Homemade pasta!

To cut to the chase, there’s nothing more delicious than homemade pasta.  It’s light and fluffy compared to the dried, boxed stuff that most people eat day in and day out.  It’s not a simple task to make your own pasta at home, but it’s absolutely worth the hard work.  My cousin Katherine has a pasta making machine and we love to get together and make up big batches and feast until we can feast no more.  It takes four of us girls to pull off the cutting of the fettucine and we were wondering how little old Italian ladies can pull it off on their own!  For a basic pasta dough recipe, click here.  And for a tutorial for making the fettucine using a pasta making machine, click here.  The following pictures are our adventures in pasta making…can you smell the marinara sauce in the air?

The pasta was so amazing!  Katherine also made an amazing homemade tomato sauce that made the dish that much better.  Throw on some fabulous parmesan cheese  and manga!  If you have the time and the desire, homemade pasta making it absolutely worth the effort.  It’s a great entertaining centerpiece for an interactive dinner party as well.  Pasta+wine+good pals=best dinner!

- Jackie

Published in: on February 28, 2011 at 6:35 am  Leave a Comment  

Chia Herb Garden

This year at Christmas my dad gave each us girls two very unique gifts – a handheld bug zapper and a Chia herb garden.  I suppose that’s what’s left at Building 19 on Christmas Eve.  The bug zapper is tucked safely away until bug zapping season.  But a few days after Christmas I excitedly set up my Chia herb garden.  Last summer was my first foray into any kind of gardening, and I had moderate success with tomatoes and basil.  This summer my goal is to grow more vegetables and herbs, so the Chia garden was a great way to get started.  The kit contains 3 clay pots, 6 varieties of herbs, 3 pre-formed peat/soil blends, and poorly written (but still understandable) directions.   I chose to grow the cilantro, basil, and parsley; the other 3 herbs were chives, marjoram, and dill.

The reviews of the herb garden suggest that you read the directions closely and really stick to them.  The first week or so of the germination process is tentative – you have to keep the pots warm (I kept them on the stovetop under the microwave light – except for when I used the stove) and cover each one loosely with a plastic baggie to help create a greenhouse effect.  However, if they’re covered too tightly, not enough air circulates and they can grow a sort of light mold.  It’s no big deal – you just wipe it off and carry on.  The seeds all sprout at different rates and, as I discovered, not necessarily in the timeframe that the directions indicate.   But it’s fun to watch those first few little green sprouts push through the soil.  And in the midst of all the snow this winter, it was kind of nice to see some signs of life and a promise of summer!

Once the herbs have sprouted, they need at least 6 hours of sunshine per day.  Wesley was not happy about losing part of his window on the world.

I’m having varying degrees of success with the herbs.  The basil sprouted first and is doing okay for now.  I think it might need some plant food.

The cilantro was growing beautifully at first, but has slowed.  I tried to save some of the coriander seeds after they fell off – you can see a few still clinging to the leaves.

Luckily, parsley is my least favorite of the three herbs.  It was the last to sprout and hasn’t made much progress.  Parsley is kind of a dud.

I think that pretty soon I should repot so that the roots can spread out and hopefully the herbs will grow some more.  I love looking forward to making cilantro-heavy salsa and lots of fresh tomato basil paninis!

- Elizabeth

Published in: on February 25, 2011 at 9:15 am  Leave a Comment  

Homemade shoe clips

In an attempt to not share every wedding related detail with you readers, I can’t help but share a few wedded ideas from time to time.  In my (what felt like an eternal) quest to find myself the perfect wedding shoes, I simply needed to share my brilliant beyond brilliant idea.

I’m totally in love with the whole blue wedding shoe idea, as your something blue.  As I’ve seen in many wedding magazines and blogs, brides have gone wild… WILD I SAY…with funky colored shoes and I wanted to jump on that bandwagon.  I didn’t necessarily want to go the blue route, but definitely wanted a great color that would go with my wedding colors (light sage green, dusty pink, light blue).  That’s when I turned to Etsy.com for inspiration.  And inspiration I got!  There are a bunch of amazing DIYers (do-it-yourself) who make homemade shoe clips that you order (or in my case customize) in a color or pattern of your choosing, to then clip on your shoes.  Beyond brilliant!

