Brie's Baked Pineapple and Spam

Brie shared her recipe for Baked Pineapple and Spam with us on Oahu and I couldn't wait to try it out when I got home. We enjoyed it so much we thought we may buy some more Spam - a much loved staple in Hawaii!

It's easy too - slice and layer some Spam in a dish. Cover the Spam with a mixture of crushed pineapple (with the juice), mustard and brown sugar (about 2 tblspns of each). Then bake in a moderate oven for about 10 minutes.

I served ours up with salad. 

I found proof of Hawaii's love of Spam in Walmart! This cookery book!

And I read in "101 Things to do in Oahu" : "One of the most interesting gastronomical finds is the prevalence of SPAM - Hawaii's residents consume the most of this canned meat per capita in the United States. In fact, there's a whole festival, SPAM JAM, based on everything Spam."

This annual street festival occurs in April and benefits the Hawaii Foodbank, the largest non-profit in Hawaii that feeds the needy.

Yes, this is a real product - Spam flavoured macadamia nuts!!!

And let's hear it from the Monty Python crew (1989)

Q: Hey Anne, have you got any recipes without Pineapple?

A: Well, there's Pineapple, Pineapple, Spam and Pineapple. Not much Pineapple in that!

Spotting pineapples on Oahu, day 5

Sissa at her Shaved Ice stall in Waikiki presenting me with an enormous Pineapple/Orange treat! There was no pineapple syrup left as it is soooooo popular here! Anne

Pineapples, Passion Fruit and Poi: Recipes from Hawaii by Mary Lou Gebhard & William H. Butler, Illustrations by Hide Doki, 1967

Golden Punch

6 cups pineapple juice; 4 cups orange juice; 6 small bottles 7-UP or ginger ale; orange slices

Combine chilled pineapple and orange juices; pour over cake of ice in punchbowl. Add 7-UP. Garnish with orange slices.

Now I’m looking for a secluded field of pineapples so I can try Pineapple Swipes! Anne

Pineapple Swipes

“Since the days of the great god Maui, Hawaiians, like good menfolk the world over, have found solace in the cup that cheers . . . Drawing on inborn ingenuity in times of great need, the Hawaiian tippler seized on the introduction of the pineapple to the Islands as a boon to the common man. . . The name . . . Pineapple Swipes . .. . is doubtless derived from the fact that one must first ‘swipe’ his pineapple. . .

First, you locate a sun-ripened pineapple, still on the plant, and neatly slice off the top and set it carefully aside. Then, with a long-bladed knife or chopstick, mulch the interior of the fruit, being careful not to puncture the outer skin. Next, sprinkle a cup of sugar into the mashed up contents, and for expedience, drop in a corner from a square of yeast. Now replace the top and pint it in place with a couple of slivers of wood or toothpicks and go on your way, keeping patient for at least three days, if you’re in a hurry – or four or five days if you can wait that long.

The pineapple will repose in the tropical sun while the yeast and sugar and fruit do their work, and when you return, you will find what must be the original ‘nectar of the gods’. Pluck your now fermented fruit cautiously – don’t spill a drop, and hide yourself into a cool, shady spot, uncap the pineapple and sup away.

Caution: if you are alone, do not leave your family in an expectant mood, as you will, no doubt, repose a good eight hours before the load wears off – for this, my friend, is the smoothest, most alcoholic nectar to be had for the price of: 1 cup sugar, 1 pinch of yeast, and 1 swiped pineapple.” The authors.

Spotting pineapples on Oahu, day 4

Not so many memorable pineapple experiences today, so here's a photo of a complete stranger chillin' in Honolulu, no doubt dreaming of the frozen pineapple rumbo they'll be sipping this evening . . .

Pineapples, Passion Fruit and Poi: Recipes from Hawaii by Mary Lou Gebhard & William H. Butler, Illustrations by Hide Doki, 1967

Frozen Pineapple Rumbo

2 tblsp pineapple juice; 1 tblspn dessert sugar; 1 egg white; 2 tblsp lime juice; 80ml rum; 2 cups shaved ice

Mix in blender until consistency of snow. Serve in chilled 200ml glass.

Spotting pineapples on Oahu, day 3

Today's pineapple encounters were uniquely Hawaiian.

