tim@ohana

Can anyone tell me what these bad boys are? They’re really tough pods that are like sugarcane on the inside, fibrous and sweet with a column of round, flat seeds through the center.

One day Pele met a handsome warrior named ‘Ohia. Being a fiery lass, she immediately found herself burning with desire for him. She wanted him, then and forever. She announced that she planned to marry him.’Ohia was surely flattered that such a powerful goddess had fallen for him. But it was too late. He had already fallen for the beautiful maiden, Lehua. ‘Ohia had pledged his love to Lehua and nothing Pele could say or do would change the feelings of his heart.He was probably as diplomatic as possible when he explained this to Pele. No one really knows because within an instant he was a twisted tree. You just don’t say no to Pele without serious consequences.Alas! Poor Lehua. Her boyfriend now was a crummy little tree. And he used to be so handsome! Lehua cried and cried. Hanging out with him just wasn’t the same. And when she kissed him, she got bark in her teeth.The gods took pity on her and told her she would never have to be parted from ‘Ohia again. Zap! She was the pretty flower on ‘Ohia’s branches. Be careful what you wish for. Maybe Lehua should have asked for a new boyfriend, a non-tree one. But the lovers are still together. And it’s said that when someone picks a lehua blossom from the ‘ohia tree, the sky will weep because the lovers have been separated.

Homemade licorice round 1. The taste is amazing, the technique needs improvement. This belly-settler and cold/flu symptom buster is made with real licorice root powder from Cheryl’s Herbs in downtown STL. (Great place)

Note: play-doh fun factory and accessories seem perfect for licorice shaping, but I advise against it….

I’m happy to have tumeric stained tools.

BLOP

Pumpkin with Moroccan mint and balsamic vinegar for the imu at HIP Ag.

XO & mahalo! Hipagriculture.com

Trying my hand at chocolate making. These beauties made it all the way to hawi from waipio valley.

I’m starting the in-pod ferment today. I’ll get back with a full report and step-by-step…

My Rhubarb looks like its going to like it here (cue Annie).

With tons of brain damage fighting vitamin K, could pie be of interest for Alzheimer’s sufferers?

I’m starting to collect rhubarb recipes. What’s your favorite?

Does anyone know what this is? The skin is firm and smooth like a ping pong ball, and the inside has a thin layer of flesh and filled with seeds that look like pepper seeds. The stems have little thorns. Not a lot of flavor but like a less-sweet ice cream bean…

Zest for life: while I’m still trying to figure out what that is exactly, I’ve realized that for the amount of lemons that I use, I could have lemon zest for just about my whole forever. I’ve taken to de-pithing (is that a word?), dehydrating, grinding and jarring them.

I figure it might be good in homemade toothpastes as a whitener, too.

Absolute favorite way to have coffee, with fresh coconut cream. And the mug. The mug makes it ono.