Congratulations, D1! Celebrating with Almond Float

D1 is officially a high school graduate!

Whew!

Four years went by quickly!

A few days before graduation, D1 sent me the scorpion pic (on left. . .scorpion is a reference to the pose) with the caption "school isn't over but I sure am".  Zazuzzhhh.

D1 is generally a good student, but towards the end, she was driving me bananas.  I would cringe in the early evening because I didn't want to receive a "robocall" from the school attendance office saying she was absent from class.  She appeared unfazed by my kicking and screaming about being conscientious to the end.

But she made it. . .or at least I'm pretty sure she did.  Diploma distribution is early next month, and I'm thinking they could call at any time to say they made a mistake!

In any case, it was nice that the family came out to support her at commencement.  I had my teary moment when D1 hugged me in the reception line, but I had over 200 other students to congratulate so I managed to hold it together.  It was only later that evening, as I was looking through preliminary pics with The Help, that I noticed D1s shoes.  She was wearing my Michael Kors white patent wedges!  Darn kid!!!


I played nicely with Mr. Dependable and his family.  I didn't cuss him out, and I was pleasantly surprised that he was dressed nicely, unlike KikukatDad.  While we were queued to enter the stadium, I noticed he was wearing a polo shirt (not even an aloha shirt) with a bunch of flaming guitar motifs all over! Luckily, he kept his jacket on all night since he was on the breezy side of the venue.

We now enter the short party season before kids embark on the next chapter.  Unfortunately, it doesn't look like D1 will have a massive party rocking the walls at Sangha Hall.  That's not how she rolls.  She did ask me if she could have a handful of friends over for a pool day/night.  I'm also thinking of having family over when it gets closer to her departure date.

For those of you who know me, you can bet the menu wheels are already turning in my head.  One item of the dessert menu will definitely be almond float.  Almond float is a popular Chinese dessert which consists of tofu-looking cubes with assorted fruit.  Traditionally, agar agar is used as the coagulating agent for the cubes, but a quicker, easier coagulant is unflavored gelatin (doesn't require all the soaking/shredding).  Chinese restaurants (if they're worth anything) still use agar, but most home versions use gelatin.

D1 and D2 both love almond float.  It's easy to make for a party because it can be thrown together ahead of time, and guests can serve themselves in small, colored plastic cups.  Almond float is also a great way to use a variety of fruit.  For the Ds, canned mandarin oranges are non-negotiable.  I also add fresh oranges (and the juice...helps to keep any apple chunks from browning), mangoes, and pieces of longan.  Canned or fresh lychee can be added.  Many people add canned fruit cocktail, but I think that's just gross. . .the grapes and pears give me the willies!

click on recipe title for printable recipe

Almond Float (Home Style)

     3 envelopes unflavored gelatin

     3 1/4 c water, divided

     1 c sugar

     1 1/2 c evaporated milk

     1 tbsp almond extract

     assorted fruits (fresh or canned), chilled

Soften gelatin in 1/2 c of the water.  Bring remaining water (2 3/4 c) to a boil and add softened gelatin and sugar.  Stir until dissolved.  Remove from heat.  Add milk and almond extract.  Stir.  Pour into 9 x 13" pan and refrigerate overnight.  Cut into cubes and mix with fruits, including liquid.

     

If you aren't squeamish and want to see pics from graduation and a few events leading up to the big day, please enjoy the slideshow.  There's some background music so be sure your speakers are turned on.

Another free photo slideshow by Smilebox

Easy Almond Danish Puff

I spent the weekend trying to recover from one of my most difficult trips to Honolulu.  While the flight was a bit rough, saying goodbye to auntieKH without losing it was the hardest part.

AuntieKH was a part of my life since I was 6.  I still remember when UM brought her to Hilo and introduced the family to his fiance.  It was the first time I ever heard that word.  It was also the first time I saw someone with long, beautiful, polished nails.  AuntieKH was a teacher (my dream job at the time) AND had long polished nails, cut straight across.  Wow!  I knew my uncle hit the jackpot!