They were spotted from above:

               (The biggest maze in the whole wide world is planted at the                           Dole Pineapple Plantation.)

They were made from coconut palm leaves:

They were sliced and arranged on the edge of plastic cups of Mai Tai:

(mostly rum  . . . mmm)

There was pineapple in a cake:

Switched on in a hotel lobby:

Drawn on a wall:

And wrapped up in something entirely synthetic! Anne

Pineapples, Passion Fruit and Poi: Recipes from Hawaii by Mary Lou Gebhard & William H. Butler, Illustrations by Hide Doki, 1967

Molokai Fizz

1 jigger gin; 2 jiggers pineapple juice; 1 egg yolk; sparkling water

Combine gin, egg yolk and pineapple juice in a shaker with a little cracked ice; shake like fury; pour into tall highball glass; add sparkling water to fill.

Spotting pineapples on Oahu, day 2

The Hawaiian word for pineapple = hala kahiki

Today’s highlight was meeting the beautiful Brie, a real Pineapple Princess who grew up on the Hawaiian island of Lana’i.

Brie said “We were plantation kids, everyone worked for Dole. It was like a family. My grandmother worked at the cannery. My Dad was a “luna”, supervisor and driver of the “boom” followed by the gang who would pick the pineapples, twist off the crowns, throw them over their shoulders and the pineapples onto a conveyor belt. The crowns were planted again, up to 4 times. The gangs worked hard and fast, it was competitive. A barge would come to Lana’i twice a week and take pineapples to Oahu. Mum worked in the research department where they developed new types of pineapples, watermelon pineapple and grape pineapple!

At 5am a whistle woke up the whole town because everyone had the same work schedule. At 8pm another whistle said “Time to get to bed, time to sleep.” It was very much a community, Hawaiians, Filipino, Japanese. Music was important, celebrities like Brother Iz, Israel Kamakawiwoʻole, would visit the island.

A pineapple was our school emblem!”

Brie shared a special recipe of Baked Pineapple and Spam (with brown sugar and mustard) with me that I will post on the blog when I’m home and cooking again!

Brie took us on a wonderful drive around Oahu, stopping of course at the Dole Plantation where we sampled the most delicious ice cream and toured around on the Pineapple Express. The train driver tried to talk me into giving her my ice cream! No way!

And there was of course, more pineapple merchandise. Well family, you can all start wondering about your Christmas presents – will it be the pineapple scented hand sanitiser or a giant plush ukulele playing pineapple!

Thanks of sharing your stories with us Brie, the whole day was a lot of fun! Aunty Anne

Pineapples, Passion Fruit and Poi: Recipes from Hawaii by Mary Lou Gebhard & William H. Butler, Illustrations by Hide Doki, 1967

Haleakala Specter    

“Atop Haleakala one may see himself reflected in the rainbow there … Even sober persons can see their reflections there. Let us know what you see after a couple of these” the authors.

50ml rum; 25ml pineapple juice; 12ml lemon juice; ½ tsp brown sugar

Shake without ice. Pour into glass filled with crushed ice. Decorate with slice of orange. Serve in highball glass.

Spotting pineapples on Oahu, day 1

Day one in Honolulu was pretty laid back, after a delicious breakfast of maple syrup pancakes with a smidgen of pineapple I thought I may spot a few pineapple products as we wandered the streets - my goodness, pineapples rule on Oahu!! Anne

Pineapples, Passion Fruit and Poi: Recipes from Hawaii by Mary Lou Gebhard & William H. Butler, Illustrations by Hide Doki, 1967

This book is a very entertaining read! Anne

“Beverages, bolsters, eye-openers, pupus.

This chapter comes first because you serve these items first – before dinner (or before breakfast the following day).

Another reason: To the uninitiated, a few of the “highly unusual” recipes in the following chapters are so unusual that the cook may require a bolster or two to attempt them.

After three bolsters, if you’re still squeamish, have another – then you’ll slam this book shut, pound your chest and say, Food! BAH! WHO WANTS FOOD?"

Beachboy Screwdriver

1 jigger vodka; pineapple juice

Pour vodka over ice cubes in highball

Pour vodka over ice cubes in highball glass; fill with pineapple juice. Decorate with a maraschino cherry and a tidbit of mint-flavoured pineapple on fancy toothpick.