Happy Happy Holidays!

{I'm dreaming of a tropical Christmas}

I'll be signing off and spending next week with family, but wishing you a Happy Happy Holiday and New Year's! May yours be filled with peace and wonderful moments among loved ones!

Take good care and can't wait to see you again in the new year!

{Santa and Mrs. Clause - tan and barefoot in Hawaii :)}

{Photos taken in Honolulu, Hawaii.}

Craving

Mangoes - a juicy, tropical staple from my childhood....

The rainbowed goodness of a refreshing Hawaiian shave ice (kind of like Italian ice)...

The sight of big waves pounding Hawaiian shores in winter! (Can't you tell I want a tropical vacation? :))

(Top photo of mango taken in Honolulu, Hawaii. Middle and bottom images via Just Hungry and Panoramio.)

Photo du jour: Palm trees

{Kakaako, Hawaii - a popular sunset-watching spot}

Just an injection of the tropics on this December day. :)

{Photographed on island of Oahu.}

Malasadas!

Addictive malasadas

Thanks to this delish post by Kat (and a comment by Rowena:)), I've been crazily craving malasadas - that addictive, hole-less sugary donut brought to Hawaii by the Portuguese in the 1800s.

Malasadas are crispy outside, gooey inside - so lovely when fresh.

In Hawaii, they're synonomous with old-school Leonard's Bakery.

Hawaii's malasadas - the Portuguese treat I couldn't find in Portugal

Embarrassingly, I visited Portugal so excited to eat malasadas (like going to Japan for sushi!) - but no one knew about it! A Lisbon resident explained maybe it was unique to Madeira Island. (He also said 'malasadas' meant 'badly-cooked' - so I went around Portugal asking for a badly-cooked thing to eat!)

(Images via TeamVision Virtual, jamesmargaret3rd, Hawaii Vacation Insider, Taste Odyssey and Road Food.)    

Some local island flavor

 {Honolulu photographed from Diamond Head volcano summit}

The blue, blue sea and skies around you

Tropical lei (men traditionally wear leafier leis)

Sharka the cuddly toy shark (very popular!) won't bite

Friendly monster at Kailua Beach :)

~ Wishing you a week filled with blue, blue skies (at least in spirit)! ~

{All photographs taken in Hawaii, of course. :) Friendly monster made by my brother.}

Photo du jour: Pale light

To celebrate the colder season, I challenged myself to find the most "wintery" looking photo of Hawaii I had. If you pretend that water is freezing, not tropical, couldn't it be an arctic seascape?:)

{Photographed in Honolulu, but let's say it's Helsinki. :)}

Kuli'ou'ou on phone-camera

My sister's 3-hour morning hike at Kuliouou Ridge Trail, Hawaii, last week. Sorry it's not the best, being a phone-camera, but I figured a shot of Hawaii never hurts. :) (Thanks sis!)

I'll be traveling all day and offline, but can't wait to see you when I have internet again!

Photo du jour: Moonshine

A calm, still night in Honolulu.

{Photographed in Hawaii, of course :)}

Amazing race

If you think paddling across 41 miles of open ocean in a sliver of a boat, battering large waves from every side, sounds crazy...you're right! Congratulations to my crazy brother for completing the Molokai Hoe in Hawaii - one of the craziest races in the world!!

And I couldn't mention Molokai without sharing a picture, could I? :)

~ Have a crazy-wonderful weekend! ~

(Images from Hawaii Magazine, Canga and Hawaii Pictures via UH Today.)

City diary: Honolulu

A teeny sampling of everyday moments...

Surfboards

Lifeguard hut

Mystery orchid

Jump for joy!

~ Wishing you a joyful week ahead! ~

{All photographs taken on the teeny island of Oahu.}

Sanctuary | 7000 miles from home

{The Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust (WWT) Centre, London}

Can you believe this lovely wildlife sanctuary is in busy London?

{Nene in Hawaii (left) and in London's WWT sanctuary (right)}

It was at the sanctuary, one previous grey London winter, that I spotted Nene birds -- Hawaii's native, endangered state bird. As a Hawaii expat, I was initially confused (Wait, what? Where am I?)

{Turns out the sanctuary's founder, Sir Peter Scott, led efforts in 1950s England to save the Nene from extinction.}

 The WWT Centre in London is a vast sanctuary by the River Thames - a lush outdoor world right in urban London.

~ Enjoy your weekend, whether you're indoors or out! ~

P.S. Thanks for all the wonderful comments yesterday - I loved hearing about your childhood comfort food & stories! :)

(Images via findtarget, National Parks of the Pacific Islands, WWT Support page, WWT, The Guardian and WWT Visitors page.)

Photo du jour: Sunset surfers

{Surfers in the distance, off Magic Island, Hawaii}

Just a sun-filled photo to start a new week :)...

