It’s a rare man who enters politics and leaves this world mourned as much by his political adversaries as his friends and allies.
Sam Slom was a rare man.
A former chief economist at Bank of Hawaii, president of Small Business Hawaii, member of the Grassroot Institute’s board of advisers and epitome of the citizen-legislator, Slom passed away on Sunday at the age of 81.
To those who knew him only by reputation, Sam’s main claim to fame was as the sole Republican senator in the Hawaii Legislature from 2010 to 2016, which were the last six years of his 20-year tenure representing East Oahu.
Keli’i Akina
It was a role he filled with grace and good humor, making light of his solitary status even as he continued to advance principled arguments for fiscal restraint and small government.
To those who worked with him, Sam was all that and more. In fact, he was the rarest kind of man — one who was exactly what he appeared to be.
If he came across to you as someone who was fiercely patriotic, yet respectful and welcoming of all views, that’s because he was.
If you were impressed by his deep intellect, lightened by his strong sense of humor, you were seeing the authentic Sam.
If you were touched by his generosity and willingness to mentor others, then you knew the side of Sam that believed deeply in sharing and helping those around him.
Sam was famously accessible to all, and known for treating everyone with respect. During his on-air tribute to Sam on Monday, radio host Rick Hamada noted that anyone who wanted to talk to Sam could go to the Hawaii Kai Safeway or the Koko Head Zippy’s and be sure of getting a meeting. As one caller to Hamada’s show said of Sam, “What a gentleman. What a servant-leader he was.”
Sam Slom
Despite being part of the “loyal opposition,” Sam was deeply respected for the way he represented his principles in the Legislature.
State Sen. Donna Kim told Hawaii News Now that Sam even persuaded people to change their votes on occasion, adding, “He did bring up really good points, and really, I think, made us think about things.”
Mayor Rick Blangiardi said of Sam: “Even if you disagreed with him, that’s what you wanted. To have somebody there, somebody who saw the other side of it.”
Former U.S. Rep. and Hawaii Senate President Colleen Hanabusa, who appeared regularly on a radio program with Sam years ago, reminisced with Hamada about how the three of them could engage in fierce debates, then go out to breakfast and enjoy each other’s company.
She remembered Sam saying, “You can disagree without being disagreeable,” and credited him with cherishing diversity as a main reason for America’s greatness.
Sam may have grown up in Allentown, Pennsylvania, but he reflected the spirit of our islands like few others. In his work, he epitomized the ethos of “E hana kākou” (“Let’s work together”), always finding common ground and ways to work with others, regardless of any differences.
In his opening remarks at the start of the 2015 Legislature, Sam first drew on his sense of humor.
“On behalf of the entire Senate minority: Aloha!” he said.
Then he pledged to continue to represent the “loyal but responsible opposition to harmful legislation while advocating reasonable alternative legislation to solve problems and ease the economic burdens on our citizens.”
He said his job and the job of his fellow legislators was to “restore and encourage the public’s confidence in our process, and to be more transparent and accountable ourselves, while empowering our citizens. We have to do more than just talk or make speeches; we need appropriate action. We can do this.”
After highlighting many of the problems facing Hawaii — and what he would like to do about them — he again made a pledge:
“On behalf of the Senate minority, I pledge our continued efforts to support good legislation regardless of who introduces it, to examine and report honestly on the impact of all bills, and to work toward ending legislative exemptions for ourselves for laws we pass on to others.
“We celebrate our God-given liberty and our ability to change,” he continued. “Our goal should not just be a ‘New Day’ but a ‘Better Day.’ This is not a partisan issue. Together we must navigate a different course with a vision of how much greater Hawaii can be.”
That was Sam — principled but reasonable, loyal and responsible, a patriot, a defender of liberty and a wonderful friend.
Aloha ‘oe, Sam. I will miss you. Hawaii will miss you. _____________
Keli‘i Akina is president and CEO of the Grassroot Institute of Hawaii.
Legendary football coach Bear Bryant is credited with saying: “Offense wins games … defense wins championships.”
If that’s the case, then the Grassroot Institute of Hawaii is the Steel Curtain, the ’85 Bears and the 2000 Ravens of legislative advocacy. What you see might not always be flashy, but it is formidable.
Every year, there are thousands of bills introduced at the Hawaii State Legislature. Of those, hundreds get heard and move through the committee process, requiring tracking and testimony.
Keli’i Akina
In the 2023 session, the Grassroot Institute submitted 142 written testimonies on approximately 82 bills. We tracked hundreds more. Since bad bills tend to outnumber good ones, that means we played a lot of defense.
Some of those bills were riddled with practical and constitutional issues. Others proposed more regulations on businesses or tax hikes and other measures sure to increase the cost of living in Hawaii.
But like a great defensive team, my Grassroot Institute colleagues were there to block many of these proposals before they reached the end zone.
Consider the fact that not a single major tax hike passed this year — not the wealth asset tax, the capital gains hike nor the carbon tax. That’s what good defense looks like.
As the session progressed, the Grassroot team became the leading critic of using state funds to promote tourism — a view that is starting to resonate at the Capitol. Ultimately, the Legislature refused to allocate any money at all to the Hawaii Tourism Authority, which now is looking for a discretionary handout from the governor.
We also were the only group to point out the many problems with the governor’s proposed “visitor impact fee,” and it, too, failed to reach the end zone.
Another bill we helped block would have allowed a “deliberative process” exception to the state’s open records law. If enacted, it would have created a major loophole in the state’s transparency requirements. That bill went down.
One bill that we failed to block has the potential to virtually kill the cryptocurrency business in Hawaii. But the game isn’t over yet, so now we are encouraging people to ask Gov. Josh Green to veto that measure.
In terms of offense, I would like to have seen more good bills passed, but our team is getting better on that count too. We supported a wide range of good bills, some of which made it pretty far, if not to the governor’s desk.
