Jordan's Grad Party

Me and Erick got to take pictures at Jordan Berano's graduation party at Hale Ikena in Fort Shafter this past Saturday. It was choke good fun.

Pho Mai

My cousin Gary mentioned to me that I needed to do a post on some Vietnamese food, so finally here it is. Pho Mai is on King between Keeaumoku and Kaheka. My pho pictures looked pretty boring so I didn't include them.

#43 Shaking beef plate ($9.50). Davin said it was good.

#13 Roast chicken egg noodle with pork broth ($7.95). I prefer the pork broth instead of the beef broth which usually comes with the pho.

#47 Stir fried look fun noodle with tofu ($8.50). Leslie likes this.

This is my favorite. #24 Look fun and egg noodle with pork broth ($8.95). You can choose the sauce for the noodles - either soy sauce, tomato sauce or spicy garlic chili oil sauce. I don't put the noodles in the broth. I eat it separately. Soooo ono.
#4 Spring roll ($7.50)

'nuff Stamps or What?

Awhile back at work we received a payment in this envelope.

Jalna's Korean Pickles

Would you believe I made this? I got the idea from Korean Cuisine's Salted Cucumber post.
I used these pickles that had been in our fridge for longer than the brats were in our freezer. I soaked them in water for awhile. . .

then I sliced them thin . . .

and soaked them some more. I wanted to get out that vinegary taste.

I didn't have a cheesecloth to squeeze out the liquid like the recipe says, but my mom gave me this netting and it worked good enough.

I squeezed out as much of the liquid as I could.

The I kinda used the recipe from Korean Cuisine's Moo Malengi post. I didn't know what "gook ganjang" was so I used 2 T. of this Ko Chu Jang paste instead.

Then I added 1 tsp. minced garlic, 2 T. honey, 1.5 T. corn syrup, 1 T. sesame oil, 1 T. sesame seeds, sliced green onion and some red pepper. It tastes not bad. Mostly I like the crunch.

Pancakes from Cinnamon's

I tried until late last night trying to post this until I finally realized that it was my keyboard that was screwy. This morning I remembered that I had another keyboard, so here I am trying to hurry and post before getting ready to go to work.

Me and my mom went to Cinnamon's in Kailua. My mom always said that they had the best broke-da-mouth pancakes.

It's in Kailua Square.

Here's my buttermilk pancake.
It was good . . . nice and fluffy.

This is my mom's carrot pancake.

It was even better . . . with grated carrots and raisins.

Steven Kawada says that Wailana Coffee Shop has the best pancakes. Maybe I'll try it out soon.

Thanks for the Kalbi, Jason and Sharon!!

Yesterday, co-worker Jason Kim dropped off some kalbi that his wife Sharon had made. Jason had partially cooked them so that all I had to do was heat 'um up a little bit more. So nice, yeah!! I threw them on the hibachi today. It was sooooo good . . . very tender. Thanks Jason and Sharon!

These bratwurst sausages had been in our freezer forever, so I decided to grill them too. Wendell said that I should soak them in beer first. So here they are soaking. Except when Wendell came home from playing softball . . . he said, "BOIL, you're suppose to BOIL them in beer first, not soak." Oops. So I boiled them.
Then I grilled them. Looks good, yeah. But I didn't like 'um . . . tasted like beer.

Brett and Friends

Brett Kawada (in the middle) is the son of Wendell's good friend Steven. Brett is leaving for Missouri soon. He's going back to school. He's gonna get his PhD!! HOWZDAT!

Water Balloon Shot - Third Try

For our third attempt we decided on a "from the top" approach. I upped my shutter speed to 1/1,000 and we used a sharper piercing device (needle). Marvin also tried to knot the balloon tighter. So, are you ready? NOW/Click . . .

HAHAHAHAHA. IT DIDN'T POP!!! We just sprung a leak! Sooooo funny!
So Marvin tried again . . .
TWO LEAKS!!!
By the third leak I was laughing so hysterically that when the balloon finally did pop, I missed the shot.

Mallory, Liz and Sara - Touching All

Leslie told me about this story:

Jalna's String Bean Action

Inspired by blogger pal Betty's Beef with Fresh Green Beans, I decided to try my hand at cooking up some string bean action.

