Two dolphins swim in Kailua Bay. (Reiko Sekine/Community Contributor)

Peanut blossom cookies first gained notoriety at the 1957 Pillsbury Bake-Off. They’re simply a peanut butter cookie topped with a Hershey’s Kiss. We started with the original recipe and made tweaks to it with the goal of achieving a more robust peanut flavor.

Love lingers in the air this week as we raise a glass to Valentine’s Day. I’m thankful to work with my sweetheart, hosting a podcast and speaking engagements on wine and film with my husband, film critic, Gary Cogill. Likewise, dozens of winemakers produce stellar selections side by side with their one and only. Here are a few favorites, all available on Hawaii Island or through the winery website.

For nearly three years, Waimea Middle School students and the Mala’ai School Garden staff have been researching, planting, cultivating, sourcing, creating recipes, taste-testing and learning to process locally grown foods as part of their garden classes to help provision the next sail of the Makali’i voyaging canoe to the northwestern Hawaiian Islands.

Kris asks: I am surprised at the number of weeks we have gone without rain. What advice can you offer to gardeners in the middle of this long dry spell?

Garden magazines and garden supply stores are now featuring bulb advertisements and displays. Gladiolus, cannas, gloxinias, tuberous begonias, callas, amaryllis, and caladiums are just a few of the many types available.