Last night’s Outstanding in the Field farm to table dinner at Olana Organic Farm started of well but got rained out. The food and company was wonderful though. Marta Lane photo

NEWS:

Tasting Kauai

I’m blessed in many ways. I get to live on Kauai, and as a food writer, I get to work with my husband who is a photographer. In the 16 years that we’ve been together, he’s never faltered in his love, encouragement and solid advise. My mother was born and raised in Barcelona, Spain, and her family taught me how to celebrate life, friends and family with good food and laughter at the center of the table.

The Spanish, and many other cultures, are passionate about food. I remember shopping sprees with my aunt Anita. She knew exactly which markets had the best fish, meat and vegetables for her paella. Her table was abundant with family, friends, fresh seafood, baguettes, cheese, meat, produce and wine. As we broke bread together, good natured arguments broke out regarding where the best cherries are grown, the best wine region (we prefer Rioja), and the best places for mushroom hunting. They’d even talk about their next meal, while eating the current meal!

Europeans protect their food by banning GMO crops. Peru just banned GMO crops this month. The European Union Protected Designations of Origin protects their time-honored tradition of making food. These laws protect the names of wines, cheeses, hams, sausages, seafood, olives, beers, Balsamic vinegar and even regional breads, fruits, raw meats and vegetables. Foods such as Gorgonzola, Parmigiano-Reggiano, Melton Mowbray pork pies, Asiago cheese, Camembert, Somerset Cider Brandy and Champagne can only be labelled as such if they come from the designated region.

In America, we don’t. For example, only 10 percent of beans grown in Kona can be blended with 90 percent of other beans and called Kona Coffee. Hawaii’s government is not protecting these small family farmers from corporate coffee makers who confuse consumers with ambiguous labeling. These farmers have to leave the farm and band together to fight for the protection of the Kona coffee name. 

While I was growing up in Colorado, my mother poured her love into three square meals a day. My father, brother and I took brown bags to work and school and at lunch, opened them to delicious sandwiches, chips and an apple or orange. Everyday, we ate breakfast and dinner together at the family table.

My Tastes of Kauai and Farmers Markets columns in MidWeek Kauai help me to recreate that sense of connectedness to the land, ocean, and people. I get to talk to farmers who coax life from the land and people who cook with that abundance. I get to share it with people who will eat their food.

Basil seedlings at the Kauai Farm Connection. Daniel Lane photo

When Vandana Shiva, Andrew Kimbrell and Walter Ritte spoke here on Jan. 17, I was challenged to write one of the most difficult articles of my life. The article that will run in the Farmers Market column of the Jan. 30 issue, is in the voice of the three speakers. They were here to speak against the seed companies who grow genetically engineered crops in Hawaii and douse the islands with massive amounts of deadly pesticides and herbicides. It’s such a huge topic, I found it difficult to fit into my 500 word column.

I had to leave a lot of information out and I couldn’t rest easy. Over the last three days, I have compiled resources for those who wish to learn more. If you hover over the Conscious Eating tab, you’ll see three menu tabs. Food for Thought provides resources for those who are interested in learning about what it takes to get food into our bellies, and the toll it sometimes takes. Food and Farming Definitions demystifies terms the industry uses. If your ready to make a difference, the Steps You Can Take page offers simple suggestions.

As a nation, I believe we need to take control of our food and come back to the table. If we keep letting seed companies convince us that what they’re doing is good, we won’t have any food worth celebrating.

The menu bar on our website has changed. Recipes, Farmers Markets and the Glossary can be found under the Resources tab. We’ve also made it easy to print recipes. Just scroll to the bottom, and click on the “Print Friendly” icon.

In other news, Caffe Coco has a new website; RumFire has a new menu; and the 2013 Hale Aina award winning Beach House restaurant added a new vegan entree. It consists of three types of slow roasted beets, local arugula, coconut-black Thai rice, Filipino tomato-cilantro salad and tempura asparagus. There’s also a new chicken, beef and two new fish entrees.

The Huffington post wrote about Kauai Coffee and Kilohana Plantation, which is the first leg of our Kauai Culinary Tour. Since I’m on the subject, we got a couple of new 5-star write ups in TripAdvisor for our Kauai Culinary Tour. Pacific Business News says Hawaii has the the second-highest number of restaurants on OpenTable’s list of the 100 most romantic restaurants in the United States.

Uncle Mikey’s Dried Fruit was written up on CapatilGazette.com. Uncle Mikey’s is now approved for Foodland stores they are waiting on a “machine” to grind out some orders! Whole Foods on Maui and Oahu are doing customer appreciation events in February and have invited Uncle Mikey’s to participate.

“We have been contacted by another big chocolate company on the mainland about incorporating Uncle Mikey’s dried fruits in their quality chocolates,” says owner Mike Stewart. “The year is starting strong, it seems the harder we work the more luck we have!”

Fresh scallions from Moloa`a Organica`a. Daniel Lane photo.

And now for something completely different. I love the wonderful world of the internet. I just recieved an email regarding an article I wrote about scallions.

“Dear Marta,

My name is Artur, and I’m from Valls, Catalonia, the hometown for “calçots”.

I got positively shocked when we read you post about scallions and found a little paragraph focused on our festivity. It was amazing to see that even at an island as far away as Kauai you guys are aware of our product.

