Catchin' Up

So the past few days have been super fun. Super, duper.

On Friday- I was totally pooped and I was supposed to meet up with my friend Kara. We were going to go to Casanova in Makawao (the bar side- not the coffee side) to dance but she found out that a show she REALLLLLLLY wanted to go to was in Paia. So- instead I met up with her before her danceathon for a glass of wine. We went to Cafe de Amis (http://cdamaui.com/) Holy crap! The crepes there looked fantastic- savory and sweet- piled with toppings on toppings. It smelled amazing.

There was no way I could have stomached a crepe, though- I was totally stuffed with smoothies and pizza we made at home. I must say- it was one of my best Zzaaa nights on island.

ANNIE AND ANDY BEFORE I FORGET:

DOUGH RECIPE (off the top of my head, subject to change if I notice its wrong)

6 1/2 cups of flour
2 1/2 cups of warmish hottish water (I usually replace 3/4 of a cup of water with 3/4 cup of dry white wine)
1 Tbs sugar
1 Tbs sea salt
2 Tbs yeast
1/4 cup oil

Mix the wets (FYI in baking that INCLUDES sugar and yeast- i usually toss the salt in here too)

In a large bowl measure out your flour- don't pack it or else you'll have 500 times the amount of flour you need. Just scoop and level.

Dig a little well in the middle of your flour, pour the wets in (the yeast should have activated a little bit and you should have seen some bubbles)

Mix it up using a wooden spoon until it is all incorporated. Add a little flour if it seems too sticky- it should be elastic and a littttle sticky to touch but not messy sticky if ya know what I mean. I like to knead it a little bit but its completely unnecessary with this recipe- I just like doing it haha.

Let it sit in the bowl in a warm, dry spot with a towel covering it. DONT TOUCH IT for three hours- it will GROW because the yeast is alive and eating/digesting the sugar. SCIENCE.

When the time comes, put it in the fridge for a few hours before pizza-time. I recently discovered this step. It makes the pizza making process waaaaaay easier- it isn't required but the dough is waaaaaaaaaaaaay easier to work with if you chill it- trust me.

When your dough chills out, you'll have enough for about three pies. You can save the dough in the fridge for about a week or make mad pizza all night. Cook them HOT- as high as your oven will go- usually about 500 degrees.

THERE YOU GO- secrets out.

Okay back to the story:
So in Paia, we caught up and it was fun to hang out. When we were leaving, this dude who looked like my friend Kenny from Lansing hollered at us. He was fully decked out in a Waldo costume and was a verrrry interesting character. He hung out with us for a bit and took some pictures with us/of us. He told the story of how he came to be on Maui for his three day visit. It involved hitch hiking and the Waldo costume and a gigantic red semi-truck. I had to take off so after about 30 or so stories, I went home to rest up.

In the morning I went to the AYSO soccer game and then to the Waldorf school to provide childcare during a parent meeting. It was pretty fun- it helped me familiarize myself with the kids before I sub this week.

I worked during the afternoon- went to the Kula fest with the family and ate some yummy Thai curry.

At about 5PM Suzy, a wonderful friend of mine from back home in MI, picked me up in her cute little car and we went down to Lahaina. I saw about 5-6 rainbows over the mountains on the way down.
Suzy has lived here for over 20 years and knows all the coolest people and coolest spots. We met up with her friend Leigh that I'd met a few years back in Northport. We were planning on having a sunset cocktail but as soooon as we made it to Kahana it started DOWNPOURING so we had to pick a restaurant with a roof.
We went to the Pineapple Grill (http://www.cohnrestaurants.com/menu-restaurants/the-pineapple/) for some pupus and a cocktail. I tried sashimi for the first time in my life and neaaaaaarly DIED because it was so incredibly delicious. Mahi Mahi Tuna- straight out of the ocean is easily mistakable for butter. I'm not kidding- WOW- blew my mind. I also tried clams for the first time- the flavor was good, but it'd take a few tries to get used to that texture. I ordered some goat cheese and beef raviolis. I haven't been fully vegetarian for the whole summer- but this was the first time I've eaten meat on Island. I don't plan on eating meat all the time but when I'm in the mood and the menu favors meat eaters- I'm down to explore my options. It was a good choice.

Then we went to Kimos and saw a pretty cool band and had a beer. The bartender was from Shelby Twp. It was dark out by this point- but I could hear the ocean and see bobbing lights on boats.

We went back upcountry and rested because we were so tired.

We woke up and walked down to Grandmas for a cup of coffee. Her friend saw us on our way down her hill and scooped us up and we got to ride in his truckbed down to the bottom of the road (LEGAL in Hawaii- kind of cool). We got a bagel, some punkin pie and some coffee. Then we hiked alll the way back to her BEAUUUUUUTIFUL farm house with the HANDS DOWN most bad ass view I've seen yet.
We toured her farmgarden- It was a little damaged by the hurricane but with a little TLC it'll be back in tip-top shape. I met her goat Lilly and her six healthy and gorgeous chickens- I love them all.

We drove further up her road and then hiked a bit through the pastures. HOLY SMOKES! Keokea is the top of the world. You can see so much of the island from this perch. Amazing. So, incredibly amazing.

After that we went down thru the jungle, top down through some Eucalyptus trees and parked ourselves at a Kombucha bar. My friend Kara met us in Haiku and then Kara and I went to Kanaha to watch the kiteboarders SO COOL. They fly around and surf around. I want to do it- I'm totally gonna learn how I'm really excited.

I also got to try some food at Kula bistro which is super close to my house. They let you bring your own wine and they have easily the best 'house' salad i've ever had in my life. SO loaded with veggies, white beans and an asian dressing. SO DANK. YUMMMMMMMMMMMMMM

I'm really getting tired- I did so many cool things this weekend but my writing is doing it no justice. I'm exhausted. Today was cool and I finally got a MANDUKA mat- my present to myself for having a working bank account (took a month for checks to clear and my account to 'mature' enough for me to access it) so I DESERVED IT. I'm happy.

I have a big, long break tomorrow midday so I think I'm going to go on that Keokea hike again. Get some exercissssse with Suz maybe :)

Aloha pumehana,
betty