Hawaii Vacation Gifts by Double Brush-Hawaiian Gifts & Blog

Easy Pineapple Prosciutto Pupus Recipe

Hawaiian pupus (pronounced poo-poos) are a wonderful island tradition in Hawaii. Pupus are appetizers or hors d'oeuvres. Pupus are served before a meal, or sometimes there are so many pupus, they are the meal! You can find pupus at all kinds of parties large and small, restaurants, bars--pretty much anywhere people gather to eat food together.

For your next holiday party, serve these delicious fresh pineapple pieces wrapped in prosciutto pupus. Instead of throwing away the outer pineapple rind, serve it in an impressive pineapple boat.

Easy Pineapple and Prosciutto Pupus Recipe

Fresh Hawaiian Pineapple
10 slices of Prosciutto or Virginia Ham
Ground Pepper

Cut fresh pineapple into bite size pieces. Wrap a pineapple piece with a little strip of prosciutto and hold in place with a toothpick. Serve with a dipping bowl of freshly ground pepper.

If fresh pineapples are not available in your area, you can order fresh pineapples from Hawaii directly from us. We ship on Monday and Tuesday for Thursday or Friday delivery.

For more Hawaiian Pineapple recipes and information, see our blog category Hawaiian Pineapples.

Hawaiian Gingerbread Kona Coffee Cookie Recipe

Try this holiday gingerbread cookie recipe with a touch of aloha from the Big Island, Hawaii via the addition of Kona coffee--for a flavorful twist on an old favorite. Also don't forget to check out our other Kona coffee blog posts for interesting Kona coffee articles and more Kona coffee recipes (link below).

Hawaiian Gingerbread Kona Coffee Cookie Recipe

3 1/2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ginger
1/2 teaspoon cloves
2 Tablespoon instant Kona coffee granules
1/4 cup milk
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 cup butter
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1/2 cup molasses

Mix flour, salt, baking soda, spices and instant coffee. Beat butter and brown sugar until fluffy. Beat in molasses. Add flour alternately with milk in three additions. Form into two balls, place in bowl, cover and refrigerate for 1 hour. Roll out and cut into bear or other shapes with cookie cutters. Bake at 350 degrees for 12 minutes. Cool. Decorate as desired.
Yield: 24 small bears

This recipe is from the Kona Coffee Cookbook--Kona Coffee Cultural Festival

For the best tasting 100 percent pure instant Kona coffee, and ground Kona coffee, visit us at Hawaii Vacation Gifts, your online Hawaii Gifts Store

See all of our Kona coffee recipes and other Kona coffee related posts.

UH Rainbow Warrior Fever Highest Ever in Hawaii

University of Hawaii Rainbow Warrior Fever is at the highest I have ever seen it in Hawaii!! Well, we are living in some exciting UH football historical times. Besides winning the 2007 WAC Conference Championship title outright for the first time, I predict that we will also beat Washington State on December 1 and have our first undefeated season in the history of the University of Hawaii! Next up, an invitation to a bowl game.

People are so excited about the UH Rainbow Warriors football team and want to show their support, that they are standing in line to buy up UH logo merchandise before they sell out. Especially popular is the literally hot off the presses University of Hawaii WAC Champions T shirt!

(The T-shirt picture shown is the official design from UH that say, "University of Hawaii 2007 Conference Champions Warrior Football.)

When I checked my stats for the last post UH Hawaii New 2007 WAC Champions, people were searching to buy official Hawaii football UH Warrior Hawaii WAC Championship shirts. So for people on the mainland who may not know where to buy UH WAC champs T shirts, you can buy t shirts plus other merchandise at the University of Hawaii's official logo merchandise store called Rainbowtique. It is the best place to buy any UH logo merchandise because all proceeds serve and support the University of Hawaii in continuing its educational mission. Buying from other venues may not be affiliated with the school and therefore the university will not get any licensing fee due to them.

At Rainbowtique's 3 store locations (University of Hawaii at Manoa campus-Stan Sheriff Center, UH Bookstore, and Vicotria Ward Centers) and their online store, besides UH logo T shirt apparel, you can find custom Oakley sunglasses, Nike merchandise, jerseys, headwear, polo shirts, women's wear, outerwear and more.

You can also buy a customized jersey with your favorite player's number and YOUR name on it. The UH store showed the number 15 which must be the most popular number, seeing as it is the number for Hawaii's star quarterback Colt Brennan. See my previous post UH Quarterback Colt Brennan Makes Hawaii Proud.

Who is your favorite UH football player and why?

Hawaiian South Kona Coffee Eggnog Recipe

Get into the full swing of the holiday season by adding a little Kona coffee pizzaz to your holiday eggnog this year!

