HOW-TOs

 HOW TO MAKE YOUR OWN PINA COLADA MIX.

Don't know if this is the best recipe ever but it was quite tasty with a more natural non-syrupy taste which we all enjoyed. When deciding to make our own Pina Colada mix I cruised through a bunch of different recipes before figuring out the ingredients which are needed to make a Pina Colada (pineapple, coconut, and rum at the least) and which ones we would use. What we decided on was Cream of Coconut, Crushed Pineapples, Grated Coconut in Cane Syrup, Ice, and Kraken Spiced rum, which if you like rum and haven't had it you should go get it... now. And this is how the drink is broken down in a pitcher sized container holding 48 ounces of deliciousness:
8 oz. Cream of Coconut (it is very sweet so if you want a sweeter drink use a little more and vice versa)
8 oz. Crushed Pineapple (this gives it a bit of a pulpy texture, so if you want it smoother I would use plain Pineapple juice but then would use 6 not 8 ounces)
10 oz. Spiced Rum (we used Kraken and it's amazing)
4 oz. Grated Coconut (as a side-note there is definitely a texture associated with this ingredient)
And as much ice as you can fit into your blender then hit the play button on the blender.

All Photos by Cayetana Polanco of Mangolandia.com

HOW TO HARVEST AND COOK YOUR OWN MUSSELS:

First off go to a place where they have Mussels and wait for low-tide. We went to Bar Harbor, Maine to get ours. Now first you should look up the regulations on Mussel catching, in Maine you can take 2 bushels a day for personal consumption. We didn't take that many. Now go about looking right along the edge of where the waters have receded and look for tight bundles of "rocks" these will be mussels which have grabbed on to surrounding rocks and such. You will then have to "shuck" them off the rocks and put them into your pocket. Once you have enough head on back to your house or campsite (we prefer campsite with a firepit).

 

Start a big fire and then clean the Mussels while letting the fire burn down. Once the Mussels are cleaned and the fire hot you can toss the Mussels into some tinfoil with a bit of water and spices (coconut milk works well too) and let them simmer in there for a bit. Once they start to open up you can take them out of the tinfoil and place them above the heat for a delicious smoky flavor. You probably are going to want to eat something else as well, we made a cream curry pasta, you can make whatever you want. Once the mussels have turned a slight orange go ahead and consume them - on the halfshell or mixed into pasta or with a wee bit of hot sauce. Enjoy.

  HOW TO CHANGE HID HEADLIGHT IN 2004 PRIUS:

Step 1: Buy the bulb - it costs 80-90 bucks from your local NAPA Auto Parts store. If you are in a smaller town you will probably have to stay in that town another night while waiting for the bulb to arrive.

Step 2: Open the hood. Take the plastic cover off - it requires a Phillips screwdriver and a slotted one for leverage to pop the little plastic screws up and out. If you are replacing the left bulb you will also have to remove a second piece of plastic with the same tools. I used a Gerber multi-tool and the last of my wits for the job.

 

Step 3: Once you have the plastic out of your way - you will need to turn the fins of the headlight assembly casing counter-clockwise or in my case struggle with it never being opened before for 20 minutes before deciding to use penetrating oil on the seals and waiting then coming back and struggling more before it finally budged.

 Step 4: Once that is turned you then need to wiggle it and work the plastic case out of your way. This may take upwards of 10 minutes if you're lucky. Then there is a secondary coil in place which you will need to turn it counter-clockwise as well and then remove it. This actually isn't much of a pain unlike the rest of the process.

Step 5: Now the assembly case and the coil is out you need to reach up on top of the actual bulb and feel around for two little metal clips that need to be pushed in and then one to the left and one to the right so the clip can fall out of the way of the bulb and allow you to remove it.

Step 6: The bulb should then slide out pretty easily. Once it is out now you have the fun task of doing the exact same thing, but in reverse. It's actually pretty easy going in reverse, just make sure the metal clip is in the exact right place otherwise it all falls to hell pretty quick.

This little piece of glass, wire filament, and plastic is forged in the depths of Hell and will consume you.

HOW TO BUILD A BED FRAME IN A PRIUS:

In this post I'm going to try and explain my steps to installing a hinge assisted bed/couch in a 2004 Toyota Prius which also includes enough storage space to haul your gear. First off find an awesome family which has a useful (although a little unorganized) shop space or own your own shop with tools and stuff. Then you take a ton of measurements of the back of your Prius because nobody on the forums can give you a direct answer - until now.

 

The above graphic (click on the pic for larger view) shows the measurements (rounded off) for the trunk/rear seat width and length. There is 38 inches of available space on the bottom of the trunk, 40.5 inches in the upper wheel well area(although, I was able to go to 41 inch slats and just stretched the fabric), and the available space from door to door is 51(I cut the slats to 48 inches instead because it is easier to reach our under-bed storage compartments). And finally the realistic length from where the door shuts to the seats in forward upright position is 73 inches. Also the height from trunk floor to ceiling varies from ~18" to ~36". 

The next step, was to remove the rear seatbacks which ended up being just the removal of four 14mm bolts attached on top of the folded seats under the velcro cloth. They pulled right out. Then, I was able to remove the actual rear seats by folding forward until they click then laying them flat again and lifting straight up. The only drawback I've noticed from this is that the sound of the hybrid engine engaging is actually noticeable now.

 Then get your tools out and ready to do some work. I used a 1/2" winged bit, table saw, miter saw, screw gun, nail gun, and a belt sander to do the job. Along with various measuring devices. I would imagine if you had the wood cut the right width you could do it with a handsaw, hammer, and a 1/2 drill bit, and screw gun.

I then cut a 2x6 into two 2x3's for the runners of the frame which I cut at 68 inches. I also cut the legs for the trunk and rear foot space - the trunk legs being ~7 inches high* and the rear foot space legs being 20.75 inches with a .5" foot. I then attached the trunk legs with two 3 1/2" screws and the r/foot legs with one 3 1/2" screw in order to turn the 2x4 outwards so the hinge could rest there.

*I kept the space between the trunk and the bottom of the bedframe just under 7 inches high so we could slide our storage bins in and out.

The next step was to cut the slats to the right lengths. I cut three to 40 inches, two to 41 inches, five to 48 inches, and a final 48x6 inch headboard. I attached them via nail gun (way quicker then screws) to the runners, two inches apart with the first board overhanging one inch towards the rear of the trunk. The last two boards toward the front of the car were attached to a 1x4" board which rotates on 3/8 x 3 1/2" lag bolts. The 1x6 is 17 inches long and attached 15 inches from the end of the runners for a two inch overlap. This allows for 72 inches of total bed length which is exactly my height and it seems comfy so far.

The secondary runner on the end of the bed allows us to fold it up into a lounging position for reading and just hanging out. It also allows us to have a full-length bed but still be able to put the seats into a comfortable driving position without moving the bed around. As you can see in the above photo taking out the seats allowed for a lot more under bed storage freeing up space for our bike wheels and on the other side, a shelf for odds and ends. If you have any more questions about the measurements you can email me at tigerinourcar@gmail.com.