Green Tip of the Day

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Walk, ride a bike, or combine trips to reduce driving. If you stopped driving just 20 extra miles per week for one year, you could save about 900 pounds of CO2.

Saving our environment is everyone’s responsibility. What will your legacy be?

Lava Tree State Monument

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Lava Tree State Monument preserves the site where a lava flow burned through an ohia forest in 1790. The lava that flowed quickly from Kilauea Volcano’s east rift zone surrounded the trees and cooled forming molds of the burned tree trunks inside. There’s a 0.7 loop trail that will take you through the formations in the forest. There are 17 acres of preserved forest here. If you go on the hike, the ground is uneven so wear decent shoes and/or watch your step. To get there: Go south on Highway 130 out of Pahoa. Then turn east on Highway 132. The Park is 2 1/2 miles down this highway on the left. This place is unbelieveably green and should definitely be put on your stop when in the Puna district just to get an appreciation of both destruction and rebirth. There are restrooms and picnic facilities available. (Geocachers: Yes there’s a cache here the last I checked) Lots of interesting information available there about the forming of the lava molds as well as their ongoing battle with the coqui frog. This little frog is not native to Hawaii and has become a real nuisance. Visitors from the midwest may liken them to crickets…until there’s an army of them. Then good luck trying to sleep!

Now as you’ve looked at the resulting molds in the pictures you’ve seen in this post, the same thing may have crossed your mind that crossed my mind when I saw them. Would it be wrong to admit that we stopped at this park specifically to get dirty pictures? Yes, I was 31 years old and it’s highly immature for a gal that age to be posing suggestively next to these pieces of history but come on…LOOK AT THEM! I heard collective giggles with every person who went up to them but no one else had the 12 year old mentality to pose the way we did with them. What can I say, it’s mandatory to grow older but not to grow up. Guilty as charged!

Aloha Friday Recipe: Quick Loco Moco Bake

Filed Under Local Recipes | 1 Comment

1 dozen Eggs
1 lb Hamburger
1 can Spam
4 C Cooked sticky rice
2 12 oz jars beef gravy (or homemade if you got time)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Brown ground beef until done and drain. Grease a 13×9 pan with butter or cooking spray. Spread 4 cups of cooked sticky rice on the bottom of the pan. Then layer half the length of the pan with browned ground beef and the other half with sliced Spam. Crack all 12 eggs over the meat so they are evenly distributed (trying to keep yolks in tact if you can). Put pan in the oven for 15-20 minutes or until eggs look to your liking. Then pour on gravy so it covers the whole top of the pan and put it back in the oven covered in foil for another 5 minutes. Serve with Aloha Shoyu, ketchup, teriyaki sauce or alone. “Fine tune” it with whatever you like. Great for easy breakfasts or to take to a gathering. Serves 8 (unless you REAL hungry! Den foah!) To lighten it up a bit, use 80 or 90% lean burger, drain and rinse it. Use Spam Lite. Heinz Fat Free Savory Beef Gravy tastes ono with it. You can also take the egg yolks out if you’re really trying to be good–or at least out of half the eggs.

Recipe by me!

3 men accused of stealing 200 pineapples…

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Okay, that’s a LOT of pineapple upside down cakes…and smoothies…and fruit salad…and jelly and….

Security guards for Del Monte stopped three men they said were picking pineapples in one of the fields. Security had planned to give the men a trespassing warning. Police arrived and escorted the men back to their van, where they found about 200 pineapples in the van’s cargo hold, authorities said. Officers arrested the men — ages 35, 47 and 63 — on second-degree theft charges.

Courtesy of KITV The Hawaii Channel.com

Sea asparagus anyone?

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I was unaware this even exisited! If anyone’s ever tried it I’d love to know if it tastes like regular asparagus or nowhere near it.

http://www.honoluluadvertiser.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070808/BUSINESS17/708080402/1071

Local boy on Iron Chef America

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Here’s your chance to catch the replay of Honolulu born New York chef Tony Liu go against one of his culinary heroes Mario Batali tonight on Iron Chef America. Will Tony win or be defeated by the orange Croc’d chef?

August 09, 2007 9:00 PM ET/PT

August 10, 2007 12:00 AM ET/PT

August 11, 2007 7:00 PM ET/PT

August 11, 2007 11:00 PM ET/PT

August 12, 2007 2:00 AM ET/PT

Please help Caleb get better!

