Slow Food Oʻahu Chinatown Food Tour – October 8, 9:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
Join us on our exciting Slow Food Chinatown Tour. Explore the history, culture, and food traditions of Honolulu’s Chinatown during the annual Moon Festival.
Shop colorful markets to learn about seafood, fresh produce, and traditional foods.
Visit bakeries, noodle factories, specialty shops, temples, and historic sites.
Sample local foods such as poke, roast pork, and tropical fruits.
Bring your shopping bags so you can buy fresh produce, baked goods, and specialty products to enjoy at home after the tour.
Chinatown Markets
Following the tour, we will enjoy lunch together at one of Chinatown’s fine restaurants. The family-style Chinese menu will include several dim sum items. Meal cost is included in the tour price. Please alert us in advance of any food restrictions.
The meeting location and parking suggestions will be emailed to ticket-holders 48 hours before the tour. Please note: We keep this tour size limited to 8 to ensure an intimate experience and avoid blocking already crowded sidewalks and markets, but we also need to set a minimum of 5 participants for this event in order to ensure that our volunteer tour leaders’ efforts are used to good advantage. If we don’t fill the minimum, we will offer full refunds and alert ticket holders to other upcoming tours. Thanks for your understanding.
The cost is $65 for members and $75 for non-members, which includes the price of tastings along the tour as well as lunch.
First, I would like to thank you so much for your support of last year’s inaugural Hoolaulea Maia/Banana Festival in Waimea Valley. It was a great success, in no small part due to the efforts of dozens of volunteers. Well over 1,000 people attended, more than 280 banana plants were purchased, and many happy folks went home with banana-patterned shirts and totes. More importantly, people had the opportunity to explore banana biodiversity in a big way—tasting different varieties, seeing unusual and beautiful banana flowers, and taking new varieties home to plant in their backyards
.As we gear up again for the next Fest—scheduled for Saturday, October 21, 2023— I am asking you for your kokua in making the event another grand success by volunteering. We will need help in setting up, checking people in, fixing fresh banana samples, setting up booth holders, aiding the banana fiber stampers, trash collection, and the final cleanup.
Things will be a little different this year because we don’t have a grant to cover Festival expenses. We will charge a $10 fee (thanks to the generosity of Waimea Valley, which will cover admission to the park as well) for adults and free entry to children 12 and under. This includes raw banana tastings at the big monkeypod table and chef-created samples. So far, Leeanne Wong of Koko Head Cafe and Jason Peel of Nami Kaze are on board. Folks are welcome to bring their own t-shirts or bags for banana fiber dyeing, which is also included in the admission fee.
Please let us know if you have a specific area you’d like to help with. This year, we are looking for “team leaders” for each task/area, which includes setting up, manning admissions, fresh banana tasting preparation, and final clean-up.
Slow Food family around the world! Historic #lahaina town is gone. Over 100 fatalities, hundreds still missing, and over 1,700 buildings and 3,000 homes destroyed.
Chef @leeannewong of @papaainamaui has a link in her bio for a GoFundMe page created to support her staff that have lost their homes and workplaces.
Donations can also be made to:
mauiunitedway.org
hawaiicommunityfoundation.org
chefhui.com
Slow Food USA’s annual Membership Drive
Slow Food USA’s annual Membership Drive starts in one week! This year’s campaign, Nourish + Connect, kicks off on Friday, September 1, 2023. Help raise money for your chapter, welcome new perspectives to the table, and grow the food justice movement across the US.
The Ark of Taste book is now available
Featuring a piece on Hawaii’s Gabe Sacher-Smith, banana researcher and Waialua farmer.
Slow Food USA’s book The Ark of Taste is now available wherever you love to buy books! This glorious new tome from Voracious explores the living catalog of our food heritage that preserves gastronomic treasures passed down for generations. Writers Giselle Kennedy Lord and David S. Shields and illustrator Claudia Pearson present stories of more than 70 unique and culturally significant foods, with recipes from Slow Food chefs and profiles of growers nationwide.
Explore the heritage foods that distinguish the culinary landscape of the United States in this visual encyclopedia for curious eaters and gardeners.
The Ark of Taste is a living catalog of our food heritage and a movement to preserve gastronomic treasures passed down for generations—some rare, some endangered, all delicious. Created by Slow Food, the Ark illuminates the history, identity and taste of these unique food products, many of which were revived or saved from extinction by their Slow Food champions. The Ark of Taste book features the stories of how some of these American products almost didn’t reach our table, with recipes from Slow Food chefs and profiles of growers from around the country.
In these pages you’ll learn about the revival of some of these foods, including:
Carolina Gold Rice
Wellfleet Oysters
Cherokee Purple Tomatoes
Christmas Lima Beans
Tupelo Honey
Bourbon Red Turkey
Black Republican Cherries
And more!
These products reflect the cultural and biological diversity and storied history of our country. In learning the tales of these treasures, we can join together to keep them in production and on our plates, while also championing a more equitable alternative to industrial agriculture.
Slow Food Oahu continues its tradition of education on preparing local foods.
Slow Food Oahu is proud to present Jhana Young, Kathi Saks & Laurie Carlson, who will teach this class.
We have 75# of Big Eye Ahi that we will be working with, along with two giant pressure cookers and a handful of simple ingredients—salt, carrots, and olive oil.
The class will be held on Saturday, August 12, 2023, at 2:00 pm in a garden on Oahu’s Windward side.
It will last until the jarred fish has cooled and is ready to take home—about 3 1/2 to 4 hours.
