My First Chayote/Pipinola Experience

     Yesterday, I found a new love. Lol! I fell in love with what I think is a vegetabe and will probably be experimenting with different recipes using chayote, aka pipinola (in Hawaii), vegetable pear, pear squash, or choko.  I have an enough supply to last me all week so this experiment should be fun. :)  

     Grandma Toni's back yard is where I first met the chayote plant.  I walked thru Grandma's garden with my sister and her in-laws and we ended up picking a fruit off of some kind of vine. I didn't know then what it was so I asked Aunty, "What is this and what is it for?" She laughed at me and said, "This is pipinola." Ack! That name sounds so familiar!  My sister only laughed at me because I've seen it countless times before, but I guess I never paid much attention to it.  Aunty went on explaining how they prepare the pipinola in soups, stir fries, salads and DESSERTS.  FOOD always gets my attention and I listened well and took some notes. I learned that not only the fruit of the plant is used, but the root, shoots, and leaves as well are prepared in many food dishes. Chayote belongs to the gourd family and is used raw or cooked. 

     When dinner time came, I seen Aunty plating a greenish salad made with the chayote/pipinola shoots and leaves and it of remined me of the warabi salad, which I don't eat, so I passed...then.  It wasn't until I watched my little 2 year old nephew devour the salad that I got really brave and decided to taste the salad for myself.  Mmmm, my taste buds did their happy dance.  And that was it!  I got really excited and asked Grandma if she could share her recipe with me.  She recited her recipe and even packed me a bowl of her salad and a bag full of the chayote we picked off the vines.

     Tonight, I made some Chicken Pipinola Soup for dinner, (prepared the same way as "chicken papaya" soup is made), and ate some leftover salad from Grandma.  My taste buds did their happy dance again. Lol!  Aunty said she made a pie using the chayote.  She explained it was like an apple pie. Yummers so I'm on it! Chayote pie is on the menu for tomorrow night. Maybe!  I just have to find a recipe for that. Lol!

     Until next time...A BIG shout out to my Followers and readers: THANK YOU for stopping by and taking the time to read my blog and to my Facebook friends: a big MAHALO to all who have subscribed by email and left a comment on my link posted on FB. BIG <<<<HUGS>>>> to you all. Take care.

The belly rules the mind.  ~Spanish Proverb

Graduation Favors

     Eek, graduation is coming soon and I haven't started making any leis yet. O_o  I wish I could press the pause button on the remote of life just so I can finish some leis. Yup, that ain't gonna happen. Lol!  
     Anyway, my niece and nephew on Kauai, my home island, is graduating from my alumni this May 2012. Gee, the years flew by really fast.  I remember the first day my niece and nephew came home from the hospital. *tear* Now they're all grown up and graduating from high school.  Then off to college they go.  Ack, which reminds me...my son is a freshmen in high school! I just got a tugging feeling in my tummy just thinking about my only baby leaving the nest.  Okay, FOCUS!  Back to the subject. Lol!  So, my wonderful sisters decided to combine their graduation parties and left me to do the invitations, decorations, centerpieces, and favors.  All the fun stuff are in my hands...so pictured above is one of the party favors I'm throwing as an idea.   (I'm really sorry about the quality of my pictures. I have to charge my battery for my camera! Lol!)  I found those cute little containers at the Hilo Ben Franklin Craft Store and decided to try and make a graduation favor out of it.  I cut 2 each 2-1/2" square piece of cardstock and a 1" strip.  I used craft thread from my stash to make the tassel and the message circle stamp is made from Hero Arts.  The container is for decorative use only so instead of filling it with loose candy, I have two chocolate nuggets sitting in there just for the photo. Lol! I'm eating one as I type this blog out. Hee hee.  I hope my sisters like this idea, if not, I'll keep thinking, trying, and crafting...until next time...
Thank you for stopping by my blog.  I appreciate all your kind comments on previous posts.  <3

You can't always get what you want, but if you try sometimes, you might find, you get what you need.
The Rolling Stones

Camping down South Point

     Where did the weekend go?  It went by so fast.  This past weekend, my family and I, along with some friends went on a camping trip down South Point near the Ka'alu'alu Bay area.  South Point is the southernmost point on the Big Island of Hawaii as well as the United States. The drive down to the beach is a very rough drive and a 4x4 vehicle is recommended for these roads.  I love the view of the wind farm, (1st picture), because it's my sign for me to get ready for the fun ride down to the beach.  You turn off the paved road onto a rough road through pastures, passing 3 gates.  When passing through the gates, someone have to get out of the vehicle and open the gate, then close it...because of the cattle that roam the pastures.  Sometimes, a bull and cow is near the gate so you need to keep a watchful eye on them. Lol!  Right after the pastures, you end up in a "forest" of keawe trees which creeps me because I know there are cane spiders in there. Eww...I like to roll my window up and scream thru the trees!!!  As you come out of the trees, you hit the lava area and head on to your desired spot on the beach.  Ah, at last...the ocean.  When we arrived at our camp site it was low tide, (2nd picture), and it was getting hot. The last picture was taken before sun down in front of the camp fire and the tide was getting high.  

     It was a beautiful weekend with family and friends.  We laughed, went fishing, night torching, ate good food, and had a blast together. We came home with plenty fish in our coolers.  I can't wait until our next camping trip.  How was your weekend?  Thank you for visiting my blog.  Until next time....take care.

