ATTENTION UH FOOTBALL FANS!

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Pictures Plus welcomes COACH JUNE JONES

December 17 & 19
7 pm to 7:30 pm
Kahala Mall, Oahu

Get your copy of “HAWAII WARRIOR FOOTBALL: A Story of Faith, Hope and Redemption” autographed by Coach Jones. $24.95 in store. 

If you can’t make it to the in-store signing, you can always buy it cheaper at Amazon below.  The perfect gift for that UH fan!

Aloha Friday Recipe: Aloha Sweet Potatoes

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4 to 5 medium sweet potatoes
1/2 cup butter
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup shredded coconut

Boil sweet potatoes in their jackets until tender, about 25 minutes. Let cool, then peel and cut into slices 1 1/2-inch thick. In a large skillet melt butter. Stir in brown sugar and water and cook on medium heat about 5 minutes. Reduce heat and add sweet potatoes to skillet. Cook gently; tossing lightly until sweet potatoes are glazed. Sprinkle with coconut before serving. Makes 8 servings.

Note: Canned yams can be used in place of sweet potatoes.

Recipe courtesy of Hisurf.com

Kudos and frustration

Filed Under Hawaii Activities, Spread the Aloha | Leave a Comment

The Kalalau Trail is an 11 mile trail that traverses the north shore of Kauai.  Many day hikers will hike in the first four miles to Hanakapi’ai Valley waterfall as this is as far as you can go without a permit.  Over the years, the trail has gone into serious disrepair including spots where it was virtually impassable.  I was pleased to see this article in The Garden Island newspaper about how local Bill Summers was affected by a family hiking on the trail ahead of him that literally had to collect themselves after getting across a tight section of the trail.  Summers, tired of waiting for the DLNR to do anything about it began hiking out to the trail with minimal tools and buckets and began widening/defining the trail on his own to make it safer for hikers.  The more he hiked, the more he saw other areas in disrepair.

Here’s where the frustration comes in…IF the DLNR catches anyone making improvements on the trail, they will be cited!!  Yeah.  Well I know that the goverment is riddled with red tape and the money to complete the first two miles is being released in the beginning of next year but its pretty sad when you have people wanting to improve this natural wonder and your idea is to cite them for doing so!  Now they did say they want to work with him because of the job he’s doing and I’m assuming they’re not making trolling the trail a top priority but the thought of citing people is ludacris. 

With tourism being a main source of revenue for the islands, you would think that places like the Kalalau Trail and the Pu’u O Kila lookout at the Kalalau Valley, both of which are heavily advertised to potential visitors would be a main priority for funding.  Yet both are in major states of disrepair.  What is wrong with this picture??

So to the Bill Summers’ out there, the people who don’t wait for someone else to do it… a big mahalo to you.  Let’s hope your acts of aloha make the government take notice in a GOOD way and restore the access to these natural places of beauty for all to enjoy for years to come!    (Pictures below courtesy of Kalalautrail.com)

Um, no thanks!Wow…The trail

Fill your holiday home with the sounds of Keali’i Reichel

Filed Under Hawaiian Music | 2 Comments

If you know of Hawaiian music, then you most certainly know of famed artist Keali’i Reichel.  Keali’i's melodic voice can make you cry it’s so beautiful.  There’s still time to add this talented artist to your holiday collection with his cd, Maluhia.  Click below and you can preview his tracks to see for yourself how Keali’i Reichel’s cd can live up it’s name.  (Maluhia is “peaceful” in Hawaiian)

Green Tip of the Day

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Buy Products in Containers That You Know You Will Be Able to Recycle

It is important to familiarize yourself with your what types of containers and items can be recycled in your local recycling program. Once you know what you can recycle, look for products that come in the containers that you know you will be able to recycle when the products are all used up. Examples are products in commonly recycled containers made from aluminum, steel, #1 and #2 plastic, and glass. Check the Earth 911 Reuse and Recycling Services listings to see what types of containers/packaging you should look for in your community.

Tips courtesy of Earth911.org

Aloha Friday Recipe: Lamb Steaks with Mango Chutney

Filed Under Local Recipes | 2 Comments

4 lamb leg center-cut steaks, 1-inch thick Chutney:
3-1/2 pounds green mangoes
4 ounces fresh ginger, diced
3-1/2 cups sugar
1-1/2 cups vinegar
4 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
2 large cloves garlic, minced 1 cup onion, chopped
1/2 cup seedless raisins
1/2 cup white raisins
3/4 cup lime juice
3/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1 Chile pepper, crushed.

