Pau Hana Friday for March 7

Seafood Lasagna at Red Salt. Daniel Lane photo

Tasting Kauai

While I was learning how to safely can food at the 64-hour Hawaii Master Food Preservers class, my Farmers Markets and Tastes of Kauai columns were moved to The Garden Island newspaper. Farmers Markets, now called On The Farm, runs in the Sunday edition and Tastes of Kauai runs in the Wednesday edition. Last Wednesday, our article about Red Salt called Feast for the Senses ran, and Sunday, you can learn about the Hawaii Master Food Preservers course.
 
We have a special addition to our March 14, A Culinary Romp Through Paradise food tour. Jehu Fuller, the brain child behind Makaweli Meat Company, will be our guest during the cooking demonstration and four-course lunch. Makaweli beef will be served and Jehu will tell us about his 100-grass-fed, antibiotic-free, humanely slaughtered cows. Dan and I enjoyed a 42-day dry aged ribeye the other day and it was the best we’ve ever had. We also had Makaweli ground beef in lasagna at Hukilau Lanai and a burger at MCS Grill in Hanapepe. I can tell you it’s very flavorful and tender. We still have seats left on the tour and hope you can join us. Visit our Kauai food tours page for more information and reservations.

Verde

Verde celebrates their 6-year anniversary on March 12. They are starting an anniversary tradition by serving the Green Chile Sopa Burger with net proceeds going to the Verde staff. If you like Verde as much as we do, go to the Tasting Kauai Facebook page and tell us how you stay healthy. You could win a $20 gift certificate! Deadline to comment and win is Wednesday 3/12 by midnight HST.

The Feral Pig’s Ultimate Bloody Mary comes with a garnish PLATE! Dave Power photo

The Feral Pig

The Feral Pig’s Ultimate Bloody Mary ($15) now comes with a garnish plate, which  includes a house-made sausage slider, bacon wrapped Kauai shrimp, pickled cucumbers, spicy green beans and spicy pickled pineapple. It’s the bloody ultimate made with Tito’s Handmade Vodka, which is produced in Austin at Texas’ first and oldest legal distillery. It’s made in small batches in an old fashioned pot still by Tito Beveridge (actual name), a 40-something Geologist, and distilled six times.  Dave Power, The Feral Pig co-owner and fabulous bartender says it’s a good story, so ask him about it when you go there.

Plantation Gardens

Plantation Gardens in Poipu has been busy! They now serve Makaweli Meat Company beef; were featured on BuzzFeed.com as one of the 25 Impossibly Beautiful Wedding Locations in Hawaii; and have a new menu which includes Pork Tenderloin, Mac and Cheese and Daily Summer Rolls. Check out the Plantation Gardens Facebook page for more infomation.

Aloha Spice Company

Aloha Spice Company recently launched an Amazon campaign, which makes getting their products a lot easier, especially for those on the Mainland. They offer 4-packs of spices at less than retail with free 2-day shipping for Amazon Prime members. They still do sampling on Hanapepe Art Night, Fridays, featuring two rubs on grilled chicken along with Rooster Poop.

Truckin’ Delicious

I’m thrilled that the Mainland food truck trend has hit Kauai full on. There are so many options for delicious fast food. We first met Chloe in 2011 when she was about to graduate from the Culinary Arts program at Kauai Community College. On March 20, she’s opening a her Truckin’ Delicious food truck in Hanalei. I’ve got an early copy of the menu and includes gourmet grilled sandwiches such as Lili’s Cristo ($10) a take on the classic Monte Cristo with ham, turkey, Swiss and cheddar cheese, dipped in a lilikoi (passionfruit)  French toast batter and served with lilikoi coulis. There’s also Ponolocious Pizza, soups and bubble tea. Look for the truck parked next to the Hanalei Wine Shop.

