Cuckoo for Coconuts

C'est le GRAND POTIRON!

2009-11-29T23:59:00.002-10:00

It's the GREAT PUMPKIN indeed.

A few months ago, our electrician gave us a 17lb french pumpkin. After a few searches online, I have decided what he gave us (he is not sure of the variety either) is a Muscade de Provence. It is said to be a traditional variety from southern France. Gorgeous, big flat fruits are reminiscent of big wheels of cheese. Fruits average 20 pounds, green when immature and ripen to a deep, rich brown when fully ripe. Deep orange flesh, very fine flavored. We had already roasted some of it, made some with more of it and still had a ton leftover. Seeing as how I am not a fan of pumpkin pie, for Thanksgiving dessert, I decided to make a pumpkin cheesecake. NO CINNAMON INVOLVED!

It was quite delicious I must say. It had all the familiarity of a pumpkin pie, but was lighter in texture and flavor. Very palette cleansing in fact.

Crust:

2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1/4 cup chopped pecans
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 stick salted butter - melted

Filling:

2 cups fresh pumpkin
3 (8oz) packages cream cheese at room temperature
4 eggs
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/16 teaspoon ground cloves
2 tablesppons all purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract - don't you even think about using imitation...

To prepare fresh pumpkin:
Cut into cubes and steam until soft. Place into a pan, mash and cook off any extra liquid. Place into a food mill and puree. I prefer the food mill over a blender, because it gets rid of the stringy bits. Place back in pan and cook down a bit more - 15-20 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside to cool.

To make crust:
In medium bowl, combine crumbs, pecans, sugar and cinnamon. Add melted butter. Press down flat into a 9-inch springform pan. Place in 350 degree oven for 7 minutes.

To make filling:
Beat cream cheese until smooth. Add cooled pumpkin puree, eggs, sugar and the spices. Add flour and vanilla. Beat together until well combined.

Pour into cooled crust. Spread out evenly and place oven for 1 to 1 1/2 hours. Remove from the oven and let coo. Cover with cake dome and refrigerate for at least 4 hours.

Serve cold with whipped cream and grated nutmeg... or if some prefer cinnamon, you could add a dash of that as well.

BRINE AND DANDY

2009-11-29T11:11:00.005-10:00

We hope you all had a nice and relaxing holiday, filled with delicious food. I have to admit that I started prepping the meal on Tuesday and made the dessert on the day before. I was not really in the mood for one GIANT mess on Thursday. And I was over the mess on Wednesday night with the cheesecake. In the end it was woth it all, especially the easy leftover meals the last 2 nights.
Our menu was on the small side this year... which ended up being perfect.

Shrimp Cocktail and Bloody Mary's to start
Roasted Turkey
Mashed Hawaiian Purple Heart Sweet Potatoes
Brussels Sprouts with Bacon and Maple Syrup
My grandma's Classic Dressing
Thick and Creamy Gravy
Homemade Cranberry Sauce
Fresh Baked Italian Bread with Herbed Butter
Pumkin Cheesecake with Graham Cracker Pecan Crust
(look for the cheesecake details in an upcoming post)

John and I usually get a turkey breast, but as I was strolling Safeway, I saw they were offering up 0-16lb Safeway brand turkey's for $3.97 with a $20 purchase. I was skeptical of the "cheap" bird at first, then my desire to penny pinch took over. I brought the frozen 13.4lb bird home and thawed it 2 days in the fridge. On Wednesday I made a brine, something I had never done before. AND I CAN SAY IT WAS A HUGE SUCCESS! I bought a nice big aluminum roasting pan, lined it with double trash bags, placed the bird in and poured the brine over. Every few hours I headed to the fridge to turn the bird since it was only submerged halfway. How do people brine larger birds? In what? who has a fridge that big?

For this brine I used:

3 cans chicken stock
1/2 gallon water
42 ice cubes

1 1/2 cups salt
3 tablespoons coarse cracked black pepper
1 branch fresh rosemary
25 sage leaves torn apart
1/2 teaspoon coriander
1 teaspoon dry mustard
1 tablespoon fresh grated ginger
3 tablespoons soy sauce
zest and juice of 1 large orange, then toss in the orange
4 cloves garlic
1/3 cup chopped chives

Bring all to a boil, cool for 25-30 minutes, add ice cubes to further cool. Pour over turkey and brine for 8-24 hours. I went for 20 hours. Turn bird every 2 hours during the day and once more as soon as you wake up. Remove bird and place in roasting pan adding 1 cup water. Smother with butter and pepper. Roast 3-4 hours, covering bird when it starts to get golden, usually the last hour.

HIGH SCHOOL CHUM AND HUBBY

2009-11-13T08:50:00.008-10:00

I've been very lazy in regard to posting pics of my high school chum's visit in September. We had a fantastic time, when they weren't swimming with turtles and sharks as part of their newly acquired dive certification, we were dragging them inland to survey the pacific from higher climes. Click the slideshow and you can see the album at full size in Picasa.

I've known Denise since junior high where she immediately impressed me with her twisted sense of humor and love of all things John Hughes and New Wave (music that is, not french cinema). She and my cousin Anna were the first people I knew to own a Walkman. Big cred in those days. Many years and mixed tapes later, we roomed together for a bit after we got out of college and she quickly found work as an AVID editing master and Emmy-award winning producer. Always the pop culture afficionado, she is now writing stories and screenplays. Check out her blog to get a sense of her wit and humor, Irrelevent Monkey.

