I had the privilege of spending the holidays in Hawaii again this year. And as usual, I ate my way across the island of O'ahu with great enthusiasm. There is something about food and flavors and the experience of eating that lies at the very heart of Hawaii's culture.For me, the sugary outside and doughy inside of a hot Leonard's malasada is a Sunday visit with my grandmother. The savory, greasy, crispy skin of huli-huli chicken is a warm Saturday at a North Shore beach with my dad. My mother's home-made osechi is a busy New Year's Eve in our small kitchen and the whole family gathered around the table at lunch on New Year's Day. Food, family and the salty scent of sea breeze are inseparable in my memories of Hawaii.
Do you know that Miles Davis song, "All Blues?" It goes--"the sea/the sky/and you and I . . . " Well when I think of Hawaii, I sing to myself: "the sea/the sky/chocolate haupia pie . . ."
