Hang on little tomato!

I love this song.. And I love its title! 

Every time I hear it I think of this Saxton Freymann picture:

Aebleskivers

I have often described my heritage as half-Danish, half-English Mutt. And though I adore my English Mutt Papa, I cling dearly to my half-Danish identity. I was very excited to find out my new last name, Ronnow, was originally Danish nobility (and yes, I fully plan on telling my daughters that they are Danish Princesses). 

There are lots of reasons to brag about being connected to Denmark. I could spend pages talking about the architecture scene alone.

But hands down my favorite part of being Half-Danish is my great-grandma's Aebleskiver pan! The easiest way to describe an Aebleskiver is to call it a spherical pancake, but that really doesn't do it justice. I'm still figuring out how to make them just right. But this batch turned out pretty AMAZING!

For the pastry I use my Mama's Buttermilk Pancake recipe:

1 cup flour

2 Tbs sugar 

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup buttermilk  

(you can cheat and add a tsp of vinegar to normal milk instead)

1 egg

2 Tbs oil

Mix flour, sugar, soda, and salt in a small bowl. In a large bowl whisk buttermilk, egg and oil. Gently fold in the flour mix. DON'T OVER MIX!

This time for the filling, I did raspberry peach!

Just mix up some diced peaches and a few scoops of simply fruit raspberry spread. Microwave on high for 45 seconds and mash just a little.

Fill the rounds about half full with batter. 

Add some fruit filling:

Or if you have a silly husband like mine who doesn't like fruit in his aebleskivers try adding sausage:

Top the filling with more batter (spiraling from the outside to the middle helps trap the juices in)

 When thick and bubbly use a bamboo skewer to flip.

 Keep warm until ready to serve.

I put more fruit filling on top of mine and a dusting of powdered sugar.

Richard drizzles his with maple syrup

 It makes about 21 aebleskivers.

YUM!

While researching how to spell Aebleskiver I found this lady's recipe and method. She gives her's a quarter turn at a time and they turn out much prettier. I'm going to test that out next time.

But I'll leave you with one more shot of mine 'cause I'm so proud of myself :)

Watermelon Blues

Do you remember watermelon? I'm talking real watermelon. Remember it was so juicy you had to eat it outside. Outside, where you would get in competitions with your fellow eaters to see who could spit the seeds the farthest? Do you remember how sweet it was, the deep delicious flavor, so sugary that your fingers would stick together after eating it. 

WHERE ARE THOSE WATERMELONS?!

For the last 5 years I can't seem to find a watermelon that doesn't taste more like a cucumber than a watermelon. Don't get me wrong I love cucumbers, I just am asking that my watermelon taste like a fruit and not a vegi. 

My dad and I have had this discussion a few times. We have placed at least partial blame on seedless watermelons (though even those used to have some flavor). 

He's managed to get a hold of one or two good ones from roadside sellers. But I just keep striking out. Year after year. 

Destined to fail, I tried again. Safeway had local grown seeded Thai Watermelons on sale. I thumped on them 'til I found one that sounded nice. Honestly I have no idea what they should sound like. I just tap them and listen 'til one makes me happy lol. (probably some residual memory of 'the sound' from watching the produce guys back in California when I was tiny.)

I chose this one: 

Not quite as red as it could be but not bad...

Ok, here goes the taste test... 

SLURP

Hey that's decent! 

It was no 1990's California Watermelon, but It only slightly hinted at cucumber!

I'm going to have to check out some road side stands to see if I can turn the tide on this curse... 

Wish me luck!

Happy 4th!

 It wasn't a very traditional 4th this year. We didn't BBQ anything, accidentally slept through the fireworks, and enjoyed reggae instead of the usual patriotic soundtrack . However, we did celebrate by enjoying what is perhaps my favorite part of the 'American Experiment': Public Land! 

"While ideas for this type of national park had been suggested previously, the United States established the first such one." -Wikipedia.

 And that makes me proud to be an American!

We don't have a national park here on Oahu, however, all of the beaches have been declared public land :) So, it seemed like the perfect stage for a 4th of July adventure

There was a negative tide on North Shore. It made the shelf behind the Pupukea Tide pools easily accessible.

Sadly, I remembered the camera forgot the SD card in my laptop! :( My camera only had enough memory for 2 pictures. I gave them to Richard for his 2 favorite catches. 

This is a new type of crab we found. It has tiny pincers and it appears to be some sort of a filter feeder.

Cute little fishy! I think it is a baby Raccoon Butterfly Fish. 

I wish I could have showed you the amazing landscape. The entire shelf was covered in crystal clear little sinkholes filled to the brim with sea life. I felt a kinda guilty though, because it was so easy catching things here, it seemed like we were cheating somehow lol.

Also while we were exploring a huge line of paddling surf-boarders came sailing by. Then more and more, Then SUP boarders, then jet ski's and a tiny helicopter. Turns out it was a race:

 

A 4 mile paddle race! And we had accidental front row seats right in the middle of it. 

We decided to hike down to the finish line and see them triumphantly arrive. 

