Pau Hana Friday for July 11

Tasting Kauai

Eggs Benedict at Birdie’s Cafe. Daniel Lane photo

Hole in the Mountain Farm

Hole in the Mountain Farm‘s Kauai Sugarloaf Pineapple will be featured in Paulie’s Kauai Sugarloaf Pineapple Phrosties on Saturday at the KCC Farmer’s Market in Lihue.
Described as “an exotic dessert pineapple that’s hand selected from the field,” Hole in the Mountain Sugarloaf Pineapples are very sweet and low in acid.
For more on these delicacies, check out Marta Lane’s article, “Not just a hole in the mountain” in The Garden Island.

Bar Acuda

The kitchen staff at Bar Acuda has been “loafing” around lately and will now be selling fresh-baked, European-style breads from the back door of the popular Hanalei eatery.

Makaweli Meat Company

Makaweki Meat Company is happy to announce that it has started to bring grass-fed Lamb from the largest herd in the state on Niihau to market.
Currently, Chef Higa at the Kauai Marriott, Chef Miller at Hukilau Lanai, Chef Michaud at St. Regis Spa and Resort, Chef Liang at the Sheraton Kauai Resort, and Chef Arriola at Merriman’s Fish House have brought the lamb into their restaurants. Their lamb is also on the menu at Little Greek Town in Kapaa.
The operation—which opened last December— also raises, harvests and processes grass-fed beef on the west side of Kauai. 
For more on Makaweli Meat Company, check out Marta Lane’s article, “Meat of the Operation” in The Garden Island.

Black Dog Farms tops edible Hawaiian Islands list of best hot sauces. Daniel Lane photo

Black Dog Farms

Congratulations to our friend Janine Lynne, owner of Black Dog Farms, for being featured in edible Hawaiian Islands magazine. In “Bottled Eruption” the lucky author tasted copious amounts of hot sauces across the state, and selected her favorites. Three of Black Dog Farms’ hot sauces are featured. We’re very happy to see her get the recognition she deserves. Lynne makes six tantalizing hot sauces, eight flavorful mustards and 16 aromatic spice blends, which can be purchased at Waipa Farmers Market on Tuesdays as well as Harvest Market in Hanalei, Healthy Hut in Kilauea and the Koloa Rum Tasting Room & Company Store in Lihue.
Also, be sure to check out the article, “Black Dog Produces Spices of Life” in Midweek Kauai to learn more about Janine’s spicy business.

Heavenly Hakus

Haku are head lei that can also be worn around the brim of a hat or on the wrist or ankle. Daniel Lane photo

Blue House Booksellers at Small Town Coffee

Blue House Booksellers recently returned to its original location at Small Town Coffee in Kapaa, bringing two loves together again under the same roof.
In addition to being able to grab a java pick me up or a fresh bagel with cream cheese and lox, you can now also find a good read to wile the day away. Blue House also offers some fun and very creative upcycled gift ideas, such as a notepad created from a box of Kraft Macaroni and Cheese, among other offerings.
EVENTS:
Friday. July 11

Finally Friday

Kauai Beer Company offers a limited selection of craft cocktails as a regular part of Finally Friday. Tonight, they are proud to showcase rum drinks including:

• Mai Tai made from Vic Bergeron’s original recipe, features dark rum, orange curacao, orgeat and fresh lime
• Caipirinha–a Brazilian favorite–is made with sugar cane spirit, cachaca, lime and brown sugar
• Mojito made with white rum, fresh muddled mint, lime, sugar and topped with soda water
• Dark and Stormy featuring dark rum and house made ginger beer
• Hemingway Daiquiri is a classic with white rum, maraschino liqueur, fresh grapefruit and lime

The delicious menu is growing as well. Tonight’s offerings include:

• Roasted Beets and Watermelon Salad $8 ~Arugula, Spinach, Onions, Fennel, Chevre cheese, a Saison, Lemongrass-Honey Dressing and a Balsamic glaze

• Black Limousine Braised Oxtail Stew $8 ~ topped with toasted Cheddar Cheese Bread Dippers.

• Poutine Fries $10 ~ Beer-battered French fries smothered with pork gravy and topped with white cheddar cheese.

• Shredded Beef Nachos $10 ~ Black Limousine braised beef, fresh-made tortilla chips and roasted corn salsa with a melted cheddar cheese blend.

• Roasted Vegetable Wrap $9 ~ Roasted Eggplant, Zucchini, Onions, Tomatoes and Slaw with an Avocado Lime Spread in a Flour Tortilla.

• Hawaiian Cuban $12 ~ House Cured and Beer Braised Pulled Pork, Seared SPAM, Monchego Cheese, Housemade Pickles and Mustard on a Midnight Bear Roll, Served with Housemade Potato Chips or Cabbage-Kale Slaw
• Cabbage and Kale Slaw $4
• Housemade BBQ Potato Chips $3

• Spent Grain Pretzels $3 ~ Made with the brewery’s spent grain by Judy Capertina of Haole Girl Island Sweets and served with house-made mustard.

