Serg's Mexican Kitchen

Me and da sistahs had good fun last Saturday.  First we went to the rummage sale at Kalani High, then we went to a community garage sale in Kailua and finally we had lunch at Serg's Mexican Kitchen in Waimanalo. I was so pooped that I ended up taking a zonk-out nap in the afternoon and woke up at around 7:00 pm not knowing what day or year it was. 

Here's what we ate at Serg's.

Serg's Nachos with chorizo ($9.95)


Chicken Chimichanga ($10.95)


Inside the chimichanga.


Shrimp Quesadilla ($9.95)


Chile Verde Taco with Rice and Beans ($7.65)


Pork Carnitas Flautas ($11.95)


Everything was super ono! 

Fuji Instax Mini 8

I'd been wanting to get me an instant camera for a looooong time. Years actually. Polaroids are at least $100. The Fuji Instax used to be around $70 or more but is cheaper now . . . $52.40 on Amazon. Yet, I still couldn't bring myself to spend that much on pretty much a toy for myself. 

The camera pictured below was $10.  It was lying on a table, almost hidden, among tons and tons of other electronic devices at a HUGE rummage sale at Kalani High School this past Saturday. 

Thinking back, I almost can't believe my initial reaction.  It wasn't an oh-oh-oh, GRAB-IT kinda thing. Instead, I slowly picked it up, eyed it suspiciously, and thought "hmmmm . . . 10 bucks". I wondered if it actually worked and was hesitant to waste $10 if it didn't. 

I held on to the camera and walked around looking at other items.

I began noticing that each item for sale was meticulously labeled with a number as well as the price. I suspected that the number corresponded to a respective seller. I inquired and found out that I was right. 

After some hunting, I located the person who previously owned the camera. I was kinda embarrassed to ask because . . . who in their right mind would sell something that was broken and then admit to it, right? So why even ask, right? But I did. I said, "Um, does the camera work good?" She said, "Oh, yes." I said, "Um, how old is it?" She said, "Around two years old." I said, "Oh, okay. Not too old then. Um, okay, thank you."

And so I bought it. 



When I got home, I started fussing with it.  Opening the battery compartment revealed two AA batteries. Two wet, leaking AA batteries. Oh oh. At least there was no corrosion. I wiped the compartment down as best I could and put in two new batteries. 

I pressed what I thought was the On button. Yay, it turned on!  



I haven't tested it out yet because I need film. I ordered some from Amazon. They're kinda expensive . . . $11.49 for a box of 20.  I ordered only one box . . . 'cause, you know . . . still not really sure if the camera works.

I went to Walmart on Sunday to check out the film there, but it was $19 something. So, I'm waiting. I'll let you guys know how it goes.

Out with the Old, In with the New

I have a deal with myself that whenever I get new dishware, I have to "goodwill" something of similar size. 

The bowl on the right is a recent acquisition.  The two on the left went into the Goodwill box.

Ne-Konbu

One of the places we are going to next month on our Japan tour is a  konbu store in Hokkaido called Konbu-Kan. We went there last year too, but I was totally unprepared and ended up not really getting anything worthwhile. I bought some konbu salt, konbu tea, konbu candy and maybe one package of dashi konbu for Wendell. 

I decided to study up a bit on the different konbu varieties.  I've ended up focusing on trying to find a soft-version konbu for nishime and konbu maki. A coworker who is originally from Okinawa recommended Ne-konbu from Hokkaido. She said that if you cook any konbu long enough it will become soft, but the ne-konbu requires less cooking. 

I found the package below from Marukai.  The writing on the right with the red background says Hokkaido. The kanji 根 circled in green is "ne". It means "root" . . . so it's the root portion of the kelp.



My da-bomb-husband Wendell used it to make this nishime.  The konbu really was softer than usual. I liked it.


And it was even better the next day as leftover home lunch. 


I asked Wendell if the konbu pieces were big enough to make konbu maki. He said that there were a few pieces that were big enough, but mostly they were narrow.  

One of Didi's coworkers is from Hokkaido. She recommended hidaka 日高 konbu.   Sure enough, Cook Tokyo website says this:  

Hidaka Konbu, another good all-rounder for both making dashi and eating, as it softens quickly when simmered. It is blackish green in colour, longer and thinner than other konbu and produces a light greenish-yellow dashi. Because its edges are not as ruffled as the others it is often used for rolling or wrapping foods.


Interesting  . . .  no?  Another interesting thing . . . you know how Japanese kanji always has two different readings just to make it hard for us to learn?  Well, 根 (ne) is also read "kon" and大根 is "dai-kon" . . . BIG ROOT!  Cool, right? No? Okay, never mind.

Here's the recipe that Wendell used to make the nishime.

Connie's Thank You

Remember I fixed Connie's bracelet for her? This was her thank you. A lot of people benefited. I loved it!