SEEING STARS

2009-11-09T11:13:00.005-10:00

It's star fruit season, although a few months later than last year. I clearly remember the last of the star fruit being picked the day we got on a plane back in September 2008. We are as they say here in Hawai'i, "CHOKE STAR FRUIT". So what else do we do, besides sit under the tree, pluck them from the branches and eat them right there, the juice sugary sweet after being warmed by the sun? We make dessert. We also get a little upset at all the fallen fruit on the ground. But it does keep the birds happy.

Last week was a batch of banana/star fruit jam and this week…
~ Star Fruit Crumble
~ Star Fruit Upside Down Cake
~ Chicken Star Fruit Stir Fry

And there are plenty other star fruit dishes we aim to try over the next few weeks.

Star Fruit Upside Down Cake:

Was and slice starfruit, melt butter in a cake pan, sprinkle in brown sugar, lay in star fruit, pour batter on top.

You will want to make sure you bang the pan on the counter a few times to make the batter settle into all the crevices. cover with a cookie sheet first to avoid batter splatter. Cake is done when golden and all gooey brown on the edges.

Place a cookie sheet or plate on top of cake and flip over. I used a cookie sheet since I used a 9x13 pan (you will need to make 1 1/2 batches for this size pan.) Serve warm. Place in fridge. To reheat, place in 175 degree oven while eating dinner. Turn off when done eating and leve in oven. Cake will be warm when ready for dessert. I have also placed in a non-stick skillet with 1-2 teaspoons water, cover and heat on low for 5-10 minutes.

Here is a great link to "choke" STAR FRUIT RECIPES.

ALL ABOARD

2009-11-04T22:46:00.005-10:00

Last week, John and I were invited by Anne over at one of our favorite "getaways" - Prêt à Voyager - to participate in an interview segment called Boarding Pass. We had a great time rummaging through not only digital photo's, but some old images from something called film. Mahalo Anne, for allowing us to look back at some of our favorite travel memories.

Read Conn's interview here.

Read John's interview here.

PINING FOR THE GOOD OLD DAYS

2009-11-03T23:34:00.007-10:00

Today we learned that MAUI LAND & PINEAPPLE will not be planting or growing anymore pineapple here in Maui starting immediately. This is news that literally made me sick to my stomach. I cannot imagine our drive into town or up Baldwin Avenue and not seeing the pineapple fields as they change from silvery green, to purpley green, to golden green and smell the sweet fragrance as the warms sun releases that signature aroma. This surely means the land will be sold off and developed. I still can't grasp it. This of course means we will be getting pineapple shipped in from South America and will of course cost much more than it does now.

The pineapple fields along the Hana Highway in Ha'iku. When this field is full and ripe, the aroma is amazing and you literally breathe in as deep as you can so as not to miss one second of the experience.

And just last week we learned that GAY & ROBINSON is ending sugar cane production on Kauai. The closure leaves Hawaiian Commercial & Sugar Co. on Maui as the only sugar producer in the state. And if we loose that… it will be a sad day here.

Hawaiian Commercial & Sugar Co. here on Maui.
No, it's not pretty, but it is full of old world charm.

So we better get to town and stock up, cut those tops off and get them in the ground if we want to keep fresh Hawaiian pineapples on the menu here at CFC. It takes at least 18 months to get a pineapple.. slower when not pumped full of fertilizers. Here are a few of our "award winners" at different stages.

GUA-VA-VA-VOOM!

2009-10-22T18:48:00.006-10:00

I finally got around to using up some of the 96 guavas I gathered a few days ago and made my first Guava Cheesecake. It's very very light but very very guava-y and very very good. Now I need to use up the other 70 guava (and counting) and the 45 star fruit and make jam or even just some pulp and juice to freeze for later use.

Fresh Guava Pulp
15-20 fresh guava, peeled. enough to make 1 1/2 cups of pulp.
Place in a saucepan and cook until softened. Place in a food mill to remove the seeds and fibrous bits. I usually run through twice. You can prepare this the day before if desired. Chill until ready to use.

Shortbread Crust
1 cup butter (softened)
2 cups sifted unbleached all purpose flour
1/2 cup sifted confectioners sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt (if using unsalted butter)

Press into a 9" spring form pan, going either all the way up the sides or half way as I did. Poke with a fork to avoid bubbling and to allow steam to escape. Pre-bake 350 for 10-12 minutes. You will see in the picture below I let mine go a little too long. If you over pre-bake, the crust could end up burnt if the center of the cake is too thick and cooking slow.

Filling
2 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, room temperature
1 cup sugar
5 large eggs
2 tablespoons lemon or lime juice
1 cup fresh guava pulp, cooled to room temperature or chilled.
(you may be able to use guava paste or guava juice as well, but I find there is no substitute for fresh guava. If using a juice try to use a concentrate. Start with 1/4 cup. Otherwise it may be too runny could require more egg.)

Cream the cream cheese until smooth. Add sugar, pulp, citrus juice and cream. Add eggs one at a time.