Hawaiian South Kona Coffee Eggnog Recipe

3 large eggs
1/2 cup Kona coffee liqueur
1/2 cup macadamia nut liqueur
1 tablespoon freeze dried Kona coffee granules
1/4 cup sugar
1 cup milk
1 cup heavy cream
ground nutmeg to taste

Separate the eggs. Beat yolks until thick and lemon colored. Gradually beat in sugar. Stir in liqueurs. Cover and chill for several hours. Just before serving dissolve coffee granules in milk and stir into mixture. Whip cream. Beat egg whites until soft stiff peaks form. Fold whipped cream and egg whites into mixture. Serve in punch cups and garnish with nutmeg.

This recipe is from the Kona Coffee Cookbook--Kona Coffee Cultural Festival

If you need authentic 100 percent pure Kona coffee freeze dried granules or Kona coffee and other Kona coffee gifts and gift baskets, please visit us at Hawaii Vacation Gifts.

For more Kona coffee recipes and information, visit our Kona coffee blog category.

Win Free Airfare for Two to Hawaii Sweepstakes

Our weekly Hawaii Sweepstakes Sunday feature is still going strong! We found a new contest that you can enter to win airline travel for two to Hawaii, but note that no accommodations where included in this Hawaii grand prize package.

The Ooh-Ga-Boo-Ga, Hawaii-Here I Come Sweepstakes is open to the public and no purchase is necessary. All entries must be received by December 31, 2008, this is not a typo, it really is 2008. Travel to Hawaii has to be completed in 2009.

Hawaii Grand Prize Sweepstakes

The Sweepstakes Grand Prize will include round-trip airfare for two to Hawaii on Hawaiian Airlines (Coach Class) from any point served by the airline in the continental United States. Some flight restrictions and blackout dates may apply. Grand Prize will be awarded and the winner will be notified by certified mail. Travel must be completed before 12/15/09 (No extensions allowed). The winner will also receive a complimentary $250.00US gift certificate valid towards Ooh-Ga-Boo-Ga Island Traders labeled merchandise from our website or any Ooh-Ga-Boo-Ga Island Traders retail location.

See our complete list of Hawaii Sweepstakes blog posts where you can enter to win a free trip to Hawaii!

UH Hawaii New 2007 WAC Champions!

The football game that lived up to the hype! The University of Hawaii Rainbow Warriors beat the Boise State Broncos 39 to 27 in a sold out game at Aloha Stadium today! 50,000 people cheered to see UH win the game and the WAC Championship-- Western Athletic Conference title. Boise State has held the WAC championship title for the past 5 years, so it was a doubly sweet win for Hawaii. UH Hawaii is now 11 and 0 with 11 wins and NO losses.
(You can buy official UH 2007 WAC Champions T shirts here.)

Colt Brennan once again did a spectacular job:

Colt Brennan completed 40-of-53 passes for 495 yards, five touchdowns, and ran for another score as 14th-ranked Hawaii outslugged No. 17 Boise State, 39-27, to capture the Western Athletic Conference title, and stay in line for a possible BCS bowl bid.

Brennan added a few more to the laundry list of NCAA records he already owns. His first touchdown pass broke two NCAA records set by Heisman Trophy- winner Ty Detmer of BYU. The touchdown pass was the 122nd of Brennan's career, topping the 121 that Detmer threw during his collegiate career, which ended in 1991. The score was the 136th total touchdown for Brennan, again topping a mark that Detmer set in 1991. Brennan reached the marks in 36 collegiate games, 10 fewer than Detmer needed to set the records 16 years prior.

Brennan now has 126 career touchdown passes, and 141 total scores.

The Hawaii Channel

Read the complete recap of the game Brennan Sets Records As Hawaii Wins WAC.

"I think we proved something tonight with all of the so-called experts who picked Boise to beat us," Brennan said. "It was a great win for us, the school and the state. The faith on this team is huge. We believe in ourselves." HawaiiAthletics.com

Want to know what Colt Brennan is like as a person? Read our previous post--UH Quarterback Colt Brennan Makes Hawaii Proud.

The last game of the season is against Washington State on December 1, 2007 at Aloha Stadium. Go Bows!!

Hawaiian Stress Release Gift Basket for the Holidays

The holiday season is upon us and if you are starting to feel a little stressed, treat yourself to our Hawaiian stress release spa gift basket. Our unique Hawaiian spa gift basket is filled with products to de-stress your life. This also make a nice gift for someone you know who could use a bit of relaxation.

