Hawaii Food and Recipe Blog

One thing that I really enjoyed while I was in Hawaii was shave ice. Now, a common misconception is that a shave ice is like a slushy here on the mainland. But nothing could be further from the truth! There’s a reason for the name - “shave ice” is literally shaved by a sharp blade off of a rotating block of ice, making something which is much closer to snow than slush. It’s packed tightly into a BIG dish, and then sprayed with one or more great flavors. I had coconut and it was mouth watering! You can also get a scoop of ice cream inside, or sweet bean paste. Whatever you choose, it’s tasty and cools you down in that hot Hawaiian sun!

Of there’s one thing you notice when you get to the islands, it’s that the folks there LOVE spam. The way I heard it, during World War II the residents got a taste of this salty pork product and were instantly hooked. Now you see it everywhere from plate lunch to McDonalds! (Yup, they have a number of spam breakfasts at Hawaiian McDonalds, including of course Spam egg and cheese on biscuits.) Until I visited the islands I never really gave Spam a try, now of course Spam and pineapple is a big favorite. It’s even great on pizza with a little pineapple and cheese!

Hawaiian Spam Sandwich

Ingredients:

1 (12-ounce) can SPAM luncheon meat, cut into 8 slices
1 fresh cut or canned pineapple rings (8-ounce), drained
1 fresh cut red onion, sliced thick.
1 piece lettuce
1 fresh cut piece tomato
4 slices American cheese
4 hamburger buns, split and toasted
Thousand Island dressing, any brand

Instructions for Preparation :
Brown your SPAM slices on grill or in skillet. Place 2 SPAM slices on each bottom half of toasted hamburger bun. Top each slice with a pineapple ring,  red onion, lettuce, tomato and cheese slice. Cover sandwich with top half of bun, thickly spread with Thousand Island dressing. Serves 1 to 4.