We even crafted 15 model bills of our own that were introduced by different legislators. One of them is waiting for the governor’s signature: SB674, which would authorize Hawaii to join 37 other states in the Interstate Medical Licensure Compact and make it easier for doctors from those states to practice here and help alleviate our acute doctor shortage.
But it is the nature of legislative advocacy that we will always have to play more defense than offense, especially considering how many bills are introduced and how often those bills would increase taxes or add more regulations.
Victories like the passage of SB674 are thrilling, and I can’t wait to see more of them. But I am happy that we have a strong defensive team too. Just imagine how much higher the price of paradise would be without it.
_____________
Keli‘i Akina is president and CEO of the Grassroot Institute of Hawaii.
One of the bills in this past legislative session that fell to the cutting room floor when it probably shouldn’t have was Senate Bill 1035, which would have exempted medical services provided by health care providers if the services were paid for by Medicaid, Medicare, or TRICARE (the healthcare system for the uniformed services).
At first, it looks like a dumb bill. Yes, health care providers get paid for their services, and they pay general excise tax (GET) on those services. So do most other providers of services like lawyers, accountants, and computer repair shops. And besides, the doctors and other providers are rich anyway, so why do they need a tax break?
But consider this. Many doctors work at hospitals. Some of them could be considered wealthy depending on how you define wealthy. But the GET is not in play here at all. It’s not imposed on the doctors, nor is it imposed on the hospitals. Why? The doctors as employees of the hospital don’t pay GET because employees don’t pay GET on their wages. That’s why most of us poor saps who trudge into work every day and collect a paycheck a few times a month don’t need to worry about GET. For the hospitals, those now in Hawaii are either government entities (Hawaii Health Systems Corporation hospitals) or nonprofit organizations (Queen’s, Kaiser, Kapiolani are examples). Government entities don’t pay GET because the government doesn’t tax itself. Nonprofits don’t pay GET because the tax law says that nonprofits get a tax exemption for money they make for activities that are central to their exempt purpose. Being a hospital, infirmary, or sanitarium “as such” counts as an exempt purpose in the GET law, so the payments the hospital gets for medical services beat the tax. The tax still catches income from any side hustles such as parking fees or vending machines, but that revenue is peanuts compared to payments for medicine and medical services.
So, let’s go back to doctors and other healthcare professionals. If they practice with a nonprofit hospital, then the GET doesn’t apply either to the hospital or to the professionals. If they open up their own clinic or are in solo practice, the GET applies with full force. Medicaid, Medicare, and TRICARE pay the same money for the same medical procedures regardless of who performs them, and they require the recipients of that money to just take it and be content with it. When GET is applied to the medical bills, the laws governing Medicaid, Medicare, and TRICARE prohibit the medical professionals from passing that tax on to the patient (or anyone else).
Does anyone other than me think that there’s something wrong with this picture?
Even if you might not have sympathy for the healthcare professionals in general, it does seem that doctors and other health care professionals in private practice, who are especially important to support Neighbor Islands and rural communities, are getting the short end of the stick for no good reason.
Maybe our lawmakers can do something about that next legislative session.
Editor’s Note: This letter is the second of a two-part series by my friend, Louis (Lou) Darnell, a fixture in our community for many years.
I met him at a local business event a few decades ago and spoke to him recently. Unbeknownst to me, he was in a hospice. We spoke at length, and he mentioned that he had written a letter to his grandchildren to pass on the legacy of his life lessons. I was moved by this letter and thought it deserved a larger audience. I worked with him to modify the piece.
An introduction to Lou:
Born in Italy during WWII, out of wedlock, he was adopted by an American soldier. Most of his childhood was spent overseas in far flung bases such as Berlin, Okinawa and California. He was drafted in the U.S. Army during Vietnam War and remained in the army for 27 years, rising to the rank of Colonel. He and his wife Linda raised three children and after 53 years is still happily married to her.
In his own words, his “skills include understanding people and gaining their trust; planning at operational and strategic levels; managing complexity and uncertainty and coaching through life’s challenges.”
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Post Graduate Principles
Quality of Life is dependent on the quality of your relationships which can be driven by your feelings and emotions. A key area in which you should seek to understand, and master is Emotional Intelligence. The fundamental concept is that all emotions enter the reptilian part of our brains. It is here where we decide quickly to “fight or flight” in reaction to emotionally charged words or events.
Manage your response by letting those emotionally charged words or events pass on to the more evolved part of your brain that can enable a rational response rather than an emotional response.
2nd lt and Mrs. Darnell and Linda in Fulda. Germany, 1967
Respect other peoples’ time by being on time, being prepared and being dependable in delivering on commitments.
Listen to understand and not to respond. Effective listening is more powerful than speaking. By listening you will understand the other person’s beliefs/thinking; not just hear their words. Beliefs and thinking, not spoken words drive behavior. A bonus is that everyone will appreciate your genuine interest and will consider you to be a best friend.
Another reason to be a great listener is that it supports problem solving because understanding the problem is the first crucial step. Most people jump to action that often results in incremental results and not a solution.
Interpretive Communication is much more than active listening. Active listening is a useful skill as it lets the other person know you heard them by paraphrasing what you heard. If it is important to understand someone’s thinking/beliefs, Interpretive Communication is the most valuable as it enables the speaker to gain clarity and for you to understand. (Details on how to do this are at end of the letter.)
Know Thyself
Know your self-limiting beliefs. Self-limiting beliefs are negative self-perceptions that live in our conscious and subconscious rooted in past experiences, comments by others, values and beliefs of our family and friends. Don’t let them deter you in seeking your goals. For example, my need for acceptance has been a major force in my life.
Because I felt inadequate, I worked harder, and this has driven my tenacity to win. In my case, this has been a formula for success. However, your belief could also be an impediment. Work to recognize your self-limiting beliefs because they often get in the way of achieving your potential.
