As she often does, my eldest daughter (Foodie Girl) had a dinner request the other day: “Daddy, can we have a summery dinner tonight… maybe something that reminds me of Hawaii?” How can a parent say no to that? Nordic Babe was completely on board with the idea and quickly procured some lilikoi juice.

I leapt into action and the resulting meal appears above; it was a Carolina take on Hawaiian plate lunch. (Side note: if you have never seen Sarah Vowell’s short meditation on the history of plate lunch, go check it out. Right. Now.) Yes, the expected sticky rice and mayonnaise-laden macaroni salad took up residence on our table. Pig was also featured, but instead of the usual kalua pig I substituted pulled pork BBQ in a tangy Western Carolina-style sauce. I thought about finishing the meal with hush puppies, but King’s Hawaiian sweet rolls won the day.

It was a hit with Foodie Girl and her siblings, Artist Chick and Zen Buddy. Washed down with a Longboard Island Lager from Kona Brewing Company, this was the perfect lunch-dinner for a summer evening.*

* Note: Due to the carb load, an extra 20 min. of interval training was warranted after consumption.