Happy Birthday Nicole!

Today is my dear sister's birthday.

Dear by default...she's my only sister.

And it's her 20th. Hmm...what it's like to be young again...I can't really remember.

But I guess that comes with old age.

So although today was Nicole's birthday, I'm making her a cake tomorrow because we had dinner at the restaurant...more on that later. But, I was tasked with making red velvet cupcakes for my mom's coworkers. And so of course I used her Kitchen Aid stand mixer...seemed like such a good idea until...



It splattered.



Everywhere.

And red food coloring resists washing! Per Jenney's advice, I used lemon juice, which worked...but geees did it sting!! I think have a lemon juice burn on my chin. But at least it's not red any more.

So, when the recipe tells you to be careful as splashing may occur...they mean it. Turn off the mixer and start again on low. Unless you like splatter art on youself. In which case, just leave it running.



Yup...two bottles of red food coloring. At least a quarter of it on me.

We went to dinner at Mama's Fish House, which has some pretty amazing scenic views and pretty good food as well. Tonight I really wanted the moi, which is a small yummy fish that was once reserved only for Hawaiian royalty. But, sadly they ran out. Sobs. So instead I had the grilled ahi, which wasn't so fantastic, but the breadfruit mash was tasty. My dad said that his friend caught some moi and gave it to him, and it was just fantastic. Thanks Dad. Really, this ahi is awesome. I didn't really want the moi after all.



The pre-dinner view.



Grilled ahi (on a sugar cane skewer, my waiter was quick to note) with mushroom sauce and breadfruit mash.

But mediocre entree aside (everyone else adored their's), I was hopeful that I could have a heavenly dessert. Like a banana macadamia nut crisp with homemade Tahitian vanilla ice cream. Mmm...I luv macadamia nuts! But noooo....Nicole doesn't want macadamia nuts. And it's her birthday. Blah. Blah. Blah. So we ended up getting our usual dessert, which is a chocolate mousse bombe filled with lilikoi cream and...a chocolate mousse pie. Such redundancy. But hey, it's not my birthday. Doesn't being the older sister mean anything anymore? Hmph.



Chocolate mousse bombe with lilikoi.



Chocolate mousse pie. To its credit, the caramel layer was awesome. And the Oreo cookie crust was crumbly and delicious.



I thought this ginger arrangement was quite lovely.

Oh and what would a birthday without presents?

Specifically...



Fake designer purses!! Hahahahaha!!!

Nicole: "Where did you get these...you know, it's illegal to buy fake stuff".
Mommy: "Huh? Illegal? Why? It's not stolen".

Oh well. Better luck next year, Nicole. Happy Birthday!

No One Rides For Free

I was reminded of this reality as I window shopped around Paia this afternoon.



Hilarious. Gets me every time. Take your pick.

After a day at the beach and fitness magazine reading, Nicole decided that we were going to have salads for lunch at Lahaina Farms, which is like a Whole Food-ish market in the new Lahaina Gateway...which I'm not too happy about in general...but this Lahaina Farms place seems kinda cool as far as gentrification of your neighborhood goes. But I digress.

So we cruise in, ready to pick our salad and fixings when I see an overhead menu.

me: "Look Nicole, they have kalua pig flatbread...mmm..."
Nicole: "Should we just go to flatbread in Paia?"
me: "Yeah. I'm glad to see the fitness magazines were so impactful."

flatbread is this teeny, slightly overpriced pizza place in Paia with the most wonderful kalua pig pizza. And apparently, the tangiest lemonade Nicole has ever tasted. I enjoyed watching her drink it. Very much.



And after lunch we tried on a few dresses at another teeny store...because everything in Paia is small. Apparently the clothes, too, as Nicole soon found out.

So I'm wandering around the store, and Nicole calls me from the fitting room. I figure she wants my candid opinion. But when I get in there, it was a much different story.

