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Last year I was in New York for Thanksgiving so K and I didn’t spend it together. This year we were invited to four people’s Thanksgivings which was so nice and unexpected.
We thought that we’d be able to go two. Though later we found that both started at the same time. We decided to go to our friend Mark’s house for a traditional “pre-Western contact” Hawaiian dinner and then to the Marine Corps Base in Kaneohe for dessert.
It would have been nice to spend more time at each place but either way it was an amazing holiday and I’m still full.
When we arrived in Manoa, the table was set so beautifully.
Mark had fish and breadfruit on the fire downstairs and I was so excited to eat. I love Hawaiian food: lau lau, haupia, and poi. Some people aren’t fans of poi because of its texture and bland-ish taste. But to me it’s like mochi pudding. I love it. I feel like I knew what it would taste like before I ever tasted it and I knew that I would like it.
We also had awa for the first time. Mark was straining it by hand for awhile before we ate. Kalei warned us that it doesn’t taste good and if she hadn’t I might have thought so. But you’re meant to drink it all down at once before a meal. It has a relaxing effect and prepares your body for the big meal ahead. Mark said that some people even use it to help them sleep. I drank it all and it wasn’t so bad…what was nice was the novocaine like effect afterwards. K wondered later ‘can you become an awa-holic?’ Mark answered ‘yes’.
The meal was so delicious but I got full so fast. I was all revved up to dig in and then all of a sudden everything on my plate was gone and I felt like I couldn’t take one more bite of food…and believe me I tried.
After dinner the sun began to set and it started to rain sideways.
Mark said that it was good luck. That if you looked at the mountain it looked like a woman’s face and the rain was like her hair flowing behind her.
It was a lovely dinner. But we were running late and had to head over to Kea’s for dessert. Before we did though, we had one more cup of awa.
When I was in college my boyfriend was in the Air Force. One Summer rather than go home to my parent’s house, I lived secretly on base with him. I have some really fond memories of that time. Life on base for an enlisted is not fancy, it can be kind of boring but there’s also alot of order and camaraderie. Which I really like. In some ways I was looking forward to revisiting a military base.
There were some construction issues so we drove around in circles for a little bit. It was interesting to see the neighborhoods–winding narrow roads lined by houses that looked very new, white and upright…like soldier houses. I was reminded by our host’s comment over the course of the night how easy it would be not to leave base at all. Everything you need is mostly there. K remarked how it felt like a city that could be anywhere–that we could have easily not been in Hawaii at all.
When we got to our friend’s house they had finished dinner hours ago and were busily cleaning up. The house was filled with young children and the TV was blaring Hotel for Dogs. There were alot of people there, mostly military families. The three men that were there had recently come back from Afghanistan and Iraq after multiple tours of being away.
At one point our friend’s husband offered to help the ladies in the kitchen with the dishes and everyone guffawed ‘the WARRIOR wants to help with the dishes!’.
Kea’s food looked fantastic. We were able to have some of her apple pie, pumpkin mousse, and home made sorbet.
She was very kind to pack up a little bit of everything she made and the next day we were able to have a whole Thanksgiving meal for lunch.
Early Thanksgiving morning, we headed to Lanakila headquarters to do some extra volunteer work. We were assigned to the Tray Assembly line which meant helping to scoop hot turkey dinners for 800 meals that were going out to the neediest seniors.
We were half an hour early and yet by the time we got there the parking lot was full and there was a mass of people registering for their shift.
We got in line to wash our hands then get our hair nets and gloves. Everyone waited patiently while the the coordinators got the lines ready.
Once the food was brought out, one of the coordiantors thanked us all for being there and gave us a rousing pep talk.
We were asked to take a spot next to a ladle with a designated food label: green beans, mashed potatoes, stuffing, turkey, gravy, and cranberry sauce. Everyone scrambled for a spot and waited like dogs at the starting gate.
There are no pictures of what happened next because there was such a flurry of activity and suddenly me and K were scooping, scooping, scooping. Once in awhile the Lanakila staff would yell out some encouragement, or ‘level scoops!’ or ‘hot behind you!’ or ‘more gravy on line 2!’.
Two things I felt while we were scooping our meals:
1. Assembly lines are fun.
And 2. this is making me hungry.
Before we knew it, it was all over. The entire process took less than an hour. Russell the coordinator yelled out ‘Thank you people! Now go on home and watch some football!’ and everyone clapped and dispersed within seconds.
It was really well organized and very satisfying to be a part of. Like a flash mob, flash volunteering.
