Thoughts of Hawaii

While working on my first chapter of my dissertation today, watching the rain turn to snow, I am reminded of the abundance of produce in Hawaii and how lucky I was to live there for an extended period of time.  Today's recipe was inspired by the green papaya salad I would get every so often at the Maku'u marketplace on Sundays in Keaau, HI.  Very simple, and very "fresh".  I've found green papaya here in UT and made this a couple times since I've been back.  You can get something similar at thai restaurants if you order Som Tam.

Green papaya salad
1 green papaya, peeled, sliced in half, seeds removed, and shredded using cheese grater or food processor
1 or 2 tomatoes
1 lime
1 or 2 thai peppers (depending on your spiciness)
1/4 cup roasted peanuts
2 cloves garlic
1/2 onion, chopped

1. Place the onion, peanuts, garlic, and thai peppers in a food processor and process until the peanuts are finely chopped.
2. Mix the shredded papaya, chopped tomatoes and lime juice in a bowl and add the peanut mixture.
3. Add more lime juice or salt for flavoring (I used salted peanuts)