Plantation Gardens' Moir Margarita (front) and Cucumber Mojito. Daniel Lane photos

April 13 – April 20

Happy Aloha Friday Kauai Tasters!

NEWS:

Mahalo Dan Lane
Thanks to Dan, I’m quite enamored with the new look of the site. I hope you enjoy the inviting look that the banners and logo offer. It makes my mouth water just looking up at his shot of the Plantation Gardens’ lilikoi cheesecake!

Foodista
I’ve got a lot of Tasting Kauai news to reveal, and a reminder. This Sunday we’ll be featured as the blog of the day on Foodista. “Your blog post for making Kalua pork is absolutely amazing,” Alisa Escanlar wrote in an email, “and it will be featured on the Foodista homepage for 24 hours.” We’re all about spreading the seeds of aloha, and we hope this inspires folks to visit our site, and by extension, our local businesses.

Hackers
Our Twitter account was hacked last week. Those bots found Dan’s phone number and sent him a text message for diet pills! Ok, yea. We could use them, but we don’t push diet pills. We push fresh, local food! So if you got spammed by us, we apologize. We’ve tightened up our security measures so it won’t happen again.

Executive chef Guy Higa of the Marriott Resort on Kalapaki Beach. Daniel Lane photo

Tasting Kauai Culinary Tours
Our culinary tours are taking shape. We’ve received some excellent feedback from some of the island’s leading farmers, restaurants, chefs and food artisans, and are happy to have them on board. They include, Executive chef Guy Higa of the Marriott Resort on Kalapaki Beach, Hawaiian Regional Cuisine pioneer Jean-Marie Josselin of Josselin’s Tapas Bar & Grill, and James Beard award-winning chef Peter Zimmer.

We are working with The Garden Cafe, Oasis on the Beach, The Feral Pig, and Plantation Gardens to create hyper-local meals, cocktails and tours. The Right Slice, Garden Island Chocolate, Grow Culture, Kauai Kunana Dairy and Olana Organic Farm are also brainstorming with us. I look forward to what we can cook up!

Hawaiian Regional Cuisine pioneer Jean-Marie Josselin. Daniel Lane photo

Real Time Farms
Tasting Kauai is all about sharing the amazing food Kauai has to offer, so we’ve become Food Warriors for Real Time Farms. Beginning in late May, we will help document the food web by highlighting Kauai farmers and food artisans. This crowd-sourced online food guide enables consumers to track where restaurants purchase their food, creating food transparency. Restaurants pay a small fee to sign up, but farmers and food artisans sign up for free! For a complete rundown, watch this engaging TEDx video.

Cas Schwabe-Lutton of Akamai Juice Company. Daniel Lane photo

Akamai Juice Company
We’ve enlisted the amazing catering prowess of Cas Schwabe-Lutton, owner and champion juicer of Akamai Juice Company. We’ll be cooking up some light and healthy grinds for Jack Johnson and his crew at Thursday’s show. Since I essentially put down the knife in favor of the pen (or computer if you will), Cas has designed most of the menu. It includes kale and fennel salad, quinoa tabbouleh, garlic roasted beets with goat cheese, cru de te, spring rolls, avocado balsamic dipping sauce, guacamole, kale chips, nori chips, pita chips, fruit salad, and Cas’ Oat Date Bars. She’ll also bring her Keiki Love juice and Cucumber Kauai Kolada slushy. All made with the bounty that Kauai has to offer! She’s a busy lady, but if you need someone to cater a high-class event, she’s your gal! Email akamaikauai@gmail.com for details.

Early Lychee
Tim O’Connor of Olana Organic Farm and Ryan Wooten of Kauai Kunana Dairy have some early lychee. I saw Tim’s trees the other day, and they’re heavy with the fruit. His mango trees also have a lot of flowers, so it looks like we’ll have a great lychee and mango year! Yea! Last year it didn’t exist.

Kauai Kunana Dairy
Speaking of Kauai Kunana Dairy, they say cheese production is going up. Regular deliveries are now being made to Harvest Market, Healthy Hut, Banana Joe’s, Kukuiula store, and Living Foods. Otherwise, you can always get some at the Kukuiula Village, Hanalei and Waipa farmers markets.

Koloa Rum Company
We’d like to congratulate the Koloa Rum Company on another round of awards. Besides winning the Local Hero Award from Edible Hawaiian Islands, the company won four awards at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition.

The competition included1,215 premium spirits from 61 countries, including the U.S., Kauai Spice and Gold rums garnered Silver Medals, and Bronze Medals were awarded to their Kauai Dark and White rums. We love rummin’ it up with Koloa Rum!

Executive chef Matt Smith at Grand Hyatt Kauai Resort & Spa.

Grand Hyatt Kauai Resort & Spa
The Grand Hyatt Kauai Resort & Spa in Poipu has a new executive chef. Matt Smith comes to the resort after a number of Hyatt posts, the most recent being executive chef at the Hyatt Regency on Maui.

