The average person spends the end of the year trying to tie up loose ends, I think, and for me they have to do with seeds some of my friends planted in my brain this week, between Christmas and New Year’s. What I mean is, each expressed an interest in something I have first-hand knowledge about, and I feel I should get back to them. But why not share it with visitors to the Rebekah’s Studio too?
One is a recipe, the next is a travel tip, and last is someone’s bucket-list item.
For my hanai brother Brian, here’s “Oven Kalua Turkey” from A Hundred Years of Island Cooking by Hawaiian Electric Co. Valerie, a sister member of Hale Kūʻai Cooperative some years ago, gave it to me. During the holidays she always has this on hand for guests, she said. I made it for Christmas Day (omitting the banana leaf because I didn’t have one) and Mom served it alongside a ham. I bought a frozen turkey and started thawing it in the refrigerator four days before cooking it. After Julia Child, I used butter.
OVEN KALUA TURKEY
12-lb. turkey
12 ti leaves or foil
1 banana leaf
1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened
3 tablespoons Hawaiian salt
2 teaspoons liquid smoke
Rinse and drain turkey. Line a large baking pan with foil. Wash ti leaves and banana leaf; remove fibrous part of the veins. Line baking pan with ti leaves radiating from center; place half of the banana leaf in bottom of pan. Place turkey on leaves. Rub remaining ingredients on inside and outside of turkey. Place remaining half of banana leaf over turkey; fold leaves around turkey. Crimp foil around turkey and cover pan lightly with additional foil. Roast in electric oven at 375 degrees Fahrenheit for 6 hours. Shred turkey, adding enough of the pan liquid to moisten meat. Makes 8 to 10 servings.
For my Kaaawa neighbor Ted, who is more senior than I and who is curious about ship travel because as a member of his family has airline privileges he and his wife Dorothy have always flown, I highly recommend river cruising, and here’s the web link: http://vikingrivercruises.com. Go ahead, click on it. With the money you have saved on airfare, you can afford being pampered.
I booked a Viking River Cruise for DH and me on a whim when I quit my last job, and the trip became our 25th anniversary present to ourselves. I thought I’d better do it while I still had money in the bank. It was our first real cruise — the kind where you unpack just once — and we loved it. We rode on the Danube River on a 150-passenger longship across Austria in the December snow, stopping at the river towns and traditional Christmas markets between Germany and Hungary. Unlike us, you don’t have to go in winter.
For my alumni glee club sister Linda, who is newly retired from 9-to-5 and has painting on her bucket list, here’s a big announcement: I’ve decided to give formal lessons in how to paint, starting February, to you and a small group at my studio, following my teacher the late colorist Gloria Foss. Yes! 😉 Before I change my mind, I’m posting it here! Registration will open soon.
Linda kept whispering painting questions to me between songs in rehearsal every week, so I figured she’s serious. “I can teach you that,” I said. Teaching a course in painting will be a first for me. I’m not sure what took me so long to take this step in my journey, but I’m excited! Mahalo, Linda, for inspiring me to share what I’ve learned.
Copyright 2011 Rebekah Luke
Rebekah’s Studio 
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