Please bring a pupu and beverage to share while awaiting the final product.
Upon completion of the course, you will have four 1/2 pint jars of possibly the best canned fish you’ve ever eaten. Unlike commercial canned tuna, our final product will include all of the natural fish oils and juices. Commercial products bleed these off components to produce fish oil supplements, diminishing the nutritional value and flavor of their canned fish.
Bring your fish fillet knives, rubber gloves (if you wish), aprons, and cutting boards. We have a few extra if you’re short.
Cost: $45 per person for nonmembers, $35 for Slow Food members
Class is limited to 15 people
Refund Policy: Refunds will be given if the request is made seven days prior to the event; otherwise no refunds.
Location: Private Home Windward Oahu—Directions will be shared prior to the event.
If your star fruit, ulu, lemon, avocado—or whatever–crop is too abundant, turn to gleaners who will come and pick it, no charge, and deliver it to those in need.
Kōkua Tree is a student run organization on O’ahu that was established in early 2021 by four high school students at Punahou School. They did research on the issues of food waste and food insecurity affecting their community, and the pay gap/affordability of healthy food, and were motivated to start a gleaning program. Kōkua Tree has since grown to be a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization with three operating branches: Sacred Hearts Academy, Island Pacific Academy, and Punahou School.
Kōkua Tree volunteers work in backyards and farms to harvest fresh fruits and vegetables that are then donated to food pantries on the island. Kokua Tree trains its volunteers, provides all supplies and gear, and carries insurance that covers everyone.
For help, send a note to kokuatree@gmail.com A Kōkua Tree leader will meet/speak with you about the property and harvest logistics to determine date/time and how many volunteers to bring. The group sends a donation receipt after each glean that contains all the necessary information for tax purposes.
Aloha Harvest started in 1999 and is the largest food rescue and redistribution organization in Hawaiʻi. This 501(c)3 organization picks up quality excess food from donors such as wholesale distributors, grocery stores, restaurants, and hotels for same-day redistribution. It delivers to agencies feeding the hungry, such as homeless shelters, social service agencies, and food pantries.
It also has a Community Harvest program to rescue excess produce growing on Oʻahu, gleaning crops from yards, gardens, and farms all over the island. The goal is to increase the amount of fresh produce getting to Aloha Harvest recipient agencies and the community. To request a harvest or to volunteer starts with filling out an online form. This organization also provides all tools and supplies, and sends a donation receipt for tax filing.
Happily, Kōkua Tree and Aloha Harvest collaborate. Last year, they combined their volunteer and equipment forces to achieve a large-scale harvest. As one Kōkua Tree leader puts it, “While we operate as separate entities, our goals remain the same: to provide a free source of fresh produce to those who need it most in our community.”
Let nothing go to waste!
Permanent link to this article: https://www.slowfoodoahu.org/slow-press-august-1-2023/
Join us at Hoʻokuaʻāina for a “talk and walk” around the kalo lo`i. Located on the east side in Maunawili Valley, Hoʻokuaʻāina is a nonprofit, founded in 2011, working to grow a healthy community through the cultivation of kalo (taro) using traditional Hawaiian practices.
We will start the day with an opening circle in the hale for ho’olauna (introductions). Here, we will learn about our kuleana (responsibility, privilege) in Hawai`i to mālama ʻāina (care for the land) to facilitate a discussion based on Hawaiian cultural and values-based lessons grounded in ʻōlelo noʻeau (proverbs & poetical sayings) and moʻolelo (stories).
We will walk around the lo’i kalo to observe the different stages of the kalo growth cycle and the native bird species that inhabit the wetland. We will hear from the farm’s experts about kalo production from huli to poi, and from the farm’s youth apprentices who will share their experience participating in the farm’s mentorship program.
Founders Dean and Michele Wilhelm will share how attending the 2012 Slow Food’s Terra Madre conference in Turin, Italy, as delegates, reinforced their work.
Their daughter, Makana Wilhelm, will also share her educational experiences earning her master’s degree last year at the Slow Food University of Gastronomic Sciences in Pollenzo, Italy.
Following the tour, we will share a potluck lunch and a tasting of Maunawili honey and cacao nibs from the farm.
* Please bring your own utensils, etc., to minimize waste.
Time: 9:30 am -12:30 pm Date: Saturday, August 5, 2023 Location: Maunawili, Leeward side near Kailua. Just off the Pali Highway
Paʻakai from Hanapēpē, Kauaʻi, is treasured throughout the pae ʻāina, and often given as a gift to grateful recipients. Harvested in traditional salt beds for centuries, this ancient cultural practice is threatened by encroaching commercial activities and climate change. – Photo: Piʻilani Kali
The mokupuni of Kauaʻi holds many beautiful treasures preserved by the hardworking Kānaka on the island and the renowned loʻi paʻakai of Hanapēpē, Kauaʻi, is just one shining example of what can happen when Kānaka come together to perpetuate traditional cultural practices.
The loʻi paʻakai ʻo ʻukulā ma Hanapēpē is one of the few remaining sites for traditional Hawaiian salt farming. In this wahi pana (storied place), Hui Hana Paʻakai o Hanapēpē (Hui) is perpetuating traditional salt-making practices and passing this ʻike down to upcoming generations.
However, this work comes with its own set of challenges.
In close proximity to the loʻi paʻakai sits the Port Allen Airport, also known as Burns Field. Once the first emergency landing strip on Kauaʻi, the airfield is now utilized by scenic helicopter tour operators. Currently operating on the airstrip are Smoky Mountain Helicopters (dba Maverick Helicopters) and D & J Air Adventures (dba Sky Dive Kauaʻi), which have previously caused issues for the salt-makers.