Develop clear and measurable goals. Many adults work simply to survive and not to define their life’s vision and achieve their important goals. Your goals should be the cornerstone of your strategies. A strategy can be compared to a three-legged stool. Your goals are one of the legs. Many people have goals but don’t think of the other two legs, so they have a wobbly stool. The other two legs consist of resources (time, money, equipment) and how to apply those resources. For example, to achieve a goal, what resources will you need and how will you use them?
Practice an Adult Learning Cycle that consists of four parts – have an experience; reflect on it and perhaps do some research; draw conclusions and when in a similar situation, apply conclusions. Keep repeating this cycle for the rest of your life to continuously improve.
Internal Operating System. Much like your computer, it is continually running in the background, gathering, sorting and updating information that you will use consciously and unconsciously. It can inspire your creativity and innovation and it can trigger your stress-based responses. It builds on your strengths and contributes to your blind spots.
Positive Intelligence Concept involves shifting our mind from self-sabotage to self-mastery. We sabotage ourselves in three areas every day – Wellness, Performance and Relationships. (Take the free assessment by googling positive intelligence assessment.)
Colonel Darnell
Consider without prejudice other people’s truth
The most powerful and useful problem solving, interpersonal communication and leadership concept I have developed is learning how to listen. I call this interpretive communication. Think about this. Have you ever been evaluated on how well you listen? For years, I have questioned this reality and recently found Socrates wrote the purpose of communication is persuasion. That idea has permeated our culture and educational systems.
We listen to judge and respond in order to be right and protect our ego. I don’t believe this is the way to go through life.
Interpretive communication requires you to have no preconceived ideas of truth and while keeping in mind feelings to prevent their influence and the complete context of the conversation.
The concept and skill are simple to understand but extremely difficult to successfully practice. You won’t find this concept in a book.
1. Concept Objectives
a. Try to gain a rapport with the other person to achieve clarity of thought and expression.
b. You need to thoroughly understand each other’s beliefs/thinking.
2. Principles for enabling Interpretive communication
a. Mutual trust is precursor to success.
b. Be curious and don’t judge.
c. Be aware of each other’s feelings.
d. Based on all available relevant information, make a guess on the most probable issue. For example, “I am guessing you are angry because I didn’t do what I indicated; am I correct?”
e. Being right doesn’t matter. What matters is if you stimulate the other person’s thinking to derive clarity. A major obstacle to overcome is our nature. We want to be right. Be aware of this. It can’t be about ego. We need to be open-minded enough to realize that our judgement might be mistaken. We need to risk being wrong.
3. Interpretive communication in action
a. The above concept I’ve described may sound easy, but I know few people who have the self-discipline, confidence and awareness of self and others to apply it. You need a strong sense of self-esteem to be open to being wrong. People always have their truth, and you will have yours.
The goal is to find our truth.
Literally, the boat Lou came in on. He never forgot where he came from and how important that truth is to all of us.
How to carry this out:
Offer the speaker a “draft” interpretation of what you believe the other person believed. For example, “Sounds to me you don’t like Mr. Jones because he doesn’t respect you. Am I right?” Usually, you don’t nail the other person’s thoughts so they will edit your statement and as a result derive greater clarity in their thinking. By listening in this way, you are helping the other person gain clarity and illuminate some blind spots.
c. Depending on how complex the thinking is, you may have to repeat this process of putting a statement in a question to verify your interpretation. People will love you for working so hard to understand their thinking.
d. “Phase two” begins after you and the other person agree on your interpretation, make judgment, and decide if you want to accept or persuade different thinking. start a discussion on a controversial subject with consensus on what people mean and not what they say. Before evaluating or judging what you hear, confirm your interpretation. Words don’t have meaning until you interpret them.
Please read and evaluate this letter’s contents on each of your future birthdays. Look for relevant wisdom you may apply with renewed energy. Doing so will honor me and I will know part of me will be with you always.
Hawaii’s Legislature passed 274 bills this year — out of more than 3,000 introduced. But so far, Gov. Josh Green has signed only a handful of them.
That leaves a lot of bills for him to read and decide their fates. So in the spirit of “E hana kākou” (“Let’s work together”), I would like to offer some recommendations that should make the governor’s job a little easier.
Keli’i Akina
>> First, he should sign SB674, which would allow Hawaii to join the Interstate Medical Licensure Compact and make it easier for out-of-state doctors to practice in Hawaii.
Attracting more medical professionals to Hawaii is not just a good idea, it is an urgent need. Our state is short almost 800 physicians, and that has caused enormous suffering and inconvenience for Hawaii residents in need of healthcare, especially in rural areas and on the neighbor islands.
The doctor compact already includes 37 other states, and with just a stroke of the governor’s pen, doctors from every one of them would be able to relocate to the islands without having to jump through any of Hawaii’s difficult, expensive and time-consuming regulatory hoops.
I realize joining the interstate licensure compact for doctors would not solve all of Hawaii’s healthcare problems, but it would be an important first step.
>> Next, Gov. Green should sign SB1437, a tax reform bill that would allow “pass-through entities” such as partnerships and S corporations to deduct their state income tax liabilities from their federal income tax liabilities. Given that Hawaii is considered one of the worst states for businesses and entrepreneurs, this would be a simple way to lower the tax burden on local businesses — and at no cost to the state!
The practice has been OK’d by the IRS and is already allowed in 29 other states, saving businesses in those states billions of dollars.
>> On the “thumbs down” side of the ledger, Gov. Green should veto SB945, a heavy-handed licensing scheme that could potentially run cryptocurrency companies in Hawaii out of business.
Among the bill’s many major flaws, it would give the Division of Financial Institutions director immense power to rewrite the law at will. Not only would this create a potential conflict with any federal regulations, but it would put too much power in the hands of an unelected bureaucrat and create a paralyzing level of regulatory uncertainty for cryptocurrency companies hoping to do business in our state.
>> I also would like to see the governor veto HB525, another massive bill that could derail the growth of cryptocurrency in Hawaii.
