Hibiscus-Raspberry Ice Cream

A few months ago my husband purchased a Hibiscus-Raspberry Tisane from Coffees of Hawaii.  This was something new for me because I had never even heard of a tisane before.  A little internet research on Wikipedia revealed that a tisane is "a herbal infusion made from anything other than the leaves of the tea bush".

After trying the tisane I kept thinking that I wanted to somehow turn it into a dessert. The flavor was sweet but not overpowering, and absolutely delicious. I considered a few different options and decided that the combination of hibiscus-raspberry really sounded like a great flavor for ice cream.  After finding a decadent recipe for vanilla-bean ice cream on Epicurious I was ready to go.

Since the tisane has to infuse the ice cream base, you will need to allow time for this, before you can enjoy the ice cream. I started early in the morning and let the mixture sit in the refrigerator all day, before adding it to my ice cream maker.  Next time I might even let it sit all night just to get all of that wonderful flavor fully integrated into the base.

This is one of those ice creams that will leave people guessing.  They probably won't be able to pinpoint the exact flavor.  You get a hint of raspberry and a taste of sweetness, and of course that vanilla cream base.  All of it combines to make a deliciously-flavored ice cream.

The possibilities are endless for flavoring this ice cream.  I was thrilled to see that Coffees of Hawaii also have tisanes in the following flavors - Coffee Cherry, Papaya Leaf Vanilla, Mamaki Ginger, Jasmine Blossom,  and Lavender.   Even if one of these flavors did not grab your attention you could could certainly make up your own blend.

Hibiscus Raspberry Ice Cream©
(Printer Friendly Recipe)

Ingredients

• 2 cups heavy cream 
• 1 cup whole milk 
• 1/2 cup sugar 
• 1/8 teaspoon salt 
• 3 vanilla beans, split lengthwise (or 2 teaspoons vanilla bean paste) 
• 2 large eggs
• 3 teaspoons of Hibiscus Raspberry Tisane (or flavor of your choice)

Preparation

1. Combine cream, milk, sugar, and salt in a heavy saucepan.
2. Scrape seeds from vanilla beans with tip of a knife into cream mixture, then drop in pods.
3. Heat cream mixture just to a boil.
4. Whisk eggs in a large bowl, then add hot cream mixture in a slow stream, whisking.
5. Pour mixture into saucepan and cook over moderately low heat, stirring constantly, until slightly thickened and registers 170°F on thermometer (do not let boil).
6. Pour custard through a fine-mesh sieve into a clean metal bowl.
7. Add tisane and mix thoroughly to combine, and then cool, stirring occasionally. 
8. Chill, covered, until cold, at least 3 hours.
9. Freeze custard in an ice cream maker.
10. Transfer to an airtight container and put in freezer.

Recipe adapted from Epicurious.

 

Don't Have a Hissy Fit

There was violent shaking and a constant hissing and I remember my grandfather shouting "she's going to blow!"  Of course this is what he said every time my grandmother used her pressure cooker.  As a child I didn't know whether to believe him or not.  The lid never did blow off the top but I was always very careful about being in the kitchen whilst the pressure cooker was on the stove.

About six months ago I purchased a pressure cooker from Costco.  I had every intention of opening it right away and learning how to use it to make some delicious soups, stews, and corned beef, just like my grandmother did.   Something always seemed to hold me back and the box was placed back in the cupboard.

Finally I took the plunge by taking a class taught by Alyssa Moreau called Cooking Under Pressure.  This non-credit class took place at the Culinary Institute of the Pacific, located in the Kapiolani Community College. It was a hands-on class and we were encouraged to bring our own pressure cookers so that we could get to know them better.  I was going on a date with my pressure cooker!  The other great thing about the class was that we were going to make four dishes - Kabocha-Hominy Stew, Sweet Potato-Corn-Kale Soup, White Bean Stew with Salad Greens on Top, and a Double Mushroom-Barley Soup.  After a brief demonstration of the dishes by Alyssa we were ready to go.  We split into kitchens and worked in teams so that we could complete all of the dishes in four hours. All of the ingredients had been allotted to us but we were responsible for the peeling, chopping, and measuring them. It was a blast and we were able to bring home the dishes we cooked, as well as the left-over ingredients so that we could get some additional practice at home.

