Dinner Lessons with Lose!

For years I've been wanting to do a cooking lesson with the one and only Pahulu Mama and a few weeks back we FINALLY got a chance! Ever since making lumpias as teens I knew Lose was a wiz in the kitchen and thank goodness we finally have her on this side of the bay so that she can come over and share some of her secrets with us.

We decided to do "lessons" every once in a while so that we can swap ideas on meals that we might all make already but we can share our own spin. For our first lesson, Lose taught us (my sisters, Hannah and I) how to make her famous Thai Curry and I taught her how to make one her faves - oreo cheesecake cupcakes. It was a blast! We might've crossed boundaries with our "baby oil" and garage stories but it was all in good fun! Now if only we could get the dang cat and dog to stay far enough away for Miss Nane to get comfy! ;-)

Here are a few pictures of us making Lose's yummy dish along with the recipe for her yummy curry. Keep in mind that this was a meal fit for about 20 so you can scale down a bit if you don't need as much. Enjoy cause we sure did!!

Thai Curry Ingredients -
4 packs (or what seemed like 10 pounds) Chicken thighs skinned, boned and cut into bite sized pieces
1 huge can of coconut milk
2 jars of "Thai" brand red curry paste
2 packs of sliced mushrooms
20 bell peppers in all different colors
1 bunch of fresh basil
Good ole steamed rice.

We started by cooking the chicken in a little bit of oil with garlic, salt and pepper just until it was lightly browned.
Then after slicing all of the bell peepers and mushrooms they got thrown in with the chicken.
While the chicken and veggies were getting all tender, Lose heated the coconut milk in a separate pot and then added 1 and 1/2 jars of the red curry paste.
Once the coconut milk and curry was warm and bubbly we drained the fat from the chicken mixture and added the coconut milk mixture to the pot of chicken and veggies.
The final step was the break the fresh basil and add it into the mix. That was my FAVORITE part! Fresh herbs are so yummy!
And there you have it! Easy right?!?! Lose's super yummy Thai curry.
We ate it with steamed rice and it was deelish! Thanks Lose! Now whens the next lesson forreal man!?! LOL

Celebrating and Recuperating

Gosh it seems like forever since I've blogged. I hate not having a working laptop! I hope things get back to normal soon. I had my procedure done to determine what condition is causing all of the swelling and joint pain. Thankfully they ruled out lymphoma and I'm waiting to get the full diagnosis any day now. This has all be such a learning experience! We are so much more fragile than we realize.

Although I haven't been in the best of health, I had to pull it together and do something sweet for my Luvie's 2nd birthday on March 26th. I've given up on the idea of having huge elaborate parties for my children. I would be doing them an injustice because the truth is we can't afford it. Not every year for 3 kids. It's just not realistic. So for Luvie's first birthday we had a simple bash here at home with close friends and family. All of the children were given a chance to decorate their very own cupcake and we forfeited the regular birthday cake for Luvie's cupcake creation. This year we did the same thing.

We were lucky and tons of Luvie's family and friends came by to show a little birthday love. A owe a huge THANK YOU to each and every person who came to make sure that she felt extra special. What are birthdays without tons of good people around? She had a blast!!! I opted out of ordering a ton of food and just made a simple home cooked meal. For the kids we had a few pizzas and a pinata. That was it! Except of course for the cupcakes. We all had a good time and Luvie was so excited after opening all of her cute gifts. Girls toys are soooooo much more fun than boys! Our space is now filled with tea party sets, dolls, dress up clothes and play tents. THANK YOU familia for always coming through for us!

Now I'm glued to my bed in hopes of recovering from the operation ASAP so I can get back to my regular routine. This is starting to get the best of me!!!!

Lisiate Takavaha Tupou'ata

On Friday April 1st I woke up to a text from my older cousin Ginger. While still not completely awake, I read her text and felt an overwhelming need to cry. She announced that my grandfather had passed away the night before.

My gpa Vaha moved to Tonga about 7 years ago after living here in the bay for over 20 years. While he wasn't physically here, we all knew that he was "back home" and during times when cousins would visit Tonga they would come back with hilarious stories about gpa.

I wished so bad that I could go back and attend his funeral but because of the annoying condition I'm dealing with (and the lack of money that comes with being put on disability!) it just wasn't possible for me to go. In a strange way I'm glad that my last memory of him is when he was still alive and well. Luckily, Rich got to fly to Tonga and attend the services for my gpa. I can't wait until everyone comes home from Tonga so that we can hear all about it. If I know my aunties like I think I do, I'm sure his funeral was beautiful.

Rest in Peach Gpa. Til we meet again.