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The Honolulu Advertiser
Layered salad will likely 'tickle your taste buds' | The Honolulu Advertiser | Hawaii's Newspaper
Posted on: Wednesday, July 9, 2008

LIGHT & LOCAL
 Layered salad will likely 'tickle your taste buds'

By Carol Devenot

 •  Isle egg crisis

Last summer, I wrote about what I consider Ward Avenue's best-kept secret eatery: Honolulu Juice Co. Located on the seventh floor of The Honolulu Club, 932 Ward Ave., this little establishment's menu keeps growing and evolving. I often wondered what the secret behind the secret was. It's the owner, Cynthia Davis, and her ingenious food skill.

This elegant woman, with a marvelous New Zealand accent, has been working with food ever since she can remember. Her parents owned an English hotel in Auckland. Her mother was a great cook and was known for her meat pies and gourmet food. The legacy is now being carried on through her daughter, Cynthia.

Cynthia moved to California and started a full-service custom catering business. She also worked with Wente and Fetzer Wineries in Napa Valley in California. She was the originator of the chocolate bread pudding served there. She then moved to Hawai'i and worked for the previous owner of Honolulu Juice Co. Eventually, she and her son Cliff bought the company. Cliff is very personable and efficient with customers.

Honolulu Juice Co. is famous for its smoothies, salads, chili and oatcakes (with no added sugar, dairy or gluten). Try her salad below, and you'll see that her food reflects her philosophy that "food should be upbeat, healthy and tickle your taste buds."

CYNTHIA'S LAYERED SUMMER SALAD

  • 2 to 3 heads of romaine lettuce, washed and chopped

  • Salt to taste

  • 1 1/2 cups dried cranberries

  • 1 1/2 cups pecans

  • 3/4 cup feta cheese

  • 1 Japanese cucumber, thinly sliced

  • 1 cup of hummus (garbanzo bean dip; optional, served on the side)

  • Celery sticks

    Place half of the romaine lettuce in a deep glass bowl (you will be able to see the layers like a trifle dessert). Sprinkle with: 1/2 cup dried cranberries, 1/2 cup pecans, 1/4 cup feta cheese, 1/2 Japanese cucumber thinly sliced.

    Place the other half of the romaine lettuce on the top. Finish with remaining pecans and cranberries and arrange feta around the edge. Dress with raspberry vinaigrette (see below). Serve with hummus and celery sticks.

    Makes 4 servings.

  • Per serving:(without vinaigrette and without salt to taste): 650 calories, 43 g fat, 8 g saturated fat, 25 mg cholesterol, 600 mg sodium, 63 g carbohydrate, 15 g fiber, 36 g sugar, 16 g protein

  • Per serving (with vinaigrette, but without salt to taste ): 1,050 calories, 85 g fat, 11 g saturated fat, 25 mg cholesterol, 900 mg sodium, 66 g carbohydrate, 15 g fiber, 39 g sugar, 16 g protein

    RASPBERRY VINAIGRETTE

  • 3/4 cup canola oil

  • 5 ounces raspberry balsamic vinegar

  • 5 ounces high-quality raspberry balsamic vinegar

  • 1/2 cup bottled water

  • 1 to 2 packets of sugar or Splenda (or to taste)

    1/2 teaspoon granulated garlic powder

  • 1/2 teaspoon salt

  • 1/2 teaspoon white pepper

    Place all of the above ingredients in a jar and shake. Serve over salad immediately. If there are any left over, store in the refrigerator.

  • Per 2-tablespoon serving of vinaigrette only: 150 calories, 17 g fat, 1 g saturated fat, no cholesterol, 115 mg sodium, 1 g carbohydrate, no fiber, 1 g sugar, no protein

    Want a local recipe lightened up? Write Light & Local, Taste Section, The Advertiser, P.O. Box 3110, Honolulu, HI 96802; or taste@honoluluadvertiser.com. Carol Devenot is a Kaimuki-raised kama'aina, teacher and recipe consultant, and author of "Island Light Cuisine" (Blue Sea Publishing, paper, 2003). Learn more at www.islandlightcuisine.com.

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