So when I contacted the wonderful Linden Lovebirds to inquire about customization with the fabric of choice, I was tickled when she said it was a go!  They have a ton of already made shoe clips, but because my bridesmaids dresses are a pattern (plaid to be exact), I thought it would be awesome to match my shoes to the girls’ dresses!  I sent along the swatches and my made-to-order shoe clips were created in mere days!

I found a great pair of light pink peeptoe pumps that  ended up matching perfectly.  The shoe clips are such a great and super fun accessory to add to shoes to give them a little bit of umph.  If you have a pair of boring old heels that need a little lift, these ab fab shoe clips are sure to please.  I can’t wait to dance the night away in these cute little puppies!

- Jackie

Published in: on February 23, 2011 at 6:35 am  Leave a Comment  

Slow Cooker Spicy Pineapple Pork Chili

I’ve blogged about chili several times before:  summer vegetable chili and slow cooker chili.   So do I shy away from yet another chili recipe?  No.  No I don’t.  I heart chili.  Mostly because it’s hearty and spicy, but partly because there are innumerable incarnations.  And I’m always up for trying one out – they rarely disappoint!  This one was no different.  I adapted this recipe from one in an old cookbook of mine – The Best Slow Cooker Cookbook Ever by Natalie Haughton.  (I think about 90% of the slow cooker cookbooks I have/have seen tout themselves as the best.  Talk about your crockpot conceit!)   This particular chili was a nice change from my usual turkey and beans. 

Ingredients

1 lb lean boneless pork – trimmed and cut into 1 inch cubes

14 oz can white beans – Great Northern or canellinni

1 cup hot water

14 oz can diced tomatoes in puree

6 oz can tomato paste

20 oz can unsweetened pineapple chunks

4 oz can diced green chiles

medium onion – chopped

1 tbsp chili powder

1 tbsp cumin

1/2 tsp garlic powder

As per usual, super easy – combine all ingredients except the pineapple in the slow cooker.  Mix well, cover, and cook on low for 8-9 hours.  Stir in the pineapple chunks before serving. 

The pork was a really nice change from my usual turkey, and the pineapple brought such a freshness to the dish.  It was definitely spicy, but not overwhelming.  The faint of heart should use half the amount of diced chiles and chili powder. 

This was lunch for a few days and dinner for a few nights – totally my style.  On the last night of the chili there wasn’t quite enough for 2 normal portions, so I beefed up the meal with quick and easy pinto bean and corn quesadillas.

If you’re looking for a bright, fresh, and different twist on a hearty, healthy chili, give this recipe a try!

- Elizabeth

Published in: on February 22, 2011 at 9:28 am  Leave a Comment  

Small Steps to a More Eco-Friendly Home

For the past year I’ve been slowly working to make my home more environmentally sound.   I think it all started when we moved into our new place last January and discovered that the city of Boston has single stream recycling.  It has really had a huge impact on how much true garbage we produce, and really being able to see a difference week after week inspired me to find other ways to minimize my carbon footprint.  I’ve found that the key is to not excessively disrupt normal life (laundry, cleaning, showering, etc.), but to find ways to make those necessary chores (well, showering is more of a luxury than a chore – for me, anyway) a little less taxing on the environment.  Here are a few small steps I’ve taken, and a few I’d like to move toward in the next year.

* Boston’s single stream recycling program is AWESOME.  I’d say that it has reduced our true garbage by at least half – maybe more.  I keep a plastic container under my kitchen sink and place recyclable items in there whenever possible.  When it’s full, I carry it out back to our garbage can that is devoted only to recycling.  The city provides giant stickers to differentiate the recycling bin from the regular trash.  No need for bags – I just toss the contents of the plastic container right into the barrel.   Tin cans, glass bottles, paper, hard plastic, cardboard… soooo much can be recycled!  The city just asks that you gently rinse out any containers that are kind of grimy.  I can do that.   We used to produce at least 3 full bags of trash each week.  Now we have weeks where it’s just a single bag.  Sometimes more, but on average, I’d say it’s one bag a week.  Crazy!  I think single stream recycling is great because it not only makes it easier for people to recycle, but it also creates jobs -somebody’s got to separate everything.   I think convenience is KEY when it comes to recycling, especially in small city apartments where people really don’t have room for 4 or 5 different containers.   Boston has made it very easy to recycle, and for that, we thank you.   Read more about Boston’s recycling program here.

