Katherine Smithers, Author at Tasting Kauai
 

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North Shore: Teaching Food as Medicine

By on February 18, 2019 in Culinary Tour, From Seed, Kauai Lifestyles, Kauai Restaurant Guide, Launches, Travel Tips, Uncategorized

North Shore Kauai: Food As Medicine Tour

 

Traditional Diet

Traditional Hawaiian diets are considered to be some of the healthiest in the world. Living on a protein, vitamin and mineral rich diet that consisted mainly of poi (pounded taro root), fresh fish along with fruits and vegetables such as banana, coconut, breadfruit and sweet potato made for a clean and nourishing foundation. Even Hawaiian sea salt that was harvested in large amounts held minerals and rich health benefits. We aim to teach you about a variety of the beautiful canoe crops that the Polynesians brought to the Hawaiian islands over 1,000 years ago and how they are still being used today. 

Modern Food Practices

Fast forward to modern day Hawaii – you do not see this traditional health based diet by any means. Yes, you can still find fresh poi and poke with a variety of local fish, but much of the vegetable and fruit base has changed to fried food, rice and less healthy starches than taro or breadfruit. Of course, with modern influences come imports of all kinds of foods. We do have a beautiful and intricate cuisine here that has been influenced through the Plantation Era by Chinese, Japanese, Okinawan and Filipino food culture. Through all of these cultural influences, we want to share with you the foods with the best health benefits for your body, mind and spirit.

Balance the Ancient with the Modern

Here at Tasting Kauai we want to honor the healthy traditional foods and practices, while also sharing with you the modern health foods and techniques that locals are using to make new traditions here on our beautiful island. Come with us to a medicinal herb farm, visit a local juice company to try fresh fruits in a new way and to learn about and try for yourself some of the traditional Polynesian foods still being utilized in modern Hawaii. Let us share the education and fresh flavors of Kauai with you on our Food as Medicine Tour! And don’t worry, we still sneak in a few decadent tastings for all of your hard work learning.  We can promise that you will not leave hungry 🙂 Life is after all, about balance. 

Tropical Dreaming on Kauai

By on February 7, 2019 in Culture, Kauai Life, Kauai Restaurant Guide, Travel Tips

Author: Tour Guide Sabrina Petrov

Tropical Dreams on Kauai

Welcome to Tropical Dreams, an establishment with a name that lives up to the experience! As soon as you enter you’re greeted by friendly faces and an expansive, colorful array of ice cream flavors. Good vibes only in here, and of course everyone gets extra feels when ice cream is involved. Located in the heart of Kapaa, next to Safeway, Tropical Dreams is known for its high quality and expansive array of unique ice cream flavors. This hidden gem of a shop has been in operation close to 8 years. Currently run by Erik, it is a family owned and operated local style spot with its own flavor and style.

Locally Sourced

Every week Erik picks up the freshly made to order ice cream from The Big Island for Tropical Dreams. The ice creams and sorbets are made with Hawaiian fruit and cane sugar, keeping the ingredients as island focused as possible! This super premium ice cream shop is the only one in state that boasts the Hawaii Agriculture Seal of Quality. In addition to decadent ice cream, Erik also prides himself in offering sorbets and other dairy-free, vegan options. You can also find locally made Ono pops here, our favorite farm to stick pops, so good!

The goods

Customers are allowed to taste test before they choose, so I of course took full advantage. I sampled the oreo cheesecake + graham crackers, the lilikoi cheesecake, and the chocolate peanut butter brownie. Lilikoi, often considered the sweetheart of fruits in Hawaii, won out. Lilikoi or passion fruit has a delicious tart and slightly acidic finish that makes it the perfect complement to any sweets, baked goods or cocktails.  This is a perfect stop for those of you with a discerning sweet tooth. Finish off your next nice, sunny beach day on the East Side here, you won’t regret it!
Let us know if you enjoy this spot as much as us! You can check out more about Tropical Dreams on their website: https://tropicaldreamsicecream.com/about-us/our-company

