Sustainable Initiatives by Andrea Dean » eat local

BREADFRUIT FESTIVAL–ROOTED IN THE PAST AND BEARING FRUIT FOR THE FUTURE

admin — Thu, 05 May 2011 09:04:33 +0000

HOLUALOA, HAWAI‘I – Hawaii Homegrown Food Network, the Breadfruit Institute of the National Tropical Botanical Garden and Amy B.H. Greenwell Ethnobotanical Garden, are presenting the Breadfruit Festival at the Amy B.H. Greenwell Ethnobotanical Garden in South Kona on Saturday, September 24, 2011 from 9:00 am – 3:00 pm. The Garden will also be holding a dedication for its new visitor center at 12:00 noon on the Festival day. The Festival and dedication are free and open to the public.

The Breadfruit Festival celebrates the rich culture of breadfruit (‘ulu) in Hawai‘i and the Pacific, raises awareness about the importance of breadfruit for food security and teaches about the many delicious ways to prepare breadfruit.

A highlight of the day will be cooking demonstrations by local celebrity chefs, food booths featuring breadfruit and other local favorites prepared by Hawai‘i Island’s finest chefs, and the “I Love Breadfruit” Cook-Off Contest where anyone may enter their favorite breadfruit dish to compete for prizes.

The Breadfruit Festival will also feature Hawaiian and Pacific Islander cultural activities including ‘Ulumaika (breadfruit bowling), talks on the culture and history of breadfruit, ‘Ōlelo No‘eau, woodworking, quilting demonstrations, tapa making, ‘ulu poi making and more.

Workshops on breadfruit propagation, tree care and maintenance, economic opportunities, the Hunger Initiative and other topics will be given by experts Dr. Diane Ragone and Ian Cole of the Breadfruit Institute of the National Tropical Botanical Garden.

An art exhibit will feature the finalists in a fine art contest which focuses on the beauty of breadfruit, and a youth poster contest. Breadfruit trees will be available for sale on festival day, but supplies are limited and advance purchase for pick up at the festival is encouraged by contacting hooulu@hawaiihomegrown.net.

In addition to the September 24th Breadfruit Festival in South Kona, an East Side festival spearheaded by project partners Ho‘oulu Lahui and Kua O Ka Lā Public Charter School will be held March 2-3, 2012.

Learn more about the Breadfruit Festival by visiting www.breadfruit.info.

The Breadfruit Festival is a program of Ho‘oulu ka ‘Ulu—Revitalizing Breadfruit, a project of the Breadfruit Institute of the National Tropical Botanical Garden and the Hawai‘i Homegrown Food Network to revitalize ‘ulu as an attractive, delicious, nutritious, abundant, affordable, and culturally appropriate food that addresses Hawai‘i’s food security issues. The Breadfruit Festival is sponsored in part by the Hawaii Tourism Authority’s Kūkulu Ola—Living Hawaiian Culture Program.

David Fuertes on the Agricultural History of Kohlala

admin — Fri, 11 Feb 2011 23:09:46 +0000

David Fuertes, Program Director of Ka Hana No’eau shows the mural on the wall of the Kohala Intergenerational Center which depicts the agricultural history and future vision for Kohala.

Kohala Style Luau- in this month’s Ke Ola Magazine

admin — Tue, 11 Jan 2011 08:32:13 +0000

Ka Hana No’eau has another Kohala Style Lu’au on Saturday, February 5th, 9 am – 2 pm at the Kohala Intergenerational Center (Behind Hisaoka Gym in Kamehameha Park) in Kapa’au. Tickets are $45, call 884-5838 for reservations. The Kohala Style Lu‘au is a fundraiser for Ka Hana No‘eau’s 10 x 10 x 10,000 project, a taro growing project that addresses both food self-sufficiency and economic development in North Kohala. It was totally cool and I wrote an article about it for Ke Ola Magazine.

Ever been to a lu‘au and got to make your own lau lau? (Say that 10 times fast!) Ka Hana No‘eau and the Hawaii FFA Foundation have created the Kohala Style Lu‘au, where visitors and residents get mentored by Kohala locals in how to prepare all of the traditional lu‘au foods. And then, of course, you get to sit down and eat with your new mentors and friends. Funded by the Hawaii Tourism Authority, the Kohala Style Lu‘au brings visitors and new residents together to connect in an authentic way with the people and culture of the Kohala community. Read more, click on the picture below for the full article.