The kitchens.

Our instructor Alyssa Moreau.

The recipe I am featuring in this post is the Kabocha-Hominy Stew. Since I had the additional ingredients from the class I decided it would make a great dinner, with a nice loaf of crusty bread on the side.  The only changes I made were to some spinach at the end and, although the original recipe called for cayenne to be added at the end of the cooking time, I didn't want any additional heat so I left it out.  I have never tried hominy before but I liked it in this stew. If you don't care for it feel free to substitute a can of corn in this recipe.  This recipe was provided by the Alyssa and so I am not sure if it is one of her recipes, or if it came from a cookbook.

After taking the class I can honestly say that I am no longer afraid of my pressure cooker.  Our instructor, Alyssa, also recommended the book Cooking Under Pressure by Lorna Sass.  I have requested it from the library so I can take a look before buying it.  I also did a quick web search and found that Lorna Sass has her own blog called Pressure Cooking with Lorna Sass.

Kabocha-Hominy Stew

(Printer Friendly Recipe)

Ingredients

• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/2 cup red onion, chopped
• 1 teaspoon honey
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 4 cups kabocha, chopped into 1 1/2 inch chunks
• 4 cups vegetable stock
• 1 (15oz) can hominy, drained
• 2 tablespoons rice flour (or corn flour)
• 3 tablespoons water
• 1/2 cup green bell pepper, finely chopped
• 4 cups of spinach
• 1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
• 1/2 lime, juiced
• salt
• pepper

Preparation

1. Mix flour and water together to make a slurry.
2. Dry toast the cumin in a saucepan.  Remove from pan.
3. Heat oil in the same pan and add the cumin seeds, onion, and honey and saute until onion is lightly browned.
4. Add chili powder and garlic to saucepan and cook for a few minutes.
5. Add the onion mixture, kabocha, and hominy to the pressure cooker and cover with broth.
6. Place lid on pressure cooker and bring up to pressure, then reduce heat to maintain pressure and cook for 5 minutes.
7. Take off heat and release pressure.
8. Uncover and add in the flour slurry and stir until the stew is thickened.
9. Stir in the bell pepper, spinach, and cilantro and cook for 2-3 minutes.
10. Season with lime juice, salt and pepper to taste.

Makes about 4 servings.

Recipe courtesy of Alyssa Moreau - Culinary Institute of the Pacific at Kapiolani Community College.

To Try Tuesday - Banana-Cappuccino Chip Blondies

 

I love to keep up with what my blogger friends are up to.  It never ceases to amaze me what new recipes they have imagined into reality, or the friendly advice they have for those of us who are just starting out. Usually this is done via my Blogger Reading List, Foodbuzz, email subscriptions, and Facebook.   One recipe that caught my attention recently was Banana Cinnamon Chip Blondies on Blog is the New Black.  At some time I had also printed out a Blondie recipe from Smitten Kitchen, so I decided to blend the two of them together.




When I am making brownies, or blondies in this case, I really like to have big, fat, chewy-gooey squares as an end result. I really don't like the flat kind of brownies that are the result of a single batch being cooked in a rectangular pan, so I usually make a double batch and bake them in a square tin.





For some reason I always thought that Blondies were bar cookies that were made with white chocolate, and that using milk (or dark) chocolate would make them Brownies instead.   After reading the post by Liz (Blog is the New Black) I learned that Blondies actually have brown sugar, rather than chocolate, as the  main ingredient. 


Somewhere along the line I grabbed a bag of cappuccino chips rather than cinnamon chips, but I loved the result so much that I am glad that I made this mistake.  I nibbled on some of the crumbs as I was cutting them up and getting them ready for their close-up and the flavor is just amazing.  I had to restrain myself for now but, later tonight, these will be enjoyed with a cup of Ka'u coffee for sure.  Then the rest will be packaged up for my daughters to take to school tomorrow and share with their friends.

Edit - Thank you so much for your lovely comments.  For those who have been asking about the cappuccino chips I purchased them online from King Arthur Flour.  I am a big fan of this store, not only do they have amazing products, but their customer service is outstanding.  I used the regular-sized chips in my version, but they also sell a mini size. 



