Pau Hana Friday for May 2

Paco’s Tacos El Molcajete is made with beef, chicken, pork and shrimp. Daniel Lane photo

Tasting Kauai

Happy Aloha Friday! We had an exceptional week and hope you did too. In Food, Fiestas at Paco’s Tacos House, that runs in our “Tastes of Kauai” column in today’s The Garden Island newspaper, you can learn what the brothers Aguilar have in store for Kapaa Art Walk (tomorrow) and Cinco de Mayo.  They have opened a new restaurant in Kapaa, so you’ll find out what they serve as well.
This Sunday, our “On the Farm” column explores an heirloom variety of eggplant and includes an excellent pupu recipe. You can get these rare eggplant starts from Heaven on Earth Starts at the Saturday Namahana farmers market and the Start Cart in front of Hoku Natural Foods Market.
We’ve added another Kauai food tour. Since we’ve received excellent feedback from our guests about A Taste of Kilohana, along with attentive service, the knowledge of our guide and the locally-sourced, off-the-menu lunch, we thought we’d serve up another! Now we offer A Culinary Romp Through Paradise, which takes place on a Friday, and for our hard-working residents, A Taste of Kilohana, which takes place on  two Saturdays a month. We also have our Farmers Market Tour, which takes place every Wednesday.

Jason Takemura, Derek Kurisu and Arnold Hiura. Eloise Hiura photo

From Kau Kau to Cuisine Islands’ Best Cookbook

Watermark Publishing has received the Award of Excellence, the top honor, in the Cookbooks category of the annual Hawaii Book Publishers Association’s Ka Palapala Pookela Awards. The winning book is From Kau Kau to Cuisine: An Island Cookbook, Then and Now by food historian Arnold Hiura, featuring traditional and contemporary recipes by Derek Kurisu of KTA SuperStores and Jason Takemura of Pagoda Floating Restaurant and Hukilau Honolulu. The awards were announced at ceremonies held on Thursday, April 24, 2014 at the East-West Center.
The competition’s judges praised From Kau Kau to Cuisine for connecting Hawaii’s past and present through side-by-side pairings of plantation-era and modern-day dishes. Author Hiura, they said, “masterfully ties these recipes together with interesting histories on Hawaii’s culinary evolution and illustrates how trends in modern cuisine—sustainable, foraged, nose-to-tail eating—are actually old practices that were adopted out of necessity in plantation and war-era Hawaii. Sharing food is joyful, and From Kau Kau to Cuisine is a joy to read and share.”
From Kau Kau to Cuisine: An Island Cookbook, Then and Now is Hiura’s fourth book. His two previous cookbooks, Kau Kau: Cuisine and Culture in the Hawaiian Islands and The Blue Tomato: The Inspirations Behind the Cuisine of Alan Wong, co-written with Chef Alan Wong, were also recipients of the Ka Palapala Pookela Award of Excellence in Cookbooks.

Kilauea Bakery’s stromboli specials include a blend of house made meats, Manchego cheese, and marinated vegetables. Daniel Lane photo

Kilauea Bakery & Pau Hana Pizza

Kilauea Bakery & Pau Hana Pizza is now serving an amuse buoche with every pizza order of home made Jardiniere vegetable pickle. A crunchy combination of red peppers, cauliflower, onion, celery, garlic, carrots seasoned with local chilies and herbs.

Makana Terrace

Antwon Brinson, chef de cuisine for Makana Terrace at the St. Regis Princeville, sent me this note, “I’m really focusing on purchasing most of my produce from farmers either on island, or the State. We have added Hanalei Taro on the breakfast menu and on the dinner menu, I’m having fun with guava – house made lemon pepper crusted opah, risotto style vegetable couscous and a truffle guava emulsion, which is just one of the new dishes on the spring menu.”

Josselin’s Tapas Bar & Grill

During the week of May 6 through May 11, Josselin’s Tapas Bar & Grill will be showing appreciation to teachers by giving them 50 percent off food purchases. Reservations can be made any day that week from 5:30 to 7 p.m. “We will also be doing drawings for prizes for some lucky teachers,” says Andrew Ha, General Manager and Partner. Prizes include a 2 night stay at the Grand Hyatt, 2 night stay at Koloa Landing Resort and Spa, a Tommy Bahama Silk Shirt for men, Tommy Bahama women’s dress, and more. All you have to do is show your Department of Education I.D. to receive the 50 percent off. For more information or reservations, call 808-742-7117.

