April 28, 2017 - Foodie Friday Spotlight - Hawaiian Foods

Elisa's Daily Scoop
NEXT TRIP DEPARTS IN: 24 DAYS

Hawaiian Food Talk

Hey Guys,

Wow!  What a nutty morning!! I feel like I can hardly catch my breath with all I have been doing!!

​The morning started off relatively normal - put lunches together, got the kids to school just fine and then did a few errands to CVS and Stop & Shop.

I had my fur baby in tow with me.  

However, when I got back home, all hell broke loose.  I had numerous phone calls starting off quite early - my Dad and my sissy.

Then, for some crazy reason, I felt very compelled to get my trip details in order for our upcoming Cousins Chicago Road Trip.

​For the most part, my itinerary was set and just about all hotels booked. But, then I remembered that I had not as yet booked my hotel for my second stay in Cleveland on Day 6 on the return drive.

My plan was to book the same hotel that we were staying at on the drive west, but unfortunately, that hotel was now booked.  So, I looked for other downtown Cleveland Hotel and EVERYTHING was just about booked!!! I was freaking a bit.

A perspective of Toledo and the Maumee River (credit: greatlakesonline)

In the end, I was forced to book my stay out near the Cleveland airport (approximately 14 miles from downtown), which isn't really a big deal.  What can you do!

It doesn't sound like much, but I was all over the internet, checking out driving distances, looking at the ratings, etc., so it felt a bit stressful.

Then, from there, I started to look at my Day 6, when me and Tanya will be parting ways - Tanya, to fly to Miami for the All-Star Game and me to head back east to New York. ​

My day starts off with a farewell breakfast with all the cousins and then getting on the road.  The driving distance from Chicago to Cleveland is roughly 5-1/2 hours.  So, I thought, let me see if we an stop along the way - maybe for a lunch or some interesting sight.

A Christmas Story House Museum, Cleveland, OH (credit: mrkringle.com)

I started to spend more time than i had this morning looking at everything, but finally settled on stopping after a little under four hours in Toledo.  There seemed to be some cute restaurants along the Maumee River so I settled on that being the stopping point.  I'll figure out "where" exactly we'll stop when I have more time.

Then, we'll continue on after a bite to Cleveland to our first stop being A Christmas Story house museum.

​But, now I'm set and I just need to print off all my hotel confirmations and take some leisurely time to plan some restaurants along the way back home.

Well, Tanya actually came up with the idea for today's Foodie Friday...
​Spotlight: Hawaiian Foods.

I supposed it's completely apropos with her trip to Hawaii in only 4 days!!!

Ashamed as always to say it, I've yet to go to visit the Aloha State (insert shameful face).  I know, it's one of those places that I should have been too years ago just because it's "Hawaii" and then two years ago, I had tried so hard to make things work to join Tanya and gang when they went in October 2015, but it was just not possible.

This is clearly a destination that has to go on the calendar for some time in the near future.

But, for now, I'll live vicariously through my dear cuz and talk about this amazing state and all it has to offer to complement Tanya's trip over the course of the next few weeks!

And that will start today, as we focus on the food of Hawaii!

(credit: polynesia.com)

​Hawaiian Food Background...
As Native Hawaiians settled the area, they fished, raised taro for poi, planted coconuts, sugarcane, sweet potatoes and yams, and cooked meat and fish in earth ovens.

Many traditional Hawaiian foods are dishes originally brought over from Pacific Polynesian islands.

With the arrival of Christian missionaries to the area, New England cuisine was introduced.   Whalers brought with them the introduction of salted fish, which eventually transformed into the side dish lomilomi salmon.

Click on the link for more detail on to-hawaii.com 

Hawaiian men pounding poi, c. 1890 (credit: wikipedia)

A few interesting Hawaiian Food Facts:

What did the Ancient Hawaiians eat?
Taro was the backbone of the ancient diet. Hawaiians ate taro in several forms, but the most common way was as poi, a thick starchy paste eaten with the fingers. To prepare poi, the taro was first washed and cooked in an imu.
 
What are the most Popular Native Hawaiian Dishes?
Poi (pronounced po-ee) is made from cooked and mashed taro. It is the starch staple of the native Hawaiian diet.
​

Lau-lau (credit: migrationology.com)

Lau-lau (pronounced la-ow la-ow) is made with beef, pork, or chicken and salted butterfish are bundled wrapped in taro leaves and cooked in an underground hot rock oven (called an imu) for hours until it turns soft and smoky flavored. The meat is tender and juicy while the leaves turn to a spinach like consistency.  

Kalua pig is cooked in an imu, and the pork slow roasts so it becomes extremely tender and retains a remarkable smoky flavor. Kalua pig is similar to southern American pulled pork, but instead of the tangy barbecue sauce it has a pungent wood smoke flavor.

Poke is the Hawaiian version of Japanese sashimi (raw fish). Rather than slicing the fish thin like for Japanese sashimi, Hawaiian poke is served in bite sized hearty cubes. The most common type of fish is ahi (tuna), but other kinds of fresh saltwater fish are also very commonly used.

