A
great
archive in
Hawaiian Music is the Huapala.org
web site.
They also offer some beautiful Pa`u skirts.
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ISLAND
MAGIC – Stories, Experiences and Observations
The Mystery of Panini
©
2007 - 2008 Gilbert Belmudez
(Note:
Regard this
true story as a rough draft. I am
writing it from a few notes and a lot of memory. If
there are some inaccuracies in Hawaiian
spelling, geographical description, legend, custom or any other
details, feel
free to contact me with corrections and opinion. Critique
is more than welcome.)
One of the fondest memories I have as a little boy in Pomona,
California, was sitting with my grandma, Sotera Belmudez, under a
larger
pepper tree as she skinned, cleaned and diced the tender young leaves
of the nopal. Others might know it as prickly pear cactus. When
prepared properly, this succulent cacti makes a wonderful addition to
down home Mexican dishes. I literally learned the process of
cooking this food as I watched my "Mamani" prepare the nopal in
preparation
for canning. She would jar enough to hopefully last until the
following year. One of the treats I received on these warm
afternoons was the red, juicy fruit that is referred to as the "prickly
pear". Of course, she would always first skin the fruit, washing
it of the painful hair like needles.
As
I traversed the island of Maui in the 1980's, I was surprised to see
this
cactus growing in some of the more remote areas. "Hey!
You have nopales here!", I exclaimed in excitement and would be asked,
"What are you talking about Bruddha?".
"That
cactus plant over there!"
"You mean the panini?"
"Is that what you call it?" I asked.
"That's what it is." I was answered.
I accepted this simple
explanation and didn't really discuss it any further for several
years. Then one weekend I was invited to luau with Herman
Kamahele and
his family on their quiet beach side property near Kapalua.
Family
members from throughout the islands gathered at the home grounds often
to get away
from it all. It was a wonderful experience and a good reason why
I will never forget them.
At 6 am on Saturday mornings the men would gather and enter the ocean
waters with an assortment of fishing gear. As we fished for an
a variety of seafood the women would be in the cook house preparing
more food for both morning and the rest of the day.
Children either helped or played as the day rolled along. It all
showed the true unity of one Hawaiian family.
We were sitting this one Saturday afternoon and I caught myself gazing
at an
outcrop of panini that was growing about 30 feet away. I casually
asked someone if they ever ate the cactus.
"No" he answered, "the fruit gets to wet and rots but the insects like
it."
"No" I answered, "I mean, have you ever eaten the
leaf itself?"
Anybody that heard me looked at me puzzled.
"Do you mind if I cut some leaves and cook them?", I asked.
"Go ahead" I was told.
"This I have to see" one of the ladies said as I walked over to the
cook
house to get a knife, a large pot and a cardboard box. I
walked over to the panini and cut about two dozen young leaves.
Those are the ones whose needles are still soft and much easier to
handle. They are also very tender. You don't cook the older
leaves because they are to tough. I put everything I cut into the
cardboard
box and then sat in the shade as I began to carefully shave the needles
off the leaves. I then tossed them into the pot where they soaked
in water. Some of the
mothers had their daughters watch the process and a few pitched in to
help. When we were finished we rinsed the leaves to rid them of
any stray thorns. Then we cut them in long strips
before dicing them. After the dicing process we put them to cook
in boiling water and added diced onion, garlic and salt to taste.
For me, there is no definite cooking time but
I would say that in about 30 - 45 minutes the bright green color
changes to a darker green olive shade. This is when the cactus is
done.
We mixed the Nepalis that evening with potatoes and the next morning
with scrambled eggs. If my memory serves me correctly, just about
everybody there had never tasted the panini and no one complained as we
finished it off.
The mystery? Could a nopal float across the Pacific and become
panini? I hardly think so. I later learned that in
the 1830's King Kamehameha III hired a number of California Vaqueros to
tend the cattle brought over by the English years before. It is
truly my belief that along with their horses and gear, a few of these
Mexican Cowboys brought the cactus plant with them. The
reason? They knew the prickly pear cactus is both a natural
source of nourishment and acts as a barrier to keep cattle
contained. These Vaqueros became the beginning of a history that
includes the now famous Paniolo (Hawaiian Cowboy). Comments
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