Okazuya Night!

It's countdown to Turkey Day and who wants to make a complicated mid-week meal?  With the overcast skies, nothing says comfort like Japanese okazuya style kaukau!  Whereever you grew up in Hawai'i  Nei - chances are there was a local Okazuya - or Japanese style take-out place nearby. The Okazuya grew out of the need to have freshly prepared food field workers could pick up first thing in the morning that could stay fresh and safe without refrigeration. Since many Japanese men came to Hawai'i without wives initially, some enterprising folks would wake up hours before dawn to prepare the meats, rice and vegetables for their obento (lunch box).
 


Salmon Tofu Patties w/lemon dill sauce
 

Tonight, I took a slight twist to some old faves - first salmon tofu patties - traditionally prepared with canned salmon, tofu, green onions and egg. I added some capers, dill and a touch of Dijon mustard.  On the side, I created a lemon dill dipping sauce made with a greek yogurt base.


Furikake Fried Tofu
 

Next - fried furikake tofu.  I first coated the tofu with mochiko (rice flour), dipped them in an egg/shoyu mixture, then tossed them in panko furikake crumbs and quickly pan fried them - ono!



Cook up some rice, add some pickled or stir-fried  veggies and you are all set! You can find these recipes on the recipes page - brok' da mout!

Netane Poly Pride - Performing for Polamalu Benefit Luau in Pittsburgh Tonight!

 

Several of our prolific FB ohana have been posting about a trip up to Pittsburgh for the Troy Polamalu Benefit Luau.  They're braving the cold, a plane ride with out food or beverage service and long practice hours - for no pay!  But according to Musician Extraordinaire Elika Kaiwi - it's all worth it - see his post below:

 

Aloha sis, no pilikea. I work for Netane Polynesian Production out of Orlando. We call ourselves the Hawaiian Rhythm. Fiji is performing as well as Spawn Breeze. This is our second performance for Troy Polamalu. The last time was in 2012. This is a benefit to support the children in Samoa to get supplies for sports and education. We are not getting paid for our performance or practice. We get travel room and board and meals. Honestly it's more of an honor to help support his cause, but meeting him in person and getting to jam again with him and Fiji after the event is awesome. Love and hugs, Elika

 

Here are a couple of links if you would like to kokua - mahalo to the Netane Ohana for supporting such a great cause! Polamalu Benefit Luau Make A Donation

Hoike Hawai'i Fall Workshop Starts Tomorrow

Aloha and Hauoli middle of the work-week!  I hope you took a moment yesterday to remember the brave men and women soldiers along with their ohana for the personal sacrifices they made to keep our country strong.

Still working out the kinks of this blog-stuff, so mahalo to all who provided helpful feedback.  I removed the galley of events...if anyone knows of a calendar of events gadget that I could add to this site, that would be very helpful!  And apologies to Mac - I couldn't find a way to re-orient the photo below!

In the meantime, the Hoike Hawai'i Fall Workshop starts tomorrow - you can register at the door.  If you've always dreamed of learning or improving your skills - this is the place to be.  And the kanikapila can't be beat!  If you're lucky - you might even find a manapua or local grindz - just remember to share! 

I''ll be posting some pics from the Makaha Sons and Friends concert that was held in the Villages.  A special mahalo to Dave and Mac Freeman for their underwriting of the concert, as well as all our Florida ohana who shared their talents thru-out the show!

http://www.hoikehawaii.com/

Hauoli Makahiki Season!

We made it to November - already?  Next thing you know it will be Christmas - then New Years...which means another year has gone - it's true what they say about getting older...time flies so much faster when you're going downhill!

The Hoike Hawai'i Fall Workshop is coming up - if you've never attended - you are missing out! Can't sing or dance - no problem - you just think you can't!  The kupuna who lead our classes are very patient and supportive. If you've always wanted to try your hand at traditional crafts, you can learn from a Master Craftsman.  In addition to founding Hoike, Uncle Hank Ohumukuni became a Master Craftsman after years of apprenticing.  We are so honored to have him sharing his mana'o with us.

Tonight is the Makaha Concert in the Villages - special kudos to Mac and Dave Freeman for underwriting and handling all the logistics for this event.  It will be a special evening.  For those attending - hope the traffic and weather are trouble-free! 

Ahui ho, hugs and aloha, lei

Aloha No - Welcome to the New Aloha Florida Ohana Blog

Aloha All - E Komo Mai!  Welcome to the New Aloha Florida Ohana Blog, formerly the Aloha Florida Ohana Newsletter.  Technical difficulties and challenges required this update, and I hope you will like the changes.

Like the newsletter, the purpose of this blog is to keep us Hawaiians and Hawaiian at Heart who call the Sunshine state home connected to one another.  This continues to be my labor of aloha, so it is not for financial gain.  Advertising that pops up on this page is out of my control - however, it allows for a free forum and for that I am grateful to our sponsors.

I've also created a FaceBook page called Aloha Florida Ohana - we will link to it.  As always, I appreciate your kokua and updates on events, sharing your photos and now - videos!