Sonia Tastes Hawaii

Off the Beaten Path - Hakalau Gulch

Needing to clear my brain after a couple of hours of doing research for a project, I got in the car to drive just a bit up the highway from where we live... decided to take the little Wailea-Hakalau road which starts just a couple of miles north.

Meandering through the village of Wailea I noticed this beautifully landscaped yard, nestled down below the road

Driving past the Hakalau Post Office I made it a point to stop at the top of the pali (steep slope or cliff) above Hakalau Gulch

Hakalau Gulch is the location of an old sugar mill that was destroyed during the tsunami of 1960.  The old ruins are still visible and have been incorporated into the now landscaped park-like area.

The bridge above is part of the Highway 19 Belt Road system that circles the island.  View towards the ocean from the little causeway that spans the Hakalau Stream.

View upstream from the causeway spanning Hakalau Stream

It's a peaceful and lovely location and a place where many of the people in the area go to picnic or surf.  The water beyond the sandbar is a bit too rough for swimming but inside the sandbar is a favorite place for kids to splash around.

Next time I drive over I will take more photos of the park and beach area, but today there were too many people enjoying a gorgeous day and I didn't want to intrude.

When you visit Hawai'i be sure to find the little off the beaten path roads and byways, and take your time...you never know what you're going to find.  \m/

 

 

 

 

 

A Breadfruit Kind of Day!

 

By all accounts, the Ho‘oulu ka ‘Ulu Festival held this past Saturday, September 24 at the Amy B.H Greenwell Ethnobotanical Garden in South Kona, was a resounding success. 

The Cooking Contest was one of the first events of the day, and ended up being quite exciting.  We had 29 different entries in the Appetizer, Soups/Salads/Side Dishes, Main Dish/Entrée and Desserts categories.  The rules of the contest called for original recipes featuring breadfruit as the main ingredient.  

The beautifully set tables also carried the theme with tablecloths printed in a bold ‘ulu pattern, displaying  everything from summer rolls, chowder, tamales, ‘ulu pound cake served with ‘ulu ice cream, even burgers and ‘ulu-corn beef patties as well as many other delicious dishes. 

The panel of five judges composed of celebrity chefs Mark Tsuchiyama of Hualalai Resort, Olelo pa‘a Ogawa of Glow Hawaii and Jacqueline Lau of Roy's Restaurants, food writer and cookbook author Sonia R. Martinez and KITV weekend anchor Pamela Young, had a challenging job of tasting and scoring each entry for best use of ‘ulu, taste, presentation, originality and the best use of healthy ingredients. 

Top winners in the competition were: 

Best of Show: Ann Sutherland of Kailua, Kona with her 'Ulu Tart, winning 2 nights Keauhou Beach Resort ($300 value) See photo and recipe below. 

Healthiest Choice: Kua O Ka La New Century Public Charter School and their culinary kumu Mariposa Blanco of Pahoa, Puna with their 'Ulu Tamales with Coleslaw & Salsa, winning 2 persons Hawaii Forest and Trail Zip Line ($300) See photo and recipe below. 

First Place Appetizer: Ann Sutherland of Kailua, Kona with her Ulu Summer Rolls, winning 2 persons Ocean Sports Snorkel ($250 value) 

First Place Soup/Salad/Side Dish: Nader ‘Nanoa’ Parsia of Kailua, Kona with his Ulu Salad winning 2 persons Fair Winds Cruises ($250 value) 

1^st Place Main Dish/Entrée: Kua O Ka La Charter School and their culinary kumu Mariposa Blanco of Pahoa, Puna with their Ulu Tamales with Coleslaw & Salsa, winning 2 persons Body Glove Cruises ($240 value) 

1^st Place Dessert: Ann Sutherland of Kailua, Kona with her Ulu Tart winning 2 nights at the Log Cabin B&B in Holualoa

 

Breadfruit Tart 

1 pie crust made with ground macadamia nuts and almonds prebaked in a 10 inch springform pan

2 cups ripe, cooked breadfruit

1 cup fresh coconut milk

1-1/4 cups milk

4 egg yolks

1/3 cup lehua honey

1 teaspoon vanilla

1-1/2 cups assorted sliced local fruit (*)

1/4 cup guava jelly

1/2 grated and toasted fresh coconut 

Parbake the pastry crust and set aside to cool.