Betty advised me to microwave the beans first, so after I sliced them up I microwaved them on high for 2 minutes. That was such a good idea 'cause it was so fast to stir fry after that.

I sliced up these chicken lup cheong that my sister Didi gave me and fried them in a pan, . . .

then I threw the beans into the pan and added a little bit of this sauce that I picked up awhile back from Sam's Club . . .

and ended up with this. Surprise!!!!! It was good! Shocked da hell out of me.

I was on such a roll that I decided to whip up some fried chicken too . . .

NNNNOOOOOTTTTTT . . . I bought it from Whole Foods. It was just okay, not that great. My lup cheong with string beans was better. Hooo hooo!!!

Shinshu Kyokai Bon Dance - 7/18/2009

Night-time photography continues to be a challenge for me. In fact it drives me mad. When Erick, Susie and I went to the bon dance at Shinshu Kyokai this past Saturday, I decided to check out the high ISO capabilities of my 5D Mark II.

These first few pictures were shot with flash at 400 to 1,000 ISO.
The next three were shot at 4,000 ISO without a flash.

The following were all shot flashless at 6,400 ISO.

C & T Bento's

On Monday through Saturday between the hours of 8 a.m. and 12 noon on King Street between Keeaumoku and Kaheka you can find some ono bentos and donburi.

They sell it out of Pub Jan Ken Pon.
Side order Chicken Katsu ($2.00)
Chicken Katsu bento ($6.00)
Katsudon ($5.75)
Kalbi ($5.75)
Bento ($6.75)
All that's left of my bento . . . oishiiiiii.

St. Mark Coptic Orthodox Church

Yesterday Les, Erick and I had the unique opportunity of witnessing and photographing a portion of the morning church service held at St. Mark Coptic Orthodox Church. Situated on the slopes of Alewa Heights, the church was established in 1986 by members of our Egyptian community. The Coptic Orthodox Church is the largest Church in the Middle East, with about 12 million faithful in Egypt.

I GOT DENNIS' DRIED TAKO RECIPE!!!

My cousin Dennis makes the best dried tako. Yesterday he gave me the "recipe".

It's not really a recipe . . . it's more like "instructions". I tried my best to focus on his explanations, and here's what I got. You rub Hawaiian salt on the tako. My mom said to "pound it to death" to soften, but I think it's more to get the slimy stuff off. Then you're gonna boil the tako in Heineken. Dennis said to cut the head off and strip off the skin so that what remains is whitish. He advises that you boil the head separately from the legs otherwise the legs will get discolored (something like that). He couldn't give me any cooking times because he said it varies with the size of the tako. He said you can tell when the tako is done though 'cause it'll curl up. After boiling you're gonna bake the tako to dry it. You slice the tako so that you have eight separate legs. You cut off the tips and throw them away. Then you cut each leg in two. You put the skinnier parts together 'cause they're gonna get done faster. You slice the fatter part of the leg lengthwise, but not all the way through. You open them up and place them flat side down on your pan. Now you BAKE them at 250 degrees. The skinnier parts of the legs will take about an hour and the fatter legs about 2 hours. Dennis said you gotta watch though 'cause the time varies. He said you'll be able to tell when it's done.

I think we have some tako in the freezer so maybe the next chance I have I'll give it a try. Should be good for a few laughs at least.

THANKS DENNIS!!

Find Your Voice Youth Summit - 7-19-2009

I met up with John Hina at Waimanalo Beach Park today where he was helping some kids put together a mural. The youths were participating in a summit that was organized by the Asian/Pacific Islander Youth Violence Center (API Center), Ke Ola Hou and others. Some of the kids had come from as far as California, Boston and New Zealand. They were here to interact with each other, to learn from each other and to participate in workshops dealing with violence and how it affects all of us. I know my meager explanation for the summit and all it entailed doesn't do it justice and I apologize.

This is Maria San from Oakland, California. She gave a very moving talk describing the immigrant/refugee heritage she was born to and how positive influences have changed her life.

This is Vince from Alameda, California who bears a tattoo honoring his late cousin who passed away from cancer.

Witnessing these people gathered here, all unified in purpose was a totally unexpected moving experience for me.

Here's John explaining the game plan.

John finished up when the kids left to participate in the final program.

Look Me in the Eye

by 808 Urban

Sweet Potato Mochi Patties

Leslie made these and they were really ono. The recipe is from my sister Didi's second cookbook, Dd's Table Talk II (on page 285, for those who have the book).