Nicole: "I'm having severe difficulties getting out of this dress. Severe."
me: "Ohh..."
Nicole: "You're goona have to Winnie-the-Pooh me out of this thing".
me: (Picturing the Winnie the Pooh episode where Winnie is stuck in his door from eating too much hunny) "Ok..." (tugging at the dress) "Lift up your arms." (giggle, giggle, still tugging at dress) "Why are you so sweaty? What about the zipper?"
Nicole: "It's a fake zipper!! I've been trying to take off this dress for 10 mins! Severe difficulties!"
me: "Oh yeah...hahahaha. Cross your arms"

And off popped the dress.

Oh? You're not familiar with that Winnie the Pooh episode?

Alohaaa Christmas!

Byeee! See ya next year! Keep in touch!

As busy and silly as it can be, I'm always kinda sad to see Christmas go. I like the scarves, boots and umm...dazzling array of cookies. Ok mostly the cookies. Cookies for breakfast. Because someone's gotta eat all those cookies. But when it's not cookies, here's what's on the menu:



Our annual Christmas Eve dinner with the fam bam. The overdone prime rib is a specialty.

And what would Christmas be without a little disaster?



A should-have-been-could-have-been-would-have-been pumpkin roulade. But it cracked during it's roll session. Fail. Sighhh. It was later used as a pumpkin and banana napoleon with an orange cream.

But that was yesterday. Today was beach day!



It was just so perfectly sunny today that Nicole (sister) and I ventured out to Big Beach in Makena, which we only go to on super nice days such as today. And I'm so glad we did! Not because it was wonderfully warm and picturesque (because it was), but because of the entertaining life guard on duty.

He relayed a message to the 10am beach crowd, and it went something like this:

"Aloha, this is your friendly life guard with a message for you. If you are not an experienced swimmer or not from the area, I recommend you not go into the water at all today. If you are an experienced swimmer and think you can handle, and want to take in some floatation device with you, like a boogie board...don't. You're just setting yourself up for disaster. If you have little ones, keep them out the water, otherwise when the big ones come in, they going get suck under. If get questions, come talk to me, and I going answer em for you. Aloha."

Hilarious. Seriously. Maybe you had to have been there.

Oh and yes, there was shave ice.

Merry Christmas from the MVPuppets!!

3 Days Until Christmas...Really?

Seriously...really?

Despite the ridiculous amount of Christmas decorations everywhere, and the sales at the mall, I feel like this happens to me every year. It's like costumes, candy, turkey, pumpkin pie and then Christmas. But I really feel like it was just Thanksgiving. I mean it was though...wasn't it?

And now it's 3 days before Christmas, and tomorrow I'll be back home, and well, I just want my pumpkin pie back. I didn't have enough this year. But can you really have enough pumpkin pie?

Not that I'm complaining. I've never have much Christmas shopping to do. And I'll be home! Home! Away from work and school! And near the beach! And shaved ice! And my mom's pumpkin pie...which she better make...I hope she's reading this! And papayas! And the sun! I miss the sun.

Take that first day of winter!!

As you may have guessed (or already know), it's been a little cold and rainy here. Baking is a fabulous distraction. The oven keeps you warm and eating keeps you occupied.



Chocolate Peanut Butter Crispy Bars from Baked. A layer of candied Rice Krispies...a layer of melted milk chocolate and peanut butter...a layer of a lovely chocolate glaze! It's like a Reece's Peanut Butter Cup meets a Nestle Crunch Bar. I like mine frozen. And in extra big pieces. You will, too. Don't try to resist. You will only be cheating yourself.



No-Knead Cranberry Walnut Bread from Jim Lahey. It's true. Bread without kneading...and without much work either. He operates Sullivan Street Bakery in New York...where Baked Bakery is also located...why are they all in New York??



Fusili with Mushrooms, Marsala, Artichokes and Chicken Sausage from who else but Giada. Ok, I made this is in a moment of weakness. It's a cream sauce. With Parmesan cheese. But it has mushrooms...and artichokes...and it's really good. And I used half-and-half. So I guess that makes it a half-and-half sauce.

