Three Tables Beach: North Shore [w/Grilled Zucchini Roll-Up && Roasted Pepper Hummus recipes.]

At first I thought, why do people care about what beaches I go to? 

But as a Mom I am always looking for things to do with my kids and it really helps if someone can give me the details beforehand, before we trek out there with 17 towels, 4 shovels, 2 coolers, etc. only to find out the waves are too rough, there's is absolutely NO parking,

 or hypodermic needles are hidden in the sand.

Besides that, this is also my personal blog, and I'll write about what I want to write about.  So, yeah.

Spent a great Memorial Day with our friends The Lipka's.  Both have lived in Oahu for almost their whole lives so they know the island a lot better than we do.  We had great plans to go camping above the cemetery in Mililani but after a few rainy days we decided wallowing in the mud didn't sound like much fun.  

We're always excited to try out a new beach,  everyone can be so different it's just amazing to see everything Hawaii has to offer.  The last time we lived here 2004-2008 we didn't really get out enough to just be thankful for what was all around us and it kind of made us go stir crazy, coming from California land of road trips & every kind of climate you could imagine was hard, this time around we decided to not be closed in and explore!

The Three Tables out in the ocean.  You can stand on top of them and the swim out isn't hard at all.

This beach is also located in a fish conservatory so the snorkeling was amazing!

Went for the first time in awhile and it was awesome to see all the Parrot fish, eels, sea cucumbers, coral & let the quickly growing belly float around in the ocean for a bit! 

[Awesome tide pools all around these rocks, Jonas had a blast just walking around this area.]

The Beach 411!

If you are coming from North Shore you will keep following the main road around past Waimea Bay.

Three Tables will be right past Waimea Bay on the left, if you hit the Pupukea Foodland you went too far.  Parking is actually more than some beaches but still not great, be prepared, you might have to haul your stuff quite a ways.  There are bathrooms but they are a little bit down along a paved path, so don't wait till they're screaming "I can't hold it anymore!"

Foodland [with a Starbucks!!!] is super close, less than a mile away, just in case your forgot any essentials.  There are some trees and shade but as always it's good to bring your own, especially with little kids.  The water is really nice, clear and warm.  Calm enough at the sand line and shallow but if you walk far enough out there is a drop off.  

Rock balancing near the bathrooms, crazy to see!

So as promised, here are my recipes for my contributions to the BBQ!

It was a great dish to try there because you can prep everything ahead of time, grill the zucchini and then just smear on the goat cheese & roll!  Just make sure to put leftovers in your cooler right after so they don't go bad.

Have a great day at the beach!

Zucchini Roll-Ups with Herbed Goat Cheese

2 large zucchini cut into wide strips

Olive Oil

Salt & Pepper

Any combo of dried herbs you have on hand, I used thyme & rosemary

1/2 cup goat cheese

1/4 Kalamata olives, pitted & diced

[1] Slice your zucchini into strips and toss with oil, salt & pepper.

[2] In a separate container mix goat cheese with chopped Kalamata olives & herbs.

[3] Grill zucchini for 3-7 minutes each side, depending on thickness of strips and heat of grill.

Once they are tender and can be bent they are done!

[4] Smear goat cheese mixture on cooked zucchini & roll!  All done!  

Super easy, healthy & tasty side dish for any BBQ.

 I also brought some home made hummus, cause who doesn't love eating the day away at the beach?

Soaking up the sun, listening to some good tunes & swimming.snacking.swimming.repeat. 

I'm also always looking for ways to make things we like cheaper, healthier and fresher.

Hummus is one of those things!

Roasted Sweet Pepper Hummus

2 cans garbanzo beans, drained & rinsed

8 mini sweet bell peppers, assorted colors

1/4 cup tahini

1/4 cup olive oil

Juice of 2 large lemons

Sea Salt to taste

Cumin

Smoked Paprika

[1] Roast your sweet peppers, rub them with oil & season with salt.

Set one to the side & dice finely to garnish. 

Roast them in a 350 degree F oven for about 20 minutes or until soft and slightly charred looking.
Let cool.

[2] Drain & rinse your garbanzo beans and put them in a food processor.  

Put a small handful to the side for the top.

