Oh my god I have a new favorite ice cream!

You'll dig GUINESS ICE CREAM! It's the weekend! Let's get going with this recipe!

1/2 vanilla bean, split lengthwise
1 cup whole milk
1 cup heavy cream
2/3 cup Guinness stout
2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons molasses
4 egg yolks
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. In a medium saucepan, scrape in the vanilla bean seeds. Add the pod, milk, and cream. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Turn off the heat, cover the pan, and let the flavors infuse for 30 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, in a small saucepan over medium-high heat, whisk together the stout and molasses. Bring to a boil and turn off heat.

3. In a large mixing bowl, whisk the yolks, sugar, and vanilla extract. Whisk in a few tablespoons of the hot cream mixture, then slowly whisk in another 1/4 cup of the cream. Add the remaining cream in a steady stream, whisking constantly. Pour the mixture back into the saucepan.

4. Stir the beer mixture into the cream mixture. Cook the custard over medium heat, stirring often with a wooden spoon, for 6 to 8 minutes or until the custard thickens enough to coat the back of the spoon.

5. Strain the mixture into a bowl and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or overnight. Process the custard in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions. Makes 1 quart.

6. Eat a lot and stumble!

Hamster and Snake make friends

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060118/ap_on_fe_st/japan_hamster_and_snake
I'd never thought I'd see something like this but life is full of surprises. Having had hamsters as pets I could never have a snake and use hamsters as snake food but I guess I'm not the only one who shares that thought!

I thought that we had seen big waves at Christmas, but I found this tonight and was so amazed that I had to share

Zach and Sharon's Blog Home

Yeah! Zach set up a fishcam! Actually he was trying to set up a webcam so my friend Mandy and I could chat online but instead came up with the fishcam. Oh, well at least all the aquarists who come by the blog will enjoy the fish.
To Mandy: Zach's still working on getting the webcam working the way we want it to.

Hawaiian Silversword

Argyroxiphium kauense (Rock & Neal) Degener & I. Degener
This is the latin name for the Hawaiian Silversword. The picture here is of the one growing in the garden of our apartment complex. Check out the link:http://www.botany.hawaii.edu/faculty/carr/akau.htm for more information.

Merry Christmas to all

More Pics from Christmas Eve and Christmas Day 2005

Images in order of appearence: 1) Waianae Range with pineapple fields below. 2) Zach looking for Humpback Whales in the National Sanctuary. 3) Our Christmas Dinner after we'd dug into it. 4) Anna with her Grandmother who came all the way from England to see her!

Christmas Day 2005 in Hawai'i

Zach and I spent Christmas Eve and Christmas Day 2005 in Hawai'i. On Christmas Eve, we took Mingxiao on a trip around Oahu to see various parts of the island that she had never seen before. Our goal was to see if we could catch a glimpse of the visiting Humpback whales and maybe some sea turtles. Unfortunately we saw neither but we did catch some really cool waves on the North Shore. Man! Ok I'm not a surfer but I definitely see the appeal. Waves reached at least 20ft and made a booming noise when they crashed. We even stopped by the Dole Plantation so I could get my pineapple float fix. Oh man is that good. Cold pineapple juice with pineapple ice cream. Dang it! Now I want one!
Zach and I made Christmas dinner on Christmas eve repleat with baked ham, green bean cassarole, macaroni and cheese, Hawaiian King rolls, and cranberry sauce. On Christmas Day, we went to a party at Anna's house where we stuffed ourselves on turkey, ham, Jim Bean flavored yams and other goodies. Thanks to Anna for inviting us and for letting us hang out with her and her family.

Great White Shark seen off the coast of Oahu

On Wednesday a dive tour group out of Haleiwa (on the famous North Shore of Oahu) spotted a 18-20ft Great White Shark while in the water. Check this link out to an article by one of the local TV news stations, KGMB: http://www.kgmb.com/kgmb/display.cfm?storyID=6925. Cool stuff!

Problem Cake #2

If you remember from our first posts in the summer, I tried to make a chocolate cake that just did not look edible. Well here is cake nightmare number two: burnt and cracked rose cake. Zach bought me a silicone rose-shapped cake mold to make bundt cakes. The picture shows my second attempt. The first one looked better but was still unpresentable. At the time, I thought maybe the modifications that I had made to the first cake recipe had been the problem. Now after two tries both Zach and I seem to think the oven is the culprit but we're still investigating. Zach made some powdered sugar to try and make the second cake look better but I wasn't impressed.

