Monday, February 29, 2016

Jesh's New Blog - Seasons

I am supporting Jesh's new meme called Seasons over at St. German's Blog.  Please click on the name to see other participants, or you can read what you have to do to participate yourself. Jesh has the most wonderful blog with beautiful photos and she also shares her talents as an artist.  Thank you for hosting Jesh and I wish you much success in your new meme.

Simple
(A limpet on a rock.  I'm thinking its life must be pretty simple, though I have to confess I have no idea about the habits of a limpet.  I looked at this photo and just thought 'simple'.)


Action 
(Husband with the monumental task of shoveling snow after the plow had been through, and then thankfully our neighbors came down and helped out and made his task a whole lot easier.)


Comfort 
(Having a teddy bear and holding him close is a great comfort to a child. A photo of me that I shared on my old blog but couldn't find another newer one to share of a child and a teddy bear.)

I am also linking with N.C. Sue who has another great meme at Wordless (on Tuesday) at Image-in-ing.  You can visit here to see other participants.

Recipe - Teriyaki Loco Moco


Since we had Loco Moco for the first time on holiday, we have been wanting to have it at home. I went on a search and found this recipe from Farm Girl Gourmet.  The original recipe is here.  

Teriyaki Loco Moco - serves 4

This is traditionally a breakfast dish but you can serve it for any meal.

4 cups water
2 cups white rice
1 lb. ground beef
1 small onion, minced
5 garlic cloves, minced
1-1/2 tablespoons Worcestershire Sauce
1 Egg
1 cup Panko breadcrumbs
1 tablespoon milk
Salt and pepper to taste
4 eggs, fried to taste or poached
Favorite Teriyaki Sauce
Favorite Brown Gravy

Garnishes:

Crushed Red Pepper Flakes
Sriracha Sauce (if you can't find Sriracha, your favorite hot sauce) 
Teriyaki Sauce(s)
Sliced Green Onions

In a medium saucepan bring the 4 cups of water to a boil.  Add the rice and stir.  Cover with a lid and turn the heat to low.  For the timing, cook the rice according to directions on the packet.  If you have a rice cooker use that.

Mix the first 8 ingredients (beef through to the salt and pepper) in a medium bowl until well combined.  Form into four patties and grill or broil to the way you like it.

To serve, scoop 1 cup rice per bowl, top with a burger and add brown gravy as much as you like to your own taste, along with the teriyaki sauce.  Top with a fried egg and garnish with a pinch of crushed red pepper flakes and green onions.  


Serve with a cold beer, Hawaiian if it is available in your area and just to complete the theme. While you're at it, play some Hawaiian Music, serve your beer in a coconut shell, wear your grass skirt and pretend you're in the islands. And yes, I am joking but a girl can dream.

What did we think of our first homemade Loco-Moco?  It was delicious even without the imagination running amok.  I put too much Sriracha Sauce on for me, so go lightly if you don't like it too hot. I also used brown rice as I couldn't find any white when I checked the pantry.

There are different versions of Loco-Moco.  The ones we tried on holiday didn't have any of the garnishes. 


According to this website:

"Rudy Legaspi, former member and unofficial historian of the Trop-Ties (also recently retired Executive Assistant to the Mayor of Hawaii County and admitted loco-moco fanatic) says, 'The loco-moco had its origins with the Lincoln Wreckers Athletic Club, an informal organization for local teenagers in the late 1940s.  The group used to hang-out at the Lincoln  Grill Restaurant across the street from the Lincoln Park in downtown Hilo.

The Lincoln Wreckers, who played in the local "bare-foot" football league of the time, had some success on the field, but its main claim to fame was their creation of the loco-moco.  The popular local dish has become a staple on restaurant menus throughout the islands and is a recognized cultural cuisine icon, as much as a taco is to Mexican fare or a pizza to Italian fare.  

The loco-moco story began in 1949, after Richard and Nancy Inouye opened the Lincoln Grill Restaurant.  The teens used to hang-out at the eatery, playing the pin-ball machines, cards, dropping nickels in the Wurlitzer jukebox and constantly feeding their hungry appetites.  And in those days, when teens didn't have much money for their pockets, the standard fare was a bowl of saimin noodles or a hamburger, things which didn't quite fill the always hungry teens.

So the club devised a plan to ask the Inouyes to create a special dish just for them, something filling and affordable.  For the task, the Wreckers nominated a guy nicknamed "Crazy" for his wild and madcap play on the football field.  Crazy approached the Inouyes with the club's request, and the rest is history.'"




Saturday, February 27, 2016

LAST OF MY PHOTOS OF THE WILD CHICKENS IN KAUAI.

These are the last of the wild chicken photos from our vacation,  taken at Limahuli Gardens and Preserve on Kauai.  I absolutely loved seeing them running all over the place.  They all seemed to be well fed, and I am sure that as green as this island is, there were lots of good things to eat. 




















And away they go.  Bye-bye my little darlings, until next time, whenever that may be.


I'm sharing the above photos with the following.  Thank you to all our hosts who bring these fun memes to us, and you can click on their names to see other participants.

Misty's Camera Critters
Anni's Bird D'Pot
Michele's Nature Notes

Friday, February 26, 2016

Friday Memes

I am dedicating this post to our blogging friend Tina Forrester (East Gwillimbury Camera Girl), who sadly was killed in a tragic car accident with her husband a few days ago.   