Banana-Cappuccino Chip Blondies

(Printer Friendly Version)

Ingredients

• 16 tablespoons butter, melted (2 sticks)
• 2 cup brown sugar
• 2 egg
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 2 cups mashed banana (about 4 medium bananas)
• 1 ½ cups cappuccino chips
• 2 tablespoons demerara sugar

Preparation

1. Butter an 8×8 pan.
2. Mix melted butter with brown sugar and beat until smooth. 
3. Add eggs and then vanilla, and mix well. 
4. Mix together the flour, salt, and baking soda and stir in to the mixture. 
5. Mix in banana and cappuccino chips.
6. Pour into prepared pan. 
7. Sprinkle sugar evenly over the top.
8. Bake at 350°F approximately 45 minutes, or until set in the middle.
9. Cool on rack before cutting into squares.

Recipe adapted from Smitten Kitchen and Blog is the New Black. 

The Cake Slice February 2011 - Coffee-Heath Bar Crunch Cake

I can't tell you how much I am enjoying being part of the Cake Slice Bakers' group.  Not only are we baking from a great book, Cake Keeper Cakes by Lauren Chattman, but I love checking out everyone's posts each month to see how their cakes have turned out. I have learned a lot from this group's blogs and picked up some great recipes.  So far we have baked a Pumpkin-Chocolate Chip Pound Cake, a Cinnamon Pudding Cake, a Cranberry Cake, and a Graham Cracker-Chocolate Chip Snacking Cake.

This month the group voted to make a Coffee-Heath Bar Crunch Cake. As far as I am concerned you can't go wrong with coffee and Heath bars in a cake.  For those unfamiliar with a Heath bar it is a candy bar made of English toffee and coated in milk chocolate.  Although it is not my favorite candy bar (sorry, but the Cherry Ripe will always have my heart), it is a great addition to baked goods.  You can also buy Heath Bits'o Brickle Toffee Bits and Heath English Milk Chocolate Toffee Bits, but I used the actual bars and just chopped them in my mini food processor.

I guess I misread the directions because I did not use a springform pan. My cake was baked in a 9-inch round cake tin and it worked out just fine.  I did spray the tin with PAM® Baking, and lined just the bottom with parchment.  The only other addition I made was an extra 1/4 cup of flour because after mixing it together it still seemed a little separated. 

This cake is super easy to make, and packs a lot of taste for little effort.  I loved the coffee taste of the cake with the buttery crunch of the topping.  My only complaint would be that it is a little dry.  An easy fix to this would be a little ice cream or toffee-flavored whipped cream on the side.  Although I am a big coffee fan, I think that you could leave the coffee out of this and still have a great cake, especially with the crunchy topping. This is definitely a cake I would make again.  Visit the Cake Slice Blogroll for clickable links to everyone's blogs and see what they thought about the Coffee-Heath Bar Crunch Cake.

Coffee-Heath Bar Crunch Cake

(Printer Friendly Recipe)

Ingredients - Cake

• 1½ cups all-purpose flour (I added an extra ¼ cup of flour)
• 1 tbsp instant espresso powder
• 1½ tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp salt
• ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 egg yolk
• 1½ tsp vanilla extract
• 1 cup milk

Ingredients - Streusel

• 4 Heath bars (1.4ounces each), chopped or 1 cup of pre-chopped Heath Bits
• 2 tbsp light brown sugar
• 2 tbsp all purpose flour
• 1 tbsp butter, softened

Preparation – Streusel

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. 
2. Grease a 9inch round springform pan.
3. Combine the Heath bars, brown sugar, flour and butter in a medium mixing bowl. 
4. Work the mixture with your fingers until it resembles large crumbs. 
5. Refrigerate until ready to use.

Preparation – Cake

1. Combine the flour, espresso powder, baking powder and salt in a medium mixing bowl.
2. Combine the butter and brown sugar in a large mixing bowl and cream with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until fluffy, about 3 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary. With the mixer on low speed, add the egg, egg yolk and vanilla.
3. With the mixer on low speed, add a third of the flour mixture and then half the milk, scraping down the bowl after each addition. Repeat, alternating the flour and milk, ending with the flour.
4. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and smooth into an even layer with a spatula. 
5. Scatter the streusel onto the batter, distributing it evenly over the cake.
6. Bake the cake until golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, approximately 50 to 60 minutes. Let the cake cool in the pan on a wire rack for 5 minutes. 
7. Release the sides of the pan and use a large spatula to slide the cake from the pan bottom to onto a wire rack. 
8. Cool completely, cut into wedges and serve.
9. Store uneaten cake in a cake keeper or wrap in plastic and store at room temperature for up to 3 days. 
10. Makes one 9 inch round cake.

