Pastel Purple Potato Salad

This past week was Merrie Monarch Festival week.  I didn't do much to celebrate the annual festival, and I was away for part of the time anyway (work trip to Honolulu).  Once again, I missed my favorite event (Friday's hula kahiko competition).

In addition to the Merrie Monarch festivities, the Hilo High School gymnasium dedication was this weekend.  I wasn't going to attend, but the boss asked The Help to help him (the governor was coming), and The Help graciously obliged.  The Help likes my boss and does not mind lending a hand for him.  While The Help busied himself with the honorable governor, I tried to look busy.  I ran into a former coworker who made some remark about me pretending to work.  Ummmm, yeahhhhh, but at least I know how to teach kids and I'm not afraid to be in a classroom.  Take that, ya old bag!

For the most part, with the exception of the gym dedication, I tried to stay away from places where crowds gather.  I hate crowds.  It drives me berserk to get shoved and elbowed.  I even sought refuge in Kona, making a late Saturday run to Costco.

My drive to Costco was really not for frivolous purposes.  I was in need of a vacuum to replace my near-paralyzed Dyson.  D1 has been especially pissy lately about the house being messy.  I've been trying to keep the floors in the great room clean, but that was impossible to do with the Dyson I had. I ended up buying a small ball Dyson, which was roughly $200 less than the larger ball model.  I tried it out when I got home, and shit, it FEELS $200 less good than what I'd imagine the larger ball model to feel like.  Oh well, The Help said that it does work, which is 95% better than my old vacuum.

One thing I really wanted to do this week was make a stop at the Hawaiian food truck run by the Hawaiian church group.  I never had the chance.  By the time I got my act together to go, they had dismantled their site.  I guess I will need to wait a whole year to eat their food.

There is one downside to the Hawaiian food truck.  They do not automatically give a portion of potato salad with their plates.  I think you can order a side of it, but it does not come standard.  I know potato salad is not traditional Hawaiian food, but it goes great with kalua pig and lau lau.  Since I missed out on the Hawaiian food last week, I'm going to make sure dinner this week includes some type of Hawaiian food.  Of course, if you come over for dinner, you can count on having this yummy and pretty potato salad as an accompaniment for your meal!

 click on recipe title for printable recipe
Pastel Purple Potato Salad

     3 lbs russet potatoes

     1 lb purple sweet potatoes

     3/4-1 c bacon bits

     2 tbsp minced parsley

     mayonnaise

     salt to taste

Boil potatoes.  Peel and cut into 1/2" pieces while still hot.  When completely cool, combine with remaining ingredients.  Season to taste.  Chill until ready to serve.

Beneath the tropic skies of Hilo. . .

                                                              . . .loyalty and honor shall forever be thine.

April 11, 2015
Hilo High School Gymnasium Dedication

The Day That Went to the Dogs: Okinawan Sweet Potato Doggie Treats

I had great plans to bake and do all kinds of domestic spectacles which would even make Martha look pathetic (ok, maybe thats too strong a statement, but I'm trying to make a point here).  Instead, I ended up making doggie treats.  In the week I was on break, doggie treats were my legacy. I guess my dreams of giving the bird to the state and driving off into the sunset in my food truck is not going to happen this time.  By the time this post hits the internet, I will be back at work.  On the plus side, only 21 work days until the next holiday (General Election Day).  I will need to use a sick leave day sometime during that period to maintain my sanity.

Okinawan Sweet Potatoes

Actually, I cannot complain about fall break.  This was one of my most productive breaks ever.  I did manage to cook and bake things other than doggie treats.  We feasted on ginger green onion crab, egg custard tarts, apple tarts, peanut butter cookies, sushi, Texas-style smoked BBQ brisket, baked beans, cole slaw, okazu-ya food, and all kinds of cupcakes.  After feeding our faces, I suppose its only right that the dogs got a special treat too.

puree

In addition to all the cooking and feeding, I managed to evict D2 and re-claim my office.  Earlier in the week, the Ds decided to move both beds into the same bedroom.  The Ds together do not weigh more than 150 pounds collectively, and how they managed to move the bed to another bedroom is beyond me.  This move left D2's bedroom wide open for use.  Salivating madly, I suggested turning D2's room into a study/play room.  I got The Help to move D2's desk out of my office and into the new study/play room.  I will no longer need to walk through the mine field of crayons and little pokey things to get to my computer!

One thing I didn't get to do much of this break was sleep.  Nights were very restless.  My back has been bothering me, and even though I went to get a massage, I am still sore.  My neighbors went to Texas, Las Vegas, and Disneyland, and their dogs have been missing them tremendously.  One of their dogs kept escaping from the lead.  This caused The Help tremendous anxiety, as he constantly kept tabs on the dog.  The other dog, a cute puppy named Patches, barked ALL NIGHT.  The barking set off my babies, which resulted in them taking turns with the bark collar.  Maybe during winter break, I will come up with a way to put some kind of sleeping ingredient into the doggie treats.

I posted pics of the doggie treats on my facebook page, and several of my friends asked for the recipe.  For my friends in Hawaii, Okinawan sweet potatoes are easy to get, as most farmers markets and supermarkets sell them.  In my experience, they are drier than orange-fleshed large sweet potatoes (garnet yams) that normally begin appearing in supermarkets around this time of year.  If using those potatoes, just add less water when making the puree.

The dough was one of the easiest handling doughs I have ever worked with.  The rolling was done on a non-stick baking mat with a silicone rolling pin, and I did not need to add any additional flour to prevent sticking.  The cutting was equally simple.  I only wish cut-out sugar cookies were this easy. 

click on recipe title for printable recipe

Okinawan Sweet Potato Doggie Treats

     1/2 lb Okinawan sweet potato
     water
     1 1/2 tbsp oatmeal, ground to sand consistency
     2 1/2 c whole wheat flour
     3 tbsp creamy peanut butter
     2 eggs

Boil Okinawan sweet potato in water to cover for 45 minutes.  Cover with cold water and peel when cool enough to handle.  Dice in 1/2" cubes.  Blend with 1/4 c water until smooth.  Measure out 3/4 c of puree.  Add remaining ingredients and stir until mixture begins to come together.  Knead by hand until dough is smooth.  Roll out to 1/4" thickness and cut with desired cookie cutters.  Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.

Since we are counting. . .less than 50 days til winter break!

I am not sure what got into me after all the baking, cooking, and evicting, but just before the weekend, I decided to clean and reorganize the laundry room.  For fear of the "before" pictures going viral, I decided not to take any pictures of the room (although I posted the female shoe collection on facebook).  The Help added standards and shelves, and I went to Target and bought out their supply of clearance bins.  In trying to help me organize my things, The Help had a wonderful idea:

Yes, those are some of my cookie cutters strung on a clean bungee cord!  I arranged the cutters by seasons, so its a visual reminder to get busy with those Halloween cookies.  It also keeps the cookie cutters from being smashed in the bins.  The Help is so smart!