Mala’ai Students Grow and Eat Locally Grown

admin — Tue, 28 Dec 2010 01:34:59 +0000

This is from Amanda Reiux at Mala’ai- The Culinary Garden at Waimea Middle School

Mrs. Robertson’s 8th grade Advisory class made a 100% local (from Hawaii) lunch. Eating locally grown and harvested food is sustainable. It is good for our local economy, good for our farmers (and friends), good for the environment, good for the land, good for our health, fun and tasty. Menu: Taro stovetop fritatta with leeks and herbs Cassava hash browns Guacamole Chili and lime dipping sauce sweet potatoes Watermelon Sweet coconut milk with kalo, sweet potato, and pandanas leaf coconut water

Food Prep with Friends: Day 28 of 60 Days of Eating Locally Grown

admin — Sat, 02 Oct 2010 17:13:09 +0000

Food Prep with Friends: Day 28- My Experiments with Food Truth- 60 Days of Eating Locally Grown

Food preparation time definitely increases when you eat fresh, local food. Cassava needs to be peeled and grated. Taro needs to be boiled a few times. Veggies needs to be washed and cut. Dressing and sauces have to be made from scratch.

By getting together with a group in the Stone Soup Club with Chef Greg Menke, we processed a variety of local ingredients and made a delicious gourmet meal. The idea is to get together and process together whatever is abundant at the moment. Working all together (and chatting and listening to music!) we process a big quantity of normally hard to prepare items. Then everyone brings home food. We made fresh coconut milk, killer fruit punch with lilikoi, lemons, limes, jaboticaba, grapefruit and orange juice, breadfruit pudding, breadfruit home fries, soup stock, fish dumplings, grilled and marinated local beef, a big salad, bags of fresh herbs, sweet potatoes, pumpkin and more!

I Am an Eco.Local Cover Girl!

admin — Sat, 02 Oct 2010 00:49:04 +0000

TheEco.local.oct2010

Ulu and a Lamb Education: Day 27 of 60 Days of Eating Locally Grown

admin — Thu, 30 Sep 2010 08:48:29 +0000

‘Ulu and a Lamb Education: Day 27- My Experiments with Food Truth- 60 Days of Eating Locally Grown

I am happy to report that my tapioca pudding made from the fresh cassava I got yesterday came out awesome! It was a hit at the Eat Local Challenge potluck in Waimea tonight. I probably over cooked it, because I have that tendency. I cut the cassava in half and peeled it. Then I boiled the big root pieces. I was faced with grating all of that cassava and decided that I had to get a food processor. I had to go to Kona today and stopped in at Costco and bought a food processor for $79, which is possibly one of the best gifts I have ever given myself. I grated up all of that cassava in no time. Then I pulverized a good deal of it with milk and added honey, fresh cinnamon (locally grown from Richard Benton!) and eggs. You just have to bring it to a boil for a few minutes with the variety of cassava that I got. Different varieties have different levels of toxic cyanogenic glucosides, so knowing what you have and how to prepare it is important. Just ask the farmer or grow it yourself. Thankfully my son was home and willing to hang out and stir while I went to visit with Ralph Blancato to score some ulu.

Ralph and Laura have an amazing place where they grow a variety of native trees, hardwoods, fruit (great mangoes!), ulu and more. I will be cooking up the ulu tomorrow in our Stone Soup Club. Ralph also raises sheep for meat and he explained to me the difference between sheep, mutton, weaver, ewes, lamb and rams!

Crazy for Cassava (and Asparagus): Day 26 of 60 Days of Eating Locally Grown

admin — Wed, 29 Sep 2010 09:24:54 +0000

Crazy for Cassava (and Asparagus): Day 26- My Experiments with Food Truth- 60 Days of Eating Locally Grown

Today I visited with Richard Liebmann at Lokahi Farms and got some Cassava and Asparagus.

Cassava, a.k.a. manioc and tapioca, is according to wikipedia – the third-largest source of carbohydrates for meals in the world. Cassava is not as popular in Hawaii as it is in the South Pacific and other parts of the world, but it should be! It is very easy to grow- low maintenance and high yield. My kind of crop. I got a few cuttings from Richard and am going to plant one each in a gallon pot. Richard showed me how to harvest the cassava and explained how to prepare it.