Pour filling into slightly cool crust. Bake 350 for 40 - 60 minutes depending on thickness of cake.
Let cake cool then refrigerate. Drizzle with glaze (see below) and serve.

Guava Glaze
1/2 cup remaining guava puree
(Or you could use 3/4 cup any other fruit juice, like pineapple, mango, orange, or even coconut milk. The combo of flavors are endless.)
2 1/2 tablespoons sugar
2 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch

Make this after the cake has cooled. Blend together in a saucepan and simmer until bubbly and thickened. Allow to cool and place in an icing bag and squeeze over cool cake. You could also just pour this glaze over the top of the entire cake then refrigerate at least 30 minutes.

DRAGON EYE

2009-10-19T11:03:00.004-10:00

A few days ago, our electrician brought us two branches full of Longan Fruit. Having never tried it before we were excited yet wary to try this new fruit with the nickname "dragon eye" because it looks like an eyeball when the shell is removed. Here you see it along with some other goodies from our yard like papaya, lime, liliko'i and star fruit.

You need to remove the shell much like a lychee. To crack them open you simply squeeze them between your finger and thumb until the thin brown shell cracks. Then peel off and pop in your mouth for a somewhat light melony flavor. It is very similar in texture to lychee, but I like the longan better. It is best to store them in the fridge as they spoil quickly if left out. Keeping them cold also makes the cracking of the shell easier.

If you have never experienced longan and happen to see it in a specialty store, pick some up. But I warn you... they go fast. Once you start, it's hard to stop eating them.

POSTER BOYS

2009-10-18T09:49:00.011-10:00

A few weeks ago, we dropped of our Hawaii Volcanoes National Park poster by artist Charley Harper to be framed and we finally picked it up yesterday. We were completely exhausted yesterday and barely had the energy to run into town, but when the lady behind the counter unwrapped it we both came back to life.

The poster measures 29" x 39" and was printed in 1986.We chose a simple 1 3/4" square black frame with non-glare glass. It set us back a bit more than we wanted, but to finally see it removed from the tube it lived in for the last 4 years was worth it.

As usual, Charley managed to capture all the amazing beauty of Hawaii's native plants and animals as only Charley can with. First off, he placed them in the composition as they would be found at their proper elevation. Then he uses "minimal realism" as he calls it to capture the "details" with the fewest details possible. Lines, circles, triangles, squares etc. Charley often said he never counted the feathers , only the wings. Below are some details of some of our favorite native species... although we have never seen an 'I'iwi, 'Akiapola'au and the Palilia. Still hoping to one of these days.

Mamane flower, the 'I'iwi bird and
Pueo or Hawaiian Owl.

Bamboo Orchid, Ulehu Fern, Hawaiian Morning Glory and Hawaiian Hibiscus

Nene

Silversword plant and ʻAkiapōlāʻau bird.

Kamehameha Butterfly

'Ohiʻa lehua flowers and Palila bird.

BIRTHDAY SUGAR

2009-10-18T07:44:00.006-10:00

For his birthday on tuesday, Conn wanted a starfruit pie. Our Starfruit tree is finally turning out this year's crop with giant fruits that look more like they were pushed out by a giant Play-Doh Fun Factory than the normal-sized fruits from passed years. I used to make pies a lot back when I had spare time so I took on the challenge with gusto. Back then, I'd make a double crust from memory but I found myself reaching for the Joy of Cooking to try one of their classics.

Pie Dough Cockaigne (9-inch Double Cruster slightly modified form original)

Sift together: 2 c. all-purpose flour, 1 t. salt, and 3 t. of sugar

Measure and combine: 1/4 c. butter (i used salted butter) and 3 T. shortening

Cut half the shortening mixture into the flour mixture until it has the grain of cornmeal, thencut in the remaining half until the it is pea-sized. Sprinkle dough with 5 T. of water. Using a spatula, just blend the water into the dough, if it looks too dry add a some more water in small amaounts until the dough holds together. Then knead it in your hands for a about 30 secs, forming it into a ball. Divide in half, wrap each portion in plastic wrap and refridgerate until you are ready to roll it out!

This was slightly different than the crusts I used to make, I never had shortening on hand, so I'd always use more butter. And we usually only have the salted kine butter.

For the filling, take around 10 medium starfruit (or 8 big ones) and remove pits and inner membrane and chop them up (that's why the cut up bits in the pic look like little arrows.)

Ok, so now this is where the recipe we found online went wonky and we realized it was for 2 pies! But we still only got one pie filling out of it. Anyway, the recipe said to cook the fruit with 2 cups of sugar and 2/3 cup of water. But if I were to try this again, I'd use only 1 cup of sugar and absolutely no water. It turned out way too wet. (see the pic below where we spooned out some of the liquid into a little bowl.

To add some depth of flavor, we added about 2 T. of fresh grated ginger and some fresh grated nutmeg.

So when the mixture boils, you add a few tablespoons of quick-cooking tapioca. Now we assumed that would thicken it up, but it didn't work for us. So try it if you like tapioca, it might work for you. If not, sprinkle some flour into the mixture to thicken it up, just before you fill the pie which is what we did. Bake at 425 degrees for about 35 minutes, until the pie edges turn golden.

And for his birthday breakfast he got a bacon and taro english muffin sandwich.

