Grilled skirt steak salad

(Eat Local Challenge Day 28: what and why)
Above: Pu'u o Hoku Ranch skirt steak, Robb farms organic broccoli, Big Wave tomatoes, Waiahole purple sweet potatoes, kiware sprouts

Skirt is one of my favorite cuts of meat. It's flavorful, fatty (even when grass-fed), and surprisingly tender when cut across the grain. Waiahole's sweet potatoes are the sweetest I've ever had...so sweet that I almost skipped dessert: a Waialua chocolate bar. Almost.

Ahi salad

(Eat Local Challenge Day 27: what and why)

One of my favorite Hawaiian things to eat is raw ahi. On the mainland, I could only get it at sushi restaurants, but here, any supermarket will carry fresh, local ahi that would be a shame to cook. Here, I tossed it with Ma'o Farms "Sassy" mix, kiware sprouts, butter avocado, Big Wave tomatoes, shoyu, lime, and mac nut oil.

Tedeschi Vineyards and Mililani carrots

(Eat Local Challenge Day 26: what and why)

Well, it's not the most attractive of meals I've had during this challenge. What I was most excited about in this stew were the carrots from Mililani (bought at the KCC farmers market). I didn't know anyone grew carrots for sale in Hawaii, other than Hamakua Springs Country Farms, who sometimes send the restaurant baby purple and white carrots. I know it seems silly to get excited over something as "ordinary" as carrots, but I wish I had a picture of these carrots with all their gorgeous leafy tops. The carrots, tops and all, were cooked into this Molokai beef (what else) stew with breadfruit, local onions, and Tedeschi Vineyards Ulupalulakua Red Wine. Wine might be one of those few items where local is not always better....but for the novelty and in the stew, it's decent.

It was a perfect stew day...it was stormy outside, Ben and I were home together for the first time in a while, and by the time the stew was done, it was night and a little bit chilly (for Hawaii).

Breadfruit chips

(Eat Local Challenge Day 24: what and why)

In Kona, we went to a Mexican place that had deep-fried tortilla chips dusted with cinnamon and drizzled with honey. I had a sudden craving for these, and with no tortillas, but lots of breadfruit, I improvised. Sliced thin on a mandoline, coated with mac nut oil, and baked, the breadfruit makes a passable substitute, but not so light and airy as what we had in Kona.

I think this last week is going to be hard. I'm somewhat ashamed to admit it, but I'm counting down the days until the challenge is over. All I can think about is bakeries and ice cream parlors and portuguese sweet bread. I guess now is the time to get really creative in order to make it to the end. But it's hard to be creative when you're hungry :(

Opening a coconut instead of a can

(Eat Local Challenge Day 24: what and why)

I've been wanting coconut milk to make curries and haupia sorbet. You'd think with all the coconuts we have around here, there would be lots of locally produced coconut milk from local coconuts. I haven't seen any yet, but since I did find coconuts, husk and all, I thought I would try making it myself. Well, more like, I would make my Thai friend de-husk and crack it open, and then I would do the easy part of straining the meat. My one-foot diameter coconut was stripped down to a 5-inch nut, which then yielded barely a cup of milk. Guess I'll have to wait on that sorbet.

Veggies and veggie-like fruits

(Eat Local Challenge Day 23: what and why)

I can't tell if I'm eating healthier or not. On the one hand, I'm eating more meat than usual since my freezer holds a seemingly never-ending supply Pu'u o hoku Ranch beef. On the other hand, I'm eating more fresh vegetables (and fruits masquerading as veggies). I can never resist the colors of Ma'o Farm's rainbow chard. Above, Honolulu Farms poached egg on Ma'o farms rainbow chard.

Organic broccoli from Big Island. Robb, the farmer who produces this, said when he set out to grow broccoli organically in Waimea, everyone told him it couldn't be done. He loves proving people wrong.

