Sonia Tastes Hawaii

Traipsing through a new Farmer's Market

We had read not long ago that a new farmer's market had opened in Hilo but had not been able to visit it until this past Saturday.

The Kino'ole Farmers Market is open on Saturdays from 7 AM to Noon at the Kino'ole Shopping Plaza (old Sure Save market location) at 1990 Kinoole Street, and the corner of Kahaopea Street.

Photo: Bok Choy - Chinese Cabbage

Featuring only 100% Hawaii grown produce and products, grown or made by the actual farm or seller, it is a lively and colorful, although still small, market sponsored by the Hawaii Farm Bureau Federation.

One major convenience is that since it is set in an area of the plaza's parking lot, there is ample parking space all around the cluster of individual seller booths and tents.

Photo: Dwight Sato demonstrating how to dry steamed fresh tea leaves in a wok.

Free cooking demonstrations are presented each week with convenient benches for attendees to sit while watching. 

This past Saturday, Dwight Sato, agricultural extension agent from the University of Hawaii College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources, with an electric steamer, a wok, a piece of muslin cloth, a laundry scrubbing board, a basket and an electric pot in which to heat the water, demonstrated how easy it is to steam and dry fresh tea leaves to make small amounts of brewed tea from your own little bushes growing in the garden.

Photo: Rambutan

The demonstration scheduled for September 29th at 9 AM will be by the Tamaka Farm featuring their aquaculture grown Chinese catfish.  I was requested to do a small demo for Saturday, October 6th, and plan to make a grilled Japanese eggplant salad served with herbed Big Island chevre (creamy fresh goat cheese).

Photo: Chayote aka Mirliton

 

The booths ran the gamut from fresh veggies and fruit to potted plants, deliciously fresh Okinawan donuts and a variety of value added food products.

Photo: Calamansi or calamandin - small sour Philippino lemons

In this last category we ran into our old friends Aaron and Vinel Sugino and their ono Blue Taro label cookies, chips and snacks from Hakalau

 

Photo: Aaron Sugino of Blue Talo Label

PK Snacks also from Hakalua was there selling a wonderful array of lavosh, pies, cookies, macnut brownies, their own honey and assortment of fruit butter spreads.

Orchids and papayas made a statement in the booth from the Volcano Isle Fruit Company from Kapoho; potted herbs and fruit plants from the Moongarden Farms from Mountain View and avos, chayote, limes, rambutan and strickingly beautiful Hilo Rainbow lemons from the OK Farms located almost right in Hilo by Rainbow Falls.

Photo: Hilo Rainbow Lemons from the OK Farms in Hilo

Vinel Sugino was passing around samples of cooked Aremo, a small Japanese taro being sold by another vendor.  Of course I bought some and prepared them at home that same evening.

Photo: Aremo - small Japanese Taro

Did I forget to mention that each vendor supplies door prizes which are given away throughout the morning to lucky attendees who take time to fill out little entry forms?

Photo: Andagi - delicious, fresh deep fried Okinawan Donuts

Visit the above and several other sellers, attend the demonstrations and win prizes at the Kino'ole "Hawaii Grown" Farmers Market every Saturday morning from 7 to noon.

Photo: Buttery Avocadoes

Whatever you buy here will be fresh from the farm and will not have accumulated more travel miles than you!

Photo: Small Island grown sweet pumpkins

If interested in setting up a booth, please contact Rusty at 938-4545 or through dperry@papayas.net

Photo: Veggie, herb and fruit tree vendor Moongarden Farms

(c) Sonia R. Martinez

Labor Day Picnic at Kalopa Park

This past Monday, Labor Day, we went on a little picnic to Kalopa Native Forest State Park  located about 20 miles north of us . 

Kalopa is a beautiful 615 acres of temperate forest at about 2000 ft elevation at the lowest part and 2575 at the highest....and located 3 miles mauka (up mountain) from Highway 19, (the Beltline road that goes around our island) and just about 4 miles south of Honoka'a.

Although there is a sign at the bottom of the road up to the park, not many visitors (tourists) seem to come up to the park....mostly locals.  There are several log cabins that can be rented, a camping site and ample picnic grounds.  It is always cool and you can see and hear quite a few birds....and even see pheasants running around the grounds. 

Photo: At the entrance....taken a bit too fast as there was a vehicle coming out of the park and our car was blocking the way ;-)

Since this was an impromptu plan, we packed a very simple picnic and of course, my camera...  Pimento cheese spread for sandwiches which we made there, hardboiled eggs, pineapple rings ( yes, canned believe it or not, from our emergency closet stash, which we rotate often) and a huge fresh mango for dessert which Anthony expertly cut into three portions.

Anthony & Becky at our picnic site

Photo below: Near our picnic site

After our lunch I took a stroll to explore a  neaby trail where I found a beautiful patch of fern and what looks like a small type of magnolia tree.  Although most plants have signage, I could not find what this pretty little tree was.  The growth pattern, texture and shape of the leaves look like magnolia. 

