Sunday, May 10, 2020. Lā Makuahine

If itʻs not one thing...  I intended to post this earlier today, but even in these StayHome times, we get busy... I HAD to go walk today.  Working through managing nūnī realities, and trying really hard to practice, as Ma always said, Paciencia!!!  Patience!!!  And gremlins struck my computer router yesterday, messing up WiFi.  THAT got resolved thanks to FAT (and a different piece of hardware).  And I decided, last minute, to make ginger sauce for chicken. And, and, and...

So.  On this Lā Makuahine, Motherʻs Day, we remember, we reflect, we share, we reimagine, during these times the importance and impact of parents and their parenting (today, Ma...) on our lives.  

Pinterest:  The Language of Flowers

Ma was born in Paʻauhau, Daddy in Kalōpā.  When he was courting her (in the olden days 70+ years ago), he often showed up with armloads of yellow carnations.  Fragrant yellow carnations that he grew.  Growing things back then was something most did.  Food or flowers, gardens were places rich in tradition, multi-ethnic cultures, and beauty.  Gramma Camara had the best small hot-pink carnations, redolent of clove.  I loved them.  And she had little white pompom dahlias.  Why and how we remember these things are a mystery, but theyʻre mysteries that bring us great pleasure.

And too, thereʻs food.  Below are my scribbled...not even recipes...reminders from Ma of How To...

How you make Vinha Dʻalhos, our Portuguese pickled and boiled and roasted meat.  If you look in recipe books, youʻll find other ingredients, but, back then, neva get.  So it was simple.  Make the marinade, 2 parts vinegar, 1 part water, stir in the salt to dissolve, smash and peel garlic cloves (how much you want), and chop small, nīoi, Hawaiian chilla peppa.  I use 4 or 5 or...  Soak chunks of meat for a couple days in the big yellow Pyrex bowl on the counter, then boil for half hour, drain, and roast for 45 minutes or so.

The pickles are Potagee Pickle Onions (cebolas)...  Pack onions in jars (with bell pepper and chile pepper if you like).  Boil vinegar, water and salt.  Pour while hot and fill the jars.  Cover, leave on counter for a couple days, turning upside down a couple times a day, then put in icebox.

As with other foods, everybody has a special, favorite recipe or way of making.  ALL are good...

And maybe the lowest of low-tech photography these days...put old pic-cha on desk, take photo of pic-cha with not-so-low-tech iPhone, and put on blog...

Berlinda and Boy at the Waipiʻo Lookout, August 3, 2003.

As always, with aloha,

BobbyC
maniniowali@gmail.com