Sonia Tastes Hawaii

Tasting Cuban in Hawai'i

The e-mailed invitation subject line said simply: Cuban!

When I opened it I was surprised to see that friends Fran & Jim were to host a Cuban dinner party and requested the presence of several of their friends for last evening, Saturday, August 24th at their home.  Included in the invitation was a list of courses for which we could sign up; I am just filling in the names of the dishes brought last evening and sharing some recipe sites (*)

For easier viewing you can click on each photo collage to make them larger 

Appetizer- Tostones - double fried smashed plantain chips (by the time I thought to take a pic of the tostones they were almost all gone! Fran served them with a small bowl of the mojo (moe-ho) sauce for dipping.

Appetizer- Picadillo Empanadas

For a bit there we had an assembly line going.  While a batch was being put together the previous batch was being fried. 

Salad- (we had two salads which were combined on one plate: lettuce, carrots, purple onions, avocado slices, fresh pineapple chunks dressed with a citrusy dressing - the whole thing was deliciously refreshing!)

Starch- Moros y Cristianos (rice and black beans cooked together)
Entree- Mojo (moe-ho) marinated Pork Roast

Entree- Caribbean Coconut Chicken 

Side dish- Platanos en Tentacion

Side dish- Fresh green beans lightly sautéed in olive oil with fresh garlic, sea salt and fresh cracked black pepper 

Desserts- Flan, Guava Shells poached in simple syrup, filled with a fluffy cream cheese swirl and a huge bowl of fresh mango.  Fran surprised me with the guava shells in syrup.  Traditionally they are served with bits of cream cheese, but Fran, being the artful foodie that she is, fluffed the cream cheese and filled the shells in a fancy swirl...

I made the flan but it was not my best - I used a ring mold for a double recipe of the mix and it was hard to gauge the timing in the oven.  I cooked it just a tad too long, although the taste was still good it wasn't my usual silky smooth flan.  I took the photo of my dessert plate before the fresh mango was added.  The combination of the three desserts was wonderful!

What was really fun and interesting was that none of the friends, except for us, were familiar with Cuban food!

As the date neared I received e-mails and phone calls from some of the others asking for ideas and advice, so I shared some links to Cuban recipe sites...I must say, for a bunch of non-Cubans the food was absolutely spectacular!

....and a good time was had by all!

(*) Some of the links I provide above are for actual recipes I have either shared in the past or made.  Some are just to give an idea of what the dish is about.

 

 

A 'mushrooming' we go...the Slow Food Hawai'i way...

 

...not that we members of the Slow Food Hawai'i Convivium are lazy or anything but you just don't think 'mushrooming' in the wild when you think Hawai'i, although there are edible mushrooms to be found on the island.

(Click on photos to see them larger)

Yesterday morning, 26 members and guests of Slow Food Hawai'i and one member of Slow Food Maui who flew over early in the morning, attended a "Tour and Taste" event at the Hamakua Heritage Mushroom Farm in Laupahoehoe.

In traditional mushroom farms, the mushrooms are grown in caves or dark rooms, in bins filled with soil, compost and fertilizers or manure.  These are usually button or portobello varieties.  At the Hamakua Mushroom Farm, they grow specialty mushrooms using a Japanese cultivation method in brightly lighted and sterile rooms. The mushrooms grow in plastic bottles filled with a mixture of saw dust, wheat bran and ground up corn cobs. This growing medium is recycled after the mushrooms are harvested and used as compost which is sought out by and sold to landscapers and gardeners.  It is given away to school gardens as a community project.

Bob Stanga, a helicopter pilot turned mushroom farmer described how they grow the mushrooms and shared a short video showing the process.  At the moment the farm is harvesting about 5,500 pounds of mushrooms a week, or 286,000 pounds a year!

Mushrooms being grown now are the Gray Cluster Oysters, Ali'i, Pioppini, the Hawaiian Pepeiao and lately have been experimenting growing the Abalone mushroom.

