NEWS
Kauai Kunana Dairy
Today’s Pau Hana Cocktail is a Poipu Cooler from Brennecke’s Beach Broiler. Click picture for recipe. Daniel Lane photo.
Our friends at Kauai Kunana Dairy shared this good news with us.
“Finally, after three administrations and years of pleading, we are going to be able sell our value added farm products at the Kauai Sunshine Markets! Look for our stand at the Kapaa Wednesday Sunshine Market and, hopefully, at the Koloa Monday Market. Under the new market rules, qualified, bona fide value-added food products that contain 50% Kauai grown farm ingredients will be available for sale at all County Sunshine Markets. All vendors are being required to reapply for market permits and have their applications reviewed to affirm that they are really farmers and not re-selling produce from Costco or another middle man. (Yes, sadly, this is all too common!) A huge shout out to Derek Kawakami who introduced the legislation while he was on the County Council and to Councilmember JoAnn Yukimura for her support and work in initiating the first Sunshine Market in 1978!
Another happy note is that our fellow farmers, Ned and Marta Whitlock received approval for their Special Use Permit from the Kauai Planning Commission to begin construction on their farmworker housing once the other county agencies have reviewed their building plans!
We presently have an overabundance of Certified Organic arugula, chard, and vine-ripened cherry tomatoes in our garden. Louisa also has a very limited edition of her select mold-ripened aged cheeses.
Ryan is making a killer mango lemonade juice drink lightly sweetened with agave.
That’s it for now, back to the garden!
SAY NO TO GMO!”
The Wooton Family
Hawaii Coffee
Hawaii’s coffee farmers saw production go down but prices go up. According to a government report, bugs and dry weather hurt coffee production, but higher prices offset some of the decline. The National Agricultural Statistics Service report says coffee farmers statewide produced 7.6 million pounds of beans for sale during the 2011-12 season. That is a 14 percent drop from 8.8 million pounds in the prior season. However, the report says the average price per pound of coffee paid to farmers rose 9 percent to $4.15 in the recent season from $3.80 in the prior season. The price increase added $2.7 million dollars to total industry sales of $31.5 million. Sales in the previous season totaled $33.4 million.
Kekaha Community Garden
Membership is open at Kekaha Community Garden. The cost is $35 a month per family, and you must work in the garden 2 hours a week, per person. In return, you will get a box full of produce, and the size will depend on how many people are in your family. This is an excellent way to get some exercise, save a lot of money and meet people in your community.
Malama Kauai
Malama Kauai is hosting a month-long public awareness campaign geared to students, teachers, schools, parents and the community. Local Foods in Local Schools coincides with the National Farm to School Month in October. School gardens on Kauai are on the rise, and Malama Kauai hopes to provide keiki with healthy eating options while teaching them about the cultural origins of our local food. This helps instill good eating habits early in life, while maintaining healthy weight and preventing childhood diseases, such as obesity and diabetes. It’s also a great way to incorporate outdoor learning, from science to math and biology. See Tasting Kauai’s Event Calendar below to find out what’s happening and when.
If you like to support local businesses with green practices, check out Malama Kauai’s free Green Map App. Features include local businesses both grocery and retail, farmers markets, ecotourism, and health and wellness services. Their vision is to connect residents of Kauai and visitors alike to local businesses that go the extra mile in providing their clientele with a spectrum of quality goods and services.
Tasting Kauai
Winter Sun Margarita. Daniel Lane photo
Normally, Nani Moon Mead closes the meadery so guests on our Kauai Culinary Tour can get a private tour—which is not normally offered—as well as a tasting of all five meads in the collection. Afterwards, everyone gets to take a bottle of their favorite mead home. Last time, owner Stephanie Krieger taught us how to make a Winter Sun Margarita, which we got to drink! As foodies, we get geeked out on anything that involves locally made food and how the insider’s do it. We are happy to announce that on Friday, October 19, our guests will get an extra surprise because Stephanie will be bottling that day. This will be a wonderful chance to get a behind-the-scenes sneak peek into what it takes to make handcrafted mead. There are still some spaces available. For more information, check out our Kauai Culinary Tour page.
Sheraton Oceanfront Luau
Sheraton’s Oceanfront Aulii Luau. Daniel Lane photo
When I reported on the reopening of the Sheraton Oceanfront Luau for the August 22 issue of MidWeek Kauai, the luau was being held at an outdoor amphitheater. Across the street, there was a snippet of an ocean view. I was fortunate enough to have experienced it several years ago, when it was beach side. This week, I received word that the luau has been moved back to the Beach Lawn. The dancers wear authentic costumes, and now, they will be performing with the ocean as the backdrop. Just like I imagine it to have been 500-years-ago.