More Christmas decor

I found some gift bags in the shape of christmas stockings with the Hawaiian saying "Mele Kalikimaka" to hang on the backside of our kitchen cabinets along with christmas cards from family and friends. Zach also decorated the lanai railing with rope light and lighted garland.

Cookies, Mochi and Candy

I forgot to take a picture of the buffet table before we ate and before I cleaned it up but I realized that I still had some cookies, mochi and candy that I could show. The top picture is of the candy that Mingxiao brought for us to try: Pineapple sandwich cookies and jelly filled Burger Mallows. The bottom picture shows the different cookies and mochi we had to eat. Clockwise starting at the top: chocolate mochi (made from rice flour), butter mochi (tastes just like pound cake!), Walnut topped stuffed sugar cookies stuffed with Keebler fudge mint cookies, Anna's three cookies, and last Zach's Peppermint pinwheels.

Our First Real Christmas Tree

Past Christmases we have always had an artificial tree but this year we decided to get a real tree! We got a Noble Pine from Home Depot and decorated it with a candy cane theme. We like it and thought everyone else might want a gander.

More Christmas Pics

More pics of us wearing funny hats!

Our First Christmas Party in Hawai'i

Anna, Katie and Mingxiao came over for a little dinner party. I wanted to try out a new chicken recipe, Ginger Sesame Chicken, and some new cookies, Peppermint Pinwheel and Walnut Stuffed Sugar Cookies. Zach made the chicken which quickly disappeared off the platter and he also made the Peppermint Pinwheel cookies. I made the Walnut Stuffed Sugar Cookies and an asian salad with spinach, almond slivers, mandarin oranges, and raisins. Zach had to show Mingxiao the tree stand to prove to her that the Noble Pine we had for our Christmas tree was real! We enjoyed opening some christmas poppers wearing our paper crowns and reading our silly jokes. Cookies were swapped as Anna brought some really good star anise, shortbread, and mint cookies. Katie brought salami and gouda. I warned her about Zach's propensity for making sliced meats disapper and it didn't take long for her to see what I was talking about. Anyway, we had a good time eating, watching House on Fox and playing CatchPhrase which Anna learned can be played by passing the game instead of holding on to it till it beeps. Thanks to the gals for coming and bringing good food.

Christmas in Hawaii!

This year Zach and I are spending Christmas in Hawai'i! This will be our first Christmas away from home and we're going to do everything we can to enjoy the season in Hawai'i. People put up tons of decorations and they have parades, shows, and special events all month long. We even put up our first real tree! We got a Noble Pine from the Home Depot near Ward. The pine smell fills the apartment. For decoration we went with a candy cane theme this year. Here are some pics showing Christmas in Hawai'i. One is of the pink tree from Sanrio at Ala Moana. The other pics are of the Candy Cane Train which kids can ride at Ala Moana. The train goes around one level of the mall.

Hanazen!

One of my favorite places to eat is Hanazen near Walmart on Keeaumoku Street. Zach and I each decided to try something different. Well he did with his Ahi Natto rice bowl (first pic). I stuck with an old favorite Curry Udon (second pic). Curry with beef and noodles. Yum!

Random Pics from Hawaii

Here are some random pics I took before Zach and I went to Georgia for Thanksgiving. The first picture is of the Koolau Ridge from our lanai. The second pic is of our shoes in the kitchen. The third pic is of a hibiscus flower in Waikiki. The fourth is a sign for a local yard equipment rental place that always has some funny or catchy phrase. I'm always checking the sign out for a new one. The last picture is of Anna, the master's student in the lab I work in at UH. She took very good care of our fish while we were gone. Thanks Anna! Just a note she is showing the Hawaiian shaka, a hand signal for goodwill.

Thanksgiving Trip to Georgia

Zach and I went home to Georgia for Thanksgiving due to the generosity of Zach's aunt Carol. Thanks Carol!
We stuffed ourselves, saw family and went shopping on the day after Thanksgiving but those who know me will be greatly surprised to note that I didn't take many pictures. I was too busy seeing people and doing things. But I do have some pictures!
The first picture is of Carol and Daniel. Zach's grandmother Betty, aunt Carol, cousin Daniel, mom Patty, Zach and I went to The Cracker Barrel for lunch at Banks Crossing which is a shopping center in Banks County right across the Jackson County line near Commerce. The second picture is of me, Zach and Patty at our table. The third picture is a nice picture of mother and son. I'll post more pics later as they are currently on the video camera and I need Zach's technical expertise to get them onto the blog. We miss you guys!
Sharon

Tinkering