If You Can't Get There, Cook Hawaiian!

Avoid the hassle of actually flying to Hawaii, let alone the cost.  You can fake it right here at home.  An excellent cookbook is Honolulu Cooking by Betty Evans.  Not only are there relatively easy dishes to make, the book is illustrated by her husband Gordon's clever sketches of everyday life there.  Betty died of liver cancer; Gordon lingered on for a couple of years and happily joined her in God's Kitchen. They married out of high school and were in their 80s at their deaths.

They were a wonderful couple, full of intelligence, talent and wit.  They had a great looong backyard that at the back held a shed with his kiln (a sculpture of talent) and closer to the house, a grape arbor with a table and chairs underneath for al fresco dining.  I think back wistfully on some great times underneath it.

This was a surprise as I had thought that papaya was only eaten fresh.

BAKED GINGER PAPAYA
2 firm ripe papayas
4 T butter
2 T fresh lime or orange juice
1 T freshly-grated ginger
Sprinkle of cayenne (optional)

Cut the papayas in half, remove seeds.  Melt the butter, add the lime or orange juice and ginger and fill up the "holes" in the papaya with it.   Bake at 300 for 20 minutes, sprinkle  the cayenne on and serve.

PINEAPPLE PAPAYA SALSA  (WebMD.com)

3/4 cup chopped papaya
3/4 cup chopped fresh pineapple
1/2 cup chopped jicama (for crunch)
3 T chopped red onion
1 de-seeded chopped jalapeno
1 minced garlic cloves
2 teas. lime zest
2 teas. lime juice
1 T chopped cilantro

WebMD points out that half of a small papaya provides 150% of one's daily vitamin C requirement and they are also very good sources of vitamin A, folate, fiber and potassium.

At the start of every summer, we've learned to wait patiently for the melons to come in.  Charlie's, a NY Joint, introduced us to prosciutto-wrapped melon slices with EVOO and sea salt as an appetizer.

So here's a new and interesting variation on a theme - prosciutto-wrapped papaya with a sprinkle of black pepper.