Hula Party!

It all started with a recipe gone awry.

I was starting with a shrimp and pineapple recipe: toss in some soy sauce, garlic, ginger and a touch of 5 spice and it should be great, right?

Not so great. Tried some honey. Balsamic vinegar? Too salty? Cornstarch to thicken it? Sugar? Liquid smoke? More pineapple? Ham?

Hey! Pineapple and ham + Grammy just gave us some chocolate covered macadamia nuts + I was just reading about Hawaii in a second hand National Geographic + I just found some grass skirts and leis while organizing the home school room= HULA PARTY!!!!

Well, you probably know that fresh pineapple has tenderizing enzymes. The first batch of pineapple I cooked in the sauce before I added the shrimp (thus neutralizing the enzymes). The second batch of fresh pineapple tenderized the shrimp and ham. They were meltingly tender. Dissolvingly tender? Mushy? No one asked for seconds.

Maybe they were too busy dancing! Aloha!!