Filed Under Spread the Aloha | 2 Comments

I saw Caleb’s story in May and instantly fell in love with this little boy. I’m going to let the video speak for itself.

WPvideo 1.10

If you’d like to help contribute toward Caleb’s care, go to the Friends for Caleb website and find out 2 ways you can help out and spread the aloha to the Egdamin family.

Breaking News: Are Dog Chapman’s legal woes really over?

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While it appeared all was well in the Chapman vs. Mexico case there has been an appeal filed. Here’s a bit of the story as reported in the Honolulu Advertiser:

“The next step is for us to get the case dismissed here because the Mexican trial court did dismiss the charges and rule that the Chapmans are free,” Chapman’s attorney Brook Hart said. “We’ll be discussing the matter with the prosecutor. If the government agrees, then it will be dismissed.” The First Criminal Court in Puerto Vallarta dismissed all criminal charges against the Chapmans on the grounds that the statute of limitations had expired. Mexican officials automatically filed an appeal, Hart said. “They may or may not follow through,” Hart said. “If they do, we’ll deal with that. Duane and (his wife) Beth are gratified that the Mexican trial court ruled in the matter the way they did and have great confidence that the appellate court will affirm the lower court decision.”

We’ll keep the Chapmans in our thoughts and prayers and hope that this can be settled once and for all!

For the keiki…

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If you are looking for some free coloring pages with a Hawaii theme for your keiki (kids), I found a great little page by Hawaii children’s book author, Tammy Yee. Just click on the link and print out whichever image you’d like.

http://www.tammyyee.com/color.html

(By the way readers, if you haven’t picked up crayons in a while, it’s one of the best stress relievers out there. Laugh all you want but it’s cheaper than therapy or a breakdown, yeah?)

Hot dogs, getcher hot dogs here!

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If you’re visiting the Garden Island of Kauai and find yourself in the Poipu area, you should take the detour to Poipu Shopping Center for a Puka Dog. What’s a Puka Dog? Well, puka means hole in Hawaiian and their fresh solid buns are toasted on a…er…very phallic looking metal contraption to create the puka for the dog. They use a very tasty polish sausage or you can get a veggie dog. Well, instead of me trying to explain it all, take a gander at their online menu:

Now I’m not big on the exotic before I’ve tried the basic. I figure if a place can’t do simple well, I don’t want their fancy schmancy stuff to cover up inadequacy. So I got the polish sausage and I just wanted mustard on it. Boring, yes but I gave you my theory. They kept asking what kind of lemon garlic sauce I wanted and I really didn’t think that sounded good but they wouldn’t stop hounding me on it so I finally gave in and got the jalapeno and yellow mustard. Then they couldn’t accept that I didn’t want their enticing Lilikoi (passion fruit) mustard. We told them we’d take a little on the side but give me the yellow mustard please. (I was beginning to get real irritated fighting for what I wanted.) So I got that and a lemonade. (aka-sugar water with barely a hint of lemon to it) Now I’ll admit that the combo of the lemon garlic jalapeno with yellow mustard, somehow seemed to work however, there was entirely too much of both inside this puka. It was oozing out the top and overpowered the really tasty dog until I scooped half of it out. The hubby got a polish sausage with mango relish and ketchup. He said he liked his and he’s not even the culinary daredevil of the two of us.

We went back a few days later and I just wanted straight up mustard and ketchup (NO sauces of any kind) and he got the pineapple relish on his. Again, it was a fight to get what we wanted. They put so much mustard and ketchup in mine that it soaked the bottom of the bun out and it broke. Thank God I was sitting down and it was wrapped. He liked his pineapple relish too.

Now despite all of this, would I recommend Puka Dogs to others. Yes. The dog itself is very high quality and the bun is really good. My only tip would be to be prepared to tell them you do NOT want half the puka filled up with condiments unless you’d like to risk wearing them. I do encourage you to try all of the exotic flavors they have to offer. I was just in the mood to be a traditionalist there.

If you want to see the Puka Dogs up close, tune into The Travel Channel’s “Hot Dog Heavens” tonight at 8 and 11pm. (Check local listings) Open Monday-Sunday 11 AM to 6 PM

Also at:
Waikiki Town Center
2301 Kuhio Avenue # 2
Phone: 808 979-2405

Monday – Sunday
10 AM to 10 PM

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