Bean Soup Elevated

I think that I make a wicked bean soup with Portuguese sausage. I learned yesterday that the soup is called posole in Portuguese. I even sell bean soup bags with my recipe. It is ironic how my friends and family keep buying me bean soup mixes to "broaden my approach" to soup making. Well, last night, I broke down and opened one of those commercial bean soup mixes. Since I did not have the optional ham hocks suggested, I found smoked meat, cut it into bite sized pieces and put it into the soup. I let the beans simmer merrily for an hour and found that the soup was bland even with the seasoning that was included in the mix. So, I put some glugs of Worcestershire sauce and sprinkled red pepper flakes. Let the mixture simmer merrily for an hour. Tasted it...something is missing. Sprinkled in some Hawaiian salt to taste. Ahhhh...good. The beans were not mushy but just the right texture. The smoked meat was tender. The gravy was great with a slight kick at the end...just a gentle kick. We had the soup with some homemade whole wheat bread. Now if we had some rice, the meal would be akin to the Louisiana favorite of red beans and rice. Still the queen of bean soups!!

Dreaming in Chinese: Mandarin Lessons in Life, Love, and Language

Although I am Chinese, I have very few words in my vocabulary from my childhood. Ah Po (grandmother), Ah Kung (grandfather), and Paisan (annual memorial service) are pretty much all I remember. We can then add in the names of Chinese foods, and words we have learned from the Chinese Kung Fu movies made in Hong Kong and I think that perhaps I have about 100 words. It was therefore very interesting to read Deborah Fallow's book, Dreaming in Chinese. She shares her experiences as an American living in China (Shanghai) and she learns the language, learns the culture, and lives the Chinese lifestyle. The neatest story is about the word shi pronounced "sure." A Chinese scholar, Chao Yuen Ren, designed an early version of Romanized Chinese. He wrote a story about a lion-eating poet using 92 characters which are pronounced in the same way shi. The poet named SHI loves to eat lions (shi shi) and goes to the market (shi) to buy ten (shi) of them. He takes them home to eat (shi) but discovers that they are made (shi) of stone (shi). Ahhhhhh....clever indeed. Get the book with a copy of the story on page 42 with the 92 Chinese characters all pronounced shi. I agree that when you live in a country and learn the language, insights into the culture become so clear. What to say, when to say, how to say, and what never to say...become communication markers. This is an interesting book. I wish that it was an audio book so that I could hear the Chinese words sounded out with the various intonations and especially, I want to hear the story about the Lion Eating Poet.

Git 'R Done

Larry the Cable Guy has the right plan of action in his catch phrase, "Git'R Done." Why wait for trivial considerations...move to action.

Since July 2010, I have been suffering from aching knees. I thought I would get better but instead things got worse and I was walking like an old lady. Finally in August 2011, I got my orthoscopic knee surgery done and I am thinking...what was I waiting for? My knee feels so much better. I could have done this during the school year last year and taken off a week of work and I would have been so good!!
But No!!!! I had to wait for an opportune time, whatever that means. I think I was just wanting to suffer and let people know how much I was suffering. Ai...sos...what a bazooz...knucklehead...lolo...obakasan...etc, etc, etc, in whatever language of choice!!

But it is all good. Correction all done. Moving ahead with thankgiving!!

Cool meals for summer

It is too hot to cook and it is too hot to eat something heavy. Summer meals make us think about what to serve that doesn't take too much preparation nor hides millions of calories. During the summer, there is an abundance of fresh vegetables to use. Take advantage of the season.

Made up a new salad that thought you'd like to try.
3 ears of fresh sweet corn, cut the kernels off of the cob
1 can kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 Japanese cucumber, cut into small chunks
2 T onion, chopped fine
Italian dressing
Salt and pepper to taste.

Combine the corn, beans, cucumber, and onions in a glass bowl. Add a little salt and pepper. Add Italian dressing (about 2-3 T, depending on the quantity of the salad mix). Mix the salad well, making sure that the dressing has flavored the mix.

Cover with plastic wrap and put in refrigeration one hour before the meal.

A cool light meal with all the food groups included.

Growing Hair

My hairdresser, Gladys, tells me that I can grow hair like no one else she knows.

Okay, so I am growing my hair for a hula hoike in 2012 or 2013. For the last several months, I have been getting my hair trimmed in preparation for the GROW PERIOD. Any woman will tell you that the worst stage in life's parade of bad hair days is the GROW PERIOD. Too long to be short. Too short to be long. Just an overall state of UGLINESS.

