California Cookin'

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​CALIFORNIA COOKIN'

     On Saturday, April 15, in the wee small hours of the morning we said Aloha to the beautiful Hale Koa,

...then took a Speedi Shuttle to the Honolulu airport, from where we said Aloha to beautiful Hawai'i.

     However, our Aloha wasn't as sad as it might have been, since five hours and fifty-five minutes later we were in Los Angeles, 

...where we would spend the next nine days visiting with our daughter, son-in-law, and grand daughters.
​     As always, ​my two granddaughters met me with their usual greeting: "Grammie! Hooray! Will you make us pizza? Will you make us mashed potatoes? Wil you make us an apple pie with our name on it?"
     My daughter also threw in a request for roast beef.
     Of course, I made all of those things - and other dishes - more than once over the course of the next nine days.  

      (However Tom made the pies, apple pie  being his specialty). 

     But first on the food request list was for a big yummy breakfast on the morning after our arrival, as my grand daughter the was having a sleepover that night.
      And so, with the help of my grand daughter,   

...we served up a big yummy breakfast of scrambled eggs, tater tots, French toast with all the fixings, and fruit. The breakfast was a hit with the sleepover guests.

       From then on I spent a portion of most days whipping up whatever the family was in the mood for (while Tom spent a portion of most days washing pots and pans),

...and, subsequently, considerable time at Ralph's, my local supermarket of choice, in no small part because I love the all the palm trees in the parking lot.               

       When not in the kitchen or at Ralphs, I'd write (which Pinky invariably took as an invitation to invade my space);

...or I'd practice on my newly-acquired ukulele (see post from 5/9/2023, ​https://www.ailantha.com/blog/i-ukulelist);

...or I'd go out to trek up and down the hilly neighborhood (where it's a shame the utility wires aren't underground. But then, being so close to the beach as this area is, one probably can't dig very far underground without hitting sea water);

...and snapping the local color;

...or the palm trees and plants in the backyard.

    Otherwise it was my joy just to be part of the family's life and routine for this too-short, precious time, and to occasionally capture a moment,

...not infrequently including Pinky, who has a propensity for being where the people are,

...or at least where the camera is.

     On Sunday, the day before we left, our daughter drove us out to Malibu,

...to have lunch at Duke's a Hawaiian-themed restaurant,

...over-looking the ocean,

...and named after Duke Kahanamoku, the famous Hawaiian Olympic swimmer and surfer who is well-loved among Hawaiian islanders.

     The food was delicious,    

...and they really piled the bacon on my bacon-and-eggs,

...and the arugula on my daughter's avocado toast.

​     Once in a while it's nice to let someone else do the cooking.