PERFECTLY POI

HI there everybody! How are you doing this crazy midweek day? I am really groggy today with a killer headache, but I just took some Tylenol and hopefully I can shake out all the cobwebs by the end of this entry LOL! OK I hope that I can say my readers are smart enough to be catching on to the fact that not only have I been bringing you foreign flavors, but I have been bringing you language lessons as well! LOL. I figure ethnic recipe weeks could have language lessons too… or do you want me to stop? LOL.



Ok so are you watching HK? OMG last night was a double episode and it was wonderful! We had a late dinner last night… fresh salmon and scallops with Santa Fe rice and corn. They were really digging it. I got some cooking to do today… a few soups, a few skillet meals, etc. I also hope that I can get some crafting done today. Not sure what I will do, but it will be something LOL!

Well, on my never-ending quest to find you all things frugal LOL, I thought about some of the ways to save money and create less waste in a household. A personal favorite of mine… BREAD! We eat tons of bread and then you think about all those plastic bags being trashed, etc. SO I picked this as a short and sweet Frugal tip for today! Yea its a small investment in the beginning, but it more than pays for itself (especially in a house like ours LOL) after a few uses!



Frugal Tip of the Day: A Must Have Item for any Frugal Home
By Frugal 101

I don’t like to spend extra money on things that I can live without, so when a friend of mine told me she bought a bread machine and was highly recommending it, I just nodded and switched the subject.

Bread machine? Why do I need one if I can buy bread at the bakery or make it using my own two hands? Plus, it is probably too complicated to use and is insanely expensive.

I forgot about it until one day I visited her house. As soon as I entered I almost fainted due to a fantastic head-spinning smell. The smell of fresh bread. It reminded me of my childhood. Our home was next to the bakery and everyday, especially when the wind was blowing in our direction, the entire neighborhood would be filled with the wonderful smell of freshly baked crisp and warm bread…

This was the minute I knew I needed to have a bread machine in my house and nothing else mattered.

To my pleasant surprise, the bread maker was pretty inexpensive. The one my friend had (and the one I bought myself) is called the SunBeam 5891 2-lb Programmable Bread Maker. She got it off of Amazon for $55 or so. I got mine from Wal-Mart for a little under $60, just because I couldn’t wait for mine to arrive if I ordered it online.

If you want to go a little fancier and have a little more money to spend here is another great bread machine sold on Amazon: Panasonic SD-YD250 Automatic Bread Maker. It has many great reviews.

It comes with instructions and is very easy to use. You don’t even have to mix anything. Put the ingredients in, press a button and the machine will do the rest for you. When your bread is ready it will beep.

The best part about it is that it saves us a lot of money. We never eat Wonder bread or the like and used to buy real bread from local bakeries, which would cost us $2.50 to $4 per loaf (ouch!). You have no idea how much money we saved with our new good friend – the bread machine.

It can make wheat, rye, raisin breads or even cake. There are hundreds of recipes for bread makers online.

If you prefer to use a book, here is a good one called “More Bread Machine Magic”. It has more than 140 different recipes for use in all types of bread machines.

If you are a sucker for good bread, I highly recommend you buying a bread machine.

OK today’s craft got me thinking when I was cleaning out a box of craft supplies. I found a billion safety pins and wanted to know something to do with them. The first thing that came to mind was jewelry! So I looked it up and found this really cool bracelet cuff that I could make… check it out!



Craft Idea of the Day: Safety Pin Bracelet

Materials:

Safety Pins (enough to fit around your wrist)
Beads ( as much as you want)
Super Glue
Elastic cord (.7 mm or above recommended)

Directions:

1. Open one of the safety pins, and thread beads onto the open prong, leaving enough space to refasten the pin. Repeat the process until all of the safety pins have been beaded.

2. Glue the pin so that it wouldn't open when you're wearing it.

3. Next, cut two 12” pieces of elastic cord.

4. Thread one of the cords through the hole in the top of a safety pin, then through a spacer bead, and then through the hole in the bottom of another safety pin. Continue to thread in this manner until your bracelet is long enough to go around your wrist.

