Greetings from Hawaii

Just kidding! 

We're stuck at home, as is most everyone right now. So instead of whining about Hawaii, I've been working on a Hawaiian style New Year's Eve dinner. 

The idea, and essential, inspirational ingredient came from Sunnie, one of my ceramic class buddies. She was the one who introduced me to custard mochi, a delicious dessert found in Hawaii. The first time I had it, I wanted to embarrass myself by eating the entire thing (or rather, I wanted to eat the entire thing and not get embarrassed), but somehow managed to only have seconds. And maybe one tiny little slice more.

Trouble is, you can't make custard mochi without sweet rice flour. Now try finding that during a pandemic. Sunnie did, and gave me a box. Thank you, Sunnie!

What else is on the menu? 

Rum punch

Spare ribs with huli-huli sauce

Ginger carrots

Green beans braised in coconut milk (I absolutely love coconut milk. I would probably eat braised dirt if it were simmered in coconut milk.)

Rice, naturally, followed by

Custard mochi for dessert.

And finished off with a very slow waddle around the neighborhood. 

Happy New Year to All!

Covid Families

Toasting Marshmallows, Nov. 2020

With the first lockdown in March, we started "Drinks in the Driveway" with a small group of neighbors. No masks back then, although that changed soon enough, but socially-distanced seating was mandated (easy to measure since the driveway is only seven feet wide).

Strictly bring your own, including your own chair, although one set of neighbors started to store their chairs further up our driveway, rather than lug them across the street each time. Just a group of soon-to-become friends gathering in the early evening.

Over the summer, we became the "Porchaholics". We sat on our porch steps and our neighbors would arrange their chairs and drinks in our tiny front yard. People walking past on the sidewalk would pause, chat, wave, or sometimes just shake their heads and move on.

With the cooler weather, we switched back to the driveway for the occasional campfire. For the first one, I stole my neighbor's little Smokey Joe® grill (it had been sitting in her driveway untouched for nearly ten years. Honest, I did tell her that I was going to walk off with it, and she didn't even notice until I was ratted out.), arranged a few sheets of newspaper, an egg carton, a bit of kindling and small branches in the base. Also, since Safety Sam is a member of our household, a large bucket of water was placed nearby, just in case. One match, and the party was on. 

As of this week, these little gatherings are no longer allowed until early January, at the earliest. But I am hopeful that once this current lockdown is over, if it isn't raining (please, please, please rain already!), we'll be able to meet up once again with our new family.