And the fruits: Big Wave tomatoes and salad bowl avocadoes. I used to think that local avocadoes couldn't rival the Haas from California. Until I had the salad bowl... The pepper ground on top is actually local, too. They're dried green peppercorns from Frankie's Nursery.

Highs and lows of eating local at restaurants

Above: Hashimoto Farms Maru persimmon, housemade Big Island wild boar prosciutto, Ma'o Farms mint and arugula, manchego from downtown restaurant.

This was the highlight of my quest to eat local at Honolulu restaurants. The only non-local ingredient on the plate was the cheese. 

I was also pleasantly surprised by 12th Ave Grill's local offerings: wild boar, Big Island abalone, and locally grown organic baby spinach, which I've never seen on a menu here.

Unfortunately, the disappointments were many. Diamond Head Cove Health Bar, Honolulu Academy of Arts cafe, places that tout supporting locally grown, but offer very little of it. The biggest disappointment, though, was Kulia Grill at UH Manoa's medical school. It's a cafe run by the KCC culinary program, and while they have North Shore Cattle Co. hamburgers, everything else, from the tomatoes to the lettuce, are imported from California. I asked about this and was told that they don't bring in the local produce unless it's for a special event. To me, this epitomizes the problem of restaurants not using local ingredients: local produce is only used for special occasions. Shouldn't it be the other way around? The high end restaurants in Honolulu, like Roy's and Alan Wong's, do a fabulous job of incorporating local ingredients, and I'm grateful because without them, we might not have the great locally grown food we have now. But why is local confined to expensive restaurants? I know the usual reasons: price and lack of distribution channels...but local is not always more expensive, and I think we need to start putting our heads together to figure out the distribution problem. It's important. I think it's especially important at the KCC culinary school because this is where our future chefs are training. If they don't learn there, where will they learn?

Day at the Movies

(Eat Local Challenge Day 19: what and why)

Spent the entire day at the movies since it was the last day of HIFF. The hardest part of this challenge is when I'm not home at mealtimes; snacks other than fruit are invariably not local, and it tends to be that only the high-end restaurants carry locally grown food here, if at all. Knowing I'd be at the theater all day, I stocked up on supplies: leftover roast chicken and breadfruit, Nalo greens and butter avocado, and a baked sweet potato. I was woefully underprepared. By the end of the second movie, I was gnawing on sweet potato skins. (Is it possible that watching movies makes one hungrier?) I fought off the urge for Raisinets and hot dogs, but that was pretty much the extent of my restraint. Someone brought plate lunches...I devoured fried chicken, furikake musubi, chow fun, beef stew. At the end of HIFF party, I gorged on kalbi and chow mein. Not a single local ingredient. In the end, it wasn't a Tex's Drive Inn malasada...i.e. tasty enough to be worth the guilt, but it was either that or starve. And that got me all riled up...a huge spread of food and nothing local on it. Why is it so hard? It shouldn't be....right?

Dashi not confined to Japanese kitchens

Came across an interesting article in The New York Times about chefs using dashi as their secret ingredient. Even French chefs, steeped in the tradition of stocks simmering overnight, are turning to dashi. If you're feeling inspired after reading the article, check out Joan Namkoong's video on Share Your Table: How to Make Dashi.

Tacos...kind of

(Eat Local Challenge Day 16: what and why)

I was originally going to make nachos with breadfruit chips, but I couldn't fry the chips faster than I was eating them, so I gave up on that plan. Instead, I mashed up the breadfruit and cooked it in the rendered beef fat for "refried" breadfruit. I seasoned the beef with cayenne, cumin, chili powder, and onions, then topped it with a "salad bowl" avocado, Big Wave tomatoes, lime, green onions, and onions. It's the last of the bag of Maui onions I bought from the produce stand around the corner...and possibly the last I'll have for a while since it's proving ridiculously difficult to find them at the grocery stores, local co-op, produce stands, and even Chinatown, where they all sell nothing but mainland onions. 