Papaya’s Natural Foods & Cafe

Jason Villarreal, manager at Papaya’s Natural Foods & Cafe, wrote us to say, “We would love to let the people know that we are still open during the construction outside. Although it isn’t as appealing out there as it used to be, you can still grab yourself a wonderful lunch from our cafe and fresh salad bar and take it to the beach!”

Verde Healthy Thursday

Join Verde in April for Healthy Thursday. This month, it’s the Power Breakfast Burrito. It’s less than 380 calories and made with Makaweli Meat Company’s grass-fed ground beef, Kauai Fresh Farm eggs, Govinda Farm spinach and Okinawan purple sweet potatoes. Tasting Kauai, Verde and Kauai Athletic Club are working together to promote healthy lifestyle choices. Answer a health related question posted every Thursday on Tasting Kauai’s Facebook page and you could win a $20 gift certificate to Verde. Enjoy a Power Breakfast Burrito and receive a day pass to Kauai Athletic Club.

RumFire

Sheraton Kauai Resort celebrates local radio personality Ron Wiley’s 25 years on Kauai’s KONG radio (FM 93.5) by donating proceeds of its monthly “You Dine, We Donate” program to the charity of his choice. All net proceeds for food and beverage at Table 53 in the resort’s signature restaurant, RumFire Poipu Beach, will benefit the 36th Annual Visitor Industry Charity Walk in May. Wiley has emceed the event every year since 1989.
“Ron is a great community advocate for the non-profit organizations that assist our island ohana,” said Sheraton Kauai Resort General Manager Chip Bahouth. “We are proud to celebrate Ron’s past 25 years on KONG radio and in the community – and many more years to come – at our oceanfront RumFire Poipu Beach restaurant.”
Located within Sheraton Kauai Resort, the beachside RumFire features Hawaiian-rooted cuisine with a global twist and cocktails. Guests dining at RumFire enjoy 180-degree oceanfront views from all of its 240 seats. Facing the beautifully landscaped Ocean Courtyard and inviting fire pits, Table #53 is a private booth with a prime vantage for viewing Kauai’s fiery sunsets. From flatbreads and farm fresh salads, to its signature crab-crusted catch of the day, flaming signature Mai Tais and Crème Brûlée Cheesecake, guests can enjoy a great night of dining and support a worthy cause. Over $60,000 has been raised through the “You Dine, We Donate” program since its inception in October 2012.
“I would like to thank Sheraton Kauai Resort and General Manager Chip Bahouth for helping me celebrate my 25 years on KONG radio by allowing me to select the Kauai non-profit to benefit from Table 53 in May,” said Wiley. “I feel very privileged to select this year’s ‘Walk,’ which benefits so many non-profit projects on Kauai.”
Hosted by the Hawaii Lodging & Tourism Association, the Annual Visitor Industry Charity Walk is one of the largest fundraisers in the state, providing an opportunity for Hawaii’s visitor industry to collectively give back to its local communities. Since its inception in 1978, the Charity Walk has raised over $24 million for Hawaii charities, and all of Hawaii’s non-profit charities are eligible to benefit. Sheraton Kauai Resort contributed a total of $13,928 toward the annual fundraiser in 2013.
Patrons who are interested in participating in RumFire’s month-long “You Dine, We Donate” program are encouraged to make reservations in advance by calling 808-742-4786 and requesting Table #53. The table is available on a first come, first serve basis. Net proceeds for all food and beverage at Table #53 during dinner service will be donated to the 36th Annual Visitor Industry Charity Walk, gratuity will be paid to the server and taxes will be remitted to the State of Hawaii.

Koloa Rum Company

Congratulations to Koloa Rum and their success at this year’s Miami Rum Renaissance Festival, which was on April 22-24. In previous competitions at the MRR, they received Best in Class Gold for their Dark in 2011, Bronze in 2011 for Spice and Gold for their Dark in 2010. This year, the results of the RumXP Blind Tasting Competition 2014 RumXP Best in Class and Gold Medal winners include:

• Gold Rum: Best In Class – Diplomatico Añejo; Gold – Hampden Estate Gold, Gold – Koloa Gold
• Dark Rum: Best In Class – Lost Spirits Navy Style Rum; Gold Koloa Dark, Gold – Goslings Black Seal
• Flavored Rum: Best In Class – Koloa Coconut; Gold – Admiral Nelson Vanilla, Gold – Blue Chair Bay Coconut, Gold – Selvarey Cacao

Princeville Wine Market

Daniel Braun, owner of Princeville Wine Market wrote in an email that he, “now sells artisanal cheeses.”

