Lasagna Soup

So Seattle... we're all here now! First Bryce and Bagheera arrived together before Bryce took off on a business trip. Bagheera made herself at home atop the kitchen cabinets while in the absence of cozy things to lay on. I joined the party last week and our furniture and household goods arrived just 2 days later! We've been getting acclimated as best as we can. Thankfully I purchased a coat during our visit a few months ago and it goes everywhere with me! 

If you follow me on Instagram, you've seen the cliche in-Seattle-drinking-coffee posts that I've succumbed to! In my defense I can't get enough coffee to warm my bones and I was:

1. Excited about my brand new French Press and coffee grinder
2. Sad that I ruined the first brew but didn't dare attempt a caffeine-free morning
3. Pleased to successfully make an edible cup of coffee at home using the crazy contraption
4. Tickled by the adorable and delicious mocha at a neighborhood coffee shop

Our Big Fat Italian Easter

Happy Easter! Despite living in a house filled with adults, I still like to spend Easter celebrating traditions from my childhood. That means this guy shows up in full force!

Rainy Day Onion Soup

We've had some of the craziest weather I've ever experienced here in Honolulu this week: pouring and constant rain (versus our typically light and quick rain showers) and a few intense thunderstorms! On Tuesday it rained all day long and, according to the Aloha: Yinz Mangia Facebook page, this weather calls for soup: corn chowder, tomato, lobster or crab bisque, nabe (Japanese soup), and even chili and beef stew.

Luckily I had planned to make onion soup this week and all of the ingredients were already inside the house. Avoiding the rain and still filling the soup craving - score! What a great excuse to use my new mini cocottes and their corresponding cookbook.

Sourdough Francisco

Hi there. 

Did you miss me while I was on the longest vacation of my life? Chances are, if you're a loyal reader, I probably saw you while I was visiting San Fran, Pittsburgh, or Boston, since I basically invited myself to each of my friend's homes at some point.

I ate more than humanly imaginable but I'll try to tell you about all of the fantastic food from the trip! Especially since it's a new year and I'll be consuming only healthy and boring-and-not-blog-worthy foods for the time being - I'll get caught up on blogging my travels while secretly sneaking (and not photographing) girl scout cookies from my freezer!

The first stop on our traveling adventure was San Francisco! Bryce and I arrived bright and early on a Saturday morning and his good friend/former roommate Morgan picked us up from the airport with his ADORABLE son Kaleb. We promptly headed to Fisherman's Wharf and stopped for breakfast at the famous Boudin Bakery.

These three lovely gentlemen were my company! Kaleb wasn't too excited to be up so early.

Sourdough bread bowls filled with clam chowder were the motivating factor for my trip to SF, but I thought I'd be a normal person and order breakfast food. Thankfully, breakfast options include sourdough at bakeries in San Fran - duh! The choice was simple... sourdough french toast with cinnamon sugar, whipped butter, maple syrup, and the added fruit option, making the whole meal totally healthy and calorie-free, right?!

Each order came with 4 slices and we should have just gotten one to share, it was so much food! MMMM bacon.

After breakfast we were off to Alcatraz (willingly), but not before checking out the giant sourdough alligator! He looks a little well-done, don't you think?

Mere hours later we were hungry again! We found a great little restaurant on the edge of the wharf...

...where I got my much anticipated sourdoughbreadbowlwithclamchowder!!!

Peek-a-boo! Notice the salad, another calorie-free meal :)

Yeah right! The chowder was so stinking delicious that I'll never eat any other chowder again because it won't measure up to this creamy and rich soup from heaven. The pieces of clam were big, tender, and so yummy. I scooped the bread bowl out so aggressively and precisely that it could have been made into a bread pinata - filled with croutons and beaten with baguettes!

On that note, I think I've said enough! More from San Fran to come - including the eating adventures of 2 year old Kaleb, Ghirardelli, and a stop to Chipotle,

Pumpkin Bean Soup

Is it just me or is everyone really going nuts over fall's arrival this year?  Like all other seasons, you can't tell the difference here in Hawaii.  That's mostly a good thing, since it never gets cold, but it's also a boring thing.  I have other "mainland" friends here in Hawaii who feel the same way - that we're missing out on the seasons changing!  There's no crisp smell to the air or changing colors to note the arrival of fall, no excitement over the first snow of the year, and no pressure/excitement of shopping for new clothes for the upcoming season.  Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining, just saying that without a calendar it's hard to tell what time of year it is.

That said, I do my best to fake the seasons for my own enjoyment.  Decorating my apartment, scented candles, movies, and making season-appropriate foods are always the best way!  Sunday morning I watched the Steelers game at a restaurant, as I do every week.  When I got home I was inspired to cook and was prepared to make a fall-ish recipe I'd been looking at all week: Pumpkin Bean Soup.

Aloha: Yinz Mangia is the name of this blog, yes, but it's also a description of me!  Hawaii - Pittsburgh - Italy.  That day I was encompassing all three at once: cooking in my apartment (in Hawaii), wearing my Steelers jersey (Pittsburgh), and watching listening to and taking peeks at the Godfather part 2 (Italy).

This recipe is by far the easiest I've made and posted to date.

Pumpkin Bean Soup