Opah

(Eat Local Challenge Day 15: what and why)

Above: grilled opah with Kahuku papaya, key lime relish

Opah is probably my favorite Hawaiian white fish. Medium firm flesh, somewhat fatty (but not so dangerous as walu).

Buying food on craigslist

(Eat Local Challenge Day 14: what and why)

Whenever I'm in the market for something, I turn to craigslist. My husband and I have both found jobs through craigslist (but not each other!). Our apartment is almost entirely furnished through craigslist, the apartment itself was found on craigslist, and our trusty car--also from craigslist (unfortunately, our other craigslist car was not so trusty and didn't even last a year). So you win some and you lose some. In the case of these eggs purchased from Honolulu Farms via craigslist, they're definitely winners. Stuart and Rosie of Honolulu Farms let their chickens roam freely, allowing them to pick at grass and bugs, and supplement their diet with organic feed. In my box of a dozen eggs that I picked up, half of the eggs had been laid yesterday, and the other half today. I rushed home and immediately fried up one. I was delighted to see the egg yolk a rich, golden yellow, and the whites standing tall. They were the freshest, richest eggs I'd ever had. Honolulu Farms (who knew there were farms in Honolulu?) are just two miles away from where I live; aside from the lettuces and herbs in my planter boxes, they're the local-est of the local.


Dinner tonight: breadfruit salad (like a potato salad with hard boiled eggs, homemade mayonnaise, onions and parsley) and a Kahuku tomato and Molokai beef stir-fry.

New experiences: Lalee jewo, chinese chestnuts, mamey sapote

(Eat Local Challenge Day 13: what and why)

I don't know the last time I tasted something I had never tasted before. But now, with my friend bringing me all kinds of exotics from Frankie's Nursery, snack time is no longer grabbing a bag of granola (though I really miss that granola) but a time of excitement and apprehension. What is it? Will I like it? Is she really trying to poison me? I was especially dubious of the chinese chestnuts (above). The fuzzy, slightly sticky red shell is not edible. After boiling for about half an hour, the nuts are eaten like chestnuts, and taste just like them, too.


Above: mamey sapote. Something about the name is so comforting...maybe because it reminds me of Mammy from Gone with the Wind. It's rather appropriate then that it tastes like a rich sweet potato pie (same texture, too!).


And the creme de la creme...the lalee jewo (the yellow chunks in the salad). I can't seem to take a picture of it whole...once I slice it open, the scent captures me and I devour it. I ate one after the other before tossing one into this salad with Ma'o greens, Big Wave tomatoes, and a butter avocado in an effort to make it last. But really, it's best just eaten as is. The lalee jewo is a mango relative that looks like a green mango and tastes like a mango infused with lychee. I can't stop eating it, in an effort to keep the taste of heaven in my mouth.

Seafood Festival

(Eat Local Challenge Day 12: what and why)

I can never resist taking pictures of opah, like this one on display at the Seafood Festival. Large, round, silver, and speckled...and apparently so cute a little girl kissed it right on its open mouth. Didn't see anyone doing that to the butaguchi, so named because of its pig lips (buta means pig in Japanese).

The poke with nine different types of seaweed was among our picnic lunch gathered from various food booths (Dean's Drive Inn, The Poke Stop, Tamashiro's). Winner of the "what did I just put in my mouth" award goes to ake, raw beef liver, from Fresh Catch. Not particularly pleasant, local or not.


At home, made a bowl of poi, smoked swordfish from the festival, and lomi tomatoes. Dessert: baked breadfruit with Maui sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg.

