Pau Hana Friday for June 27

Soursop is in season now. Daniel Lane photoNEWS:

Tasting Kauai

In today’s The Garden Island newspaper, our article “Bon appetit at Red Clay” reports on some tasty surprises at the final concert for this year’s Red Clay Jazz Festival, including the appearance of Jean Marie Josselin, and information on his new restaurant. If you’ve seen heart-shaped, fat and prickly green fruit piled on tables at the farmers market lately, that’s because it’s soursop season. In this Sunday’s On the Farm column, we report on its cancer healing properties as well as some chilly ideas for delicious consumption.

Makaweli Meat Company

Makaweli Meat Company grass-fed lamb is now available on Kauai. The lamb are raised on Niihau and according to Jehu Fuller, general manager, it’s the largest herd in the state. The lamb is available at the Kauai Marriott Resort by executive chef Guy Higa, Hukilau Lanai by owner and executive chef Ron Miller, St. Regis’s Kauai Grill by chef de cuisine Maxime Michaud, Sheraton Kauai Resort by executive chef Roger Liang and  Merriman’s Fish House by executive chef Mark Arriola. For information on Makaweli Meat Company’s grass-fed beef and processing facility, read “Meat of the operation“, for ordering information, call Jehu at 808-855-5241.

Hukilau Lanai house-made ravioli with Kauai Kunana Dairy braised goat and goat cheese. Daniel Lane photo

Koloa Rum gets green light

Koloa Rum Company is one step closer to finding a new home and expanding its operations, according to an article this week in The Garden Island, Koloa Rum gets Green Light. Permits were approved to allow the Kauai-based rum maker to move forward with constructing a new company hub across the street from Anne Knudsen Park in Koloa that will include a production facility, an administrative office building, a tasting room, an interactive garden and a cafe. Koloa Rum currently operates a tasting room and retail store in Lihue at Kilohana Plantation, but produces its signature rums, ready-to-mix cocktails and Kukui Brand jellies and preserves in Kalaheo.

Fresh pasta and local greens at Hukilau Lanai

The Hukilau Lanai in Kapaa is now offering homemade pasta in addition to local greens.

“I love fresh pasta,” says Ron Miller, owner and executive chef of the Hukilau Lanai. “It has been a lot of fun working through the process of developing recipes and testing the new products.”

Miller said his team is excited to be making all of their pasta from scratch after recently buying a new pasta machine that is capable of making various shapes and styles. Not only that, diners can now order a local mixed green or arugula salad without paying an upgrade charge to accompany their meal.

“Marta (Lane) and I had a brief conversation a while back about importing lettuce versus local lettuce and it made me reflect and consider what I could do to buy more local,” says Ron. “It can be a challenge to make changes after doing something a certain way for more than 12 years, but so refreshing to do so.”

Mahalo Ron! For taking the road less traveled and serving Kauai-grown freshies!

No hubbub for food hub

Several Kauai farmers were surveyed recently in a county-funded study and sadly indicated they were content with the way business is done now and were not interested in collaborating with other growers to promote their products. The food hub would have been centrally located in Lihue and would have been a one-stop-shop for Kauai-grown produce, eggs, meat and value added products. Read more in the article, No hubbub for food hub, in The Garden Island. 

Doug Wolkon holds daughter Ayva, Aaron Moeller, and Genna Wolkon hold daughter Rayna in front of the Kauai Farmacy Tea Wagon in Kilauea. Daniel Lane photo

Kauai Farmacy Tea Wagon

In addition to herbal teas and cold-pressed extracts, Kauai Farmacy is also offering several new items at the Tea Wagon. The wagon is open from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday to Friday and from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday. The Tea Wagon is located in Kilauea on Kuawa Rd., just before you get to Common Ground. New farm offerings include:

• Iced and Hot Tea ~ $3
• Fresh brewed Chaya Tea ~ $3
• Turmeric Lemonade with cold-pressed sugar cane, turmeric and lemon ~ $6
• Cassava Lilikoi pudding with cold-pressed sugar cane ~ $2
• Cassava Gazpacho with Hawaiian Chilies, oregano, thyme and rosemary ~ $4

Sustainable Kauai Meetups

This month, Sustainable Kauai’s Meetups include:

Kapaa  Garden Share

Tuesday, July 15, 5 to 6 p.m.
Aiyah’s Garden
4558 Kukui Street
Kapaa, HI
EVENTS:
Friday, June 27

Kauai Beer Company’s beer-brined jerk chicken sandwich with scallion lime aioli, is hands down, the most flavorful sandwich I’ve had on Kauai. Daniel Lane photo

Finally Friday

Kauai Beer Company is now offering a limited selection of craft cocktails as a regular part of Finally Friday, with the number of cocktails gradually growing. The menu is growing as well. Tonight, you can get:

• Summer Saison Fresh Garden Salad $8 ~onion, fennel, vacuum compressed watermelon and a Saison lemongrass-honey dressing topped with Kauai Kunana Dairy  goat cheese and reduced balsamic glaze.