Most of the bill concerns amendments to the state’s Uniform Commercial Code, but one section would exclude all digital currencies from the definition of “money,” unless they were created by a government. This, of course, would leave all the other cryptocurrencies out in the cold in the case of commercial payment disputes.
Aside from these four bills, there is the matter of the Legislature’s proposed budget, which stands to increase general fund spending by 23% over last year and exceed the state’s legal spending limit by more than 10%, or more than $1 billion.
My hope is that Gov. Green will use his line-item veto power to trim back this massive spending overreach, including the $200 million “slush fund” that the Legislature appropriated to him, which goes against our ideals of transparency and government accountability.
Gov. Green has until June 26 to submit his intent-to-veto list to the Legislature, but I hope this short list gives him a head start on how to deal with all the bills that remain on his desk. _____________
Keli‘i Akina is president and CEO of the Grassroot Institute of Hawaii.
Please join the Aloha Sangha Buddhist Group, Vipassana Hawaii, Bodhi Tree Meditation Center, and the Honolulu Dhamma Community in welcoming from Australia esteemed Vipassana Meditation teacher, Grahame White, for dhamma talks and short and daylong sittings. Please see the schedules and bio below.
For those new to Vipassana meditation, and/or meditation in general, please join us, and for those from years past, it will be nice to sit with you again!
Thursday, July 13 @ 6:00 – 7:30 pm Tom Davidson-Marx, Aloha Sangha Buddhist Group 2439 Holomua Place, #A, Honolulu (please park on 10th Ave and walk over) RSVP: Tom, 808-393-6342; tom@alohasangha.com
Grahame White, Meditation 101 (video produced by Rob Kay)
Saturday, July 15 – @ 4:00 – 6:00 pm Broken Ridge Korean Temple, Palolo 2420 Halelaau Pl, Honolulu Contact: Greg Pai for information: gpai@hawaiiantel.net.
Palolo Zen Center
Sunday, July 16 – Daylong @ 9:00 am – 4:00 pm Palolo Zen Center, 2747 Waiomao Rd. Fee: $20 CASH (Teacher Dana is voluntary) Please bring your own lunch. RSVP: Mark, honumark@gmail.com
Monday, July 17 @ 6:30 – 8:00 pm Bodhi Tree Dharma Center 654 A Judd St., Honolulu RSVP: Trinh, 808-537-1171; dbodhitree@gmail.com
Saturday, July 22 – Daylong @ 10:00 am – 8:15 pm (Potluck dinner after 8:15 pm, in the Park, after the 7:00 pm.Dhamma Talk) Hawaii Loa Ridge Park Register at: honolulu-mindfulness-on-the-ridge-group Contact: Thanh & Xuan, thanhhawaii@gmail.com ; shantixuan3@gmail.com Please try to carpool as there will be limited parking.
Sunday, July 23 – 10:30 am – 12:30 pm La’i Peace Center (Sakyadhita Hawai’i) 65-660 Kaukonahua Rd., Waialua In dialog with Ven. Karma Lekshe Tsomo on “The Mindfulness Debates: Deep Awareness or Cultural Appropriation?” RSVP: Samantha, sakyadhita.hawaii@yahoo.com
Palolo Zen Center
Grahame White has been involved in Buddhist meditation practice for over 50 years, beginning his study in England in 1969. Ordaining as a Buddhist monk for one year in BodhGaya, India in 1971, he has been a strong proponent of the establishment of Vipassana meditation in the tradition of Mahasi Sayadaw in Australia and Hawai’i. Now, Grahame leads introductory and day long retreats in Sydney and regularly holds sittings online. Grahame teaches a classical tradition of insight meditation with a relaxed, accessible style that supports the transfer of mindfulness from the formal sitting practice into daily life.
Photo Credits: Tom Davidson-Marx (Top Left); Robert Kay (Middle 2, Bottom)hoto Credits: Robert Kay
Many of us in Hawaii are aware that we have an Emergency and Budget Reserve Fund, enshrined in chapter 328L, Hawaii Revised Statutes, to save money for a “rainy day,” that is to say, an emergency. In the most recent legislative session, the state budget bill provides for an additional one billion dollars to be socked away into that fund, $500 million a year.
But, as it turns out, that’s not the only “reserve fund” we have.
As the Department of Budget and Finance kindly explains on its website, we have the Hawaii Hurricane Relief Fund (HHRF). This fund was set up in 1993 to provide hurricane insurance coverage for property owners here in Hawaii Nei in case the private insurance market proved unreliable. This was thought to be a good idea when Hurricane Iniki whacked us in 1992.
In the years since Iniki, however, private insurers returned to the market. The HHRF shut down in 2002. Section 431P-16(i), HRS, contemplates that when the HHRF dissolves, any net moneys remaining in the fund, after the payment of debts and other obligations, will go back to the State general fund.
Did that happen? No.
Instead of dissolving the HHRF when it was clear that it was no longer needed, State officials decided to keep the money – just in case. The Department of Budget and Finance says that there is now $186.7 million left in the fund.
A little more than ten years ago, lawmakers did in fact tap into the fund. After the State’s budget took some hits from the Great Recession of 2008, laws passed in 2010 and 2011 appropriated millions of dollars from the HHRF to restore public school instructional days when our government found it necessary to furlough state workers to make ends meet. (Do you remember “Furlough Fridays”?) The law also allowed the Governor to tap into the HHRF fund to maintain program levels for essential government services, but required general excise tax revenues to be diverted in fiscal years 2014 and 2015 in order to pay back the fund.
As a result, we now have $186.7 million in this “just in case” fund that not too many people know about.