Blend cooked breadfruit in food processor with coconut milk, milk, egg yolks, honey and vanilla.

Pour mixture into crust and bake for 25-30 minutes at 345 degrees F.

Cool.  Top the tart with spirals of fresh fruit.  Melt guava jelly and brush tart to glaze.  Sprinkle with the toasted coconut. 

NOTES: (*) Fruit used were Waimea strawberries, poha berries, kiwi, mango, starfruit and apple bananas.

To parbake is to partially bake a crust or dough and store in freezer for later use. 

YIELD: 10 servings

SOURCE: Chef Ann Sutherland of Home Tours, Hawai’i

 

 

‘Ulu Tamales 

3 large or 4 medium ‘ulu

1 cup coconut oil

Any veggies or meat you want to add for the filling (*) 

Have all of your ingredients in prep bowls ready to fill the tamales. 

Soak the corn husks and have ready; you can also use fresh corn husks, ti or banana leaves.  You will need raffia or cotton kitchen string to tie the tamale 'packages' before steaming them. 

Steam the ‘ulu and make into poi by pureeing while adding the coconut oil little by little to reach the consistency desired (best if not too sticky.  If too sticky you might need to add a bit more oil) 

When the ‘ulu poi is ready , take two leaves and place wide parts overlapping, start filling by spooning some of the poi, making a slight indentation in the poi.  Start adding whatever veggies, goat cheese and meat (if desired), not too full.  Wrap and tie.  

Steam them for 15 to 20 minutes if vegetarian.  If adding meat, steam for 25 minutes. 

NOTES: (*) Due to travel to the competition, we chose to make vegetarian tamales adding red onion, goat feta, beet greens, red and yellow bell peppers, tomatoes and sea salt. 

The presentation included a side of green and purple coleslaw dressed with coconut oil mayo and sea salt and dry salsa made with pineapple, tomatoes, cilantro, liliko’i, red onions and Hawaiian chile peppers. 

We cook only with 100% locally grown foods.  All of our ingredients are grown, produced or made in Hawai’i. 

Preparation time: About 2 hours 

YIELD: 15 servings

SOURCE: The culinary students of Kua O Ka La New Century Public Charter School and their kumu Mariposa Blanco

I will be sharing the recipes for some of the other dishes mentioned above as well as second and third place winners in following posts. 

The Bounty of Breadfruit

 
Breadfruit tree

Did you know that breadfruit was the innocent underlying cause for sailors of a British ship in the Pacific to rebel against their captain way back in 1789?

Do you remember the movie about Captain Bligh and the Mutiny on the Bounty?  Well...it wasn't just an exciting movie.  It really happened.   I won't go into the story here, since it is easy to check the facts, but almost 20 years earlier to the mutiny, Captain Bligh was in Tahiti where he and his crew discovered the wonders of breadfruit.  The mutiny occurred on a subsequent trip (1789) when he was commissioned by the British King to propagate and plant hundreds of breadfruit trees to then take to Jamaica.  We know how that venture ended...  Eventually, many years later, he was able to complete the mission and breadfruit was then planted in the Caribbean.

 
Medium ripe breadfruit

Today there is a movement to introduce the breadfruit (Artocarpus altilis) to the world at large and convert it into the food of the future.  Except for Pacific Islanders, a few islands in the Caribbean and Southeast Asia, breadfruit, or 'ulu, as its known in Hawai'i, is largely unknown or ignored, and yet, it is one of the most versatile fruit available today. 

 
Steamed and quartered breadfruit

There are many varieties of breadfruit trees.  Some produce completely round fruit; some are ovoid.  Some have seeds and some don't.  Some varieties are better for certain recipes than others.

 
Peeling steamed breadfruit

Breadfruit trees are very prolific, being able to produce as many as 200 fruit a season and in some places, like Hawai'i can produce two crops a year.  Very rich in gluten-free starches, it can be used as a vegetable or a fruit in appetizers, soups, salads, entrées and desserts.  It can be boiled, steamed, mashed, baked, roasted or fried.

 
Diced breadfruit

Any way you can think of using a potato and then some!  The breadfruit seems to absorb the flavors of other stronger tasting foods cooked with it better than a potato.