4 c. sweet potatoes, boiled, peeled and mashed
1 1/2. mochiko
1 c. all-purpose flour
1 1/4 c. water
1/4 c. vegetable oil
2 1/4 c. brown sugar
oil for frying

In a mixing bowl, combine flours, water and oil. Stir in potatoes and sugar. Mix well. Shape into patties. In a skillet over medium heat, brown in oil until browned on both sides. Drain on paper towels. Serves 8.

Meet John "Prime" Hina

Water Balloon Shot - Second Try

For our second attempt, the plan was that I would click the shutter sooner than our first attempt. Also, Marvin made sure that the balloon had less air in it this time. We practiced ahead of time the "Now"= click. "Now"/click. "Now"/click. "Now"/click. We were soooo ready . . . okaaaaaay . . .

"NOW!!!!!"/CLICK!!!!! I got the precise moment!!! But the balloon didn't pop!

I suck again!

Okay, so here's the plan . . . next time . . . sharp needle instead of straightened-out paper clip. Stay tuned . . .

Uncle Bobo's

Landon brought this home the other day. He said he got it from Uncle Bobo's. It came with ranch style beans, cole slaw and redneck rice. It was good but guess how much it costs . . . 20 BUCKS!!

Water Balloon Shot

Have you ever seen that shot that's taken at the precise moment when a water balloon is popped and the water is still retaining the balloon's shape?

I didn't get it.

CQ's Baby Shower

Just a few shots from CQ's baby shower. Small-kine late . . . Connor was born almost 2 weeks ago.

The shower was held at Thai Sweet Basil in Manoa. They had a lunch buffet for $10. Selections included Pad Thai noodles, three kinds of curry, fried chicken, a banana lumpia thing, a salad and more (I can't remember). Everything was ono.

I had to include this picture. Look at the baby's face . . . soooo funny yeah!

Ala Wai Canal Panorama

Photoshop stitched together 4 wide-angle shots.

Hibi no neiro by Sour

I found this video at the Disgrasian blog. According to the blog "The cast of the video are fans from around the world who participated in its making via webcam."

Lunch from Covenant Book and Coffee

Ros went to pick up lunch today from Covenant Book and Coffee in Kaimuki. This is my Big Island Delite. It was so, so, so, so ono. It has smoked chicken, cheese, bacon, avocado, tomato, lettuce and sprouts on a cheese/onion roll.

Chicken Salad Bistro on 4-grain bread.
Portagee Bean Soup

Caesar Salad

Oriental Chicken Salad

Because CQ is on maternity, I don't have time to take a lunch break. This is how I have to eat my sandwich so that my keyboard doesn't get all messy.

Know Your States' Locations?

My score on my first try was 82%, average error 75 miles, done in 343 seconds. I so coulda done better except I accidentally dropped Iowa before I meant to.

Know Your States

Noodles Directions

I was so into making my spaghetti the other day that I totally forgot to share the funny instructions on the noodle package. Thanks for reminding me, Didi.

Tiger Cubs - 9 Months Old

A couple of weeks ago I went to the zoo for my monthly tiger cubs visit. This is the sight that greeted me. They said the tigers would be released within an hour . . . at least that's what I thought I heard.

I soooo wasn't interested in anything else at the zoo 'cause I already had by best picture-taking outing back in September of last year. So I half-heartedly wandered around.
I went to my next favorite exhibit, the bird cage, but it was locked.
I visited the spider monkeys . . . *yawn*.
I went to sit on this bench made of 966 milk jugs.
966 milk jugs!
Then I found a more confortable spot. Only thing is, when I'm at the zoo, if I stay in one location for too long, invisible bugs find me and I get soooooo itchy.
I ended up waiting almost two hours. I had to keep reminding myself of those National Geographic photographers who wait around in hostile conditions for days to get a good shot. Anyway, look how big they are compared to when they were 4 months old.

Notes from Around the Office

Nice to have a green co-worker.

This note has been hanging here for ages, and it's nowhere near anything that can be turned off.
I blame the men.
There was a time when we would have only empty ice trays in the freezer.
This is my favorite note . . . from my favorite co-worker . . . Leslie.

jalna's Spaghetti

Inspired by Leslie's lasagna, but not so much so that I dared even try something so complicated, I decided to try to make some spaghetti. This is what I ended up with. It was okay.

