The XTERRA Trail Running World Championship is an off-road, half-marathon distance “Xduro” scheduled for December 6, 2009 on the Hawaiian island of Oahu. The event will also host two shorter distance trail runs, free kids races, an adventure walk for charity, great food and stunning scenery.

At last year’s inaugural event, more than 800 runners from 32 states and eight countries participated in the 5, 10, and 21km events.  Top male and female finishers were awarded from the $10,000 prize purse.

The spectacular Kualoa Ranch, on the northeastern side of Oahu less than an hour from Honolulu, will once again host this ultimate Hawaiian experience for the international field of trail runners.

The 4,000-acre working cattle ranch reaches from the steep mountain cliffs to the sparkling sea and the terrain varies from dense rainforest to broad open valleys and from beautiful white sand beaches to awesome verdant cliff faces. The epic nature of Kualoa Ranch has inspired television shows and Hollywood films such as Jurassic Park, Windtalkers, Pearl Harbor, Godzilla, Tears of the Sun, 50 First Dates, and LOST.

The XTERRA Trail Running World Championship is held in conjunction with the 2009 XTERRA Trail Run Series, a collection of adventurous, off-road trail runs of various distances spanning the globe from Malibu to Japan.  

While it is NOT necessary to qualify for the 2009 XTERRA Trail Run World event, runners who complete one of the half-marathon distance XTERRA Xduro events throughout the season in less than 3 hours will receive special recognition on race day.

XTERRA After Party at is been held at  Tiki’s Grill & Bar in Waikiki at 6pm on December 6, 2009.
(Drink specials, live music, and video highlights at 7pm.  Dinner available for purchase)

To start my day off, was the attached note sitting on my desk. It made me feel great that a waiter appreciates what I do, and took the time to write me a nice note.

Caipirinha

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

National cocktail of Brazil
Type	Cocktail
Primary alcohol by volume	Cachaça
Served	On the rocks; poured over ice
Standard garnish	lemon[1]
Standard drinkware	Old fashioned glass
Commonly used ingredients	5.0 cl (1⅔ fl oz) cachaça ½ lemon cut into 4 wedges (or tahiti lime, but not key lime) 2 teaspoons crystal or refined sugar
Preparation	Place lemon and sugar into old fashioned glass and muddle (mash the two ingredients together using a muddler or a wooden spoon). Fill the glass with crushed ice and add the Cachaça.[2]
Notes	A wide variety of fresh fruits can be used in place of lemon. In the absence of cachaça, vodka can be used.

Caipirinha (Portuguese pronunciation: [kajpiˈɾĩɲɐ]) is Brazil's national cocktail, made with cachaça (pronounced [kaˈʃasɐ]), sugar and lemon^[1]. Cachaça is Brazil's most common distilled alcoholic beverage. While both rum and cachaça are made from sugarcane-derived products, most rum is made from molasses. Specifically with cachaça, the alcohol results from the the fermentation of sugarcane juice that is afterwards distilled.

Popularity

The caipirinha is the national cocktail of Brazil,^[3] and is enjoyed in restaurants, bars, and many households throughout the country. Once almost unknown outside Brazil, the drink has become more popular and more widely available in recent years, in large part due to the rising availability of first-rate brands of cachaça outside Brazil.^[4] The International Bartenders Association has designated it as one of their Official Cocktails^[5].

Name

The word "caipirinha" is the diminutive version of the word "caipira", which refers to someone from the countryside, being an almost exact equivalent of the American English hillbilly. The word may be used as either a masculine or a feminine noun, but when referring to this drink it is only feminine (usage of diminutives is common in Brazil). However, a Brazilian hardly ever thinks of a "country person" when ordering a "Caipirinha". In the mind of a Brazilian, the word "Caipirinha" is mostly associated with the drink itself.

Variations

Caipivodka (or Caipiroska), which uses vodka instead of cachaça.

• Most variations of the caipirinha arise from the unavailability of some ingredient, such as the Caipivodka, (also known as Caipiroska) in which vodka substitutes for cachaça. "Caipirissima" is a caipirinha made with rum instead of cachaça; the word was coined for an advertisement for a popular rum brand in the late 70's, and it is not widely employed.

• Caipirão is a typical variation from Portugal. It's done using the typical portuguese liqueur Licor Beirão instead of cachaça.

• CaipirItaly is a typical variation from Italy. It's done using Bitter Campari instead of cachaça.

• Outside Brazil, it's frequently made with lime instead of lemon. The IBA lists it that way.

• The term caipirinha is sometimes used to describe any cachaça and fruit juice drink (e.g. a "Passionfruit Caipirinha"), although the technical term for these types of drinks is batida.

• Caipifruta is a very popular caipirinha drink in Brazil, consisting of cachaça, crushed fresh fruits (either singly or in combination), sometimes condensed milk and crushed ice. The most popular fresh fruits used to create Caipifrutas are tangerine, lime, kiwi fruit, passion fruit, pineapple, lemon, grapes, mango, cajá, and caju (cashew fruit).

See also

• Sour (cocktail)
• Cocktails with cachaça
• List of cocktails with cachaça
• Cachaça
• List of Brazilian dishes

References and notes

External links

• Caipirinha Appreciation Society English-language broadcast produced for the University of London's OpenAir Radio. The website stores a vast archive of webcasts covering offbeat Brazilian music from different regions, styles and time periods, from vintage sambas to modern blends.
• 7x7 Magazine Mango Caipirinha Cocktail Recipe
• How to Make A Caipirinha on Google Video
• Making a Caipirinha on YouTube
• How to Make A Caipirinha ScienceofDrink photo-guide
• Caipirinha Recipe with step by step photos

Call me!

We are firing up two BBQ Grills on our ocean front lanai 10:30am till
4pm. When you are pau surfing we hope to see you for lunch.

Here is a video of the last time:

http://www.facebook.com/v/76201658197

From our friends at Hawaii News Now

For a fun time, head down to Tiki's Grill & Bar overlooking Kalakaua Avenue. Make sure to bring your appetite and some friends, because the portions are huge.

"I like to think of it as things that people would try to eat at home if they could," says executive chef Kapolanialaimaka Kealoha.

For the main course, order Tiki's signature salmon with a brown sugar coating. It's paired with a sweet potato mash and lemongrass beurre blanc. "The salmon has been on our menu forever - six years since we opened the place."

Or try the macadamia nut encrusted mahi mahi, served over orzo with sun dried tomatoes, spinach and mushrooms.

If you love a challenge, tackle the guava glazed baby back ribs - an eight-bone rack finished on the grill and slathered in house-made barbecue sauce. "The food here is basically local food with a lot of local ingredients."

Just make sure to leave room for dessert. The Lava Flow is a chocolate lover's dream with mousse and ganache on a chocolate chip cookie. And the taro bread pudding is filled with banana, raisins and rum.

For Chef Kapo, Restaurant Week is the perfect combination of great food and a great cause. "I went to school here in the islands. This is definitely a way to give back."

A benefit for the Culinary Institute of the Pacific at Diamond Head, Restaurant Week Hawai‘i is a collaborative effort among Hawai‘i’s restaurants, farmers, suppliers and Kapi‘olani Community College. The Institute will realize a vision to provide advanced culinary industry management education and training to students from Hawai‘i and the world.