 
Pounding breadfruit for breadfruit poi or other dishes requiring mashed 'ulu

 

The Breadfruit Festival--Ho‘oulu ka ‘Ulu (Revitalizing the Breadfruit)--to be held on Saturday, September 24, 2011, 9 am - 3 pm, at the Amy B.H Greenwell Ethnobotanical Garden in Captain Cook (South Kona on the Island of Hawai'i)--celebrates the rich culture of ‘ulu in Hawai‘i and the Pacific. Activities include a cooking contest, chef demonstrations, cultural activities, tree sales (pre-order for a great price), art shows, workshops, and a breadfruit inspired locally sourced luncheon

Cooking Contest entry forms and Breadfruit Festival information can be found www.breadfruit.info.  Questions about the Cooking Contest can be directed to Sonia R. Martinez cubanwahine@hawaii.rr.com.

 

 

Big Island Roads and Byways.... a zebra?

You never know what you're going to encounter when you travel around our island...

Earlier this year we were returning from the Avocado Festival at the Amy B. H. Greenwell Ethnobotanical Gardens in Captain Cook, which is on the southern part of the West side (Kona side) or our island; as I was driving along, my peripheral vision caught a glimpse of a zebra as we were zipping right along....

Whoa.... a zebra?  By the time it registered, we had driven a few yards pass the place and I decided to find the first drive to make a turn and go back...

 

Sure enough, there was a real, live Zebra behind a fenced-in area right by the road!

The zebra and a little burro were companiably eating their supper and completely ignored us.

 

Just on the other side of the same pen, there were some strange looking cattle I later learned were originally from Africa and called Watusi.  Doing an internet search I learned they were actually called Ankole-Watusi and the most remarkable thing about them are the long horns and that they can live on very limited amounts of food and water.

 

In the same pen with the Watusi were a couple of American Bison or American buffalo...

A couple of months later, I found myself having to go back to the gardens in Captain Cook for a meeting and made it a point to stop again on my retutn home, but this time I wanted to find out more about them and how they had all ended in this sparcely populated area of the Big Island.

I turned makai (towards the ocean) of 'Aina Lani Road which forms a corner by the fenced in pasture where these definitely not Hawaiian natives live.  At the first (and only) house I found a roadside stand with labeled and bagged coffee being sold as well as an assortment of fruit and avocadoes.... and met Miss Sudy.

Miss Sudy is a very warm and welcoming woman who had a Hawaiian grandmother, but was born and raised in Alabama and speaks with a soft Southern lilt.  She married her husband Leonard Jose who is a 5th generation Portuguese born in Hawaii.  Leonard brought Miss Sudy back to Hawaii with him and they found the property where they settled, which is a very nice place with views of a mountain on one side and views of the ocean on the other.  Here they grow coffee, have a few fruit trees and Leonard has his 'pets'.

Besides Leonard's 'pets', Miss Sudy has her own pets; several friendly pigs, what looked like dozens and dozens of chickens and roosters, and a peacock who roam all over her yard and didn't seem to bother her flower beds and plantings around the house.

If you find yourself driving on Hwy 11 between Ka'u and South Kona, be sure to stop and visit with Leonard's 'pets' and then mosey on down 'Aina Lani (Heavenly Land) Road to buy some of Miss Sudy's 100% Kona Coffee....Of course, I chose the Zebra Blend, which has both medium and dark roasted beans....

 

There are signs on the fence advising lookers to not feed them, as they need special food.  Please heed them.  The sales of coffee and fruit from their land goes towards purchasing the special feed the 'pets' need to eat. 

Darn it, I REALLY love this island!

 

 

My Birthday Adventure continues....

 
Waipi'o Valley, or the Valley of Kings as it is also known, because the Hawaiian men destined to become kings were brought to be raised there, and also because many of the ali'i (royals) are buried along the edges of the valley, is about a mile wide and about 5 to 6 miles deep (depending on whom you ask!) and rimmed with pali (cliffs) that are about 2000 feet high.

The floor of the valley itself is hard to reach.  The road going down into the valley is VERY steep and you need 4-wheel drive or else, walk it.  But our adventure didn't take us down into the valley.  We were up around the eastern rims of the mountains bordering the valley.  Anthony took me on a tour of the valley and beach when I first visited him here in summer of 93.  The trip down is not so bad, but coming back up you can't even see the road beneath your vehicle....THAT was scary!