And now, my pan of lemon bars are cooling on the counter. Lemon bars...another thing I wish I liked. But I typically don't. They're always too much for me. Too gooey. Too sour. Too sweet. And it has a weird after taste. Makes my mouth feel funny. But with 4 Meyer lemons in the fridge and my annual migration to warmer climates tomorrow, I didn't really have a choice. Maybe lemon poppy seed something. But I zested 3 of 4 lemons for some pistachio and citrus biscotti. And the thought of tossing Meyer lemons was just more than I could bear. But for some reason...the thought of tossing out this lemon bars (if they turn out to be subpar), doesn't bother me as much. I feel like I at least tried to save them.

Too make them less lemon-y (I know...less lemony lemon bars...I'm ridiculous). I scaled back the lemon juice from 1 cup to 3/4 cup. I could only squeeze out that much juice anyway. And I spread a thin layer of raspberry jam on the shortbread. Because raspberry makes lemon infinitely more palatable.

So I'm hoping for the best.

Christmas Cookie Throwdown

I luv contests!!!

I try to keep myself in check, but I do have just a smear of a competitive streak. And by smear, I mean like huge, paint can splash.

But, who doesn't like winning?

And yeah, I'm a pretty salty loser, too. I've deserted countless checkers, card games, Guess Who and Monopoly games when loss was near for me. My sister's a pretty sore loser, too. She once cleared a checker board off the table when she was about to lose. I just move your game pieces around when you take a bathroom break.

...

Oh...you mean not everyone does that?

Well, I mean, is it really cheating if you don't notice that I moved your pieces?

My co-workers decided that instead of Christmas presents this year, we would have a cookie competition/exchange of sorts...and it's going to be this nice, friendly thing where we all bring cookies and then share recipes. And somehow, to my delight, this got turned into a contest with a judge and everything. Oh, and a fabulous prize for the winner.

Which I hope is me!

All week, I've been busy pondering just the perfect cookie to make. And really, I should have been studying...but there's no fabulous prizes in school. Just B's. So far, I've narrowed down the finalists to: Almond Roca cookies, white chocolate and hazelnut cookies, coconut thumbprint cookies or peppermint oreo cookies. In that order.

I've wanted to make the Almond Roca cookies for the longest time...something about the toffee, chopped almonds and milk chocolate drizzle. Mmm...and it seems kinda holiday-ish. Although I luv the complexity and uniqueness of the white chocolate hazelnut cookies (with orange zest and cranberries), I don't think it will be as crowd...or ahem...judge pleasing. But they are a great little cookie. The coconut thumbprints are from Ina Garten, and definitely look the most impressive with the toasty wisps of coconut and pretty jam centers. I luv anything with a jam center. I always eat away at the edges first and save the yummy jam center for last. And the peppermint oreos. The homemade oreos of a few months ago were definite crowd pleasers, and I think the addition of crushed candy canes in the cream is a nice touch. But, it's definitely not oreo we all know and luv.

There's only one way to settle this. And that's with a little cookie throwdown of my own. I doubt I'll manage to make all these anytime soon, but at least two for sampling.

My tummy's ready. But then again, it always is. That's part of (all of) the problem.



That's gonna be me in no time. Sigh. But look how happy he is.

UPDATE!

While cruising the thing called the Internet and ESPN, I stumbled upon this very interesting article about Gilbert Arenas of the Washington Wizards. A preface: He's sort of a strange...ok totally out-there person of space-cadet proportions...but really, this is just about the lamest thing I've heard all day. And I hear a lot of things. Have you seen these ears?

