On Saturday we shuffled off to the local farmer's market to get the week's staples-at least the staples one can get at a farmer's market.
I have heard people say a farmer's market is a little limiting in the scope of food that's offered for sale. That does, however, make sense and with good reason....farmer's can only grow what's viable in their climate.
Back in the northeast we have a plethora of tender greens and peas in the spring, followed by some baby root vegetables and on to beans, squash, tomatoes, etc in mid summer and squash and apples come fall. Of course there's fruit throughout the season and most of the veggies do overlap into other seasons.
It's no different here however, the constant 82 degrees and rocky, volcanic soil doesn't always allow things we're used to growing in the northeast, to grow here.
The farmer's markets here are to the brim with tropical (duh) fruit! Avocados, oranges, lemons, limes, passion fruit, guava, papaya, bananas, etc. There were a couple of farmers on Saturday with small tomatoes, green beans and lettuces and a number of farmers with the famous Kona coffee (yes, the actual farmers) and macadamia nuts. We also saw one meat producer with lamb, pork and beef.
Basically, we're all eating the same things but availability is limited and farmer's markets could never have all of the above in one place.
A few things you'll never see in the northeast....
Jackfruit: a starchy fruit that tastes like a potato (or fresh baked bread-hence the name)
Pomelo: 2-4 lb fruits with thick skins; tastes like a sweet, mild grapefruit. (you may occasionally find these in the supermarket back home)
Tangor: a tangerine/orange cross that's super sweet and juicy and hard to peel; they're best for juice. This tree happens to be in Makoto's yard and is just coming ripe!
Jackfruit: the largest tree-borne fruit in the world weighing as much as 80 lbs. This tree is in a neighbor's yard and the largest fruit is about 24+" long. The starchy fruit is cooked and tastes like a tart banana.
Starfruit: you may also see this in a northeastern supermarket--super tart! just seeing one makes me pucker!..this tree is also in a neighbor's yard. These can be deadly if you eat one and have kidney disease.
Christopher found this in the local supermarket. We have yet to see anything like it back home and granted...most Hawaiians we spoke with never even knew it was here. But how fun! Great for beach parties I would imagine.
All you need is a can opener and a fork. Or if you're lucky enough to have a gas powered blender, you wouldn't need a fork at all.
What is the most fabulous Hawaiian food of all?
SPAM! in the form of musubi.
So here we go...SPAM was introduced to the pacific islands during the WWII occupation by the US military, as an inexpensive form of meat for the troops. Spam was also used as a staple in the Japanese internment camps of the time and it eventually found it's way into the local diet.
Are you ready for some SPAM trivia?.....the 7 billionth can of SPAM was sold in the US in 2007 (what could the count be now?!), 3.8 cans are consumed in the US every second!, McDonalds' and Burger Kings in Hawaii have SPAM on the menu (we have yet to partake but lord knows we're a gonna!), it comes in Hot & Spicy, Low Sodium, Turkey, Garlic and Lite varieties and Waikiki is host to the Spam Jam festival every April. Hot!
So back to musubi....Musubi is technically onigiri (a rice ball-or square-wrapped in nori (seaweed)) that has a slice of fried SPAM nestled in the center..you can even get a musubi delux (with scrambled egg). Available at most convenience stores and gas stations have them for about $2!
They're the size of your computer's mouse and rather filling (tasty too!)
It's food for a girl on the go!
Who needs a luau?!
I'm thinking LICK could start a new trend in Hudson and possibly the entire northeast...ice cream and musubi (but not together-ew.)
And last but not least, Hawaii also has the macadamia nut. That tasty, fatty nut that's so good in chocolate chip cookies and dry roasted with salt. (pilfered photo)
They're harder then hell to crack open; I've heard stories of rocks and hammers being used as well as rolling over them with the car tires.
The best mac nuts we found...Salty Donkey Balls...no kidding.
Dark chocolate covered (like a 1/4"+ coating), dry roasted whole mac nut...then the whole thing is rolled in sea salt. Fargin fabulous! a bag of 6 was over $7...but since each ball is a two or three biter...it's so worth it.
There was a mac nut farmer at the farmer's market who roasted her nuts then drizzled them with honey and tossed them in toasted coconut and curry.....Barbara ground them in the food processor and mixed in some panko bread crumbs. Chuck then coated pieces of fresh Ono (fab fish) which he pan fried....awwwwsoooome.....hungry yet?
And of course, ONLY in Hawaii and available at the nearest Target (where else?)
SPAM flavored mac nuts...it all comes full circle.....
(and don't think I wont try them)
No comments:
Post a Comment