You say Aweo, I say Weo! [Basic quiche recipe]

A couple of days ago we joined a few friends for a relaxing brunch on the beach.  Aweoweo Beach Park is one of those places we love we just donʻt make it there very often.  The beach park has clean bathrooms, a dilapidated playground & of course a beautiful view!

 To say Iʻve been a bit scatterbrained lately is probably an understatement.  As I was planning this brunch with friends I had grand ideas of all the delicious things I would make. in the end I had an hour and luckily a refrigerated pie crust and some eggs.  Which means, ta da! Quiche!  Quiche is one of the first foods I learned to make without a recipe and rarely fails me.  You can add whatever you have in the fridge and get a full meal with little prep or actual cooking. 

 A beautiful view of Aweoweo Beach. this is the view from our picnic table so the beach is pretty close to where you can set -up.  My favorite thing since eating food with sand in it is just not fun for anybody, except for maybe my 20 month old that eats sand by the handful. 

 For some reasons there were tons of sea turtles out that day!  I even got to put on the snorkel mask and swim around with them and creepily watch them as they eat limu off the coral reef. 

 Overall another beautiful morning in Hawaii, all of which I am very thankful for!  

Zucchini Bacon Quiche with Goat Cheese and Fresh Basil

1/2 package bacon, any kind works

1 small-medium zucchini, diced

5 large eggs

1 pre-made pie crust, I like Immaculate Bakery

3/4 cup heavy cream, or Whole Milk

Salt & Pepper

6 leaves fresh basil 

Goat Cheese, to taste

• Cook bacon until crisp, crumble and set aside.
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees 
• Lightly saute zucchini in a little olive oil, just a few minutes, it will continue cooking in oven.
• In a pie dish, unroll pie crust and press firmly into dish so there are no air bubbles.  Crimp edge fancy if you want. 
• Sprinkle cooled bacon and zucchini on top of pie crust.
• In a medium bowl whisk together eggs, cream and salt & pepper.  Pour mixture on top of bacon and zucchini. 
• Cut basil into thin ribbons and sprinkle over egg mixture. 
• Crumble goat cheese on top of edge mixture, use as much or as little as you would like.  
• Bake quiche at 375 degrees for 45 minutes or until itʻs no longer jiggly.
• Serve warm or at room temp! 

Adventures in Honolulu's Chinatown!

I would consider us adventurers.  

We haven't always been and often Andy & I talk about how much we wish we would have started BEFORE we had kids, you know, when we had money & time.  But I guess we had an early beginning to adult/married life and kind of grew up as we realized we might have to teach our kids how to do the same one day.  So yesterday we had to go into Honolulu to do some paperwork for Andy's new job, [hallelujah!] and our friends happened to be in Chinatown to walk around and we asked to join them.

We hadn't been to Chinatown since before we moved in 2008 so it was fun to see everything again.  So much fresh produce & seafood with great prices, we will definitely be back!

And in true adventurer spirit Andy and Oliver tried chicken feet for the first time.  Mmm gelatinous! 

I love taking our kids to experience new things, and living on a small budget, it never ceases to amaze me how much you can experience with a small amount of money and some blessings from friends.

 [Thank you Sonia for a delicious lunch! :]

We wandered around the markets for awhile, just taking everything in, enjoying being out of the house, the clear skies and the pleasure of good company.  

Tip:  If you go during a state or federal holiday parking in any municipal parking is only $3.00 max!  We happened to go on King Kamehameha Day so lucky us!

[A clock tower with the numbers in Chinese]

After a lot of walking, and picture taking for me.  Ever the snap happy tourist.  We finally made it to our lunch destination of Tai Pan Dim Sum.  I love dim sum, the original "small plates."  It's so fun to share a meal with a lot of people open to anything, passing food and trying whatever looks good.
We did have a bit of trouble with the waitresses since they only spoke Chinese, it took us about 3/4 of our meal to realize we should just order by number.  My favorite were these tasty deep-fried seaweed rolls stuffed with shrimp.  Yum!  Lily can be good at trying foods and did have a Shrimp Shumai but in the end liked her hot dog manapua the best.

[Mango shave milk with lilikoi & condensed milk]

After lunch we strolled back to our cars stopping for a frozen treat at Hula Boba.  They make a tasty shaved ice there that is frozen strawberries [or mangoes] and soy milk.  Such a fun day & our grand total spent came out to $10!  It's always fun to go off the beaten path, experience something new and usually spend a lot less money!  You might get lost, might eat something weird, or not know how to speak the language but that's the fun of it right?

I want to raise my children to be adventurers, to not be afraid to try new things, to not be afraid to fail, because they will, don't we all?  But trying is still worth it.  We can live a life inside but how will we learn about this beautiful world that God has given us?

Sing to the LORD a new song, his praise from the ends of the earth, you who go down to the sea, and all that is in it, you islands, and all who live in them.
Isaiah 42:9-11