In August 2019, the Hui reached out to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the State of Hawaiʻi Department of Health for the immediate investigation of an unpermitted restroom facility utilizing a cesspool – which generated concerns about contaminants leaching into the soil and affecting the salt beds.
Later that year, the County of Kauaʻi Planning Department sent a Notice of Violation and Order to Pay Fines to Smoky Mountain Helicopters and D & K Air Adventures.
As of 2023, the cesspool is not in use, but the salt-makers are looking much further to preserve the loʻi paʻakai. “To my knowledge, they’re not using the cesspool anymore. But being very honest, our goal was really to shut them down, and so we were trying to block them wherever we could,” said Malia Nobrega-Olivera, an alakaʻi for the salt-makers of Hanapēpē.
Today, the airfield has limited activity which has been a huge win for the Hui.
“During COVID, a lot of their operations really slowed down, which, from our point of view, was a blessing,” said Nobrega-Olivera. “It’s still a high priority for us that the airstrip be not used [at all].”
Although the pandemic slowed helicopter operations, it also brought a significant number of houseless people into the Hanapēpē area. And many of them created makeshift bathrooms close to the loʻi paʻakai during the stay-at-home order.
The Hui is currently working with the county to move the nearby camping area further from the salt-making areas, as the same issue is prevalent with campers in the area. With the houseless population in Hanapēpē decreasing, the Hui hopes that moving the campsite will help stop the mistreatment of the loʻi paʻakai by visitors.
“When they’re right there, nearest to the salt-making area, and they get lazy, instead of walking to the bathroom, which is maybe 50 steps away, they just end up making shishi or whatever right in the area,” said Nobrega-Olivera.
Another major issue the Hui faces is flooding due to both rainfall and high tides. By working with the county, they were able to place boulders to block vehicular traffic on the beach area.
“That has really been a big one of our best solutions yet because we can see the natural restoration of the sand dunes and are also seeing some of the mea kanu (plants) coming back through the sand dunes,” Nobrega-Olivera said.
“ʻĀkulikuli kai is coming back, and with these plants naturally growing through the sand dunes, it helps to hold the sand in place, and then, without the vehicles driving on the sand, it mitigates the overtopping of waves.”
As a result of recent heavy rainfall on Kauaʻi, salt-making was halted during May because the saltpans were flooded.
“It’s slowly starting to dry up. So we’re hoping maybe in about a month the place will be really dry, and hopefully the weather will stay hot,” said Nobrega-Olivera.
As the Hui looks to the future, they are in talks with the Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR) to possibly take on the lease of a nearby 10-acre abandoned property.
“I don’t know if that’s the best thing for us because it’s not like we have the time to be doing all of that, too,” Nobrega-Olivera said. “But when they [DLNR] asked us what we would do on that piece of property, I told them that it was more for creating a buffer zone around our area so that we can prevent development in the area. And if we can implement other mitigation efforts, maybe we can slow down erosion.”
To learn more about this ongoing issue, go to: https://kawaiola.news/moomeheu/protecting-the-paakai-traditions-of-hanapp-kauai/
From Ka Wai Ola @ https://kawaiola.news/aina/protecting-loi-paakai-in-hanapepe/, June 1, 2023. Reprinted with permission.
Permanent link to this article: https://www.slowfoodoahu.org/slow-press-july-25-2023/
Under a bright blue sky on Saturday, May 20, 2023, MA’O Organic Farms founders Kukui and Gary Maunakea-Forth welcomed Slow Food O’ahu (SFO) visitors to their farmland in the back of fertile Lualualei Valley. Kukui set the tone for the day by leading everyone in a chant to honor our three piko, which connect us to our ancestors, parents, and future descendants.
Kukui Maunakea-Forth, Executive and Programs Director
Kukui and Gary explained their mission and what compelled them to establish the nonprofit Wai’anae Community Development Corporation and MA’O. MA’O is an acronym for Mala ʻ Ai ʻ Opio, or “youth food garden.” The social-entrepreneurial enterprise supports youth toward college education while training and mentoring youth leaders and farming 280 acres of organic fruits and vegetables.
Gary Maunakea-Forth, Farm Operations Director
In their introductory comments, both Kukui and Gary referred to attending Terra Madre in Italy under SFO sponsorship in 2006 as having a great inspirational impact, meeting others from around the world who were similarly invested in reviving the food-producing traditions of their regions. Over the years since SFO has supported more than four additional MA’O staff in attending Terra Madre.
Derrick Ikaika Parker, Food Processing and Quality Control Manager
Former intern Derrick Ikaika Parker was one of those who attended Terra Madre. He spoke of the meaning of the MA’O program in his life and his commitment to the mission as a way to change lives and “grow hope” in youth and culture. Derrick also spoke with an appreciation for our role as “co-producers” in the process of changing how food is cultivated, processed, and accessed by consumers. Current intern Wahliya Kessell-Fay shared her intention to take all that she is learning home to Kaua’i to farm and support that island in becoming more self-sustaining.
Chef Trevon Taylor
The group then toured the farm with Kukui, Gary, and Derrick, being treated to baby greens and radishes plucked from the fields, and learning about the valley’s history and fertility, the process of growing over a hundred tons of food annually, and MA’O plans for growing increasing numbers and varieties of produce.