I thought I would do a little something different for me today.  For SkyWatch Friday and for Fun Friday Five, I am sharing the first five photos I ever shared with SkyWatch Friday.  Tanya at Willy-Nilly Friday Five is suspending her meme for today, but will still share with Cath at Fun Friday Five.



1)  My photo was taken in Victoria, BC and it shows the domes on top of the Parliament Building  - shared 8-8-08


2)  Part of the roof of George Washington's home, Mount Vernon - shared 8-14-08


3)  Arlington County Fair.


4)   Manassas National Battlefield - shared 8-28-08


5)  Reagan National Airport


I am sharing with the following memes, and you can see other participants if you click on their names.







TODAY'S FLOWERS #388 - February 26th, 2016



Today's Flowers opens up on Friday at 12.00 a.m., and closes the following Thursday at 11.00 p.m.   More information about this meme can be found here.



I am still sharing the flowers I found on Kauai, while on vacation in December 2015 and January 2016.
















Today's Flowers was created by Luiz Santilli, Jr. for us all to enjoy.  Thank you Luiz!  I have been its host for quite a while now. 


 
I am also linking with the following memes as they become available, with my thanks to our hosts.  Please click on their names to visit other participants.

Hetty at Tuinverhalen (Garden Stories)
Nick Floral Friday Fotos
Aquariann at Flower Friday
Judith at Mosaic Monday

After visiting Judith's blog I learned she will not have Mosaic Monday this week as she is traveling back home. I will leave the link anyhow as it is always enjoyable to visit.

Thursday, February 25, 2016

Death of Blogging Friend, East Gwillimbury CameraGirl


I was greatly saddened to hear of the death in a tragic car accident of Tina Forrester and her husband.  Tina's last post can be seen here.   May you and your husband rest in peace Tina, you will be greatly missed.  My thoughts and prayers are with her family.

Wednesday, February 24, 2016

15th day of our vacation - 12-30-15

Wednesday, December 30th, 2015

The first thing we did was to find a post office so that I could mail a birthday card off to a friend.


From the post office we drove north as far as the Kilauea Lighthouse.....


which was located at


There were a lot of Nene Geese here, but also other birds.  I took photos of all the markers that were placed near the lighthouse.


I shared some photos of the Red-footed Boobie we saw flying overhead before, but here is another shot.



As for the other birds there were an amazing amount on the cliffs but couldn't get a decent shot. 



The Laysan Albatross were all the way over on the other side, another cliff face.














There were whales in the distance but they were hard to see. We could only make out their spouts, which you could barely distinguish from the white caps.  It was enough to know that they were there. 



Did you know that the Humpback Whale's spout is actually a result of its breathing?  Because the whale spends long periods under water, the air in the resulting release when spouting is under massive pressure and can rise up to 13 feet in the air.   I also found it interesting to learn that the lungs of a Humpback Whale are the size of a small car and when the whale breaths it will exchange up to 90% of its lung capacity.   



Humbacks travel 16,000 miles a year at a leisurely five miles an hour.  They eat only in the summer months when they are in the polar regions.  In the winter they are in the Hawaiian islands breeding and giving birth.  They grow up to 40 tons.



There was also a marker identifying native plants.



The plant with the orange flowers is identified in the sign above.  It is the Ilima.  If you want to see more Native Hawaiian plants you can go to this website.


I am aware that the next photo is not everyone's cup of tea, but this intrigued me.  It is a Hawaiian garden spider.  Its bite is venomous but not deadly.  I didn't get that close.



We walked around the lighthouse. This is non-functioning and the light has been off for 30 years.

  

It stands 52 feet tall and is located at the northernmost point of the entire Hawaiian islands. 



Built in 1913, its beam could reach 90 miles out to sea and the lens was the largest of its type ever made.  It is one of Hawaii's National Historic Landmarks.


These are personalized bricks that make up a path near the lighthouse.  Names are inscribed with messages in loving memory of departed loved ones, and also of people who have donated funds to help restoration. 



There were Nene everywhere.  I have become familiar with them since my time on Kauai.  When we were in Maui years ago I looked for this goose as I had read about them and was eager to see one.  I was told I could do this at the top of the Haleakala Crater.  I did not see hide nor feather that whole trip.  I do remember coming across the Silversword plant but did not realize what I was looking at.  Fortunately I took photos so that I could research them later.    



So now here I am having had many sightings of the Nene Goose, and they were walking about all over the place, even in the parking lot.  People really have to take care when they are driving and...



pay attention to all the signs.


The cliffs were also covered with birds, such as the Red-footed Boobie and Albatross.....



as well as others that I've mentioned above. 



We watched a pair of Red-crested Cardinals, this one with a caterpillar in its beak.



There were other tourists walking about.  We went into the visitor center and bought more postcards and a couple of souvenirs.  



You can read more about the lighthouse here.   It says it is closed until April 16th (2016) for a trail stabilization project. 



On the way back and because it was dinnertime, Gregg wanted to stop at another little shack he had noticed a few days ago, again colorfully decorated.  



After sharing a plate we called it a day and went back to the condo, opened the sliding door, listened to the surf and watched the ocean til bedtime.  We noticed that the ladies have been in to clean the place up.  It looks really nice. 



If you missed any of my daily journals and would like to catch up, I am sharing their links below.

Oahu

Page 1
Page 2
Page 3
Page 4
Page 5
Page 6
Page 7
Page 8
Page 9
Page 10

Kauai