Our state government is taxing us, the taxpayers, at a very high rate to obtain money that just sits around doing nothing. Not only are we failing to pull down federal moneys that have been made available for us, as we have written about on several occasions before, but we are squirreling away tens or hundreds of millions of dollars to gather dust in some bank somewhere, rather than putting the money to use fulfilling basic needs. Obviously, our lawmakers were aware of this secret fund, as they used the money in 2010-11. I wonder if our lawmakers today know about this as well. If they do, why don’t they demand that the HHRF be dissolved with the balance of the fund transferred to the general fund, as the law requires? Certainly, there is a need for some money to be kept aside just in case, but we already have a rainy day fund for just that purpose. We fed $500 million to that fund last year and are on track to stuff it with another billion dollars this and next year.
Let’s make it easier for everyone. If we are going to put money aside just in case, let’s have it in one place, the official Emergency and Budget Reserve Fund. That way everyone knows where it is, why it is there, and how much is set aside. No hoarding cash away in slush funds!
When Anupy Singla was studying foreign policy at Honolulu’s East West Center, cooking was never far from her mind. At the shared kitchen at her dorm at Hale Manoa she regularly cooked Indian food for her fellow students. She assures me, they really enjoyed it.
I believe her.
She’s still a foreign policy wonk but her main interest now is spreading the gospel of Indian cuisine. She’s done several cook books but her newest zeroes in on one of the most popular cooking tools on the market–the Instant Pot.
I’m a big fan of Indian food (and the Instant Pot). Having spent a great deal of time living in Fiji, where roughly half the population is of South Asian origin, I learned to do a quick dhal but honestly haven’t taken a crack at other recipes.
Now I’ve got an opportunity to show my friends what I can do.
Thank you Anupy. (Full disclosure–I’m also an alumni of the EWC).
A little about Anupy: Born in India, raised in the Philadelphia area, and a former broadcast journalist—she grew up making trips to her grandfather’s village in Punjab, where she learned how to cook traditional Punjabi-style food. Singla’s books combine her deep knowledge of traditional Indian cuisine and her journalistic sensibility to provide readers with accessible meal ideas that demystify authentic Indian cooking for the home chef. Her book offers 70 classic Indian recipes, each tested for three different Instant Pot sizes, along with a primer on Indian spices.
The following Q&A with Anupy will give you an inside track on the evolution of her new book.
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How did the experience of writing Instant Pot Indian differ from that of your last cookbook?
I write cookbooks based on what I think a home cook needs. Why, this cookbook project quickly turned into writing three cookbooks in one with three recipes for each dish! As I began testing, I realized it was not enough to give users just one recipe using a cup of product like other cookbooks. At least three recipes are needed to navigate successfully from one size of Instant Pot to another. And it was not enough to add notes at the end on scaling up or down, which is where the idea of a chart for each recipe developed. I know it’s not conventional, but it’s the most efficient and foolproof way for any Instant Pot user to pick up my book and successfully cook.
Why the Instant Pot? How has this cookbook made Indian food more accessible?
I have been writing this book in my head for over a decade. As soon as I saw my first electric pressure cooker, I knew this was going to be the easiest way for Americans to access cooking seemingly tough ingredients like beans and lentils. Much like a Crockpot, the Instant Pot allows you to add ingredients to the pot, press a few buttons, and literally step away and go on with your day. Sure, you can use a pressure cooker on the stove, but plugging a device into a socket is what changes the playing field. And now with a cookbook that walks you through every favorite Indian recipe, there’s no reason you can’t get Indian food on your table every week, if not every night. I’m especially thrilled to offer this book to my fellow Indian American moms and dads who struggle not only to get food on the table but to offer up their childhood food memories to their own children. My mission is to preserve our family recipes for generations to come.
What is one of your favorite recipes from this new cookbook? What was the inspiration behind it?
In all my books, I lead with a recipe for Rajmah, Punjabi kidney bean curry. I love this dish so much we even photographed it for the cover rather than just a butter chicken or chicken tikka masala, which are both delicious but not as authentically found on our tables. It is truly what we eat every single weekend and what my girls grew up loving. Our pediatrician even started eating this dish after my kids raved about it to her in every doctor’s appointment.
You’re the author of four cookbooks now. How do you find inspiration to create new recipes?
I love to eat. My family loves to eat. And I truly love the process of taking a dish and breaking it down over and over to simplify it to the point that it can be replicated without losing any of the essence of the dish itself. What am I most proud to offer in my cookbooks? Recipes that are clear, concise, and very well-tested. People don’t have the time and resources to waste on recipes that flop. I want to be sure when they invest in me and my cookbooks, they truly take their cooking and eating to another level. I also want to be sure that my own community can use my cookbooks as an anthology on how to preserve their food roots with their own family. My most treasured feedback is when someone from my community makes a recipe and responds that it made them think of their mother’s cooking or reminds them of their childhood home. You’ve talked previously about how wanting to teach your daughters to appreciate good Indian food is why you pivoted from being a reporter to being a cookbook author.
Have your daughters inspired any recipes in the cookbook? What are their favorite recipes?
My daughters are now in college. It’s hard to believe, because I began writing these recipes down essentially for them when they were babies. How do I know I have made a difference? Whenever they come home, the first thing they look for is my cooking and something Indian in the fridge. They have a huge love for Indian food and cooking. And they constantly share this love with their friends. They are proud of their culinary roots and invite their friends over to share their mom’s cooking. Every recipe I make, I always try on them and my husband first, and they typically always give me a thumbs up before it goes into the cookbook.
What’s next for you?
I have a few other book ideas as well as a cooking show on Indian cooking. I am also working on getting my spice and sauce line on more grocery store shelves. You cannot make Indian food successfully without the right ingredients, and it’s about time that someone made it easier to access those ingredients in mainstream grocery stores and beyond. My line is sold under the brand Indian As Apple Pie and is slowly gaining recognition and is on shelves in the Midwest and other regions. I also write weekly on my website www.indianasapplepie.com so that I can continue to showcase not only Indian food, but healthy Indian cooking.
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Murg Makhani/Butter Chicken (Photo Dave Monk and Gregg Lowe | Brave New Photos).