Lotus Fudge to Tiny Isle

Lotus Fudge has changed its name to Tiny Isle. Owner Katie Ranke tells me their business baby has grown, from a small three-flavor raw fudge company, to an ambitious enterprise with three multi-flavor product lines, including organic truffles, macadamia nut butters and raw fudges. You can check them out at this Saturday’s Art Walk, in front of A. Ell Atelier.

Sustainable Kauai Meetups

This month, Sustainable Kauai’s Meetups include:

Kilauea Monthly Garden Share

Tuesday, May 13, 5 p.m.
Malama Kauai Food Forest
5545 Kahiliholo Road
Kilauea, HI

Wailua Monthly Garden Share

Tuesday, May 20, 5 p.m.
Lydgate Beach Park
4470 Nalu Road
Wailua, HI
 

Pineapple fields at Kilohana Plantation. Marta Lane photo

• Sake soaked Kauai Shrimp with Kailani mixed greens, Maui tropical pineapple, and sweet sesame ginger aioli

Entrée

• Grass-fed Makaweli Meat Company beef tenderloin topped with port wine and a confit of Kauai’s Kaneshiro Farms pork belly and Island fresh Wasabi Crusted Opah with a lilikoi white wine vinaigrette, caramelized Ewa onion, jasmine rice, and a medley of farm fresh vegetables

Dessert

• Rustic Wi and Molokai Uala Gallete

Proceeds from this tour benefit the Hawaii Food Bank – Kauai Branch, help to restore native plants and preserve and perpetuate Hawaiian culture through education. To make reservations, visit A Taste of  Kilohana. To see previous tours, check out our Facebook photo album. For a complete list of tour dates, check out our Kauai Culinary Tours Calendar.

Kauai Kunana Dairy goat cheese with olive oil and fresh herbs. Daniel Lane photo.

Goat Keeping Workshop

Kauai Agricultural Research Center, Wailua, 9 a.m. to noon, $5
A workshop from Kauai Kunana Dairy and the University of Hawaii Cooperative Extension Service Kauai County Livestock & Range Program. Info and Skills for the Beginner and Veteran. Goats provide meat, milk, weed management, manure, fiber, and companionship making them an excellent addition to any farm. Participants will learn about:

• Animal nutrition
• Grazing management
• Parasites
• Basic health care
• Breeding and more

Pre-registration is required on a first come first serve basis. Call Matt Stevenson (CTAHR Kauai County) at 808-274-3472 to register. Leave message with name and contact info if no answer.
The University of Hawaii is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action institution. If you require disability accommodations to participate in this program, please contact the Extension Office at 274-3472 one week before the event.

Healthy Digestion Workshop

3 p.m., free, Anahola Beach Park at the green pavilion across from the beach and lifeguard stand
Hale Pule’s workshop focuses on the most important aspect of true health: digestion! Read about the 6 Signs of Poor Digestion That May Surprise You, which many people accept as a part of every day life, but are actually signs of indigestion and part of the stages of disease.
Wednesday, May 7

RumFire Poipu Beach and Fiddlehead Cellars Wine Dinner

From 6:30 p.m., $85 per person (inclusive of tax and gratuity)
Fiddlehead Cellars is a winery specializing in sustainable Saugnignon blanc and Pinot noir from the Santa Ynez valley of Santa Barbara County, California.
First Course

• Shellfish Duo: Seared scallop, paprika lilikoi gastrique, buerre blanc, Oyster luau, smoked taro leaf, coconut gremulata
• Paired with Fiddlehead “Happy Canyon” Sauvignon Blanc, Santa Ynez Valley

Second Course

• Olive Oil Poached Monchong, Braised porkbelly & achiote rice, sizzling sofrito
• Paired with Fiddlehead “Pink” Rose of Pinot Noir, Santa Rita Hills

Third Course

• Grass Fed New York Strip, Purple potato hash, poha berry demi, crispy onions
• Paired with “728” Pinot Noir, Santa Rita Hills

Fourth Course

• Dark Chocolate Cremeaux Martini, Salted mac nut brittle, vanilla tuile
• Paired with Fiddlehead, “Late Harvest” Dessert Wine

For reservations, call 808-742-4786
Friday, May 9

Dave Power pours from a mason jar with charred cedarwood, apples and Campari. Daniel Lane photo