Many gift baskets filled with spa products claiming to use an anti stress formula, or even regular gift baskets filled with bath and body type products--are made with chemical ingredients that are toxic or can cause allergic reactions. Our handwoven lauhala gift basket if filled with natural handmade on the Big Island products. Our vitamin rich moisturizing lotion and soothing bath salt crystals are infused with Hawaiian flower essences hand gathered in the rainforest on the Big Island of Hawaii. We also include a matching aromatherapy soap made with essential oils, and a natural clean burning soy wax votive candle made with a hemp wick.

Flower essences have been used by indigenous people the world over for centuries. This particular Hawaiian flower essence blend is a natural way to balance a person's energy by releasing stress and promoting relaxation. The Stress Free Formula blend is infused with the Hawaii rainforest flower essences of wild lehua, awapuhi-melemele, and kinehe. All of these naturals products are delicately scented with a refreshing blend of lemongrass, coconut and vanilla essential oils which are enjoyed by both men and women. Live stress free! Hawaiian Natural Spa Gift Baskets.

Avoid Holiday Traffic While on Vacation

With the holidays fast approaching, many people will be driving to their holiday destinations or driving around once they arrive to their holiday destination vacation. To make your travel trip more pleasant and avoid car traffic jams, accidents, and road construction--I will tell you where you can get the best up to date information on the web.

Go to maps.yahoo.com It is the only site with live traffic updates, and live construction updates. It is fairly easy to use and figure out. Fill in the address, city, state, or zip code than click on the "go" button. A large area map appears with a window of detailed map which you can move around. You can also zoom way in or way out.

Look for the color coded alert icons for minor, moderate, and severe incidents.

I think the yahoo maps work for most major cities in the world.

Hope this bit of information will save you time and make your holidays that much more enjoyable!

Hawaii Welcomes Back Primo Beer

Pretty much everyone in Hawaii has heard of the brand Primo Beer. Primo beer was founded in 1898 and used Hawaii's high quality water for brewing its beer. The Primo brewery was closed during the Prohibition era, but later reopened for production. By the 1950's and 1960's, the popularity of Primo made it the top selling beer in Hawaii. Primo closed down ten years ago (1997) due to slowing sales, but the nostalgic affection for the beer and strong brand recognition still exists till today.

Pabst Brewing Co. from Chicago, Illinois, confirmed that it has partnered with Keoki Brewing Co. on Kauai, Hawaii, to produce a higher end version of Primo beer to compete with premium lagers such as Heineken.

"Primo Beer is returning to Hawai'i very soon, and it will be a high-quality lager," said Kyle Wortham, senior brand manager at Primo Brewing & Malting Co.

Read more details about Primo Beer in Hawaii is Back.

P.S. You can still find all sorts of Primo branded logo items such as T shirts, aloha shirts, mugs, hats, etc. on Ebay and at antique shops. Personally, I still have a metal belt buckle with the Primo name and map of the Hawaiian Islands logo from the early 70's! I have been meaning to get around to selling it on Ebay, but make me an offer if you want it!

Travel Green-New Vacation Guidebooks Show You How

With more and more people becoming aware of how their individual choices can impact our planet in positive or negative ways, a new genre of ethical and responsible travel guides have been published. The following is a sampling of the new green travel guidebooks.

"Code Green: Experiences of a Lifetime," Lonely Planet

It charts 82 trips and highlights the "responsible travel credentials" of each one, such as yurt stays in Tajikistan's Pamir Mountains, a village walk and home-stay in India's Kumaon region and a canoeing-camping trip to view hippos on Zambia's Zambezi River. It also touts destinations that have environmental attractions but are not in immediate danger of being overly exploited, usually because they're remote.

"Frommer's Cancun, Cozumel & the Yucatan 2008," Frommer's Travel Guides

It includes a section on ecotourism that refers readers to two groups, the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society and Tread Lightly, that address the ethics of swimming with marine mammals. The book also provides information on visiting protected areas, such as the Rio Lagartos and Celestun refuges, both of which feature flamingos.

"25 Ultimate Experiences: Ethical Travel," Rough Guides

It describes 25 trips that minimize visitors' effect on the environment while helping local communities, including a zero-impact luxury ski camp in the Swiss Alps consisting of white-canvas geodesic domes and a beach lodge near Mozambique's Guludo village that employs 55 locals who will eventually run the resort. There's also advice on ethical clothes shopping, volunteering abroad and cultural sensitivity.

"Green Travel: The World's Best Eco-Lodges & Earth-Friendly Hotels," Fodor's Travel (April 2008)

It details eco-destinations in six regions of the world: North America and the Caribbean, Central and South America, Europe, Africa and the Middle East, Asia, and Australia. Explore ethical travel dilemmas such as renting a car, giving money to beggars and visiting countries ruled by repressive governments.

For more information see Guidebooks Show Travelers How to Go Green.