Murg Makhani
Butter Chicken
It took me more than two dozen tries to perfect this dish in the Instant Pot and get to the point where my family prefers it over the restaurant version. Making it at home means that you don’t have to overload it with butter or cream, so you can feel less guilty about eating it and feeding it to your family.
3 Quart
Yield
4–6 servings
Warm up
8 mins
Cook
15 mins
Cool down
10 mins NR + MR
Total time
33 mins
Ingredients
3 Quart
ghee or unsalted butter (dairy or alternative)
4 Tbsp
green cardamom pods, lightly crushed (keep the husks)
1
black cardamom pods (no need to crush)
1
cloves, finely ground
6
cassia leaves (or bay leaves)
1 (or 2)
almond flour
1/4 cup
turmeric powder
1/2 tsp
yellow or red onions, puréed
1 small
piece of ginger, puréed
1 (2-inch)
cloves of garlic, puréed
6
fresh Thai or serrano chiles, stems removed, thinly sliced
2–4
garam masala
2 tsp
ground cumin
2 tsp
red chile powder or cayenne pepper
2 tsp
paprika (unsmoked)
2 tsp
light brown sugar
2 tsp
salt
1 Tbsp
water
1/4 cup
boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 2-inch pieces
2 lb
tomatoes, puréed
1 medium
unsalted tomato paste
1 Tbsp
half-and-half or heavy cream (dairy or alternative)
1/4 cup
chopped fresh cilantro, for garnish
2 Tbsp
1. Place the inner pot in your Instant Pot. Select the SAUTE setting and adjust to NORMAL. When the indicator flashes HOT, add the ghee, green and black cardamom, cloves, and cassia or bay leaves. Stir and cook for 1 minute.
2. Add the flour. Stir and cook for 40 seconds. You can also add ½ cup of ground blanched almonds or use all-purpose or quinoa flour instead.
3. Add the turmeric. Stir and cook for 30 seconds.
4. Add the onions. Stir and cook for 1 minute.
5. Add the ginger, garlic, and fresh chiles. Stir and cook for 1 minute.
6. Add the garam masala, cumin, red chile powder, paprika, brown sugar, and salt. Stir and cook for 1 minute.
7. Press CANCEL. Carefully remove the inner pot and place on a heat-resistant surface. Once cool enough to handle, transfer the contents to a bowl. Scrape the bottom to loosen anything stuck—use a tablespoon of water and warm the pot on the SAUTE setting to help deglaze if needed.
8. Return the inner pot to the base. Add the water and then place a trivet in the pot. Place the chicken on the trivet and then add the mixture from Step 7 on top of the chicken. Do NOT stir.
9. Add the tomatoes and tomato paste. Again, do not stir—the key is to prevent the tomatoes from touching the bottom during the cooking process.
10. Lock the lid into place and make sure the pressure release valve is set to the sealing position (upwards). Press the PRESSURE COOK button and then press the PRESSURE LEVEL button until the panel reads LOW. Adjust the cook time to 15 minutes.
11. Once the cooking is complete, release the pressure naturally for 10 minutes. Then manually release any remaining pressure, press CANCEL, and remove the lid. Let the dish cool for 2–3 minutes and then remove the trivet with tongs and stir until all the chicken is coated. Remove and discard the green cardamom husks, the black cardamom, and cassia or bay leaves or leave them in for flavor and eat around them. All the other spices are edible. Add the cream and stir. The cream holds up better once the dish cools slightly.Garnish with the cilantro and serve with basmati rice or Indian bread like rotior naan.
NOTE: This recipe features measurements for the 3 Quart size Instant Pot. Instructions and measurements for the 6 Quart and 8 Quart Instant Pot sizes can be found in Instant Pot Indian.
Reprinted with permission from Instant Pot Indian by Anupy Singla, Agate, April 2023.
Anupy Singla is a journalist and cookbook author based in Chicago, Illinois. She is the proprietor of the food company Indian as Apple Pie, and also has a blog by the same name, for sharing her easy, healthy, delicious, and authentic recipes with a wide audience. She is a member of the prestigious Les Dames d’Escoffier International, a global philanthropic organization of women leaders in the culinary and hospitality industry. Her work has appeared in the Chicago Tribune, the Chicago Sun-Times, the Wall Street Journal, and more.
Environmentalists are bemoaning the apparent demise of the “Visitor Green Fee,” a $50 charge that would need to be paid by whoever, as a nonresident, wants to visit parks, beaches, scenic sites, and other places of natural beauty. Most of the population, they say, supports such a charge if it is going to be used to support those parks, beaches, and other scenic sites. (Especially if tourists, namely folks other than the population asked, are going to pay that charge.)
The bill containing the fee proposal, Senate Bill 304, did not survive the conference committee process. Interestingly, the bill passed third reading in the House on April 6, went over to the Senate from which it started, and the Senate disagreed to the House amendments on April 11. It wasn’t until April 19 that Senate conferees were appointed, and it took an additional week, until April 26, that the House appointed conferees. Those two weeks of dithering over conferees apparently took their toll, because the deadline for conference reports was a mere two days later, April 28. The conferees hurriedly noticed a conference committee meeting for the morning of April 28, and then noticed a reconvening of the meeting on April 28th at 5 PM. Under that kind of time pressure it would be tough to come up with a conference agreement that both sides would be happy with. Not surprisingly, they didn’t. Proponents of the bill get to try again next year.
Why did the bill go down in flames if, as its proponents have said, everyone supported it? As with many proposals, the devil was in the details. Unlike non-U.S. locales like Palau and the Galapagos Islands that can and do impose entry or exit fees at the airport, the power of our state to slap fees on people is limited by the U.S. Constitution, and we can’t simply do the same thing that those other countries are doing. Lawmakers came up with some elaborate constructs to get around this issue – the $50 will be charged for an “annual license” to see our natural attractions, for example –but how would it ever be enforced? Would state scuba divers suddenly surface beside unsuspecting swimmers, demand to see their $50 payment or a driver’s license, and haul them off to the hoosegow when they can produce neither on the spot? Or would uniformed officers on horseback gallop up to a tent of beachside partygoers and line them up, all with smartphones in hand, to see who paid their fifty bucks and got the “I’m licensed, are you?” QR code?
