends of late, he will give her a face lick that knocks her to her butt.

It is clouding up. We might get a splash of rain.

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mommyluvs2cook 9 years ago said:

Hi! Those flowers are very beautiful Michelle! Oh gosh, I bet everything is beautiful in Fiji :) Yum on the smoked marlin with the oti. I'd definitely devour that. I think a lot of people have trouble with pictures uploading funny from their cell phones...I know I do.

Good luck today at your appointment Karen!

Lol at pushing the oti to the side Janet, I could totally see you doing that :P Yikes...good luck to your niece! 33 weeks is pretty early so crossing fingers everything goes well! Is that spooned avocado recipe come from here or pinterest? Or an old cookbook? Sounds good!

Yummy on Creamy Dijon Mustard, Marsala Pork Medallions Joce, that looks so good! What would 10% cream be called here. We only have things like light cream, half and half and heavy cream.

Sounds like your getting a good bit done today Tina! Yes, do not lift that 30# bag of dog food!

Not going to be doing much today, we are calling for 80% chance of rain. I need to get some things done around here anyway. Dusting is definitely on the list along with cleaning the bathroom sinks. Kids do not wash their toothpaste spit down the sink no matter how many times you tell them. UGH! Softball season is officially over so our schedule will slow down some. T-ball will still go through mid May. Nothing going on tonight so I am finally going to make what Michael has been begging me to make. http://allrecipes.com/recipe/alfredo-mostaccioli/detail.aspx to go on some cheese tortellinis and I'll top with some leftover chicken that I grilled on Friday. I'll give it the smell test, but I think it should be okay. Need to find something good to make up for lunch as well, I'm starving! Have a great day everyone!!

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mommyluvs2cook 9 years ago said:

Think I'm going to whip this up for lunch Chicken Noodle Omelet :)

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mbelisle 9 years ago said:

Hi again, just getting ready to head for work Wednesday morning. Had a fresh papaya for breakfast and some coffee. I got a small french press and have worked out how much to put in it now so I get the coffee strength I want so that makes the mornings SO much better!
Too bad on the delayed appointment Tina but I hope the vet is able to help the dog that was hit. Dogs are loose all over here and not really cared for well and it is heartbreaking to see them.
I have heard about kava and its "happy" properties. To be honest I am afraid to try it by myself so I think that will wait until Jason gets here in July.
Best wishes to your niece Janet, and hope all is going well with both mother and soon-to-appear baby.
I found a solution to my picture issues, sort of. There is a website called pixlr.com that lets you open a picture and actually shows it the same way it would upload. You can rotate it or flip it and then resave it facing the right way. I like it because when I open the pictures in my windows viewer they look right and rotating them doesn't fix it; when you upload them, this does.
Looking in the market today for something interesting to make for supper. Will post what I come up with.
Michelle B

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chuckieb 9 years ago said:

Well isn't that cool that Tampa Bay has two Kava bars. That's funny and Fred's quote is even funnier. :)
The avocado recipe is in a cookbook I have Michelle. I'll let you know how it turns out. I'm a relative newbie to guacamole and avocados. Probably didn't try it until I was almost 30. I think I've only made guac once. That's good that your busy schedule will calm some now that softball is over. That Alfredo sauce looks very tasty.
Hurray on the French Press Michelle B.! Cool on the pixir site. Yes, please do tell us what you find at the market for supper! :)
Had a fun book chat. A lot of interesting characters both in the books and participating. :)

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laurieg 9 years ago said:

Hello all
Michelle it's so exciting living vicariously through you in Fiji lol. Glad you got the coffee situation worked out. That would be first on my list!
Running club tonight but I will be in the slow group. When I saw the chiropractor yesterday he said he sees some improvement. I do feel a little better. But he said the first day he saw me and worked on me he thought to himself how the heck is she doing as much as she is doing. There is so much inflamation. All over not just shoulder where the injury is. His advice is ice, ice and more ice! And it's working. He wants me to try and stay away from the pain relievers if I can. For some reason when you have a lot of inflammation they mess with your digestive system.
Tonight's dinner is pasta with a chicken sausage tomato sauce.
I need to write some wedding vows. Frank told the wedding planner we would be writing our on vows. Easy for him! Lol. Google here I come.

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chuckieb 9 years ago said:

The 'slow' group is way better than the 'no' group Laurie. :) Glad the ice is helping you and I think anytime you can avoid taking pills it's good. Your dinner sounds yummy. ROFL about the wedding vows. That's very sweet and great that "Google" can be our friend to help out in such situations. :)

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MissouriFarmWife 9 years ago said:

Good afternoon.
I can just you pushing the veggie off to the side, Janet. Our daughter was born two weeks late...she has been late ever since. Never on time! Hope your niece's labor goes well! Have never made guacamole either and Wayne won't eat it anyhow.

Hi, Joce. I don't think I ever had marlin either. Is it a sort of oily fish?

Michelle, we have 40 0/0 chance of rain but it is not looking good. Only 2 inches of rain in April and the grassis turning brown and crunches underfoot. Hate the idea of a dry summer - usually means it gets HOT and stays there. How is the strike coming?

Tina, poor Lola! If she only knew!
Exercise is the pits. But I have to start walking more or else! Keep up the effort, it will be worth it down the road! I keep reminding myself this is not a marathon......slow and steady is better. Ditto on the advice to NOT lift the dog food!
Is a kava bar the same as a coffee bar / shop? I avoid them because it isn't just plain old coffee that I would order. Barnes and Noble books has a nice coffee area, although they let the college kids sit and "work" on their laptops and I often end up just leaving without buying anything because there are no seats for paying customers.

Dermatology appt. went well. He froze a zillion places on my face so I Will look speckled for a while. Ha ha! We then had breakfast at Crackle Barrel. I ordered their "healthy" breakfast of fruit, tomatoes, cheese grits, scrambled egg beaters, and turkey bacon. Only I Had them substitute real eggs and real bacon. Fruit was three strawberries and a few chunks of fresh pineapple. Love cheese grits! Washed it down with a good cup of coffee and it was really quite good, much "healthier" with the natural fats and real eggs than all the pretend stuff.

I will look up kava and see what I am missing. Take care, all!

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MissouriFarmWife 9 years ago said:

SP Michelle and Janet!

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chuckieb 9 years ago said:

The Spooned avocado with lime and smoked paprika made my mouth pucker. Too much lime. It's nice despite that though so I will try it again and just back off on the lime. Sounds like a gorgeous breakfast you had at Cracker Barrel Karen. Glad your appointment went well.

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