Yumminess

In order to get my mind off of our basement issues, and all the work that is lurking for us down there, I will focus on food.  It occurs to me that I promised a food post from our recent vacation and never delivered.  Since I am a woman of my word, here we go.

Obviously, the pineapple is amazing.  It's a bit like that shrimp scene from Forest Gump.  There's pineapple wine; pineapple jelly; pineapple ice cream; pineapple salsa; pineapple frothy drinks; pineapple lotion, body wash, perfume, shirts, quilts, home decor...you get the idea.  But on a less cynical note, the first time I ate fresh pineapple there (and other tropical fruits as well), it was like I had never really tasted them before.  It was like all the other fruit I had previously eaten was only a stale imitation of the real thing.

If you're the kind of person who can dig some fried rice and beer for breakfast, then this next food is for you!  It's called Spam Musubi (moo-soo-bee) and it is fabulous, my friends.  Spam is Hawaii's culinary treasure so it's in everything, but I discovered this specific treat years ago.  It's rice, japanese spices, fried spam (an egg is optional), wrapped in seaweed.  Y-E-S.  When we decided to go back to Hawaii for a vacation, G mentioned the shark cage, but the first thing I thought of was the delectable Spam Musubi.

Back to fruit for a sec:  One of G's faves is the coconut pancake.  Complete with fresh shaved coconut on top and fresh coconut syrup on the side.  If you're a sweets person (or if you're like my BFJ and you deny being a sweets person but in reality you're a sweets fanatic) then this is the breakfast of champions for you.  Personally, I can't take it.  Visions of the Korean dental staff crawling around in my mouth for hours on end - they deter me.

If you've known us for more than, say, 3 minutes, then you know that Sonic holds a special place in our hearts.  Well, there are no Sonics in Hawaii, but there is Jamba Juice, which is a close second!  Please note that by the time I thought to take this picture, my cup was empty.  

Another beverage of choice is guava juice.  The fresh stuff is the best, but I'll throw down one of these any day of the week and twice on Sunday.  One of my Hawaiian students once tried to convince me that Hawaiian punch was only avaiable in Hawaii.  We got into like an hour-long discussion about how, actually, I grew up on the mainland where Hawaiian punch was readily-available.  I never convinced him.  But this yumminess actually isn't available here.  I pine for it.



Another coconut flavored treat is called Haupia (HO-pee-yuh).  It's like thick coconut custard that they use as pie filling.  All I'm sayin' is O-M-G it is tasty.  This is a quick pic of a chocolate haupia pie before we devoured it like locusts.

There's a place on the North Shore called Kua'Aina burgers that makes tasty burgers as big as your face.  I never slowed down long enough to take a picture; this is the only remnant I have.



One thing I don't have a pic of is Kona coffee.  People.  You have not tasted coffee until you've tasted it there.  Buying kona stuff here is just not the same.  However, I do have a pic of kalua coffee ice cream tastiness.  It didn't last long, let me tell you.

Other Hawaiian treats that I love but are not pictured here are:

• Seared ahi.  Yes, yes and yes.
• Macadamia nuts, or mac nuts as we affectionately refer to them.  Their flavors are also reminiscent of Bubba Gump's shrimp scene.  If you can think of a flavor, they've got it.  Our favorites are the dark chocolate covered ones, the cinnamon covered ones, and the Maui onion and garlic ones.
• Fresh mahi mahi.
• Did I mention kona coffee?  And fresh guava juice?
• Papayas and lime are to die for.
• Shave ice and more shave ice.  Chased down with shave ice.
• Kalua pig.  I could eat it for every meal and die a happy woman.

Put these on your To Eat list for the next time you're in da islands.  You can thank me later.  :)