Aloha Friday Recipe: Coconut Milk Punch

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Fill a shaker with ice and add:
¼ cup half and half
¼ cup of coconut cream
¼ cup light rum
2 tablespoons dark rum
1 tablespoon sugar and 2 or 3 drops pure vanilla extract.

Shake well and strain into an old-fashioned glass or empty coconut shell.

Four Foods on Friday 93

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Here’s this week’s questions.

1. Name one bad habit you have in the kitchen.
I will put water in the pots/pans to soak and then forget about washing it until the next day.  My intentions are good.

2. Do you have a tv in the kitchen?
I’m lucky to fit two okoles in my kitchen, no room for a tv!  But I have a view of the living room tv from the kitchen so I’m good.

3. What’s one food you can’t stand cold?
Soups.  I’m not a chilled soup fan.

4. What’s your favorite juice?
POG.  Passion, Orange, Guava.

If you’d like to participate in this meme, swing by Val’s place and post the questions and your answers on your blog.

Lava close to public viewing area

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While there is no current threat to the viewing area itself, we all know that Madame Pele operates on her whims.  If you have plans to go to the Big Island to see the flowing lava at the county viewing site, be prepared that conditions are ever changing.  Here’s the latest article in the Honolulu Advertiser about the lava crossing over the old Kalapana access road.

To keep track of volcanic activity, visit the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory site.

Big Island’s Kauhola Lighthouse to be torn down

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The Big Island will be losing a piece of history by the end of the year.  The Kauhola Lighthouse, which was built in 1933, is sitting on a peninsula that is eroding.  The lighthouse is in danger of falling down the face of the pali if nothing is done.  The year it was built the lighthouse was 85 feet away from the cliff face and now it is 20 feet.  In October 2006, the Big Island earthquake took another 6 feet off of the cliff face.  The lighthouse is no longer operational. 

I remember doing a geocache at that location a few years back called Windy Bluff which is now archived.  It certainly was windy enough that you didn’t dare stand within 5′ of the edge.  The waves were constantly pounding so it’s easy to see how so much erosion could occur at that location.  It was a beautiful vista though and the lighthouse will be missed.

For the keiki…

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Looking for some out of this world activities for your keiki?  NASA has a fun page for your little astronauts in training.  Click here to go to their site.

Hawaiian Word of the Week

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Blanket- huluhulu (hoo-loo hoo-loo)

The alphabet contains 12 letters: 5 vowels (a, e, i, o, u) and 7 consonants (h, k, l, m, n, p, w). To simplify pronunciation, sound consonants as in English and break up words so they are easy to say (ie- Humuhumunukunukuapua’a would be pronounced humu-humu-nuku-nuku-apu-a-a)

Pronounce vowels as follows:

a – a in above; e – e in set; i – ee in see; o – o in some; u – oo in moon.

Pronounce vowels marked by a glottal stop (`) quickly ie- o`o sounds like oh-oh! in English.

Stress rising dipthongs (ae, ai, ao, au, oi, ou, eu, ei) on the first letter and end with a short e, i, o or u. ie- oi sounds like oy in soy, ending with a short “i”.

Aloha Friday Recipe: Hawaiian Rice Pilaf

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Ingredients:

1 Tbs. butter
1-1/2 cups long-grain white rice
2 to 3 cloves chopped garlic
1/3 cup diced red pepper
1/3 cup diced yellow pepper
3 cups chicken broth
1/2 cup golden raisins
1/2 cup roasted macadamia nuts
1/4 tsp. ground sage
salt to taste
1 cup diced pineapple
1/4 cup parsley

Melt butter in oven-proof casserole dish (with lid). Add rice and garlic, stirring to coat. Stir in peppers and chicken broth. Cover, and bring to boil. Stir in raisins, macadamia nuts and sage. Add salt if desired.

Cover, and place in preheated 375-degree oven for 18 to 20 minutes. When rice is finished baking, gently stir in pineapple and parsley. Serve immediately.

Recipe courtesy of ParadiseFoundOnline.com

Four Foods on Friday 92

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Here’s this week’s questions.

Name something you like with pumpkin in it.
Lite pumpkin pie with gingersnap crust.  YUM!

Name an orange food you like.
Carrots and while I don’t like sweet potatoes, Trader Joe’s has some awesome sweet potato fries

What’s your favorite color/flavor of licorice?
Red Vines.  I assume it’s strawberry.  Classic Twizzlers runs a close second as long as they’re fresh.  You know when you open the bag and it wafts into the air.  YUM!

What’s your favorite hot beverage at Halloween?
Spiced Apple Cider

If you’d like a fun meme to participate in, stop by Val’s place!  There’s still time to sign up!

Do your part with reef safe sunscreen

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The sunscreen that you slather on before a swim in the ocean may be protecting your body but may also be killing coral reefs worldwide.  Zooxanthellae provide corals with their food energy through photosynthesis and also contribute to the corals’ vibrant colors. Without them the corals turn white (bleach out) and die.  Certain chemicals used in sunscreen manufacturing can cause the algae in the corals to become infected and explode causing the coral to die.  It is estimated that 4,000 to 6,000 metric tons of sunscreens wash off swimmers annually in our oceans worldwide and that up to 10% of coral reefs are threatened by sunscreen-induced bleaching.

If you’d like to get some reef safe sunscreen before your next vacation or to keep on hand because you’re lucky enough to live in warm weather climates, stop by this website.

Newest Hawaii Geocaches (10/20)

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Lots of great neighbor island caches this time.  Whether you’re on vacation or lucky you live Hawaii, have fun!

Black Rock Beach  (Kauai)

Zorro’s Gulch  (Big Island)

Lohe’s Cove  (Oahu)

Paradise Tree  (Kauai)

Maia’s Ladybug Picnic- Maui Style  (Maui)

Kauai’s First Letterbox Hybrid  (Kauai)

Looking to get started in geocaching?  Wanting to see things off the beaten path on vacation or at home?  Click here to learn about geocaching.  See below for some of our favorite selections.

keep looking »