Healthy Green Drink for Warm Summer Days

Got the idea for this delicious, cold, healthy drink via our breakfast/brunch  at the Westin Hotel.  Ingredients: Cucumber, Lemon, Celery, and Apple.  Maybe it is not as simple as blending the 4 ingredients. Any decent buffet place needs a few "secrets" up its sleeves to have people want to come back.

We didn't overthink it, and went the easy route: Chopped ingredients. Mixed & combined according to our preferred taste. Added plenty of ice and a little Squirt Soda. Blended on high.

Tada ... maybe not as nice-looking, but not bad-tasting at all. Good to the last drop on a muggy Summer day.

Westin Hotel

Breakfast/Brunch at the Westin Hotel

My niece got married this weekend.  Her reception was held at the Westin Hotel, Northwest. She married into a fine family: for example, her new sister-in-law (who will also be tying the knot soon), paid for the buffet  breakfast (or brunch for those who woke up late) on the morning after the wedding reception for some wedding guests. At $15 a pop, it was not cheap. We were given the entry tix by her mom-- my sis -- and thus became one of the select few.  Although it was not as convenient to us as those who stayed at the hotel who need only to go downstairs, we were more than willing to get up early and drive the 20 minutes it took on the expressway to partake of the free meal.

 Many who were present were related to us. Lots of laughter, hugs, and picture-taking. The workers were helpful and pleasant; the place was clean. Food items were delicious and replenished quickly.  Again, it was FREE for the seven members of my family. We were in hog-heaven for over 2 hours.

bread corner

fruit salad

scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage

juice, coffee, cereal, tea

healthy!

yogurt, blueberries/blackberries (yum)

plate 1

16.9.19.18

Brunch at Rainbow Drive-in, Honolulu

 Oahu Hawaii Diary, Part 2:  On our first morning in Honolulu, it was decided by other family members to have Brunch @ Rainbow Drive-In --- for a taste of authentic local fare.   Once we got there, I quickly realized that there was no AC (!), and scanned the area for shade.   The humidity was already high when we got up early that morning.  Sigh. Got quickly tired of scanning the menu board.  I let my son decide what to order for the both of us and sat down at the most comfortable-looking spot in their outdoor dining area, and chatted with others.  What son brought to me was fried eggs, meat pattie (reminded me of an  On•Cor  Salisbury Steak) on a bed of rice; and macaroni. Huh?!! The food looked too normal.  I could  do the dish at home.  It may look appealing to a hungry surfer, but what about a tourist like me?  Why couldn't I get  octopus or seaweed or  exotic fish or something ... anything ...  that was abundant in Honolulu, but expensive to obtain at home?  Second sigh...  Thank You, Lord for this food, amen. So I ate and kept on eating, though the food was bordering on luke-warm and was a little bland.  My oversized cup of iced water was good, though. 

 Here are pictures of a couple of other dishes that family members raved about, surprisingly: 

Portuguese Sausage

SPAGHETTI WITH WIENER