Last week was the last appointment with Gladys. From here on in, I will have to suffer until my sides are long enough to be clamped back with barettes. Of course, my bangs will be a fluffy mess. If you don't know it already, I have plenty of hair, coarse, resilient hair...hair which twisted into ropes could be used to tow a loaded Mac truck. "Be grateful you have so much hair," others tell me. But they have never had to carry a pony tail that is over an inch in diameter. Ha!

My husband and my son love my long hair. Of course, neither of them have had to grow their hair long...long enough to reach the waist length (the best length for a hula dancer). I don't understand why men love long hair. I do know that I don't like it when balding men try to grow their fringe long so that the pony tail is thin and straggly. I have only seen one guy who had long, beautiful, and healthy hair and he looked good in it. He told me it took him four years to grow. He is an anomaly.

Well, we will have to see how the GROW PERIOD will proceed. I will blog again after my hair has grown longer and see if I like it any better. I think I will put it up and pin a couple of double hibiscus flowers in my hair, like the kupuna of my youth. Heaven knows, I have enough hair to hold those huge blooms in my hair.

Food - Quality or Quantity

Is it better to go to a well-known establishment's buffet dinner with a million choices and mediocre food OR is it better to have a few things simply and wonderfully cooked? That is the question. Does quantity (variety and servings) trump flavorful food? It seems that when I go to a buffet, I try not to pig out and only taste those thing that seem enticing or wonderful like the chocolate laced bacon at the Mauna Kea Hotel. Yet, at the end of the day, the many tidbits add up to an overstuffed belly and a desire to get home and make a bowl of ramen to round out the meal.

This weekend, we went to Huggo's Restaurant in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii. With its footings in the ocean, one can watch the Kona sunset. We started off with drinks at the bar while waiting for our table. The Happy Hour drinks are $3 each and so our $9 glasses of wine were $3 each. Our table along the ocean side was sunny yet cooled by salty breezes. The mixed greens salad was shared and it was wonderful with sliced hearts of palm and sweet Maui onions to add the crunch to the salad. The dressing was light and sparingly used. I had the New York steak which had a wonderful sauce and a potato au gratin made from four or five times of potatoes and topped with sweet onions which were sauteed. For dessert, I had the honu pie, a cheese cake with a chocolate top and huge chunks of macadamia nuts. The lilikoi and strawberry sauce were combined with chocolate to make a honu or turtle design. Divine!! My husband had the Hualalai Mud Pie which should have come with a warning advising people that this was a HUGE dessert. It stood at least six inches high and that does not include the whipped cream. The service was marvelous and the waithelp very attentive...sometimes something of a rarity these days. The meal which included three glasses of wine, salad, two entrees - NY Steak and prime rib, and two desserts cost a little over $100. Money well worth a wonderful meal and a great way to celebrate a special occasion. For us, it was our 33rd anniversary and the topping was that one of the desserts (the more expensive one) was given to us complimentary!! I highly recommend this establishment.

The only problem is the lack of parking. But do what we did. Get an early reservation. Go to the restaurant about half an hour before the reservation and enjoy the happy hour drink bargains. There were also free appetizers available for the customers. THEN you will indeed have made the best of your HUGGO's experience.

Spend the next hour or so after dinner, walking along Ali'i Drive walking off the wonderful calories you consumed. Bon appetit!!

Virginia Macdonald - Hawaiian Pioneer

Upon meeting Virginia Macdonald, don't let her white hair fool you. She was a firecracker with a lot of spunk and energy.

Upon meeting Virginia Macdonald, don't let her Caucasian face fool you. She was Hawaiian at heart with much aloha for the keiki and the aina.

Upon meeting Virginia Macdonald, don't let her grandmotherly looks fool you. She was a glass ceiling breaker, a pioneer in a field dominated by men!!