That was more than four decades ago, and over the years, auntieKH has always been there for me.  When my ex-bf had no car, UM and auntieKH gave him their Toyota Corolla wagon.  When I needed a computer to write my master's thesis, UM and auntieKH came through and bought me my first Apple computer, a Mac Color Classic, and color inkjet printer.  When I moved out of my Honolulu apartment, auntieKH showed up to help me clean (for those of you who know me, you can probably imagine the coat of dust on the bi-fold closet doors!).  AuntieKH provided guiding words of wisdom when my friend's mom discovered she had pancreatic cancer...how to get a wig, oncologist in Honolulu, etc. 

Being related to auntieKH was an unexpected perk when I went to work for a state office on Oahu.  I was being treated rather nastily by this bitchy lady.  She happened to be signing in for a workshop at the same time I signed in.  Just by chance, one of the resource teachers at the sign-in table saw my name.  She said, "you're____ _____!  I'm ____ _____(my sister-in-law) cousin."  I recognized the lady from auntieKH's wedding photos...she was the friend who got the bride's bouquet.  I told her she hadn't changed in 30 years.  Then she turned to the boss sitting next to her and said, "you know whose niece this is, right?".  The boss knew auntieKH well.  The bitchy lady had heard the entire exchange and then said, "what, you're _____ ______ niece?".  Ever since then, the bitchy lady was a lot less bitchy to me.  When I shared the story with auntieKH, she just laughed and said that I should excuse the bitchy lady because her teaching career had a rough start...her students set fire to her room!  No wonder she was a bitch.

I still find myself tearing up, not wanting to believe she is gone.  AuntieKH took good care of herself.  She and UM attended exercise class at the Y several times a week.  She was also careful (most times) about what she ate.  The last time she visited Hilo, she ordered an egg white omelet at Hawaiian Style Cafe.  I still remember watching her fry an egg, using only a drop of oil in the non-stick skillet.

As I think back to the good times with auntieKH, I am reminded to take better care of my own health.  My cholesterol is a little higher than it should be.  I don't take medication, and I'd like to keep it that way.  Almonds are high in monounsaturated fats and have the power to lower bad cholesterol.  While this week's recipe has butter and eggs, it make me feel a little better to think the almonds will cancel out the cholesterol.  Did I mention I am sometimes delusional?  The best almonds to use are natural, sliced almonds.  Nuts.com offers both natural sliced almonds and organic sliced almonds.  Even better, they don't charge a ransom for shipping to Hawaii.

And don't be fooled by the pictures.  This dessert is very easy to make.  The Help was shocked at how quickly it came together.  Apparently, this dessert is also a great traveler.  The Help mailed this to daddyHelp for Father's Day.  He said it arrived in great condition.  I wish auntieKH came to the family New Years party this year.  My contribution was a tray of Easy Almond Danish Puff slices.  I think she would've loved it.  And maybe she would have looked at my nails with approval as I served her a piece . . . or two.

click on recipe title for printable recipe

Easy Almond Danish Puff

Base:  1 c flour

           1/2 c butter

           2 tbsp water

Cut butter and flour together until pea-size pieces form.  Add water and stir until dough forms a ball.  Divide dough into 2 parts.  On a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper, press each dough half into a 3" x 12" rectangle. 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Puff:  1 c water

          1/2 c butter

          1 tsp almond extract

          1 c flour

          3 eggs

Heat water and butter in a medium saucepan until boiling.  Stir in almond extract and flour.  Reduce heat to low and stir constantly until dough forms a ball.  Remove from heat and add eggs, beating until fully incorporated.  Divide mixture in half and spread over base, covering base completely.  Bake for 1 hour.  Cool completely on a wire rack.

Glaze:  2 tbsp butter, softened

            1 1/2 c powdered sugar

            1 tsp almond extract

            2 tbsp water

            slivered almonds

Beat all ingredients together in a small bowl.  Spread evenly over puffs.  Sprinkle with slivered almonds.  When glaze is dry, slice into 1" strips (for finger food) or 2" strips (for plated serving) with a serrated knife.

Makes 12-24 pieces.