Keoki’s Paradise Poke Tower. Daniel Lane photo

Keoki’s Paradise

Every month, Keoki’s Paradise will feature a different hula pie. This month, the Green Tea hula pie is made with an oreo cookie crust, green tea ice cream, a chocolate top shell, salted caramel drizzle and oreo cookie crumble. Here’s what else is happening at Keoki’s:

• Chef’s Sunset Menu (Early Bird Special) 4:45 to 5:45 p.m. includes a course meal for $24.00, with a portion of proceeds going to the Legacy of Aloha Program
• Daily Happy Hour, from 3 to 5 p.m., includes discounted drinks and food
• Every Tuesday during happy hour, enjoy $3 tacos including shredded kalua pork or beer battered mahi mahi
• Early dining music in the Bamboo Café & Bar every Thursday, Friday and Saturday from 5 to 7 p.m.
• Nightly Hawaiian music in the Bamboo Café & Bar Sunday-Wednesday from 7 to 9 p.m. and Thursday-Saturday from 8 to 10 p.m.
• Every First Friday of the month Keoki’s features a new band. Tonight, Na Puali will play featuring Olamon and Alika from Revival, Rheif Callahan and Joshua Walters.

The Cliffs at Princeville

The Cliffs is doing their part to go green with their F&B and Amenity products. They are using biodegradable plates, glasses and silverware for their breakfast briefings and manager receptions. Soon, they will provide the same biodegradable technology for amenity bottles, including all our shampoo, lotion and soap will be packaged in containers that are designed to break down in 18 months. “We’re very happy to be doing our part and are working in concert with the County recycling efforts to increase our recycling collections,” says John Young, assistant general manager. “Also, I’ll have info soon on our 2nd Annual Winemakers weekend slotted for June.

Makana Terrace, which is on the cover of our restaurant guidebook, offers views of Mount Makana (seen in the upper left) and Hanalei Bay. Daniel Lane photo

Makana Terrace at St. Regis Princeville

For the Month of March, St. Regis Princeville will support the American Red Cross, Hawaii State Chapter (Kauai) with a designated table in Makana Terrace restaurant. Similar to Sheraton Kauai, 25-percent of the dinner revenues from Table 53 will benefit the American Red Cross, Hawaii State Chapter (Kauai). For dining reservations, contact the St. Regis Princeville at 826-9644. Make sure to make dinner reservations for Table 53 at Makana Terrace, which serves dinner nightly from 5:30 to 9:30 p.m. They are closed Tuesday and Wednesday.

Free Green Careers Certificate Program Launches on Kauai

Roots of Kauai, a free Green Careers Certificate program, will be launching on Kauai this summer. Offering young adults aged 18 to 30 a 10-week certificate program focused on environmental literacy and career development education, the program includes a 100-hour internship in a local green business.
The new program is being launched by Malama Kauai, known for their history of successful sustainability programs on Kauai, including the Kauai Green Business Program, Kauai School Garden Network, Kalihiwai Community Garden and Permaculture Food Forest.
“This program is an important contribution to the development of our local sustainable economy,” says Malama Kauai executive director, Keone Kealoha. “Not only can we increase the awareness of and interest in our local green businesses, but we can help build their workforces with trained and passionate young adults with hands-on experience.”
Kauai green businesses can get involved by hosting an intern for the summer, presenting about their business in class, providing informational interviews for students who want to learn more about their work, or hiring program graduates. The program aspires to prepare young adults for green career pathways and increase graduate involvement in continuing education, civic engagement, volunteerism and entrepreneurship, while also promoting environmental awareness and stimulating the local green economy.
“There is immense room for economic growth in this area on Kauai and today’s young adults have a growing desire for a career that makes a positive difference in the world and in their community,” says Megan Pittsley-Fox, program manager and career advisor. “Young adults need better access to quality employment options and we will be giving them the tools necessary to become empowered to create their future success in these fields.”
Kauai residents aged 18-30 as of May 2014 are eligible to apply to the free program, which will provide a Green Careers Certificate, environmental literacy education, career development skills, connections to local employers, a hands-on resume-building internship, and career services support. Since the program is designed for students to explore career options and the green job market, students don’t need any prior experience or knowledge, or know what they would like to do for a career.
Assistance with internship program development and intern recruitment is free for all participating businesses. The program aims to build strong support systems for local businesses in the areas of organic agriculture, sustainable food production, conservation, water, energy, waste, green building, and other environmental sectors. Some of the organizations and businesses already planning to participate in the program include National Tropical Botanical Garden, Kauai Juice Co., Tasting Kauai, Lihue United Church Community Garden, The Outdoor Circle, Nani Moon Meadery, Kokee Resource Conservation Program, Zero Waste Kauai, and Kauai Forest Bird Recovery Project, among others.
Those interested in learning more about the program can visit Malama Kauai or email Megan@malamakauai.org.
EVENTS:   