Frankie's tropical bounty

(Eat Local Challenge Day 11: what and why)

My friend works at Frankie's Nursery, where they cultivate tropical and sub-tropical fruit trees. I turned to her in my quest for breadfruit. She delivered...and more. Above is my own personal CSA box. The invoice:

2# key limes
5# pink guava
1# green bananas
1# canistel
3# mamey sapote
2# pink grapefruit
2oz green peppercorn
1# longan
8# breadfruit

Total: $31

The pink guava, so fragrant, immediately went into a guava sorbet. I roasted the breadfruit in the oven, cut it open, and ate it just like that with some salt and key lime while dreaming up possibilities: breadfruit chip nachos, breadfruit salad.

Walu, Hawaiian butterfish

(Eat Local Challenge Day 10: what and why)
Above: Walu, Hawaiian butterfish, grilled with a key lime, rosemary, parsley, Hawaii Island honey glaze. On top of sauteed Ho Farms long beans, mung bean sprouts, Hawaiian ginger.

Walu is a fatty, oily fish, almost like Chilean sea bass, that Hawaiian fishermen call the Ex-Lax fish. Because of its high oil content, if you eat too much, well...you know. I usually eat 6oz or less, and I've never had a problem. It amuses me, though, that on the mainland it's usually served at high end restaurants for a high price under the name escolar. At Foodland today, walu was $4.99/lb and aku was $6.99/lb. Walu cheaper than aku, a "junk" fish to people on the mainland!

With mesclun from our backyard, dressed with a Meyer lemon-ginger vinaigrette, our little "fancy" local dinner tonight was just $10.

Taropy

(Eat Local Challenge Day 9: what and why)

After work, I head to Waiahole Poi Factory to see how their poi is made, and of course, to pick up some poi supplies. I've been eating Hanalei Poi, and I love it, but at $8 per 1 lb container, it's more of a luxury item than a staple.

By the time I arrive, they're at the tail end of their operations, cleaning the last of the cooked kalo. I jump in to help. We're standing on both sides of a long trough, scraping the kalo to smooth the surface and dig out any knots. Because they don't strain the poi, it's essential to get the hard bits out, otherwise they'll mar the consistency of the final product. One guy says after a day of work, coming here and cleaning taro is "taropy." I've heard this many times from people working with kalo, and I've come to believe it. There's something especially soothing about smoothing out the imperfections in the kalo.

After the kalo's been cleaned, it's put through a mill, then mixed in a large Hobart with a little bit of water. Then my favorite part: the bagging of the poi. Hawaiians refer to their preferred consistency of poi as two-finger or three-finger poi. How about 2 lb poi? Paul Reppun, who runs the Waiahole Poi operation, digs his hand into the poi and in the same motions that one uses to eat poi with his fingers, balls up 2 pounds of poi and plops it into a bag. He seems to instinctively know what 2 pounds feels like in his hands. Each bag is weighed to make sure, and I'm amazed that he's never more than an ounce off. It's mesmerizing to watch.

I come home with six pounds of poi ($6 per 2lb bag) and some new ideas on what to do with it, thanks to Paul. Tonight, though, it's late, and I fix a quick dinner of fresh poi, smoked pork, and lomi tomato (Kahuku tomatoes, Maui onion, and green onions from the yard) with an Aloun Farms watermelon for dessert.

Breakfast

(Eat Local Challenge Day 8: what and why)

The color when I cut into this dragonfruit was enough to temporarily distract me from dismal breakfast options. I wake up in the morning and hunger for cinnamon buns, yogurt, granola with milk, pancakes, waffles. Instead, I usually make do with a bananas (a LOT of bananas), or on Sunday, a frittata with kabocha, Maui onions, Kahuku tomatoes, and Hamakua Alii mushrooms. I read somewhere that the Moana Surfrider used to serve poi with cream and honey for breakfast. I'd like to try that sometime (minus the cream), but poi never lasts past dinner.

Well...I guess it didn't distract me for very long...

Molokai grass fed beef

About a month ago, Slow Food Oahu organized a Molokai beef shipment. Buyers congregated in the parking lot of Foster Botanical Garden, and when the truck rolled in, they swarmed. A security guard rushed over.
"You can't sell stuff here!"
"Oh, we're not selling."
"Whatever you're doing, you can't do it!"

