Month: August 2013

Stuff We Love: Fondue for Two

Published by

According to a study done by the Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, 30 to 50 million Americans are lactose intolerant. The disorder affects some populations more than others: Seventy-five percent of all African-American, Jewish, Mexican-American, and Native American adults are lactose intolerant. Ninety percent of Asian-American adults are lactose intolerant. And lactose intolerance is least common among people with a northern European heritage. Growing up as an Asian-American, dairy products were not a huge part of my diet. I would enjoy the occasional bowl of cereal and of course ice-cream for dessert, but I usually stuck to standard rice, fish, veggie and meat dishes. It wasn’t until college, when a charming young man offered to prepare a popular cheese dish from his native country, Switzerland, for one of our early “courtship” dates. When I arrived at his apartment the table was set: ramekins filled with condiments like pickled onions, baby corn, cornichon (aka gerkins/mini pickles); a large basket of french bread cut into cubes; and a table burner with a large pot of melted Swiss …

Du Jour Thursday

Published by

Find life experiences and swallow them whole.  Travel. Meet many people. Go down some dark alleys. Try everything.  Exhaust yourself in the glorious pursuit of life.” –Lawrence K. Fish Photo credit: M. Andaya

Fickle Me

Published by

Those who are closest to me are all too familiar with my fickle nature: notorious for taking on a vast array of hobbies; eager to explore creative ventures (sometimes to my detriment); and always working towards reinventing some aspect of my ordinary life. Ten years into my quarter-life crisis, I was nowhere near to figuring out my career, let alone my life’s purpose. The proverbial carrot and stick approach to living a successful life only added frustration and disappointment to an already beaten and bruised ego. Lost, scared and desperate, I ran to the closest book store and purchased a mount of self-help books hoping to find reassurance and direction on how to cope with the anxiety attacks, self-doubt and overall dissatisfaction with my life. In retrospect, I probably would’ve saved myself a lot of aggro and time had I just gone to a therapist to “sort” through my issues, but my stubborn and self-reliant nature wouldn’t have it. I took a risk and let go of promising career in corporate sales and marketing to …

Stuff We Love: Nag Champa (Incense)

Published by

Our sense of smell can bring us pleasure, happiness, as well as disgust.  I have always been attracted to the smell of incense.  However, finding the one that works for you can be difficult.  Either you buy the whole box to later find out you don’t like it, or ask someone you know which one they would recommend.  When Kainoa, Adrel and I took yoga classes with Heather Heintz, former owner of Balancing Monkey, we would be greeted with burning incense.  Sometimes, towards the end of class, during savasana (corpse pose), Heather would burn a stick and the smell would permeate throughout the room giving me that extra push to go into that deep relaxation. During one of my visits to Rogene’s house she was burning some incense.  I totally loved that one, and one Christmas she gifted me a box of Nag Champa.  I recently discovered that Kea’au Natural Foods sells them.  The little red box is full of magic.  When I feel down or need to just chill, I will light an incense …

Gone Exploring

Published by

One’s destination is never a place, but a new way of seeing things. –Henry Miller Last Saturday, after a few errands around town, I decided to holoholo. It was a beautifully sunny day in Hilo; nice and hot and a good time to check out places I’ve never visited before. I’ve lived in Hilo for a total of 14 years and believe it or not, there are still some places I’ve never been. Roaming around doesn’t necessarily cost a thing, so I charged up my trusty phone and ducked into a few new/old places. Free moments to explore this city with fresh eyes are few and far between, but when I do have the opportunity, I take in surroundings like it’s my first visit. Hilo is large enough that you can actually get away with gallivanting without being recognized. No one really pays mind here, which is great because you can immerse yourself in the process of discovery without being disturbed.