A Culinary Romp Through Paradise

Various locations in Kapaa, 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., $140
Tasting Kauai’s Culinary Tour offers an intimate glimpse into the Garden Island’s culinary scene. We start with a farm tour and sample exotic fruit grown on Kauai. At the Kauai Marriott Resort, we join executive chef Guy Higa for an outdoor cooking demonstration and gourmet, four-course lunch made with Kauai grown ingredients. This tour ends at The Feral Pig where, Dave Power, co owner and bartender, will make a la minute cocktails. This is a special treat as Dave has been written up as one of Hawaii’s best bartenders and he excels at making drinks customized to individual tastes.
To make reservations, visit A Culinary Romp Through Paradise. To check out previous tours, visit our Facebook photo album. Chef Higa donates proceeds from his portion of the tour to the Salvation Army Soup Kitchen and Tasting Kauai donates proceeds to the Kauai Branch of the Hawaii Food Bank. For a complete list of tour dates, check out our Kauai Culinary Tours Calendar.
Saturday, May 10

Ken Love Grafting Workshop

Kalihiwai Community Garden Greenhouse, 9 to 12 p.m., click here for pricing and registration (scroll to the bottom)
Learn the art of grafting, air layering and propagation from cuttings with this 3-hour workshop from the executive director of the Hawaii Tropical Fruit Growers Association, fruit hunter and expert Ken Love. This is a hands-on workshop in which participants will be using a grafting knife to practice grafts under Ken’s direction. Trees discussed in the grafting segment include citrus, avocado, mango and starfruit.
Ken Love is a farmer on Kona who has looked for unusual fruit in more than 50 countries. He’s also the president of American Culinary Federation Kona Kohala Chef’s Association.
This is the first of two identical workshops offered on the topic. If you would like to attend the event at NTBG on Sunday, May 11th, please click here.

Fresh catch with pineapple salsa and Kaneshiro Farms pork tenderloin. Marta Lane photo

A Taste of Kilohana

Kilohana Plantation, 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., $115
A Taste of Kilohana is an exclusive, guided food tour that offers a seasonal slice of Kilohana Plantation. Our tour includes an off-the-menu, three-course, locally sourced meal that’s served in the Private Dining Room of Wilcox Mansion.
Our unique tour begins with a ride in a open-air train through the 105-acre orchard which has more than 50 varieties of exotic fruit trees. Guests disembark and feed wild boar, goats and chickens and stroll through the orchard with Kai, Kilohana’s expert in local agriculture. After picking and eating exotic fruit, sit and relax as Kai demonstrates how to select and prepare tropical fruit, then taste the best of Kilohana in a super-fresh fruit salad.
After a short tour of the historic Manor House, guests learn how to make Gaylord’s signature Mai Tai with fresh-pressed sugarcane and lime juice inside Mahiko Lounge. Meet Gaylord’s executive chef Todd Barrett while he explains the day’s preparations and enjoy a three-course, locally sourced lunch in the Private Dining Room. The lunch is always based on seasonal ingredients, but here’s what our guests enjoyed last month:
Appetizer

• Sake soaked Kauai Shrimp with Kailani mixed greens, Maui tropical pineapple, and sweet sesame ginger aioli

Entrée

• Grass-fed Makaweli Meat Company beef tenderloin topped with port wine and a confit of Kauai’s Kaneshiro Farms pork belly and Island fresh Wasabi Crusted Opah with a lilikoi white wine vinaigrette, caramelized Ewa onion, jasmine rice, and a medley of farm fresh vegetables

Dessert

• Rustic Wi and Molokai Uala Gallete

Proceeds from this tour benefit the Hawaii Food Bank – Kauai Branch, help to restore native plants and preserve and perpetuate Hawaiian culture through education. To make reservations, visit A Taste of  Kilohana. To see previous tours, check out our Facebook photo album. For a complete list of tour dates, check out our Kauai Culinary Tours Calendar.
Wednesday, May 28

Fruit Growers’ Conference

Kauai Community College OCET Room 106 C/D, 8:45 a.m.— 3:30p.m., $35
Conference topics and speakers will include:

• Pineapple Pests and Diseases ~ Glenn Taniguchi , UH CTAHR Research Associate
• Plant Diseases of Fruits ~ Desmond Ogata, UH CTAHRResearch Support
• Papaya Pest Management ~ Dr. Mark Wright , UH CTAHR Plant & Environmental Sciences Dept. Chair
• Tropical Fruits ~ Dr. Mark Nickum , UH CTAHR Assistant Professor
• Fruit Fly Control ~ Richard Ebesu, CTAHRCooperative Extension Service

