I Miss You, My Hawai'i

Do you know that song? It's by Na Leo Pilimehana. Probably if you're not from Hawaii, you have NO clue who I am talking about.

I have been feeling extremely nostalgic lately. Thinking about the "good 'ol days" and remembering growing up in the lush island paradise known as Hawai'i. I am and always will be a Hawaii girl at heart. Being so far away from the seashore is just killing me. Maybe that's part of my problem, part of the reason why I have been in so much of a funk lately.

I haven't been home in 4 years!!! I have not seen the ocean, smelled the salty air, or inhaled the intoxicating fragrance of ginger or gardenia. I miss seeing the palm trees and feeling the trade winds on my face. The feel of the sand between my toes and the warm clear ocean water lapping at my thighs. My soul longs for the shores of Waimea and Waikiki. My heart longs to see my family and hug my Gramma one more time. My tongue longs for the flavors of home. For poke and laulau, haupia and Okinawan sweet potato, malasadas and manapuas.

So what can you do when you are thousands of miles away from home and feeling so incredibly homesick that you can't stand it? Well for me, I dig out some old cookbooks. I can't go to Hawai'i right now but I can bring some of the flavors from home into my kitchen.

This cookbook was my Grandma's.



My Dad gave me a whole bunch of her cookbooks when I was home in 2005 (she passed away in 2001). I have no idea exactly how old this one is because there is no copyright date in it. I do know that it was given to my Grandma as a gift in 1966.



And I do know that it is old. Well old to me. Just look at the funky graphics.



Anywho, I tried two recipes from this cookbook tonight. We had the Chinese Beef Tomato and I attempted the Malasadas recipe. Notes on the Malasada recipe to come.



Doesn't it look yummy? And before you ask, yes I did take a huge bite out of it before I took a picture. That is the reason why the fork is dirty. I had to make sure that it wasn't poison before I posted the recipe right?

Chinese Beef Tomato

2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp canola oil
3/4 lb sirloin tip, thinly sliced and seasoned with salt and pepper
1 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
2 tbsp soy sauce
1/8 tsp powdered ginger
1 tsp rice wine vinegar
1/2 C water
2 stalks celery, cut on the diagonal
1/2 onion cut into chunks
1 medium green bell pepper, cut into chunks
3 plum tomatoes, seeded and cut into chunks
1 tbsp cornstarch
1 1/2 tbsp water

Brown garlic in oil and then add your seasoned meat and brown lightly.
Add sugar, salt, soy sauce, ginger, vinegar and water into the pan and simmer for 5 minutes.
Add celery, onion, green bell pepper, and tomatoes, simmer for 2 minutes.
Add your cornstarch slurry (cornstarch mixed with the 1 1/2 tbsp water) and cook another minute or until sauce is thick and glossy.

Serve over rice.

Now a note about the malasadas. I have been craving malasadas since the Punahou carnival in February. All my friends and classmates were posting about how they were working the Malasada booth. And being unemployed, I can't exactly go out and buy some though there is a Vietnamese restaurant up the street that makes a pretty decent knock off.

Anyways there is a recipe in the cookbook for malasadas so I decided to try it. I followed the directions, got the oil up to 375 like the directions said and well...they cooked to fast leaving the outside nice and brown and the inside like goo. So once I get the recipe right, I will post it with some pics.