Then, as if the pie wasn't enough sugar, we were minding our own business in costco, keeping to our list when this little beauty sweet-talked it's way into our cart. It's a mango sponge cake with whip icing. Um, it tastes more like apricot to me, but it was tasty regardless. Kind of light except for the whip icing. Needless to say, it's size has deemed it a diet mainstay over the passed few days of little time and lots of physical labor.

FLOOR SHOW

2009-10-16T23:00:00.001-10:00

This past week we managed to get the upstairs and downstairs floors installed. After an extensive and exhaustive search for the perfect wood floor we chose a CRUSHED MULBERRY HARDWOOD FLOOR for 2 main reasons: (not this particular floor in this link, but we had no idea it was so sustainable and had many uses. you have to read this link.)

1. We loved the way it looks
2. The durability factor.

We brought sample after sample after sample home and put them to the test by dropping spoons, scissors, cans, keys among other things and did a scratch test with the legs of the chairs. The strand mulberry sample won hands down as the most durable. Yes, there we slight impressions left from the objects here and there, but they were hardly noticeable because of the pattern, which resembles cork. It's also a solid wood rather than a veneer which adds to the hardness.

We chose the Caramel color over the Natural because there is less contrast between the light and dark areas.

First time using a wood floor nail gun and the compressor. The flooring is so hard that when using the finishing nail gun, more bent than actually went into the floor.

Make sure to open several if not all the boxes at a time. Then pull from different boxes so you end up with a more random placement of color. Some boxes had a greenish hue while others were more orange.

The finished floor. Now all we need is the baseboards.

So John installed the Crushed Mulberry - his first hardwood floor install, while I stained the concrete downstairs - my first time staining concrete.

For the concrete I used a product from INCRETE SYSTEMS called Stone Essence. (note: I cannot find this actual product on their website unless you click here where you will find a .pdf with tech specs)

STONE ESSENCE is a unique eco-friendly alternative to acid stained concrete. (it does say in the .pdf to use an acid etcher though...but the concrete supply store said NO WAY). It is a concentrated water-based coloring system composed of UV stable, transparent iron oxide pigments and can be sealed with either solvent or waterborne sealers. We used their water based sealer called Ultrapel because it was the only one with a matte finish.

We decided on stained concrete for 2 reasons:
1. The concrete dried in an odd bi-colored pattern that was not what we had hoped for. We had planned on leaving it the natural gray color.
2. It was a lot less than buying wood flooring or tile. In all, it cost right around $300.00 for the stains and sealer. And we have plenty left over that we are going to apply to the exterior concrete lanai, and sidewalks.

I used 3 colors to achieve a mottled or weathered look without nasty smelling fumes.
1. Timber (medium brown)
2. Bronze (an orangey terracotta color)
3. Lime Green (more like and olive green than lime)

It took 3 days to achieve the results had hoped for. Day one was applying the Timber and Bronze with a hand held garden sprayer. I applied the Timber with the sprayer then soaked a rag with the Bronze and made larger puddles on top allowing them to run and pool together. I then tossed on some regular old coarse salt... the kind you get for the salt mill on the dinner table. Regular rock salt for melting snow and ice would work too. The salt leaves small spots with irregular edges, giving it a more natural stone look. I just thought to do that on my own. Let that dry overnight then lightly sponge up and damp spots and sweep salt up. Do not sweep until all the damp spots are dry, otherwise you will get streaks. Some of the salt will leave small puddles as it dissolves and others will not. Repeat. This time fine tuning and evening out some spots that were too contrasty. For this final stage, I put the Lime Green in which really brought it to life. We wanted this only as a small accent color just to give a little depth. Scatter salt on again and clean up the next day. Allow to dry one full day then apply the Ultrapel with a foam roller. Allow 2-4 hours to dry then repeat.

The concrete floor before staining. Notice the 2-tone effect that we had not planned on.

This is the first day right after the first application of the Timber and Bronze. ... hmmm. Is this really going to work? Looks like a mess.

Success. The main room floor after 1 coat on the left and 2 coats on the right. The 2-tone pattern did not totally vanish, but it's a marked improvement.

The bathroom floor before + after.

Detail of the 3 colors and salt mixing on day 2.

The salt working it's magic.

The salt cleanup. Make sure some puddles have large clumps and that the salt is not scattered in a uniform pattern.

A selection of detail shots.

BY THE LIGHT OF THE MOON

2009-10-16T21:57:00.001-10:00

Once we got the batteries and solar panels all hooked up, we could finally get to putting all the electrical outlets, switches and lights in place. The day they were installed just happened to be the full moon and we loved how the lights we chose mimicked the bright glowing ball of light in the night sky. The 3 round lights upstairs and the one downstairs we got at RESTORE/HABITAT FOR HUMANITY at a whopping .50 cents each. The others were a tad more, BUT we did get them at slashed prices. Everyone that sees the round globes automatically says how 70's they look, which is rather funny to us. We love aspects of the 70's but we find that the round white globes are just simple and classic.

In all we installed 8 exterior lights and 21 interior lights. Mind you, those are just the ones that are hard wired and we have several table lamps that will be unpacked for the first time since moving here 2 1/2 years ago. It will be so nice to have them shine once again.

Here are a few shots of the lights and the full moon.