Itchy

Published by

I have a weird itch. It’s always there, and some days are worse than others. Benadryl doesn’t help, neither does any soak or lotion. My itch is a desire to poke people with needles. I’m not a sadist…I’m an acupuncturist. Actually, I’m kind of an acupuncturist. I’m licensed in the State of Hawai’i but have not been in practice since 2007. I get my fix every so often, and when I do, I love it. Love it! It’s kind of like solving a puzzle – using a patient’s signs and symptoms to determine their patterns of health, then using a formula of needles to support and/or counteract those patterns. And bonus – having the “inside track” on someone’s body is pretty cool. Like how I know a patient has hemorrhoids because of a tender point on his leg. It’s fun, I enjoy the surprised responses. Becoming an acupuncturist wasn’t easy, there were many times I wanted to drop out of school. Studying the ancient theories and practically learning a new language was awesome. But practicing …

Kumiai Picnic

Published by

As our summer comes to a close, I look back to one of the highlights of this summer – attending the annual kumiai picnic from my childhood neighborhood.  Growing up, I looked forward to the picnic and hanging out with all the other keiki in the neighborhood.  This summer, I brought along my husband and daughter.  Many of my childhood friends have moved away or no longer attend the kumiai picnic, but their parents still attend and are the glue that holds the kumiai together. All these years, I always assumed kumiai was a Hawaiian word that meant neighborhood.  But it was pointed out to me that it is a Japanese word used primarily on Hawai’i Island.  It stems from the plantation period when the community would pull their resources together especially for a funeral or when a family needed help.  Now that I think about it, I remember the assigned representative of our street stopping by to let us know when someone from the neighborhood had passed and informing us about the funeral service. …

Stuff We Love: Mushroom Poke

Published by

Poke has gone mainstream. Most everyone knows that poke refers to cubes of raw fish. The origin of the word poke is Hawaiian and refers to fish being cross-cut. These days, youʻll find trays of different types of poke (tuna, marlin, salmon, octopus, etc.) in local grocery stores, tossed with a variety of condiments, like shoyu, limu (seaweed), onions, and even mayonnaise.  Poke bowls have also become lunch favorites. You can pick up poke bowls at Suisan (85 Lihiwai Street) or Poke to Taste (790 Leilani Street), as well as the big three local supermarkets, KTA, Safeway, and Sack and Save, where your bowl is made to your liking. Pick your poke and it will be served up on a bowl of sushi rice and packed to-go. Although fish is one of the healthier meats, I was looking for something different. Enter mushroom poke. Many vegetarians substitute mushrooms for meat due to their hearty texture. Theyʻre even called “the meat of the earth”. One night, I ordered an expensive, but tiny serving of delicious mushroom poke at the now-defunct Nihon Restaurant (it was transitioning to …

Dreaming of Adventure

Published by

“We live in a wonderful world that is full of beauty, charm and adventure. There is no end to the adventures that we can have if only we seek them with our eyes open.” -Jawaharlal Nehru As a young girl I often fantasised about becoming a world explorer. I spent many hours going through our home encyclopaedia collection from A to Z, picking out countries I wanted to visit and learning about exotic cultures. Daydreaming was my favourite pastime (still is). If I didn’t have my head buried in a book or at the neighbours playing tetherball, I was on the rooftop dreaming up exciting adventures in distant lands. I grew up in a middle-class household where both parents juggled two full-time jobs and worked tirelessly to support two daughters. It took 12 years of saving and careful planning before my parents could afford to take my sister and I on our very first (and sadly last) trip to the mainland USA as a family. Making the 15-hour, 10,634 mi. trans-Pacific trek from Guam via …

Farewell, Kay LC!

Published by

Flashback to the 90’s and you would’ve seen me as a starving college student. Things were simpler and definitely cheaper back then. There were fewer ritzy restaurants, that’s for sure, and when I did have a little extra money, I’d splurge on a nice meal at Kay’s Lunch Center. My usual order? Barbecue beef and barbecue chicken. The meal came with a bowl of miso and the rice came in a rice bowl, which was a whole new level of authentic for a small town girl like me who couldn’t afford eating at Nihon. The food was absolutely yummy. I was not a regular, but I did frequent the establishment throughout my college career, never disappointed with the food and friendly service. When I moved back to Hilo as an adult, I was weaning myself off the “eating out” phase that naturally came with living in Honolulu, and although Kay’s was still here, I didn’t  visit often. When Allan Okuda stepped away from the restaurant business and another restaurant opened up, naturally, I gave it …