Amara's Chocolate Day

 

 A Day With Chocolate

 When Sam and I first got to Hawaii, we went to a grower's market south of Kona and as we were leaving, a guy gave me a piece of chocolate.  To this day, I can still taste that chocolate.  It was sweet and citrusy.  It was a little grainy but still smooth.  It melted in my mouth like heaven. When I saw the advertisment in the paper for a "Chocolate Workshop", I could hardly wait. I signed up immidiately.

     The "Bean to Chocolate Bar" class began at the Keahou Sheraton in South Kona, Hi.  There were about twenty participants and none were tourists. I was really surprised that most of the attendees were local people who either had their own farm or were interested in farming.  It was a wonderful group and made friends right away.  We all loaded into vans and headed out to Kuaiwi Farm. Its hard to descirbe how beautiful the ride was.  We wandered up dirt roads through rain forests where wild ginger, bananas, orchids, coffee, and dozens of plants I didn't know, grew.  When we got to Kuaiwi Farms, we pulled in to a driveway facing a dome house. that is their home.  Unpretentious and beautiful.


    Kuaiwi Farm is owned by Una Greenaway and Leon Rostner. They have a serious commitment to sustainability and it shows with each footstep you take at the farm.  Una's face has a light in it that glows and as you wander the landscape you can feel the magic of love and goodness that radiates from every blade of grass and each plant. They bought the farm with a strong intention to heal the land and bring it back to its natural and organic state.

Una says that her ideals are based on respecting the earth and cultivating the land in a sustainable manner.  The farm is currently free of hericides and pesticides and is using a closed circle of inputs such as composting and recycling everything themselves.

    She led us on a stroll through orchards, where hundred year old coffee trees thrive along side numerous tropical fruit trees and vegetable gardens.  There is also a chocolate orchard with over 100 producing cacao trees. These are cacao fruit.  They are full of sweet fruit and berries.  The berries are what the chocolate is made from.

   

This is the leaf from the cacao tree and as you can see its being attacked.  All of the farmers said that if you're growing something you have to deal with insects, weather, or other things.  it never comes easy.

 
       

Please contact www.kuaiwifarm.com to take a tour.  It would be a great place to stop on your first few days on the island.  You could buy coffee, chocolate, vegetables, fruit, jams and macadamia nuts. The farm also has tours and is just a great way to get off the beaten path and away from all the tourist places. You'll learn about a Hawaii that is real and wonderful.

     

Making the chocolate

    David Elliot and Nat Bledder are the owners and co-founders of Madre Chocolate. Nat teaches the classes and is an entertaining and knowledgeable man.  Making chocolate in one afternoon as opposed to making it in his factory is quite different.  He used toasted cacao beans and ground them in a food processor along with the sugar.  He also had another grinder that is typically used in India to grind lentils for flour.  Usually, the beans would grind with the sugar for at least a week.  (ground beans are called nibs and are readily available) In our class we made chocolate in one afternoon and the chocolate was delicious, but not the same as the bars Nat sells at his shop.

Here is Nat teaching, I think you'll love it.

Bean-to-Bar Chocolate-Making Class 
Sunday, July 29, August 26 • 1 p.m. - 4 p.m.

Our shop in Kailua, O’ahu

Learn a little about the history of chocolate, enjoy a chocolate tasting, and find out how chocolate is made. Covers the many varieties of cocoa beans and chocolate, Aztec and Mayan uses of chocolate, and how to make your own chocolate bars from the bean. Varieties of chocolate bars, whether milk or dark, raw or roasted, single origin or blended, and fruity or nutty are increasing exponentially. Learn how to look at the ingredients and sort out the tasty healthy ones from the rest. Everyone participates in making delicious chocolate bars from scratch in the class. Take recipes and a bar of hand-made chocolate home with you. Contact us with any questions about the class and register below for your selected date.

20A Kainehe St. • Kailua • $50

 July 29th

 August 26th

Everyone was riveted as Nat talked and began to temper the chocolate.  Tempering is mixing the cacao with cocoa butter.  This occurs when you blend the two ingredients at 72 degrees and you hope the humidity is less than 50%.  Too much humidity will really hurt the chocolate.    We all got to pour the final product in a mold and add different flavorings such as Chile, fruits or nuts.  It was delicious.  

