Musings of a wife and mother, born and raised in Hawaii. Far away from home now, but creating and discovering bits of sunshine and paradise in everyday life.
Instant Potato Veggie Soup Packets

Instant Potato Veggie Soup Packets

It’s been rain, rain, rain in the whole state of California for weeks–definitely soup weather. Laurel, who’s away at college, requested I send her more soup packets to make in her dorm room. Last year I made her some Kale and Chickpea Soup Packets, which she and her friends loved....
Dancing Bride White Fudge

Dancing Bride White Fudge

I love creating recipes inspired by things I have seen or read. This is one of my favorites that I made a while ago for my dear friend, Frances, author of the Wordsworth the Poet series. As tomorrow is Valentine’s Day, it seems appropriate to share this sweet, romantic recipe...
Stir-fried Bowl of Gratitude

Stir-fried Bowl of Gratitude

“I am grateful for what I am and have. My thanksgiving is perpetual.” -Henry David Thoreau Remember to eat lots of vegetables~ Try these vegetable almost noodles =) Stir-fried Bowl of Gratitude Author: Guava Rose Prep time: 5 mins Cook time: 12 mins Total time: 17 mins Serves: varies Fresh,...
Hawaiian Petroglyph Cookies

Hawaiian Petroglyph Cookies

Ki’i Pohaku (Stone Image) Cookies Petroglyphs can be found on all the Hawaiian Islands, but most of them are located on the Big Island of Hawaii. The ancient Hawaiians made pictures in fields of smooth pahoehoe lava rock, boulders, and cliffs. Some petroglyphs tell stories or events, while others are just pictures of people,...
Koi Musubi

Koi Musubi

I was inspired to make these cuties by a poem written by my lovely friend Frances, a most wonderful poet and author~ Fish Pond How still the waters. A red koi moves lazily. Pink cherry blossoms Slowly float to block my view. Oh, Mr. Koi, where are you? I dip...
Latest entries
Tangerine Hibiscus Tea Juice

Tangerine Hibiscus Tea Juice

With flu season in full swing across the country, I’ve been feeling a bit under the weather lately. The cold I’ve been fighting off for the past couple of weeks has finally burst towards the side I’ve been trying to avoid. Lot of fluids have been in order for me, especially herb teas. I love...
Easy Spam Fried Rice

Easy Spam Fried Rice

Hi folks, Happy New Year! I hope everyone enjoyed the holidays. It’s been a bit hectic here lately, but the kids finally went back to school today. Yay! A while back I posted my party spam musubi, and showed some musubi filled with fried rice. So here’s a quick recipe you can use for that,...
Smoked Salmon Musubi

Smoked Salmon Musubi

Here’s a great little appetizer- snack for New Year’s Eve or New Year’s Day celebrations. Of course spam musubi is always popular, but this version is especially for those who don’t eat spam, like my dear little Quill. She loves smoked salmon a lot, and could eat it everyday. Start off with good rice. I...
Holiday Sherbet Punch

Holiday Sherbet Punch

Once a year, at Christmas or New Year’s, we have this sherbet punch that my mom used to make for all our holiday dinners and special events. Really simple: 1/2 gallon sherbet, 1/2 gallon juice, and 2 (2 liter) bottles of ginger ale. I think Cole was about ten or eleven years old when I...
Animal Cracker Angels and Peppermint Roses

Animal Cracker Angels and Peppermint Roses

This post is dedicated to those who lost their lives at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut last Friday. Dorothy from Crazy for Crust is part of a group of bloggers who have organized a #BloggersforSandyHook online Cookies and Craft event to show support for the Newtown community.  My heart broke as news of the shooting...
Enchanted Forest Cookies

Enchanted Forest Cookies

It all started when I first saw these whole grain tree branch cookie cutters. “How odd, but interesting…” I mused. Then, I had to have them. Quirk is my middle name. My chai cookie dough is the perfect color for this. I rolled the dough out about 1/4″ thick and started cutting out the branches. The...
Chantilly Cake Tutorial: Splitting and Frosting Chantilly Cake (Part 6)

Chantilly Cake Tutorial: Splitting and Frosting Chantilly Cake (Part 6)

Have your cake platter, two flexible cutting mats, a butter knife and a serrated bread knife out and ready. Here I’m using a Tupperware Cake Taker (2 pc set: bottom cake platter + top cover with handle); I’ve found it to work the best over the years. Unless you already own one, I wouldn’t recommend...
Chantilly Cake Tutorial: Chantilly Frosting (Part 5)

Chantilly Cake Tutorial: Chantilly Frosting (Part 5)

The frosting will need to chill for three hours, so plan ahead by baking the chiffon cake the day before, or while the frosting is chilling. Keep in mind though, you should never frost a warm or even lukewarm cake. It’s actually much easier to frost a chiffon cake that has been refrigerated. Melt butter...
Chantilly Cake Tutorial: Mixing the Cake Batters and Baking the Cake (Part 4)

Chantilly Cake Tutorial: Mixing the Cake Batters and Baking the Cake (Part 4)

Now let’s prepare the cake batter. Start with unsweetened cocoa. Any of these brands will work, but like anything else, better quality will yield better taste. Pour some boiling water into unsweetened cocoa powder. Mix and blend until smooth. Set aside to cool down a bit.   Whisk together the dry ingredients– cake flour, sugar,...
Chantilly Cake Tutorial: Whipping the Egg Whites (Part 3)

Chantilly Cake Tutorial: Whipping the Egg Whites (Part 3)

We’ve separated the egg whites from the egg yolks, and now we’re on to whipping them up. In a standing mixer, start whipping the eggs on medium speed. When they become a little frothy, add the cream of tartar. After the egg whites have about doubled in volume, increase the speed to the highest and...
Chantilly Cake Tutorial: Separating the Eggs (Part 2)

Chantilly Cake Tutorial: Separating the Eggs (Part 2)

Here we start off with some tips for separating the eggs for the chiffon cake portion. You can separate the eggs as soon as you take them out of the refrigerator, as they’re easier to separate cold. The whites though, because they whip up better at room temperature, should be loosely covered and allowed to...
Hawaiian Chantilly Cake

Hawaiian Chantilly Cake

Hawaiian Chantilly Cake Chantilly Cake is one of the absolute best cakes in the world. Found only in Hawaii. If you’ve read my post I’m Dreaming of Cakes, you’ll know how special this cake is and how much I love it. This holiday season, I’d like to share my version of Chantilly Cake –my gift to...