Fix and Carry

By Lori Powell
For One or Two Bites, a blog for singles and couples

BBQs are the hit of the summer season. What to bring when someone invites you?

Well, your dish needs to be seasonal, tasty and something that can sit outside for a bit without perishing in the heat (so not dairy). Bonus points if you can make it ahead and double bonus points if it’s inexpensive to fix.

Bean salad is the order of the day! The classic is a three bean salad, but why not more than three?

I grew up on jarred three bean salad and absolutely loved it since it’s a cross between a pickle and a salad (and I have never met a pickle I didn’t like). Add beans to pickles and you up the health factor.

Combining the crisp texture of lightly cooked green beans with the creaminess of a white or red kidney bean, and the crunch of sweet corn, along with a hit of mustard (salty), honey and vinegar, is a winning combination. This salad also pairs well with all of the usual offerings at a summer BBQ as it gives welcome freshness and textural relief to the grilled meaty burgers, hot dogs and chicken.

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Reflecting on Memorial Day

My Uncle Hiroshi Matsukawa died fighting in Italy during World War II. He was part of the decorated Japanese-American 100th Infantry Battalion.

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And while that was a long time ago and he died before I was born, for me, Memorial Day will forever be linked to childhood memories of somber ceremonies at the Veteran’s Cemetery in Hilo that my family attended each year in his honor. The snap of rifles in salute, their explosive discharge, the bugler playing mournful Taps, flowers and leis lovingly placed at every headstone, the Stars and Stripes fluttering in the wind – all are part of my Memorial Day remembrance.

In 1970, Steve’s younger brother Patrick Hu died in Vietnam and is buried at Punchbowl, National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific. And young men and women continue to fight and die for our country today.

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