*Ingredient note for those outside the United States:  Heath bars are American candy bars consisting of a thin slab of brittle hard toffee, covered in a layer of chocolate. If you don’t have access to these then you can use half the weight of chocolate chips and half with crunched up brittle toffee.

(Recipe from Cake Keeper Cakes by Lauren Chattman)

Creamy Sweet Potato, Pumpkin, and Apple Soup

In all honesty it really doesn't get cold enough here to be true soup weather.  That doesn't stop me from craving soup every now and again, especially on a rainy night.  Soup is one of those dishes that just screams comfort to me.  One of my favorites is pumpkin soup, but I decided to add a few different ingredients into my regular recipe.


Roasting pumpkin, sweet potato, and apple just brings out all of their yummy goodness.  Once these vegetables have been roasted this soup comes together very quickly.  That drizzle of honey and sprigs of rosemary add that something special to the soup.  Actually honey and rosemary together have become one of my favorite combinations.  Both ingredients have health benefits too so I am happy to use them whenever I can.  Honey has been proven to energize the body, boost immunity, fight bacteria, promote healing of cuts and burns, and help heal sore throats.  I remember my Home Economics teacher telling the class that if we could keep honey in our throats permanently we would never suffer from a sore throat.  Research has shown that rosemary contains anti-inflammatory compounds that may make it useful for reducing the severity of asthma attacks and substances that are useful for stimulating the immune system, increasing circulation, and improving digestion. Also, rosemary has been shown to increase the blood flow to the head and brain, therefore improving concentration.  I think I will go and pick a branch a day to test out the last fact.



It also freezes well, but make sure that you do not add the cream prior to freezing as it tends to curdle the mixture after you thaw it.  I find that if you thaw it out, gently reheat, and then add the cream it works like a charm.  I love serving this with a little Greek yogurt on top and some crusty bread.  I have also added coconut milk rather than cream to my regular pumpkin soup, and I bet it would taste great in this soup too.

Creamy Sweet Potato, Pumpkin, and Apple Soup©

(Printer Friendly Recipe)

Ingredients

• 1 butternut pumpkin (about 2 lbs), chopped into cubes
• 3 Granny Smith apples, peeled and chopped into cubes
• 2 sweet potatoes, chopped into cubes
• 2 sprigs rosemary
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 1 onion, diced
• 3 tablespoon olive oil, divided
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
• 6 cups vegetable broth
• 1/2 cup cream (or half & half)
• 1/2 cups water (or more depending on desired consistency)
• sour cream or Greek yogurt

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 400°F.
2. Pour 2 tablespoon olive oil in a roasting pan and add sweet potato, pumpkin, and apple in a roasting pan.
3. Drizzle honey over top and toss to coat. 
4. Add sprigs of rosemary, salt, and pepper and roast for approximately 30 minutes.  Toss the mixture, and then continue roasting for another 10-15 minutes, or until tender.
5. Add 1 tablespoon olive oil to a soup pot and saute the onion until translucent. 
6. Remove rosemary sprigs and add roasted vegetables and stock and bring to a gentle boil.
7. Remove from heat and allow to cool for about 10 minutes.
8. Puree the mixture in a blender or food processor.
9. Return pot to a gentle heat and add cream, nutmeg, and water. 
10. Check seasoning and serve with a little sour cream or Greek yogurt on top.

Makes approximately 10 cups.

Recipe by All That's Left Are The Crumbs.

To Try Tuesday - Cara Cara Marmalade

I really want to be one of those people who makes their own jams, jellies, chutneys, and marmalade's but I have a lot of practicing to do.  There is just something magical about opening a jar of jam that you made all by yourself.  I also think that something like this makes a wonderful gift.

