Green Smoothies (Samoan Style)

One thing I've missed in Samoa is my morning green smoothie. We have some friends here that brought their Vitamix with them from the States. Every morning they have a smoothie with papaya, banana, niu, oatmeal and almonds. I don't think it would have been worth the weight and space in my suitcase to lug a Vitamix to Samoa, but some mornings I wondered...

A shout out to  Beth Hunt. She is, among other things, a retired school principal, counselor, teacher and head librarian, a Talking Matai, an institute teacher and our volunteer secretary at the dental clinic in Pesaga. Most import to know about her though is the fact that she heard me moaning about my lack of a blender several weeks ago and generously offered to let me borrow a Ninja that she wasn't using.

 HALLELUJAH!

Now that I had the blender, the biggest problem was what to use for greens. There is a vegetable called laupele that people grow in their back yards here. It's supposed to taste a little like spinach. Since it grows kind of wild and no one really likes green vegetables that much in Samoa anyway, you can't find it in the stores. Unfortunately I don't know anyone that has laupele in their back yard. That only left me one leafy green to use that you can find at every market here in Apia. Bok choy. It wouldn't be my first choice, but after some experimentation I developed my Samoan green smoothie.


It contains:
1 small head of bok choy (chopped)
1 cup of coconut water from a fresh niu
1 cup of papaya
1/2 a lime (peeled)
2 misi luki bananas (peeled)
1 cup of yogurt
Green Smoothie Girl's Green Light powder and Tri-omega Superfood.

I'm showing a picture of the yogurt because this stuff is smooth, creamy gold. It costs 23 tala a container, or over $10 US. Sometimes Farmer Joe's will mark it down to 5 or 10 tala a few days before it expires (depending on what mood they're in. Fa'a Samoa). We snatch up a few cartons whenever we see it marked down. Otherwise Mark grumbles all week if I pay full price.

My green smoothie is ready to drink. The Ninja doesn't blend as smooth as a Vitamix. I end up with crunchy bits of bok choy.  At first I hated it because they were bitter to chew. Now I've gotten used to it and actually love my smoothie each morning. One good thing about the crunchies is that they give me a reason to chew my smoothie.

It might be a little ironic that the only cup we have in our little kitchen that is big enough to hold my smoothie is a McDonalds' thirsty-two ounce soda cup that someone who lived here before us left in the cupboard!

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a night in a treehouse

A few weeks ago we traveled over the top of the mountains on the cross-island road to Lupe Sina. a tree house bed and breakfast owned by Carol and Jack Bachelor, ex-pats from Eugene, Oregon. There are two tree houses that are available to rent. Both were designed, engineered and built by Jack. We have visited them several times since we've been in Samoa, but finally found a couple of free days so we could actually stay in one of the tree houses overnight. We chose the one in the banyan tree. It was amazing! Above is the front view with the stairs up to the door. To the side is the rear view of the tree house and me on the rear deck. The last picture is the view down the mountain, across the jungle to the Pacific Ocean. You may not be able to see that I'm reading a book about tree houses. (BTW, that's not an ashtray in front of me. It's a mosquito coil)

Dinner that night was in the open-air terrace restaurant in the Bachelor's home. Mark is eagerly awaiting our meal. First we had a salad with garlic toast. For the main course we both ordered grilled moon fish with watercress, carrots and garlic mashed potatoes. Carol is an amazing cook. Moon fish is not always available on the menu. It's a trophy fish and is seldom seen in restaurants. As you can tell, I was so excited to taste it that I took a few bites before I remembered to take the picture. It was wonderful! It tasted like a cross between halibut and chicken breast.

After dinner we ordered chocolate cake to take back to our room. Carol is famous for her chocolate cake. She says the secret is the local Samoan cocoa. Whatever her secret, the cake did not disappoint. This time Mark and I were licking the last crumbs off our plates and looking at the sunset over the ocean when we realized we hadn't taken a picture. Sigh.



The next morning Carol brought us breakfast to eat on our deck. We had Dutch Babies with a side of papaya and bananas. One Dutch Baby was rolled up with butter and maple syrup, the other was filled with mango jam. Mark had apple juice, but I had hot cocoa. It was some of the best I've ever tasted. Once again Carol told me it was the local Samoan cocoa.

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Robert Louis Stevenson and eating Samoan-style

Yesterday was the 20th anniversary of the Robert Louis Stevenson Museum in Samoa. Mark and I were invited to attend along with all the senior missionary couples here in Apia. It was a big deal with members of the government and other dignitaries here in Samoa also invited. A big deal means a big banquet. We were not disappointed. Here we are anticipating the food and fun to come.

The program consisted of thank-you speeches and the presenting of plaques. There were several musical numbers, including "Requiem", a song sung by the guides at the end of each museum tour, and 2 songs by the Down's syndrome daughter of the museum director. There was also a question-and-answer session with the contestants for Miss Samoa. During the program we were presented with 3 hors d-oeuvre courses. Unfortunately the pictures were taken after some of the food was already eaten. Each couple was presented with approximately one plate of each of the 3 courses. I thought the sushi was especially good. Hmmm...I wonder who ate the sushi rolls that are missing?

After the program the buffet began. It was made up of long tables in a u-shape. Here is a sampling of some of the dishes served. Many of the dishes were traditional Samoan fare.

Polusami and Taro (my favorite Samoan dish), Lobster, Sapa Sui, Fish, and Vegetable Curry

Salads and Ham

My plate runneth over. (You can even see a few of the desserts in the background)

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