Peel and slice fruit 1/4-inch thick. Cover for 24 hours with brine made with 2 tablespoons salt to 1 quart water. Drain. Cook ginger in water to cover until almost tender. Drain; reserve water. Mix 4 tablespoons of reserved ginger water, sugar, vinegar, Worcestershire sauce and garlic. Bring to a boil. Add mangoes. Cook until fruit color brightens. Remove from syrup. Add ginger and remaining ingredients. Cook until onions are soft and mixture is desired thickness. Return fruit to syrup. Return to heat and bring to a boil. Pour into hot sterilized jars; seal. Makes 2-1/2 pints. Grill steaks 5 to 7 minutes per side. Serve with mango chutney. Makes 4 servings.

Recipe courtesy of Hisurf.com

Newest Hawaii geocaches…(December)

Filed Under Geocaching in Hawaii | 1 Comment

Town Center Cache  (Oahu)

Rock Garden  (Molokai)

Spam and Eggs   (Maui)

Clouds! Winds! Waves!  (Oahu)

Study up television shows and advertisers!

Filed Under Hawaii TV | Leave a Comment

I don’t know if any of you have seen the new Helio Up Flickr commercial featuring Hawaii but I know when I did, I was HIGHLY irked!  Now I get that if you haven’t been to Hawaii that there are all kinds of misinformation floating around by people who would rather assume things.  Like Honolulu is the name of the island where Waikiki is (you don’t know how many times I’ve heard that) or that you can take a 20 minute boat ride between all of the islands and all kinds of other assumptions that have people in the know shaking their heads.  To me the worst offenders of perpetuating these myths are advertisers or television shows who find it easier to slap together a bunch of footage from various islands and call it Hawaii.   Yes, it encompasses the STATE of Hawaii but when you’ve got Samantha Brown driving on Oahu and then have a shot of Ali’i Drive in Kona on the Big Island as filler as though “you too can find the *Kona Gallery* on Oahu,” then I get a little frustrated.  (And Girl Meets Hawaii which has long since stopped taping there was one of the more accurate shows–the Travel Channel has thrown up some pretty pathetic and inaccurate “facts” about the islands onto our screens over the years.)

Now I see the new commercial for the Helio Up Flickr and I have to roll my eyes and mutter under my breath every time.  If you want to see the commercial click here.  On the right side under Services TV Spots, it’s the 3rd one down for Helio-Up Flickr.  Go ahead and watch it real quick, I’ll wait.

Did you spot it?  I thought so!  If not, pay attention, I’m about to school you!  LOL!  Starts off with a beautiful shot of the Kalalau Valley on Kauai.  Then they proceed to make up a name for Kalalau Valley which I believe was “Mount Wilia’nunun” and as he types in what to name the picture he types “Mt. Pu’u Ohulehule.”  Then the guy tells him to look it up and it says “name your location” and he enters Oahu and when it maps it for him, it shows it on the Big Island around the Kamuela area.  Really?  I mean REALLY?  It would’ve taken you what, 10 minutes to research that and actually put the *right* info in the commercial.  Instead you have 3 islands that have all been misrepresented and believe me when I tell you that there are people out there that see that that are going to be looking for Mt. Pu’u Ohulehule on Oahu that looks oddly enough like the Big Island. 

Advertisers…TV shows…anyone in the mainstream media…I beg of you, get it right or use somewhere else as your exotic locale!  It only perpetuates the myriad of stereotypes mainlanders or people who haven’t visited the island have about Hawaii.  People could get a nice little education in that 30 seconds instead of being mislead and it would’ve cost you what, 30 minutes MAX in someone doing and double checking the research.  Hele on Helio, hele on.

*Stepping off soapbox*  :)

Paddle over to the Carnival of Aloha!

Filed Under Hawaii Resources | Leave a Comment

Want to take a virtual journey via Hawaii’s best bloggers?  Paddle on over to Homespun Honolulu’s Carnival of Aloha and read up on some great blogs about the beautiful islands of Aloha!

Click here to go to the Carnival of Aloha.

Green Tip of the Day

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Buy Products in the Largest Size You Can Use and Avoid Excess Packaging

A family of four can save $2,000 a year in the supermarket by choosing large sizes instead of individual serving sizes. Remember, ten cents of every shopping dollar is used to pay for packaging. Small sizes use more packaging for each ounce of product than larger sizes. So, if you buy large sizes, you save money, reduce waste, and help the environment. That is a really good buy. Here are a few good examples, look for others the next time you shop.

  • Buy cereal in a large box instead of in individual serving sizes.
  • Buy juice in concentrates and use reuseable containers instead of single serving packages.
  • Save money by buying bottled water in a large plastic jug instead of six packs of 16 ounce bottles. Reuse plastic water bottles.
  • Buy large packages of sugar and flour.
  • Avoid the small boxes of raisins and buy the same amount in the 24 ounce box.

Tips courtesy of Earth911.org

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