8
Wednesday, August 26, 2020 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
Journey
through
Thyme
Jodi Schneider
Columnist
Hawaiian food
for August
On August 29, 1959
Hawaii became the 50th state.
Many luau events are held in
August around the nation
including the Hawaiian Luau
that has been held in Sisters9
Village Green in past years
(canceled this year due to
COVID-19).
When you think of
Hawaiian food what comes
to mind? Poke? Sweet bread?
Pineapple?
Hawaii is distinct from the
rest of the United States in
many ways. The food avail-
able on the Hawaiian Islands
reflects a rich and diverse cul-
ture. Digging down through
the layers of Hawaii9s home
cooking uncovers an account
of people, plants, and politics
that together build what we
think of as Hawaiian cuisine
today.
Explorers from Europe,
the missionaries from
America, the plantation work-
ers from China, Japan, Korea,
the Philippines and Portugal,
rolled into Hawaii resulting
in <local food,= a mishmash
of cultures that changed the
picture of Hawaii9s culinary
roots.
I n H a w a i i t h e r e 9s
Hawaiian food, usually
referring to native Hawaiian
fare, and there9s local food.
But sometimes the distinc-
tions blur, and delving into
Hawaii9s unique specialties
reveals a complex picture of
Hawaii9s culinary history.
The native Hawaiian
foods generally consisted of
poi, sweet potato, breadfruit,
some fish, limu (seaweed),
and fruit. The kalua pig is
a whole pig roasted in an
underground oven.
Before the arrival of
Polynesian voyagers in
Hawaii between 300-500 AD,
few edible plants existed in
the Islands. It is believed that
these first settlers brought
around 30 plants with them.
The most important plant
was taro, of which a paste
called poi was made. Later
settlers from the Marquesas
and Tahiti brought breadfruit
and baking banana, as well as
coconuts, sugarcane, sweet
potatoes and yams. They also
brought chicken and pigs
with them since there weren9t
any meat animals on these
remote islands. What they
found plenty of in the new
land was fish.
The staple and traditional
filler starch dish in Hawaiian
cuisine is poi.
Poi, made from taro root
(similar to a yam or potato
but with a starchier flavor), is
either steamed or baked and
pounded. While pounding,
water is added to the mixture
to create a very sticky pud-
ding-like consistency.
Poi has a unique flavor,
it9s starchy and slightly sour
from the light fermentation in
the preparation process.
Traditional Hawaiian food
would not be complete with-
out a dish known as laulau.
Taro is a well-respected
plant, not only in Hawaii, but
also throughout Polynesia and
the Pacific islands. While poi
is made from taro root, laulau
is made from the leaves.
Traditionally, laulau is
made with pork wrapped
in layers of taro leaves and
cooked in an underground
hot rock oven for hours until
it turns soft and smoky fla-
vored. The meat is tender and
juicy while the leaves turn to
a spinach-like consistency.
Another giant of Hawaiian
cuisine is the famous pork
dish known as Kalua Pig.
Cooked in an under-
ground oven (known as an
imu), the pork slow roasts
so it becomes extremely ten-
der and retains a remarkable
smoky flavor.
Found all over Hawaii,
poke combines chunks of raw
fish, seaweed, roasted kukui
nut and sea salt, often atop a
bed of rice. The fish is most
commonly tuna cut into cubes
and marinated in sesame and
soy sauce. However, there are
countless variations available.
Lomi-lomi salmon is not
originally native to Hawaii
but was brought over from
other Pacific islands. The dish
is now part of most traditional
Hawaiian meals and makes a
great addition to poi. The raw
salmon is cured with salt and
diced up along with tomatoes,
onions, and normally some
chili peppers. The result is a
salmon-infused Hawaiian-
style salsa garnish or salad.
Lomi-lomi salmon is
often served on ice to keep
it cold, moist and fresh-tast-
ing. Though salmon are not
native to the area, western
sailors first brought the fish
to the islands centuries ago.
The salad has thus become
a Hawaiian tradition and is
regularly served at luaus.
Sweetened breads (sweet
bread) came to the islands
with the Portuguese immi-
grants who flooded Hawaii
in the mid-to-late 19th cen-
tury to work the livestock
ranches and sugarcane
plantations. The newcomers
were embraced by the busi-
ness community
By 1910, the Honolulu
newspaper, The Democrat,
counted the number of
Portuguese immigrants in
Hawaii at more than 20,000.
Many of these families baked
their own breads using recipes
brought from home, but when
refined sugar was scarce or
expensive (most of the sugar
produced on the islands was
destined for export), they
used local ingredients like
honey and pineapple juice as
sweeteners.
Topping off a great
Hawaiian meal, freshly
grown Hawaiian fruit is a
refreshing dessert.
The islands of Hawaii
were formerly famous for
their fruit, but as land and
labor became too expensive,
the fruit industry in Hawaii
started to decline. However,
you can still get local fruit
and Hawaii is famous for
tropical fruits like pineapple
and passion fruit (liliko).
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A TRIBUTE TO
MIKE JOHNSON
December 14, 1946 leaving us August 22, 2020
This is a tribute (not an obituary) to a guy who loved people. He never met a stranger.
He was a guy true to his friends, honest, easy going and a hard worker. A guy who loved
life.
He was a guy that loved his family, and was so proud of his grandsons. He was a guy that
I loved for 53 years.
Our family, who loved him dearly — Jill and husband James Crafton, of Redmond, Brit
Johnson, of Sisters, and two grandsons who were the love of his life: Walker Crafton and
Grant Johnson. Our sweet granddaughter Meghan we lost a year ago in July after a hard
battle with cancer. She leaves behind her daughters Boston and Blakelee. And our newest
blessing to our family is Walker’s fiancé, Hannah.
Mike is leaving behind a brother and sister who also loved him dearly — Steve John-
son, Mike’s twin brother, and Steve’s wife Marti Johnson, of Bend. A little sister, Con-
nie Holly and her husband Doug Holly. Mike and Steve loved to get Connie to do their
dirty work — like cleaning their fish — when they were little. Connie was always a good
sport.
Mike’s parents, Vic and Phyllis Johnson, lived in Camp Sherman for many years. Our
family has missed them ever since their passing.
Mike went to high school in Lebanon, Oregon, where he still has many close friends.
Mike joined the Marine Corps after a year of school (skiing) at COCC. He loved hunt-
ing and fishing and he loved his boats, too, which were many. We had boats from drift
boats, to a catamaran, both for floating the Deschutes River. We had two ski boats.
Then he went for the big one, a 32-foot cabin cruiser. We spent a lot of good times at
Lake Billy Chinook. He also enjoyed snowmobiling with the guys. He had all the toys a
guy could ask for. We even had horses!
We had a home in Palm Springs where we enjoyed golfing for 21 years. We have so
many wonderful close friends from down there. His last journey was having the motor
home and traveling around the U.S.
Mike loved Sisters and the people. He worked for many people over his 27 years as
owner and operator of Mike Johnson Excavation. Mike and Kathy still own their
small storage facility, Mountain High RV & Boat Storage in Sisters.
Mike, with Kathy and his family had a wonderful life together.
Mike is signing off with his wonderful warm smile.
Once a Marine always a Marine: Semper fi... Always faithful.