Lupulu is grindz! Part Ua

Yes I made lupulu again. Now I write the recipe

Ingrediments:

Palm Corn beef (the round can, made in New Zealand)
Taro Leaves
Coconut milk (canned is okay)
Onions
Salt and pepper

Tin foil
Cake pan or foil pan

Sorry I didn't take any pictures.

Instructions:

• Open the cans with the can opener, this can be done with a knife. (I seen this done before but you kinda need strong and steady hands and a sharp knife. I seen this done with my knife by my roommate. Don't try it if you're a wimp and safety conscious.)
• Prep the tin foil, pulling out 2 sheets for one lupulu serving. Have the 2 sheets laying perpendicular, so you have like an "x".
• Cut the stalks off the taro leaves and place the leaves facing up on your "x" tinfoil. Maybe 5-10 taro leaves.
• Then shape the foil to a wide bowl with the leaves on it.
• Put the desired amount of corn beef onto the leaves.
• Put the desired amount of chopped onions and salt and pepper on the corn beef.
• Pour half to the whole can of the coconut milk on to the meat and onions.
• Then fold in the leaves.
• Fold down the tinfoil and try not to spill out the coconut milk.
• There you have one serving. It can be big or small depends how much leaves and meat you put inside. Repeat the making process for as much as want.
• Place the wrapped lupulu in the pan. If you have more than you can fit in the pan. Don't stack it on top of each other. Get another pan. I made that mistake because it won't steam evenly.
• Put in the oven for 400 degrees for 3 hours. If after 3 hours and you taste it and your tongue and throat is itchy, put it back in for a little longer.

Small kine tips

Where can you get taro leaves? Foodland and Tamura's have taro leaves. But I heard that a store called "Wong's" and another called "Masa's" has the best taro leaves. One is in Hau'ula and the other is either in Kahana or Kapahulu. I forget which is which. Both stores are along the Kamehameha Hwy. The store Masa's sells the best kine of coconut milk to cook your lupulu with. How I know all this? I asked my Tongan friend. Please leave comments if you have a better recipe or know where to get taro leaves in Utah.

The Zoo for Mikayla's "Special Day"

We went to the Honolulu Zoo today for Mikayla's "Special Day". It is actually her birthday but we call it her Special Day because her actual party is this coming Monday. Mikayla expects to have presents on her birthday and a party so we decided to call today her "Special Day".
I think most of the time she spent at the zoo was at the little play ground. She enjoyed herself playing with the other kids. So she had a little Mommy time. Camden and I left them and went to the Sahara exhibit. We saw all of Camden's favorite animals. When he saw the giraffes he said, "Oooo!" When he saw the rhinos he said, "Cooool!" And after that he said the same things for all the animals. He loves the Baby Einstein Baby Noah DVD, which shows all kinds of different animals. Our boy loves to name the animals and make their animal sounds.
We ate some gellato, the Italian ice, I love that stuff. I thought that no one would find out, but my wife recognized that the boy's lips were blue.
After the zoo we headed over to Farrell's, a ice cream shop. The Mikayla was exhausted from playing and wasn't her usual excited self. I told the waitress that it was her birthday. You get free icecream and a little song with it. When the waitress and others that were there for their song, Mikayla just had a plain face, expressionless. We also ordered a banana split, it was expensive but was really good! I pretty much ate 90% of the entire thing. I highly recommend Farrell's. I had the pastrami burger and onion rings which was ono! My wife had her Reuben sandwich, her favorite! I am still full from lunch and had no desire to eat dinner.
Overall we had a fun great "Special Day" for Mikayla.

Lupulu is grindz!

About 2 nights ago I made a Tongan dish called Lupulu. My wife was craving it a few days before but we both didn't know how to make it. Lupulu is basically steamed cornbeef with taro leaves, some onions, and coconut milk. So I found out from some friends that all you need is tinfoil, baby taro leaves, New Zealand made corned beef (Palm brand), onions, and coconut milk. You just put it together and put lots of coconut milk, wrap it all up with the tinfoil and put it in the oven for like 3 hours. Maybe I'll do the recipe thing later.
Anyways, it was really good. I had the approval from my wife. I really knew she liked it because she ate more than me! We both are born and raised in Hawaii. She grew up in Laie, lots of Samoans live there. Okay all kind of Polynesians live there. The Polynesian Cultural Center is right there in Laie. I grew up on Maui in Kihei, lots of Filipinos and Tongans. So my wife and I grew up eating all kinds of Polynesian food. I love Tongan food. I am not Tongan but Hawaiian, Chinese, and Japanese. In any of the Polynesian cultures you always share your food. Its the proper thing to do. If you have a sandwich and you are in the company of friends and they don't have any food, you would offer to everyone there if they would like some. Its just being courteous. So yes, I have Tongan friends and I was fed lots of Tongan food! Its an honor if the Tongan people make a dish just for you! Or have a feast just for you! It happened to me more than once. Well to me it is a great honor, kind of feels special. In Hawaii, we don't eat till we're full, we eat till we sleep!