Another chapter added to my book of life!

Tonight was my big night!!! and what a night it was. Though I have had a long day, everything was successful. My day started off with feeding my dog Bailey, watching last nights The Vampire Diaries and Scandal on Hulu, and straight to cooking the mini quiches for tonights catering.

Tonight was an amazing night. This was after all my first gallery opening and my first official (kinda) catering. I had such stellar comments on my food. Everyone loved it. And I made more than enough. When I calculate the food that I didnʻt use, I catered everything for about $100-. I should have listened to my sister in-law and made business cards since now I will be probably catering small parties now on. I have a few potential clients in the work. Iʻm very excited for where this new road will be taking me.

This catering tonight was just a simple 3 menu catering. I had the wraps (the recipe I posted last night), mini zucchini quiches, and a slightly spicy guava sauce over cream cheese. The recipes for the last two are:

Mini Zucchini Quiche:

Ingredients-

• 3 cups of grated zucchini
• 3 room temperature XL eggs
• 1/2 cup grated parmesan
• 1 cup of Bisquik
• 1 stick of melted butter
• 1/2 Tbs dried parsley
• 1/2 tsp dried oregano
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp garlic powder

1. Preheat oven to 350º
2. Mix all the ingredients together
3. Pour into mini cupcake tins and bake for 10-12 mins

Guava Jelly

Ingredients-

• guava jelly
• chili pepper water
• cream cheese
• cocktail crackes

1. Blend together the jelly and chili pepper water
2. Pour over cream cheese
3. Serve with crackers

Notes:

• For the quiche:
• You can bake in it what every you want. Just adjust cooking times as needed.
• You can substitute zucchini for any other vegetables. I have used kale, spinach, corn and mushrooms.
• You can also change the cheese if you want (cheddar, jack, pepper jack, colby, etc.)
• For the guava:
• Add chili flakes to add texture
• The sauce itself can be used for many different things. marinade it with meats, use as a dipping sauce or glaze. The possibilities are endless.
• You can even change up the jelly to use whatever you have on hand.

To celebrate my success tonight, I am actually about to head out to either Rumfire or Sway for a few celebratory cocktails with the girls. 

To end this blog, I just want to say some Mahalo to:

Kāhealani, Nalani, and Tuti for your kōkua with everything. Mahalo nui loa ʻoukou!

Dad, Aunty Kauʻi, Keliʻi, Rissa, Aunty Lia, Coco, Kawena, Melissa, Nalani A., Cookie, Victoria, and Kelani for coming out to support me tonight!

Toni Martin for handing me this opportunity. I am filled with gratitude for everything I have been learning in this one month since we have meet.

And to my potential clients, if you are reading this, I canʻt wait to work with you!

A hui hou,

Lopaka

The night before the big day!

Sipping on my one of my favorite wines, Pinot Grigio from Castello di Amorosa in Napa, and winding down after a long day... What is it about wine or vodka that just makes the day end on a good note? Well I think after what I accomplished tonight (with much mahalo and love to my friend Kāhea), I could use a drink (even though Iʻve already had a glass at dinner...

Tonight I prepped one out of the three pupu I will be making tomorrow for the galleries opening night. Mahalo nui e Kāhea nau kōkua! I made Spinach Roll Upʻs. It is a very simple, easy and flavorful appetizer. The recipe is:

Ingredients:

• Sun dried tomatoes (the one in the bottle from Costco is my favorite)
• Cream cheese
• Fresh spinach
• Tortilla (I use flour or wheat and donʻt recommend corn because corn does not roll as easy)

Instructions:

1. In a food processor, mix the first 3 ingredients until very well incorporated with one another. I do not have exact measurements because I go by color and taste. I like it when it is a reddish/brown/orange color with specks of green from the spinach.
2. Using a 1-2 oz. scooper or just a tablespoon, drop by spoonfuls onto tortilla (if your tortilla isnʻt as fresh as you want it, but some between a semi-wet paper towel and heat in the micro for 10-20 seconds depending on your microwave).
3. Roll them up so that when you cut them you will see the spiral in the middle and push in the edges so it looks neater and clean.
4. Chill in fridge either over night or at least for 3-5 hours. You want them chilled so that they will firm up and be easier to digest.
5. Cut at an angle about 8-10 pieces and serve

Though I should be sleeping because tomorrow is the day for me to shine, I will finish up my bottle of wine and watch The Vampire Diaries, The Tomorrow People, Greyʻs Anatomy and Scandal. Though it is more likely for me to finish just one of those four shows, hopefully two... hiki nō!