Then, at another MA’O parcel nearby in the valley, visitors were treated to a seated, wine-included, multi-course luncheon conceived and prepared by intern Trevon Taylor. Trevon spoke with delight of the opportunity to go literally from farm to table, cooking and serving hand-selected ingredients, and utilizing MA’O’s wood-fired oven.
Symbolic of the graciousness and generosity experienced by our group throughout the day, everyone was invited to take “leftover” heads of lovely romaine lettuce when gathering up to leave. A very educational, inspirational, and tasty time it was!
Jason & Harley Chow at the grand opening of the Local General Store
The Local General Store
The Local General Store is now open for business, operating Thursday thru Monday. You will find a variety of sweets & meats available in this unique butcher/bakery operation. Jason was a Terra Madre delegate in 2018. Both Jason and Harley have invested much in their respective food careers, traveling far and wide to get experience, exposure, and training. They are now open for business, at the former Kaimuki Superette location. Check it out soon!
Permanent link to this article: https://www.slowfoodoahu.org/slow-press-june-14-2023/
Sweet Land Farm is O‘ahu’s top producer of award-winning goat cheese. Co-founder Emma McCaulley, and her friendly and knowledgeable farm guides, have prepared a special 1 1/2-hour tour around the farm, so you can learn about sustainable farming while enjoying the fresh country air. Afterward, we invite you to share a potluck lunch* at our shaded picnic tables and enjoy freshly made goat milk gelato. Throughout the day, we are happy to answer any questions you have.
Your Oahu Slow Food chapter is emerging from the years of the pandemic with energy and enthusiasm. New board members and volunteers are pulling together finances, planning events, writing & editing website content, posting social media content, and putting together grants. Our website is being revised and reconstructed. Expect to see expanded and updated sections on our Terra Madre delegates, the Hawaii Ark of Taste, highlights from last year’s Banana Festival, and more. If you’d like to help us with writing, photography, social media postings, grant writing, or event planning, please contact Nina at nina4goodfood@gmail.com.
In 2023 SFO already conducted two pig processing workshops. These sessions, conducted by Doug Young, have introduced wild pig butchery to a number of folks who are regularly face-to-face with these invasive, furry animals. As we’d like to expand our ability to offer this class to a wider community, we are looking for grant money as a way to subsidize the costs involved and offer lower fees, especially for younger folks.
Your Slow Food Oahu board is working hard to get more events scheduled for the upcoming summer months. Presently, we are working on reviving our Chinatown tours, a tour of Aloha Tofu, brewery tours, and additional farm visits. If you have ideas or connections that make Slow Food sense, let us know.
Upcoming events
MA‘O Organic Farms Tour & Lunch
Saturday, May 20, 2023, 9 am – 1 pm HST
MA‘O is Oahu’s preeminent organic farm, conceived of in 2000. This Waianae farm has focused on much more than growing fruits and vegetables over these twenty years. It has had a major impact on its community by providing education, jobs, wellness, training, and community renewal. For more background on MA’O, check out their website maoorganicfarms.org
Over the years, SFOahu has supported MA‘O Farms by funding travel and securing lodging for MA’O staff to attend the biennial Terra Madre event in Turin, Italy. We are proud of our long-standing connections with MA‘O and will be excited to hear about the impact Terra Madre has had on their organization. Founders Gary & Kukui Maunakea-Forth will be on hand, along with other staff, to talk about their experiences in Italy and how those have affected their desire to expand and grow more food and more people.
MA‘O has recently acquired a large parcel of land (250 acres) with which to expand their operations in Lualualei Valley. We will tour the new packing facility, which is almost complete. This will be followed by lunch, prepared for us by a young mahi’ai (farmer).
MA‘O Organic Farms Tour & Lunch 86-148 Puhawai Rd, Waianae Carpooling is recommended
Our annual meeting is Sunday, January 29, 2023, at 10 am. The meeting is in Ho‘omaluhia Botanical Garden’s Kahua Nui pavilion, a sheltered picnic area on the mauka side of the road in the Africa section. There will be ample tables for our potluck lunch, a sink for cleaning up, and lots of parking.
At 10 am, Jason Chow, local butcher and former Terra Madre delegate (2018), will speak about his upcoming venture. Jason and his wife, Hardy, will be putting together both a bakery and a butcher shop at the former Kaimuki Superette site this new year. They aspire to create businesses that will utilize local ingredients and flavors.
Chef Kealoha Domingo, who attended Slow Food International’s Terra Made last September, will talk about his experience in Torino.
After these talks, the board will give a short presentation on the regeneration of Slow Food Oahu in 2023. Please bring your ideas and energy so you can contribute to our discussion of how to shape this new year in ono & pono ways.
Our usual delicious potluck will follow. Please bring your own utensils, plates, and cups to minimize waste.
Wild Pig Butchery Workshop
A very successful wild boar butchery class was conducted this month by Jhana and Doug Young. Six participants learned the basics of field dressing. Most of the attendees were folks who are professionally involved in local land resource management, and thus, will have ample opportunity to use these new skills in the field. In addition to the field dressing, Jhana and Doug provided roast pork, bone broth and other tasty samples for the class to try.
We will continue to conduct these workshops if there is sufficient interest. Please sign up with Jhana if you are interested in a future class. Details below.
We have a list of folks who are interested and who can be available to come to a private residence in Maunawili on short notice. Once the pig is caught (i.e., a snare or trap), we will send out an email and text message informing everyone and will host a workshop for the first eight individuals on a first come, first served basis.
