Hawaii

Did you wonder what we might do for Hawaii....? All the delicious possibilities--fish, pork, tropical fruit, Asian cuisine....

We went with a classic:


Yup...SPAM!

I was the only member of our little family who had ever eaten SPAM. It was actually not terribly uncommon in our house when I was a kid. My mom, who lived in Hawaii when she was very young, liked it with eggs. Interestingly, Hawaiians consume more SPAM than residents of any other state. It was sent with the troops during WWII and became an instant hit among the locals. It was a good culinary addition to the tropical climate--convenient calories that don't require refrigeration. Plus, the salty, spicy meat was quickly integrated into the Asian and Pacific dishes that were already popular.



This was definitely a quick and easy meal to prepare. I sliced one can of SPAM and fried the pieces lightly in peanut oil.

On the side, we served fresh green beans and pineapple. I've only recently come to appreciate how much better a pineapple is when you cut it up yourself--the canned variety just can't compete.

Unfortunately, our pineapple was shipped from Cost Rica, rather than Hawaii--but we did the best we could!

I put hot dog buns on the table, thinking most of us would prefer these in sandwich form. I added a little mustard and relish:

Chomp!

The meal got generally positive reviews, though not overwhelmingly so. Maia thought that it tasted a lot like a hot dog; Lucy said it was "too spicy" to be a hot dog. My memory of SPAM was that it was very salty, and this was spicier than I remember. It does stand for "spiced ham," so I suppose I shouldn't be surprised.

I don't see this becoming a regular part of our repertoire, but it seems appropriate that our little project includes this all-American meat (or, meat-like-product, if you prefer)!

Next stop: South Dakota!