So nice to finally see it coming to life. It's like it now has a heart.

Stair lights done. Now if we could only tackle and finish that railing.
Check out that moon to the right.

That tiny dot to the right of the reflection is the full moon. Pictures just don't do it justice.

This detail is a bit better.

The amazing full moon rising over the pacific. It's times like these we wish we could collect energy from the moon.

Stay tuned for more updates soon. We are almost done with the floor and hope to have that done by Sunday.

HOME AWAY FROM HOME

2009-10-14T10:23:00.008-10:00

About a week ago, this little guy/gal was found hunkered down under our propane tank. We had just had really bad rains with no trade winds so we thought it might have gotten disoriented with the weather. We at first thought he was sick or injured and whenever I got close he sort of made a low growl sound. He only wanted to hang out under the propane tank and on top of the water tanks. Propane tank ok. Water tanks, not ok. It's a sanitary issue with the droppings it leaves behind. So we have to shoo him/her away which sort of kills us being the bird lovers that we are.
We have not caught or held it, as we did not want to either frighten it or have it get too attached.

We found out that it is a homing pigeon and obviously belongs to someone. It has two tags on it's legs and we were able to retrieve the numbers after coaxing it close with some bird seed. NOW IT WILL NEVER LEAVE. Not that we mind, but it does belong to someone and we'd like to think that if we lost a pet of some kind, it would be returned to us. We have taken to calling it - HOMIE. We don't like shooing it away, but it's a bit of a sanitary issue and our water catchment. We don't really have a problem with bird droppings on our roofs and tanks at the moment and we'd like to keep it that way. We have left some food in low places away from the roof in hopes it will hang out elsewhere. Not really working. Homie is after all a roosting bird, and obvioulsy the higher the better.

So now it just loves to perch high on our roof. Why here? Where is it's real home? Did it get lost? Did it fly away from home? How did it find us? Is it on Holiday? Did it hear through the Coconut Wireless that our house is the place to hang if you are a bird? Whatever the reason, we enjoy it's company.

We thought that after regaining it's energy after a few days it might find it's way home. When not perched on the roof(s), it spends most of the day walking around the house and the lanai or following us around. It willow follow us into the grass and let us sit with it while eating... of course you know we love that. Late in the afternoon it perches on the roof, looks around and takes off for the night. Maybe Homie is not lost, but just likes hanging out here with us Bird Boys during the day and returns to his real home at night.

I have finally looked online in order to return Homie to it's owner and was quite impressed with the American Racing Pigeon website and the LOST BIRD section. Seems we did all the right things in the way that we have cared for it this past week. I have sent a few e-mails in hopes that Homie be reunited with his/her owner. We'll keep you posted.

This was this morning.

Homie likes to have a bite to eat, then perch on the nearest rock, or chunk of concrete.

And for those of you that remember how Kekoka would show up at the door looking for food, Well it's seems that he has been talking to Homie on how to get handouts as well. Here he'she is on the lanai looking in at John trying it's best to get noticed, and yesterday morning while I was having breakfast at the kitchen window, Homie paraded around just outside wanting breakfast as well. I mean really. Too cute.

BATTERY OPERATED

2009-10-09T08:58:00.004-10:00

We finished this project a few weeks ago and are just now getting around to posting. These are a few ... ok a lot of pics showing the process of building the box that houses the batteries. We originally wanted to store them in the same room as the inverter and water pump, but found out that was not a good idea. The batteries omit a gas that could cause a fire or explosion from a spark from the inverter… sooooo we opted to build them their own external box.

Start with scraps of wood.

Build the frame. We left the bottom open so that any acid or water that leaks from the batteries has somewhere to go.

Next, dig out a spot for the box to be semi-buried. Then dig holes for the concrete blocks that the box will rest on.After the first block is level, place in remaining blocks and make sure they are on at the same level, side to side and front to back.

Then we lined the bottom with heavy plastic and a layer of gravel. This was done to catch any acid or water that overflows from the batteries, as we did not want it seeping into the ground. This way it will land on the plastic then evaporate.

Once the frame was assembled and primed, we set it in place to make sure everything was going according to plan. So far so good.

We then started attaching the siding. The bottom part that would have dirt resting against had cement board applied to it. three air vents were added to the back a well as one on each end. The back side pictured above.

With the batteries in place and enough room for 4 more batteries at a later date, it's time to attach the lid and call it a day.

The only thing left to do is fill in around the box and do a bit of landscaping.

Stay tuned for more VERY SOON. We Promise.

PRIME TIME

2009-10-02T09:49:00.006-10:00

It's been one of those insanely crazy weeks here at CFC Headquarters.

Last week we had our friends Denise and Peter visiting and we took some much needed time off to act as tour guides... how sweet it was to be atop Haleakala for sunset.

Once they departed, we quickly kicked it back into high gear and started painting the interior of the new office. Floors had to be mopped and swept and mopped and swept, taking up an entire day.

We finally started priming and attaching all the door trim last Sunday and we still are not done.
We might be further along if we were painting at night too, but we have been glued to the TV watching PBS: The National Parks.

We are looking to be complete with the painting by Sunday so we can install all the lighting, switches and outlets on Monday.

