Jill's Caesar Salad Dressing

Pool season is officially here.  We hit 90 on Monday!  Tuesday and Wednesday were also 90 days.  Then the Hilo curse kicked in and we saw days of not even hitting 85.  Bummer.  Speaking of numbers.  .  .

If I counted correctly, there are 33 work days left in the school year.  For you luckier teachers, your count is 30.  So lucky, so lucky.  Oops, I just remembered. . .I have 30 work days left.  I'm on leave today, I have a doctor appointment later this month, and I'm taking personal leave in May to attend a ho'olaulea at D2's school.  She is the 5th grade attendant.  I also have 2 additional leave days I can take.  So far this year, I have been out a total of 4 days (2 sick leave and 2 personal. . .today is the 2nd personal leave).  In general, I don't think many teachers where I am abuse their leave, but I certainly know HGEA members who do. 

I took today off (and used personal leave, rather than a "mental health day") because I anticipated being wiped out from going out to dinner last night with Kikukat Mom's family.  I'm glad I did because last night was a late night.  We enjoyed a nice dinner at the Seaside Restaurant then went to AE's for dessert.  I did not make the creamy fruit salad from last week...UJohn brought a fancy ricotta cheesecake for us to enjoy.

It was really nice to finally meet SN.  He didn't run for the hills.  Of course, he didn't get the full onslaught of family craziness since he "feigned" a bout of food illness (not my food) to excuse himself from the post-birthday dinner festivities (Now why didn't any of us ever think of that?  Punahou education was worth something.).  They'll get you next time!  Snicker, snicker. 

SN & LA

Seeing LA was nice too.  Now that LA lives in Honolulu (after slowly making her way back from her college days at NYU), she can visit Hilo more frequently.  Last year she came several times, including a business trip with a coworker.  They did a presentation at an accountants' conference.  She was bombarded with questions about her Hilo ties (her surname is a giveaway, no doubt).

When LA lived on the mainland (she worked in Chicago for years), she would still take the time to visit Hilo.  On one of her trips to Hilo, I invited everyone for dinner.  It was after the holidays and people were kinda disgusted with "party food".  I ended up making spaghetti and Caesar salad.  I figured a simple, no-fuss meal would be a good break from the fried chicken-bbq meat sticks-barely cooked shrimp leftovers.  While the spaghetti was much appreciated, it was the Caesar salad that got wiped out.  All gone!  That's good because a dressed salad does not store well.  I knew the salad would be enjoyed because it was something I really enjoyed when I first tried it.

This is another of those recipes which came to me as a result of being involved in league tennis.  One of my teammates, Jill, brought this to a potluck.  I was a little skeptical of the egg-less recipe at first because the Caesar salad dressing at the fancier restaurants (Salerno's in McCully Shopping Center) usually include a coddled egg.  One taste and I abandoned buying bottled caesar dressing and the thought that all Caesar salad dressing need an egg.  Even Dad, who isn't really fond of Caesar salad at restaurants, has asked for this (along with the spaghetti, which he never received).

click on recipe title for printable recipe

Jill's Caesar Salad Dressing

     1/3 c mayonnaise

     1/4 c grated parmesan cheese

     2 tbsp lemon juice

     2 tbsp water

     1 flat can anchovies, chopped

     1/2 tsp black pepper

     2 cloves garlic, chopped

Combine all ingredients in blender.  Blend until smooth.

D2 & the help

I'd like to wish happy birthday to three people who celebrated birthdays this past week.  My friend Sue on Pitcairn Island celebrated a milestone birthday.  Happy belated birthday, girlfriend!!!  I sent Sue a happy birthday email and posted on her facebook wall.  I need to postpone my Pitcairn trip til retirement because I don't have enough vacation leave to do that.  It takes a while to get there and return, and you gotta ride on a teeny tiny plane.

The Help's birthday was also this past week.  In fact, it was the same day as Sue's birthday (but The Help is a year older).  The Help got a dinner, an ice cream cake, and a big surprise, which will be ready in a few weeks.  Needless to say, he was totally shocked.

birthday boy

The third person who celebrated a birthday this past week was UM.  I'd like to send a big thank you to Otee for footing the whopper bill (Dad said if you were there, you'd want him to drink) for dinner at the Seaside Restaurant.  It was a nice opportunity to get together with the family. 

D2 and AS

grampy & D1

the cousins from Seoul

Sending prayers and thoughts to those affected by the tragic events at Boston Marathon finish line earlier today.