           

Cookie Jar: Almond Cookies

Kung Hee Fat Choy!  Its the year of the Water Snake!  I need to find out what this year holds for me (and those born in my year).  I hope the forecast is for a great year.  I could sure use one (or more) of those!

Last week Friday, I snuck away to Honolulu for a quick overnight trip...mixing business with fun.  I made my usual stops and got to eat stuff not readily available in Hilo.  I bought back several kilos of wong tong and two Vosges Chocolate Mo's Bacon Bars.  

The trip to Honolulu came a little too late for gao making.  I had a meeting on Monday, and I was going to spend last weekend making gao for the meeting and for my gao-eating friends.  Kilauea Market was sold out of wong tong, likely because many of the newer Chinese restaurants in Hilo sell gao and jai.  No wong tong in the Hilo stores meant I had to shelve/postpone my gao-making.  Click here for my gao post from last year.

As a consolation, I made almond cookies.  It wasn't gao, but I had all the ingredients on hand.  Along with putting me in a festive mood, almond cookies allowed me to take a trip down memory lane.

The almond cookies I remember making at home ALWAYS had the red dot.  I know it did because the red dot was MY job.  My index finger (well-washed) was the perfect size for the red dot, and back then, a food coloring-stained finger wasn't a problem. . .lotsa food back then produced red fingers (shredded mango, pickled mango, red pistachio nuts).  When I got older, I used the handle of a spoon or the fat end of a chopstick to make the dot.  And then I progressed to making the almond cookies all by myself.

Commercially-available almond cookies do not always have the red dot.  Large tubs of almond cookies sold at warehouse stores do not have the red dot.  Some of them have an almond in the center.  Overall, those cookies are hopelessly tasteless.  Cookies which sometimes come free after a Chinese meal are usually a solid yellow color (at least at the local Chinese restaurants).  They also fall somewhere on the tasteless scale.  I'm old enough to remember the days when they had both taste and a red dot.  I am probably biased, but I think the red dot makes the cookies taste better.

Please don't dismiss this recipe due to the absence of butter.  I love butter, but this is one of those cookies where plain, solid Crisco does fine.  If you are a butter purist, then go ahead and use butter for a portion (less than half) of the shortening, but my preference is to use only shortening.  These cookies are not snapping-crisp, but they are not soft/soggy.  They have a melt-in your mouth quality and a nice almond flavor. . .perfect alongside a cup of tea.  Jasmine would be my preference.  And a warning to those of you who exercise moderation:  its practically impossible to eat just one.

click on recipe title for printable recipe

Almond Cookies

     1 1/3 c shortening
     1 c sugar
     3 c flour
     1 tsp baking soda
     1/2 tsp salt
     1 egg
     1 tsp almond extract
     red food coloring

Cream shortening and sugar.  Sift flour, baking soda, and salt together.  Set aside.  Beat egg.  Add almond extract.  Add to shortening and sugar.  Add combined dry ingredients.  Roll/scoop into 1" balls and place 2" apart on lightly greased cookie sheets.  Flatten slightly.  Make indentation in center.  Touch indentation with red food coloring.  Bake at 350 degrees for 12 minutes (15 minutes for Airbake sheets).  Makes about 56 cookies if using a #50 disher.

Someone on another web forum asked me about the kikukat blog model.  She is a blue bi-color ragdoll cat.  She was born in the spring of 2007.  Her mom is Sadie, another gorgeous blue bi-color.  Her dad, Shaunbie FancyPants, hails from Manchester, England.  He is a mitted seal point ragdoll. 

Strawberries Filled with Almond Cream

One week of work done. . .a killer one this week!  Yes, I am pissed about having to work for no pay during my summer vacation.  At some point, its not the $ that matters most...its the freedom to do what you want.  There are times when I feel working in a different field would have been much less complicated.  Arggghhhhh!!!

I have 3 meetings this week, and I'm expecting a less-than-favorable turnout for 2 of the 3 meetings.  The 3rd meeting is about the us drones getting more work so I'm sure everyone will be present. 

