Happiness is Finding A Mango on Your Desk in the Morning!

I love surprise gifts of fresh fruit!

 Linda
(◕‿◕✿)
@Celebrate_Maui

Cotton Ball Sky -- Sunrise in the East, Moonset in the West, @ 6:00 am today

Last night, my friend Courtney posted about cotton ball skies. So when I saw the sky this morning, I rushed inside to get my camera. (Dad & beau Joe looked at me like I had lost it, but never mind :D)

Sunrise in the east, in my back yard

Moonset in the west, in my front yard

Linda
(◕‿◕✿)
@Celebrate_Maui

"You Know You're From (fill in the blank) when ..." -- Maui Groups Sprouting on Facebook

Facebook Group Logo

The current flurry of Maui groups sprouting on Facebook with names that start with "You Know You're From (fill in the blank) when..." is enough to make one's head spin!

What does it mean?

Well for me, it means an incredibly rich resource of Maui's cultural history, kind of like sitting around a world-wide campfire with people of all ages, reminiscing about the good 'ole days on Maui (pass the marshmallows, please). It's a living, breathing, interactive, ever-changing REAL history of Us -- what a wondrous concept!

One of my favorite features is the search box at the upper right, where you can type in people's names or specific keywords.

Also, I like to compare the memories from the different decades -- sometimes there's lots of change and sometimes things remain pretty much the same.

All of the groups are open, which means you can view all of the members and posts without joining the group. I just asked to join the Makawao group, and I hope someone in the group adds me. That'll mean I can make comments and respond to other people's posts.

These are the groups I found, with the number of members, as of today:

In full swing:

You know you from HANA when... (245)
You Know U from Kihei If You ... (686)
You Know you're from Lahaina if _________. (920)
U know you from Lana'i if you........ (177)
You Know U from Makawao If ... (337)
You know you're from Moloka'i if... (97)

Still gearing up:

You know your from haiku when you.... (11)
You know u from Kula if you... (37)
YOU know you from PAIA when... (28)

I don't see a group for Wailuku yet -- did I miss it?

If your Maui town doesn't have a Facebook group, please consider starting one. We'll all be the richer for it!

Linda
(◕‿◕✿)
@Celebrate_Maui

Funny/strange... I wrote the campfire comparison above *before* I saw the Facebook Group graphic.

Gigantic Waihe'e Papaya -- A Gift

[I think I got the hang of this iPhone2Blog connection. This will be great for quick posts!]

Sweet Potato Tempura @ Upcountry Mixed Plate - ONO!

Plump purple goodness inside, for a mere 90 cents ...

Post about the eatery coming soon...

[Testing my iPhone blogging capabilities ... haven't got it completely figured out yet...]

Update 08/06/11:

These are at Upcountry Mixed Plate in the Pukalani Shopping Center. You have to ask for them though. Amelia makes them when you ask and they're hot, which is the way I like them -- slightly crispy on the outside. Authentic Japanese recipe from Bob, the original owner. Amelia's going to be remodeling the place and she'll be bringing back some of Bob's original okazu-ya recipes. :D More details coming soon ...

Linda
(◕‿◕✿) 
@Celebrate_Maui 

7 eggplant for $2 at yet another Maui Farmer's Market

It's so wonderful to see so many Farmer's Markets sprouting all over the island!

Here's one you may not know about:

Tuesday and Friday, from 6 to 4, in a corner of TJ's Oriental Food Mart in what we old-timers call the Old Kahului Shopping Center, you can find 7 eggplant for $2, and lots of other fresh veggies and fruits.

Notice the packaged pipinola (chayote) shoots, the
green papaya, and the pumpkin flowers.

Met John, the owner of TJ's, who knew my Dad from fishing days (who doesn't know my Dad?) and John related that he started his business in a section of Noda's Super Market. Now that's going back a ways (John didn't look old enough).

7 eggplant for $2

The eggplant? My Dad likes it sliced julienne style and fried with shoyu, and I'll be looking for Eggplant Parmesan recipes...

Linda
(◕‿◕✿) 
@Celebrate_Maui

P.S. You just never know what you'll find and who you'll meet to make your Maui day more interesting!


Full disclosure: As with all of my posts, this is a genuine, spontaneous, unsolicited, and uncompensated article.

Necto-plums at Mana Foods? -- Thanks for telling me!

"Maui peeps! Mana has Necta-plums now, for who knows how long. They are to-die-for! Sorry this is a lousy picture, but I didn't realize it until I ate the one I cut open... that was my second. I am NOT going to make a pig of myself!... sooo juicy and good." 

(Facebook entry by my FB friend Michelle, 8/2/11)

Michelle's explanation for the slightly out-of-focus (and I think artistic) photo? "I couldn't hold the camera steady because I was quivering with enjoyment!"

Here's the announcement on the Mana Foods website:

➥Necto-plums are here

Found out the official word is nectaplum, and the variety is new.  Wikipedia has a stub of an article about it. It's one of several hybrid fruits (aka "designer fruits") that have gained popularity recently. In fact, I think I do recall seeing some hybrid fruits at Costco.

Generally, I like my fresh fruit pure: a mango that's a mango, a papaya that's a papaya, etc. But I want to try a necto-plum!

Guess where I'm headed this morning? :D (I hope they haven't run out)

◇◇◇◇◇

Update: The verdict i-i-i-i-i-s -- a nectarine taste with a plum texture = a splashy nectarine = ONO!

Couldn't wait -- mid-morning snack for the road!

And, I found this exotic mound of goodies there and bought one (eat it like you would an apple the gal told me)...

Dragonfruit

One thing I noticed right away? Mana Foods' produce bins are overflowing with fresh organic fruits and vegetables!

Mana abundance

Thanks for the tip, Michelle!

Linda
(◕‿◕✿)
@Celebrate_Maui