All menu items feature locally grown vegetables, herbs and fruits from Growing Strong Farm, Kauai Glory Farms, Wootens Produce of Kauai, Moloaa Organicaa and Kauai Kunana Dairy.
All July

“You Dine, We Donate” to benefit Kauai Humane Society

Pipikaula Flatbread. Daniel Lane photo

Sustainable Kauai Meetups

This month, Sustainable Kauai’s Meetups include:
Kapaa Garden Share from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m., Tuesday, July 15, at Aiyah’s Garden, located at 4558 Kukui St., in Kapaa. The concept is the simple: Bring something you have and take something home you do not have.
Share in the bounty of Kauai’s gardens as everyone shares homegrown fruit, vegetables, eggs, herbs, honey, flowers, seedlings, plants and seeds. No worries if your garden is not producing as the group welcomes homemade treasures, food and supplies made from or for the garden or kitchen too.
Please bring bags, paper towels, etc. to take things home with you. Any items remaining at the end of the event will be donated to the food pantry or community garden.

Dave Power teaches guests how to make handcrafted cocktails on A Culinary Romp Through Paradise. 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 demonstrate how to make handcrafted 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.
Sample menu:
First Course
Chef’s Garden Salad and Lilikoi Vinaigrette
Second Course
Kaneshiro Farms Crispy Pork Belly Plantation Style
Third Course
Kauai Shrimp, Wailua Herb Butter and Fresh Pasta
Fourth Course
Kauai Coffee Expresso Cheesecake with Poha Berry Sauce
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 a portion of tour and book 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 and Sunday, July 19 and 20

Korean Natural Farming workshop

Permaculture Kauai Farm in Moloaa, 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. both days, $160
Korean Natural Farming and Indigenous Microorganisms training offers a beyond organic approach to nurturing the aina. Hosted by Permaculture Hawaii, the workshop offers training for making on-farm produced inputs using local and Hawaii-sourced materials designed for farmers, landscapers, ranchers and gardeners.
The workshop will cover:

• Fertilizers in dry and liquid forms
• Soil and compost innoculants
• Foliar sprays for every stage of plant growth
• Plant hormone extracts
• Herbal and medicinal extracts
• Pest control inputs

Developed and re-systematized by Cho Han-kyu, “Korean Natural Farming” is an ancient system for producing every farm input necessary for sustainable production and management of field crops and animals.
Expected benefits from this system include soil moisture retention, increased tilth, increased resistance to environmental stresses, more nutrient dense food, and vigorous organic plant and animal health. This training session will teach how to produce and use natural farming inputs at both commercial and residential farming scales.
A light lunch will be offered and participants are asked to bring a notebook, chair and “a can do attitude!” Pre-registration is encouraged as the class is limited to 40 people. Please contact Ray Maki at 634-5412, permaculturekauai@yahoo.com or at www.PermacultureKauai.com for more details.
Saturday, July 26

A Taste of Kilohana

Sampling seasonal fruit at Kilohana Plantation. Daniel Lane photo

• Sake soaked Kauai Shrimp with Kailani mixed greens, Maui tropical pineapple, and sweet sesame ginger aioli
• 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
• Rustic Wi and Molokai Uala Gallete

A portion of proceeds from Tasting Kauai’s food tours and book benefits the Hawaii Food Bank – Kauai Branch. 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.
UPCOMING:
Saturday, August 2

A Taste of Kilohana

The Groves celebrate their anniversary during A Taste of Kilohana. Daniel Lane photo

• Sake soaked Kauai Shrimp with Kailani mixed greens, Maui tropical pineapple, and sweet sesame ginger aioli
• 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
• Rustic Wi and Molokai Uala Gallete

A portion of proceeds from Tasting Kauai’s food tours and book benefits the Hawaii Food Bank – Kauai Branch. 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.
ONGOING:

Sunshine Farmers Market in Kapaa. Daniel 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 mangoes 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. See May 10 listing for this month’s details.
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.

Art and Wine Thursdays

Art and Wine Thursdays includes an art reception by Kauai based artists such as Donia Lilly, with original pastel, acrylic, and mixed media paintings from the “Oceans” and “Moons” and “Memories” series, along with prints and greeting cards. Wine tastings have included Buena Vista The Count Cabernet 2008; St. Francis Chardonnay 2009; Matanzas Creek Sauvignon Blanc 2011; Sonoma Cutrer Chardonnay 2011 and Lyeth Meritage 2010. Light appetizers of cheese, fruit and vegetable crudités are also available. Includes a coupon for a 15 percent food discount at the Naupaka Terrace with the purchase of any dinner entrée.

Truck Stop Thursday

Kauai Beer Company, 5 p.m.
Every Thursday, Kauai Beer Company invites three food trucks to serve food. Trucks park along the curb, the sidewalk is converted into a patio and hundreds of people enjoy food, conversation and each other. Since the trucks change every week, it’s a great opportunity to try something new. For a listing of this week’s trucks, check out Kauai Beer Company’s Facebook page.
 

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