The tender budding leaves are pink and green.  They were very beautiful.

The park is part of a nature preserve and several native species can be found.  You can find a couple of hiking trails, one longer and one shorter.  The shorter loop trail is an easy 0.7 mile stretch through densely tree canopied areas.

 

Above - Kahili Ginger Bloom - so named because it resembles the yellow feather kahili standards used during the processions of Hawaii ali'i (royalty)

Above- Miniature Hibiscus - the open flower is no bigger than a silver dollar in diameter!

Above - Looking up through palm tree canopy

 

Above - Delicate looking Keo Keo (white-white) hibiscus.  This is also a small variety.

Above - Hapu'u  or Hawaiian Tree Fern - Below - unfurled tree fern frond. 

The tender unfurled tree fern fronds are edible!

Above - Single petal red hibiscus

Above - small cluster of terrestrial orchids

Above - as I returned from my little walk, Anthony & Becky were still talking!

Above- Sonia....exhausted after the hike...!

Above - on the way out to the parking lot, Anthony spotted monstera fruit up high on a tree.  I will be writing about Monstera Fruit soon, as I will be experimenting with recipes.

On the way back home after our picnic,  we spotted a little group of guava trees, loaded with ripe fruit and near enough to the road for easy pickings...so I did a U turn, went back closer to the place and parked on a grassy slope just off the road....we had a couple of plastic bags in the car so we loaded them up with all we could get.  I used the guava to make marmalade.  More about this and recipe later!

"Ratatouille" Pie - for the real men who claim they don't eat quiche

I love making quiche.  You can use any leftovers or fresh ingredients and come up with an easy and complete meal in one dish.  Serve with salad and a piece of fruit and you have covered the recommended daily portions of the five food groups in a couple of easy steps.

We had some (fresh) vegetables leftover from the ingredients we got at the Farmer's Market last week to make the Grilled Ratatouille Salad and I decided to saute them and use them as a quiche (or pie, take your pick) filling.

Photo - Sauteeing the veggies

I also had about 3/4 cup of roasted tomato sauce leftover in the fridge from
another meal and decided to add it to the veggies in the quiche/pie. It was really quite good.

2 9 inch deep pie shells or your favorite pie dough recipe
1 Tablespoon rough mustard
1/2 cup shredded medium sharp cheddar
A couple of drizzles of the garlic infused olive oil
1 medium white onion, chopped
1 zucchini, sliced
1 crooked neck yellow squash, sliced
1 eggplant, peeled and chopped in 1/4 inch pieces
1 Roma tomato chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
3/4 cup roasted tomato sauce
1 small bunch of basil leaves chiffonade (*)
4 eggs, beaten
1 cup milk
Salt & freshly ground pepper to taste
Freshly grated Parmeggiano-Reggiano cheese

Preheat oven to 350o F

Since we had a couple of deep pie shells in our 'emergency freezer stash', I decided to use them instead of making my own this time.

'Paint' the bottom and sides of the pie shells with the mustard and place in oven for about 8 minutes while the oven is heating up. Take out and let them cool while finishing prepping the veggies.

Photo - Filling  being added to the one in forefront - Shredded cheese on the bottom of the second one.

The sliced zucchini and yellow squash can be halved if some of the pieces are too big.

Heat the garlic infused olive oil in a large skillet and add the onions, cook just enough to start looking soft and add all the other veggies. When cooked but not too soft, add the roasted tomato sauce and mix well.

Place both pie shells on a foil covered jelly-roll pan, in case of oven spills.

Photo - Just out of the oven!

Cover bottom of each pie shell with 1/4 cup of the shredded cheddar and add the cooked veggies on top. Sprinkle the chiffonade of basil over all.

Add the milk to the beaten eggs and season with salt and pepper to taste. Pour over the veggies in the pie shells. Sprinkle the freshly grated Parmeggiano-Reggiano over the veggies and egg custard.

Bake for about 20-25 minutes or until puffy and golden. Sit for a while to cool and set a bit, then cut in slices.

Photo - Yum!

We ate part of one for dinner that evening and the rest for lunch the next day when our friend Becky came over.

I waited for the other pie to cool completely, wrapped it tight with foil and placed in a large freezer baggie and stored in freezer for a later meal.

(*) A chiffonade of greens is actually any fresh greens that have been cut in thin ribbons.

To make a chiffonade, take a handful of any type green leaves; basil, lettuce, cabbage, spinach, etc. and loosely wad up in your hand over a cutting board.  With a very sharp knife and making rocking motions, cut across the wad of greens to make thin slices to form the ribbons - (From Notes on page 126 in 'Tropical Taste" cookbook by Sonia Martinez)

YIELD: 6 portions
SOURCE: Sonia's Kitchen