The Pig Kahuna by Jennifer Sattler

Cooking Skill Level: EASY

Ah yes, the story of two brothers, one fear and a surfboard named Dave.  This story has helped my threesome stop talking about the ocean as if it were the scariest place on earth.  It hasn’t made them great swimmers, so it’s left to the adults to remember the ocean can be the scariest place on earth and let the kids have fun.

 This was one of the easiest meals to imagine, plan and make.  For “props”, we needed surfboards, water or waves, “paint” to decorate with, as well as the brushes to apply it with and other sundry decorations. 

 The paints were the easiest.  Edible paint?  Ketchup, Mustard, Mayo or any other sauces you can think of. 

 

Paintbrushes? I could’ve used real ones, but edible paintbrushes are ever so much more fun.  I trimmed the center stalks of celery, leaving the leafy heads and set them in water to keep them fresh.  I noticed that if you trim the stem part (lengthwise) very thin, it will eventually curl into a circle so the “brushes” may have loops for handles. 

 

For waves, I could just add a lot of blue food coloring to some mashed potatoes, but I’m trying to do all of this without food coloring.  (Ok, there are a time and place for food coloring.  Ask my daughter.  Her Mac-n-Cheese came in a myriad of colors which complemented the many colored chicken salad).  I just didn’t want to use food coloring.  So I mashed up some peas, added some parsley flakes and mixed it all in some leftover mashed potatoes.  The ocean can be green.  With seaweed.   And foam.

 

 

For the surfboards I cut Canadian Bacon into shape.  The boys have a love affair with all things pork, so I knew they’d like these.  I lightly grilled them since I had to get my griddle out for the grilled pineapple rings for dessert anyway.  Once warmed, I placed a surfboard/Dave on top of the waves.  Lovely.

 

I added the sauces and paintbrushes to the plate.  I then added some cheese triangles, sliced olives and bean sprouts for further decorating possibilities. 

 

These were so fun to make.  I ended up cutting a few slices of bread and some cheese into surfboard shapes so the boys could keep making Daves.  The ate every bit of food on the plate including the celery paintbrushes.  Definitely a hit of a book and meal.  Here's a sample Dave.  He didn't last long .... 

 

 

Dessert was just grilled pineapple slices.

 

Title	The Pig Kahuna
Author	Jennifer Sattler
Illustrator
Publisher	Bloomsbury Books for Young Readers
Highlights /Tie in	Dave the Surfboard, Pig/Pork
Reactions to the Book	·         Funny PIGS.  Don’t be afraid of the water.  ·         You could bring us surf boards, Grummy
Meal	·         Surfboards: Ham slices ·         Surfboard decorations: sliced olives, sprouts, sauces with celery stick paintbrushes for more decorations ·         Waves: mashed peas and potatoes ·         Dessert: grilled pineapple rings
Reactions to the Meal	·         They all loved painting – the paintbrushes were a big hit (and yes, they ate them as well as painted with them. ·         These brouts tickle when you eat em.  Are you sure they won’t grow in me?

 

I’m going to take some time to write about techniques, skills, ingredients and props in the next posting.