I also found out why this delicious product isn't as readily available as you'd think.  I always wondered why when I went into the tourist shops, there wasn't any Hawaiian chocolate.  Well, now I know.  Hawaiian chocolate is trying to find its way into the world market, but its having a hard time because labor costs are high and quantity is low.  Cacao farmers and people like Nat are trying to identify a place in the world market for this wonderful product.  It might take some time as growers and chocolate makers show up at events around the world with this product and make a name for it.  I imagine it will eventually rate as high as the extraordinary Kona coffee that is grown on the island. Please visit Nat's web site and learn about chocolate.  What a fascinating day, I'll never feel the same about this beloved sweet again.

Please post as anonymous if your having trouble leaving a comment.  

The winner of the contest is Margo! Yeah Margo!

Aloha everyone.  first I want to thank all who read my blog and took the time to comment.  It really meant a lot to me.  Margoo dill, who is actually my blogging teacher, has won the contest.  I had so much fun and I know we'll do it again.  Congratulations Margo!

Heads Up

Heads

 Up

Look at those beautiful women, all I can say is Wow! 

                      ***************

Here we are, Gail and me in my kitchen.  They say that a picture can tell a story.  I wonder what do you see? I see two happy women who love each other and are really happy to be together.  They both look like they have normal, everyday, boring lives.  

But wait! What is BELOW?  Doesn't everyone have something underneath their outer veneer, a place where secrets and wounds hide?

                
                                        ******************

     My husband and I pulled up to the Hilton in Waikoloa, Hawai'i on a beautiful, sunny afternoon.  Standing there in all her glory was Gail.  It was the first time I'd seen her since she lost her leg over a year ago.  I thought that I would only be able to look at the prosthetic, like an old man that can only stare at your boobs.  But really, what I saw was this shining, glorious woman who seemed to be saying, "Here I am, all of me, I have nothing to hide." She had her arms outstretched and a smile as big as Texas.  I jumped out of the car and ran to her and gave her a big hug.  

     I had met Gail a little over two years ago. She came with my friend, Diana and another woman.  They were traveling east and had stopped by to see me in Albuquerque, New Mexico.  I was graduating with my Master's degree and they came to the ceremony.  We ended up really bonding in a very short period.  Gail liked to take naps, she couldn't go as hard as the other girls, she was sensitive and I could really relate.  We were very similar. I hoped that we would be friends for a long time.


   We kept in touch through Facebook, believe it or not. She had posted her journey since the day she got T-boned on her Harley.  I read in horror as she announced they had cut off her leg.  She then proceeded to have seven surgeries, and was in the hospital for over forty three days.  And throughout it all, she was uplifted, of good spirits and I developed such an admiration for her.  She was such a great teacher for me.  Several months ago she talked about a huge gash on her stump.  It was a raw, ugly gash across the tissue right below her knee.  It was severely infected and looked awful.  As we sat at my kitchen table talking, we were in awe that we could be together again. She removed her prosthesis and showed me how that gash was now just a tiny wound, only a few inches long.  She explained how the prosthesis worked and showed me the insignia, "Winter", explaining that the material that wrapped around her upper thigh had actually been made by the people that made "Dolphin Tale".  At the end of her prosthesis is a screw.  I am not kidding.  It's a screw that fits inside the prosthesis and attaches her upper leg to the device.  At the bottom of her prosthesis is a foot.  She wears a shoe on it and for some reason, that really touches me. Its a way to say, "I'm normal."

     Gail and I have a special connection because we're both in AA.  She has twenty three years sobriety and I have seventeen.  There is a meeting that I love down by the beach.  It's at a church and the meeting is held outside under the stars. We sit at a long wooden table and drink coffee and share our stories.  I asked Gail to come with me.  She was delighted to go to a meeting (that's what us AA's do) and grateful to have some space from her family. 


    The leader, that night, asked her to share her story for about fifteen minutes.  After we opened the meeting with our prayers, and she was introduced, she stood up.  She told her story and everyone was riveted in their chair.  She's a big girl to begin with, at least 5'9" and she has a booming voice that everyone could hear.  She talked about how four years ago, she'd come home and found her husband dead on the floor from suicide and then one year ago she had had the accident.  A 65 year old woman who had just gotten out of an eye appointment ran a light and hit Gail.  She talked about how her faith in God has grown and how her spirituality has intensified. She shared that a few months ago she fell into a funk and that, after a few weeks, she remembered to ask for God's help.  She immediately felt better and again learned that all she had to do was to ask for help.
     Gail knows that having a prosthesis wasn't something she wanted or planned, but that she has to ACCEPT what has happened.  Right now, she is not in love with the idea of needing medical care for the rest of her life, of not living the life she was used to.  For her, everything, and I mean, EVERYTHING, has changed.  