The color of the back wall is called Vintage Map by Martha Stewart for Valspar.
We are also using Coastal Dune Grass on the Far wall with all other walls and trim being White.
The Desktop is going to be the small red swatch on the window sill... called Grenadine. Not sure I am totally loving the Vintage Map as much as John is, but we both Love the Coastal Dune Grass. We will also be using her Peony Red (which is a perfect match to the desk) for small accents on the bookshelves
The overall feeling will be something like this (the blue is a bit deeper in real life). Imagine the bed being a desk.

Stay tuned for the finished room soon.

THE ART OF MEETING PEOPLE

2009-09-18T21:52:00.011-10:00

Here's one of many "funny coincidence" stories that we've experienced here. A few months ago during one of our weekly reviews of used building materials on Craigslist I spotted some outdoor tile that mimic'd the look of stacked sand-colored fieldstone that had a wonderfully retro style. That's how I met the artist Lisa Kasprzycki. She was selling the tile that she got from a contractor friend. She admired the mid-century aesthetic of the tile and planned on using them herself but never had the time.

I contacted her expressing my interest in the tile. Turned out, her truck was on the mend. She asked if I could pick her up then drive up to her painting studio in the old Pauwela Cannery to see the tile and decide if I wanted to buy them. On the way to the studio we talked about the fact that she had just put the finishing touches on a painting she submitted to Art Maui, the annual juried art show at the Maui Arts & Cultural Center. She described the painting to me and how she had struggled with the image, how it wasn't really representative of her style. It was a treat to see her work. Richly layered, naturally dark tones distressed and textured. I told her it reminded me of Diebenkorn and she confirmed that he is one of her favorite artists. While there, she showed me a picture of the piece she submitted to the competition. I understood her dilemma. The piece was figurative and narrative where as most of the work I saw in the studio was more abstract and loose.

We talked about her background a bit. She grew up in California and Lahaina, her dad is an artist here on Maui, and her mom was fond of Scandinavian design. She also had a semester or two at the School of Visual Arts in NYC whose painting studios I happened to live across from at one point.

Anyway, cut to about two months later, Conn, new-found dear friend Deb, and I check out the Art Maui exhibit. As we wander and take in the many pieces of art created by local artists, we turned a corner and I gasped. There was her painting--rather large and stunning in it's sparkly, sereneness. If you watch the video on the Art Maui webpage, the interview with the local art teacher takes place in front of the painting. Also, you can see all the works featured in the show here.

In the course of our emails back and forth, this was a PS, I love her description:

here's an image to enjoy; they are the endangered Hawaiian Tree Snails, which are said to make a sweet whistling sound in the trees, and which people on horseback used to pluck off leaves like little jewels as they rode through the native forest.

ARRAYS OF LIGHT

2009-09-18T08:36:00.009-10:00

We had been experiencing some unusually still and cloudless days earlier this week so we shifted into high gear with our contractor and electrician to get our solar panels reinstalled on the roof.
Here we see the 2 arrays laying flat, our contractor Todd and 2 helpers (Matt and Max) set about freeing them from the temporary base I created back in May.

There are no pics of the roof hoisting of this 10 panel array because all hands were needed to lift it up into place! Here we see Todd, Hernan (the electrician) and Max getting it all bolted down.

Matt was there too but he was under the array tightening screws at the base.

Here's an action shot of Max making his way down the line tightening the bolts and screws.

The second array was easier to re-install because the support rails were broken up into 2, 5-panel sections. Here's Matt's backside (sorry Matt!) Max, Todd and Hernan once again bolting it down and securing it against our strong winds.

We did help. Really we did! I pointed and Conn took photos. ; )

Here the guys are troubleshooting a tricky connection on the last set of 5 panels.

Then Conn and I took over erasing all trace of the lawn solar takeover. Here's the spot where they sat for 4 months. In another 3 weeks or so, the grass will recover. I am so relieved to finally have them off the lawn. They were getting very dirty from all the dust and dirt and also it was a pain to trim the grass around and under them. Also, it was good to get rid of all conduit going hither and thither.

Hernan had to come back the next day to hook the panels back up into our system. Here we see just his foot hanging off the edge of the roof. We had been charging the batteries with the generator which got old very quickly (the noise, the gas, the annoyance). It was late in the day yesterday when he made the final connection and our power meter jumped up to 100 percent. whoo-hoo! He fixed some suspicious wiring on five of the panels which he guessed was decreasing our efficiency by about 20 percent... we'll see how we make out today.

ROOM DIVIDERS

2009-09-15T19:42:00.007-10:00

Did you all think we forgot about you? We're still here, but we have barely had time to think about posting any of the oodles of images we have been snapping up.

Last week we got the insulation in, the sheet rock up and it's being skimmed as you read this. It makes such a difference having white walls in place of the yellow wood. We can now get a feel for each room... although we can't walk through walls like we used to and we are now taking the actual traffic patterns, both inside and out rather than shortcuts that we were getting used to. By being forced to actually walk around the structure rather than through it, it is forcing us to now think about the landscaping and what we can and can't plant in certain areas that we will be using as walkways.

Here are a few pics of the process and new ones of the skimmed walls, stair rails, battery box and re-location of the solar panels will be added soon. The solar panels get re-located tomorrow and we are ready for some heavy lifting.

Stay tuned...

Pre-drywall

Post-drywall.

