We in Australia have a penchant for big things. All across our wide brown land you will find giant sculptures and structures that bear resemblance to objects, people or animals. For instance: The Big Banana in Coffs Harbour, The Big Rocking Horse in Gumeracha, The Golden Guitar in Tamworth, and even in my hometown of Wodonga we had The Big Rolling Pin. These Big Things have become akin to a cult phenomenon, attracting tourists to their town for great family snaps. Some people even use them as a reason for road trips, especially up and down the east coast. We adore our big things so much that some of them have even become Heritage Listed.
There are over 150 Big Things in Australia, but the most famous one is probably The Big Pineapple in Woombye, Queensland. This iconic 16m fiberglass pineapple is situated on a now closed pineapple farm that used to house a small zoo, rides and a macadamia nut farm. And what would you find at the macadamia nut farm...The Big Macadamia Nut!
My mum used to live in Brisbane when I was younger, and one summer when we visited she took me to see The Big Pineapple. Now as a 14 year old I thought "OK it is impressive that this pineapple is in fact quite big, but I don't really care for pineapple flavoured treats". But fate would show her hand that day as she introduced me to the wonderful nut that is the Macadamia! I still remember tasting my first Macadamia Nut ice cream here, and it has been my favourite ice cream flavour since! (unless I'm near a Baskin Robbins that has Peanut Butter and Chocolate, cos that wins out!).
Earlier this year, I went up north to visit the best friend Emma, as well as my niece Kel and my great nephew Izzy. Kel asked me what I wanted to do whilst I was there, and without hesitation I shouted THE BIG PINEAPPLE! So off on a little road trip we went, I brimming with excitement of savouring more delicious macadamia nut ice cream. Alas, when we arrived we were horrified to find that all the complex had been closed and that you couldn't even get a photo with The Big Pineapple. This devastated me so much that I decided not to eat pineapple until it was reopened! (I would not do the same thing with macadamia nuts for they are too delicious. Also not eating pineapple didn't last long, it's tasty!)
So what does all this have to do with our next national dish? Well the Marshall Islands are one of those rare and wonderful countries that have a dessert as their national dish. The Macadamia Nut Pie. I was mega excited that it is essentially macadamia nuts, sugar and cream, and willing to overlook that it contained one of my cuisine nemesis...coconut! A collection of islands and atolls just west of the International Date Line, the Marshall Islands have provided us with a quick and delicious dessert. What more would you expect from a place that contains Bikini Atoll (for which the Bikini was named after)
Enjoy, or as they say in Marshall Islands, Tūb!
A national dish that is a dessert..AWES!: http://www.food.com/recipe/marshall-islands-macadamia-nut-pie-210197
Difficulty: 4
Appearance: 4
Taste: 3
TOTAL: 11
Note: Difficulty is scaled in reverse to the other categories, where 1 = was extremely difficult to make, and 5 = was easy to make.
Note: Difficulty is scaled in reverse to the other categories, where 1 = was extremely difficult to make, and 5 = was easy to make.
Mixing together the ingredients and throwing them in the pie crust was super easy. When you don't have enough time an uncomplicated dessert is awesome! (as are already made pie crusts). If I had more time I would have made a pie crust (which would have raised the degree of difficulty).
Now ignoring that I tend to slightly burn desserts in the oven, the macadamia nut pie was no exception, it looked fantastic. The aroma coming out of the oven was a sweet yet nutty smell, and when you dolloped on some coconut cream, the melting white contrasted the brownness of the pie to perfection.
I took the finished pie over to Bradley's house for his mini housewarming, and the boys must have enjoyed it for the pie was all gone! For me, anything with that much sugar in it is gonna be delicious. I was concerned about the coconut in the pie and the cream, but thankfully it wasn't overpowering and fully complimented the cream and macadamia nut. The other thing that was excellent was the texture of the pie. I thought it might be dense, until I realised that it was essentially sugar and eggs. It came out light and fluffy, like a pudding. For such a small nation, the Marshall Islands have picked an excellent national dish. Praise be to the Macadamia Nut!