I’m actually working, together with my colleagues, on a project related to “calçots” and everything around it, restaurants, producers, cuisine… At the moment, the website named www.restaurantcalçotada.cat, is only available in Catalan, but we are working hard to translate it into Spanish and English as soon as possible. In fact, in two days (January 27) our town, Valls, is holding the Calçot Festivity, with more than 50,000 people from all over the country, and even abroad, are coming over! Our population is about 20,000 for the rest of the year.

I invite you to check out website if you wish (www.restaurantcalçotada.cat) or check us out on Facebook (Restaurant calçotada), Twitter (CalsotadesCAT) or Instagram (CalsotadesCAT), and keep in touch with us if you ever need any other information (or ever come round the area!).

Thanks very much indeed again for your post.

Take very good care.

Artur – In bocca al lupo”

How cool is that?

EVENTS:

Saturday, January 26

Wine and Chocolate Tasting

The Wine Garden, 4 to 7 p.m., free

Sample:

• Fearless Organic SuperChocolate – Organic – Vegan – Soy, Gluten and Dairy Free
• Kauai Living Goodies – Artisan Raw Chocolate – Stone Ground – Organic – Vegan
• Novelty Hill Cabernet – Columbia Valley, Washington
• 
Mollydooker “The Boxer” Shiraz -McLaren Vale, Australia
• Mantra Old Vines Reserve Zinfandel – Alexander Valley, California
• Monchiero Carbone Birbet – Roero Region, Piemonte, Italy
• 
Michael David Sauvignon Blanc, Lodi, California
• Foxglove Chardonnay, Central Coast, California.

UPCOMING:

Tuesday, February 5

Healthy Food Prep & Nutrition Workshop

Tuesdays 5 to 8 p.m., February 5, 12, 19, and 26, Waimea High School Culinary Classroom

Kekaha Community Garden is hosting the Healthy Food Prep & Nutrition Workshop Series.

The workshop covers: 

• Cooking simple, affordable and healthy recipes
• Nutrition
• Learning the importance of healthy eating

All participants receive:

• One binder
• Healthy, simple, affordable recipes using veggies from the garden
• Three, delicious meals (breakfast, lunch, dinner) at each workshop
• Nutritional analysis and healthy benefits of recipes
• Health and environmental related articles
• Articles on health benefits of specific vegetables

Chef instructor Donovan Cabebe has been in the food industry for over 20 years. As a private chef and caterer, he creates delicious recipes from the perspective of “food is medicine”, using local foods. Cabebe is knowledgeable about the nutritional qualities of food, both from a Hawaiian cultural perspective as well as the Western perspective.

Nutritional instructor Sharon de la Pena, is a Registered Dietician with Hoola Lahui Hawaii and has been a Public Health Nutritionist with the WIC program here on Kauai and Honolulu. She will answer questions about health, diet and nutrition.

Suggested donation is $45 per person for entire series. Donations help cover the costs of food supplies and materials. If it helps, you can think of it as going out to eat for a cheap meal; except it is rich in nutrients, locally grown, you get to learn how to prepare it, eat what you make, and take home the recipe!

Participation in all four workshops is required, so before you sign up, please check your calendar. Workshop is for family members aged 8 and up. Registration and payment required in advance. Email kekahagarden@gmail.com or call 808-651-5197.

Visit the Kekaha Community Garden Facebook page for recipes, tips, workshops, photos and updates of garden activities.

Kauai Fresh Farms salad with local pork belly and chef’s garden vinaigrette. Daniel Lane photo

Friday, February 8

Kauai Culinary Tour

9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., $130

Tasting Kauai’s Culinary Tour offers an intimate glimpse into the Garden Island’s culinary scene. We start with a farm tour and learn about 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. Our last stop is a tour and mead tasting at Hawaii’s only meadery, Nani Moon Mead. You can read more details about February’s tour, or visit our Kauai Culinary Tours page. We have a Facebook photo album that shows how much fun the tour is, and today we got a 5-Star TripAdvisor review for last week’s tour! For a complete list of 2013 dates, check out our Kauai Culinary Tours Calendar. Call 808-635-0257 to make a reservation.

Saturday, February 9

CKMS Street Fair

Chiefess Kamakahelei Middle School Campus, 5 to 8 p.m.

Once a month, Chiefess students organize the CKMS Street fair, a fundraiser for student field trips. Choir students are responsible for the February event and proceeds will be used for a music competition in California. Food trucks include JC’s Puerto Rican Kitchen, Paco’s Tacos, Hanalei Taro & Juice Co., Kauai Marriott Resort, Yamato’s Ice Cream, as well as fresh squeezed juice, kettle corn, and saimin. Craft vendors will set up stalls and kids can play in the bounce house, get their face painted or play games. A bingo game starts at 6:30 p.m. The event will take place on campus at 4431 Nohou St., Lihue.

Sunday, February 17th

American Culinary Federation 27th Annual Breakfast Fundraiser

Kauai Community College,  7 to 11 a.m., $15

This event has been touted as “Kauai’s Biggest and Best Brunch.” The brunch is prepared by the culinary students at Kauai Community College with island chefs and includes eggs benedict, omelets cooked to order, carved grilled beef teriyaki, pancakes, fresh fruits and pastries. There will also be freshly brewed Kauai Coffee, Meadow Gold juice, and Kauai Spring Water.

Tickets are available at the KCC cafeteria, Mark’s Place Puhi, Kalaheo Coffee Co. & Café, Kauai Coffee visitor center, Fish Express, Koloa Fish Market, Pono Market and Sole-Mates. All proceeds go towards scholarships and equipment for the Culinary Students at KCC.