5. Then, take the second cord and thread it through the bottom of the bracelet, adding a spacer bead between each safety pin.

6. Finally, tie the ends of the bracelet together, and it’s ready to wear!

Isn’t that just the coolest thing? I think that would be a good “slumber party craft” LOL! OK its time to eat my faithful followers! Today’s focus is POI. One of the staple foods of the Hawaiian diet, poi is a thick, purple-colored paste made by pounding taro. Poi can be bought fresh or "day-old," which allows a sour flavor to develop. Poi is labeled "one-finger," "two-finger" or "three-finger" to describe its consistency--the thicker the poi, the fewer fingers needed to scoop it up. Today, is it used in many Hawaiian recipes or served as a side dish.

Poi, the fermented paste of the taro corm (from the taro plant) is an ancient and sacred life giving food. Poi is hypoallergenic, naturally gluten free and contains plant-based microorganisms that have been validated by research to be safe and highly beneficial. Poi is also considered to be one of the most digestible foods on earth and has been recently shown in research to kill cancer cells in the colon. The use of Poi is said to have led Captain James Cook and other early western visitors to Hawaii to describe native Hawaiians as being an exceptionally healthy people. More recent scientific studies have substantiated the observation that pre-western contact Hawaiians were among the healthiest races on earth.

Very few food staples exist anywhere in the world that can be considered hypoallergenic, rich in calcium, potassium, phosphorus, magnesium, a good source of B vitamins, contain vitamins A and C, minerals, and a small measure of high quality, easily digestible protein. Kalo, or Taro, as it is more commonly known, is not only nutritious but is considered to be a beneficial carbohydrate food that provides a high fiber, slow-release energy food source that may be beneficial for the more than 100 million people worldwide that suffer from diabetes.



The following are just a few of the exceptional merits of Poi:

High in vitamins, minerals and enzymes. The nutrition in Poi is better utilized than other foods due to fermentation (similar to yogurt) and small starch granules

High amounts of alkaline-forming elements in Poi reduce gastrointestinal disturbances and are better tolerated than other foods and reduce acidity in diseases such as cancer

Helps prevent cavities and creates strong bones

Provides valuable, easily digestible nutritional support for individuals who suffer from indigestion, malnourishment, special health challenges and those recovering from illness

Poi, if contaminated by pathogenic organisms may purify itself with naturally occurring lactic acid producing bacteria

Contains numerous and powerful health supporting fermentation compounds

Easily digestible, gluten free and hypoallergenic

Now, let’s see what absolutely perfect pot of yumminess we can make with some POI today, eh?



Poi Cakes

In the '30's and '40's, thrifty homemakers frequently made use of leftover ingredients -- mashed potatoes or other cooked vegetables -- in croquettes (delicate little fried cakes). This version calls for undiluted poi but mashed, cooked taro was often used in this way, too.

INGREDIENTS

1/2 C onion (minced) Butter
3 T parsley (minced)
1 C poi
1C Plain mashed potatoes
Salt (to taste)
2 T flour

INSTRUCTIONS

Preparation: Sauté 1/2 cup minced onion in butter with 3 tablespoons minced parsley.

Blend 1 cup each undiluted poi and plain mashed potatoes with onion and parsley: add salt to taste and 2 rounded tablespoons flour. Form into small patties.

Make a small indentation on top of each cake and put a dollop of butter in it: bake on buttered baking sheet in 350-degree oven for 20 minutes or until a golden crisp.

For pupus (appetizers), deep-fry in 350-degree oil until golden brown. Serve immediately.

Well my little blogsters, its time to wrap it up. I hope you enjoyed our little chat this morning and will Kipa hou mai (Come Visit again) tomorrow for more tales of fun, crafts, and food! Thanks for coming and until we meet again… HUGS!