NEWS:

Koloa Rumtini at Kilohana Plantation. Daniel Lane photo

Tasting Kauai hopes you had a tasty holiday season and a joyful New Year! We have some fun foodie events to share for January, including our redesigned East Side culinary tour. We are happy to announce that we have been awarded a grant from the Hawaii Tourism Authority and we will use the funds to make our unique culinary tours even better!

A North Shore tour is still being designed, but here’s what we have locked down so far. We will begin with an authentic look at Hawaiian culture and  tour Waipa, an ahupuaa that uses ancient agriculture systems such as a restored fishpond and loi (taro patches). The farm cultivates two market gardens and our tour ends with an introduction to Hawaii’s Staff of Life: taro. With a million dollar view of Hanalei Bay, we will have an exclusive lunch at Makana Terrace, inside the luxurious St Regis Resort. Hawaii-born Leanne Kamekona, executive chef for the Princeville Resort, will be there to meet our guests and share her abundant aloha. We are still working on the details, including the last leg of our tour, so stay tuned foodies!

Kokua Earth Action Program

Kokua Earth Action Program (KEAP) is an environmental service-learning initiative encouraging students to work toward creating lasting, positive change in their schools and communities. KEAP Projects allow classes to pursue their own stewardship endeavors and KEAP Mini-Grants fund these projects and help teachers from Hawaii schools advance their environmental education goals. Previous KEAP projects include lunch-waste composting programs, on-campus water catchment systems, school gardens and beach adoptions. View past KEAP projects here.

Each year, KEAP invites Hawaii schools, grades K-12, to start a Kokua Earth Action Project. All completed projects will be honored and showcased on KEAP’s website. Start by choosing an Earth Action Project and create a plan for how you’ll carry it out.

A small number of mini-grants are available to school groups submitting KEAP proposals. These mini-grants shall not exceed $200 per classroom teacher and can be used to purchase supplies to carry out Kokua Earth Action Program initiatives.

Free Compost Bins

Kekaha Community Garden (KCG) is giving away FREE compost bins and providing 1/2 hour basic training on Sunday, Jan. 6th at 3 pm at the garden. Bins/space in workshop are on a first come, first served basis; we are limited to 24. A picture of the bin is attached. If you would like to reserve a free bin and seat for training please contact Diane at kekahagarden@gmail.com or 651-5197.

For those living further south of Lawai and out towards Kapaa and the North Shore, they can contact the County Recycling Office for their free compost bin and training.

EVENTS:

Friday, Jan. 11

Kauai Culinary Tour

The Kauai pineapple may be green, but the center of the eye is yellow when ripe. Daniel Lane photo

Our Culinary Romp Through Paradise begins with an exclusive tour of the gardens at Kilohana Plantation. A train ride takes us deep into a tropical fruit orchard where we disembark and check out what’s growing, including three stages of pineapple! After that, we relax under a canopy while our guide shows us how to prepare juicy seasonal fruit, including that pineapple, plus papaya, sugarcane and more. Then we get to eat!

A four-course, gourmet lunch and cooking demonstration at the lush Kauai Marriott Resort is presented by Guy Higa, the executive chef of the entire property. The lunch is made with fresh, Kauai grown ingredients including Kauai Shrimp, Kaneshiro Farms pork and local produce. Our guests are relaxed and comfortable in the intimate setting and pepper chef Higa with questions, which he encourages. Mr Higa is one of Kauai’s first-rate chefs, and a local boy with a laid back style and a great sense of humor.

The January tour ends at The Feral Pig, a convivial neighborhood pub in Nawiliwili. Koloa Rum Co. will be there to talk about what it takes to make artesian rum. “The Pig” co owner and one of Hawaii’s best bartenders, will show what it takes to make handcrafted cocktails with the award-winning rum. The ticket price includes two cocktails. Click here for details.

Thursday, Jan. 17

An evening with Dr. Vandana Shiva

Kauai Memorial Convention Hall, 5 p.m., free

Dr. Vandana Shiva is an Indian philosopher, environmental activist, author and eco feminist. Shiva, currently based in Delhi, has authored more than 20 books. GMO Free Kauai and Hawaii SEED proudly presents an evening with the world reknowned agroecologist, seed saver and educator. Doors open at 5 p.m. for a locally adapted seed giveaway courtesy of the Kauai Community Seed Bank and Regenerations Botanical Gardens. The presentation will begin at 6:30 p.m. with a welcome ceremony from the Kanuikapono Charter School. This is a free event and a wonderful, positive opportunity for us all to learn more about solutions for food sovereignty as well as healthy, safe agricultural system planning. Also coming to Kauai are Walter Ritte from Molokai and Andrew Kimbrell, executive director of the Center for Food Safety in Washington D.C.

How will Vandana Shiva’s visit to Hawaii create a catalyst of change for creating true food sovereignty in our state? Please invite the elected official in your district to join us at the state capitol for a legislative briefing with Vandana Shiva on January 15 at 10 a.m. Printed invitations are being delivered to every Representative and Senator.

Click here to join the Seed Freedom Movement. Tasting Kauai will be there to cover the event for an upcoming issue of MidWeek Kauai.

Thursday, Jan. 24

Farm to Table Dinner

Olana Organic Farm, 3 p.m., $190

Tim O’Connor of Olana Organic Farm. Daniel Lane photo.

This will be Outstanding in the Field‘s (OITF) second visit with host farmer Tim O’Connor of Olana Farm, a fantastic dinner site on the stunningly beautiful North Shore of Kauai. “Farmer Tim is a wonderful host and we’re really looking forward to seeing him again,” said OITF founding chef and artist Jim Denevan. “The incredible variety of fruits and vegetables he grows are the healthiest looking plants you’ll ever see.” Some or many of them will go into the outdoor feast prepared by Chef Ron Miller of Hukilau Lanai. Everything comes full circle in Chef Ron’s kitchen. The restaurant’s food scraps are picked up nightly by a local pig farmer, and one of those well-fed hogs may well be on the menu for this event.

Since 2003, OITF founding chef and artist Jim Denevan and his culinary caravan have traveled around North America to create outdoor dining events at country farms and ranches, in urban gardens and sea caves, on mountaintops and sandy beaches.

Krissi and Ron Miller in the garden at Hukilau Lanai. Daniel Lane photo

Wherever they go, OITF’s mission is the same: To re-connect diners to the land and the origins of their food and introduce them to the local farmers and food artisans whose good work brings nourishment to the table. Ingredients for OITF meals are often sourced within inches of diners’ seats. After a tour of the host site, everyone settles in: farmers, ranchers, fishermen, culinary artisans and guests serving each other at the communal table.

Denevan did his first farm dinner in his hometown of Santa Cruz, Calif. in 1999. Since then, Outstanding in the Field has staged more than 400 farm dinners, welcoming nearly 50,000 diners in all but five U.S. states, three Canadian provinces and nine countries in Europe and South America. An avid surfer and artist whose large-scale drawings on earth, sand and ice have earned worldwide acclaim, Jim will no doubt find time to visit Kauai’s famous beaches with his board, rakes and driftwood sticks.

Outstanding in the Field events start with a glass of wine and welcome hors d’oeuvres, followed by a tour of the host farm and a four-course meal paired with wines.