Peek into our utensil drawer, and you will find some pretty ordinary stuff. Among the tongs, whisks, and multiple ice cream scoops, you will also find two slightly different utensils. They may not look out of place, but the sheer sight of them makes us smile instantly.
***
This is your average, basic bottle opener. To us, it's also a funny memory-- and one of the first of our marriage.
As we left for the first leg of our honeymoon (to the Oregon coast), we brought along several bottles of Martinelli's. We imagined ourselves indulging in wedding cake and sipping away in newlywed bliss. There was just one problem: we didn't have a bottle opener.
With our location in mind, we figured it would be simple enough to find an over-the-top, tacky, souvenir-style bottle opener that screamed "Oregon coast." We headed to the nearest gift shop with every intention of finding it in five minutes tops. Turns out there were no bottle openers in the store. None. Baffled, we left, intent to find one at a different store the following day.
When we walked away from the next gift shop empty handed, our mission began. This wasn't just about cake and Martinelli's anymore: we had to find the perfect commemorative bottle opener. Day after day, store after store, we hunted... to no avail. (For clarification, that's not the only thing we did: we also walked on the beach, wandered around other must-see locations, and ate a lifetime's worth of fish & chips.)
As we prepared to leave the coast and head to our open house in Idaho, we admittedly felt defeated. We decided to look one last time when we swung by a local grocery store to pick up a couple of items for our drive. At last, we found one! But it wasn't the kitschy contraption that we'd fixated over for days. It was the plain, simple bottle opener pictured above. Scott and I just laughed. We bought that bottle opener and enjoyed Martinelli's to our hearts' content on the final leg of our honeymoon in Cascade. And we now think of our obsessive newlywed hunt every time we see it.
***
You may not recognize this next utensil. Take a stab at what it is.
That's right; it's a coconut scraper!
Scott and I got this nifty piece of metal our second summer in Fiji. We wanted to learn how to cook some traditional Fijian food, and our friend/instructor-- Junior Rokatola--showed up with a bag full of fish and produce from his village... and this little number.
See those holes? You use them to affix the coconut scraper to a large piece of wood. Then you sit on said wood. Because our knees weren't accustomed to squatting for long periods of time, we instead attached it to the bottom of a wooden stool.
Junior told us the steps from there: you simply cut the coconut in half, drain the fluid into a bowl, and then scrape the meat from the coconut halves into that same bowl (now on the floor below). Sounds easy, right? Junior sure made it look easy. Then he proceeded to laugh hysterically as Scotty and I fumbled and worked at a snail's pace. Or maybe just a palagi's pace. By the time we finished, we were laughing just as hard as Junior. Thankfully, the meal itself truly was a snap to prepare. And incredibly delicious.
We flew back to the States with our cool new utensil in tow. After another lousy attempt at hulling a coconut, we admitted failure and have used canned coconut milk ever since. (Not quite as good, but it does the trick.) We still keep our trusty coconut scraper in our kitchen just in case. If nothing else, it's great for laughs!
The uber scrumptious island delicacy:
Scott and I got this nifty piece of metal our second summer in Fiji. We wanted to learn how to cook some traditional Fijian food, and our friend/instructor-- Junior Rokatola--showed up with a bag full of fish and produce from his village... and this little number.
See those holes? You use them to affix the coconut scraper to a large piece of wood. Then you sit on said wood. Because our knees weren't accustomed to squatting for long periods of time, we instead attached it to the bottom of a wooden stool.
Junior told us the steps from there: you simply cut the coconut in half, drain the fluid into a bowl, and then scrape the meat from the coconut halves into that same bowl (now on the floor below). Sounds easy, right? Junior sure made it look easy. Then he proceeded to laugh hysterically as Scotty and I fumbled and worked at a snail's pace. Or maybe just a palagi's pace. By the time we finished, we were laughing just as hard as Junior. Thankfully, the meal itself truly was a snap to prepare. And incredibly delicious.
We flew back to the States with our cool new utensil in tow. After another lousy attempt at hulling a coconut, we admitted failure and have used canned coconut milk ever since. (Not quite as good, but it does the trick.) We still keep our trusty coconut scraper in our kitchen just in case. If nothing else, it's great for laughs!
The uber scrumptious island delicacy:
Ika Vakalolo
Ingredients:
-3-4 filets white fish. I use tilapia. Chicken also works, though it's Fijian cuisine sacrilege.
-Bundle of leafy greens. Collard greens are my favorite.
-1 can coconut milk.
-Large onion, sliced and separated.
-Three diced tomatoes.
-Pinch of salt.
1. Empty coconut milk into a bowl. Mix with salt.
2. Place fish into the bottom of a medium pot. Place onions and then greens on top of the fish. Pour in salted coconut milk.
3. Cover and simmer on low until greens wilt. Then add tomatoes.
4. Continue simmering until tomatoes are soft. Serve with jasmine rice.
Bula!