     I would like to tell you that Gail is a uniquely powerful woman.   She's not.  She's just like you and me and has feelings. She has good and bad days.  She feels fat on some days and gloriously happy when the scale says she lost weight.  She cares about her family and she cares about her friends.  She gets tired and angry and frustrated and lonely.  She knows that she is a woman amongst women.  What sets her story apart, for me, is that she grasped God's hand.  Although she's not religious, she is deeply spiritual. When her husband died, she got through that.  Now that she's lost her leg, she'll tell you outright that that was not in her plans. But what she did do is  she reached out for something that was more powerful than her and held on for dear life.  She holds on to that hand because she knows she cannot get through this by herself. And that is why I feel so blessed to know her and to be part of her journey.  Because she has reminded me that I'm not alone.  I can also reach out to something that is greater than me and I do not have to face this life alone. Thanks Gail for a very special gift.

   So, when I titled the piece "Heads Up" I thought that most of us tend to only look at the surface.  I guess that looking down at Gail's leg is a little uncomfortable.  It doesn't fit the paradigm.  She's not Barbie.  I want to remind all of us to take the time, talk to your Friends, talk to people you don't know and see what is "below".

Please leave a comment about how Gail's story has touched you.  Remember that I'll choose randomly from your comments for a chance to win a pound of Kona Coffee.  Thanks Gail for letting me publish your story, I love you very much.

Hey All,

On Friday, I'll be publishing a new post and will randomely select from your comments to pick a winner.  The winner will receive one pound of Kona coffee, a highly desirerable coffee, undisputed as one of the finest in the world.  Good luck to all!

Mahalo,

Amara

Water Aerobics, Hawai'i Style

 

Lisa's Story

 Today, I got up and went to water aerobics.  I love the water and I love working out. As you can imagine, its beautiful at 9 in the morning in Hawaii.  The summer air is cool and the sky, the flowers and the coconut trees are beautiful.  If you've kept up on my postings, you know that I've been under an incredible amount of stress from this move and, I want to tell you, that it has had a great effect on my physical health.  I've really gotten out of shape and I want my body back.  

     The group typically consists of about twenty older women, most older than I and a few men. The pool attendant runs a tape and we all follow the tape.  For the last few times, I've gotten my pulse up to a whopping 60 bpm. I've heard that if you really work at it, it can be a good workout.  Most of the "girls" work out a bit, some stand around and talk and then some, like me, are diehards and work the whole time.  Today I actually got my pulse up to 100.  Although that's not fabulous, It's better and to be honest with you, I feel so great after I leave. My endorphins are up and I just love it. 

     As I prance around in the water I often look over at a woman who has a stomach made of rocks and arms with just the right amount of bump to them. I wonder if everyone is jealous of her like I am.  She never slows down and I try to work at her pace to increase my results.  She wears bathing suits like clothes and has a million of them.  Today she had the cutest suit on and after class I just had to find out where she'd gotten it.  She told me she couldn't remember and we started talking after that.  As it often happens, she started to tell me her story.  She said that she was a professional paddler and canoer and did marathons as well as triathalons.  She said that she had been in the excellant health until she started noticing that her hands were going numb when she was holding the paddle.  She really got worried when her feet started going numb.  After going to the doctor for over a year and not getting a diognosis, she finally got an MRI.  She said as she looked at the radiologists face that something was very wrong. A week later she found out that she had MS.  

     Lisa told me that she follows the MS diet and works out in the pool.  She has trouble walking and the water holds her up.  Her diet consists of vegtables, fruits and gluten free grains.  She says that she'll eat meat once a week or so. 
     A year or so ago, her husband arranged a golf tournament for her benefit to raise money so that she could go get stem cell surgery in Panama  She's not sure if its done her any good.  When she sees the women standing around, it frustrates her.  She told me she doesn't understand it when most of them know her story.
     When I left the pool, I couldn't stop thinking about Lisa. I still can't stop thinking about her. Everyone has a story in them.  Some are more powerful than others.  For me, the message is clear.  Enjoy this moment, enjoy this day.  Be as healthy as you can and don't give up.  Learn as much as you can about being healthy and about your medical options.  And, again, don't ever give up.  We're all miracles, aren't we?






