NEWS:

Kauai County Farm Fair

Tortilla Republic’s Poipu Heat Margarita. Daniel Lane photo

With carnival rides, live music and a petting zoo, the Kauai County Farm Fair is the big news this week. Rides include a Century Wheel, Crazy Plane, Dizzy Dragons, FireBall, Merry-Go-Round, Pharaoh’s Fury, Bumper Cars, Spring Ride, Super Sizzler, and Umbrella and Zipper rides. It’s a festive sight, especially at night when all the rides turn their lights on.

The Kauai Grown booth is festooned with seasonal produce, mostly from Yoshii Farm, and features a rainbow of beautiful fruit and vegetables including dragon fruit, avocados, oranges, pineapple, mamey sapote, huge mangos, and lettuce. Last night, Honi Honi Honey their honey, which you could sample at the honey tasting booth. There were about 10 varieties, including an 8-year-old honey harvested from the Kauai Coffee Farm. It looked and tasted like molasses.

Ron Miller getting the mahi in the pan at last night’s competition. Daniel Lane photo

The Kauai Coffee Celebrity Chef Cook-Off for Charity was extremely filling, and voting for my favorite was calculated. I drew a chart on the back of my voting card and listed categories for presentation, taste, originality, and use of Kauai-grown ingredients. You’ll have to read about the details in the September 5 issue of MidWeek Kauai, but I can tell you that the Hukilau Lanai won this year with their Kauai Coffee Peaberry seared mahi mahi.

The fish was on a bed of kabocha squash puree, and drizzled with chipotle coconut sauce. Kauai Shrimp and Kaneshiro Farm bacon hash was mounded on top, and garnished with Dahvala’s micro greens.

Pastry chef Viren Olson made Mundoloa Java cream puffs filled with Kauai Kunana Dairy goat cheese and McPhee’s Bees honey. A Ueunten Farm lemon confit glazed the top, and the bite-sized morsel sat in a sweet pool of Coconut Caramel Crunch coffee sauce.

Congratulations to Ron and Krissi Miller, pastry chef Viren Olson, and the rest of their fantastic team!

Over thirty of Pono Photo’s images were on display, depicting Kauai Grown produce and farmers. They hung from a wall behind the Fruit and Vegetable Show. Rows of tables leaden with everything from avocados, citrus, rambutan, taro, and tomatoes as well as herbs, mango, and pineapples made it obvious how abundant Kauai really is.

Today, from 6:30 to 8:30 there will be a Kauai Cattlemen’s Association Beef Promotion with Chef Mark Oyama and the students of the Kauai Community College Culinary Arts program.

On Saturday, from 1 to 4 p.m. Yoshii Farm will be at the Kauai Grown booth. At 2:30 there is a watermelon eating contest followed at 3:20 by a poi eating contest. From 5 to 7 p.m., there is a poi tasting by Kauai Taro Growers. Sunday is the final day, and you can enjoy rides, games, food and fun from noon to 11 p.m.

Koloa Rum Company

Koloa Rum Company president Bob Gunter harvesting sugar cane. Daniel Lane photo

More big news comes from the Koloa Rum Company. Earlier this week, the pioneering rum runners harvested volunteer sugarcane from the old Gay & Robinson plantation which was founded in 1889, and closed in 2010.

Koloa Rum Company president Bob Gunter was there to help harvest. After the leaves were stripped by hand, the stalks were cut into 15-inch pieces, and planted at the old Koloa Plantation. Established in 1835, it was the first successful sugar plantation in Hawaii, and closed in 1996.

Today, the sugarcane industry is finished in Kauai, but if Koloa Rum is successful, they could revive it. Especially since passengers are buying a lot of Koloa Rum on Hawaiian Airlines flights.

Koloa Rum has an inventory of the last sugar produced at the Gay & Robinson plantation, but when it runs out, several years from now, there will be no more Kauai sugar. They plan to use straight sugarcane juice, and are making test batches now.

Traditionally, the leaves on sugarcane are burned off after the stalks are harvested, and this creates a lot of pollution. Koloa Rum plans to harvest the cane by using sustainable methods. They will remove the leaves by hand, juice the stalks in the field, and the bagasse, or left over fiber, will be tilled into the ground.

“This is a historic event,” says Koloa Rum Company president Bob Gunter. “We’re bringing it back to the place where it all began in Hawaii.”

The Malama Kauai E-Cookbook

Tasting Kauai’s Hawaiian Paella has been added to the The Malama Kauai E-Cookbook, and we are happy to be a part of their cookbook ohana! They continue to update the online resource, so visit often as new recipes are added frequently. If you have a recipe that represents Kauai-grown and raised food, email Katie@MalamaKauai.org.