My sister Didi had given me this vegetarian noodles, so I boiled it for the pasta part.
Neat yeah!

I called Didi for some instructions and was all set to use these ingredients.

I must've gotten confused 'cause I thought she said to do this first. I thought the tomato paste was gonna melt down, but it didn't. . . it started sticking to the bottom of the pan instead. So in a panic, I opened up the 3 cans of tomato sauce and 2 cans of tomatoes and threw them in to kinda water everything down. Then I realized, hey wasn't I supposed to brown the meat? So I threw in the 1 pound of hamburger. And then this happened . . .

The sauce started bubbling and exploding. I had to keep stirring to prevent more explosions.

What was I supposed to do with the 5 Italian sausages? So I fried them up in a separate pan, then threw them and the cut up mushrooms into the bubbling sauce. Forget about the capers and the olives. I never used them. I was having enough problems.

After things quieted down I added some thyme and oregano (the only Italian seasoning I could find) and simmered the whole thing for about an hour. Next time I'm gonna buy Ragu.

Anyway, while this was all happening, I noticed this above the stove. It was tricky trying to get this shot because the hood above the stove obscured my flash. I had to turn my camera upside down and shoot. Nuts yeah. I think it looks neat. Okay, okay, I'll go clean it.

jalna's Cranberry Chocolate Chip Bread

Yup, I know, unbelievable but true . . . I made this bread. And I'm so proud . . .

you get a close up look too.
I used this makes-24-boulles Chocolate Bread recipe from Brandee's cooking class, which Marvin precisely calculated down to yield 2 "boulles". I decided not to use the cocoa powder 'cause I wanted a white bread for a prettier picture.

The yeast I found comes in a three pack. One pack is 1/4 ounce which is perfect. The directions on the pack says to mix with 1/4 cup warm water. Brandee's recipe doesn't say to do anything like that, but I did it anyway. Seemed like the right thing to do.

So, I dissoved the yeast and I added 1 tsp. sugar like the directions say. I waited 10 minutes to see if the volume would double in size proving that the yeast was okay . . .

and it did.

I added it plus 1 cup of water to 3 1/3 cups of flour.

I was supposed to mix it for 5 minutes on first speed and 2 minutes on second, but I don't even have a food processor, so I hand mixed it for about 2 minutes at my speed. Then you're supposed to check for gluten development. The gluten sure looks developed to me, doesn't it?

Now that the gluten's developed, you add 1/4 cups sugar and 1/2 block of butter. Of course I forgot to take the butter out of the freezer ahead of time, so I had to microwave it a bit.

Add 3/4 cup craisins and 3/4 cup chocolate chips and mix. I had to mix everything together by squooshing it with my fingers. The dough had become one big sticky ball, and I couldn't use the wooden spoon any more. You're now supposed to let it rest for an hour, and I presumed it would double in size 'cause according Marvin's calculations, I was gonna make 2 "boulles".

It didn't double . . . it just grew a little. I dunno what happened . . . maybe it's because I didn't mix the dough long enough . . . maybe it's because I used regular flour and not bread flour . . . maybe Brandee's recipe doesn't really make 24 "boulles" . . . actually now that I think about it, I think maybe the water I used to dissolve the yeast wasn't hot enough. Anyway, so I put the dough in one pie pan instead of two and let it rise for one more hour . . .

and it did!!

I then baked it at 360 degrees for 28 minutes. The chocolate smell as it was baking was heavenly!

It's a little flat and dense, but it tastes good. Maybe I'll try again . . . it was kinda easy . . . even for me.

Speak Love; Wherever You Are

Graffiti artwork from somewhere in Israel shown on blog: Street Art & Graffiti in the City of Tel Aviv - and Me. I think that no matter where we are in the whole world, no matter how diverse our cultures, we all wish for the same thing.

I'm Published!!!

Fireworks by PES

CQ's Baby

Connor Jacobson Ramberg was born 2 days ago on July 1, 2009, weighing 10 1/2 pounds!!

Leslie's Lasagna

Les used Tyler Florence's Ultimate Lasagna recipe. It was the best lasagna I ever ate.

808 Urban - Palama Settlement 6/29/2009