What do you think of this story?  Is there someone you know like Karen?  Please leave a comment.

Bonnie's Surprise

Cankles...........

Today I'm thinking that when I was 20, the thought of new knees rarely passed my mind.  Today, I wonder if it's like cars, one is better than the other.  What happens if you get a "lemon" knee job.  Along those lines, I'm also strongly focused on my cankles.  Does everyone know what those are?  It's when your calves migrate into your ankles and become one.  It's not nice.

I want to introduce you to a friend of mine.  She is so special and I wrote this piece about something that she shared with me.  I hope you enjoy.

                                                          Bonnie's Surprise

The vision of Bonnie’s slim waist and huge boobs provided Jeff a reprieve from the pain of his arthritis and varicosed legs. As they sat on the lanai that afternoon, her eyes sparkled and Jeff was overcome with a great sense of wellbeing.

They were both grateful for their friendship. It was handy and satisfying.  Bonnie would take him to his doctor appointments and he would fix her plumbing when it needed it.  Their intellects were well matched and they could talk for hours about things that interested them.

  Sipping her tea, Bonnie glanced at Jeff. She knew that Jeff was nervous about his upcoming surgery.  The doctors told him he’d be laid up a couple of weeks and he wasn’t looking forward to it. He didn’t like being dependant on anyone and Bonnie knew that.

Bonnie was independent too and quite stubborn. Her daughters, all four of them, wanted her to move back to the mainland and be with them. Bonnie didn’t want to leave Hawaii.  She loved it here.

Bonnie picked Jeff up at 5 the morning of his surgery.  She had a book and a small lunch with her to ease the long wait.  She’d be taking Jeff home in the early afternoon, most likely.

Bonnie must have drifted off in the waiting room because when the nurse called her she was startled.  “He’s all yours doll, just drive around to the back.”

She went to get the car and the attendants helped her get Jeff in. He was still sedated and the ride home was quiet. When she arrived at his house, the nurse that would stay with him for a few days met them at the door.  “I’ll be back tomorrow Jeff, rest easy love.”

A week later Bonnie’s phone rang.

“Dinner? Tonight?”

“Yeah, tonight Bonnie.”

“You want me to come to your house for dinner tonight?”

“God….. Bonnie, are you coming or not?” he growled into the phone. Both her petulant response and the pain in his back were convincing him of his 89 years.

“All right Jeff,” Bonnie drawled, “Can I bring anything?” She thought it was ridiculous that he was going to cook when it had only been one week since the surgery.

His mood lightened, “No just your good old self.”

When Bonnie entered Jeff’s home that evening, she knew he’d gone to a lot of trouble because the house smelled great.   “You look great Jeff, how are you feeling?”

“ So much better.”

“The house smells wonderful, what are ya cooking?”

“Grilled chicken and kale, good for the liver, you know?”

“Well, at least let me set the table.” The evening took on an easy feeling.

As they ate dinner, Jeff watched Bonnie enjoy the food. He was happy. The meal was great and they chatted about everything.

 After coffee, Bonnie stood to get ready to leave and as she turned, Jeff put his arms around her.  They’d hugged so many times over the years, but this felt different.  Jeff didn’t let go.  Instead, he whispered in her ear, “I’ve got a hard on.”

Bonnie did everything she could to not laugh out loud.   He’s 89, I’m 84, he just had surgery and he has an erection.  “I’ve got to leave, sorry, bye” and she almost ran out of the house. When she got into her car she felt like a school girl.

Jeff was embarrassed and also proud. He had gotten a hard on.  Imagine that.

Bonnie called the next day and told Jeff that they needed to talk and Jeff agreed.  She fixed some tea and they sat down at her kitchen table. “Jeff, I’ve thought about what happened last night and I’ve explored my feelings deeply.  I love you very much, but I’m not in love with you.  You’re my friend and I would hate to lose that.”

He took her in his arms and kissed her on the cheek. “Its okay Bonnie, you’re my best friend, nothing can change that.”

She stood in his arms relaxing into the embrace, and was grateful.

Waht would you do if you were Bonnie?  Please leave your comments.