u/DiningwithDeclan

Week 18/52: Bucket List Destination - Huli Huli Chicken with Mac Salad (Hawaii)

This year we’re doing the 52 weeks of cooking challenge and this weeks theme was Bucket List Destination.

I absolutely LOVE Hawaiian Food but I don’t think I would have ever gotten the chance to love it if I didn’t accidentally fall into a large community of Hawaiians.

A couple times a year at some of my best friends house I’m lucky enough to hang out with their big ass Hawaiian family and at this point it’s been going on for well over a decade.

Unfortunately this week a member of that family and community passed away.

This definitely wasn’t a “tribute dinner” or anything, just a crazy and sad coincidence. To make something I love that was “given to me” the day before one of the people responsible for the gift passed.

I think it can also be a reminder that food and culture is way more than just something you eat. It’s a living testament to friendship, tradition, family and community.

I’ll never eat Hawaiian food without a smile on my face.

And I’ll never eat Hawaiian food again without thinking of Kaipo, my best friends and their big ass Hawaiian family that’s kind of enough to make me feel part of it every holiday.