Kalo diptych

Heart-shaped kalo leaves

Border of green not red hues
Valentine preview

 

Kalo diptych / 10" x 7" / oil on canvas

Copyright 2012 Rebekah Luke

Calamansi marmalade

Calamansi tree with ripe fruit

Calamansi tree

flowering and bearing both.

Let’s make marmalade!

My father’s former caregivers grow a calamansi tree outside their back porch in Kahuku, Oahu, and they use the juice of this fruit in their Filipino cooking to season meats, fish, and noodles.

I was so happy to learn about it, I planted a tree of our own several years ago in the garden where it gets full sun and good drainage. Growing food is so satisfying!

The botanical name is Citrofortunella microcarpa, sort of a cross between a kumquat and a mandarin orange, and it is native to the Philippines, according to my reading. The average diameter is slightly bigger than a quarter dollar. The flesh is tart, and the skin is sweet and thin.

Calamansi is believed to be a hybrid of a kumquat and a mandarin orange.

You can use it in cocktails in place of lime or lemon, and as the acid in a vinaigrette dressing. Yet, there are only so many cocktails one can drink and only so many salads one can dress.

When our tree starts bearing and the fruit begins to ripen, I make calamansi marmalade in the microwave, one small batch at a time.

I like marmalade with a lot of bitter peel, and I can’t always find it in the market. Calamansi preserves has the right amount of that flavor for me. It’s wonderful on toasted English muffins or on pancakes.

Here is my easy recipe, basically one part fruit to one part sugar. How sad that sugar is bad for our health. Calamansi marmalade is so delicious!

1 cup sugar + 1 cup calamansi

CALAMANSI MARMALADE

Have ready a clean glass jelly jar and lid. Either run them through the dishwasher or under hottest tap water and allow to drip dry. Wash and scrub 1 cup of whole ripe calamansi fruit with orange skin. Cut each fruit into fourths and remove seeds with the tip of the knife. Combine with 1 cup granulated sugar in a 4-quart glass measuring cup or similar microwave-safe container. Cover loosely with plastic wrap to catch splatters, leaving a vent so it won’t boil over into a mess. Place container in a larger dish to collect any syrup that does boil over. Cook in the microwave on full power for 7 to 10 minutes, stirring half way through to blend, until the calamansi appears cooked and shriveled, and until the mixture thickens but is still liquid. The mixture will be very hot. Using hot pads, carefully pour into the jelly jar. Put on the lid securely and refrigerate. As the marmalade cools, it will further thicken and gel into jelly and cause the lid to seal tightly. Keep stored in the refrigerator. Makes 1 cup.

Beautiful homemade marmalade!

Copyright 2011 Rebekah Luke

Perpetuate the Hawaiian national anthem

Yesterday’s long menu of activities all around the island was a feast for anybody interested in going and doing. Pick any venue, and one was sure to be entertained. I committed to a hoolaulea (country style backyard fair) at Hauula Elementary School, helping out at the Hawaiian civic club booth. Live Hawaiian music and hula, craft booths, local Hawaiian-style food, community exhibits, free parking.  The event drew attention to the Hawaiian language immersion schools on our coast.

The singing of “Hawaii Ponoi” by the children impressed me the most. “Hawaii Ponoi” is our national anthem, and we stand when it is played or sung. When I was a kid, we learned the words to the first verse and the chorus, and we sang the chorus two times. Yesterday, I was blown away when, after the chorus, the children of Aha Punana Leo and Ke Kula Kaiapuni sang the other verses. Wow, that’s so maikai (good)! A proud, chicken-skin moment!

Haumana (students) and kumu (teachers) of Ke Kula Kaiapuni o Hauula, Ke Kula Kaiapuni o Kahuku, and Aha Punana Leo o Koolauloa

Here are the “Hawaii Ponoi” lyrics written by King Kalakaua to music composed by Henry Berger. They were first sung in 1874 at Kawaiahao Church.

(1st verse)

Hawaii ponoi

Nana i kou moi

Ka lani alii

Ke alii

============

(Chorus)

Makua lani e

Kamehameha e

Na kaua e pale

Me ka ihe

============

(2nd verse)

Hawaii ponoi

Nana i na alii

Na pua muli kou

Na pokii

============

(3rd verse)

Hawaii ponoi

E ka lahui e

O kau hana nui

E ui e

Copyright 2010 Rebekah Luke

Flying moths over Kaneohe Bay

Cool light northerly
winds meet odd-looking sailboats
Kaneohe Bay

Up on hydrofoils
small fast single-handed craft
skate on calm water

Iridescent wings
of high-tech mylar sailcloth
look and fly like moths

Stressed out? Take a few moments to view, hear, and feel what it’s like on Kaneohe Bay in the shadow of the Ko‘olau mountain range on a partly cloudy afternoon.

Taking time to relax and being mindful of the present is healing. Though some moments are anxious, as when awaiting a tsunami (yesterday) or faced with other disaster, it does a body good to rest and renew one’s spirit. Paint a canvas. Give and receive Reiki. Or go sailing! Last Saturday Ken and Georgia called with a kind invitation to see the moths on the bay, so we abandoned other plans and went!