I have never been on an ATV in my life but was game to try.  We started out with the orientation and testing the machines.  Helmets were passed around and everyone got ready to go.

 
Unfortunately, when I was just starting out I realized my arms were not strong enough to hold that thing on the paths....particularly since the paths are muddy, rocky, uneven, steep (both up and down) in many places, so I settled to ride in the 4 seater with one of the guides....which turned out to be a boon, because Les is a foodie and his 'day job' is working as a chef at the Mauna Lani Resort Hotel in South Kohala!

 

The paths mauka (up mountain) took us through deliciously fresh smelling eucalyptus forests.  We saw quite a few bright red-orange amaryllis growing wild through the forest as well as some white ginger (mariposas) starting to bloom here and there.

 
Lots of mudholes....that is Anthony riding in front of us as the rest of the riders snake up hill.  There were 13 of us plus 3 guides.

At the first stopping place we had to go down some stone steps holding on to a thick rope and then walk across a make-shift wood plank that crossed a stream....or I should say the stream passed over it, as we sloshed through water to go across.  The tour company has a small platform open-deck lanai built on the far side with a picnic table and benches built along the sides.

 
The view is gorgeous.  A waterfall coming down from the upper parts of the Kohala Mountains falls into a pond deep enough for swimming.  The waters from the waterfall and stream end up down in Waipio Valley, which is preserved by the Bishop Estate and Kamehameha Trust as taro farmlands.  According to the old stories, this swimming hole was used by King Kamehameha the First as his personal bathing spot.  It was believed that when the king bathed in the pond the waters going down into the valley contained the king's mana which would cast blessings to the people below and help the taro crops grow.

 
Some in the group decided to go swimming.  Although I wore my bathing suit under my clothing I opted to not go in the 72 degree water!  A snack and drinks were shared and after a while, we returned to where the vehicles were and walked down just a few feet to a second vantage view.

This was yet another waterfall and secluded swimming pond below.  You could see the area with the smaller waterfall above where we had just been from here.  This one was not as easy to get to as the first one and no one tried.

 

Returning to the vehicles, we then made our way down to a place with stunning views of Hi'ilawe Falls, the tallest of all our island's waterfalls....  

The valley below with all the little taro farms looked like a patchquilt in shades of greens and browns.  Unfortunately, the angle of the sun at this time of day was not friendly to my camera to take many photos of the valley floor.

 

One of Anthony at the rim above the valley

 

Down in the valley.....you can see some of the little taro farms.  At one time thousands of people lived in the valley.  Now barely 10 families live there, some fishing and some raising wetland taro.

 

Ready to head makai (down or towards the sea) - in Hawai'i directions to anywhere are given by telling you if the location is mauka (up mountain) or makai (towards the sea) of any road....beats having to say if you're going North (or South) it will be on your left (or right)....

 

Anthony revving up!

 

Going down we saw plenty of evidence of wild pigs where they had been rutting and eating vegetation.  Les, my driver guide and new chef friend told me he hunts for wild pigs in all these forests.

 

Our trail took us by sections of the old sugar cane flume and ditch systems that were used in 'olden days' to send the cut cane down from the mountain slopes to the mills below.  The system was started in the North Kohala area and called the Kohala Ditch.  Parts of this system is still in use by farmers between this area and down towards Hilo.

Below is Les closing the last gate after everyone has gone through.  Tour takes approximately 3 and half hours and it was all fun.  The guides are all quite knowledgeable and 'talk plenty story' letting everyone know the history and culture behind all they are experiencing. 
   

Les has a small farm down in the valley and extended an invitation to visit it sometime in July or early August.  He grows taro and ho'io (fiddlehead ferns).  Can't wait for that visit!

This was one huge, fantastic, fabulous adventure and never in a million years would I have guessed what that devious son of mine had planned.

