The Papalani Street moms gathered for a group portrait during last year's Mother's Day festivities. They were guests of honor at a party at which the neighborhood dads did ALL the work.
Enchanted Lake neighbors
work to give mothers
one true day off
Diamonds would be nice, but most moms, when asked what they want for Mother's Day, simply request a day off from cooking and cleaning.
For the women of Papalani Street in Enchanted Lake, Mother's Day came two weeks early when, in what has become an annual tradition, the dads on the block pooled their efforts to throw a Mother's Day fete to remember.
Guys take note, if not for this year, then next year.
The theme on Papalani Street this year was "A Mexican Fiesta," handily addressing Cinco de Mayo as well, and the guys had it planned from the mariachi music on CD to the margaritas, piñatas, prizes and gifts. Past themes have included "Back to the '50s," "Roaring '20s" and a "Western Hoedown."
The guys take care of every detail down to cleaning up, so their wives get a day of pampering.
One of the Papalani husbands, Bob Endresen, admits the origin of the Mother's Day party was anything but romantic.
"A bunch of us guys were sitting and drinking one night, and we got to talking -- this was about five or six years ago -- that we didn't know what to do for Mother's Day.
"I'm big on roses and flowers, but that first year we decided to do something collectively because we'd known each other as neighbors for years, but we never had an excuse to get together, and we just came up with this one."
That first year, the dads hosted a luau, complete with imu pit. With nine to 10 families participating each year, plus guests, kids and kids' kids, about 30 to 50 join in the merrymaking.
This doesn't let the husbands off the hook for a personal gesture, however, and Endresen said that's the reason the Mother's Day street party is always planned a few weeks before or after the big day, to avoid conflicting with personal celebrations.
In case any fathers out there forgot to make dinner reservations, Endresen offers up his fajita recipe for a quick save. The man-style recipe means eyeballing quantities when it comes to adding salsa and barbecue sauce.
Don't forget accompaniments of flowers and chocolates; diamonds optional.
In a large pot, combine all the ingredients and enough water to cover brisket by a couple of inches. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat, cover pot, and cook 2 to 3 hours, or until brisket is very tender.Country Style Brisket for Fajitas
Courtesy Bob Endresen
8 pounds beef brisket
1/2 cup liquid crab boil
2 heads garlic, halved
2 ribs celery, in 3-inch lengths
2 large onion, quartered
2 carrots, washed, ends trimmed, and quartered
3 bay leaves
2 tablespoons salt
Seasoning as desiredRemove brisket from pot and shred meat. Place in a pan, and cover meat with your favorite prepared salsa and barbecue sauce (mixture should be 2 parts salsa to 1 part barbecue sauce). If you have a smoker, place brisket in smoker with kiawe for 1 hour. If not, place in a 275-degree oven for 20 to 30 minutes.
Serve with fajita fixings including corn and flour tortillas, sautéed onions and bell peppers, extra salsa, black beans, chopped cilantro, sour cream and guacamole.
Olé!
Nutritional information unavailable.
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