Aloha, bring on the snow!

by Chuck O., February 28, 2009 | Permalink

I just returned from a Hawaiian vacation.  I consider myself to be very lucky to have a sister who has lived on Maui for over 10 years.  A vacation in Hawaii for the just the price of a plane ticket (yay, a free place to stay!) is something to be thankful for and I am.  But, we in New England have much to appreciate as I will soon explain but back to aloha for a bit.

Hawaiians use the word aloha in many instances.  Most of us know aloha as hello or good-bye.  Truly though, it is all about spirit and grace and the Hawaiian way of life which is different in so many ways from ours on the mainland.  For me, perhaps aloha has been the force that has drawn me back to Hawaii many times even though I am not really a beach person.

So, here we are again, back in Maui.  Imagine sitting at a restaurant with your feet in the sand as you look out across the aquamarine water at the neighboring islands of Lanai and Molokai.  It’s 80 degrees.  Keep in mind that it’s February.  Your grilled fish sandwich (today it’s Ono) arrives and it’s delicious- as delicious as it would have been last September had you been here and as delicious as it would be in June if you ordered it then!

So here’s my point!  For some, this is a dream.  For me, after two weeks, it becomes “island fever”, a condition which affects many mainlanders when they feel they have exhausted all the benefits exotic, tropical island life has to offer.  For us, just-caught seafood and mai tai’s and lava flows and even that heavenly feeling of aloha can’t keep us from craving winter’s hot chicken soup or a bowl of thick and gooey oatmeal.  After two weeks, I miss the smell of baking chocolate chip cookies in my own kitchen.  I actually like having to drink coffee to stay warm on the walk to work and not simply to savor the fine aromas from a cup of steaming kona made with just roasted beans.

OK, it’s actually pretty cool to see red coffee beans growing on the bush but there’s something to treasure about winter in Boston.  It’s the perfect time to make a pan of lasagne with fresh ricotta and not care if the house heats up.  Better yet, run to our store now and pick up a beef sirloin roast at a great price during our Winter Madness Sale (through March 3) and prepare a hearty dinner to enjoy while you watch snow blanket the city once again this week.  Aloha!

(Note:  I mentioned my vacation in Hawaii.  I promise to torment you for the next week or two with some food memories from Maui.  And, for the record, it does snow on occasion on Maui at the summit of the Haleakala Volcano.)