Sustainable Initiatives by Andrea Dean

Eating Poi While Driving: Day 11- My Experiments with Food Truth- 60 Days of Eating Locally Grown


Join the Eat Local Challenge (Sept. 25 – Oct. 3) for a meal, a day or a week!


The two hardest things about eating 100% locally grown are:
1) When I am overworked, over committed and in a rush, and;
2) Blogging about it every day, especially when I am… (see #1, above)


They don’t call staple crops “staples” for nothing! Taro was my primary sustenance today. I ran out in the morning to meet David Fuertes (Ka Hana No’eau) and Marc Kinoshita (Hoea Agricultural Park) at the Kohala Seniors Center where we made a presentation to see if the Kohala Seniors wanted to participate in the North Kohala Eat Locally Grown Campaign- indeed, they are on board! I had some taro in the car on the way there. Back at home for a short time, I had to shoot off some quick emails and such before heading to Kona and Waimea. I only had time to grab a banana and some poi from the fridge.


Ever eaten poi while driving? It should be against the law! I had mixed my poi with some Volcano Island Honey to make it sweet and more palatable to my haole, New York trained, pizza and bagel loving taste buds. I placed the bowl of sticky and sweet poi on the passenger seat and periodically dipped my spoon into the bowl. With one eye on the road and one on the poi bowl, I deftly twirled the spoon until I thought drippage was minimized. Then I quickly brought the spoon to my mouth and licked it like a lollipop. By the time I got to Kawaihae I had eaten half the banana and most of the poi, my hunger was assuaged.


But after my Kona meeting I found myself hungry again, very hungry. I contemplated the now crusty and warm poi and the brown and soggy banana, and made a beeline to Island Naturals, knowing that they have a commitment to local and organic food. I was hoping to score something ready made from the hot table and salad bar. Unfortunately, the manager was not available and no one could confirm for me if any of the greens or vegetables were locally sourced. The mahi mahi was clearly labeled as “local,” and after much questioning, the girl behind the counter confirmed that she saw a fisherman bring it in. (Maybe she just wanted to get rid of me!) Since the greens couldn’t be confirmed local, I grabbed some Lone Palm Farm pea sprouts and fresh local figs from the produce section.



After my low blood sugar crisis passed, I went to Borders to grab Jonathan Franzen’s new book Freedom. (For your general information, I also frequently buy and swap books at Kona Bay Books , a used book store which I LOVE.) They were sold out of Freedom, but Michael Pollan’s new book Food Rules- An Eater’s Manual jumped off the shelves at me. Perfect! A quick flip through the book revealed that I had already violated Rule #49- Eat Slowly. I must have been going at least 55.

Aloha! If you have been following my 60 Days of Eating Locally Grown blog and have been clicking through from Facebook, you have been being sent to KanuHawaii.org, which is OK, but there are more videos and pics at andreadean.com/blog. I had my settings crossed!

An Improved Life Through Coffee Cherry Tea? Day 10- My Experiments with Food Truth- 60 Days of Eating Locally Grown


Join the Eat Local Challenge (Sept. 25 – Oct. 3) for a meal, a day or a week!


I began my day with Coffee Cherry Tea. It tastes really good, it has a unique flavor all its own.





My epicurean adventures of yesterday were successful! It is a happy day when one’s yogurt congeals. I make the yogurt in my own strange way (like I said before, I don’t usually follow recipes!) I bring it up to 180 degrees for 5 minutes (do not boil), when it cools to 108 degrees I take out a little milk and mix in 2 teaspoons of yogurt starter and add the mixture back. You can get Yogurt starter at the health food store. I leave it in the same big pot that I heated the milk in, wrap it in a towel and incubate it in either the microwave or the oven with the light on. No heat…just a light. My yogurt was a little clumpy and watery, this could be because I used too much yogurt starter for the amount of milk. I tend towards over production in all things, apparently even acidolphilus.

My Inner Epicurean Blossoms: Day 9- My Experiments with Food Truth- 60 Days of Eating Locally Grown

Join the Eat Local Challenge (Sept. 25 – Oct. 3) for a meal, a day or a week!