* Very slowly I’ve been replacing our household cleaning products with natural, non-toxic products.  I couldn’t do it all at once – not only would it have been a waste of the remaining products I had, but it’s also really expensive to get everything at one time.  So as I ran out of each item, I replaced it with either Seventh Generation, Green Works, or Martha Stewart’s new line of cleaners (available only at Home Depot, I believe).  I know that the “best” way to clean is to use totally homemade solutions with vinegar and lemon juice and other ingredients.  Maybe I’ll get there eventually… but not yet.  Right now I feel good about my store-bought all-natural products.

* Laundry is a necessarily evil.  There are some easy steps that reduce water/energy consumption, and there are some more steps that require more time and effort.   A few months ago I read (I think in Whole Living Magazine – my fave) that with the exception of bed sheets, you can wash all laundry with cold water.  Hot water is necessary for bed sheets to get rid of dust mites.  [Shudder.]  But a cold water cycle is totally sufficient for getting clothes and towels completely clean.   So I’ve taken that advice, and switched all my laundry cycles (except sheets) to the quick setting.   It saves about 20 minutes of cycle time, saving energy.  For those of you who have babies (or really messy husbands), you probably need the long hot water cycle to get those onesies, bibs and/or xl t-shirts totally clean.   Again – it’s the balance.  Do as much as is reasonable for your own life!  When I have the luxury of extra time, instead of tossing the laundry straight into the dryer, I hang everything on drying racks.   It kind of drives Matt nuts to have clothes strung up around the house, but it’s really only for a few hours.  Some things dry entirely and some only partly, and I end up putting almost all of the laundry into the dyer to air fluff for 15 minutes at the end.  Some items just need to be fluffed so they’re not stiff or wrinkly.  But air dryer really cuts down on dryer usage.  It’s not always convenient, but on Sundays when I’m just hanging around, it totally makes sense. 

* Another small step is that I’ve changed my dishwasher settings.  I used to run it on high heat/sanitize and dry with heat.  But I’ve been setting it to the quick cycle and air dry, and I don’t notice a difference at all.  I usually run it at night or while I’m at work, so it has plenty of time to dry without the heat. 

* I’m lucky to live in a south facing house with lots of windows.   Recently I read an article on geothermal homes and one of the points it made, beyond expensive renovations, was to use the sun as much as possible to help heat your home, so I’ve been trying to open blinds more often to let the sun warm the house.   Plus, it gives the cat toasty little napping spots. 

A few changes that I’d like to incorporate this year:

* somehow learn to take shorter showers – this will be a difficult battle for sure

* make toilet tank water displacers - the amount of water used per flush is astounding!  Something like 7 gallons.  So if I can reduce that by even a half gallon per flush, it makes a difference.

* grow more of my own food and maybe try to start a small compost barrel

We’ll see how these changes go.  I actually think an urban compost barrel may be an easier feat than shorter showers… But hopefully I’ve inspired you to make at least one change, even occasionally, to reduce your energy usage!

- Elizabeth

Published in: on February 17, 2011 at 8:32 am  Comments (1)  

Egg and goat cheese crepe squares

Have I told you lately how much I love breakfast for dinner?  I remember being a kid and thinking it was the most novel idea to have eggs and pancakes for dinner.  And to be honest, the feeling hasn’t dissipated.  I still squeal with excitement when I flip an omlet out of the pan and call it supper.

So when the end-all-be-all wicked domestic, ahem Martha Stewart, had a recipe for  ham and egg crepes squares in her Everyday mag, I knew it was crepe destiny (of course, I ended up adapting it because I wasn’t in the mood for ham and am ALWAYS in the mood for goat cheese).  Luckily, Eliz gave me a crepe maker for my birthday a few years ago, so it’s super easy.  If you don’t have a crepe maker (and you probably don’t unless you love all things French and have a beret on right now to match your striped shirt) it’s still easy…you just have to get the hang of it.  Here’s what you do (I made the crepes for the recommended 9 crepes, but only used 4 of them…I’ll just freeze the rest):

For the crepes:

1 cup flour

1 T sugar

1/4 t salt

1 1/2 cups milk

4 eggs

3 T melted butter

For the filling:

4 eggs

crumbled goat cheese

fresh parsley

First off, combine the flour, sugar, salt, eggs and butter in a blender and pulse away.  I don’t have a blender so I put my muscles to good use.  Let the mixture sit for 15 minutes after it’s been combined.