HK Drawing Winner!

MICH!!  It's you . . . the first entrant!!!  Congrats!

Genki Sushi is Open

We had heard that Genki Sushi was open again so Wendell and I decided to lend some support yesterday. Plus we were hungry, and it was a good excuse to eat some rice. 

You can check out their menu here. 



It was only my second time there. 


Was kinda sad to see all the empty seats.


Here's what we started with. 


California Roll


Spicy Tuna


Seared Spicy Salmon


Unagi


Tiger Roll


Salmon Onion


Ahi


Salmon Skin Roll


Fried Squid


Karaage Salmon


Our waiter said that they're having a customer appreciation event next weekend . . . 9/30, 10/1/ and 10/2. Everything will be 10% off! Maybe we'll check them out again!

The Voice - Season 11

The Blind Auditions are not pau yet, but these two are my favorite so far.

Wé McDonald



Billy Gilman

Wells Fargo Scandal

I don't understand money matters too good, and you can probably learn more by googling "Wells Fargo scandal" than by what I can explain to you. But I do pose one question . . . Do  you think that 5,300 employees sneaked and created millions of fake accounts for years, individually, on their own, without management and higher ups knowing? I don't think so.  

I got the following information from here:

On Thursday, federal regulators said Wells Fargo (WFC) employees secretly created millions of unauthorized bank and credit card accounts -- without their customers knowing it -- since 2011.

The phony accounts earned the bank unwarranted fees and allowed Wells Fargo employees to boost their sales figures and make more money.

Wells Fargo confirmed to CNNMoney that it had fired 5,300 employees over the last few years related to the shady behavior. Employees went so far as to create phony PIN numbers and fake email addresses to enroll customers in online banking services, the CFPB said. 

The scope of the scandal is shocking. An analysis conducted by a consulting firm hired by Wells Fargo concluded that bank employees opened over 1.5 million deposit accounts that may not have been authorized. 

The way it worked was that employees moved funds from customers' existing accounts into newly-created ones without their knowledge or consent, regulators say. The CFPB described this practice as "widespread." Customers were being charged for insufficient funds or overdraft fees -- because there wasn't enough money in their original accounts. 

Additionally, Wells Fargo employees also submitted applications for 565,443 credit card accounts without their customers' knowledge or consent. Roughly 14,000 of those accounts incurred over $400,000 in fees, including annual fees, interest charges and overdraft-protection fees.

Transportation

I got these photos in an email awhile back. Thank you to whoever sent it to me . . . sorry, I forget who it was.

What's most amazing to me about these photos is that it reminds me of how so far removed I am from a good portion of this world.

Wendell's Kabocha

This is Chef Keoni Chang's recipe that Wendell found at the Foodland website here. It actually came out kinda not-too-tender at first and Wendell had to recook it. We ate it with some yuzu sauce that Wendell got from Marukai, and it was good. 

Ingredients

1	piece(s)	thumb sized piece ginger, peeled and minced
2	Clove	garlic, minced
6	each	green onions
1⁄4	Cup	dashi or chicken broth
3	Tablespoon	shoyu
1	Tablespoon	mirin
1	Tablespoon	dark brown sugar
1⁄2	each	medium kabocha pumpkin, peeled, seeded and cut into ½-3/4 inch slices
1	Teaspoon	yuzu juice or mixture of ½ lemon juice and lime juice

Instructions

1. Heat a 12" skillet over medium-high heat. Combine all the ingredients except the green onion and pumpkin and bring to a simmer. 
2. Add kabocha and half the green onions and cook 4 minutes, turn the pieces and cook 4 more minutes. Continue to simmer until the pumpkin is tender and the sauce has reduced to a glaze.
3. Serve on a platter, drizzle the remaining sauce over the pumpkin. Finish with the remaining half of the green onions and drizzle with the yuzu or lemon lime juice.

KITV4 Story: Sweet Lady of Waiahole

Love this story.





Thanks for sharing, Steven!

HK Giveaway!

Here are the Hello Kitty things that I found at the swap meet or at garage sales that will be in this giveaway.

This first item was such a SCORE and is actually the main reason for this giveaway!! It still had the plastic wrapping around it, and I got it for only $1!!!!



It's a black denim bag. So cute, yah. 


And look at the inside.  More cute!


Of course I have to include two Swarovski crystal charms. 


And more charms.


One more. 


Last charm. 


This is one of those key cover things. 


I like this a lot.  It's a post-it note pad. 


I got this at Ben Franklin.  It's Hello Kitty ribbon.


Here's a mini coloring book. 


Here's a draw-string pouch. 


This is the other side of the pouch. 


The last item is a zipper pouch. 


The winner will be announced next Sunday, September 25,  Just leave a comment here or email me at JalnaA@aol.com to enter!!  Good luck!