I suppose it looked suspicious--a pick-up truck loaded with cardboard boxes, people opening the boxes and brandishing three feet long oxtails, others rushing the boxes into their cars and driving away to their freezers or grill. It's like we were selling organic beef on the black market. The story: we had all bought into a cow-share...maybe more aptly, beef-share. We had each purchased 1/8 of a cow, roughly 50 pounds for $325, from Pu'u o Hoku ranch on Molokai. The beef arrives divided into 8 boxes as ground beef, stew meat, and various cuts like rib steak, chuck roast, skirt steak, short rib, and porterhouse steak of a 2 foot diameter. It's all grass fed, hormone, chemical, and antibiotic free beef, and it makes the most delicious hamburgers I've ever grilled.


Tonight, I made a beef and daikon soup with the stew meat, daikon, Maui onions, Hamakua Mushrooms Kea Hon Shimeji, and more of the Big Island smoked pork. Just some salt, pepper, and a piece of star anise was all it needed.

All the fishes in the deep blue Hawaiian sea

While Big Islanders go crazy over meat, we on Oahu love our fish. Maybe it's because we have a well-managed, sustainable fishery in Honolulu and so have access to a great variety of fresh fish. So far, we've had moi (grilled with salt, pepper, and meyer lemon), ahi (poke with Maui onions, green onions, shoyu, and sambal), and monchong (steamed chinese style with smoked pork from our friend on the Big Island, Hawaiian ginger, scallions, shoyu, and macadamia nut oil). I went to Tamashiro's for the first time to see what my fish options were; I've never seen such local fish variety in one place. Ahi of different grades, all the way up to imported blue fin toro, and reef fish that I didn't even know could be eaten. Next time...this time, it was just ahi and moi, old favorites.

The monchong was at Whole Foods. There were two prices: $11.99/pound for the fillet, $6.99/pound for the whole fish. The whole fish? That one over there sitting in the ice? I asked how many pounds the entire fish was, and the person behind the seafood counter hefted it out of the ice, ran into the back, and returned, cradling it in her arms: 25 pounds, as if announcing the weight of a newborn baby. I had a vision of bringing it home, preparing and carving it like a roast turkey. I went with the fillet.

I cheated

It was only the third day of the Eat Local Challenge, and I was at Taste of the Hawaiian Range, where it was easy to eat local with Hawaii Island raised beef (from shank to heart to tongue to "rocky mountain oyster"), mutton, lamb, and pig, lightly supplemented with beautiful island grown produce (but not enough to detract from the real star: meat). But I had to get them...Tex's Drive Inn's malasadas. The best malasadas on all the Hawaiian Islands. Mala'ai, the culinary gardens of Waimea Middle School, had successfully grown and milled about 10 pounds of wheat in Waimea, but it would take them some time and more acreage to be able to supply Tex's Drive Inn. So probably nothing about that malasada was local, except for the hands that deftly flipped and sugared them. I felt only a little guilty, though, and then not at all when I bit into that warm puff.

Eat Local Challenge: Day 1

- Ma'o Farms rainbow chard, sauteed with chili flakes
- Taro fries (oven-fried in Oils of Aloha macadamia nut oil)
- Rosemary roast chicken (seasoned with Hawaiian salt, pepper, rosemary from the yard)
- Pomelo for dessert

I bought everything except for the chard ($3.99 at Whole Foods) at Chinatown. Grand total for the dinner was $14 (with leftovers!), with the chicken being the ultimate bargain at $5.50. I never see local chicken at the grocery stores, but it seems like every other stand in Chinatown sells island chicken. The chicken is somewhat scrawny, coming in at 2.5 pounds, and lacks the Barbie proportions (big breasts) of Foster Farms chickens. But it's juicy and tasty, as the Chinese claim their white-skinned chickens should be.