Since I was making my crepes in a crepe maker, I poured the batter into the shallow bowl while the crepe maker heated up.  Once it got all nice a hotsy totsy, I brushed a small amount of butter on the burner and dunked the burner into the bowl of batter.  Whenever I’m making crepes, it always take a few tries to get it right, but not to worry kiddos, you’ll get the hang of it.

(clearly my first crepe)

So once I finished off the batter, it’s on to the eggs and goat cheese!  Once your oven is preheated to 350, place one crepe down on a sheet pan, sprinkle in a little goat cheese in the center of the crepe, then gently crack an egg in the center.  Fold the edges in to make a square, then pop in the oven for 10-12 minutes or once the whites are cooked through. 

Sprinkle on salt, pepper and some chopped up flat leaf parsley.

Since this was dinner and not breakfast, I thought a salad might be in order.  I mixed up some olive oil, cider vinegar and grainy mustard to splash over some baby spinach.  Breakfast for dinner is calling!  Now I just need some French music in the background and my jaunty beret and I’m good to go!

- Jackie

Published in: on February 16, 2011 at 6:35 am  Comments (1)  

Chipotle chicken and pumpkin quesadillas

It’s so sad that Northerners get super amped when the mercury gets to 40 degrees in late winter.  I feel like it’s downright balmy and I’m seriously contemplating where my flip flops might be.  Since we’re in the middle of high 30s/low 40 degree weather this week, I’m on full-out cabin fever mode.  Queue spring like food.

I absolutely love foods that layer on tons of flavors to create something truly unique.  Hense the chiptole chicken and pumpkin quesadilla (adapted from Fun and Fearless in Beatown’s recipe).  Throw in some sweet carmelized onions, tangy goat cheese, jalapenos, then top it with some avocado and plain greek yogurt.  Phewww.  Seems like a lot going on, huh?  Don’t be scared, folks.  It’s just plain awesome.  But this is coming from the girl who ordered a prosciutto, goat cheese and blueberry pizza the other day.

8 chicken thighs or 4 chicken breasts (roasted and shredded)

1 can chipotle peppers in adobo

1 can pumpkin puree

6 oz. goat cheese

6 scallions, chopped

1 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded

1 large onion, sliced

1 jalapeno, diced

14 medium-sized whole wheat tortillas (this makes for 7 big quesadillas)

First off, roast the chicken and once it’s cooled, shred it.  Take the can of chiptole peppers in adobo and puree it so it’s a smooth, spicy liquid.  In a medium saucepan, simmer the shredded chicken and chipotle pepper puree for about 10 minutes.  You may need to add a little water, but make sure it’s not too watery.  After the chicken mixture has simmered, add the pumpkin puree and allow it to cook for about 5 minutes or so.

In the meantime, saute the onions and jalapeno in a touch of olive oil for 10-15 minutes.  Until the onions are toasty and brown.

Then to assemble the quesadillas, spread one side of the tortillas with the goat cheese…

add a big spoon full of the chicken mixture and throw on a few chopped up scallions…

add a sprinkling of the mozzarella cheese, scatter the onion and jalapeno mixture and a touch more cheese…

then throw on the other tortilla and it’s griddle time! 

For toppings I whipped up a quick guacamole with avocado, lime juice and salt, along with plain low-fat greek yogurt, salsa, cut up limes and two kinds of Tobasco.  I also made a super easy black bean and corn dish with scallions, chopped cilantro, chili powder and lime juice (all heated through).  Ohh and don’t forget the greens!  A wicked quick salad dressing of olive oil, cider vinegar and cumin paired nicely with the greens.

These quesadillas were pretty awesome, if I do say so myself.  The chipotle peppers in adobo meant for a pretty spicy meal, but the pumpkin really cooled it down, along with a good dollop of guac and faux sour cream.

Eliz made a good point during dinner, that pumpkin and Mexican flavors really work well together because traditional Mexican cuisine pairs spice with pumpkins quite often.  Who knew!

If you’re feeling some winter blues and need a spicy escape, these will definitely do the trick!