It’s fun to get together and have something good to eat at least once a day. That’s what human life is all about — enjoying things. ~ Julia Child

    

Star Album

     Hello, Blogland!  I'm finally done with my star album for my mother-in-law who lives in the mainland.  She's been asking me to send recent pictures for far too long...LOL! Christmas came and went by so fast that it seemed like not enough time to finish all my craft projects. This album was suppose to be one of her gifts. LOL!  But,  I'm moving along with my projects and finishing them. This star album measures 4x6 and the designer cardstock paper, My Mind's Eye, was one of my Christmas gifts. I printed my photos and titles on heavy cardstock and kept it really simple.  The pictures I used are really nice photos and I didn't want to distract them.  I have a page for DH, myself, my son, our dog named HONU, and a family photo with a quote, "The love of a family is life's greatest blessing."  I made several star albums awhile back and it was 7 points instead of 5 points. It's really fun to make these star albums!
Mahalo for visiting my blog and I hope you come back soon.  I can see the weekend coming closer...are you ready for it??? 

Write it on your heart that every day is the best day in the year.

- Ralph Waldo Emerson

Recycle Notebooks

   Whew! It's been so crazy busy for me nowadays.  I am in desperate need of an ALL DAY crafting, reading, and relaxation only. Lol!  Besides my full time job, I am with Mary Kay Cosmetics and DoTerra Essential Oils and between meetings, conference calls, chores, DH, and teenage son, ...I try to squeeze some time to craft.  Anywho, I am sending my orders out for MK and I try to add a personal gift of mines to my customers.  I look for something easy but useful to make for my customers. At Hilo Ben Franklin Crafts Store, I found that those recycle notebooks are back on the shelf!!! I could not resist buying an entire bunch of them...and different ones too! The first picture is a few of the notebooks that I bought.  I couldn't wait to go home and do my thang!! Heehee..so the second picture is the outcome of it. The designer paper was gifted and I don't know the name of the company.  The monogram was designed by yours truly, printed out on white cardstock, and punched out with a 1 inch circle punch. Easy, cheesy, peasy! Voila! I'm done.

     Thank you for visiting and spending some time on my blog. 

Live well...Laugh often...Love much

I <3 your smile!

My first post using my mobile device. Eek! I hope it turns out well...anywho, I made these boxes for a good friend who manages a bank. I had such fun creating these. She wanted plain and simple boxes for the tellers to put their stamps and rubber bands in. When I delivered them to her, I was happy to see her smile and appreciate the boxes. It always warms my heart when I can put a smile on someone's face. :)) Have you made someone smile today? Be happy. Live well. Thanks for stopping by.

DH, Beans, & Birthday Card

     My DH asked me what "DH" means and it was fun telling him all the different definitions I could come up with. LOL! We had good laughs with it.  Well, DH informs me yesterday morning that we will be attending a 1st birthday party this Friday night. "Oh gee, thanks for the advanced notice!," was my reply.  AND to top it off, he asked me to make soybeans for the party. He is very fortunate that I love him so dearly. Lol.  Anyway, I made 2 large foil pans of ono seasoned edamame.  My BFF shared this receipe with me who got it from her Uncle - that I believe is a chef.  It is made with fresh minced garlic, EVOO (can I use that term?), oyster sauce, soy sauce, and furikake. It's very tasty and one of my DH's favorite pupu dish. 

     Ok, so on to my scalloped birthday card...I absolutely adore the Sister Stamps.  The Kiyomi stamp image reminded me of the cute little girl who is celebrating her 1st birthday tonight.  The stamped sentiments inside of the card fell on to the card when I wasn't ready, 0_o  so that's why it's off! Lol.

     Thank you for visiting and have a beautiful day.  I need to get into bed and warm my frozen toesies. :)





New Year 2012 - Introduction

Seriously? Do I have to do it?  Ah! Finally, after having my arm twisted, I decided to start a blog. I don't have anything planned out for this blog, so I'm "winging" it with random updates.  Hee hee.  This should be fun and I do hope that all my readers will be inspired by what I have to offer in "blogland."

Anyway, short introduction....I'm a 35 yr old female, married with one teenage son, and my ohana and BFFs describes me as a "crazy" person...in a fun way of course...well, I hope. Buwahaha. ^_^  I love to create what I can using woods, metals, papers, digital images, paints, foods...etc. You get the point, right?  Oh, and I love to read, especially blogs. :)

Well, as we all get adjusted to writing 2012 in our checkbooks, my thoughts keep wondering back to my New Year's resolutions.  Do you have your New Year's resolutions?  I love to make resolutions and I stick to them for a few months...then "POOF"...they are all forgotten and never completed.  This year I need change! A change in body size (a must!!!!).  Change my style because all my clothing are either black or brown.  My tires on my vehicle needs a change.  Oh gee, I could go on and on about what I want to change.  The point is, my New Year's Resolution is to MAKE CHANGES HAPPEN! Life is too short.  I want to make an impression in this world before I leave it. When my time is up, I'll be sliding into "home base" screaming "Yeeehaaa!" :) Change is good.  Good luck to all of you in each and every endeavor you make.  May this new year bring you the best this world have to offer.

Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed
by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did do.
So throw off the bowlines.
Sail away from the safe harbor.
Catch the trade winds in your sails.
Explore. Dream. Discover.
- Mark Twain

When I let go of what I am, I become what I might be.
- Lao Tzu