And, if the real problem is that not enough money is being spent to maintain our land and natural resources, isn’t the solution at the budgeting table whether or not there is a “dedicated” or “targeted” revenue stream that this bill is supposed to provide? After all, even if lawmakers say that green fee revenue can only be used for natural resource conservation, there is nothing to stop those at the budgeting table from “repurposing” general fund money that otherwise would have gone to conservation.
For that matter, there is nothing to make the agencies that are given our precious tax dollars spend the money as opposed to letting it pile up unused (compare, for example, what happens with TANF funding, as we recently reported).
Thus, at the end of the day, even if the bill passed and we started milking our tourists even more, would we really be able to pull down the revenue that this bill promises? And how do we know whether that revenue, even if it materializes, will in fact support needed conservation efforts as opposed to either gathering dust in a bank somewhere or being squandered on something entirely unrelated?
Green fee supporters and lawmakers, you certainly can try again next year. But I suggest that you give some thought to the issues we are discussing here to make sure that your hard-earned funding goes where it is supposed to.
Editor’s Note: This letter (the first of a two part series) was written by my friend, Lou Darnell. He founded an IT company called Comtel in Honolulu and later joined ranks with Vistage, a worldwide executive coaching company. Tall, with an understated but commanding presence, Lou has been a fixture in our community for many years.
I met him at a local business event a few decades ago and spoke to him recently after a long hiatus. Unbeknownst to me, he was in hospice care. Still sharp and articulate as ever, we spoke at length. He mentioned that he had written a letter to his grandchildren in an effort to pass on the legacy of his life lessons. I was moved by this letter and thought it deserved a larger audience. I worked with him to modify the piece.
In his own words, Lou’s introduction goes like this:
I was born in Italy during WWII, out of wedlock, and adopted by an American soldier, most of my childhood was traveling with him to places like Berlin, Okinawa and California. I was drafted in the U.S. Army during Vietnam War. I served in the military for over 27 years, posted in Germany, Japan, Korea and at least eight states.
I raised three children and after 53 years am still happily married to their mother.
My skills include understanding people and gaining their trust; planning at operational and strategic levels; managing complexity and uncertainty and coaching through life’s challenges. My passions include achieving goals; being a good husband and father; helping others be who they want to be and maintaining strong mental and physical fitness. I am an illuminator for people to see with renewed energy and determination.
The purpose of my letter is to describe principles that have served me well in achieving a life of meaning. You will be challenged many times by events you can’t foresee or imagine. When those tough events happen, thoroughly understand the facts; develop alternative courses of action and devise a plan most consistent with your values and beliefs. Keep your goals and priorities in mind and don’t give up. You may often not be confident but believe in yourself. Knowing yourself and your situation and available resources is key.
The Letter
(From left) Linda Giles, Matthew Darnell, Louis Jr, Dolei (Peni) Darnell
Upon High School Graduation
High school graduation is an important milestone in your life’s journey. Applying the following ideas will result in a life of meaning—if you’re lucky.
Why luck? You have to recognize the opportunities when and if they come your way. Then you must seize them.
To date, many of your decisions have been guided by your parents for good reasons. Soon, your freedom to choose will test your values, purpose and self-discipline. Regardless of temptations, living a life that honors your purpose and values will enable success, fulfilment and a positive self-image.
Only you know if you have any self-doubt masked by your confident and positive presence. I clearly remember my unfounded confidence at your age. I was happy, strong, optimistic, and excited about the future. I had little appreciation of the challenges I would face over the next 40 years.
After my high school graduation, I remember an old family friend giving me some unsolicited advice. I acted interested but didn’t feel I needed his outdated advice. I was strong, happy and could do anything. I just wanted to fly from the nest with no particular objective in mind. My guess is you are in a similar frame of mind.
I remember! I also want you to have the benefit of the important things I have learned in my life. My hope is you avoid my mistakes and take advantage of my beliefs and methods. I know much of what I write won’t resonate because experience is often a precursor for understanding new ways of thinking.
After leaving college and joining the Army, I quickly realized my athletic and social skills didn’t make up for my shortage of professional skills. Skills like writing, speaking and leadership. I studied my competitors who were outperforming me. I realized they had the advantage of strong families who mentored and supported them, and that they had successfully completed college.
Their success didn’t come because they were athletic, popular or nice. Those traits are strong assets, but success doesn’t necessarily accompany them. Your success will always be based on how well you perform on the job in comparison to your peers. Your job performance will be dependent on your attitude, knowledge, skills when under pressure. Getting good college grades will be a good predictor of your readiness to compete successfully in the workplace.
Captain Darnell in Vietnam, 1968
Taking the Next Steps
In the competitive race for professional success, I have seen three types of “pre-race” situations. Which do you want to adopt?
Successful college graduates are usually the fast starters. In college, they managed their time; earned high grades through study and developed their communication skills.
Those with strong potential but underperformed in their class work. These people usually practiced the same habits on the job and went on to have average careers. I fell into this category but was lucky to have a great mentor who lit a fire in me. Without his encouragement and belief in me, I could have easily ended up with a blue-collar career.
What race position do you want to be in upon graduation from college? This is a decision only you can make, and you should make it now because, as you know, it is hard to catch up.
Journey into Self
I have presented the following principles and skills but as the saying goes, “talk is cheap”. These need to be understood and applied to have any impact. Please read them carefully. You have defined your purpose, which will prove to be a valuable decision-making guide but remember, purpose can change with time.Redefining purpose and gaining more knowledge and honing skills will be a lifelong pursuit. The journey into self is the longest of all.