Chocolate Chip Cookies

For those of you who wanted it, here is my personal recipe:

1 1/2 cups of room temperature butter (let it naturally come to room temp, DO NOT MICROWAVE)
1-1 1/2 cups of cane sugar
2 eggs at room temperature
2 tsp of pure vanilla extract (vanilla extract from mexico is the best)
3 cups of flour (1/4-1/2 more if you want softer cookies)
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt (Ancient Sea Salt is my preference)
1 12 oz. package of chocolate chips  (my all time favorite is Ghirardelli dark chocolate. life is short! pay for good chocolate. you will not regret it)
rough chopped walnuts *completely optional*
fresh grated nutmeg (my secret ingredient that is never measured, i just go with whatever i feel at the moment)

"Tools"
cookie sheets (2-4 depending on cookie size)
two mixing bowls (one large, one medium)
spatula (the mixing one)
measuring cups and spoons
1-2 oz mini scooper (if you have)


Steps (please follow it specifically and you should have no problem)

1. Heat oven to 375º
2. In first bowl, mix together butter and sugar until there is no lumps
3. Mix in eggs and vanilla
4. Add flour, baking soda and salt to the second bowl and mix with spatula
5. Fold in about maybe 1/2 a cup at a time of dry ingredients to the wet ingredients until it is mixed well into a ball (if you do it right, your bowl should be smooth with nothing on the "walls")
6. Slowly fold in together the chocolate chips, walnuts and nutmeg 
7. Drop by the spoon full onto an un-greased cookie sheet about an inch to 2 in. apart (though it never hurts to use parchment or PAM), I use a mini scooper (1 oz. if Iʻm not mistaken)
8. Lightly push on the cookies to make them a little more flat
9. Bake for 10-12 minutes on the middle rack, may be less or more depending on your oven. When the cookies look just about golden, I take them out and let them finish cooking outside the oven.
10. Take out of oven and set aside to cool and harden on sheet
11. Enjoy with a cold glass of your preferred milk (cow, soy, rice, almond, etc.)

Some pointers so that your cookies will always turn out good...

• USE ONLY ROOM TEMPERATURE BUTTER, MICROWAVED OR MELTED BUTTER WILL RESULT IN FLAT AND CRUNCH COOKIES!!! How ever, if that is your preference, go for it.
• If you only have one cookie sheet, let the cookie sheet cool before baking your next set. A hot cookie sheet will result in weird cookies due to the fact that they are melting before they go into the oven.
• It is possible to roll up your unused cookie dough into a log, wrap in wax paper and stick in the freezer. Just defrost and cut as you need, that way you can enjoy cookies whenever you want.
• Donʻt worry if it does not come out good the first time or the first hundred times. I have been trying to master the chocolate chip cookie since elementary. It took me over a decade, and I donʻt regret the time it took to get where it is today.
• Enjoy and have fun while making this. I promise this can turn a bad day into an amazing one.

And please do not hesitate to ask me any questions. A hui hou!

The start to the rest of my life...

So though I have attempted to do a blog before, I think this time it will stick! I have decided today to write a blog because on Friday, I will be catering my jobʻs opening night for roughly 200 people with a budget of $140-. But I also plan to document my journey on the road of life, since to me, it feels as if it is finally beginning...

A little about myself:

26
Hawaiʻi
world traveler
part-time vegan
student
gallery assistant
tv-aholic
movie enthusiast
amateur foodie
aspiring artist, director, producer, gallery director
unofficial chef and baker
music lover

So now that you kind of know me, in the words of Simple Plan,

"Welcome to My Life"