Bubbling up with Helena

I’ve never been to Hawaii, but it’s on the top of my list of dream post-COVID destinations. With the cold weather in NYC, it seemed like a particularly good time to choose Hawaii as the place to “visit” this past weekend.

Food

Our first dish of the weekend was dole whip. We used Disney Hungry‘s recipe for the delicious pineapple soft serve that you can get in Disney Parks (and at Disney’s Hawaiian resort, Aulani).

Our next dish was acai bowls. While this is not a traditional Hawaiian food per se (it’s from Brazil), they showed up on many lists I looked into of foods that you must try in Hawaii. We made them with coconut, granola, and a tropical fruit blend (banana, pineapple, and mango).

The biggest venture of the weekend was making our own poke bowls. We did a lot of research into how to safely prepare and eat raw fish at home. We made them with tuna, avocado, and cucumber. They turned out beautifully.

I also came across Trader Joe’s mochi cake mix on a list of Trader Joe’s products to try. Of course, I had to stop at Trader Joe’s and pick some up, so I could add this to our list for the weekend. I love mochi, and I absolutely loved this cake. It was gooey on the inside and crispy on the outside and just sweet enough. I certainly want to make this again.

There are definitely several Hawaiian dishes we didn’t try that I would love to try in the future (maybe actually in Hawaii) like musubi and Kalua pig.

Entertainment

We watched The Descendants on HBOMax and absolutely loved it. It is a 2011 movie starring George Clooney about a man guiding his daughters through the loss of their mother as he navigates whether or not to sell thousands of acres of Hawaiian land owned by his family. I highly recommend it. In additional to strong performances and story, there are many stunning shots of beaches and landscapes.

Lilo and Stitch has been one of my favorite Disney movies since I saw it for my birthday in movie theaters in 2002. Of course, we had to watch it as part of our Hawaiian themed weekend. I vividly remember crying in the movie theater when Stitch told Lilo that “Ohana means family and family means nobody gets left behind or forgotten.” It still gets me every time.

Our tropical adventure certainly brought some sunshine to our NYC winter weekend. I’m dreaming of the day that I can sit on a beach in Hawaii.