We watched a cooking demonstration by Bob and sampled a delicious "Quick & Simple" sauté of mushrooms - he used a combination of Ali'i, Pioppini and Gray Oysters.

Hamakua Mushrooms 'Quick & Simple' Sauté

8 ounces mixed or single variety exotic mushrooms

2 Tablespoons olive oil

1 Tablespoon garlic, minced or quartered

Pinch or two of fresh chopped parsley

1 Tablespoon white wine

Salt & pepper to taste

In a broad skillet, heat oil on high.  Add mushrooms, stir to coat mushrooms with oil. Add salt, pepper, garlic and white wine.  Stir.  cook 3-4 minutes, occsionally stirring. Sprinkle with parsley prior to serving.

Serve hot over steak, chicken, fish, rice or pasta.

Bob's wife, Janice, gave us a small tour of their new gift shop where fresh mushrooms are sold in packs as well as their new line of 'value added' products which are made in partnership with other businesses around the island.

Lani Weigert and Kea conducted a tasting of an assortment of the new products that have been developed.

At this time the line includes, Mushroom Brownie Crisps, delicious dark chocolate and ground dried Pioppini mushrooms ; Lavosh made with fresh Pioppini; Mushroom Delight Cookies, made with mushroom powder, macadamia nuts and chocolate; Maitake Mushroom Macha Tea and an assortment of Mushroom Butters with flavors like Liliko'i, Mango and Coconut.  The butters can be mixed with Balsamic vinegars for delicious vinaigrettes.

Coming soon are Mushroom Honey, Mushroom Honey Dressing and Mushroom Coffee which is being developed by award winner Rusty's Hawaiian Coffee in Ka'u.

Stay tuned...a cookbook is in the works!

Here is a feature article I shared about the Hamakua Heritage Mushrooms Farm: Janice and Bob Stanga in the April 29 issue of The Hawai'i HomeGrown Food Network Newsletter

For information about product, tours and other events, please contact:

Hamakua Heritage Mushrooms Farm, Inc
36-221 Manowaiopae Homestead Road, Laupahoehoe Hawaii 96764
808/962-0017
hamakuafarm@aol.com 

For information to join a Slow Food Convivium in your area, please visit Slow Food USA, click on Local Chapters and then click on Find a Chapter in your Area to bring down the State List Menu.

Hilo Town was hopping last night...

 

After several months of meetings and planning, the Pau Hana Pa'ina joined Downtown Hilo's traditional First Friday line-up of events last evening.

We counted 13 food trucks, carts and other food vendors who lined up at the Mo'oheau Bandstand Park and fed the strolling public royally...Many families with children strolling, eating and enjoying the balmy and breezy evening...

while three bands took turns entertaining the crowd...

"Bruddah Waltah, Randy Lorenzo and Tha Michael Strand Band"

From Mo'oheau Bandstand to the upper part of Mamo Street and all through downtown, crowds were entertained with food, music, the Art Walk and The Hiccup Circus performers, as well as drummers, face painters and yoga demonstrations. Restaurants were jammed packed and several downtown stores held their own in-store events.

There was fire and 'drama' at Joe and April Neal's @IslandWoodFired Pizza truck - Joe and April were in charge of organizing the food vendors... and if you haven't tasted their pizza yet, you're in for a treat! 

We ran into quite a few people we knew...enjoyed the drummers...we tasted and sampled all kinds of food...and took food home...

...and Anthony got interviewed by the Zero Waste - Recycle Hawai'i people who were present educating the public about the three Rs...

The Pau Hana Pa'ina was the inspiration of interested private citizens and made possible with the cooperation of the Hawai'i County Mayor's Office, the Hilo Downtown Improvement Association, the County of Hawai'i Park & Recreations Department, and the cooperation of the Police and Fire Departments who all graciously sent representatives to attend all of the organizational meetings.

Mahalo to all for helping put on such a fun event for our Downtown Hilo's First Friday line-up.  We hope the Pau Hana Pa'ina catches on and we can continue to enjoy events like this in our beautiful Hilo Town!