Tuesday, February 24, 2009

Malassada Day!

Click on photos to enlarge!


"Truth often suffers more by the heat of its defenders than the arguments of its opposers." William Penn


"Right is right, even if everyone is against it, and wrong is wrong, even if everyone is for it." William Penn

Carnaval Tonight in Honolulu!








Leonard's! Malassadas!




We got parking under the banner. . .
No line yesterday. . .






Almost our turn. . .





MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!




Special Note:

"I want all the cultures of all lands to be blown about my house as freely as possible. But I refuse to be blown off my feet by any."
Mahatma Gandhi
Congratulations to the great people of Mumbai, and ALL of INDIA for World's BEST PICTURE: Slumdog Millionaire!!! Well done!!!!
Well deserved!!




Aloha and Happy Malassada Day!
Wait - what's a malassada, you ask?
It only a warm, chewy, sweet, little ball of heaven, that's all!
On the day before Ash Wednesday and the long days of Lent, the devoutly Catholic Portuguese (who had been coming from the Azores to work on Hawaii's plantations since 1878) used up all their lard and sugar in one last blow out - no Portugee sweet bread (pao doce) till Easter! And so the Malassada was born. We still love them today. . .

Egg-sized balls of yeasty golden dough are deep-fried in oil then dusted generously with granulated sugar. No hole, no filling, NO PROBLEM!


Today few of us mortify the flesh in the traditional way, and malassadas are regularly available here in Hawaii. Even so, there will be lines today at the high church of malassadas: Leonards Bakery.


Damien Memorial High School will also be selling the pleasure bomb-lets, freshly fried from the cafeteria, in their parking lot from 6:30 to 11 am this morning: .70 cents a piece, $4 for 6, and 12 malassadas for $6.

The Pope set a date for Father Damien's canonization just days ago, so the spirit on campus is very high. However, rumors that this year's malassadas have a caloric dispensation from on high, or that they heal a number of minor physical ailments is probably just clever marketing.


Father Damian gave his life to serve the Hansen's disease (leprosy) patients incarcerated on the Molokai peninsula of Kalaupapa, ultimately contracting the disease himself. Now that IS a saint!

So treat yourself to a sugary indulgence today if you dare. Then burn off calories by doing something positive, whatever that may be for you. . .
A L O H A Cloudia









17 comments:

claude said...

Over here it is also Carnaval time.
Yum malasadas ! Aloha Cloudia !

Reader Wil said...

I bet your carnival is far more beautiful than ours. We only have carnival in the Catholic south. We here in the middle and north are mainly protestants and even our catholic fellow christians are soberer than those of the southern provinces.
Thanks for your quotes! They are great as always! Très bon, madam!

Christine Gram said...

Mmmmm... we're eating them right now! Here in northern Italy they call them Krafen. But they're exactly that and they bring them out in droves during Carnivale.

Buon Festivo!

Kay said...

Gracious! I haven't had one of them in ages. It's not good for me but I remember loving them as a kid.

Anonymous said...

Love malasadas! Especially the ones filled with custard.

the walking man said...

I have diabetic nightmares every year on this day.

Here it is Paczki's (Pounchki)

For about 40 pounchki
Time of preparation: 3 hours
Dough:

* Pounchki1 kg of flower (about 2 lbs.)
* 100 g of yeast
* 6 egg yolks
* 500 ml of milk
* 100 g of sugar
* 1 whole egg
* 50 ml of vodka or rum
* 1 lemon
* 100 g of butter
* vanilla
* salt for taste

Icing:

* 250 g powdered sugar
* 3-4 tablespoons of water
* juice from one squeezed lemon

Additionally:

400 g of rose marmalade; if rose is unavailable you can use marmelade from cherries, plumbs or peaches
lard sliced and baked orange skin

( http://www.polishsite.us/food-and-recipes/desserts-and-drinks/130-paczki-recipe.html )

Filled with all sorts of jellies running about 1000 calories each. I have to stay away from all bakeries today (damn!)

Charles Gramlich said...

Mardi Gras there too eh? I'm staying home today to avoid being caught in the madness.

Akelamalu said...

Mmmmmm they look and sound like donuts! You have such great traditions there Cloudia. I took your book away with me but never got to read a page as we were sightseeing all the time! I will read it soon. :)

Anonymous said...

I ate my first "poonchky" ever just last year, can you believe it. I'm still reeling from all the fat and sugar! Neat to see how it's done in paradise!!

nonizamboni said...

Happy Fat Tuesday! Really enjoyed a vicarious bite of the malasadas which remind me of the faschnacts of PA Dutch fame that I ate my weight of within 5 years. Or there's those Polish paczki...oh my, those were the days!
Also have enjoyed the Wm. Penn quotes; have been watching the HBO miniseries of John Adams on dvd so I have New England on the brain.
Again y.u.m., Cloudia!

Junosmom said...

Those look wonderful. Sort of like a beignet, except without the powdered sugar. Here in KY, mostly people are Baptist or bible based Christian. I am Catholic, but there are no festivals or parties (sniff) or places to buy such treats. Maybe next year, I'll buy some sugar doughnuts to celebrate.

PS yes, I'll write a review on Amazon.

Feisty Crone said...

Great pictures and quotes, as always. I have yet to see "Slumdog Millionaire," but I'm so happy for the cast of the picture, and to the people of Mumbai!

EG CameraGirl said...

Hope you enjoyed your malassada! I enjoyed your post.

magiceye said...

Happy Malassada Day!!
hope you had plenty of those yummy treats!
the portugese sure spread the art of 'pao' baking everywhere! in mumbai too the most popular quickj snack is 'vada pao'! this vada is made of potato and are spicy fried balls to be had sandwiched in the paos garnished with spicy sweet and sour sauces!

Anonymous said...

Malasada, eh? They sound like our Hanukka soofganiot.
Have a good Lent now.
Wow, Hawaii is going to have a saint?! Mazal tov!

Cloudia said...

Thank you ALL
for visitng!
Much appreciated . . . Aloha-

Barbara Martin said...

They look yummy.