Hands up if you have never hear of Cara Cara oranges.  I hadn't until a few days ago when I was visiting Good Food, Good Wine and a Bad Girl where there was a recipe for Cara Cara Marmalade.   According to Webicurean "Cara Cara oranges have a bright orange peel and pink - raspberry colored flesh. They have a sweet taste with undertones of cherry and a low acid profile. Cara Cara oranges are medium-sized and round, with a yellow-orange rind and they're usually seedless. They peel and segment easily. The flesh is a brilliant reddish-pink, which makes it a colorful and tasty addition to salads".  I was immediately hooked but I didn't think that I would be able to find these oranges here.  I am still looking for the elusive Meyer Lemon.  However, I was in for a treat as Costco is currently selling large bags of Cara Cara oranges.  I couldn't believe my luck and I knew exactly what my To Try Tuesday recipe would be.

 

This recipe couldn't be easier, but I still managed to have a little trouble towards the end.  More on that a little later.  After cutting up all of the fruit I was amazed by the beautiful colors.  Even after a soak in water for 24 hours it was still a vibrant color.  The marmalade isn't quite a vibrant but it does have a wonderful flavor.

 

The only changes I made to this recipe was to use Grand Marnier rather than whiskey (I didn't have any whiskey on hand) and I cut off a lot of the rind and chopped it small so that the marmalade wouldn't be too chunky.  Unfortunately I think that I cooked this a little longer than necessary.  It still looked a little liquid to me so I gave it a few more minutes.  I didn't realize that it will firm up as it cools.  Mine seems a little too firm, but it still tastes great.

I highly recommend you visit Isabelle's blog Good Food, Good Wine and a Bad Girl and check out some of her other recipes.  I also have my eye on her latest post,  a Warm Raspberry-Chocolate Pudding Cake that looks out-of-this-world.

Cara Cara Marmalade

(Printer Friendly Recipe)

Ingredients

• 3-4 medium Cara Cara oranges (about 2 lbs/1 kg)
• 1 large lemon
• 3 cups cold water
• 4 cups sugar
• 2 tbsp whiskey (I used Grand Marnier)

Preparation

1. Using a very sharp knife, cut the oranges and lemon into halves lengthwise. Cut off the top and bottom ends of each half, then cut out seeds and white pith in the center. Collect the end bits, seeds and pith in a small bowl - you'll need these later.
2. Slice the orange and lemon halves cross-wise into very thin slices, then chop up into smaller bits (how small is up to you - I didn't cut the fruit but did cut off the rinds and minced the peel into small pieces for a less chunky marmalade). Transfer the chopped fruit and any accumulated juice to a large non-reactive mixing bowl.
3. Wrap up the seeds, pith and end bits you saved earlier in two layers of cheesecloth and tie off with cotton twine to make a neat parcel. Place this bundle in the bowl of chopped citrus, then pour in the water. Cover bowl tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 24 hours.
4. The next day, pour the contents of the bowl into a large non-reactive saucepan. Stir in the sugar, and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to low and simmer, uncovered, for about 2 hours or until the peels are quite soft. Remove the cheesecloth bundle from the pot, and discard.
5. Turn the heat up to medium, bringing the marmalade to a rolling boil. Cook for 30 minutes, stirring frequently, until the jam reaches 220F on a candy thermometer (or until it passes a set test).
6. Stir in the whiskey, and cook for 5 minutes longer. Immediately ladle the jar into sterilized glass jars.
7. Once cooled, the jars can be stored in the refrigerator for up to a month. If longer storage is desired, process the jars immediately in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes, after which they can be stored for up to a year in a cool, dry place. 

Makes 5 500ml jars

Original recipe can be found here. 

Whoopie!

Well,  the good news is that I finally made Whoopie Pies.  The bad news is that they were from a boxed mix.  Whilst out shopping a few days ago my daughter spotted a mix for Red Velvet Whoopie Pies and looked at me with a hopeful face.  How could I say no?  Secretly I wanted to try it too, so into the basket it went.

