Sustainable Initiatives by Andrea Dean

Mangoes: Day 6- My Experiments with Food Truth- 60 Days of Eating Locally Grown

Mango, the most divine of all foods. Who needs other local foods when there is mango? Really!

I can only arouse your appetite for divine fruit. Why don’t you get busy and take a bite?- Paramahansa Yogananda

The Fruit of Prayer

The fruit of silence is prayer
the fruit of prayer is faith
the fruit of faith is love
the fruit of love is service
the fruit of service is peace.
– Mother Theresa

An excerpt from Autobiography of a Yogi by Paramahansa Yogananda

Our way now led east through sun-baked rice fields into the Burdwan section of Bengal. On through roads lined with dense vegetation; the songs of the maynas and the stripe-throated bulbuls streamed out from trees with huge, umbrellalike branches. A bullock cart now and then, the rini, rini, manju, manju squeak of its axle and iron-shod wooden wheels contrasting sharply in mind with the swish, swish of auto tires over the aristocratic asphalt of the cities.

“Dick, halt!” My sudden request brought a jolting protest from the Ford. “That overburdened mango tree is fairly shouting an invitation!”

The five of us dashed like children to the mango-strewn earth; the tree had benevolently shed its fruits as they had ripened.

“Full many a mango is born to lie unseen,” I paraphrased, “and waste its sweetness on the stony ground.”

“Nothing like this in America, Swamiji, eh?” laughed Sailesh Mazumdar, one of my Bengali students.

“No,” I admitted, covered with mango juice and contentment. “How I have missed this fruit in the West! A Hindu’s heaven without mangoes is inconceivable!”

I picked up a rock and downed a proud beauty hidden on the highest limb.

“Dick,” I asked between bites of ambrosia, warm with the tropical sun, “are all the cameras in the car?”

“Yes, sir; in the baggage compartment.”

“If Giri Bala proves to be a true saint, I want to write about her in the West. A Hindu yogini with such inspiring powers should not live and die unknownlike most of these mangoes.”

Half an hour later I was still strolling in the sylvan peace.

“Sir,” Mr. Wright remarked, “we should reach Giri Bala before the sun sets, to have enough light for photographs.” He added with a grin, “The Westerners are a skeptical lot; we can’t expect them to believe in the lady without any pictures!”

This bit of wisdom was indisputable; I turned my back on temptation and reentered the car.

“You are right, Dick,” I sighed as we sped along, “I sacrifice the mango paradise on the altar of Western realism. Photographs we must have!”

The road became more and more sickly: wrinkles of ruts, boils of hardened clay, the sad infirmities of old age! Our group dismounted occasionally to allow Mr. Wright to more easily maneuver the Ford, which the four of us pushed from behind.

“Lambadar Babu spoke truly,” Sailesh acknowledged. “The car is not carrying us; we are carrying the car!”

Our climb-in, climb-out auto tedium was beguiled ever and anon by the appearance of a village, each one a scene of quaint simplicity.

Food From Friends: Day 7- My Experiments with Food Truth- 60 Days of Eating Locally Grown

Today food was falling from the kind hands of friends.

Jeff Johnson from Ohia Fields Farm (on facebook here) read in my blog about my “Condiment Cheat Clause” and came to the rescue by sending me some Green Tomato Ketchup. From the Ohia Fields Farm listing on Local Harvest, “We are committed to following our dream of helping the Big Island move toward food independence by providing affordable and healthy food for the local community.” Right on Jeff and Miliana Johnson! Thanks for providing a healthy, locally made product for me! I can hardly wait to visit the farm and purchase some of your locally grown veggies, meats and eggs. I don’t normally eat meat, but in the context of this experiment and because your sounds so good, I just might give it a try.

Eddie Pollock picked up a dozen eggs for me from Karl Toubman and Kathie Pomeroy’s place. Eggs are pretty important to me right now. They are a major protein source and the glue in taro patties, pies (and I use that term loosely), and custards (a dessert that can be made with all locally grown ingredients.)

And as if that was not enough abundance for one day…my neighbors Joe Ayers and Collen Nevins sent green beans, cherry tomatoes, green onions and a green chili home with my son for me. The green beans were crisp and delicious, the tomatoes juicy and the chili hot.

I steamed the green beans with some corn and drowned it in Hula Cows butter. My husband made an opihi, green onion and tomato dish that was surprisingly savory.

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.

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.

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.