A toast of homemade drink to celebrate a special gift

I am a liquor kind of girl and I love to sip small glasses filled with fruity and nutty liquors. This summer our two plum trees gave us the most wonderful harvest and I was able not only to eat kilos and more kilos of fresh fruit but also donate many baskets to friends and make all sorts of plum products I have ever dreamed of. I made jam, ice cream, spicy plum sauce, Chinese style and, of course, plum liquor. I used an Italian recipe, inspired on a recipe of bargnolino liquor, a fruit liquor from Parma. The result was just perfect. Can't wait for next harvest when I plan to produce at least four times more liquors jars.



We had a wonderful time opening the jars after the three months of maturation of the plum in cachaça and sugar. The perfume was amazing and the deep red color just made it more seductive. I just love my homemade liquor, nothing I make made me more proud. We drank loads of our homemade liquor during Christmas and we made a special toast to Deb, my new friend in Honolulu, Hawaii.

Let me explain: On the morning of December 23 I receive by post a very special Christmas gift from Deb, the owner of Kahakai Kitchen a blog full of amazing recipes and histories and she was my blogging by mail friend. How lucky am I to have her as friend? very lucky. After I show you all the delicious Hawaiian specialties she sent me you will understand.



The box was full of amazing stuff and I could see that she was very careful and detailed showing how much she cared not only for me but her love for Hawaiian products and flavors. Among the deliciousness there were:


The most amazing gift of the the box was this long desired album by Israel Kamakawiwo'ole, a fantastic Hawaiian singer who I admired and longed to own. My new distant friend Deb knows more about me than she could ever imagine;


A diverse selection of Hawaiian macadamias; the honey roast and chocolate covered ones were my favorites...


A selection of Hawaiian flavors and specialities;


a very special vulcanic Hawaiian salt from Molokai island; I made a great impression to our guests during our New Years dinner with this salt, thanks Deb...


the most delicious Hawaiian honey made out of macadamia flowers, if Deb knew how much I love honey she would know how much I loved this one...


Some Japanese style spices which are deliciously strong and flavorful...




An incredible tea with the most suggestive name: Passion for Hawaii, again, if Deb knew how much I love Hawaii she wouldn't be able to put together a more perfect package for me...


Some 70% cocoa chocolate produced in Hawaii with Hawaiian cocoa beans, I loved it...


Delicious anti-bacterial hand made soap with incredible perfume...



The most delicious coconut lip balm, once more, if Deb knew how much I adore everything coconut..


Deb also sent us a beautiful calendar with gorgeous pictures for every month of the year. This will make us remember Deb and the beautiful Hawaiian islands along the year 2010... Estela loved the calendar so much that she chose where to hang it. It is in our kitchen and its pages are already filled with marks of our most special dates...

Deb, thank you so much, you can't imagine how much I loved everything you chose for me!