We were amazed that the mixture came out looking like a chocolate cake mix, but as soon as I added the eggs, water, and oil it started to get a red color to it.  After a quick mix with my hand-held Kitchenaid it was really red.  The mix came with a piping bag and a sheet to place on the cookie tray as a guide to making heart-shaped Whoopie Pies.  I think there may have been a little too much batter for the bag, but of course I didn't realize this until it was too late.  I was trying to pipe and batter was oozing over the top of the bag and running down my fingers.  I was desperately trying to stop it from getting all over the cookie sheet, and also trying to plug the hole in the bottom of the bag, as I moved from spot to spot.  Seriously, it looked like a crime scene.  In the end it didn't matter how careful I was to pipe the hearts because they ran on the tray into blobs.  I gave in to the nature of the batter and piped circles instead on my Silpat, realizing that I could just use a cookie cutter to achieve the hearts at a later stage.

Once the cookies were cooled I peeled them off the Silpat and let them cool completely on a wire rack.  As they cooled I made up the cream cheese filling that had come in the box.  Let me just say that it had a very "distinct" smell.  I likened it to an extremely strong cheese smell.  I won't tell you what my husband likened it to.  After adding a few ingredients as directed it still had an unusual smell to it, but it did taste like vanilla.  I kept thinking "what in the heck am I eating"?  However, I really wanted to take photos so I went ahead and filled the Whoopie Pies.

Honestly, I would not buy this again.  I definitely need to try making Whoopie Pies again, but this time from scratch so I can get a real feel for them.  At the moment I am just not sure if they are my kind of thing.  I am wondering if I would like a macron better because of the crunch factor?

Happy Valentine's Day!

To Try Tuesday - Vanilla Bean Banana-Passionfruit Bread

I do love a good quick bread.  The recipe for Vanilla Bean Bread first appeared on Baking Bites back in December and quickly went on my To Try list.  I love that it is a different take on banana bread.  And let's face it - variety is the spice of life!

It seems to be either feast or famine in my house when it comes to bananas.  The apple bananas do seem to be eaten way before the run-of-the-mill Cavendish bananas, but that is fine with me because I think that they make much better banana bread.

The only change I made to this recipe was to add some passionfruit pulp.  I have about 6 passionfruit that I need to use up, so the pulp of one went into the bread.  I am a big fan of the seeds, but feel free to push the pulp through a fine sieve to dispose of them if you prefer.

We all loved this bread and the tropical taste to it.  It freezes well too, so you can always have a loaf of banana bread on hand.

To Try Tuesday - Vanilla Bean Banana-Passionfruit Bread

(Printer Friendly Recipe)

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1 cup vanilla sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup mashed banana (2-3 medium)
• pulp of 1 passionfruit
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/4 cup butter, melted and cooled
• 2 1/2 tsp vanilla extract (or 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla bean paste)

Preparation

1. Preheat oven 350F and lightly grease a 9×5-inch loaf pan.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt and nutmeg.
3. In a large bowl, whisk together vanilla sugar and eggs until well combined, then whisk in the mashed banana, passionfruit, milk, butter and vanilla extract.
4. Pour dry ingredients into wet ingredients and stir until just combined, making sure no streaks of flour remain. 
5. Pour batter out into prepared baking pan. 
6. Bake for 55-60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, with only a few moist crumbs attached.
7. Turn loaf out onto a wire rack to cool completely before slicing.

Makes 1 loaf.

Recipe by Nicole Weston from Baking Bites. 

To Market, To Market - Part 2 (Flowers)

This is Part 2 of my trip to the Farmers' Market at KCC.  This time I am focusing on all of the stunning flowers at the market.  I don't even know if I can really do them justice, since by this time, my daughters were reaching the saturation point with all of my photo-taking so I had to hurry.  Also, I realize that the photo above is actually a rambutan, which is not a flower, but I just really liked the photo and how flower-like it is.  OK, on to the real thing.

The sun rising at the Kapiolani Community College over the cactus garden.  Diamond Head is on the other side of the road.

The Cactus garden at KCC

 Orchid "Phalaenopsis"

Orchid "Phalaenopsis"

Pink Anthurium

Orchid

Oncidium "Heaven Scent Redolence"

Orchid "Lady Slipper"

Orchid "Lady Slipper"

Orchid "Cattelya Aurantiaca"

Orchid "Cattleya Willette Wong"

Protea "Pin Cushion"

Parrot's Beak Helconia "Sassy"

Yellow Parrot Flower
















Heliconia "Rostrata"






















Red Ginger (this one is from my backyard)