I first met Virginia Macdonald in the mid-80's in Volcano. I loved to talk story with her, to hear about her adventures, to learn about her ideas about architecture that was made for the Hawaii / Volcano climate, to learn about passive energy and solar considerations in building construction. She mentored me when we had questions about creating a camp for children and families. She worked on Camp Timberline and had some good advice such as using available public facilities to "try" out the camp program. We did so and ran the Maluhia Enrichment Camp for three years in Volcano.
Her ideas about passive solar and home construction are a factor in the construction of our Volcano home. She was my mentor when I was the principal at Mountain View Elementary and needed someone to revise our master plan. She did the architectural plans for the Mountain View School cafeteria.
She was an inspiration to women who were looking to try new things. We bid aloha 'oe to a grand lady who had so much to do with altering people's ideas in Hawaii whether we are talking about architecture, hiking trails, children's education, the environment. Her passing will be marked by the things she did that remain alive today. Kealoha piha e Virginia.

Small Kid Time Treats

Our book club just got finished reading the novel, Water for Elephants. As is our regular practice, we try to bring snacks which are relevant to the topic of the novel or its geographic location so I was considering what to bring to the event with a circus theme. In Hawaii, the first consideration is a bag of boiled peanuts spiced with five spice. If not that, then we have to consider the Maui County Fair's candied apples - crunchy-juicy apples slathered with red sticky-gooey colored sugar. (This was a favorite back in the day but now with teeth worn down by life, not something one would want to eat on a daily or weekly basis.)

There are also the nostalgic candy bars like Big Hunk, Hershey's chocolate bar, Butterfingers, Almond Joy, Mounds, or the Hawaii favorite - Tomoe Ame with its little gifts. Tomoe Ame candy was wrapped in gelatin paper which we could eat...sweet, chewy gelatin blocks from Japan.

Popcorn is always a favorite and nothing can compare to the Wailuku Kress Store's red and green sugared popcorn. The smell of the popcorn would fill the store beckoning us to the front where the popcorn machine stood guard at the entrance.

I ended up buying boxes of CrackerJack which were a kid-time favorite. It seems however that the cracker jack then was more crunchy and there were more peanuts in the box with some fabulous (or so we thought at that time) prizes. I used to love getting the whizzing whistles are prizes.

What were your childhood treats from your hanabata days? Do they measure up to your memories? Perhaps this is another subject for discussion and reminiscence.

School's over...for the students

I come in early to see a deserted island of empty parking spaces.
I choose the one closest to my office.
It's so quiet, I can hear the birds chirping to each other.
School's over...for the students.

Instructors and staff meander over to the cafeteria.
I scan the horizon and don't see any of my compads.
A long line alerts me to the fact that there is food
Biscuits and gravy...Southern food in the Southernmost State.

The classroom looks stark and lonely without students lurking close by.
I turn on my computer to just a few emails.
Now this is weird, what to do, what to do in the hours till pau hana.
Somehow the noon hour sneaks up...time for a chatty snack.

Rice of various sorts grace the makeshift dining table.
My yogurt and fruit look out of place in this Asian paradise.
Pearls of laughter ring in the empty room, are we too loud?
A secret slips out of my mouth...my friend is astounded.

School's over...for the students and we carry on.
Perhaps we can go to Yogurtland to celebrate.
I praise God I am no longer an English teacher!!
It seems like such a selfish comment...but I'm out of here!!

Amazing Bentos, Minimal Time

One of my co-workers is pregnant and she is craving rice balls. Since she has treated me to lunch several times, I decided to make an old fashion homemade bento for lunch. The night before, I went to Blaine's Drive In to buy their boneless Korean Chicken which was on sale. Luckily, we had Sunday Supper leftovers of spam stuffed eggplant which was cooked in the Korean jun sytle. That is mixing an egg batter and fry your eggplant, beef, or fish.

Early in the morning as soon as the bed was fixed, I dashed downstairs to wash the rice and turn the rice cooker on. After my shower, I toasted the nori on the stove.
Turn on the stove and put the sheet of nori (laver) on the element until it gets crisp and bumpy. It might take a few seconds on each side.

In the meantime, the rice is cooked. Assemble a couple of bowls - one for water and the second for salt. You will need a rice bowl to toss the hot rice. Wet the inside of the rice bowl with a little water and salt. Put a scoop of rice and toss it around so that the rice is salted. Wet your hands. Cut the sheet of nori in half for those who are frugal. For those who are rich, use the whole sheet. Put the rice from the rice bowl into the sheet of nori. Mold it into a triangle by cupping your hands and turning the rice ball around - corner to corner. (Japanese make round rice balls only for funerals)

Assemble the parts of your bento in a container. Don't forget to get small plates and utensils for lunch and you'll look like a fabulous friend.