To learn more about Waipi'o Valley click HERE

 

My Birthday Adventure

A couple of weeks ago, my son placed a note on the big calendar we keep on the office door - the day June 19 was X'd and the note said "Don't make plans" and there was a note attached with a list of clothing I was supposed to wear; old jeans, short sleeve T, tennis/walking shoes, socks, jacket and "my birthday present".  Bathing suit under clothing optional.  Don't wear anything that you don't want ruined.  Be ready to leave house by 10:30 am!!!.  When I asked him what was going on, he said I would find out when the time came. 

 

When I shared the above with friends on FB, the first thing one said was that I was probably going 'ziplining'....hooboy!  That would be something to see me flying like Mary Martin!

To my questions about his plans, he would say things like 'about an hour away'....'just be ready and all is taken care of''...'you'll find out when the time comes'... He can be quite exasperating!

Unfortunately, on the 19th I woke up with my head spinning. It had been a long time since this had happened and couldn't imagine why now.  I took one of the dizzy pills that were Rx'd for dizzy spells and waited for it to kick in. The spinning settled down but was still a bit queasy.  At this time, I still didn't know what exciting activity Anthony had planned.  I asked him if it was something we could postpone if the dizziness didn't go away and he said, possibly....  Thankfully, by 10 am I was feeling much better and up to whatever the day was to bring.  He gave me my "birthday present"; a small package done up in a ti leaf with raffia ties....it was a tube of 'Chapstick'...but not just any Chapstick...It was a "Limited Edition Design" Chapstick...only the best for his mom!

 

With Anthony, I should realize by now that he can be very close-mouthed and to always expect the unexpected.  I was to carry the 'present' with me and use it 'when the time came'.  As the day progressed, I realized he had given everything a lot of thought and had it all planned out. 

As we left our drive and drove down the road to the the junction to Hwy 19 I asked which way and he said 'North by Northwest'....so I turned left.  About 20 miles later he said 'We don't have to be there until 1 pm, so let's stop somewhere to eat a bite'....Well, he didn't want to stop at Tex so we drove into Honoka'a expecting to find one of the little eating places open.... NOT.  It was Sunday and only Tex, on the Highway or Blaine's, in town, were open.  Since we were in town, Blaine's it was (for those not familiar with them, Blaine's is a small chain of 'drive-in' eateries)....I can tell you that it was not my idea of a special Bday lunch, but what the hay....I roll with the punches...!  (Later I found out that the original plans had been for a Saturday and we were supposed to stop at our friends' 50's Cafe in Laupahoehoe and Kendra was to have a bday pie ready for me....but Anthony changed the plans for Sunday when he realized we would be attending funeral services for a family friend on Saturday)

While our order was being prepared I ran across the street to the service station to use the restroom....Blaine's was out of order.  At the service station when I asked for the key to the restroom, I noticed a small bunch of beautiful tiny orchids in greyish green and commented on how pretty they were.  The attendant let me smell them - just like vanilla - and put them back where she had them.  When I returned the key, she said 'Here Auntie, these are for you' and handed me the flowers!  Of course I thanked and her and when I told her it was my bday, she came around the counter, hugged me and said 'Hau'oli la Hanau, Auntie!"

 

After eating our lunch, Anthony suggested we drive over to Waipio Valley Lookout, since it was still early....as we neared the intersection by the Malama store he asked if I could stop for a second.  So in the parking lot we go and he goes in the store...and comes out 10 minutes later with a small bag and a see through clamshell with a gorgeous orchid lei.  Yes, he had called a week ahead and ordered a special one called 'butterfly lei'.  At first he requested one made with the rolled white ginger lilies, which are called 'mariposas' in Spanish (butterflies), but the white gingers are not blooming very profusely at the moment, so the salesperson on the phone suggested this one:

 

On to Waipio Lookout.  I asked if he wanted to go through the regular road (the upper road) or the one through the little village of Kukuihaele (the lower road).  He asked me all innocent like 'What's in Kuluihaele?" I reminded him about the gift shop gallery and ice cream...so he said let's take the upper road and maybe come back through the village later....

 

At Waipio, of course we had to stop for photo ops....  There was a gorgeous flame orange bouganvillea exhuberantly growing all over the place! 

 

Coming back through Kukuihaele we had to stop a couple of times to take photos of a gorgeous pin cushion protea bush by the side of the road

 

and also to take pics of an amazing jackfruit tree with fruit growing all the way down the trunk to the ground! 