The 2-hour workshop includes a demonstration of wild pig butchery and best practices for preparing and cooking wild pigs. The workshop will be $75 and will include a portion of meat for each participant to take home. We will set the minimum of participants at two, and the maximum at eight.
If you are interested, please email Jhana Young at jhana.malia@gmail.com with your name and phone number (for texting). We anticipate the second class to be held sometime in February or March and may take place on any day of the week. We appreciate your flexibility in advance!
Limoncello Class Sunday, February 12th, 2023, 2-4 pm
It’s almost spring and it’s citrus season in Hawaii nei—what better time to get a batch of limoncello started? Patrick Casey, who has been refining his limoncello recipe for many years—not too sweet, not too rancid—will conduct a limoncello class for Slow Food Oahu. In addition to the classic, he will also advise on making Limoncello Crema (which some of us think is even better). Each participant will take a bottle of Limoncello home, along with recipes for both lemon concoctions and for a fennel-inspired cello.
The cost for SF members is $35 and for nonmembers $40. Please send your check, along with your email and phone number, to reserve a place. Mail to SFO ℅ Laurie Carlson 1020 Maunawili Loop Kailua HI 96734, check made out to Slow Food Oahu. Only eight spaces will be available, so reserve now. This class will be held at a private home in Kahala.
Reasons to Join Slow Food
In addition to discounted fees for Slow Food Oahu events, you will also receive member benefits from national. There is also the satisfaction of supporting Good, Clean, and Fair food goals in Hawaii and country-wide.
Check out Slow Food USA’s refreshed list of member benefits for 2023!
Slow Food Oahu Membership Meeting Sunday, January 29, 2023
We will hold our annual meeting at Ho’omaluhia Botanical Garden at the sheltered picnic area on the mauka side of the road in the Africa section (K. Nui, which is near the end of the road). There will be ample tables for our usual ono potluck and lots of parking. Jason Chow, a local butcher and former Terra Madre delegate (2018) will give a talk on his upcoming project. Jason and his wife, Hardy, are creating a brick-and-mortar butcher shop and bakery next year. They will highlight local ingredients and fresh local meats. There may be other speakers as well, details will be forthcoming in the new year. Jason will speak at 10 am, followed by potluck brunch at 11 am. Save the date!
Join Ono & Pono in 2023
We are working to reinvigorate our local chapter this new year and could use some help! Our working board needs new energy, new ideas, and new members. We’re looking for folks with enthusiasm and interest in creating and organizing events. Other areas of need are social media outreach and a board member who can serve as treasurer. If you are passionate about Slow Food and have time to work with us, please send a note of interest to Nina Bermudez, our long-time, committed board member. Her email is nina4goodfood@gmail.com
Wild Pig Butchery Workshop
Wild pigs in Hawaiʻi are nonnative, invasive species in Hawaiʻi, yet they happen to be wildly delicious. Doug Young, famed local artist and frequent pig hunter is offering to teach an introductory wild pig butchery workshop with his daughter, Jhana Young. This is technically called “field dressing” and is what hunters do upon harvest.
We are creating a list of folks who are interested and who could be available to come to a private residence in Maunawili on short notice. Once the pig is caught (i.e., a snare or trap), we will send out an email and text message informing everyone and will host a workshop for the first eight individuals on a first come first served basis.
The 2-hour workshop will include a demonstration of wild pig butchery and go over best practices for preparing and cooking wild pigs. The workshop will be $75 and will include a portion of meat for each participant to take home. We will set the minimum of participants at two and the maximum at eight.
If interested, please email Jhana Young at jhana.malia@gmail.com with your name and phone number (for texting). We anticipate that the first class will be held sometime in January 2023 and may take place any day of the week. We appreciate your flexibility in advance!
Hawaii Chapter Highlight
By Laurie Carlson, Slow Food O’ahu
This past November, The Banana Source, Hawai’i SEED, Slow Food in Hawai’i, and WaimeaValley hosted the inaugural Mai’aHo’olaule’a/ BananaFestival on the North Shore of Oahu. Over 1,600 people came to eat, design with and learn how best to grow bananas. Ka Mai‘a ‘Ho‘olaule‘a was attended by residents from all over Oahu, as well as visitors who happened upon it during their Waimea visit.
Ka Mai‘a ‘Ho’olaule‘a opened up a world of banana flavors and colors. It expanded notions of what a banana is and can be. Numerous activities and events were created to help our community grow and use bananas in new ways.
Fairgoers enthusiastically sampled more than ten varieties of raw bananas at our 18-foot-long monkeypod table. Two of these were “canoe” bananas brought to Hawai’i by Polynesian voyagers centuries ago. One type, the orange-fleshed Iholena banana, was one of the few kinds of bananas that women and children were allowed to eat in old Hawaii. Iholena gets its color from pro-beta carotene, which also gives a unique orange color to carrots.
Several chefs shared their takes on the use of bananas in the culinary realm including the Filipino dish banana flower adobo, bananas foster, curried bananas, Puerto Rican pasteles and traditional Hawaiian piele (bananas with coconut milk). Recipe booklets of savory mai’a dishes were distributed so attendees could continue their culinary adventures at home.
Gabe Sachter-Smith, the owner of The Banana Source, gave a speech and slideshow on banana culinary lore, botanical history, and best growing practices. Ken Love, Executive Director of Hawaii TropicalFruitGrowers, followed this up with his speech on preservation techniques and backyard fruit growing.
A hands-on booth supplied t-shirts, tote bags, and an array of banana plant parts, dyes, and inks. Fabulous patterns from stems, stalks, and flowers were created by delighted festival participants big and small.
