When my oldest child was a toddler, my husband and I moved to Hawaii to live with my grandparents. We helped my grandmother out wile my grandfather was terminally ill with cancer. This was a painful, hard, sweet, heartbreaking time in our life. There was so much joy in watching my daughter and my grandma fall in love with each other, yet so much pain is seeing my grandpa grow sicker and weaker each day. Those several months shaped our family and became an important part of history.
My grandparents had lived in Hawaii since my dad was a teenager, and we visited them there several times when I was growing up. However, I never experienced the culture of Hawaii in quite the same way that I did while living there with my Asian American husband and child. My husband found a sense of belonging in Hawaii that I know he has never felt in our mostly-white hometown, and my daughter looking obviously different from me was accepted without comment, in a way that it often is not other places. During a difficult time in our life, this acceptance and welcome felt like home to us.
Too Many Mangoes by Tammy Paikai captures the hospitality and generosity of Hawaii in a way that is both very specific to the Islands and universally important. In this book, a brother and sister, Kama and Nani, visit their grandfather and help him pick mangoes from the huge mango tree in his backyard. When they discover that they have too many mangoes to eat themselves, they decide to share their bounty with the neighbors. As Kama and Nani travel through the neighborhood, pulling a wagon full of mangoes and giving them away, they discover that they are gaining even more than they are giving away. In the end, they sit down to enjoy a breakfast made up of all the good things given to them by their neighbors. The illustrations by Don Robinson perfectly capture the warm light and luxurious colors of Hawaii, while Paikai’s words bring the generosity of the Islands to life.
One of the neighbors in Too Many Mangoes, Aunty Pua, trades the children Macadamia Nut Muffins for some of their mangoes. I have always thought that this combination of flavors sounded wonderful and decided to try them out. They turned out even better than I imagined and have become one of our family’s favorite breakfast treats. These muffins taste a lot like banana bread, but with the lighter texture of a muffin and the perfect crunch of macadamia nuts.
Banana Macadamia Nut Muffins
Preheat oven to 375ºF and grease or line a 12-cup muffin pan. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
In a separate mixing bowl or measuring cup, whisk together the brown sugar, mashed bananas, egg, vanilla, and melted butter. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix together with a wooden spoon until just combined. Be careful to not over-mix. Add the chopped macadamia nuts and gently fold them into the batter.
Prepare the streusel topping: In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the brown sugar and flour until combined and no lumps remain. Cut in the cubed butter with your fingers or a fork until the mixture forms large crumbs. Stir in the oats and chopped macadamia nuts.
Spoon the muffin batter into the muffin cups, filling each about 3/4 full. Sprinkle the streusel topping evenly over all the muffins. Bake in the preheated oven until the top of the muffins are puffed and golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Cool muffins in the pan for about 10 minutes before removing. Serve warm with butter and/or guava jam.
Ingredients
Directions
Preheat oven to 375ºF and grease or line a 12-cup muffin pan. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
In a separate mixing bowl or measuring cup, whisk together the brown sugar, mashed bananas, egg, vanilla, and melted butter. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix together with a wooden spoon until just combined. Be careful to not over-mix. Add the chopped macadamia nuts and gently fold them into the batter.
Prepare the streusel topping: In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the brown sugar and flour until combined and no lumps remain. Cut in the cubed butter with your fingers or a fork until the mixture forms large crumbs. Stir in the oats and chopped macadamia nuts.
Spoon the muffin batter into the muffin cups, filling each about 3/4 full. Sprinkle the streusel topping evenly over all the muffins. Bake in the preheated oven until the top of the muffins are puffed and golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Cool muffins in the pan for about 10 minutes before removing. Serve warm with butter and/or guava jam.