We have a Ninja, I use it for everything!  Love.

[3] Add olive oil, lemon juice, salt & seasonings.

[4] Once peppers are cool cut off stems and de-seed.

Throw those in the processor as well!

[5] Blend!  You might like your hummus thinner, chunkier, etc.  This is a recipe that is really easy to adapt to your tastes.  I personally love lemon so I think even 5 juiced lemons wouldn't be too much for me!

[5] Season to taste, blending a bit between each time so you can make sure it's not too salty, etc.

[6] Once your happy with the flavor transfer to a serving bowl, etc.

Top with more olive oil, smoked paprika, & reserved garbanzo beans and peppers!

This taste even better the next day too so it's a great make ahead food.

Red Velvet Brownies & Mewithoutyou Ten Stories Review.

I love love love Red Velvet.  If I pass by a cupcake shop I have to stop and see if they have it, I try it anywhere I can find it so when I came upon this recipe on Pinterest...of course I had to try it!

I think these would be good with Cream Cheese frosting or even just a sprinkling of powdered sugar, I was just out.  I also have the awesome super power of being able to resist baked goods once I've made them.  I tried them, they were delicious.  And the kids ate the rest. True story, I swear.

They come out redder than they look in this picture and the original recipe had DOUBLE the amount of red food coloring.  If your going for that I'm sure it would be fine.  In case your wondering this is definitely NOT one of my healthier recipes, but hey, they all can't be.  Happy Baking! 

Red Velvet Brownies

adapted from www.newlyweds-blog.com

Ingredients:

1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature 

1 1/2 cups granulated sugar

1 1/2 cups brown sugar

4 large eggs, room temperature

2 tubes red gel food coloring, about 1 oz.

1 teaspoon Vanilla extract

2 1/2 cups AP flour

6 heaping tablespoons unsweetened Cocoa powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 Tbs. milk

Before you begin:  Butter a 9x13 Cake Pan and preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

[1] Cream butter & both sugars in a mixer.

[2] Add eggs one at a time, stopping and scraping down sides of mixer when necessary.

[3] Add vanilla, milk, and red food coloring.

Meanwhile, in a separate bowl......

[4] Whisk together flour, cocoa powder, and salt.

[5] Slowly add dry mixture to wet  until combined, use your spatula to make sure nothing gets stuck to the bottom.

Pour the mixture into your pan and bake for 35-50 minutes depending on how gooey you like your brownies.  Now devour! 

And now for some music.

Ten Stories- Mewithoutyou

I have recently re-discovered Mewithoutyou.  I liked them before, I LOVE them now.

The music is awesome, interesting and just something as a musician I can never really grasp at how they came about their radness.  The lead singer, Aaron Weiss, has such a unique voice and their lyrics simply blow me away.  While not really considered a Christian band it is refreshing to hear what I consider Christian music but not have to necessarily listen to Top 40 type stuff all the time, I'm not that old yet!

I have only heard 2 previous Mewithoutyou CDs, Brother, Sister and It's all crazy!  It's all false!  It's all a dream!  It's alright. [They have 4 albums]

Hearing their newest CD, which has been called a cross between the two albums I love and their earlier work I am really inclined to go buy the other 2 right now.

Musically wise I think it's comparable to the other CDs I love, this being my first CD review I'm not even quite sure how one goes about describing music in words?  You just feel it man, or other hippie references here.  Is indie a style of music or just lesser known music?  Either way I'm probably not qualified to even have an opinion on this. 

BUT I do like this CD.  One of the reasons I like Mewithoutyou so much are there lyrics, they ask real questions I think most Christians have asked at some time or another, they question God, his plans and life but somehow always come back to the fact that they trust in him. This time around it's their first concept album?  It tells the story of a traveling circus and the animals on the train. 
I'm having a hard time finding the lyrics on-line and even after more than a dozen listens I'm trying to figure this CD out, but I guess the conclusion is that this CD makes me want to do just that.  I won't stop listening anytime soon. 

One of my favorite lyrics from Mewithoutyou.

Pretty sweet tattoo design as well.

“The LORD is my strength and my defense ; he has become my salvation. He is my God, and I will praise him, my father’s God, and I will exalt him.
Exodus 15:1-3