A lauhala(pandanus) weaving demonstration was presented by Mahina Pukahi of Waianae. Traditionally, black banana fibers were used in combination with lauhala to create definition and contrast.
Festival t-shirts nearly sold out, being a popular hit with attendees. We also sold numerous copies of the ultimate guide to all things banana:
TheWorldofBananasinHawai’iThenandNowby Angela Kepler. This book educates people about ai’a history, best gardening practices, pests, identification, and how to prepare, cook and eat bananas. The few copies available sold out quickly.
The Banana Source booth had an impressive display of flowering bananas, including the lovely and unique GoldenLotusbanana from Yunnan, China. Home growers could buy banana keiki including apple bananas, saba, nam wah, silk, pisang lilin, ice cream, largo, iholena, plantains, and gros michel. Over 280 plants were sold during the festival, supporting our efforts to improve Mai’a biodiversity by getting a wider selection of bananas into Hawaii’s gardens, kitchens, farms, and backyards.
Permanent link to this article: https://www.slowfoodoahu.org/slow-press-december-19-2022-updated-with-photos/
DETAILS AND UPDATES for the Mai’a ‘Ho’olaule’a/Banana Festival 2022.
On Sunday, November 13, 2022, from 11 am – 4 pm, Hawai’i Banana Source, Slow Food Oahu, and Hawai’i SEED, with our partner Hi’ipaka LLC, will host the free inaugural Mai’a ‘Ho’olaule’a/Banana Festival in Waimea Valley, O’ahu.
While most of us are familiar with local apple bananas and the ubiquitous Central American Chiquita, few of us have ever eaten a Hawaiian banana or enjoyed a savory banana dish. We hope to remedy that at Ka Mai’a ‘Ho’olaule’a!
This free Festival was created to expand our notions of what a banana is and can be. We’ve put together a program to help island residents successfully grow and use bananas in a number of ways.
FOOD BOOTHS AND SAMPLES A number of noted island chefs will be on hand to provide samples and recipes for banana dishes. Banana-based lunches and desserts will be available for purchase.
Chef Robynne Maii of Fête will prepare banana tartlet samples. Chef Kealoha Domingo will prepare Piele, a traditional dish of bananas and coconut milk samples. Emma Bello of Sweetland Goat Dairy will have goat milk banana gelato samples. Chef Kathy Maddux of Mohala Farms will be doing a green banana cooking demonstration. Chef Ignacio Fleishour of Kokua Market will prepare two banana plate lunches for sale, one featuring Puerto Rican pasteles and another with banana curry. Chef Thomas Naylor of Waimea Valley will be selling chocolate-covered bananas.
MAI’A LECTURES 12:00 pm, Gabe Sachter-Smith of Hawai’i Banana Source will give a talk and slideshow presentation on best-growing practices and botanical & culinary history.
2:00 pm, Ken Love, Executive Director of Hawai’i Tropical Fruit Growers, will speak on banana preservation and cookery. He will also be available to answer any questions on the cultivation and use of tropical fruits.
BANANA T-SHIRT DYES All banana growers have experienced the impressive ability of banana plants to stain clothing. We’ll put those qualities to good use, letting fairgoers, both old and young, dye their own t-shirts or buy a t-shirt on-site to dye with banana stalks, stems, and flowers. Babs Miyano-Young will supervise several booths and provide the materials necessary for dyeing.
BANANA FIBER DEMONSTRATIONS Mahina and Cheryl Pukahi will show off their talents as lauhala weavers, using black banana fibers to highlight their work. Wesley Sen will demonstrate Kapa making using banana dyes.
MAI’A ‘HO’OLAULEl’A T-SHIRTS & BANANA BOOKS Organic cotton shirts sporting the beautiful botanical illustration of the event will be for sale at a cost of $20. The ultimate guide to all things banana is Angela Kepler’s The World of Bananas in Hawai’i: Then and Now. This hard-to-find book will entertain and educate you about Mai’a history, best gardening practices, pests identification, and how best to prepare, cook and eat bananas. A few copies will be available for $80, $36 less than its Amazon price.
BANANA FRUITS & PLANTS FOR SALE Gabe Sachter-Smith of Hawai’i Banana Source, Pu’u o Hoku Ranch, Ho’okua’aina, and other growers and farms will provide plants and fruits for sale. Some unusual types will be available, including a few Hawaiian mai’a. Samples will be offered so that attendees can learn about the flavors and features of numerous varieties of bananas.
AND MORE… In addition to the above activities, fairgoers will find opportunities to taste different kinds of honey, learn about pollinators at the Hanai Hives booth, find out how to support the Hawai’i Tropical Fruit Growers and what they offer to both farmers and backyard fruit fans, and other community groups.
Permanent link to this article: https://www.slowfoodoahu.org/slow-press-october-31-2022/
Ho’omaluhia Tour and Potluck – A Focus on Edibles in the Garden
Join Ms. Heidi Bornhorst for a walk through the lush Ho’omaluhia Botanical Garden to learn about the edible delights right from the garden!
Heidi Bornhorst is a certified Arborist, Horticulturist, and Landscape Designer poised to take garden enthusiasts through the green and lush Ho’omaluhia Botanical Garden. Expect to be wowed by all the garden greens you can eat along the way. Bring your curiosity for this walk fronting the picturesque Ko’olau Mountains. Bring a potluck refreshment to share at the end of the tour. Please also bring water, sun protection, and/or an umbrella.