Smith graduated from the California Culinary Academy in 1988 with top honors, and his enthusiasm keeps his work fresh and fun. “I am still just as passionate about learning the art of cooking today as I was when I started out, and I love teaching others what I have learned,” he says. “I love all the smells and the sounds of knives tapping the cutting boards, it’s a synergy you feel from a happy kitchen.”

At the Grand Hyatt Kauai Resort & Spa he’ll oversee 90 culinary staff members in six restaurants and lounges as well as banquet events. Wow! That’s a big job.

Lilikoi Lunch Wagon
It looks like the healthy, local lunches made by Lilikoi Lunch Wagon at Anini Beach will be returning soon. “The Lilikoi will be opening in a great, new North shore location sometime in the near future,” owner Tewa Holloway says in an email. “A lot of transition has kept us closed longer than originally anticipated.”

EVENTS:

Friday, April 13

Oasis on the Beach Benefit Concert, 10 p.m.
One of our favorite places to hang out is Oasis on the Beach, and tonight Nina and the Nectar will crank things up. Cover is $10, and drinks will be available for purchase. Part of the proceeds go to help the folks in Anahola who had serious flood damage from last month’s heavy rains. Dinner is served till 9 p.m., so stick around and donate to the good folks in Anahola.

Saturday, April 14

17th Annual Garden Fair, 9 a.m., Kauai Community College
The front lawn will spring to life with a wide variety of plants, landscape products and equipment. Ask vendors your gardening questions, and get some tips also. Hosted by Kauai County Farm Bureau and University of Hawaii College of Tropical Agriculture & Human Resources (CTAHR), the annual Kauai Garden Fair is one of the largest gatherings of green thumbs on Kauai.

The one-day, free event includes “Garden Talks” hosted by UH CTAHR provides opportunities to learn about gardening topics including fruit and flower growing, the benefits of breadfruit, and honey. If you have a specific problem, visit the experts at the Plant Clinic and Agricultural Information booth, or pick up seeds and growing tips for this year’s Farm Fair Fruit & Vegetable competition.

With a mini petting zoo, hosted play area for toddlers, and planting activities to introduce little ones to the garden, the 4-H kids area is a highlight that can’t be missed.

The Saturday Kauai Community Market is extended for the day, and features Kauai Grown fruits, produce, and agricultural goods. Value added products include honey, goat cheese, coffees, and freshly baked goods. Local favorites like “kulolo”, “mochi”, frozen bananas, and smoothies with local fruit are available, and hot lunches feature Kauai Grown ingredients. Sit at the picnic area and enjoy a Hawaiian plate lunch, Thai curries and spring rolls, Filipino family specialties, gluten-free crepes, or Puerto Rican tacos.

North Country Farms, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
North Country Farms would like to share what they’ve learned to inspire you in your chicken-keeping endeavors. All experience levels welcome! Topics covered will include:

– The value of heritage and landrace poultry varieties (the solid, “good old-fashioned” multifunctional breeds) and their superior suitability for sustainable, holistic small flock husbandry
– Methods and ideas for how to reduce (or possibly even eliminate) the amount of store-bought feed you might otherwise use.
– How to hatch your own chicks the natural way, without need for an incubator
– How to incorporate high-quality meat production and home-slaughter into your system in a hassle-free, manageable, and integrated way that complements egg production and flock management (including the option of attending a slaughtering demo following the workshop)
– Ways to integrate your flock, in a mutually beneficial way, with a vegetable garden, composting system, etc.
$40 per person. To register, please email Sky at alwaysbringyourtowel@gmail.com and send a personal check or money order with the full amount, payable to Sky Roversi-Deal, to PO Box 723, Kilauea, HI 96754. Once payment is received you will be sent an email confirmation and directions.

Thursday, April 19

4th Annual Earth Day, noon to 6 p.m., Kauai Community College
Kauai Community College students, faculty and staff invite the public to their 4th annual Earth Day event, “Mobilizing Kauai and the Earth 2012”. Co sponsored by the Kokua Hawaii Foundation, and the KCC Hoouluwehi Sustainable Living Institute of Kauai, the on-campus event is the same day as Kokua Hawaii Foundation’s fund-raising performance by Jack Johnson. The campus will host a pre-concert celebration featuring performances, displays, speeches, films, contests and group participation events.

The Kokua Hawaii Foundation is a nonprofit organization that supports environmental education in the schools and communities of Hawaii. Their mission is to provide students with experiences that will enhance their appreciation for, and understanding of their environment, so they will be lifelong stewards of the earth.

Kauai Community College’s Hoouluwehi Sustainable Living Institute of Kauai, honors and builds on our history and diverse cultures, by offering an innovative sustainability learning center for the island of Kauai.