Conference registration 8:15 a.m.—8:45 a.m. Bento Lunch included. Registration deadline Monday, MAY 19. Late registration will be accepted until May 23, but no lunch will be provided. Call 808-245-8318 to register. Certified C.E.U. credits for attending this conference are pending.
ONGOING:

Grow Culture’s Collin Darrell and chef Barb Ka’auwai at the Kapaa farmers market. Marta Lane photo

Farmers Market Tour

Wednesdays, 3 to 4 p.m., $30
Meet local farmers, learn how to select perfect produce as well as when it’s in season and how to cook with it during Tasting Kauai’s one-hour farmers market class. Farmers markets are an affordable way to immerse yourself in local culture and the best place to buy produce that’s so fresh, it was harvested that morning. But buying at the farmers market doesn’t always insure that it was grown on Kauai. It happens all over the world. In Hawaii, customers want mangos year-round. In Colorado, they want tomatoes in May. To make that sale, vendors buy imported mangoes or tomatoes and sell them as their own. Becoming familiar with growing  seasons insures your dollars are spent on local produce.
There’s a whole world of delicious produce that many people never try. Let’s face it, some of it looks like it came from another planet. Once unfamiliar produce is demystified and cooking tips are shared, it may become a regular at dinner table. Many factors can make exotic produce expensive and the last thing you want to do is buy a pineapple that isn’t at peak perfection. This class will also teach you how to tell when produce is ripe as well as how to store it for best results. To make reservations, visit our Farmers Market Tour page.

Hanapepe Friday Night Festival and Art Walk

Hanapepe Town, 6 to 9 p.m.
Every Friday evening, Old Town Hanapepe bustles with people. A dozen art galleries stay open late and local crafters sell their wares. There’s also stilt walkers, classics cars, live music and entertainment. The Right Slice sells fresh-baked pie by the slice or whole.  Midnight Bear Breads makes pizza fresh from a wood-burning oven. Aloha Spice Company serves samples of their Hawaiian sea salt and spice blends on grilled chicken. These spices quickly add fantastic flavor without a lot of calories and make wonderful gifts of aloha.
Haole Girl Island Sweets sells a variety of hand-made butter croissants, including grilled chicken and portobello mushroom seasoned with Aloha Spice Company blends. Other croissants are filled with local fruit, nuts, honey or vegetables. Samples are given just outside the parking lot, in front of the darling Aloha Spice Company building. Call 808-335-6469 for more information.

Kapaa Art Walk in Old Town Kapaa. Daniel Lane photo

Kapaa Art Walk

Old Town Kapaa, 5 to 9 p.m.
On the first Saturday of the month hundreds of people party in Old Town Kapaa. The street is filled with the sounds of laughter and music, smells of delicious local food, and the work of Kauai artists. In front of the Dragon Building, Anni Caporuscio (owner of Small Town Coffee and Blue House Booksellers) sings to a three-piece band which includes a guitar player, drummer and washboard player. Art Cafe Hemingway and Java Kai open a new exhibit and serve food late. The Buttery hosts jewelers and other Kauai Made jewelry is available throughout.
A designated parking area is located at 4451 Lehua St., on a 3-acre spot next to Restore Kauai and Specialty Lumber. Cost to park in the lot is $3.

Kauai Culinary Market at Kukuiula Shopping Village in Poipu. Daniel Lane photo

Art Walk at Kukuiula

The Shops at Kukuiula, 6 to 9 p.m., free
An evening of fine art, fine dining and live music under the stars at The Shops at Kukuiula the second Saturday of each month.
Dining options include Merriman’s Fish House, Josselin’s Tapas Bar & Grill, Tortilla Republic, Dolphin Sushi, Living Foods and Lappert’s Hawaii. Plus, enjoy jazz outdoors by Hank Curtis and Steve Dubey and Latin rhythms by Manuel Mendes and Cary Valentine.
 

Kilauea Art Walk

Stone Building, 5 to 8 p.m.
Join more than 20 artisans on the last Saturday of the month at the Stone Building in Kilauea Town. There’s live music, original art, hand-made apparel, jewelry, photography, custom slippers, painted glass bottles, ice cream and unique creations. Face painting henna tattoos. Stop by Kilauea Fish Market for dinner.

Photos for this blog post were contributed by Daniel Lane of Pono Photo.