• House Sausage Trio Platter $10 ~ Three sausages including pork with fennel, sage and garlic; chicken with mango, chili pepper flakes, orange and coriander; and a mini smoked Cajun andouille. All served with house-made sauerkraut, pickles and mustard.

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

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

• Roasted Vegetable Sandwich $9 ~ Roasted fennel, eggplant, curried pumpkin, torched tomatoes, fresh spinach and a pesto spread on a Midnight Bear Breads ciabatta roll. Served with house-made potato chips or a cabbage and kale slaw.

• Beer Brine Jerk Spiced Chicken Sandwich $10 ~ Torched tomatoes, fresh spinach and a scallion-lime aioli on a Midnight Bear Breads ciabatta roll served with house-made potato chips or a cabbage and kale slaw.

• 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.
Friday, June 27 and Saturday, June 28

Hawaiian Regional Cuisine pioneer Jean Marie Josselin. Daniel Lane photo

Red Clay Jazz Festival

Red Clay Jazz Festival wraps up a week-long event with concerts and workshops featuring some of Hawaii’s best musicians. The final concert includes plenty of delicious food made by local restaurants and this year, Koloa Rum Company is a sponsor. To get a flavor, read my article A Smokin’ Red Clay Jazz Festival or visit the Red Clay Jazz Festival website for the schedule and ticket information. Food tickets are $5.
Food vendors include:

• The Right Slice ~ Chicken, shepherd’s and vegetarian pot pies plus up to five sweet flavors

• Powerhouse Creamery ~ Deep country organic artisan ice cream, alternative dairy options include toasted coconut and coconut cacao (vegan); 100 percent Hawaiian cocowater sorbets

• Westin Princeville’s Nanea Restaurant ~ Pork belly and mushroom risotto; ahi poke stack

• Passion Bakery & Café ~ Lilikoi cheesecake with lilikoi curd; spanakopita; water or coffee

• JO2 (Jean Marie Josselin’s new place opening soon in Kapaa) ~ Grilled Hawaiian chicken salad, kimchi ranch; Kalua pork and cabbage pot stickers, curried pineapple vinaigrette

• Hukilau Lanai ~ Jambalaya with Kauai Shrimp, house-made pasta and sausage; grilled homemade sausage on bulgur wheat with tomato and coconut chutney

• Kauai Marriott Resort ~ Mongolian BBQ with brown rice; roasted veggie quesadilla, salsa fresca and chipotle ranch

Guests stroll through an exotic fruit orchard on A Taste of Kilohana. Daniel Lane photo

A Taste of Kilohana

Kilohana Plantation, 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., $130
A Taste of Kilohana is an exclusive, guided food tour that includes an off-the-menu, three-course, locally sourced meal that’s served in the Private Dining Room of Wilcox Mansion. Begin 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 fruit. 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 settle in at Mahiko Lounge and learn how to make Gaylord’s signature Mai Tai. 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. Lunch is always based on seasonal ingredients, but here’s what our guests enjoyed last month:

• 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.
 

Guests Bonnie Ventis and Summer Stewart enjoy a Gaylord’s mai tai 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.

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.
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 the Kauai Beer Company’s Facebook page.

Kauai Old Fashioned with 23-year-old Ron Zacapa rum at RumFire. Daniel Lane photo

“You Dine, We Donate” to Benefit Kauai Veterans Center

Sheraton Kauai Resort announces its “You Dine, We Donate” program will honor veterans in the month of June. All net food and beverage proceeds at Table #53 in the resort’s signature restaurant, RumFire Poipu Beach, will be donated to the Kauai Veterans Center for the month-long fundraiser. More than $65,000 has been donated to charities through “You Dine, We Donate” to benefit the Kauai community since its inception in October 2012.
RumFire Poipu Beach, the south shore’s oceanfront hot spot, features locally sourced cuisine with global influences, exciting cocktails to ignite your palate and 180-degree oceanfront views from all of its 240 seats. Facing the beautifully landscaped Ocean Courtyard and inviting fire pits, Table #53 features private booth seating, perfect for viewing Kauai’s lovely sunsets. Guests can enjoy delicious pupu such as Coconut-Crab Luau Dip with smoked taro leaf and crispy flatbread and Seared Scallops served with crispy rice noodles and pho broth all while supporting a worthy cause.
Kauai Veterans Center exists to promote and enhance the delivery of benefits to all Veterans, their families and dependents of those who have given their lives for their country. It is a standing monument that honors their service, promotes their military heritage and embraces their family. All personnel associated with the Kauai Veterans Center work to maintain and foster the highest respect and honor for those who have given their lives and for those who are currently protecting the country.
“Kauai Veterans Center has been part of our family of veterans for over 25 years, but most importantly is serving our war veterans whom have represented and served our beautiful country called America,” says Aida Cruz, Site Manager of Kauai Veterans Center. “We are proud to have a beautiful home for veterans here on Kauai.”
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 Kauai Veterans Association, gratuity will be paid to the server and taxes will be remitted to the State of Hawaii.

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