Hale Puna Farm fresh Market

By on November 28, 2018 in Culture, Farmers Markets, From Seed, Kauai Life, Kauai Lifestyles, Travel Tips, Uncategorized

The Market

Our foodie staff at Tasting Kauai loves to check out new restaurants and stay up to date on new chef innovations & creations  here on island, and while there are few things that excite us more than the search for a heavenly meal, they do exist! I recently had the pleasure of visiting Hale Puna in the town of Waimea. Hale Puna, or the historic Gulick Rowell Mission House, is a burgeoning small scale food forest. This community focused farm is a project we can really get behind. Every Thursday afternoon from 3:30-5:30 p.m. at Hale Puna, 9567 Huakai Road you can stop by and visit their farm market and purchase your produce for a good cause. (If this time doesn’t work for you, you can also reach out to set up pickup time for a CSA basket)

Community Involvement

Working closely with farm school interns from Ke Kula Niʻihau o Kekaha, they not only have a beautiful flourishing garden, but also strive to provide hands on training to get kids on the west side involved in organic permaculture style farming. They want to show them this is a viable outlet for future employment that can benefit them, their health and their community.

Hale Puna is a 501(c)3. All proceeds from the Farmers Market go towards restoring the historic Gulick Rowell Mission House and to paying these farm school interns (middle and high school students from the west side!).

Getting the next generation to care & get involved is going to shape what the future of food security will look like on our lovely island. Creating more food growth, protecting and honoring the culture, and helping to create economically resilient jobs are all imperative goals for Kauai. They are striving for all of the above with this foundation.  Jim Ballantine, a 4th generation West side resident, owns and operates the Kōkeʻe lodge along with Hale Puna. His daughter Fanny runs the market and farm project and is the driving force behind getting this project flourishing. 

The Food

Here at the farm the students have already planted over 75 fruit trees and many other crops including papaya, ulu(breadfuit), avocado, banana, liliko’i, ‘olena(turmeric), sweet potato, sugar cane and kabocha. The traditional forest garden will focus on presenting classes and workshops around food, sustainability, permaculture and the history of West Kauai agriculture. Any food that isn’t sold at the market on Tuesdays or in CSA baskets, is taken up to be utilized at Kōkeʻe Lodge, so no food goes to waste! 

History

Whether you are a foodie, a history buff, a cultural guru or just a curious visitor – there is something for everyone at Hale Puna. Inquire about a donation based guided tour of the oldest house in Hawaii and their surrounding food forest. This home was built in 1829 and has been majorly renovated only once in 1927. The original wood floors are still inside! They hope to use the house once it is restored as a community center for events and performances that contribute to the cultural richness of West Kauai life. It is so cool to see the home being brought into the modern world with this food focused non profit!

 

You can find out more about this incredible project and all of the dedicated local people behind it on their website at http://www.halepuna.org/ and be sure not to miss their farmer’s market on your way down from the canyon!

Eat Healthy – Made Easy!

By on November 20, 2018 in Uncategorized

Author/Foodie Explorer: Sabrina Petrov

Welcome to Eat Healthy Cafe! Nestled  in Wailua, at the southern end of Kapaa, you can find many delectable places to eat, including the aptly named Eat Healthy Cafe. Owners John and PJ, partners who moved here from New York, took over ownership of Eat Healthy in December 2017. Running strong for almost a year now, this wonderful restaurant offers vegan comfort food! With a goal to be as welcoming and inviting as possible, the menu offers foods similar to the ones we all grew up with- but instead of scrambled eggs with bacon, you have tofu scramble with tempeh. Less the animals, but no less the flavor! Eat Healthy Cafe is living proof(no pun intended) that vegan food is not scary, but rather  quite delicious and beneficial for both you and the planet.

