Sonia Tastes Hawaii

A fun "play date" with Sue

My friend Sue and I scheduled a 'play date' for one day a couple of weeks ago.  The play date was to spend sometime together drawing or painting whatever we wanted to work on and lunch.

I had found some wonderful coloring pencils at the Hilo art supply store and was anxious to start using them and see how I liked them.

We have been having rain and more rain, but on the day of our play date it was glorious, sunny and cool, so we set up on her very inviting large back lanai with a view of a wonderful stand of bamboo, lots of flowers and many butterflies flitting about.

The fun "mossy" Mr Lava Man at the base of the back lanai steps.

I first started walking around the yard to take photos and see if there was anything in the yard I wanted to draw... Although I finally found inspiration in the kitchen, the walk in Sue's yard is always fun as you never know what you're going to find.

Sue has very good luck with nasturtiums in her yard...they always look so pretty!

She keeps little glass jars, little pitchers and vases all over the house filled with them.

A red passion flower bloom on top of the arbor

Sue is working on a series of little cards she is painting and sharing with a friend in Colorado.

I decided to do a little still life with the items I found in her kitchen.  The avo, the bowl of limes and a little bottle filled with nasties that she kept on her kitchen window sill.

My "props" - An avo, a bowl of limes and one of several little jars with nasties she keeps on her kitchen window sill.

 

Sue, hard at work and "Bamboo Beanie Baby", her siamese cat on the back lanai.

  

The start of my drawing.........I love the pencils! They are called Woodless Colour Pencils by Koh-I-Noor.  One of the things I like best about them is how you can blend in the colors to get shadings.

Lunch was served after her daughter Cindy (who lives next door) came to join us.  Sue had made wonderful tuna salad sandwiches with pickles, served a dish of delicious olives and I'm afraid we cut up the avo I was using as a prop to eat with our sandwiches....it was very buttery and onolicious!

Going to Sue's is always an adventure and I had a very good time....oh, yes....  I did finished the drawing at home a couple of days later.

 I forgot to get Sue's secret for the delicious tuna salad.

Making Dulce de Leche

Making Dulce de Leche

Dulce de Leche means literally Sweet of Milk.  Way before Haagen Dazs came out with a Dulce de Leche ice cream flavor; generations of Cuban children were eating Dulce de Leche as their "merienda" or mid-afternoon snack of choice. 

It can be made by several different methods, and using regular milk which you have to first curdle, but the method I prefer is one that was made by my Cuban grandmother who taught it to my American mom and in turn was taught to me. 

Our method is made with condensed milk.  Condensed milk must run in the veins of all Cuban children because we all seem to grow up eating the stuff from the time we are born.

Our method is to boil it in the can in a stock pot.  Some people will make it in the pressure cooker, and I have in the past, but since I like to make several cans at one time, I find a stock pot roomier and more convenient.

Some people express fear that the cans will explode when boiling in the can. They will if the level of water falls down below the top of the cans....so I don't let it get there.  I make sure there is always plenty of water in my stockpot.

 

There are several methods for making it, but here is mine which is quite simple

Take label off the cans.

DO NOT make holes in can.

Put several cans at the bottom of a large stock pot - I usually make about 4 to 5 cans at one time, since it takes the same amount of time and energy.

Cover with enough water to at least twice the height of the cans - most of the time I add almost 3 times height of can, depends on the pot and how heavy the bottom is.

Bring to a boil and let it boil at a rolling boil about 10 minutes or so.

 

Turn down heat and let it boil at a slow boil:

1-1/2 hr for a softer more liquid caramel
2 hours for a soft caramel
3 hours for a solid caramel that you can slide right out of the can and slice (by opening the can on both sided and pushing with one lid end out the other - same as you would a can of cranberry jelly)

By always using lots of water, there is no need to keep on adding water while it is cooking and I don't even need to check to see if water has boiled down below to the can line....

PHOTO: Opening can at both ends, push the dulce de leche out of can with one lid as you would cranberry jelly.  You get this consistency after boiling at least 3 hours.

Cooked cans can keep for months unopened without having to be refrigerated, but be sure to refrigerate after opening.

The above is the method my Cuban grandmother taught my mother and me and she made it for years and years and so have I with never having a can explode.

 

PHOTO: To make muffins or cupcakes, put part of the batter in mold, add a dollop of dulce de leche, then add the rest of the batter making sure you enclose the dulce de leche all around so it won't leak while baking.  Then I added a cinnamon and brown sugar crumb topping. 

It can be eaten as is, spooned right out of the can.
It can be used to coat a pecan half and then cover the whole thing in melted chocolate.
It can be a filling or topping for brownies.
It can be eaten with ginger cookies.
It can be eaten by dipping apple slices in it.
It can be used as a filling between two layes of cake or as a filling inside cupcakes or muffins.

 

PHOTO: For some reason I couldn't get the camera to focus right when taking this one, even after many tried...but left it so you can at least get an idea of what it will look like when the muffin or cupcake is split in two.

 

PHOTO: Served with Granny Smith apple slices.