EVENTS
Friday, October 12
Princeville Wine Market
3 to 6 p.m., free
Join Princeville Wine Market for a free wine tasting featuring premium California Chardonnay in that oaky, buttery style that is so popular these days. “We have picked five fine samples of this style of wine that are rich, yet still elegant and balanced,” says owner Daniel Braun. You must be 21-years or older to attend. Princeville Wine Market is located near the South entrance of Princeville Center near First Hawaiian Bank. For more information call 808-826-0040, or e-mail daniel@princevillewinemarket.com.
Friday, October 19
Kauai Culinary Tour
8 a.m. to 3 p.m., $130
Breezy and beautiful at the Marriott. Daniel Lane photo
Farm to fork culinary tour, with cocktails! Join us on a culinary romp through paradise, and tour a sustainable fruit farm, enjoy a cooking demonstration and four-course lunch at the Kauai Marriott Resort, tour Nani Moon Mead and sample the collection. This tour can not be experienced on your own because we have created a unique tour that can only be experienced on October 19. We have a couple of special additions as well. Kauai Marriott Resort’s executive chef has generously allowed us to tour his personal garden in which he grows food for the Marriott menus. This intimate setting allows our guests to meet the chef, and ask him questions.
Nani Moon Mead bottles once a month, which happens to fall on our tour day. They’ll be in full production, bottling Pineapple Guava Sunset, and guests will be able to experience first hand what it takes to make handcrafted mead. We’ll also learn how to make her White Hawaiian Sangria, and sample it of course! We still have some space left, so check out our Culinary Tours page to reserve a spot.
Malama Kauai, Local Food in Local Schools
10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Wilcox Elementary, Lihue
October is National Farm to School Month and Malama Kauai has scheduled several events to support our schools here on Kauai. First, join Natalie Hiwahiwa Joyce-Maeda and the Elsie Wilcox Elementary School at a re-dedication of the Hawaiian Garden. Then:
- 10 to 11 a.m. – Group hands-on planting of significant cultural plants in large pots. Kukui Tree- Jay Furfaro (Kukui hele po)
- 11:10 a.m. to 12:45 p.m. – Setting up large pots on weedcloth for the border. Planting in pots. Assorted light raking, pruning, laying down shade cloth Coloring of Hawaiian Word Concepts
- 1 to 2 p.m. – Bring a brown bag lunch and enjoy hula in the garden with Kumu Hula Vanessa Punua and Haumana.
Dress for light gardening, pack a brown bag lunch and contact colleen@malamakauai.org to RSVP or ask questions.
Saturday, October 20
Na Aina Kai Botanical Gardens
Goblins, Goodies and Games, 4 to 7 p.m., $10
Join Na Aina Kai for a halloween costume party. There will be fun games, prizes, face painting, and entertainment. Call 808-828-0525 for reservations and information.
The Feral Pig
Tap Takeover Dinner, 7 p.m., $60
Dave Power of The Feral Pig will put aside cocktails for beer. Daniel Lane photo
Space is extremely limited for the first ever Tap Takeover Dinner by Maui Brewing Company. A tap takeover is when a particular brewery replaces all the beers a restaurant or bar normally carries with their own. The Feral Pig will be featuring seven beers, and four of them can only be found at the Maui Brewing Company Brew Pub in Lahaina, Maui.
For one night only, The Feral Pig will offer a one seating, seven course tasting menu paired with the beer. The meal will include Kaneshiro Farm pork as well as seasonal produce from the island’s farmers.
“The restaurant will also be open for business and the beers will be available while they last,” says owner and bartender Dave Power, “which I can’t imagine will be very long.”
Seven beers, Seven courses at 7 p.m., for $60. That might be the best deal ever! To RSVP call 808-246-1100.
Sunday, October 21
National Tropical Botanical Garden
10 a.m. to 2 p.m., free
Every third Sunday of the month, the NTBG’s Ohana Day features local artists, authors and garden experts. This month, Elvrine Chow of Heavenly Haku Lei will demonstrate how to make haku lei. Pronounced hah koo, the word refers to the method of braiding foliage such as flowers and ferns on a natural base material like ti or banana leaves. The color is often all white for brides, but haku lei can be made with any combination of multi-colored flowers.
