Hawaiian Mac Salad

One of the downsides of writing a book is weight gain.

I kept logging onto my regular Zumba Zoom classes, but as soon as they were over, I'd sit down and start writing again. Writing during the day was tough because I stopped frequently to help my daughters with Distance Learning, got them snacks or made them lunch and so I ended up staying up till midnight, and sometimes 2 a.m. to write.

Late night munchies is a weakness of mine.

To make matters worse, one of the best things about Hawaii is the food and writing about the dishes we used to eat there made me hungry for local favorites like Korean bbq, Portuguese sausage and eggs, malasadas and poke.

You can guess what happened.

In Chapter 3, Maya goes to Sunday dinner at her parents' home and brings Hawaiian mac salad because it is a cardinal sin to arrive at someone's home empty-handed, and more often than not, you bring food. Anyone who's been to Hawaii knows bento lunches come with a scoop of rice and a scoop of mac salad. Here's my take on a recipe I found in Hawaii Magazine. The secret ingredient is grated onion - if you skip this it's not Hawaiian mac salad.

Hawaiian Mac Salad

1 lb elbow macaroni

2 hard-boiled eggs, chopped

salt to taste

1 cup mayonnaise

1/2 tsp pepper

1/2 package of frozen shelled edamame cooked

1/2  cup diced takuan

1/2 cup chopped imitation crab

Cook macaroni according to package directions and drain. In a large bowl, add mayonnaise and mix with grated onion. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Add cooked macaroni, edamame, takuan and crab and mix gently. Chill.