Whatʻs in a name

At our recent book club meeting, we discussed the novel, The Calligrapherʻs Daughter and got a chance to talk about each of our names. I was surprised that many people had their personal stories about their names. I found other people who made decisions about their own names. Which name is the primary name. Wishing to have another name. The family choice of names and their stories.

it is interesting to consider what names people would choose for themselves. It is also interesting to see how names define people. How some names seem to foster certain times of personality...or levels of energy. I would be interested in hearing how people would name themselves.

When I was a kid, I thought I would name my daughters after gems such a Pearl, Jade, Rudy, etc. But what really happened was I ended with daughters whose names end with y...Cathy, Sunny and Becky. How original is that? All of their names are exactly the opposite from my name...Muriel. Whatʻs up with that?

Fretting Versus Decision Making

Why do we often torture ourselves with overanalysis? Why do we have to have a repetitive stream of consciousness that keeps bringing up the series of things we cannot resolve?

I had a problem having to do with my health and I needed to make a decision. First I was wrought with denial. "Oh no, I can heal myself." The more I worked on it, the more I had to deal with pain.

Then I started to gather information to make a decision. "What questions do I need answered? What if I did not like the answers I got? Who else should I ask? Who can I talk to?"

I packed my data in a bladder bag of overwrought anxiety and nerves. It sat and trembled. Bit by bit, I pulled information out and laid them down like pieces of an almost impossible jigsaw puzzle.

Eureka!! The answer was so clear, so logical, and so singular on what I could possibly do. I made up my mind. I talked to significant people and related my decision. Some took my decision with acceptance, others with tears, and still others with a sense of frustration. It is done. My decision is made. I feel liberated.

Ozoni Traditional Japanese Soup

On New Yearʻs morning, most Japanese families eat ozoni which is a soup with mochi (Japanese rice cakes).

Recipe
1 small can clams
1 soup base from the ramen package
2 c water
10 slices of kamaboko (Japanese fish cake)
1 cup mizuna (cut into 2" pieces)
1-2 mochi, cut into fourths

Empty the can of clams and juice into a sauce pan. Add water and the soup base. Bring to a boil.
Add in the kamaboko, mizuna, and mochi. Let simmer for 10 minutes or until the mochi is very soft.

Serve.

Kona Brewery's Cheeseburger Pizza

Although we could have gone to Huggo's (my favorite restaurant in Kona), the thought of the scarce parking scared me off.

We chose to go to Kona Brewery which was right up the hill from our hotel, the newly renovated King Kamehameha/Kona Beach Hotel. Due to my bum knees, we drove to the restaurant and promptly missed the driveway. We turned around only to find that the parking was for the shopping center and not necessarily for Kona Brewery. Oh well.

We walked a bit to the restaurant and saw scads of people waiting in line to be seated. We gave our name and got an electronic calling card that looked like an overweight coaster with neon lights. We found seats and sat and chatted in the really nice weather.

Forty five minutes went quickly and we were seated. The waithelp was buzzing around and the place was full. We started off with nachos and salsa. Home fried corn chips, thick and salty, dipped into a thick, tomato-based salsa. Not enough salsa for the big plateful of chips but we made do. We had cold glasses of beer. Don had ginger beer, I had a longboard and Becky had the Waialua Wheat. So many people, so much action, and noise but we made do.

We decided to order the Cheeseburger pizza which came after our first beer and the devouring of the nachos. The pie was crusty but not overly doughy. The toppings were great with hamburger, cheese, tomatoes, and romaine lettuce. Adding more parmesan and pepper flakes made the great pie even more delicious!!

Our son joined us after 8:00 and we had pizza left over for him. The company was great. The food filling and then there was dessert. Becky and I shared a lava cake which was more like a brownie with vanilla bean ice cream. Luckily we shared it because if not, it would have been over the top and bordering on overstuffed land.

Many choices of pizzas, beverages, sandwiches, and salads. The best topper was the four glasses we bought for Becky to take back to California with the Kona Brewery logo and the statement: Liquid Aloha. Indeed, indeed.

January Thought

Even a fish wouldn't get into trouble if it kept its mouth shut.Korean Proverb

And

Words have no wings but they can fly a thousand miles.Also a Korean Proverb

Have consideration before you articulate your thoughts but don't let your angry thoughts and feelings eat your body. There is a time, place, and way to deliver a difficult message.