Outdoor Dining Delights

As you walk into the Cafe you’re greeted by a friendly face behind the counter who will bring you to the cozy al fresco seating area. Once you’re here, you’ll notice the tumbled glass ground- not to worry, the pieces cannot cut you! It is evident that great care was taken when decorating this space, and the adorable, hip atmosphere fully adds to the eating experience. Luckily for us, Eat Healthy has a beautifully varied menu. Serving breakfast until 3, an all day menu, and a dinner menu that begins at 5, anyone can find their perfect meal. I opted for the summer rolls with peanut sauce as my appetizer, and the tofu katsu curry with purple sweet potato salad as my entree. I was blown away by the quality and flavor of both of these dishes.

All Local Everything

Eat Healthy utilizes about 90% locally sourced produce in their food. For us here at Tasting Kauai, this is an impressive feat!  You can feel good about eating here because it benefits both the animals and the environment, all the while supporting sustainable agriculture in Hawaii. With a plant based menu you find Hawaii plant based dishes coming out of the kitchen all day long. You can find the cafe’s rainbow inspired menu, pictures and more on their website http:// eathealthykauai.com and check them out on instagram @eathealthykauai.

 

Hualani’s at Timbers Kauai – A Multi Sensory Experience

By on November 4, 2018 in Culture, From Seed, Kauai Life, Kauai Lifestyles, Kauai Restaurant Guide, Launches, Menus, Travel Tips

The Spot

We here at Tasting Kauai are always delighted when a new spot opens up for us to explore and taste test. This is especially true when it is a breathtaking oceanfront dining location with fabulous food. I have been hearing from friends all over the island for weeks, that we must go and try out Kauai’s newest spot. Eventually, we made it and we were not disappointed!

The Cuisine

My husband and I recently had the chance to visit Hualani’s on a Sunday evening. We arrived in time to catch sunset and enjoy the beautiful view. Ha’upu Mountain Range & Kauai’s southeast coast with historic Ninini Lighthouse (built 1906!) bookend your splendid view. Even as island locals, we were feeling 100% on vacation here.

Executive Chef Jafet Tellez has a different take on how to use local ingredients.  Before coming to the island of Kauai to head up the team at Hualani’s, he was working in Dubai and calls Mexico City home. You see these touches pop up in their hyper local, farm driven menu. This makes for some exciting and exotic flavor profiles you won’t find at just any Kauai joint. Menu items are still focused on embodying Hawaii regional cuisine, just with a little added flair!

Sunday nights they are offering a fun special for visitors and locals alike – Pineapple Marinated Fried Chicken with Chili-koi (yes that’s spicy AND lilikoi) sauce and jalapeno, bacon and cheddar waffles for just $7. For a price that wouldn’t even buy you a beer in a lot of Hawaii locales you get a full plate of food to grind on. Go with a friend or spouse and you can have one chicken plate and one beautiful seafood or local meat entrée to share and have the perfect, affordable oceanfront meal! We had the delicate Hamachi sashimi and a local shrimp salad with watermelon, napa cabbage and house ‘fire and ice’ dressing to start. For entrees we tried the Sunday Special (of course!) as well as the Catch of the Day with avocado poblano puree and yucca frites. Yum!

Farm Fresh

Hokuala has a farm on site that is still a young project, but will most certainly continue to crank out more food in the coming months and years. Farmer Cody who runs the food growth magic going on over there is working alongside the protected bird species there, working with the land and the animals who call the natural habitat home. Permaculture style growing is utilized and every week brings new crops and exciting projects. As we focus on island food production and sustainability through Tasting Kauai we are very stoked this is all going on here. Be sure not to miss out on their Thursday Farm Dinner menu – $40 for multiple courses of fresh, local garden to table food either from their farm, or nearby farms on the island!

All of the staff here takes such great care of you, with the true spirit of effortless Aloha. Delicious farm fresh food, beautiful Pacific Ocean and historic lighthouse views and wildlife conservation area are just a few of the reasons you should not miss out on Kauai’s newest, relaxed fine dining locale. Next time you are passing through Lihue, make a pit stop to see the crew at Hualani’s, you will not regret it!

Check out their website for monthly specials and book your reservation here

Thank you to the Timbers team for a couple of high res photos above, as mine did not do your space full justice!

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