When I was in college, the Hawaii clubs were literally an island of retreat from the occasional homesick blues. There was always someone who understood your crazy, lilting pidgin English and odd vocabulary choices like open/close the lights, or, something I still say today, try wait and try come. Or just someone who understood that when you said "$*!#? When will it ever be warm again!?" you really meant 80 degrees, sunny and a slight breeze.

So I'm happy to get the word out that the Menlo College Hawaii Club will be putting on their 21st Annual Luau this Saturday, March 24th at the Hayes Prim Pavilion of Menlo College in Atherton/Menlo Park. 

Doors open at 4:00PM
Dinner buffet starts at  5:00PM
Program starts at 6:00PM.
$40/Adults, $20/Children, Free/Children 6 and under
Click here to buy tickets.

A community luau is often one of the main projects of college Hawaii Clubs, where anyone and everyone is welcome to join the festivities as well as the preparation. Even more so at Menlo, where 7.5% of students are from Hawaii. In fact, excepting California, Menlo draws the most number of students from Hawaii than from any other state.

Good Food. Good Entertainment. Great Cause.

Menlo College Luau this Saturday 3/24.

Hui 'Ilima is a non-profit Hawaiian club made up of ex-pat Hawaii people living in the Bay Area. Their mission is to promote the Aloha Spirit and an appreciation of the Hawaiian culture. This past weekend, Hui 'Ilima held their 52nd annual Luau in Mountain View. This is even more amazing when you consider that the State of Hawaii is 52 years old.

On the Mainland, "Hawaii" and "Hawaiian" are sometimes used interchangeably. Hawaii Food is delicious but broad "mixed plate food" that arose from intermingling cultures (Hawaiian, Japanese, Chinese, Portuguese, etc.), giving us plate lunches, loco-moco, haupia-filled malasadas, li-hing mui BBQ chicken or kalua-pig manapua.

Hawaiian Food is the unique and utterly delicious food based on the native culture of Hawaii. 

Every year, Hui 'Ilima members come together to craft traditional Hawaiian luau food--lomi salmon, fish, poi, rice, kalua pig and sweet potatoes. I was lucky enough to be invited to see just how much work goes into feeding over 600 Hawaiian-food craving people. 

First of all, prep involves talk-story, eating and chopping--A LOT of talk-story and chopping. Lomi salmon requires 150 pounds of fresh tomatoes chopped into very precisely-sized small chunks. Chicken long rice requires chopping cases of green onions. Also by hand.

The craft of preparing a luau also involves 1) building an imu and 2) making kalua pig. An imu is a BIG pit lined with hot rocks, banana leaves and then covered with more banana leaves. The pork is salted, wrapped and put in the imu and slow cooked for hours. You could never do this at home, but old-school works well.

As with the Mountain View Obon, it's not necessarily about 'process efficiency' so much as it is to share--it feels like really big family party. From the back-and-forth banter, it's clear that the Hui Ilima members are lifelong friends. And I love that the club gives back to its home by supporting charities like Second Harvest, the Family Giving Tree and Martha's Kitchen.

Hui 'Ilima is what ohana and real Hawaiian homemade food is all about. Already thinking about next year!

Eat Well. Be Well.

We had a great weekend BBQ and learned a few things. Notes to self:

1) Low or indirect grilling is a must for proper Huli Huli Chicken. Direct heat pretty much incinerates the chicken. It ain't pretty. (See below)  No matter how hungry you may be, start early and go the indirect method.

2) 20 full chicken legs for 16 people is a little much. Especially when some of the people are under age 13. 
2a) The vegetable corollary: The same applies for 8 full ears plus 3 scrawny home-grown ears of corn. 

3) Magical Self-Separating Finger Jello never fails to amaze. It is now a science experiment for one of my daughter's friends. Something about relative densities?!

Needless to say, this week is about using leftover cooked-but-not-carbonized chicken and corn.

Monday: Chicken Kelaguen. A good summer meal and as a bonus, uses the bag of shredded carrots in my fridge. A few more chicken legs used.

Tuesday: Omi's Shoyu Fish. In the hopes of having more precise measurements.

Wednesday: Leftovers' Roulette Chicken Tacos--shredded (leftover) chicken with fresh (leftover) corn salsa, shredded cheese and a dollop of sour cream (also leftover from last week's strawberry muffins).

Thursday: Something new: pork/mushroom/kimchee stir-fry. And rice.

Friday: Quinoa Salad with the rest of the corn and the last of our fresh cucumbers. It's starting to feel like Fall.

Bonus Saturday: If you are in Mountain View CA, consider attending Hui Ilima's 52nd Annual Luau. Traditional, homemade Hawaiian food.

Eat Well. Be Well.