Give and take

17 01 2020

Hibiscus

Rocky of Ohana Tree Service and his crew of six gave the yard a haircut that should last for two years, he said. Except for the vegetable and flower boxes that I’m now encouraged to renew myself, the place looks very tidy. The kou, Maʻafala breadfruit, and avocado tree on the ma uka side are pruned back. The kou lost a huge limb in the recent wind storm.

Kou

Avocado

While they were at it, the crew shortened the height of the panax hedge and red hibiscus bushes, and they raked up all the debris. I took the opportunity to cut many tall ti leaf stalks for others to decorate Iolani Palace today, the 127th anniversary of the overthrow of Queen Liliʻuokalani. The property is more airy and I can see and hear the surf on the reef as a result. The neighbors are happy!

Panax

From the original bid, Rocky negotiated a higher price that we were happy to pay. We sweetened the experience with gratuities—two Maʻafala breadfruit saplings that they had been eyeing and subsequently freed from the bigger root (a prized variety) and an avocado seedling growing in a hanging basket. Avocados abound here, and although the gentlemen already had lots, one accepted, saying, “If they give, you have to take.”

~ Rebekah

P.S. — The calamansi is bearing again. More marmalade soon! RL


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Categories : About me, Food

Art at Kapalawai Cafe and Deli

1 03 2019


Kalapawai Cafe and Deli, at 750 Kailua Road in Kailua town, Oahu, is exhibiting six of my original paintings currently. They are in the back on the way to the patio and decorating the hallway walls by the restrooms. I like that they are away from the kitchen in a day-lighted area where viewers can linger and not bother customers at tables.


Kapalawai Cafe and Deli is just that—a small, trendy island eatery with a bakery, deli, and drinks. Eat in or take out is your choice.
This is the first time I have hung my work in a restaurant. The feeling early in my career was that people go to restaurants to eat, not to buy art. We’ll see. The daytime manager was a pleasure to work with. Additionally, the prices of the paintings are reduced from the original amounts.

Please consider stopping in this month to feed your tummy and your soul.
~ Rebekah


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Categories : Fine Art, Food, Travel

A menu worth repeating

7 01 2019

Oh, the food! Does the food make the party? In the case of last Saturday’s art show opening, yes! Kealoha and Kahikionaokalā Domingo of Nui Kealoha caterers outdid themselves with its farm-to-table menu, supplemented with basic additions of punch and cookies made by me.

Here we share the Nui Kealoha’s menu for the January 5 “Fiery Volcano Collages & Doodles” and the recipes for the cookies and punch, giving credit to their origins. Easy peasy and refreshing.

Kids loved these as well as seedless grape clusters on the side. Take precaution with grapes, a possible choking hazard, for very young children. For the punch, look for a ginger ale without high fructose corn syrups at the store.

Clockwise from lower right: classy menu, poke ʻulu, koʻele pālau tartlets, burnt ʻuala canapé.

 

I found the recipe for chocolate cookies on the back of the Western Family Baking Soda box.

 

Punchbowl recipe by my cousin Elly. From Everyone, Eat Slowly: The Chong Family Food Book (Chong Hee Books, 1999)

Enjoy!
~ Rebekah


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Categories : Chong Hee Books, Food, Friends & Family, Hawaiian

Taking care of trees

10 09 2018

No time to second guess a hurricane or a tropical storm, here at the studio we’re grateful Rocky and his 6-member crew of Ohana Tree Services were able to trim three large trees today, prior to Hurricane Olivia’s visit to Hawai‘i.

They did a great job, cleaned up all the debris, and hauled it away. We traded cooling shade for better air flow around the property and a lot more daylight. Whether Olivia blows strongly or not, it was time for the trimming. We got a great deal from this professional company with a price that was 37% of the next lowest bid.

Now the kou looks like a lollipop and is without its orange-hued lei flowers for a while. Thankfully the avocado was finished bearing its last three fruit for the season. Hopefully the mango will get the message and give us a crop for next time. As for the Maafala breadfruit, Rocky said to wait until the fruits are ready, and then he will come back to help harvest the tree and trim it at the same time.

Two climbers in the mango

Mango tree after trimming looks like a coat rack

Avocado tree after trimming

Kou tree after trimming has a few leaves remaining

We love our trees.

~ Rebekah

 


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Categories : Food

Papaya art

21 08 2018

Wowee! I reused the parchment paper on which I dried papaya chunks (using the heat from the oven light only) to bake a puff pastry at 450 degrees F. The paper was still slightly damp from the papaya. Look what happened! I wonder if I can use this paper in my collage art. Gonna try!


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Categories : Fine Art, Food

Alani

17 08 2018

Peeling an orange on a warm summer day.

Do you remember when you first learned to peel an orange? I do. I was with my Aunty Lois, and we sat down together on the steps of her back porch. When we ate it, juice ran down my arm. Funny, the things I recall.


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Categories : About me, Food, Friends & Family, Memoir

Mid-summer abundance

22 07 2018

The large yellow/orange globe is a papaya from my garden. The birds planted the tree!

Taking time to marvel at the variety of fruit that I see in my kitchen—gifts from friends, strangers, a bird, and from the market. I am inspired to assemble a still life. Ever grateful for the abundance. Mahalo e Ke Akua.


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Categories : Food, Hawaiian

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