Date and time
Saturday, October 8, 2022, 9:30 AM
Location
Ho’omaluhia Botanical Garden 45-680 Luluku Rd. Kaneohe, HI 96744
We are working to reinvigorate our local chapter this fall and could use some help! Our working board needs new energy, new idea and new members. We’re looking for folks with enthusiasm and interest in creating and organizing events. Another area of need is social media outreach. If you are someone who is passionate about Slow Food, and have time to work with us, please send a note of interest to Eliza Lathrop, our board chair. Her email is pilinafarms@gmail.com.
Ka Mai‘a Ho‘olaule‘a
Slow Food Oahu, Hawaii SEED, the Banana Source and Waimea Valley are working on creating a new event, Ka Maia Hoolaulea or the Banana Festival to be held on Sunday, November 13. We will need an assortment of volunteers to hang up banners, man our booths, give out banana samples and more. If you have the time and inclination, we’d appreciate your presence. At the bottom of this note, you will find more information about the Ho‘olaule‘a. If you are interested in helping, please contact Mary Lacques at hokuokekai50@msn.com.
Mai‘a Banana Festival 2022
On Sunday, November 13, 11 am-4 pm, The Banana Source, Hawai’i SEED, Slow Food Oahu, and Waimea Valley will host the inaugural Mai‘a Ho‘olaule‘a/Banana Festival.
While most of us are familiar with local apple bananas and the ubiquitous central American Chiquita, few of us have ever eaten a Hawaiian banana or enjoyed a savory banana dish. We hope to remedy that at Ka Mai‘a ‘Ho‘olaule‘a!
The Fest was created to expand our notions of what a banana is and can be. We’ve put together a program to help island residents successfully grow and use bananas in various ways.
Food Booths and Samples
A number of noted island chefs will be on hand to provide samples and recipes for banana dishes. Banana-based plate lunches and desserts will be available for purchase.
Mai‘a Workshops
There will be workshops on best-growing practices, botanical and culinary history, and on banana preservation and cookery.
Banana T-Shirt Dyes
Growers have experienced the impressive ability of bananas to stain clothing. We’ll put those qualities to good use, letting fair goers dye their own t-shirts or buy a t-shirt on-site to dye with banana stalks, stems and flowers.
Banana Fruits and Plants for Sale
Gabe Sacher-Smith of the Banana Source, Pu‘u o Hoku, and other growers and farms will provide plants and fruits for sale. Some unusual types will be available, including a few Hawaiian mai‘a.
Permanent link to this article: https://www.slowfoodoahu.org/slow-press-september-12-2022/
Learn How To Fillet, Prep, and Can Ahi. Slow Food Oahu continues its tradition of education on using and preparing local foods.
Slow Food Oahu is proud to present Chef Kathi Saks and long-time Slow Food member Laurie Carlson, who will teach this class.
We have 100# of Tombo Ahi that we will be working with, along with two giant pressure cookers and a handful of simple ingredients—salt, carrots, and olive oil.
The class will be held on Sunday, August 14, 2022, at 1:30 pm in a garden on Oahu’s Windward side.
It will last until the jarred fish has cooled and is ready to take home.
Bring pupu and beverage to share while awaiting the final product.
Upon completion of the course, you will have four 1/2 pint jars of the possibly best canned fish you’ve ever eaten.
Bring your fish fillet knives, rubber gloves (if you wish), aprons, and cutting boards. We have a few extra if you’re short.
Cost: $35 per person
Class is limited to 14 people
Refund Policy: Refunds will be given if the request is made seven days prior to the event; otherwise no refunds.
Location: Private Home Windward Oahu—Directions will be shared prior to the event.
Sunday, August 14th, 2022, 1 pm – Until the fish has cooled and is ready to take home.
For three days, hundreds of people from around the world will virtually gather, listen and discuss the regeneration of our world’s foodways to advance good, clean, and fair food for all. Each day will focus on a new lens through which our attendees will listen, share and plan the future of our climate, health, and food justice.
Slow Food Oahu is proud to present Jeremy Brown who has generously volunteered to teach this class. He is a Slow Fisher who has shared his knowledge of fish canning—far and wide—from Hawai‘i to Italy and many parts in between.
Slow Food Oahu will be offering this class on April 10. Bring pupu and beverage to share while the ahi is processed (appropriately 90 minutes).
Upon completion of the course, you will be able to take home 6 1/2 pint jars of the possibly best canned tuna you’ve ever had.
Cost: $30 per person
Class is limited to 12
Refund Policy: Refunds will be given if request is made 7 days prior to event, otherwise no refunds.
Location: Private Home Windward Oahu—Directions will be shared prior to event.
Slow Food Oahu is proud to present Jeremy Brown who is conducting this class. He is a Slow Fisher who has taught this canning class all over the country, as well as in Turin, Italy for Slow Food.
Slow Food Oahu will be offering this class on March 13. Bring pupu and beverage if you would like to share while the ahi is being processed.
Upon completion of the course, you will be able to take home 6 1/2 pint jars of the possibly best canned tuna you’ve ever had.
Location: Private Home Windward Oahu —Directions will be shared prior to the event. All attendees are required to bring proof of 2 vaccinations and a photo id.
Slow Food Oahu is hosting a cookbook & food book sale — complete with social distancing — in the courtyard of Kokua Market this Saturday, July 18, 2020 from 10 am to noon. Thanks to our generous donors, you will find a wide selection of recent and vintage cookbooks. There’s everything from local, vegetarian, and Asian recipes to celebrity chef tomes. Priced to sell, the proceeds all go to support Kokua. A great way to explore new cuisines, techniques, and new authors. Please join us!
