I solemnly swear that I am up to no good.

The end of an era has come, and it's so bittersweet.

I saw Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 last night, and it was awesome. Not only was the movie awesome, but the people were too. It was sort of like Halloween for dorks like me, minus the candy, plus the popcorn. I was lucky enough to get invited by Michael's college friends with access to reserved seating. They are the sweetest bunch of Harry Potter dorks that I could nerdrage with. :)


We started the night off with butterbeer jello shots which were awesome, might I add. Making our way through the crowd and making the journey to Starbucks let me get to know some of these people. Reika was older than she looked (older in age + cosplay = hella cool! I hope i'm still nerdy like this when I hit that age too), Amanda is the awesomest for making her Auror jacket herself, and Tash can apparate (lolololol). Also, I met Sam tonight and recognized her from elementary school! It's a small island.


We made our way back, took some pictures, and got everyone situated to go inside. There was a ginormous line, snaking up the stairs and lined up all the way around the block. I've never been so happy to have reserved seating. Michael and I stood in line for our obligatory enslavement to theater popcorn (and mochi crunch!), and found ourselves behind a guy that had "I DID NOT READ THE BOOKS" on his hat. Ah, that guy was sure missing out on life.

The movie itself was awesome, as all Harry Potter movies go. I won't spoil anything, but I did get a little misty-eyed during Snape's part. Oh, poor Snape. The underdog. Anyway, I thought the movie was great, but the ending was a little of a let down. They did change a few things, but they were understandable. My butt was numb from sitting there for just 2.5 hours. After the movie, we stuck around a little bit and said our goodbyes.

A decade has gone by, and I can't believe the journey is over. Harry Potter was my age when I started reading the books, and I sort of feel like I grew with him. Granted, i'm not a witch, but it's a true testament to how books can really take you anywhere. It's sad that we'll never see another Harry Potter film again, or read another book, but I hope that the future generations have something to become enthralled with beyond Twilight (i'm such a hater, lol). Something beyond romantic love stories - something substantial about good and evil, right and wrong, friends and enemies.


And in tribute -

... Mischief managed.

Skinny, Crispy, Nori-less Spam Musubi

It's been too long since i've written something meaningful, and trust me i've tried to rectify that. But this is not that post. Instead, I am going to let you peek into my kitchen and give you a quick, cheap, authentic local delicacy.

SPAM.

I'm sure if you live in Hawaii, you know what this is and have had a million different kinds of musubi. It would be weird if you didn't know what it was. But I bet you've probably never had it without nori.

Now, a lot of people will argue with me, saying it's not a "real" musubi without the nori. They think it's basically spam and rice, just molded into a little ball thing. Well, yeah, sure. But it's still a "real" musubi. What about musubi with ume in the center? I've seen many "plain" ones without a shred of seaweed. And technically, this musubi is nori-less, but NOT seaweed-less.

Ingredients:
- 1 can of SPAM (I like to use the less sodium version, since there will be lots of flavor added)
- Teriyaki Sauce (You can buy it bought, or make your own with soy sauce, sugar, and mirin (optional))
- 3 cups of white rice (You can substitute brown rice if you'd like, but the original recipe calls for white)(This yields 12 musubi)
-Furikake (I use the Mishima brand Nori Komi Furikake, which has sesame seeds in it)
- Saran Wrap
- Musubi maker (optional)

Prepare:
- Tear and lay 15 slices of saran wrap (5 inch x 5 inch pieces... though that may be too big, I just kind of wing it).
- Cut the spam into thin slices (about 12-15). This is where the "skinny" part comes in. These musubi will be flatter than the average spam musubi.
- Cook 3 cups of rice.
- Make the teriyaki sauce, and pour it into a bowl.
- Dip each slice into the sauce, and let it marinate for a few seconds, to a minute.

Directions:
- Fry the spam until crispy and browned (I do like mine slightly burned).
- While frying, empty the rice into a large bowl to cool off.


- Rinse your musubi maker (this helps the rice not to get stuck to it).
- Set up your musubi maker in the spot on the saran wrap where you'll want to place the musubi. I chose the right side, in the middle, but now that I think about it, the left side would have probably been better.


- Remove the spam from the pan/griddle after they are cooked and put them on a plate.


- Take a handful (or scoopful) of rice, and load it into the molder. I use less rice than most, contributing to the skinny factor. Since I have skinny slices, the rice should be proportionate. Mess around with it and make it how you like it.


- PRESS HARD. You do not want your musubi falling apart, especially because you have no nori holding it together.


- Take a spoonful of the leftover teriyaki sauce in your bowl, and dabble some on the rice for extra flavor.



- Sprinkle some furikake on the rice over the sauce.


- Put a piece of spam on top and wrap (or enjoy!).


I don't make this too often because the nutritional value isn't great, but it's nice to get back to childhood sometimes. Having a spam musubi just the way I like it transports me through time and space, back to fun summers, friends, and family. Live aloha. :)