- Jackie

Published in: on February 14, 2011 at 6:32 am  Leave a Comment  

Baked Kale Chips

As I’m writing this post about kale chips,  I’m having my 3rd snack of the day.  Mind you, I’ve had a normal breakfast and lunch.  Yet, at 2:00 pm, I’m on my third snack.  Are you asking yourself why I’m such a bottomless pit?  During the work week I eat very lightly, but snack throughout the day.  I’m told that it’s good to graze over small meals all day and that’s just what I do.  As an ever searching snacker would, I always have my eyes peeled for new ways to satisfy my hollow leg.  One of my new favorite veggies is big, leafy kale and I spotted this recipe in Real Simple magazine as a way to prepare the super healthy veg.  New favorite veg + snack recipe = my new obsession.  Here’s what you’ll need:

1 bunch of kale

olive oil

salt and pepper

Preheat the oven to 375 and line a cookie sheet with parchment or aluminum.  Wash and dry the kale throughly.  It’s super important to have the kale really dry.  This is when a salad spinner would work wonders.  Alas, a salad spinner is on my registry, but until then, it’s paper towels for this girl.

Tear the kale into bite sized pieces, line up on the cookie sheet and drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Easy enough!

Bake the kale for 10-15, until the edged have turn a little brown, but not burned.

Look at how much the kale cooks down!

These kale chips are the bees knees.  Forget the potato chips, these will make a snacker happy.  It’s a great way to snack on more veggies without it being wicked bland.  Maybe next time I’d sprinkle Old Bay seasoning or garlic powder to add a little umph.

If you’re a major snacker, like myself, these baked chips are a must.

- Jackie

Published in: on February 8, 2011 at 6:39 am  Leave a Comment  

Chocolate Truffles

Chocolate lovers, heed the call!  These truffles are outrageously good.  Jackie discovered the recipe (Ina Garten’s) and made these as favors for my bridal shower, and they were a huge hit.  It took me nearly 4 years to get around to making them myself, but I finally did last week.  I made them as a hostess gift for the dinner party we went to Saturday night, and luckily there were a few that didn’t fit in the box, so I got to taste test.  Delicious!  The recipe isn’t very difficult, but it is a bit time consuming, so plan ahead.

Ingredients:

1/2 lb bittersweet chocolate (Ina recommends Lindt; I used Ghiradelli)

1/2 lb semisweet chocolate (Ina recommends Ghiradelli, which is what I used)

1 cup heavy cream

1 tbsp prepared coffee

1/2 tsp good vanilla extra (i.e. not Shaw’s brand imitation)

coatings:  I used cocoa powder, coconut, crushed macadamia nuts, chopped pomegranate craisins

Chop the chocolates finely with a sharp knife and place them in a heat-proof mixing bowl (I used porcelain).

Heat the cream in a small saucepan, stirring frequently, until it just boils.  Turn off the heat and allow the cream to sit for 20 seconds.  I actually stood there and counted out loud.

Pour the cream through a fine-meshed sieve into the bowl with chocolate.  Use a wire whisk to slowly stir together the cream and chocolate until the chocolate is completely melted.   Whisk in the coffee and vanilla extract.

Put the chocolate mixture into the refrigerator for an hour.  Ina tells you to leave it at room temp on the counter, but that was definitely not the way to go.  You want the chocolate to firm up enough for you to be able to roll it into balls, and that did not happen at room temp.

So now we enter the part of the process of which I have zero photos – mainly because my hands were coated with chocolate the entire time.   I had to do this part in shifts because I had to keep re-chilling the chocolate.  Maybe that’s because I didn’t refrigerate it long enough to begin with, but maybe it’s just the result of a warm kitchen.  Plan ahead and do what you need to do to get these to come out right – it’s worth it!

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and use a small spoon to gather up a small amount of chocolate.  Use your hands to roll into a ball.  Ina claims her recipe makes 60; I got 35 out of it… so I think my balls were too big.  (Michael Scott:  “That’s what she said!”)  Now, I struggled a bit because the longer the chocolate sat on the counter, the more it warmed up, so I’d have to pop it back in the fridge before making more.   I also kept putting in the balls that I had already rolled.   So, it took me a while to assemble the basic truffles, and after refrigeration I’d reroll some of them to smooth them out a bit.  But once you have all your plain chocolate truffles, you can start to roll them in the coatings.  I used cocoa powder, crushed macadamia nuts, chopped pomegranate craisins, and coconut flakes.  Jackie has used confectioners’ sugar, but said it kind of gets messy.

I got a cute little metallic box at Michael’s, and used tissue paper and pretty ribbon to dress it up a bit.  Here are my truffles – assembled, coated, and boxed up:

On top of the truffles I placed this:

And I attached matching ribbon to the lid of the box.  I thought it looked really nice!

