Take a trip back to the 1970s

One new recipe a week. That's the new rule in our home. This leads to hours spent pouring over recipes in our various beautiful books, which is fine by me. What better way to spend a Sunday evening?

This Saturday Chris and I wandered along to Notting Hill, specifically Portobello Road Market. After wandering through the market, wishing we had more room in our two room Soho pad, we happened upon heaven. Books for Cooks. This gorgeous little shop on Blenheim Crescent sells books that deal with cooking. That's it, and it's glorious. After salivating over the Alinea cookbook, checking out a legit copy of Julia Child's masterpiece and flipping through Rick Bayless' book on salsas, we decided to pick up a quirky little book on Hawaiian cooking. It took me back to the lovely days spent on Maui, sipping coffee and eating fresh Mango. I was looking forward to recreating some of my favorite Hawaiian fare.

Roana and Gene Schindler, with their connection to the famed Hawaii Kai restaurant, published Hawaiian Cooking in 1970. This Monday, 39 years later, we tried our first recipe from the book: 'Basic Curry for Meat and Chicken - and shrimp and lobster too' The result was a split ballot. Liz and I thought it was delicious, but Chris wasn't swayed by its sweet sticky charm. The curry was a perfect example of Americanized ethnic food - taking what tastes similar to a Malay curry, then making it saltier, sweeter and milder - in short, more accessible to middle America. Despite kicking up the heat with some scotch bonnets and serving it over mounds of shimmering black Forbidden Rice, this recipe still felt like it would be best enjoyed on an episode of the Brady Bunch.

Don't get me wrong, it was delicious and I'm taking the left overs for lunch today, it just in no way echoed the amazing dishes I've experienced in Hawaii. And so I'm in search of a genuine Hawaiian cookbook, one that stresses the fresh ingredients, fruit and use of seafood. Anyone have recommendations?