Sam, The Pineapple Farmer
Sam is becoming a pineapple farmer.(That's Marshall with Sam, he comes to dinner a lot.) He's growing his hair and is working on a tan. We've eaten so many mangoes, that I can't even look at them. Please, take the mangoes. Next year, I'll be a mango salesman. I'll get rich, I know I will.
We've eaten so many white pineapples that I can't look at them. Jeff, our friend, grows them. I have to say, they are the sweetest and most vibrant pineapples that I've ever experienced. Of course, he's teaching Sam how to grow them. We have three on our kitchen counter starting to grow roots.
Pineapples are interesting because they really are a specialized crop. It takes a year for a pineapple to grow. Believe it or not, hummingbirds are one of the worst enemies of the plant. They totally mess up the pollination process. Hummingbirds are not encouraged in Hawaii. PIneapples also don't ripen after they're picked. So all of those green pineapples you see in the stores, well, that's as good as they'll get. You can, however, turn them upside down so that the sugar distributes.
We've had so many fish tacos that my belly is bursting. We've had so many fish tacos with mango salsa that I just can't look at another one. BUT, we just finished our first container of green chile. Now that's getting the job done.
About the Green Chile
My friend and I were at the grocery store and she almost passed out from panting when she saw canned Hatch green chile. "Oh I just love this" and she put 3 cans in her basket. I swore I would never eat that ________. Well several weeks later, I found myself putting a can of green chile in my basket. I almost cried. I could smell the chile roasting and remembered the mountains of New Mexico. I could smell the air and feel the black dirt of the Sandias under my fingers. I used that chile in everything.
The heart wrenching angst didnt go away. I called Bueno Chile. Nope, they couldn't ship to me. But, there was a woman on O'ahu who did. I called her and within a week, I had a case (12 plastic containers) of frozen green chile in my freezer. It only cost slightly over $100.00. That included the shipping, of course. Life is different now.
Recipe for Mango Salsa
Cut one ripe mango up into small pieces.
Use either 1 jalapeno or 3 TBS. of chopped green chile (this is to your taste)
Chop 1 red bell pepper into small pieces (gives a nice crunch)
Squeeze the juice from 2 medium limes
Add salt and pepper.
let it sit for 20 or so minutes.
Sometimes I like to add a banana.
Use this salsa on any taco, beef or fish.
As if all of this wasn't bad enough, I just had to buy that flat of figs at Costco. Oh yeah, I did. My refrigerator has pineapple, mangoes, bananas, watermelon, blueberries, strawberries and figs. Last night I made a fig tart and I have to say it was so gooooooood.
Fig Tart
Make a traditional pie crust or use the store bought. Lay it out over parchment paper on a cookie sheet. preheat oven to 350 degrees.
For Frangipane
In a food processor add the following:
1/2 cup of toasted almonds
3 tablespoons of butter
i large egg
1/3 cup of sugar
Pulse until you have a relatively smooth paste.
Lightly spread this over the pie crust.
Cut the figs in quarters and arrange them as you desire on the crust. Leave enough room so that you can curl the crust up and partially over the figs. Make an egg wash with 1 egg yolk and 1 tsp of water. Use a pastry brush and brush the pie crust with the egg wash. Sprinkle about 1 large TBS. of raw sugar over the figs and put into the oven. Bake for 30 minutes or until crust is nice and brown.
Right now, I thinking about Aloha and what that means in my life. Reaching out to others and being kind. Loving all people and not speaking bad about anyone. I want more aloha in my life. It must be the pineapples.