Him: What if a real bird builds a nest on it?
Her: Then it’ll be even better.
Him: What if it thinks the other bird is real?
Her: Then it’ll be heartbroken.
Good luck Birds!
Jello sponge cake from Napolean’s Bakery.
K’s friend Rebecca was in town for a couple of days and she wanted to try Nobu in Waikiki for dinner. There was a special menu as it was Restauarant Week in Hawaii. We decided to go with the four course $40 menu. It was pretty good. Though I was still hungry afterwards. And I drank too much sake… but I got to recline in my car seat and drift off into that great kind of sleep that happens when it’s late, someone else is driving, and you’ve had alot to drink but not enough to make you feel dizzy when you close your eyes.
A few days later I went to Town with Ben and Martha and had their Restaurant Week menu. Three courses for $20–an amazing deal. I had the risotto but I had a taste of Martha’s gnocchi and I’m definitely going to get that next time.
In closing here’s a non-related Restaurant Week picture. Pancake special at Cinnamon’s for the month of November, Pumpkin Crunch:
I read poems
and took a nap
after we had
breakfast at
Cinnamons.
I got irritated
and wondered
if everyone else
was irritated with me
or if it was me
that was irritated with them.
I read two poems to
K about Happiness
and then I pretended to
be the fish that was
deep fried
while kept alive.
We went to the mall
and checked the movies.
I bought undergarments
and we looked for a toy
for a cat that isn’t
ours.
The mall was ready for Christmas
and I heard songs about Santa Baby
and Marshmallow World.
We shoplifted things that would never sell
and that no one would buy.
a bunny for me
stickers for him.
When there was nothing else to see
we went home.
The family that owns the house we’re living in, lives on the property too. All the units connect but we hardly ever see or hear each other. Downstairs in our house is a staircase that has a little post-it note sign: Please Do Not Open.
This door leads directly into our neighbors apartment. For the first time the other night, we got to see what lies on the other side. B and C had us over for dinner with some friends and neighbors.
I love this family. There’s something so easy and warm about them. The house, in a way, is an embodiment of their spirit.
One of our neighbor’s who came to the dinner also has left a strong impression on me. She is a huge personality and exudes a joyfulness that is so magnetic. She was a firefighter for 18 years. I love her stories. I could listen to them for hours.
We drive through Waimanalo at least once a week. Our favorite lunch place is there and it’s on the way to my favorite Bikram class.
Our friend Mark invited us out for a hike to the tidepools. We’d never been, so we said yes and followed him right to a spot that we pass every time we go for Keneke’s or I go for yoga. Behind this mountain that we see all the time is a whole swirling scenic world. Not only are there the warm tidepools, but there’s a sweet lighthouse that looks like a pepper mill and Rabbit Island off the coast which is surrounded by water that Mark calls ‘sharky’.
I pulled a muscle on the descent but it was worth it.
It’s pretty easy to catch a BJ Penn pay per view fight at any number of sports bars in Oahu. MMA is huge here. It seemed a no brainer that some place would feature the Pacquiao/Cotto fight. Pacquiao is a Filipino National Treasure and outside of the Philippines I’ve never lived around so many Filipinos! I called every place that people suggested I call with zero luck. No one was showing it. Our house isn’t equipped with a digital box so we couldn’t purchase it to watch at home.
At work, K asked a friend on the crew if they knew who might be showing the fight. He put it out on the walkie and K said suggestions came pouring in. As an aside, I wish this applied to all of life’s issues.
One of the suggestions was Giovanni Pastrami in Waikiki. And thank goodness! They were showing the fight and you could make reservations. Of course K and I ended up paying cover charges for four people just so that we could have a table…but it was worth it! Giovanni Pastrami is awesome. The pizza wasn’t so good but then again, it isn’t called Giovanni Pizza.
The fight was so good. And the place was filled with Pacquaio fans. We whooped and hollered and banged on the table which was so much fun. It wouldn’t have been if we were Cotto fans or if we’d had to watch it in Puerto Rico instead of HI….
We use alot of towels here. We got to the point of only being able to use them only a couple of times before they would smell really mildewy. It bugged the heck out of me and I would wash them in hot water and dry them at the hottest settings. It didn’t help. I looked up ‘getting mildew out of towels’ and I found this and it works!
Another neat thing that I found was dry cleaning sheet. I was skeptical about them but they work in a pinch. I wouldn’t use them on big stains but they’re very useful for freshening up clothes.
Voila!
