Alas, Part 4.

Sunday was our last day of our smooth sailing vacation.

I also had a bowl of the best bircher muesli I’ve ever had! I enjoyed every spoonful of it.

After dinner we just walked around, but I was so tired. Tired from what?

My mom wanted to do a photoshoot on our last day. She loves the camera! It’s so funny though because once I put the pictures on the computer she starts complaining about how she looks. I guess we are our toughest critics, no? Because to me, I think she looks beautiful in her pictures.

These were taken at the little cove I told you guys about.

Afterwards we walked back to where we set up “camp”. Oh my goodness I think our last day was the hottest of them all! Or maybe it was just the longest amount of time we spent on the beach. The little time I spent out of the water, I was just wishing I could go back in. But I have to take breaks because I wear myself out with all the seashell searching I do in the ocean.

My mom didn’t want to leave, so we ended up staying later than planned. We had packed snacks, but snacks are not meals. We were all very hungry by the time we left the beach. Usually my mom gets super cranky if she’s hungry, but I think her beach time helped wind her down a lot. She wasn’t moody at all! On the way back to the hotel I decided to walk through the mangroves one last time.

I hope I didn’t scare anybody with that picture of the spider! When we got back from the beach we headed to Whole Foods before our short trip back home.

Back to reality? Not quite yet.

So what surprise did I find the other day? I found the (not so) elusive kabocha. It exists! I shelled out $1.50 per lb. for this Japanese pumpkin. I came this far, there’s no way I’d go back home empty handed. In the Asian market they also had some other interesting finds some of you other bloggers might appreciate. I saw a strange colored item for you Katie!

But plenty of time, right Mitri?

So I was just perusing around, and almost tripped…

Hallelujah!

So I went to the check out and inside my head my jaw dropped when I payed about $6 for the kabocha. Oh well. I’ve been dying to try it.

I also got some rose green tea and a citrusy aloe vera drink.

Surprisingly I waited till the next day to cut the kabocha open.

I got to try this in three different ways. I managed to cut this in to little cubes. I cut the whole squash and saved some for later, since I had the time and it’s convenient to just have things cut up already. I’m also saving the seeds to toast them. We use to do that with our pumpkin seeds. I remember taking them to the movies and just munching away.

I think I over steamed them… well not really. They were just very soft, and I could’ve probably made a mash out of them. I’ll do that next time. Have you guys ever tried mashed sweet potato – or mashed zucchini? The recipe for the mashed zucchini is so good! Epicurious.com is one of my favorite recipe sites.

So the first thing I decided to do with the squash was a simple addition of ground cinnamon. I packed it up along with some other things and brought it with me to meet up for lunch with my mom. I also packed some duck sauce, just in case. The duck sauce really didn’t do much actually. I think the flavor comes out more with crunchier things… like fried noodles!!! So good. I’ll post pictures of my little lunch meet-up with my mom, tomorrow. Anyway, the kabocha was delicious even by itself. It’s mildly sweet and I loved the soft texture from steaming it. By the way, if you steam the kabocha long enough you can eat the skin as well!

Now my creative juices started flowing when dinner time was creeping up. Hmm… what could possibly go well with kabocha, while keeping it’s Asian flair.

I cooked my ingredients beforehand so I could keep them in the fridge long enough to cool down. So here’s what I did:

Steam the kabocha. Cook edamame. Cube mango. Refrigerate!

Then quickly before serving I toasted some unsweetened coconut shreds. I also whipped up a little dressing to go over it. I don’ have any measurements but I mixed together soy sauce, sugar, lemon juice, and rice vinegar. I definitely did not do equal parts. Just think about what flavors you want to come out, and taste as you go.

Alongside, I toasted some bakery bread and slathered it with avocado and tomato. You can never go wrong with avocado. This tasted very different! But definitely in a good way. There were so many uniquely juxtaposed flavors that surprisingly went well together. I had some leftovers for breakfast the next day. I won’t be sharing that till tomorrow!

I hope everyone enjoys their Friday! And since a lot of you will be traveling, stay safe!