Kauai Community College

Lokilani Galvez serving Chicken Chasseur. Daniel Lane photo

The first lunch menu for Fine Dining made by the students at the Kauai Community College, Culinary Arts program is as follows:

• Grilled Chicken aioli sandwich with tomato, avocado, and steakhouse fries. $13.95
• Sauteed fresh fish with grenobloise; rice pilaf and green bean amandine. $17.95
• Roast ribeye of beef with au jus, horseradish cream, whipped potatoes and steamed broccoli with Hollandaise sauce. $20.50
• Fisherman’s Platter with crispy breaded fish, scallops, shrimp, tarter sauce and gaufrette potatoes. $17.75
• Chicken Chasseur with potato pancakes. $15.50

All meals come with biscuits and soft rolls, and a choice of garden salad, fresh fruit, or French onion soup. Dessert choices are apple pie, chocolate eclairs, or strawberry cake with Bavarian cream and raspberry coulis.

Available dates are August 28, 29 and 30. Call Duane Miyasato at 808-245-8365 to make a reservation.

EVENTS:

Friday, August 24

A Midsummer Night’s Dreamscape

6 p.m. to 2 a.m., Na Aina Kai, $100

Enjoy an evening of magic, theater and food outside, on the botanical grounds of Na Aina Kai. A four-course meal will be presented by Sushi Bushido, and theatrical acts will be performed between courses. At 10 p.m., head over to the Lighthouse Bistro in Kilauea, for a private after-hours party.

Nani Moon Mead will be featured in the cocktails. The Sunset Dream is made with house-infused vanilla vodka, coconut rum, Winter Sun Mead, and lilikoi juice and is topped with a hibiscus-lime orange liquor float. Yum! For more information, check out A Midsummer Night’s Dreamscape in this week’s MidWeek Kauai. There are a few tickets left at the Nani Moon Mead.

Sunday, August 26

2012 Westin Princeville Annual Charity Golf Tournament

Westin Princeville, $100

The Westin Princeville Ocean Resort Villas will host its 4th Annual Charity Golf Tournament at the Makai Golf Club. All proceeds from the event will benefit charitable organizations in Kauai. Tickets include cart, green fees, gift bag, and an awards luncheon on the 19th hole. The event will also feature live entertainment and a variety of prizes. “Giving back is a crucial component in being a member of this community,” says General Manager Denise Wardlow. “We’re all part of a larger ohana and it’s important that we support each other.”

For more information or to enter the tournament, please visit the Westin Princeville website or call Kahau Manzo, Director of Food and Beverage, at 808-827-8719.

Saturday, September 1

4th Annual Aha Hula Luau and Hula Kahiko Concert

Common Ground, noon to 5 p.m., $40

Sheraton’s Oceanfront Aulii Luau. Daniel Lane photo

Celebrate the legacy of Halau Palaihiwa O Kaipuwai, under the direction of Kumu Hula, Kehaulani Kekua. The cultural experience includes rare performances and an offering of 30 traditional Hawaiian chants as well as classical dances of Hawaii.

This year, the halau expands upon its curriculum theme, No Puna Waialoha: Nurturing Love for the Springs of Life and Sources of Knowledge. Set against the magnificent backdrop of Kilauea and Hanalei’s stunning Namahana, Hihimanu and Namolokama mountain peaks, `Aha Hula will be held in the natural outdoor performance arena at Common Ground located in Kilauea.

Pre-sale tickets include a Hawaiian luau with vegetarian fare, Hawaiian music, entertainment and an impromptu hula by the host halau and attending guests. Fresh flower leis, arts and crafts, baked goods and refreshments, and a Keiki Paani Zone will also be available. Bring mats, blankets or beach chairs for lawn seating.

The Hula Kahiko Concert includes a special guest performance by two of Hawaii’s most extraordinary performers and recording artists of traditional leo kiekie falsetto stylings: Leokane Pryor and Cj Heleahi from Hana, Maui. Pryor’s recording projects titled, “Maunahele”, “Home Malanai” and Helekahi’s “Ka Mahina” have received numerous accolades.

Established in 1945 by Loea Hula, Helen Kaipuwai Kekua, the halau perpetuates Kauai’s oldest standing traditions of aihaa and hula. Proceeds will benefit the cultural research and education programs of the Kaieie Foundation and Halau Palaihiwa O Kaipuwai.

The Kaieie Foundation is a native Hawaiian, non-profit organization that perpetuates Hawaiian knowledge and customary practices through cultural education programs offered by the Hale Na auao of Halau Palaihiwa O Kaipuwai, and the Kauai Heritage Center. For tickets and information, visit the Kaieie Foundation website or call 808-346-7574. Or, visit one of the following locations:

Magic Dragon, Princeville
Kauai Mini Golf, Kilauea
Garden Cafe at Common Ground, Kilauea
Kauai Music and Sound, Kapaa
Island Soap and Candle, Koloa

ONGOING:

Pono Photo

Fire in the Sky from the Java Kai exhibit. Daniel Lane photo

This is the last week that Java Kai will be showcasing images from Pono Photo. After that, you can check them out at the Koloa Rum Tasting Room & Company Store at Kilohana Plantation. If you don’t know, Pono Photo is my husband Daniel Lane. He is the exclusive photographer for Tasting Kauai, and MidWeek Kauai’s “Eye on Kauai”, “Tastes of Kauai” and “Farmers Markets” columns.