Hilo Hattie, Lahaina

We're still in Lahaina and we LOVE IT!

I had a few things I wanted to try whilst we were in Hawaii and Dole Whip was one of them.  Dole Whip doesn't seem to exist in the UK.  Why not?  Lack of pineapple plantations?  Sounds like an excuse to me.  Get it sorted!

Hilo Hattie, a touristy shop in Lahaina, sell Dole Whip and that's where we found ourselves so, never folk to let food opportunities pass by, we ordered a small for me and, I think it was a large, for Alan.  I managed to tear Alan away from the Hawaiian shirts that he insisted he would wear 'all the time' when we got home.  This is the lad who won't even wear any mildly patterned clothes for fear of drawing attention to himself and looking 'different'.  *eye roll*

I'm not really sure what's in Dole Whip; I guess at least some pineapple and a ton of sugar but apart from that your guess is as good as mine.  It had a fresh, pineapple sherbet taste to it and was much more refreshing than ice cream.  It wasn't icy like sorbet but not creamy like ice-cream.  It really was like someone had whizzed up a load of pineapples.

I've scoured the internet for a recipe and have found one from Fat Mum Slim.  I can't wait for the one or two days of Scottish sun that we are due this year so that I can try it out!  Don't let me down, Scottish weather!

Breakwall Shave Ice Co., Lahaina, Hawaii

Neither of us had ever had shave ice before.  I'm really glad we tried it whilst we were away.  At Breakwall we were able to watch as a fairly large block of ice was put into a machine and turned into something delicious.

I think we got a large sized one as we intended on sharing, and it really was large - I'm glad we didn't get the 'massive' size, I can only imagine how big that would have been.  Ours was around the size of my head (take that as you will).  I'm afraid these photos don't seem to capture quite how big it was - the shaved ice, that is!

Once the ice is shaved, flavoured syrups are then poured over the top.  We had pineapple, watermelon and mango.  I didn't think we would manage to eat the whole lot but we did.  I also I didn't think the syrup would make it to the bottom of the cup but it did so it was delicious all the way to the end.  

What a tasty way to keep cool, and definitely less sickly than a huge ice-cream would have been!

Freeloaders

Today we were given a kind gift from my father in law, Phil, and his wife, Sarah.  They grow much of their own (award winning) fruit and veg and we were lucky enough to have received a bundle of goodies from them as we visited. 

My cooking skills are limited although I do love to make up recipes on a trial and error basis.  

I used up some veg in a stir fry as suggested by Phil as he messaged me to let me know that the peas that Sarah had included in our bundle were of the sugar snap variety and so didn't need podded.

I included beetroot in the stir fry, however, I wouldn't do this again.  Although the stir fry tasted great, it's a shame the other vegetable colours were masked by the pink hue.  I like a colourful supper. 

I had been wanting to try to make fruit liqueurs for some time - and this was my opportunity!  Perhaps not the most nutritious way to use up fruit but definitely the easiest way as far as i was concerned.  I had previously made limoncello as wedding favours so I figured it would be similar.

So, I have attempted blackcurrant gin and pineapple chilli vodka.

 Looks good so far!