My inner epicurean emerged today. I am usually a very simple cook, my food preparations are relatively simple- I steam, I fry, I make simple soups and salads, or I eat the food in its natural state. But tonight, inspired by the great food that I have and fueled by papaya-ginger-lehua honey mead, I pulled off a truly gourmet meal! I made a Waimea romaine salad and sprinkled it with certified organic little yellow flowers. I dressed the salad with a little olive oil (not finding the mac nut oil, people!) and Tahitian lime. I topped the salad with seared Ahi served with tomato, green onion, chili pepper and fruit salsa that I made myself!

Many of the great ingredients I used tonight were from shopping at KTA today.

I made the most colorful fruit salad ever- two colors of dragon fruit, ka’u oranges and strawberries. Even the compost looked good enough to eat.

Being that I was on such a roll, I also made custard from local North Kohala eggs, Mountain Apple Brand milk, Hawaiian Vanilla Company vanilla and Volcano Island Honey.

And as if that wasn’t enough practicing of the domestic arts, I also made yogurt. At least I hope I made yogurt. I won’t know until the morning if I was successful. I tried to make yogurt the other night but got on the computer and forgot about the milk on the stove. I burned the milk. Twice. Then my husband shut off the light on my microwave, which I use as my incubator. The “yogurt” the next morning was just weired smelling warm and burned milk.

It’s So Easy: Day 8- My Experiments with Food Truth- 60 Days of Eating Locally Grown


Join the Eat Local Challenge (Sept. 25 – Oct. 3) for a meal, a day or a week!


The good news is that today was kind of an ordinary day. By ordinary I mean that I ran out of the house at 7:30 am, already pre-destined to be late for spin class. I was actually kind of happy about that because class was so hard last week that 45 minutes would have been enough for me. I fried up some taro (it had already been boiled) and fried two eggs. I bolted out the door- computer bag, gym bag, food and water bag and purse all hanging off my shoulders and hands. It offends my sense of time efficiency to make two trips. I snarfed down the taro and eggs while I was driving. Since I was in a rush to leave the house, eggs and taro was all I brought with me for the day, so I felt a need to hoard and eat it all. This was a mistake. I was 15 minutes late for spin class and was thrown into immediate heavy aerobic activity, eggs and taro weighing heavily.


I spent the rest of the day getting all of the printed materials for the North Kohala Eat Locally Grown Campaign done in Waimea. (Working with the talented, efficient and wonderful Matthew Pearce at Waimea Instant Printing!) Since I didn’t bring lunch I decided to treat myself to lunch at Merriman’s- the birthplace of Hawaii Regional Cuisine. I had the fresh tomato soup and salad with locally caught swordfish. When the waitress asked if I wanted fresh ground pepper, I said no. Partially because I always get confused with the pepper grinding, I never know when I’m supposed to say “when,” and partially because I assumed it wan’t local. “Its local pepper,” the waitress said. I had to have that. Merriman’s even sources local pepper? That is truly impressive!


Later on for dinner, I stir fried mushrooms and long beans and had a warm salad of eggplant, tomatoes and feta on the side.


I was talking to Amada Rieux, Mala’ai Garden leader the other day about how much easier my local foods experiment is this time. She said, “The foodscape had really changed in the 4 years since you did your last eat local challenge. The food stores have way more local food and the farmer’s markets have really grown. The Waimea farmer’s market used to have only four booths. Now there are a few farmer’s markets in Waimea. ”


Amanda is right, locally grown food seems to be much more available now than it was four years ago. As I am out in the community asking people to take the Eat Local Challenge I am hearing- “that is easy I get my CSA box every week,” “no problem I get all my veggies at the farmer’s market.” Eating 100% locally grown this time around is quite easy and in the general flow of my busy life. Although last time I did a 90 day eat local challenge I was much more strict- Hawaii island only and no cheats on oil or condiments. Access to locally grown food is not a problem, whether you define local as statewide or island wide. How about just eating in your community? I guess your level of success will depend upon how much you grow and where you live. The only disruption, I must admit, is preparation. A lot more chopping and peeling is involved in eating a diet that is all fruit, vegetables and root crops. The major benefit of this extra time I spend in the kitchen (other than the obvious health and social benefits) is that it creates an opportunity for me to be available to my son. And since he is a teenager, we can engage around food.


The word today is that eating 100% locally grown foods is pretty easy! Now… it is possible to go to the next level- North Kohala grown only, Big Island only. Since I am touting the North Kohala Eat Locally Grown Campaign I should definitely do a week that is only North Kohala grown.