Na Kupu Mana Olana – Seeds of Hope
Tuesday, October 23, 7 p.m., Waimea Theater and Wednesday, October 24, 7 p.m., Hanalei Elementary School
The film Seeds of Hope offers an in-depth look at the history and future of Hawaii’s agriculture. It shows how the archipelago’s unique physical isolation coupled with the rising cost of shipping food across long distances have created powerful incentives for communities to return to the land-based ethic of malama aina (care of the land) and sustainable agriculture.
The evening will start with a live panel discussion including filmmaker Danny Miller, followed by an exclusive showing of this newly released documentary.
Thursday, October 25
Roy’s
The Roy’s in Poipu and Roy’s Tavern in Princeville will donate 100 percent of their profits to Malama Kauai’s Local Foods in Local Schools. How’s that for our local restaurants and chefs paying it forward? If you’re going to have a special dinner this month, make sure it’s at Roy’s on October 25!
ONGOING
RumFire
For the month of October, RumFire will donate all food and beverage proceeds from RumFire’s sunset view Table #53 to the Kauai United Way.
“We warmly welcome this opportunity to serve our community and invite our RumFire guests to support this worthy Kauai charity,” says Sheraton Kauai General Manager Chip Bahouth. “Through the participation of our diners, our goal is to raise $3,000.”
Basic Orientation to Aquaponics and Worm Composting
$35, October 6 through December 1, Saturdays, 8 a.m. to noon, Kauai Community College
The Kauai Community College is offering a Basic Orientation to Aquaponics and Worm Composting workshops. Nine, 3-hour sessions will be held on Saturdays. The course introduces ecosystem methods in sustainable agriculture, the practice of farming using principals of ecology, and the relationships between organisms and their environment. Crops that require high levels of soil nutrients can be cultivated in a more sustainable manner with the use of environmentally friendly fertilizer and management practices.
Learn:
- How to build and operate a worm composting farm
- Seedling propagation
- Aquaponics infrastructure, system building and operational care
- Aquaponics water quality and management
- Direct and indirect benefits of aquaponics and worm composting from the economic, social and environmental perspectives
To enroll, call 808-245-8318
Check out this interview with Bobby Burns, KCC instructor and Worm Warrior.
KCC Instructor Bobby Burnes, The Worm Warrior
Kauai Community College, Fine Dining
October 23 through December 5
The KCC fine dining program is run by students, and recently, I received a note from the staff, reminding me of that.
2011 Fine Dining class with instructors Mark Oyama (far left, second from end) and Duane Miyasato. Daniel Lane photo
“To Our Valued Guests,
We here at Kauai Community College Culinary Program truly appreciate your continued support in Fine Dining and look forward to seeing you every semester. Just as a gentle reminder, the Fine Dining program acts as a simulated restaurant, serving to address the Student Learning Outcomes of both back-of-the house (Cooking) and front-of-the house (Waitstaff). The Student Learning Outcomes are tied to a number of strict competencies governed by the American Culinary Federation, which insures our continued accreditation.
As much as we wish to accommodate everyone’s dietary needs and tastes, in order to assure that the Student Learning Outcomes are met, there are times we cannot meet everyone’s request. Menus are planned in advance and products are purchased specifically to instruct students on the various competencies. Therefore, if you do have a dietary request, please discuss it with Mr. Duane Miyasato at the time you make your reservation. If we can make the accommodation, we will do so gladly. Again, Mahalo for your on-going support and thank you for understanding our Culinary Students needs as well.”
Here is the tentative schedule for Fine Dining at Kauai Community College during fall semester 2012, featuring Asian Cuisine:
- CHINESE CUISINE
October 23 (sold out)
October 24 (sold out)
October 25 (sold out)
- SZECHWAN CUISINE
October 30 (sold out)
October 31 (sold out)
November 1 (sold out)
- THAI CUISINE (subject to change)
November 7 (sold out)
November 8 (sold out)
- JAPANESE CUISINE
November 14 (sold out)
November 15 (sold out)
- VIETNAMESE CUISINE (subject to change)
November 20 (limited reservations available)
November 21 (sold out)
- KOREAN CUISINE (subject to change)
November 27 (limited reservations available)
November 28 (sold out)
November 29 (limited reservations available)
- PACIFIC ISLANDER/HAWAIIAN CUISINE (buffet)
December 4 (limited reservations available)
December 5 (limited reservations available)
Reservations required. Please call 808-245-8365.
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