We had fun making the movie. Turn up the speaker volume of your computer and enjoy!

►

Copyright 2010 Rebekah Luke

Claim your space and find your voice

Miss Marvelous’s primary daytime caregiver four days a week is Papa, her grandfather (a.k.a. DH at Rebekah’s Studio). On those days Popo (that’s me) is the backup caregiver, chief cook and bottle washer—literally. This is the first time I’ve had a baby at home. It’s a delightful distraction, or attraction, I should say.

One day last week DH scheduled an important errand in Kaneohe. He was kanalua (hesitant) about leaving the little girl in my charge. “Are you sure this is okay?” No problem, we’ll be fine, I said as he watched me change a diaper. He prepared the next feeding for me. He even conscientiously phoned the baby’s mom to alert her of the shift change.

So I got to have some dedicated quality time with Miss Marvelous. She’s seven months old now, and starting to become mobile. She’s not crawling yet, but she wants to. During tummy time (“Back to sleep, tummy to play,” right?) she rolls from her front to her back in all directions and can inch forward on her tummy just a little.

I placed manipulatives—the correct name for these age-appropriate toys, I learned—in front of her, slightly out of her reach, as an incentive. One of them was a soft cuddly hippopotamus named Hillary who she loves and responds to.

For more encouragement, I got the bright idea to give Hillary a voice. A voice that wasn’t Popo’s, but a higher voice.

Miss Marvelous is into very high-pitched shrieking-screeching-whatever this week. Discovering her vocal chords and finding her voice, perhaps? I have a 6-year-old puppy dog, so I know to reward desirable behavior and to ignore less desirable or plain unacceptable behavior. Therefore, I am ignoring this sound.

It was fascinating to me, then, that when Hillary spoke aloud to Miss Marvelous, how MM responded. Her big blue eyes lighted up even more than usual, she smiled at her friend who was speaking to her and became very animated, actually engaging with the four-legged stuffed toy who by this time was demonstrating how to crawl. Popo became invisible and all attention was on Hillary.

I’ve learned that as soon as the baby rubs her eyes, pulls her ear, or starts to fuss, that it’s time to put her down for a nap. Lucky for both of us, when I put her in her crib and switched off the lights, she was out in less than a minute. Conversing with Hillary and all that exercise on my tummy is tiring, Popo!

Mommy phoned, how’s everything? Baby’s fine, she’s sleeping . . .

Later we read the mail-order catalogs together. Great fun. I tried to multi-task and watch Oprah at the same time, but that was difficult. I don’t allow Miss Marvelous to watch TV yet, but boy, TV is a magnet, and as soon as the baby hears it, she’s drawn to the screen. So I switched back to Soundscapes.

Next, still “reading” the catalogs, Miss Marvelous played the didgeridoo without the instrument, spit flying and all, entertaining herself for about what seemed like an hour. With this ability she can blow the Hawaiian pu (conch shell) too.

Miss Marvelous and Hillary: we made this photo and emailed it to Papa and Mom to show them everything was A-OK!

Another voice. Thank you, dear one.

These experiences reinforced what I believe is a need to claim one’s space and find one’s voice in our changing times, or at any time. Put another way, stop procrastinating, do it now, and speak our piece/peace. What are we waiting for?

That is how I created my healing space and my breathing room and Rebekah’s Studio that make me happy.

Recurring mantra:

Claim your space and find your voice

Are you listening?

Copyright 2009 Rebekah Luke

Avos and cocos

Morning light bathes tree

of avos sunny yellow

against blue-gray sky.

Like miniature

candied eggs hanging from tree

our avocados.

Through second-story

window kukui and avo

part for coco trees.

Fuzzy lollipops

wave in the gusty trade winds

two coconut palms.

As long as the tree

avocado grows and grows

birds will have a home.

Avocado Pear

I offer a haiku and a painting to honor and thank the avocado tree.

This year it produced 15-20 fruit, judging by the number of sprouting seeds on the kitchen counter. That’s a bumper crop. Usually we  gather just six, but each weighs three pounds. They’re super good, and I try to reserve a couple for the previous homeowner, Linda, who was a good steward of the aina (land) and planted the tree.

The season is over, and we’re enjoying the last of the fresh guacamole.

If you would like a little avocado tree from ours to plant in your garden, and you live in Hawaii, let me know.

Copyright 2009 Rebekah Luke

“Avos and Cocos” is from my book From My Window Seat: Views and Song. —RL

Haiku rain blessings

Nearly six a soft

rain falls, pitterpattering

outside my window

through which a cool cool

breeze that brought the shower blows.

The squall refreshes

my garden. The breeze gently

brings new energy.

Bossy cat Ula

spreads her body on my desk,

softens her meow.

Eternal feline

waits patiently for breakfast,

for her mistress, no,

maid, to finish her poem

while the butler and

the dog continue to snooze.

Such a blessing—rain.

Copyright 2009 Rebekah Luke