Gilbert Arenas: Just Nuke It
by Patrick Hruby via Page 2 at espn.com

During an NBA preseason road trip, Washington Wizards center JaVale McGee Twittered that he and teammate Gilbert Arenas went to a Grand Rapids, Mich.-area Target so Arenas could purchase a microwave and a mini-fridge ... for a single day's use. Turns out that's only half the story. Following team practice yesterday, Arenas revealed the rest to a small group of reporters, including yours truly:

Arenas: You know how you order room service, and you get in the shower, or you'll be on the phone, and you get back and the food is cold?

Reporters: Yeah?

Arenas: Microwave!

Reporters: So you take it on the road?

Arenas: I send it with our [team] luggage ... it's only like 10 pounds.

Reporters: What about the fridge?

Arenas: We're not in cities long enough for a fridge.

Reporters: Aren't you staying in five-star hotels? Won't they make the food extra hot, or bring a microwave to your room?

Arenas: Most places don't have microwaves. You got to go to the kitchen and reheat it. By the time you get back up it's cold again ... some hotels, they have a late-night menu but they don't have hot food. Just cold sandwiches. I don't eat cold food.

Reporters: Why not?

Arenas: It tastes nasty. It's the most disgusting thing I've ever tasted. Everything I eat has to go in a microwave. Like, if you cook me dinner, I will take the dinner and put it in a microwave. Something about being in a microwave makes it good.

Reporters: It comforts you.

Arenas: It irritates the [expletive] out of people, though.

Microwave all the time? That can't be good for you. Or your sanity. Or your game. The Wizards lost to the Celtics tonight, 104-102. He had 25 points, too. But missed 5 of his 6 FT's. At home. 3rd straight home loss. That's gotta hurt. Microwave!

UPDATE 2!!

So following my initial update, I went back to ESPN to search for a Bill Simmons article. It's been a while since I've been entertained by his musings...and trust me, he is highly entertaining. And lucky me, it was mail bag day (my fav...mail bag is when Bill answers emails from his readers) for his Thanksgiving entry, and I saw this:

Q: If Mike Dunleavy showed up at one of your book signings, what would you write in his book?
-- Anthony Falco, Ontario

SG: I thought about this for 20 minutes and settled on this:

Dear Mike,

Thanks. For each of the past three summers, I nearly dumped my Clippers tickets solely because you were the coach and I didn't want to waste my money watching six months of 20-point blowouts, disjointed strategy, unhappy players and some of the most mind-blowing crunch-time brain farts in the history of this great sport. I kept renewing only because I didn't want to give up quality seats to see guys like LeBron, Kobe, Derrick Rose and Chris Paul, even if they frequently were being removed with 10 minutes to play because their team was leading by 30. So thanks for reminding me why I love basketball so much. If I will pay to see a Mike Dunleavy-coached NBA team, then clearly, I will pay for anything. I love this game.

Sincerely,
Bill Simmons
Clippers season-ticket holder since 2004

And yeah, he's a Kobe/Laker hater. But no one's perfect. Well...except you-know-who.

Boys Only

I think we've all seen such things.

Shampoos, lotions, body washes...all just for boys.

But why? Do boys really have special boy hair and special boy skin in need of special boy hand lotion?

I don't understand. Soap companies just add some boy-smelling goodies and then call it "Men's". And yet, people...ahem...boys buy these! Could it be the names? "Dual Charged", "Refreshing", "Active Sport", "Essence".

While at Target last weekend, I was perusing the Pantene shampoo samplings...moisture balance? Smooth vitality? Ice shine? Oh the possibilities. Ok, I suppose these aren't very different than boy-specific shampoos...but, at least these smell nice. And supposedly makes my hair luscious. Results still TBD.

And just when I thought that I'd just about had enough, I saw this:



3-in-1? Seriously? When you need that "fresh, clean, masculine scent". And you can't bear to own or open more than 1 bottle.

Efficient? Maybe. Ridiculous? Definitely.

But here's something completely awesome...the MVPuppets are baaaaack!!

Check it out!

Oh how I miss fuzzy Kobe and Lebron.

Two words, Lebron: "Black Mamba". And lions don't wear boots.

And he didn't even get to the snake poison.