 

We stop at the gallery and Anthony pretends to be looking around and then goes to the ice cream chest.  We chose our flavors and go to pay at front and the very nice gentleman tending the store asks us where are we visiting from and we told him we're locals and that it was my birthday and we were just touring around....so I was given a flexible rubber magnet with a photo of Waipio Valley as a present....and it was then that Anthony told him....'and we have a booking for a tour of the rim'.

 

My birthday surprise is an ATV tour of Waipio Valley Rim! 

WoooooooooHooooooo!

Follow me as we continue to be tourists in our own backyard!

 

 

Playing tourists in our own backyard...

My son Anthony, our friends Jenn and Chris and I decided to play tourists this past Sunday and explore the wonders of our island home. 

We packed a picnic lunch and made our way to our destination of the Hawai'i National Volcanoes Park, but we made a small stop in Hilo first to admire the statue of King Kamehameha the First.  The statue stands in Wailoa Park in Hilo. 

 

The day before had been King Kamehameha Day and as is the custom on this date every year, the statue is decorated with long flowing flower lei that often trail the ground. 

The day was gorgeous and as we neared the park there were rumblings of "I'm hungry, let's eat first", so we stayed on the road and went on to our favorite picnic spot at Kipuka Puaulu (Bird Park) on Mauna Loa Road.

 

The park was busy, but we found a nice secluded place for ourselves and took out our spread.  Jenn and Chris made the sushi you see in the photos.  They were ono!

 

Afterwards we walked around a bit to take some photos.

 

A small koa tree coming up above a little strip of old lava....from little seedlings.....

 
.......a mighty koa will grow.......A larger koa tree in bloom.

 

Even old dead trees can be beautiful.

 

This bit of ancient lava looks like a bunch of old ropes... 
A lovely old ohia tree full of lehua blossoms. 

 

Jenn and Chris at the Jaggar Museum on the edge of the Kialuea Caldera.  You can see Halema'uma'u Crater smoking in the background.

 

It can't be seen from where we stood, but the smoke and steam is coming from a lake of lava that has opened up on the floor of the Halema'uma'u Crater

We later drove over to the Old Chain of Craters Road and while Jenn and Chris walked the Devastation Trail and Anthony sat in the car reading, I took a little stroll in the area surrounded the parking area...both of us have walked the trail before.

A path through the ancient forest....

 

Meeting a 'stranger' in the path....

 

An old mossy log....

 

A rest stop in the forest....

 

.............and as I walked back to the parking area, the 'stranger' returned bringing his mate....they are actually Kadji Pheasants.  The male got braver each time he came by and his mate followed his lead.

 

A most beautiful day in our beautiful island!

 

The 3rd Annual Ka'u Coffee Festival - Pahala, Hawai'i - 5/14-15/11

 

 

I was invited to participate as a judge in the cooking contest held this past Saturday as part of the Ka'u Coffee festivities in Pahala.

 

 

Most people have heard of Kona coffee....and except for the last few years, Ka'u coffee was not a major contender in the world of coffee.  All that has been changing! 

 

 

 

Ka'u, one of the largest ahupuaʻa (regions) of the Big Island of Hawai'i was known mostly for its vast dessert in the drier areas and sugar cane in the more fertile areas.  All that changed when sugar cane was no longer a viable product and farmers in the area had to reinvent themselves to be able to support their families. Many turned to coffee growing and today, just barely 11 years after the first major plantings, Ka'u coffees have come into their own, placing within the top 10 in competitions and being recognized as serious contenders in the coffee world.  Just recently in Houston, the Kailiawa Farm, one of the coffee growers in this southermost region of the island won the 'Coffee of the Year' award in the 2011 Specialty Coffee Association of Americaʻs (SCAA) annual international cupping competition with over 120 specialty coffee entries from 17 different coffee growing countries. 

 

Lots of delicious food and coffee vendors; games, music and entertainment headlined by Cyril Pahinui; hula, pageantry, a cooking contest; coffee cuppings, tours of coffee farms and the 'Ka'u Coffee College', which will be open to the public on Sunday.

 
I was bowled over by the many entries in both the sweet and savory categories of the food.  All entries were required to use coffee and encouraged to use as many other local products as possible.