~ Have a sun-filled week ahead (at least in spirit)! ~

{Photographed in Honolulu.}

Mango mousse

{Image via Cookie Shutter - this mousse uses optional saffron sauce}

I used to eat mangoes off trees as a kid, but it's fiendishly hard to find good mangoes outside Hawaii. A few times, desperate, I had supermarket mangoes - but only after they were made into this intensely-flavoured mousse (to take the edge off. :))

~ Have a wonderful, flavourful weekend! ~

***

MANGO MOUSSE (serves 4)

Adapted slightly (with my extra notes) from New York Magazine's 1996 food issue, featuring recipes by top NYC chefs - this one's by Marcio Araujo at Circus 

• 4 large mangoes, peeled (plus 1 extra for garnish if you like)
• 2-1/2 tablespoons unflavored gelatin powder (a tad less is okay - makes the mango flavour slightly more intense)
• 7 ounces sweetened condensed milk
• 2 cups (~500ml) heavy cream (double cream)
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• Optional garnishes: fresh mint sprigs, diced mango, chopped pistachios, or saffron sauce to deepen the delicate mousse colour

Cut 4 mangoes into medium-size pieces. Puree in a blender until smooth. Strain (this is the most time-consuming part) through a fine sieve. Place 1/2 cup mango puree and gelatin in a small saucepan over low heat; stir until gelatin dissolves (~5 minutes).

In large bowl, combine both purees with condensed milk. Refrigerate 15 minutes. Whip heavy cream with sugar until stiff; fold into mango mixture. Pour into containers and refrigerate at least 1 hour before serving (or freeze for 20 minutes).

Little extras:

You can garnish with mint and diced mango, chopped pistachios, or top with an optional saffron sauce that will give the pale mousse a richer orange colour (saffron recipe here)...though I love the original delicate colour too.

Photo du jour: A beach by any other name

Small beach near Ko Olina, Hawaii...

As a fun contrast, this is also a beach...but in London (where my significant other is from). I like to wind him up (tease him) about it. ;)

{An August Break Continued post: Top photo taken on island of Oahu. Bottom photo of Bankside Beach taken in London, UK.}

Photo du jour: Dawn

Near Hanauma Bay, Hawaii. Afterwards, you can go snorkeling in the Bay with tropical fish (you see more fish early in the day :)).

{An August Break Continued Post: Photographed on Oahu.}

P.S. I'd rather be behind the camera than in front, but here's a hazy photo of me in this location, after dawn - I was watching waves and saw whales by chance! (Sadly hard to photo)
P.P.S. Why am I always soo overdue for a haircut?

Photo du jour: Goodbye August...

Now that August - and the August break - is ending (sniff, sob), summer already feels further away...

{Last one for the August Break: Watching surfers wipe out, Sandy Beach, Hawaii.}

Photo du jour: Changing light

Off the shores of Kakaako, Hawaii. During long, dark London or New England winters, my mind wanders back to these things...

{An August Break post: Photographed on the island of Oahu.}

Photo du jour: Hothouse flower

An orchid's fiery reds and yellows, Honolulu, Hawaii.

{An August Break post, to balance my wordier post yesterday :)}

Photo du jour: Extinct volcano {+award}

{For the August Break: Photographed on Oahu, Hawaii}

I wasn't going to post this because of the wonky angle, but oh well! Koko Crater has a great hiking trail and features in old Hawaiian myths (though the one I know is a bit too, er, naughty to post :)).

Also, before I completely pass out, I wanted to give a shout-out and BIG thank you to Stacey at Design Addict Mom for being so sweet and passing along a fun blog award to me just moments earlier, just after I put up this photo. (Yes to fun things!)

I've been devouring her gorgeous design blog (please do have a look around, if you haven't yet!) - it's just a lovely moment I like to take for myself amidst unpredictable workdays (which is what an amazing blog does so well!) Thank you, Stacey, for the blog inspiration & beauty -- so grateful you've enjoyed mine! A full response to those fun questions is coming up, promise! (And here's to a full night's sleep all around! :))

~ Meantime, wishing everyone a fun, wonky weekend! ~

Photo du jour: Tropical shores {+ limu}

{For the August Break: Photographed at Kapolei, Hawaii}

The westerly shores of Oahu feel miles from city life. Tourists don't visit much, but I've old-timey childhood memories of picking limu (tasty edible seaweed) out there on Ewa Beach.

P.S. Here's limu used in a delicious Hawaiian dish called poke (poh-keh): comprising raw fish tossed with limu (see the fleshy dark strands?), sea salt & other yum extras...it's like Hawaiian "sushi." :)

{Image of limu-laced poke via Holly Hadsell}