Guests from Austria learn how to tell when a pineapple is ripe on A Culinary Romp Through Paradise. Marta Lane photo

Friday, March 14

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. We conclude this food tour with cocktails at The Feral Pig, which are handcrafted by Dave Power, co-owner and one of Hawaii’s best bartenders.
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.
Friday, March 21

Stacy Sproat-Beck makes poi the traditional way during a taro tasting. Daniel Lane photo

A Taste of Kauai, Yesterday and Today

Waipa, 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., $115
Tasting Kauai’s north shore tour is a magical food tour that’s part luau, part agritourism and part ecotourism. Our exclusive tour takes place at Waipa, which is nestled in the Hanalei Valley and is a National Wildlife Refuge. Guests explore a vast loi (taro garden) fed by auwai, or irrigation system, that supplies water from mountain streams, and learn about significant foods, growing methods, and overall Hawaiian agricultural and land management concepts and complexes in ancient times and their transition to today. Afterwards, guests sample Hawaii’s staff of life three ways.
Lunch changes seasonally and is made with vegetables grown in onsite gardens, locally sourced meat or fish, and mamaki tea with lemongrass and mint. Guests eat ohana (family) style while enjoying the beauty and breezes of Hanalei Bay. 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  Kauai, Yesterday and Today. To see pictures from previous tours, check out our Facebook photo album.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
For reservations, call (808) 385-4344.
UPCOMING:
Saturday, April 12

Enjoying a locally sourced lunch in the private dining room and meet the executive chef. 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. Tasting Kauai donates a portion of the proceeds to the Kauai Branch of the Hawaii Food Bank.
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. 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.
 

Liz and Ryan Martinez from California at our farmers market class. 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.

Art Walk at Kukuiula

The Shops at Kukuiula, 6 to 9 p.m., free
Enjoy an enchanting evening of fine art, fine dining and live music under the stars at The Shops at Kukuiula the second Saturday of each month. March highlights include:

• Join Scott Hanft Photography for a relaunch and book signing of Kauai Edge: A Photographic Portfolio. Award winning photographer Scott Hanft captures rare moments on the Garden Island over 24 years, often from unique angles, and using the best modern print mediums.
• RED KOI invites you to join Kauai plein air artist Jim Ingham for live painting. Jim brings his distinct touch to Kauai’s most loved places and its remote settings capturing the essence of the Garden Island. His New Works feature Hanalei Bay by Moonlight, this Winter’s exciting Surf and a Lazy River through the Taro Fields. Linger over his newest collection and meet the artist at this vibrant gallery.
• Take part in the artists’ reception at galerie 103 for PRINT Paper + Sandbox – a new exhibit to examine traditional and contemporary printmaking. Works challenge conventional limits and technique from H.C. Westermann, Jean Cocteau, William T. Wiley, Ivan Lackovic, Tom Lieber, Kathleen Afair Brown, Roberta Griffith, Sally French, Bruna Stude and Wayne Zebzda. Open until May 3rd.
•  Experience the beauty of Kauai brought to life by award-winning plein air artist Jenifer Prince, painting live on site at Halelea Gallery. Spotlighting the Art of Hawaiian Living, Halelea features a unique collection of one-of-a-kind original fine art by Hawaii artists, Hawaii fashion design and locally handcrafted jewelry.
• Discover the award-winning work of Aaron Feinberg at aFeinberg Gallery. From the heights of Kokee and the cliffs of Napali, to secret waterfalls and beaches in between, Aaron can typically be found seeking out spectacular scenes and serene moments hiking and exploring Kauai’s pristine natural environment.
• March is waves, whales, sun, and surf month at Palms Gallery. The exquisite Paradise Collection created by more than 20 local artists will inspire discerning collectors and casual buyers to acquire original artwork and remember beautiful Kauai.
• Extend your evening for a sophisticated night out in Poipu. 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.