The community is invited to this free event to enjoy local entertainment, eat local food, and buy locally made environmental products. Come and learn about political activism and the environment, conservation, recycling, zero waste, ocean and marine protection, sustainable food production, and energy innovation.

• Mobilize the Earth with Hyde Park • Sustainability Poetry reading and Poetry Slam contest • “Washed Ashore” ocean rubbish art competition • Environmental Song Writer’s contest • Limited Edition 2012 Earth Day Hoouluwehi and Kokua Hawaii T-shirts • Record your Vimeo message to the world •

Call 245-0105 for questions or email bpe@hawaii.edu

Friday, April 20

St. Theresa School Carnival, 6 to 11 p.m., St. Theresa School Campus
“Join us in Kekaha for this annual west side event. There is plenty of aloha spirit and ono island favorites- kiawe chicken, pork peas & pimentos, hamburgers, flying saucers, pronto pups and our famous malasadas.” Games and great live entertainment include a teen dance, and a $500 grand prize. “Our very popular Repeat Boutique, Silent Auction and Country Store means fun for the entire ohana. Come on over and show your support for the keiki at St. Theresa School!” Festivities are on Saturday and Sunday, call 808-337-1351 for details.

Grow Culture
I just received this email from Collin Darrell. “The next GrowCulture.com event is coming right up and will be a slightly different format to the previous ones in that it will be first come first serve a la carte menu. Grown will also feature a wonderful selection of non-alcoholic beverages made from local products. This will be in conjunction with the Earth Day Rising festival hosted at The Waipa Foundation over earth day weekend April 20-22. Over half of the proceeds will be donated to their great stewardship of this land so please allow us to support them by supporting us.

“Waipa, at 1,600 acres, is one of the smallest in a series of nine historic ahupuaa within Kauai’s moku (district) of Halelea. Located along the north coast of Kauai, Halelea today is commonly referred to as the “north shore”. Halelea is a historic moku, which today encompasses the communities of Kilauea, Kalihiwai, Wanini/Kalihikai, Princeville, Hanalei/Waioli, Wainiha, and Haena. Waipa is located between the ahupuaa of Waioli and Waikoko.”

2nd Annual Earth Day Rising Festival, Waipa
And this is the event where you’ll find Collin’s locally sourced food. Malama Kauai presents a weekend of earth oriented workshops, Kauai grown food, world-renowned and local musicians, volunteer opportunities and camping all weekend.

The festivities begin at 9 a.m. when everyone is welcome to malama `aina by donating their time and effort to restore Waipa. Volunteers will enjoy a delicious local lunch. At 3 p.m., izness, featuring Jackson Nash will perform followed by The Mystic Rhythms Band, Grammy award winner Charles Neville, and Grammy nominee Youssoupha Sidibe, a Kora player from Senegal. 250 pre-sale music tickets are available here. Those with camping permits attend for free.

Earth-based, educational workshops begin at 9 a.m. on Sunday. These include bee keeping with Jimmy Trujillo, an ethnobotanical nature walk, didgeridoo making, poi pounding, and kukui nut candle making. The morning workshops are followed by a free concert featuring local favorites; Ku Halele`a, Burning Bush Reggae Band, Waipa Players, Preeta with John Dumas and Friends, plus a special surprise guest.

Earth Day Rising aims demonstrate the abundance and vitality of Kauai’s food resources. Locally grown, raised and prepared food, provided by Collin Darrell of Grow Culture, will be available for purchase throughout the weekend.

This is an alcohol, drug and waste free event held by Malama Kauai with proceeds benefitting the Waipa Foundation. Make sure to bring your own plate, beverage container and flat ware. Organizers ask you to pack out what you pack in.

Registration for camping begins at 2 p.m. on Friday, April 20 at the Waipa parking lot in Hanalei. 100 pre-sale camping permits are available at EarthDayRising.org.

Tickets, info, and detailed schedule available at www.earthdayrising.org or for more info contact Katie Trussell at (808) 828-0685 x10.

Saturday, April 28

Kauai Garden School Network
Natalie “Hiwahiwa” Joyce-Maeda, garden coordinator for several Kauai schools, and Colleen Carroll, Malama Kauai’s director of the Kauai School Garden Network, will hosting their first Kauai School Garden gathering at Wilcox School. Garden Teachers will receive a free copy of Big Ideas Linking Food, Culture, Health and the Environment, Center for Ecoliteracy. Over the past two years, Wilcox has implemented a variety of garden programs, and visitors will be able to taste, touch and smell what’s growing. At 9 a.m., there will be a demonstration in the hydroponic greenhouse followed by beverages made from garden harvests. At 9:45 a.m., five examples of grade specific will be shown. These gardens are tied to classroom learning such as life cycles, pollination, and plantation culture. The morning ends at 10:45 a.m. with healthy snacks. To RSVP, call Colleen at 808-828-0685, extension 13.