The insulation is a bit of a hodge podge, but we got it on Craigslist + from a friend for free.
We did not insulate every single wall. Only the south and west walls that take the harshest and warmest effects of the sun. The yellow and pink wall above is the only interior wall that is insulated and that is because it is the wall that is dividing the workroom from the utility room. We hope it cuts down on the noise from the water pump, inverter and charge controller for the solar power conversion. The silver foil back insulation is only on the ceiling to keep the heat out.

Future home of the red laminate desk along the back wall.
Did we mention the AMAZING DESKTOPS YET? Pics coming soon.

OUR SOLAR SYSTEM

2009-09-05T08:09:00.005-10:00

Well.... technically it's our Photovoltaic System but that doesn't sound as nice. Please to enjoy our latest baby step in completing our studio/office: a diagram of how we make our own electricity. Unbeknownst to us or our electrician, our solar electric system was not permitted with Maui county. It's a long convoluted story, but there you have it. The electrician who originally installed the system (about 5 years ago) never filed a permit to do so. There was a bit of fuss last week when we were told we were going to be fined, shut down and that we'd have to apply and pay for a new permit. Talk about drama. yeeesh. And, to make it even more aggrevating, the county just raised the fee for PV permits this year.

Our electrician dutifully drew up some plans (literally with a pen and paper) outlining our system specs and took them to the county office. But he was turned away, laughed at, made a mockery of, etc... So he remembered we were graphics guys and asked if we could draw up some fancy plans on the computer. Three hours later, we created what you see above (click it to see the larger version) I called him yesterday to find out how it went and he said they practically applauded. Problem solved.

I don't really mind having to jump through these hoops, it just should have been done already--like when it was installed. I could see why the county needs these specs for systems that back-feed to the grid. But in our case, being that we are a stand-alone system, I don't see the value in them spending their time and resources. Especially, since we knew we were going to be responsible for our own electricity as stated in our deed so we have no legal right to hold the county responsible for anything that happens in regard to our electric (or our water-catchment system). But thankfully, it's done. And on the bright side, we now have a detailed illustration of how our system works... and how we get by on only 1500 watts is a small miracle.

THE BIRDS ARE BACK IN TOWN

2009-08-22T22:03:00.010-10:00

Last week we spotted the first Kolea (it's Hawaiian name) or Pacific Golden Plover of the season. They start showing up around mid-August and hang out here all winter and depart again around May. They spend the summer in Alaska which is a 2500 mile non-stop flight for theses little birds. The Kolea heads to Alaska for mating and returns to Hawai'i when their young have hatched and are ready to follow. Some Kolea continue another 2500 miles to Samoa and other South Pacific islands. Most adults arrive in Hawai'i in August, while juveniles arrive in October.

It is said that they return to the same spot every year and we hope that the Kolea that hang out in our yard all season are the same ones we have been seeing the last 2 1/2 years. They are not one bit afraid of me when I am on the lawnmower and actually follow me around waiting for bugs to be exposed in the cut grass, but are not as brave when I'm on foot. I always find that odd since I walk up slowly and quietly and the lawnmower is so loud and fast. How do they know the lawnmower = food? The myna birds also love it and today I even had a cattle egret which is really rare to have that close.

Standing about 9" tall, the Kolea forage in a peck-and-run method - running quickly in an upright position, pausing to peck, then running again. They rarely take flight unless at the end of the day to go nest for the night or if they are startled. I have determined that this is either they are soooooooo tired from the 2500 mile flight or they are already storing up energy for the trip back next May. We have up to 4 at a time, but they hang out in different parts of the yard and are rarely seen in pairs. In the evenings they pair up and fly off together making a sweet little squeaky chirp of a song.

It's so hard to get a good shot of them up close (I keep telling myself this is why I need that telephoto lens) but here are a few shots from today after I mowed the lawn and 2 I found online to show just how cute they are up close.

There it is... right there... lower right corner.

I'LL CRUMBLE FOR YA

2009-08-21T08:00:00.000-10:00

The past few weeks we found ourselves up to our eyeballs in bananas and papayas. So I decided to make crumble. 4 of them actually and they didn't last long. I used a total of 12 papayas and about 40 bananas over 2 weeks. It's just as easy to make as any other crumble.

Chop the fruit and add 3/4 cup sugar, 1/4 cup flour toss and let macerate.

Crumble for one 9"x9" crumble.
Soften 1 stick of butter
1 1/2 cup of rolled oats
1/2 cup flour
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon ginger powder

Pour fruit filling into pan and top with big crumbled chunks of topping.
Place on a cookie sheet because it will bubble over.
Bake 350 until bubbly and top is golden brown... about 35 to 45 minutes.
It's great with whipped cream or we just tried pouring some heavy cream right on top which is just as good.

DOWN THE DRAIN

2009-08-20T12:00:00.000-10:00

It's been a rather busy and HOT few days here at CFC headquarters. The last few days we could be found outside digging trenches for the sink and toilet drains as well as the gas line. No big deal right? Well that's what we thought too. HA! Digging here is always an adventure and this past week was no exception. The dirt here is very dense and heavy... almost clay like at times. It is also loaded with rocks. Or should I say boulders? Coming across a rock is like Christmas day for us. We love using them to landscape and we cherish them. But when we hit one, it's a shock to the old knees as the shovel abruptly stops. Then there is the occasional BOULDER that is just too big to dig out so we just need to either work around it or chisel it down. We usually work around it. John also found two full cinder blocks in his portion about 2 feet down.

