Recursive

JWise Photo of the Day

Self portrait via surveillance video shown on a monitor through a business window

This was me shooting a photo of a video of myself from a surveillance camera feeding a monitor pointed towards the entrance of a closed store. I wonder if in the morning the proprietor will watch the tape on a monitor of the video his camera shot of the guy taking the photo of his monitor that was relaying the images from said camera and then will he wonder if I might not be looking at the photo I captured of his monitor facing his entrance where his video surveillance image was being shown for all who walked by. And what if someday he were to see on the internet that image from his camera that was captured by my camera that everyone else now gets to see, too?

My Alien

JWise Photo of the Day

Department of Homeland Security notice that appointment date for biometrics interview is scheduled

My sweet Alien wife has finally been notified by MIB, also known as Department of Homeland Security that her I-90 application to replace her expired Alien Registration card has been processed and they are ready to accept her "Biometric" data. Caroline has been on pins and needles as these days everyone knows you don’t mess around with immigration issues in America and seeing that her old Alien I.D. ran out back in September, she has waited breathlessly for this letter letting her know that the glacial process will in fact – go forward. On November 18 in a small back alley room, what else can this be as November 18 is in fact a Saturday and NO ONE from the government works on Saturday, so what we assume must be some clandestine corner of Phoenix, Arizona, secret Homeland scientists will move to extract the precious "Biometric" data from my Alien. God only knows, will she be cloned, will they steal her stem cells, is she being profiled in some vast database of genetically specific Alien types? Just what goes on behind those closed doors will be exposed right here in just two short weeks.

Lilikoi – Passion Fruit

JWise Food, Photo of the Day

Insides of the Passion Fruit also known as Lilikoi - on Hawaii

If you ever go to Hawaii you will likely have more than one opportunity to try what is known in Hawaii as lilikoi, or, for us mainlanders – passion fruit. The same day we bought the dragon fruit we saw these old wrinkled up leathery fruits – ah, so that’s what passion fruit looks like. While on the islands we had lilikoi shave ice at Jo-Jo’s on Kauai, Mahi in guava-lilikoi butter sauce on Molokai at the Kualapu’u Cookhouse and something else with passion fruit but my memory fails me. Passion Fruit is super yummy, a lot more tart than we imagined, but the flavor is phenomenal. I have been looking for a passion fruit jam recipe that uses fresh fruit and not fruit juice concentrate but this must be one of the most closely kept secrets in the culinary world.

Inside the Dragon

JWise Photo of the Day

Inside the Dragon Fruit

Visiting the Wild Oats Marketplace nearby we come upon this odd-looking thing. A quick search of labels tells us this baseball-sized red orb is dragon fruit, also known as the pitaya or pitahaya, as well as the strawberry pear, and, for you Latinphiles, the Hylocereus undatus. The dragon fruit is a tropical fruit originating from the Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, and Costa Rica area, however, is now cultivated around the world where tropical climates permit. So, if you live somewhere where 20 to 50 inches of rain (54cm to 136cm) a year, with temperatures up to 104 degrees (40c) are the norm, you might want to try growing this yourself, because, at $8 apiece, this is probably the most expensive fruit I have ever seen. And, no, it doesn’t taste like chicken, nor would it taste better with chicken.

Spider and Cactus

JWise Photo of the Day

Spider and cactus

Caroline shot this. She was out watering her plants when she noticed this tiny, almost translucent spider sitting amongst the spines of one of her cactus. We have many spiders here at home; occasionally we wake in the morning with a bump on our skin that is neither caused by mosquito nor flea (our cat Murph doesn’t have fleas), it isn’t a pimple, so we figure it must be a spider bite. There is a gecko living next to a ceiling lamp in the entryway to our apartment, but he only seems interested in flying bugs. I wish we could train it to enjoy spiders.

Aloha

JWise Photo of the Day

Various Hawaiian cookies from Aloha Baskets & Balloons

This week has been terrific for our senses. First, we get the mandolin back, then a big damp box of Poi from Hanalei Poi on Kauai is delivered – this stuff is fresh, just made on Monday, wrapped in a box lined with frozen bags and two-day express shipped. And finally, this box of goodies arrives from Aloha Baskets & Balloons on the Big Island (808-935-1939). Sharla was delayed sending the cookies due to the earthquake Hawaii recently experienced, and to make up for the delay she included some freebies including delicious Pineapple Coconut Butter Cookies and Macadamia Nut Butter Cookies, both of these are from Mama Ellas of Hawaii, and a bag of Cinnamon Butter Hawaiian Topical Lavosh – from Rainbow Falls Connection. Also in the box were the Lilikoi (Passion Fruit) Butter Cookies I ordered for myself, and Caroline’s favorite – Mt. View Stone Cookies. Now, if I could just get those guys at the Koloa Fish Market in Kauai to send over their most awesome Poke Bento…or give us the recipe, come on guys we promise not to share it with anyone!!!!