I have already cut and peeled my cassava and am about to go and grate it to make tapioca pudding for a local foods pot luck tomorrow night. I will report back about how it comes out tomorrow. Click here for an article that Richard wrote about cassava with links to other resources.

I was lucky because I called Richard just after he had his first asparagus harvest. I ate the asparagus tonight with my local Hula Cows butter and Kona Sea Salt. Totally divine! Have you ever seen what asparagus looks like when it comes out of the ground? I never had. Check it out:

Something in Me is Changing: Day 25 of 60 Days of Eating Locally Grown

admin — Tue, 28 Sep 2010 06:55:15 +0000

Something in me is Changing: Day 25- My Experiments with Food Truth- 60 Days of Eating Locally Grown

Today I needed to feel the earth and reach into the center of myself. Too much time on the computer connects me to others but leaves me feeling slightly disconnected from myself.

Some say that it takes 30 days to change a habit. I don’t whether that is true or not, but I can say that today, at day 25, I feel changed. My body feels great. I feel light. I feel comfortable in my skin. Good in my clothes. I was craving taro. My relationship with food has altered. I made a salad for myself and saw it as truly beautiful. And it tasted so good.

Despite all of this attention that I am placing on food at the moment, I am usually a very utilitarian eater. Eating is something that I do to maintain my body. In my spare time. Often while driving or working on the computer.

I think I eat a healthy, fruit and vegetable diet, but I fear that the slippery slope of bread and cheese dominate my diet more than I care to admit, or notice. I am so busy that I often reach for fast and convenient. Eating 100% fresh, not prepared foods requires more preparation time. Washing, cutting, cooking. Making fresh dressings and salsas. Pouring off the taro water multiple times. The term Slow Food definitely applies.

Am I so unusual? Eating 100% locally grown has forced me to hold up a mirror to myself to see what I have been eating. What I do in my mind and what I do in reality are two different things. I went to the CDC’s Fruit and Veggies Matter website and entered in my age, sex and level of physical activity and it popped out the following recommendation:

2 cups of fruit and 2.5 cups of vegetables every day based on your age ( 45 ), sex ( female ), and level of physical activity
(30 to 60 minutes ).

5.5 cups of fruits and vegetables a day is actually a lot for me. It is pretty hard for me to achieve unless I maintain a tight focus on fruits and vegetables. Not toast and eggs for breakfast. Fruit. Not a sandwich with lettuce on it for lunch. A salad, roasted vegetables. Not cookies and chocolate (that one hurts) and kashi bars for snacks. Dried fruit, fresh fruit. A cup of tea.

Last night my husband made a birthday cake for my son. I was not even tempted. Not even the haupia ice cream was as interesting to me as maintaining this feeling that I have. Clean. Clear. Full of energy.

There is disciple involved in this endeavor. But I am a strange lover of self imposed disciple. Wherever there is discipline I am learning and growing.

Eat Locally Grown Day: Day 23 of 60 Days of Eating Locally Grown

admin — Mon, 27 Sep 2010 09:29:27 +0000

Eat Locally Grown Day: Day 23- My Experiments with Food Truth- 60 Days of Eating Locally Grown

Today was North Kohala Eat Locally Grown Day at our local restaurants and markets. I started the day the Hawi Farmers Market where I bought pickled beets from Lokahi Farms, dried bananas and dragon fruit from Jim Parker and honey from Sage Farms. I had a few hard boiled eggs and my locally grown green tea in the morning before heading to the market.

In addition to being North Kohala Eat Locally Grown Day, it is also my son Kanoe’s birthday. I interviewed him about how he felt about that.

I went to all of our participating restaurants and stores during the day and sampled the local specials. I had to cheat a little at some places because not all of the ingredients were 100% local, but were predominately locally grown or sourced ingredients.

I had dinner at Sushi Rock, where eight of us made up an “Eat Local Swarm”. Owner Peter Pomeranze placed a note to diners on the table that highlighted North Kohala Eat Locally Grown Day and explained about how Sushi Rock always sources locally grown and caught ingredients. I had the local goat cheese salad and the Bountiful Big Island special roll that featured local corn and pumpkin. The fish at Sushi Rock is always local. Someone else at our table ordered the “Men Who Stare at Goat Cheese” appetizer. A special treat was the locally grown wasabi- Hello! It was awesome! Being that we try to promote local farmers we wanted to know who grew it.. but Peter told us he is sworn to secrecy.