Furikake Soft Pretzels: East Meets West, Philly Meets Hawaii!

Soft Pretzels hold a near and dear place in my heart. I have many memories as a girl buying fresh baked soft pretzels in brown bags served out of a shopping cart on the streets of South Jersey and Philadelphia. This tradition in twisting dough, then baking it to chewy, salted perfection began in the area 150 years ago with the Pennsylvania Dutch in Amish Country. The classic soft pretzel is topped with coarse sea salt and yellow mustard. I decided to experiment with some Pacific influences, including a special Japanese rice seasoning ( furikake) topping. The following is a list of ingredients used to create the topping and mustard:

An Ode to the Ahi (Tuna)

Wow, what a lucky gal, living on a small rock, surrounded by the great big sea, I have the pleasures of eating a fresh catch on a regular basis. Most Saturday mornings, I stumble out of bed and head to the neighborhood farmers market which is just a few blocks away. This piece of fish is just one of those gems to be found at the KCC Farmers Market. This Honolulu market is teeming with local fresh grown tropical fruits and veggies, a local cup o' Kona coffee, locally grown chocolate, tempting prepared culinary delights,sea asparagus, honey, fresh cut flowers including ginger, protea, anthuriums, etc...

I had to take a picture of this piece of ahi (tuna) that I picked up at the market just a few weeks ago. You can see how nutritious that piece of fish is by the beautiful sheen and vibrant color!

Muchos mahalos to you, Mr. Ahi Tuna, it is to you who I owe many thanks for providing me with a nutritious and delicious meal!

Aloha!