.............and below it was served in a small parfait glass with Kona Coffee Ice Cream...........I'm sure that you can come up with other ideas for serving it!

Buen Provecho!

Honolulu Symphony visits the Big Island

 

The Honolulu Symphony came to the Big Island this week. 

 

Since their arrival on the island, they have visited several schools and performed for the school children around the Hilo and Keau'u areas, including a morning concert at the Kamehameha School auditorium in Kea'au where we attended last night's concert.

 

On the way to Kea'au, we picked up our friends Kele and Frank, who rode with us and we joined up with our friend Trevella and her daughter Tavina at the school auditorium.

 

The concert was in one word...WOW!  I wish I could have taken pics to just show you and recorded it so you could listen to what a packed house experienced last evening!

 

The audience was composed of people from all ages and from all ethnicities as all events are on the Big Island, everyone dressed informally, including the Symphony members who wore matching aloha wear instead of formal black tie.

 

Our friend Kele (Gerald DeOreo) was in his element.  At one time he was part of the Honolulu Symphony and also served as a conductor.  He was like a kid in a candy store and was able to see and visit with some of the long-time members of the Symphony who were his friends and colleagues at one time.  They were all making plans to meet up for breakfast this morning.

 

There will be concerts held in Waimea (Kamuela) and on the Kona side - check their schedule by clicking on the Honolulu Symphony link below.

 

Not all of the Symphony members were able to come on this trip, but they had a large group here.  Ana Krinitsky, is a fairly young woman who served as guest conductor.  Her style is restrained but really wonderful....no large histrionic movements from her.....

 

I was enthralled by the 'first chair' in the violin section.  His whole being was wrapped into his playing and not once did I notice his back touch the back of his chair.

 

Some of the older symphony members have been a part of it for at least 30 years, but there are a lot of younger members also.

 

There are three chamber groups made up of symphony members.  You can see details on these sub-groups here:

http://www.chambermusichawaii.com/

The Symphony Home Page:

http://www.honolulusymphony.com/

 

 

The music on the program was all from well-known and some not so well-known American composers....some still living. One selection was composed by a present day Hawaii composer and it was about "Lo'ihi: Birth of an Island" - Lo'ihi, is the newest island in the Hawaiian chain forming on the bottom of the ocean a bit SE off the Coast of the Big Island was a very moving piece. 

 

The program in order:

Samuel Barber                Overture to the School for Scandal 

(1910-1981)

 

George Gershwin            Porgy and Bess: Selections

(1898-1937)                        Summertime; I Got Plenty o'Nuttin; Bess, You is My Woman Now; Oh, I Can't Sit Down; There's a Boat Dat's Leavin' Soon for New York; It Ain't Necessarily So; Oh, Lord, I'm On My Way.

 

Byron Yasul                    Lo'ihi: Birth of an Island

(1940- )

 

Robert Beaser                Two Movements from Folksongs

(1954- )                                IV. Ground 0 (Homage to 9/11 Victims)

                                                V. Cindy Redux (A romp through Kentucky's Blue Grass)

 

INTERMISSION

 

Aaron Copland                Fanfare for the Common Man

(1900-1990)

 

Leonard Bernstein        West Side Story Selections:

(1918-1990)                        I Feel Pretty; Maria; Something's Coming; Tonight; One hand, One Heart; Cool; America

 

Morton Gould                Pavanne (from American Symphonette, #2

(1913-1996)

 

John Williams                Music from Harry Potter:

(1932- )                                I.Hedwig's Theme

                                                II. A Bridge to the Past

                                                    III. Harry's Wondrous World

 

Henry Berger                    Hawai'i Pono'i

(1844-1928)                                The audience stood while singing

King David Kalakaua

(1836-1891)

 

 

The last selection, Hawai'i Pono'i is the "Anthem of Hawaii" - read the story, of how the music became to be composed by a German and the words written by King David Kalakaua (the last king of Hawai'i)

 

After his death, his sister, Princess Lydia Lili'uokalani Kawānanakoa became Queen Lili'okalani, the last reigning monarch of Hawai'i.  She was also a very prolific and accomplished composer.  The well loved Aloha ʻOe (words in this first link) - Farewell to Thee  (sung by Tia Carrere in this last link) is one that most people recognize when they hear it, but the list of her compositions is impressive.

 

You can see the list by clicking HERE

 

 

Hear the music and read both the Hawaiian and English versions of the Hawai'i Anthem here:

http://www.huapala.org/Hawaii/Hawaii_Ponoi.html

 

A huge Mahalo nui loa to the TANF (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families) and the Hawai'i Department of Human Services who by furnishing grants make it possible for the symphony to travel to the neighbor islands and for the residents of the neighbor islands to experience events like last night's for free.

 

The weather has been frightful for at least the last 10 days, but Mother Nature seemed to make amends by dispersing the clouds, stopping the rains and gicing us a clear and gorgeous last night with a beautiful moon and a sky full of stars....first time any of us had seen them in quite a while... Short respite...it is back to frightful again!