What an interesting day! I had breakfast at my folks house because my father mixed up a batch of pancakes. Yumm!! The better part of the afternoon I spent cleaning fish. I think we cleaned about 10 small mahi mahi in preparation for our family reunion. A small mahi mahi is about 3 feet long and weighs about 12-15 pounds. I wish I got pictures of the full size fish but I didn't think of it until my hands were all bloody. Pictured here is the "aftermath" of having filet'd the rest of the fish. The entrails of the fish, in the old days would have been mashed up with garlic, onion and hawaiian salt for consumption later. (We threw them out.) FYI: There were three very pregnant fishes. We harvested the eggs and fried it up immediately. DELICIOUS! There were two fishes that had sardines in its digestion tract. That was pretty amazing to see.
The heads were ziplocked and sent to the freezer to make fish soup at a later date. My mother LOVES fish soup. She would have been upset if we had tossed the heads. She loves the eyeballs of the fish. I, personally, have never tasted it but those who eat it swear by its deliciousness. I was thrilled to be able to get my hands dirty in something so natural. I was doing something that "ocean people" around the world are raised to do -- clean and eat fish. Contemporary society has been spoiled by never having to produce, with their own hands, food. We go to the super market to get a cut of meat, not having any real connection to how the food arrived in the grocery store. So today was great to actually use a skill -- cleaning fish -- that is probably not something people do everyday.
After my adventure with the fishes, I went home and got washed up. My hands and clothes reeked of fish and I was desperate for a shower. Even after all that scrubbing in the shower, my hands still had a mild stench. I had to get under the nails and clean out whatever was left under that. I got ready to go to a party. Husband and I had been invited to a graduation party. The guy that we attribute to having "introduced" us way back in 2003, his step-daughter had graduated from high school and they threw a party for her. See "the guy" in the pic with husband and I... he's the one in red. He's always been good to us, separately, even before husband and I knew each other. He's the mutual friend that husband and I tell people about when we tell the story of how we met. Cool people!!
The food was outstanding. I don't know if you can tell what's on this plate but it is an indication of just how diverse the food culture is in Hawai'i. Top left - collard greens - representing southern American cuisine. It was sooooo good too! Top center - crab wonton... cream cheese and crab wrapped and deep fried. Top right - beef broccoli... both dishes I attribute to Chinese American cuisine. Bottom left - macaroni salad... What is that? Italian or American? Next to that is the Chinese chow mein. Then the gandule rice representing Puerto Rico. Finally an itty-bitty piece of chicken. There was so much more food that I didn't pick up and most of the food I piled on my plate was void of any real meat. Good on me!
That was our evening. When we left the party, the band was just arriving. We said our goodbyes, got a couple more pics in and was off to home sweet home. Congratulations Alexis... pictured here with me and Paytron... "the guy" that introduced husband and I. **giggles** It was such a great evening and so different from the norm! I thoroughly enjoyed myself and wish I had more opportunities to run in my "old circles". I don't know if that's necessarily the right thing to do considering I've changed my lifestyle. I've cut out the smoking and drinking and eliminated the lasciviousness expectations of modern society. And I'm so peaceful with it. It brings me happiness and such clarity. There isn't any confusion for me as I have set the standard for myself and expect only the best. Having done that, I maintain a very healthy and successful relationship with my husband. We lead a very balanced life and the trust and communication is ALWAYS there. My life is so blessed!
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