 
Each first place winner took home $100.  Second & thrid places received prizes of gift certificates.  The highest scoring recipe, Strawberry Mocha Trifle entered by Crystal McIntosh, won the Best Taste of Ka'u with a cash prize of $250!  Find the recipe and photo below.

Contest entry categories:

 Dessert I: Cakes, cookies, and pies
Dessert II: Drinks, candies, other desserts
Main course/Entrée

 Smoke meat, pupu/appetizers, savory snacks
 
Contest entry divisions:

 Professional (working chefs, culinary teachers or post-secondary students of the culinary arts)
Amateur (adults who simply enjoy cooking at home and cook for their own enjoyment and for the satisfaction of their family and friends)
Student (High School and Middle School students who enjoy cooking for their own enjoyment and for the satisfaction of their family and friends)

 

Strawberry Mocha Trifle

Brownies:

1 cup butter, melted

2 c. sugar

4 eggs

2 tsp vanilla

2/3 c. cocoa

1 1/3 c. flour

1 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 c. white chocolate chips

Ka’u macadamia nuts chopped

½ tsp baking poweder

½ tsp. salt

 1 c. Ka’u coffee

Hershey’s syrup

1 pint whipping cream

6 Tbs. sugar

2 tsp vanilla 

5 c. strawberries soaked in 2 c. melted strawberry jam 

Garnishes:

1 Ka’u Strawberry

 2 chocolate leaves (1/4 c. semisweet chocolate chips melted + 2 Ka’u lemon leaves, clean)

Heat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.  Grease 13X9 pan.  Stire butter and sugar until blended. Beat in eggs, then vanilla, until well blended.  Stir in cocoa, mixing well.  Sift flour, baking powder & salt into small bowls; stir together.  Add flour mixture to chocolate batter, mixing until smooth.  Sir in semi-sweet & white chocolate chips.  Pour into prepared pan. Sprinkle with nuts. Bake 25-30 minutes or until firm.  Cool, then cut into 1 inch cubes.  Place half of brownie cubes on bottom of large glass bowl.  Bruch with coffee, then drizzle with Hershy’s syrup.  Layer ½ of strawberries using slotted spoon.  Then ½ of whipped cream.  Repeat layers,  garnish with strawberry & chocolate leaves.

Whipped Cream – beat whipping cream & sugar in chilled bowl until stiff, add vanilla in last minute of beating.

Chocolate leaves – brush melted chocolate onto 1 side of clean leaves until covered.  Freeze overnight or until firm. Peel off lemon leaves.

Congratulations to the organizers of the festival and all of the participants for a well-run and fun event!  Mahalo nui for inviting me to be a part of it!

I had so many photos and am sorry I had to narrow them to just the above.....!

 

 

 

A Sunday Picnic at the Pana'ewa Zoo - Hilo

I don't think we have been to the Hilo Zoo as many times in the past as we did this past week.  Well, yes... I have, but not so many visits so close together.

My last post mentioned the Amorphophallus Titanum or corpse flower was getting ready to bloom.  It has made the local paper three different times in the last couple of weeks.  We went to see it the first time when it first showed up in the paper, Saturday, April 16th.  You can read my post by clicking HERE

We went back on Tuesday 19th, Friday 22nd and Saturday 23rd, around 1 pm.  At that time, it was still fairly tight, so we thought we would come back on Sunday for a picnic with friends.....Turns out it opened Saturday late afternoon!

 
You can see the little patch at the base where the blossom was pollinated with pollen sent from another garden on the mainland...

By the time we went back on Easter Sunday about 1 pm, it had already started to close!  But I took more photos.  After all, this is my second time to see one - the other was a slightly different, with the bloom lower to the ground, at the Fairchild Botanical Gardens in Miami - and I have no idea if I'll ever see another again.

Our friends Brenda and Kevan joined us for a picnic at the zoo. 

We found a nice table in the shade and had a lovely time.  We spent three hours eating, talking and taking little trips around the copse of trees that separated us from the famous blooming flower.

 
Our table, set and waiting for the others to come back from visiting the bloom.