Lomi Salmon (lomi-lomi salmon)
This is not originally native to Hawaii but was brought over from other Pacific islands, and is now part of most traditional Hawaiian meals and makes a great addition to poi. Raw salmon is cured with salt and diced up along with tomatoes, onions, and normally some chili peppers.  

Native Hawaiian Fruit (credit: pinterest)

Fruit is also a staple in Hawaii, with the most popular locally grown being pineapple and passion fruit (liliko).
Those that are native to the Hawaiian Islands include:

• Rambutan. Also known as Lychee or “Longan” (translating to “Dragon Eye“) this sweet fruit comes in many shapes and colors. 
• Egg Fruit
• Pitaya “Dragon Fruit” 
• Strawberry Guava
• Poha Berry
• Papaya
• Starfruit
• Cherimoya

I do hope you found this interesting today!  
Check out Tanya's side for the Vegan perspective of Hawaiian food and some of her food adventures on her many trips to the Hawaiian islands!

As for me, I have a busy afternoon.  Tonight is Gianna's school production of Alice in Wonderland.  She plays one of the flowers!  I'll be helping her get ready, do her make-up so she can get to the school in time.

​My sister, Danielle and nephew Julian will be joining me and Kelsey at the play tonight!  Should be fun.

See ya back here tomorrow!!

-E
xoxo

Tanya's Daily Scoop
NEXT TRIP DEPARTS IN: 4 DAYS

What a day!

Hello Hello.

Let me share with you my extreme frustration.

Here I was almost ready to post, I hit save and the page refreshes having me sign in and losing all of my blog - which wasted all of my time.

All of this of what has already been a very very hectic and stressful morning.
​

So I'm gonna quickly go over a few things with ya:
Had a pretty successful travel meeting for the IPC last night. Then as of this morning something major fell through. Luckily I was able to hit up a good friend of mine and he pointed me in the right direction to fix this situation. Whew.

I am still semi adjusting to the local time zone after returning from London on Monday night.

I still have to unpack - but more importantly, I need to PACK for Hawaii...which is going to be quite involved. Packing for this trip to Hawaii is gonna be unlike any other, as I need to pack for a variety of situations..
Bikinis and Beaches, Hiking and Biking, Lava flows, Boating, and temps in the 30's F for our visit and star gazing at Mauna Kea.

I have pretty much no choice but to do this today!

There is absolutely no time this weekend, although I need to pack for Dave tomorrow after the kids performance and before my Mani/Pedi.

Sunday is Chaplin's 6th birthday and a day full of fun festivities. 

Monday is full of appointments and meetings before we hop aboard a jet and start our journey to Hawaii.

While things are hectic over here they are and always quite relaxing in Hawaii where everything is on island-time.  

Well as you know, I'll be leaving for the Aloha state in 4 short days. The kids are a bit jealous that they aren't coming along and so I'm also working on another trip out there for next year.

But for now since it is Friday and Fridays are Foodie Fridays let's talk about Hawaiian Foods.

Elisa has done a great job at giving us some in depth information about Hawaiian Food background. And while a lot of their food is meat based, a main staple is Taro.

In ancient Hawai`i, taro played a much larger role beyond dietary staple. At the economic, political and spiritual center of Hawaiian agricultural society, the taro plant and its history grew to mythological proportions. 

Taro has always been so important for Hawaiians' survival and prosperity that it was considered an elder sibling to the Hawaiian race.

In tales of taro's origins, it is the stillborn first child of Wakea, the sky father, and his daughter Ho`ohokukalani (daughter to Papa, the earth mother).
This child was buried near the house and grew into a taro plant they named Haloanaka, or long stalk trembling. The second son born to Wakea and Ho`ohokukalani took human form and was named Haloa after his elder brother.
From this Haloa the human race descended. Thus Hawaiians as a people understood themselves to be closely related to taro.
 
While Taro is served as one of the most important roles in the dish Poi - which does actually happen to be vegan. I've gotta admit - no offense to Hawaiians or the Hawaiian culture, but I really am not a fan whatsoever of Poi. Not really sure what the appeal is.

However add Taro to a smoothie, a veggie burger, or served fried as a chip and all of a sudden I'm a big fan!

Now obviously Hawaii is the land of tropical foods and fruits - the only thing is that I am actually not a fan of most tropical fruits. At least I like Pineapple!

Some other yummies that I'm looking forward to and that you can even make at home are:

• Vegan Coconut French Toast
• Maui Onion Tofu

From the Old Lahiana Luau (c)travelincousins.com

• Lomi Lomi made with Jackfruit
• Haupia (a long-standing favorite Hawaiian treat)

Credit: TastingKauai.com

• Huli Huli Tempe (see recipe below)

Click on picture for the recipe. Credit: thejollyfox.com

But there is also the famed Hawaiian Shaved Ice and our favorite Puka Dog!!

Enjoying Hawaiian Shaved Ice (c)travelincousins.com

Time for a Puka Dog (c)travelincousins.com

Puka Dogs! Hula Dogs! Whatever you want to call them, just let me eat them!

​I've found some vegan eateries that I'm looking forward to trying - remember that I've never been to the Big Island.

And that's about it for today, time to go PACK!
​-T