Coconuts & Kahuku Corn

No scenic drive along Oahu's North Shore is complete without a stop at one of the shrimp trucks. They all claim to be the "original" much like the many "original" Ray's Pizza places in NYC. Well, being a vegan the fresh-farmed shrimp really weren't the attraction, we were on the lookout for the Kahuku corn. We kept on reading about how great this corn is, and that it's supposed to be the best friggin' corn ever. After the 10th sign for fresh Kahuku corn, we were sold! Only problem, most trucks and farm stands were selling it uncooked. Finally, we spot a place that has it available cooked ... enter Fumi's Shrimp truck.

We pull into the parking lot and the place was packed. People everywhere were chomping down on the fresh shrimp (apparently the best dish was the garlic shrimp cause Fumi tried to sell me on it). I said, "I'm not here for the shrimp, I'm here for the corn!" So, Fumi hands me the hot unbuttered corn and we eat.

I think Kreg's face says it all ... the corn is HORSE corn. It was so starchy and tough, I couldn't eat mine (plus, I was full from drinking that enormous coconut!).

Oh well, Fumi's was a bust. At least I got my fresh coconut!

The Best Veggie Dog, ever!

Puka Dog in Hawaii makes the most awesome hot dogs, brah! We first found this place in Poipu, Kauai a couple of years ago. Being a vegetarian, I was so delighted to see that they made a veggie dog. And it was so amazing. The dog was grilled and then inserted into the "puka" or hole in the bun, then you've got your choice of exotic relishes. My fave is a veggie dog with the spicy garlic sauce, coconut & pineapple relishes, and lilikoi wasabi mustard! Finish it off with some Maui onion chips and fresh-squeezed lemonade ... ah, hot dog heaven!


Puka Dog
Waikiki Town Center, Oahu
Poipu Shopping Village, Kauai
www.pukadog.com

Fresh, Pure Hawaiian!

Lanikai Juice in Kailua is one of my favorite places. Sure, it's just a smoothie place but they use locally grown produce and lots of organic ingredients in their yummy drinks and bowls.

My choice on most days is the acai bowl. It's a really thick smoothie made of acai, bananas, strawberries and a splash of apple juice. The smoothie mixture is then topped with locally-made granola and sliced bananas. I like to customize and usually add a little extra granola and some honey on top.

The acai extravaganza bowl has double the acai in the smoothie and added on top are grated coconut and fresh berries. The extravaganza used to be my favorite, but now it's just too much for me to eat. It's a huge bowl, two people could share it.

On the smoothie side, I love the Kailua Monkey. It's a peanut butter and banana-based smoothie, with soy protein in your choice of vanilla or chocolate. Um, chocolate all the way, yeah.

Lanikai Juice is all vegetarian, and there are lots of vegan chioces. I wish they used a soy yogurt because a lot of their drinks have yogurt listed as an ingredient.

Enjoy.

Lanikai Juice
600 Kailua Rd
Kailua, HI 96734
(808) 262-2383
www.lanikaijuice.com

Finally!

Things are finally starting to change at Starbucks. And I am so freaking excited. Not only did my drink get a buck cheaper (yay for the free soymilk & syrup shots!!!)

Now Buckys has TOP POT DONUTS!!! OMG. I am dying to try one of those delish looking creations. Too bad I'm on the points.

(I was going to get one tomorrow, but then I decided to check the nutritional info ... big mistake, ignorance would have been bliss. That donut has a whooping 480 calories! Yikes.)

have you seen this gnome?

so, i brought a gnome into work for a coworker... he's decorating his office and i thought gnomie would make a great addition!

anyway, gnomie enjoys getting into trouble. check out this video.



that gnomie he's always into something!


well, after a few days of living it up at the office. gnomie has disappeared. a few days later the first photos of his exploits (and a ransom note) hit our inbox.

so, if you've seen this gnome. let me know.

he's been playing beer pong (looked like he lost cause he was passed out next to the keg), shooting guns and drinking rum. who knows what he is up to now.

The Big Promise!

Things are finally starting to go my way at Starbucks! Last week, Buckys closed up shop one evening to retrain the staff. I guess competition is heating up in the coffee market and people are going elsewhere for a cheaper, hotter latte.

The new "promise" is ... Your drink should be perfect, every time. If not, let us know and we’ll make it right.

Well, you know I'll be taking advantage of that. I know I have a custom drink order, but it's not that difficult. Grande, soy, chai latte, no water, no foam, 200 degrees, and filled to the top. It's very specific, and I'll let them slide on the foam, I just want the drink hot and filled up. I hate it when they leave like 2 inches of space cause of the foam. Most of the time I get a hassle over the temperature. It's not dairy, it won't curdle. Heat that soy up!!!!

Anyway, I'm very happy about the new customer friendly attitude. In fact, I got an apology the day after the training. A new barista at my local apologized for giving me attitude about not wanting to make the devil's hot latte.

It was nice to be acknowledged and the free drink coupon didn't hurt either!

My Amber Alert

Time is of the essence and my folks are on it.

Yesterday I had to go out on an assignment after lunch. So, I drive home and then have a coworker pick me up so we could go shoot some photos. Well, my folks decide to pull a pop-in on me ... I guess they expected me to be home since they saw my car in the driveway. They come into the house, the dogs are barking, they call out for me, no answer. Then they check the garage and see the scooter there, they think they see my handbag on the dining room table, and then the wheels in their senior-moment heads start spinning.

Where's kim, where's kim?

They call my cell phone a couple of times and no answer. Now they're really freaking out, they go outside to see if I'm face down in the pool, they check the bushes around the house ... they decide I must have been abducted.

Good thing they decide to call my cell one last time, AND I actually hear the ring and pick up. They were quite relieved to hear my voice, cause the next number they were dialing was 911. For real.

Why would they think of abduction first!!! They never even thought (1) call kreg at work, (2) maybe she went out with a friend, (3) maybe she walked some place (4) anything other than abduction! They're nuts!!!

See, the pieces of the puzzle are coming together.

a haiku for hellga

with your thunder thighs
you destroy your opponents
fierce viking hellga

we got one!!!!!

we've been having raccoon problems. big problems, like the coons using the pool and hot tub for their own private poopoo parties. it's friggin disgusting. how many times can i super-chlorinate the pool. i don't want to catch some kind of raccoon poo disease. we tried to deter them from going near the pool by putting up the baby gate. that didn't work... they just slip underneath it. so we've had to resort to trapping them. well, after catching our cat twice, we finally got ONE. i was really happy that the trap worked and that the raccoon will be relocated to a less suburban area (well, that's what the pest guy said). anyway, i'm feeling kinda guilty cause when i went to take the picture of the raccoon i could see he was pretty freaked out. i just hope he likes his new home and i hope his family joins him too!

super soup!

i'll write more later about my awesome veggie tom yum soup.

LOST

I just saw the preview for LOST season 4 ... AND I can't wait!!!!

Get this widget!

Down the drain

I don't know what's worse septic problems or plumbing problems? Both suck. I'm leaning toward the latter at the moment, since i just had black pipe slime covering my face!