Rhubarb, Phyllis and the queen’s dessert

Enchanted Pineapple Juice A Tantalizing Memory

I suppose I drank pineapple juice as a kid, but the first time my taste bud memory recalls the tantalizing experience was in the mid 1960s during my first visit to The Enchanted Tiki Room, an attraction at Disneyland Amusement Park in Anaheim, California.  The Tiki Room, which was sponsored by the Dole Pineapple Company, opened at Disneyland in 1963.  I visited the park for the first time a few months later.

By that time, I was no longer a kid.  In fact, even though I was not yet old enough to vote, I was old enough to drink beer in a Kansas beer joint.

Kansas didn’t ratify the 26^th Amendment to the United States Constitution, which lowered the voting age from 21 to 18, until April 7, 1971.  And, it wasn’t until 1984 that Congress passed the National Minimum Drinking Age Act, which mandated that only those who had reached the age of 21 years could purchase and/or drink alcohol. 

The 21-year-old age limit included all states in the union despite the fact that some states, including my home state of Kansas, sold 3.2 percent beer to person’s who had reached the ate of 18, and in no establishment in the state could anyone of any age purchase a glass containing hard alcohol.

The state of Kansas was considered dry, a designation that at that time was written into the State’s Constitution.  Carrie Nation got her political hooks into Kansas pretty darn deep.  I'm not sure how, but I think Kansas has since figured out a way to get around that Constitutional boozing handicap.

Even so, neither action affected me since I had reached the required age for both drinking and voting well before either age requirement changed.  Also, by then I had moved to California, which was already a wet state.  In other words, hard liquor flowed freely and the bars sold whatever you wanted as long as you had reached the age of 21.  Evidently, old Carrie’s raids didn’t make it that far west.

The Enchanted Tiki Room represented “A Polynesian Paradise,” filled with animated tropical birds, Tiki gods and exotic flowers that filled the room with a visual “South Seas musical extravaganza” that excited the senses without the need for even an ounce of alcohol.

However, as amazed as I became at the magical sights and musical sounds that surrounded me inside the Tiki Room, the one sensation that remains with me to this day involved the delectable cup of pineapple juice placed in my hand just before entering that mesmerizing wonder filled attraction.  Words fail to describe the flavor that filled my mouth when I took that first sip from that cup.  I fell in love with that sweet-tart flavor and crave it to this day.

While my expectation for matching the deliciousness of that Tiki Room, freshly pressed drink has never quite materialized, pineapple remains one of my favorite fruits both in solid and liquid form.

The following recipe offers a way to give any leftover chicken that might be hanging around my refrigerator a fresh approach using both the fruit and juice of canned pineapple chunks.  This recipe can be easily increased for larger appetites or even doubled to serve two. 

Hawaiian Chicken and Pineapple

Ingredients:

5 ounces cooked chicken, cut into bite-sized pieces (Increase to 6-to 8-ounces for larger appetites or double for two.)

1 Tablespoon Vegetable Oil

¼ Onion, thinly sliced

¼ to ½ Green pepper, thinly sliced

1 Clove garlic, minced

1 8 ounce can pineapple chunks, drained and divided

1 Teaspoon soy sauce

1 Teaspoon brown sugar

½ Teaspoon cornstarch

1/3 to 3/4 Cup uncooked Stir Fry Rice Noodles

 

Directions:

1. Drain juice from can of chunk pineapple and reserve along with one-half of the pineapple chunks.  (The remaining half of pineapple chunks can be eaten later).  You should have about 1/3 cup of juice.  Stir cornstarch, soy sauce and brown sugar into reserved juice.  (If doubling the recipe to serve two, add enough pineapple juice or water to make 2/3rds cup and double cornstarch, soy sauce and brown sugar)

2. Heat oil in small 8-inch skillet over medium-high heat.  When oil begins to shimmer, stir fry onions and peppers for 4-5 minutes.  Add garlic during final minute.  (Do not burn garlic.).

3. Remove onion, green pepper and garlic from skillet and set aside.  Add half of pineapple chunks and sauté for 5 minutes. 

4. Meanwhile bring small pot of water to boil.  Add rice noodles and cook 3 minutes.  Drain and set aside.

5. Add chicken and reserved juice with cornstarch, soy sauce and brown sugar to skillet with pineapple chunks.  Stir until sauce begins to thicken, cover skillet, lower heat and continue to simmer for 5 minutes longer.  Serve over rice noodles.