I was so excited I forgot to reapply suntan lotion:

It is actually even worse than it looks in these pictures :(

Here is a shot of the late comers rounding the final bend:

Sorry my phone's camera isn't so clear.

And the best part is- this was a Wednesday! Just two more days and we get to have another adventure! HOORAY!

Breakfast Pie

I found this concept on Pinterest. They were using Pillsbury crescent rolls, which I think are nasty, so I replaced them with homemade biscuit dough rolled out and cut into triangles. It turned out FANTASTIC!

It was really easy too. I used 6 eggs and we got 2 meals out of it. (it reheats well under the broiler on low). All it is is biscuit dough made into a sun shape using one circle and a bunch of triangles. Then scramble up some eggs (with milk so it's creamy) mix in cooked bacon and cheese. Place on biscuit dough and fold in the sun rays to make a cute little package. I cooked it the same temp and time it called for in my biscuit recipe and tada! Super easy fancy breakfast :)

This is an Oahu Saturday!

You wake up at 8:30 on an island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.

The weather- Rain in the morning. Sun in the Afternoon.

What do you do?

If that island is named is Oahu this is what you do:

Start with a Jungle Hike.

(They are the best for a rainy morning!)

Head out to Ahupua'a 'O Kahana State Park

(don't worry, no entry fee!)

Hop on any of the amazing trails...

How about Nakoa Trail?

Enjoy the incredible songs of  the tropical birds:

Stop and notice the AMAZING flowers:

Yes, I took this picture! It is a Philippine Ground Orchid (I think)

Some relative of the Sweet Pea?

Macaw flower?

Red Ginger

Get side-tracked:

Over and over again:

Don't forget to look down!

Make notes on your map so you can come back to awesome spots when it's clear-water day.

Once the mosquito's become too intense, hike out at a quick pace.

By this time it is afternoon.

Take advantage of that sun by snorkeling.

May I recommend the famous Sharks Cove:

Don't be afraid to have you MIND BLOWN by the quantity, variety and boldness of fish, clarity of the water, and the sea turtle who is as curious about you as you are about her. 

Achilles Tangs? They were all in pairs! Sooo cute :)

If the deep water currents have chilled you, warm up next door in the bathtub-warm pools of Pupukea Beach Park:

Wash off all that salt, and take a nap.

Realize how FANTASTIC your life is :)

5 minutes a day bread

I found this awesome concept of 5 mins a day for fresh homemade bread!

Here is the video to the basic recipe and concept:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/mpd/permalink/m12EL6HI8LUJHK/ref=ent_fb_link

They sell 2 books:

And then a whole wheat version:

On their website it talked about baking this amazing 5 min bread in the crock-pot:

http://www.artisanbreadinfive.com/2012/05/29/crock-pot-bread-baking-fast-bread-in-a-slow-cooker

 :o

This I had to try!

My bucket o' dough and my crock pot:

This is what the dough looks like after rising.

One pound of dough ready to go!

It ended up taking more like 1.5 hours to cook and we put it under the broiler for 3-5 mins.

It was so yummy, we started eating it way too fast! I got the hiccups and we didn't get any pictures until  this was all that remained.

It was a little too moist. Left an almost 'gummy' texture to it. But, it was still very good and made great sandwiches:

A few days later I grabbed my Bucket o' Dough out of the fridge 

And made rolls!!

I cooked these for 2 hours. This is how light their tops are:

So, under the broiler they went.

These were less moist but they still had too much moisture to be just right.

I decided to use my last section of dough and do it in the oven like in the video.

Here is the fresh dough ball

 Here it is after rising 60 mins ( it took too long to rise... I think my yeast may have gotten a bit stale.)

 and TADA!!

This one definitely had the best texture! Good moisture content, flaky crispy crust, cleaner slicing. It was still a bit dense, but I'm not sure if that's the old yeast or the recipe. I'll update this when I use fresher yeast.

Overall I'm really happy with this! So happy, I'm saving up for the books :) The crock pot method worked well enough and was a lifesaver, as it has been a ridiculously hot week here. I think it would be an awesome present for someone stuck in college dorms, too. All you need is a mini fridge and crock pot to have fresh bread in your room!

As for me it makes home cooked bread far easier and cheaper that store bought stuff! And once I buy whole wheat four it will be healthier as well :)

6-22-12 UPDATE:

Made a new batch last night with fresh from the freezer yeast.

It was perfect! 

6-24-12 UPDATE:

If you are in a hurry it also makes a decent pizza crust. You won't find yourself saying "wow this is a great crust", and getting in stretched out is no fun, but it gets the job done and is definitely edible.

7-20-12 UPDATE:
Mix Ins!
I've been trying mix-ins to add some fun flavors
I just kneed them in to each chunk I pull out of the fridge bucket before I let them rise.
This one is a Olive Oil, Herbs (fresh home grown basil, garlic chives, parsley and a touch of garlic salt), and Cheese (I have a 3 cheese shredded mix we get at costco and then threw in some Parmesan too.)
It is fantastic! I've made it twice now :)

This one is a Butter Brown Sugar And Cinnamon. Its crust was a lot harder than the normal recipe, but it had a lovely light sweet flavor. I made a brown sugar cream cheese spread for it.