Huli Huli Sauce and POG: Aloha! We’re Going Hawaiian Today!

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Cooking, Drink, Food, hawaii, hawaiian, huli huli, ingredients, juice, mai tai, marinade, sauce

Yes, folks! This is a peek inside my house! I swear! Now our whole house doesn’t look like this, just the tiki bar tucked in the corner of our family room. Our family has been blessed with the opportunity to visit Hawaii a few times and we have fallen in love with the culture there! Not only is the landscape gorgeous and the food delicious, but the people are so warm and welcoming. They proudly share their culture with visitors and as they should! They have a lot to be proud of! So as you can see, our family has chosen to insert bits and pieces of that culture into our lives. The flavors of Hawaii are something we incorporate on a very regular basis!

The two products shown in the picture are staples in our house. We were originally introduced to both of these items in Hawaii. As I type this, there are two cartons of POG in our fridge and 5 bottles of Huli Huli sauce in my pantry (Overkill on the sauce, I know, but if you knew my husband’s shopping habits you would understand!).

So what are these tropical delights you ask and where can you get them???

POG

POG is actually an acronym for Passion Fruit, Orange, Guava, the three juices that combined make POG. Our whole family loves this juice, young and old alike! The adults have been known to sneak a little rum in theirs on occasion to make a wonderful mai tai. We live in Northern California and have found POG to be available at Fresh and Easy markets and at the Nob Hill/Raley’s chain stores with the other refrigerated juices. If you can’t find it in your store, ask and maybe they can order it.

Huli Huli

This is a soy sauce based sauce that is very versatile. It can be used with chicken (it’s most well known use!), beef, pork or fish. We use it frequently to marinate chicken prior to barbecuing. You can also use Huli Huli as a stir fry sauce, to make gravy sauce or on baked meats. There are various recipes on the bottle. We used to have to bring the sauce back with us from trips to Hawaii, but then I was in Cost Plus one day and low and behold, there it was!!! Score! Now we’ve had a regular, mainland source for one of our favorite ingredients! If you don’t have Cost Plus markets near you, check with other stores carrying international foods and you might find it there or again just ask at your local market.

I hope you’re able to find these items and give them a try. They are both really delicious and bring a refreshing, tropical spice to life! Aloha!

Non-alcoholic Sangria – Our New Favorite Party Drink!

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Drink, drinks, Food, fruit, healthy, juice, low calorie, non-alcoholic, non-alcoholic sangria, sangria, summer

Between Easter, Mother’s Day and family birthdays, we have had a few warm weather get togethers at our house lately. I concocted this non-alcoholic sangria that everyone just loves!!! My young nephew was trying to figure out how he could take every remaining ounce home with him!

It’s such a pretty drink with the colorful juices and cut up fruit floating in it and it’s incredibly refreshing! I usually serve it in a clear beverage dispenser that has a serving spigot. You know the type! This way you can see all the fruit. This does prevent people from getting the fruit in the dispenser into their cup, but I usually set out a bowl with all the same type of fruit, so people can add some to their glass of they choose. Another great thing about this recipe, is it’s family friendly and suitable for all ages. If you want to spike it, that’s completely possible too! We usually have a bottle of wine open and available for adults that might want to add a splash of that! You can use either a white or a red wine.

So here’s the recipe! Party on!!!

• 1 part club soda
• 1 part pomegranate juice
• 1 part white grape juice
• 1 part cranberry juice
• Sliced fruit: strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, lemons, limes, oranges, etc. Go crazy!!!

Healthy note: To lower the calories in the recipe, you can use the light versions of the juices mentioned above.

Tip: I want to keep it cold, but ice would just dilute it and my dispenser doesn’t have one of those handy ice compartments. I put some of the sangria mixture with fruit in it, in a plastic cup and freeze it. Keep in mind that your frozen juice needs to be small enough to fit through the opening of whatever dispenser you are serving from. As the frozen juice melts, it doesn’t dilute the sangria, but it does keep it cold. I also recommend starting with cold bottles of juice. If everything is room temperature to start, your frozen juice won’t last very long and your sangria won’t stay cold very long. Also, feel free to try different types of juices; experiment and have fun with it! You can also substitute sparkling lemonade for the club soda if you like your sangria on the sweeter side.