 
Lovely company, Brenda and Kevan

 
My son Anthony and I

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Homemade apple chutney and chicken cooked in the clay pot with soy sauce, Rangpur lime juice, Meyer lemon juice, grated fresh ginger and a touch of sesame oil. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The chicken and guacamole - Brenda had made homemade chips to serve with it

 
Cantaloupe and fresh greens salad

 
The homemade chips!  They were ONO!

 
Almost forgot the soup!  I had played with a recipe for sweet potato bisque and came up with my version using our delicious Okinawan purple sweet potatoes.  Don't let the color turn you off, it was very delicious!

Purple Sweet Potato Bisque

1 Tablespoon butter

1 medium onion, diced

3 cloves garlic, diced

1 knob (about an inch) grated ginger

5 large purple sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed

2 cups vegetable both

1 cup coconut milk

1 Tablespoon Mae Poly Sweet Chilli Sauce (*)

A dribble of maple syrup or to taste

Boil the peeled and cubed sweet potatoes until done.

Melt the butter in a saucepan and saute the onion and garlic until onion is trnaslucent but garlic doesn't brown.  Add the grated ginger and some of the broth.  Place in blender with part of the sweet potatoes.  Pour back into saucepan and continue processing the potatoes in batches with some of the broth until all the potatoes are done.  Pour back into saucepan.

Add the rest of the broth and then the coconut milk.  Add the chilli sauce and the syrup.  Taste and adjust as needed. 

Reheat if needed. 

I poured it hot into a thermus to tranport for our picnic. 

When we left the zoo at 4 pm, we left the flower arrangement we had used as our table centerpiece under the memorial plaque for our friend and neighbor, Jean Curtis, who loved the zoo as much as if it had been her child.

People were still streaming in to look at the bloom as the gates were literally being closed!

We ran by again today since we had some errands to run in town and noticed the ruffled edges of the petals were already drying up.

We all had a great relaxed time and hope to repeat our picnic in the zoo again in the near future!

If you haven't visited the Hilo zoo, please do.  It is such a lovely little gem.  I still have more photos to share soon....

 (*) Any hot sauce will do - we just like this brand.



A quick little trip to the Zoo

The Pana'ewa Zoo in Hilo is the only one in the United States located in a rain forest.  The grounds are meticulously landscaped and kept with all sorts of beautiful tropical plants and flowers.

As we were driving into Hilo for errands on Saturday, my son was reading the day's newspaper and right on the first page was a very interesting article with photo by Peter Sur, a very talented young journalist who has been with the paper quite a few years.  The article was about one of the residents of the zoo; the 54-inch bud of an Amorphophallus titanum or Titan arum plant aka the Corpse Flower (for its terrible stench of rotten carcass when the bloom opens).

We decided to run by the zoo first and take a look, then run our errands.

 
While we were standing in front of the shade house where the plant lives, and while talking with another visitor, we met Peter Sur who is coming by every day to check and see if it has opened yet.

 
Taking the stroll through he beautiful gardens I had to stop and take photos of plants and flowers and interesting residents.  Above, our own little Giverny Lily Pond

 
Mac has a large vocabulary and kept saying "Aloha" and "How are you?"

 A baby pineapple growing by one of the walkways

 
Memorial tile in honor of our friend and next door neighbor Jean Curtis who died two years ago.  Jean was very involved with the Pana'ewa Zoo and besides being a docent for many years, she also developed the training manual for new docent and also was instrumental in bringing Namaste', our resident white bengal tiger, to the zoo....

 
During our visit, Namaste' was sleeping peacefully under a big clump of bamboo in his 'territory' - which is a very large enclosed pen with a pond where he can cool off when he wants to.  Since I couldn't take a good picture of him this trip, I settled for the Memorial Mural.

 
A proud llama

 

 

 
King of the Hill

 
A Hawaiian Hawk aka 'Io in Hawaiian

Thai ginger lilies - not sure of the variety name

We will be going into Hilo tomorrow, so we will be taking another quick little zoo run to check on the bloom ourselves.  I also have more photos of blooms and residents of the zoo to share!

BTW, the zoo is open everyday* from 9 am to 4 pm.  If visiting, you might want to time it to take in Namaste's feeding time - 3:30 pm daily and the Petting Zoo is open only on Saturdays from 1:30 to 2:30 pm

Admission to the Pana'ewa Rainforest Zoo is free

*Except Christmas and New Year's Days