Leave yourself plenty of time to make these truffles and you won’t be sorry.  They’re soooo rich and delicious!

- Elizabeth

Published in: on February 7, 2011 at 8:26 am  Leave a Comment  

Moloka’i and Honolulu

I really REALLY wish I were blogging about a recent trip to Moloka’i and Honolulu… alas, I’m merely posting about books of the same names.   A Hawaiian vaca sounds REALLY good right now with 17 feet of snow outside my window.   Sigh… 

In early December I bought Moloka’i for my mom for Christmas.  She and my dad went to Hawaii on their honeymoon nearly 36 years ago (!!!), and haven’t quite made it back.  I hope they’re planning to return soon (like next week) and bring their three lovely daughters along with them…  (hmmm? how about it?).   Anyway, before I wrapped up the book, I read it.  I couldn’t help myself!   I rationalized that my mom would have passed it along to me after she read it anyway, so I was really just saving her the trouble.

Alan Brennert’s novel is a lovely piece of historical fiction about a young girl living in Hawaii in the late 1800s.  Rachel Kalama is diagnosed with leprosy, “the separating sickness” - so called because once diagnosed with it, Hawaiians were permanently separated from the rest of society.   The novel is the story of her life in the leper colony of Kalaupapa on the island of Moloka’i.  Hers is a rich and fulfilling life, despite her illness, and Brennert paints a vivid picture of the unexpectedly vibrant life of lepers on Moloka’i. 

Beyond Rachel’s personal story, I loved learning about the misunderstood disease and how the government dealt with the epidemic.  Also known as Hansen’s Disease, leprosy has been around since biblical times.  The native Hawaiians were hard hit by this and other diseases with the arrival of American and European colonists in the 1800s.  There certainly were white people (“haoles“) who contracted leprosy and were even sent to Moloka’i, but it was predominantly a native epidemic.   While reading the book, I became fascinated with leprosy and I did a little research.  Here are a few fun (?) facts I learned:

* Leprosy is a bacterial disease that is believed to be transmitted through respiratory droplets.  I think the jury is still out on the precise mode of transmission.  Kind of crazy for a disease that’s been around for thousands of years, but maybe that’s why it’s still around – it’s kept doctors (and bloggers) guessing!

* Contrary to folklore, leprosy does not cause limbs or digits to fall off.  Instead, the tissues are affected by the progression of the disease and fingers and toes become deformed. 

* The minimum incubation period is as little as a few weeks; the maximum reported has been as long as 30 years!

* Carville, Lousiana is the home to another U.S. leper colony and is also the site of a museum devoted to Hansen’s Disease. 

* At the publication of Moloka’i, Brennert reported that there are still around 30 lepers living in the Kalaupapa settlement on the island. 

I really loved the book, and I love that I learned so much from it.  Once I get through the pile of paperbacks on my nightstand, I may order a couple books about leprosy and Moloka’i.   I just wish I had read the book 4 years ago – I spent one week of my honeymoon on Maui, within site of Moloka’i.  You can ferry over there and take tours, and I really wish I had!   I found this website, where a travel writer describes her mule ride tour of Moloka’i – a good read!

http://www.travelwithachallenge.com/Hawaii-Molokai.html

A friend from work also honeymooned in Hawaii, so I passed the book recommendation along to her.  She immediately ordered Moloka’i and Honolulu, also by Alan Brennert.  She lent me Honolulu, which I greedily dug into.

Honolulu, also historical fiction, tells the story of a Korean “picture bride”, who arrives in Honolulu to marry the Korean husband of whom she has seen only one [not quite accurate] photo.  The novel takes the reader through Jin’s life in Honolulu, highlighting her independence and entrepreneurial spirit against the backdrop of an increasingly multicultural melting pot.  I learned a lot about the history of the city and the islands, particularly the relationship between the native Hawaiians (who, by the early 1900s were largely intermarried with Asians, Samoans, Portugese, and people of other cultures – there are very few true Hawaiians left today) and the haoles.  Brennert clearly did his research for this novel, as he weaves in current events like court cases and the storming of the infamous red light district of Iliwei.  

I did enjoy Honolulu – very much – but I think my heart belongs to Moloka’i.   I highly recommend both – particularly as you take breaks from shoveling and de-icing! 

Aloha,

Elizabeth

Published in: on February 2, 2011 at 8:59 am  Leave a Comment  
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