Developing yourself in each area listed below will provide a foundation for living a satisfying life filled with meaning.
Character – traits, qualities, values you honor by your behavior and actions.
Physical health – eat healthy and stay strong.
Cognitive – conscious intellectual activities such as thinking, reasoning, and remembering.
Knowledge – what is learned and understood.
Skills – the how, why and when to apply knowledge.
Intrapersonal – you talk to yourself more than anyone else. What do your “voices” tell you?
Interpersonal – your quality of life is largely dependent on the quality of your personal relationships. Leadership is a major aspect of this domain.
Mindset – mental attitude or inclination. For example, learn and practice Emotional and Positive Intelligence concepts.
Leadership – This is an art with an infinite set of variables that requires understanding people well enough to be persuasive.
Listen to understand, not to just respond.
One of Lou’s duties in Vietnam was to work in Civil Affairs–dealing directly with the Vietnamese civilians. It was a position he very much enjoyed and felt was an important contribution.He’s pictured here with a priest.
You have considerable influence over all the above.
Continue developing your character, cognitive abilities and your mindset and mastering your self-limiting beliefs. New skills and attitudes always feel awkward and artificial. Don’t let those feelings stop you. If you are comfortable, you aren’t growing.
Thinking Independently
Your transition to college reminds me of my transitions from elementary school to college.
a. In my first days of school, I was excited but worried about whether the others would accept me since I was an immigrant. That insecurity and need for acceptance followed me for most of my life. I was determined to learn English, so I taught myself how to read with comic books. How I did it, I have no idea, but the point here is if you want something, do your best to get it despite obstacles. Few things in your life will be impossible even though they may appear so. Know what you want and take the first step and the next, and the next….
b. In my first day of seventh grade, I kept waiting for recess and was shocked when I learned we didn’t do recess anymore. I had to accept realities and adjust my expectations.
c. High School required changes like walking all over campus to get to my next class. I was introduced to challenging team sports requiring strength, discipline, and teamwork. I became part of a team and not just an individual.
d. In college, kids were as smart or in many cases, smarter than me. For the first time, I doubted my ability to compete. what it took academically. I wondered if I was good enough. Also, for the first time, I became solely responsible for learning. It was not the teacher’s job to emphasize what they wanted me to learn. I had to find the discipline to study and learn. With that responsibility came the freedom to consider and evaluate new ideas. Unfortunately, the freedom to manage my time failed me as I struggled to maintain minimum academic requirements.
e. After leaving WSU and getting married, I was drafted into the Army due to the Vietnam War. After a couple of years, I was lucky my superiors saw potential in me and had a minimum of two years of college credits. After applying, the Army paid for me to return to college to earn a bachelor’s and master’s degree. Without much effort, I achieved a 3.95 GPA and wondered why college was so hard the first time. I wasn’t smarter but I was wiser.
f. The difference was I knew why college was important and I was motivated to excel. I paid attention in lectures; established relationships with professors and teaching assistants; learned the professor’s reputation before registering for a course and figured out what a professor wanted me to write on an exam.
g. In addition to learning theory and concepts in college, good grades indicate your ability to learn how to take advantage of the “system.” I don’t mean to cheat but to understand what you need to do for good grades and then to execute. Your future superiors will look for the same skills and dedication in your work.
Loui was born in Italy, March 5, 1944
Rules for College
Your college success will be largely dependent on your ability to prioritize and balance your time. Always remember the more you demonstrate having been a good student, the more post college options will be offered.
Expand your world of knowledge and beliefs; never forget what your parents and Boy Scouts have instilled in you; have fun and stay physically fit. Remember there is a “ditch on both sides of the road.” You can go too far in either direction. Determine the optimum balance of study and fun.
Designate recurring times for study.
Find places where you can concentrate on reading assignments without distractions.
Getting good grades is a measure of your discipline, aptitude and ability to learn professors’ teaching objectives.
Exercise your ability to think critically and articulate your thoughts during philosophical “talk story” sessions.
Eat a healthy diet, exercise, and get enough sleep.
Manage your course selections to satisfy degree requirements within four years. Don’t rely totally on your counselor’s guidance. Be sure you understand graduation requirements. Even if a class is full, see the professor and ask for an exception to admit you to the course. Know what you want/need and use your thinking and communication skills to make things happen!
Listen to Understand and Not to Respond.
Take advantage of professors’ and teaching assistants’ office hours. See them early in a course and ask what their teaching objectives are and what they would like you to get out of their course. Before going, read the course syllabus and relevant handout material to be best prepared for the discussion. Few students will go to their professors but don’t follow their lead. On your first job, do you want to be seen as average or do you want to stand out from the crowd? Professors are there for you and they will love having an interested student. Don’t hold back. This is a good practice for later in life as well.
Have fun but have courage to not follow the “herd” when you know doing so would be wrong.
Be assertive in seeking what you want and need in college and life. Note the difference between being assertive and aggressive. I want to encourage you to be assertive. Being assertive can be defined as working to achieve something in all parties’ best interest. You need to know what you want and know how to ask for it firmly and politely. Being aggressive, on the other hand, can lead to a “winner and loser” scenario. Think of someone being aggressive when they pursue something only in their best interest.
a. You have a sensitive and caring nature which makes it hard to risk offending someone. During your college and work years, no one is going to approach you to ask what you want. You will continue competing with your fellow students and peers for the rest of your life. For example, you could have been more assertive in getting your high school to validate to Microsoft that you were a student or getting a teacher to write an Eagle Scout recommendation.
b. Your goals for going to college is not only to please those you love. You will be building the second major, educational foundation for the rest of your life.
c. Skills that will set you apart when applying for a job after graduation include: i. Communication in all forms – writing, speaking and listening. ii. Analytic – understanding the challenge or problem iii. Planning and scheduling iv. Interpersonal skills that include leadership