In all, we dug a 24 foot long trench for the sink and toilet drains, then another two at angles measuring 12 feet long and 10 feet long. At the end is where the new drain ties in with the existing sewer line. We will also have the electrical share part of the trench that leads to the house. Oh did I mention that the entire trench had to slope until it met the existing one? Yes that's right, the further we dug the deeper we had to go. THEN... The stub out for the toilet drain had been covered in cement when the foundation was poured so I had to chisel the cement away which took about an hour. Tired yet? There's more.

We (I) also dug 15 foot long trench for the new gas line.

There is a stub out for a toilet drain hidden in there somewhere.

Yep. There it is. It took nearly an hour to chisel this out. Care had to be taken not to damage the pipe.

The 24 foot long trench.

Where ever there is an elbow in the pipes, we need to have a clean out. In this case we have 4 in the new drain whereas there are 2 in the existing drain. This is #1.

The 2nd clean out is sticking up there just by the door. That gray box on the wall is the on demand hot water heater.
The drain then angles down to the right and...

... meets up with clean out #3. The copper pipes are the intake to the pump and then the return back to the house. The gray pipe is the electrical from the electrical/water room to the house. Confused yet?
The 12 foot trench where it meets up to the 10 foot trench near the lanai.

We had 4 piles of dirt like this one. How can so much dirt come from such a narrow little trench?

And here is clean out #4 and where the new drain meets up with the existing drain. All this for a toilet and a sink!

A small portion of the trench for the gas line. This was a 3 hour dig on the HOTTEST day of the year and no shade in sight.

Stay tuned for an update on the stairs and railing.

MUST USE BY:

2009-08-19T21:15:00.003-10:00

Ok... so it is with SOME (more) SHAME that we report... John and I have made another trip to McDonald's.

You might remember when we posted about the VERY SPECIAL tropical variety pies that they offer here at the Hawai'i McDonald's. Depending on the time of year they have Banana, Mango, Haupia (coconut) + Taro.

Right now they have haupia, which is a coconut pudding. It was good, but we still like the taro the best. The haupia had a few odd gelatinous chunks of coconut in it and had a similar consistency and aroma of suntan lotion. It might also have something to do with the fact that haupia is traditionally served cold rather than hot. Not bad, but not our favorite. Next up is mango.

As I was finishing mine, I noticed the "MUST USE BY" date then I checked my receipt. Looks like we gobbled it up just in time. What would they have done with it otherwise? Tossed it out or simply put it in another package with a later time? Would they really throw it out? Hmmmmm.

TIKI TOME

2009-08-14T10:43:00.004-10:00

Since we are interested in all things tiki here at CFC, when our neighbor/author asked me to design a cover for his new book, even though I was swamped, I couldn't refuse! Drawing from various examples of retro Hawaiiana, I created a cover image that captures the overall feeling of the story. It's the life and times of Tiwaka's, a Hawaiian tiki bar with a resident talking parrot that will dish it out for a chocolate treat. It is, in the author's word's "a light beach read" and in my opinion conjures a fanciful world somewhere between "Casablanca" and "Gilligan's Island" You can order it from Amazon and it will soon be found in stores around the islands.

SOMETHING TO SMILE ABOUT

2009-08-11T12:16:00.000-10:00

It's been almost 2 weeks since we got all of the primer on and began applying the Green Grove color. It's looking great and when Gavin the plumber pulled in the other day we got the exact reaction we were looking for - "It's a great color. It just blends right in to the background". We still have a good amount left to do because it's been raining quite a bit lately. The other thing holding us up is that we still have a few windows we need to caulk around and that cannot be done while it's wet either. Little by little we manage to get bits done, but I cant wait to finish then move onto re-painting the house.

Here is Max all suited up... smart boy... braving the high winds on that balance beam. He started by painting in the primed corners with a brush, then applied 3 coats of the green.

The top section pretty much complete, but you can see all the trim on the bottom windows still needs 3 coats of white. I normally do not mind cutting in the trim with brush, but it's a bit of a challenge when you have the rough surface of the siding next to the smooth of the trim. Just when you think the line is straight, you hit a bump in the siding and it all goes south. Either that or a wind gust and one color gets on the other.

A detail of the trim and the siding after cutting in the white. This is one of the better sections.

We were not sure we wanted the top piece of trim white as we were afraid it might make the hole thing look a bit boxy. Here I am holding up a piece of white trim so we can gauge what it would look like. We then brought this picture in to photoshop and made all the trim white so we could decide.
As you can see, we went with the top trim being white and we are really happy we did. It just finishes it off. We were not sure about the middle band either, and have also decided to paint that white. For now anyway.

We also got all the gutters put on Friday, just in time for Tropical Storm Felicia. The lower one will feed into a rain barrel for watering plants or scrubbing the lanai.

While I was on the top lanaithe otherday, I noticed something on the board we had used to paint the roof vents. Upon closer inspection I noticed that either Todd or Matt to the liberty to bring a smile to our day.

We are OF COURSE saving it!
SMILE! Pass it on.