D1 received her internship assignment:  Gemini Observatory (the building, not the telescope site...whew).  I guess I'll be packing lunch for her on her "work days" or I'll need to send her to Imiloa with some $ to buy lunch.  I'm hoping she'll finish her 60 hours before the summer is over, and I'm hoping she'll get through her internship smoothly.  I think I'll try and help her out a bit by making this dessert to share.  Her contact has a British accent, so no doubt he is familiar with the strawberries and cream tradition at Wimbledon.

A month ago, when I went to Texas, I was so ono for strawberries.  I kept thinking that I would order tons of fresh strawberry desserts.  To my surprise, I came across NO fresh strawberry desserts.  The closest thing was a cheesecake at the Salt Grass Steak House which had a ribbon of strawberry goo swirled in.  While the cheesecake was good, it was not the flavor I was searching for...sweet/tart fresh strawberries.

I have a go-to list of fresh strawberry dessert recipes:  pie, pie with a cream cheese layer, sauce for ice cream, bundt cake, layer cake, frosting, etc.  But nothing was sounding like "the" thing to make.  I remembered seeing a Taste of Home post on Facebook for filled strawberries, and that is where this journey began.  Because of my personality when it comes to cooking, I try and find several different recipes for a dish before I decided on the dish to try.  After the Taste of Home recipe, I found several other recipes worthy of trying, but I settled on a recipe from a Good Housekeeping cookbook.  Unfortunately, when it came time to actually make the recipe, I discovered I was short on some of the ingredients.  I had to make do with what I had on hand, but it turned out well.  In fact, it turned out better than the actual recipe (I tried it later) because the filling was stiffer.  The stiffer filling means that this can be prepared the night before.

Both D1 and D2 gobbled several of these (these were jumbo sized berries).  D2 insisted on taking one to her teacher the next day.  D1 wanted to bring this to her Biology class party on the last day of school, but the 2 supermarkets I went to were both completely out of strawberries, and I did not feel like paying the ransom for Waimea strawberries at Island Naturals.  Don't be sad for D1; she ended up taking Rainbow Jello instead.

Sewing lessons for D1 & D2 begin tomorrow.  I took both girls to the fabric store to choose supplies.  It didn't go too well...D2 wanted to buy everything, and D1 took a long time to decide what to sew (she took sewing lessons before so can begin with a pattern, rather than a tote bag or pillowcase).  D1 will need to schedule her internship hours around sewing, but I don't anticipate that being a problem.  Luckily, the Rents, now iPad users, haven't asked us for too much tech support (although there are several of us who can share the pleasure).  Now if I could only get this inconvenience called work out of the way, I'd have way more time to do the things I WANT to do on MY vacation.  

 click on recipe title for printable recipe
Strawberries Filled with Almond Cream

     25 jumbo strawberries

     3/4 c heavy whipping cream

     3/4 c milk

     1 small box vanilla instant pudding

     1/2 tsp almond extract

Wash and dry berries.  Slice off stem end.  Using a sharp paring knife, slice an "x" deep into berries without cutting all the way down.  Beat heavy whipping cream until stiff peaks form.  In a separate bowl, combine milk and pudding.  Beat for 2 minutes.  Add almond extract and whipped cream.  Fit a pastry bag with a #10 or #12 round tip (depending on the size of berries).  Fill pastry bag with pudding mixture.  Pipe pudding into strawberries, spreading petals open with fingers to allow more cream to fit.

A word to the lazy:  an alternate way of serving this would be to quarter or slice the strawberries and serve the filling in a small dish.  The filling can be spooned over the cut strawberries.  Slicing the strawberries and using them as scoops for the filling works well too.

If you're still with me, please allow me to share some pics I took this past week:

Nymphaea Devin M.A. Medeiros:  plant given to me by Gu.  I've been waiting a long time for this to bloom.

Stephanotis:  I've been waiting a long time for this to bloom too.  I think I finally have enough blooms to make a lei.  I just don't need a lei at the moment.  The vines are so thick that some cardinals made a nest amongst the growth.

Finally got a pic of both babies together.