Permanent link to this article: https://www.slowfoodoahu.org/slow-press-july-17-2020/
Meet in the hiker parking lot at the entrance to the Makiki Forest Recreation Area. [Please do not enter Hawaii Nature Center’s building or parking lot.]
Introducing monthly foraging with Dr. Nat Bletter! By popular request, Slow Food O’ahu is offering monthly foraging for the really slow foodies out there! Foraging tours will be held at different locations month to month for variety. Even if you’ve done this tour before, join us again for a tour at a different location!
Nature provides seasonal treats to enjoy. Join Slow Food O’ahu once again for monthly foraging adventures led by Dr. Nat Bletter, Flavormeister of Madre Chocolate. Nat earned his Ph.D. in ethnobotany from the City University of New York and is a past Slow Food O’ahu delegate to Terra Madre. You’ll be in great hands as you learn about, and get to taste the incredible plant life – seeds, flowers, fruit, vines, etc., all growing wild in Makiki, and likely also growing in your backyard! As we learned from Sunny Savage, author of Wild Food Plants of Hawaii, expanding your diet by including wild plants helps add to your gut’s biodiversity, and biodiversity is at the heart of what Slow Food is about. At the end of the tour, Nat will toss foraging finds into a very wild plant salad to be enjoyed by all. Bring a fork and plate, and bags for gathering.
Minimum of 8 people required, maximum of 20. Because of the nature of this event, refunds will only be given up until a week before the date of the foraging tour.
Be sure to wear sun, and/or rain protection and bring water.
Members of Slow Food Oahu are supporting Kokua Market’s relaunch by organizing this event. In addition to the sale, a number of Kokua s producers will be offering samples of their island made foods. Emma Bello, cheesemaker and goat master of Sweetland Farm, will have cheese and caramel sauce; María Tucker, representing Wailea Ag, will offer hearts of palm; Chef Ignacio Fleishour will serve Big Island lamb and his specialty Molokai venison products.
Slow Food Oahu has been working for several years to expand banana biodiversity in Hawaii. As a result of this work, we will be able to offer a good cross-section of banana keiki for sale, reasonably pricing at $15 per plant. There will be some Polynesian varieties, as well as more common backyard bananas.
Please drop off extra-unused-unwanted pots and pans, utensils, dishes, gadgets, and cookbooks at Kokua. Kokua looking for the following:
Cookware pots and pans
Kitchen utensils and gadgets
Bakeware
Dishes, glasses, cups, etc
Small kitchen appliances
Cookbooks
Food books and travel
Drop donations off at Kokua by Friday, March 20 .
Find kitchen-ware at bargain prices on March 22nd!
Drop donations off at Kokua by Friday, March 20.
Find kitchen-ware at bargain prices on March 22nd!
Olive Oil Workshop at Island Olive Oil
Thank you to Francine, Tom, and Gwen for organizing and supporting February’s Olive Oil Workshop at Island Olive Oil. Attendees so enjoyed themselves that they requested a followup workshop on balsamic vinegar. Mahalo to Angel and Brian of Island Olive Oil.
A date and time will be forthcoming.
Upcoming Events
Slow Food O`ahu and da Shop – May 2020 Cookbook Club
The next Oahu Cookbook Club is scheduled for Saturday, May 2, 2020 from 5:00 – 7:00 p.m. We’ll focus on recipes created by Chef Yotam Ottolenghi. Please bring a prepared recipe from one of Ottolenghi’s cookbooks. Da Shop will have cookbooks available for purchase.
From Amazon description of Plenty: One of the most exciting talents in the cooking world, Yotam Ottolenghi’s food inspiration comes from his Cordon Bleu training, Mediterranean background, and his unapologetic love of ingredients. “My approach can be the opposite to traditional French cooking, where everything is a little bit uniform and you work hard to process a sauce into the most fine and homogenous thing. I go the other way and use spices, herbs and other ingredients to create a sense of surprise.” Not a vegetarian himself, his approach to vegetable dishes is wholly original and innovative, based on freshness and seasonality, and drawn from the diverse food cultures.
Kristin’s Book Picks
Feeding the Crisis: Care and Abandonment in America’s Food Safety Net by Maggie Dickinson. The book tells the story of eight families as they navigate the terrain of an expanding network of assistance programs in which care and abandonment work hand in hand to make access to food uncertain for people on the social and economic margins.
An Extravagant Hunger: The Passionate Years of M.F.K Fisher by Anne Zimmerman. In this compelling biography, M.F.K. Fisher’s life is unwrapped and savored. From the RMS Berengaria that ferried her across the sea to France in 1929, to Le Paquis, the Swiss estate that later provided a backdrop for some of the most idyllic moments of her life, the stories of Fisher’s love for food, family, and men are meticulously researched and exquisitely captured in this book. Exploring Fisher’s formative time in Europe with her first husband; her subsequent divorce and remarriage to Dillwyn Parrish, and his tragic suicide; and the child she carried from an unnamed father, the story of M.F.K. Fisher’s life becomes as vibrant and passionate as her prolific words on wine and cuisine.
Permanent link to this article: https://www.slowfoodoahu.org/slow-press-march-13-2020/
Thanks for AttendingSlow Food O`ahu’sAnnual Meeting
Our well attended Annual Meeting at da Shop on January 23, 2020 was fun and informative. The potluck dishes were especially delicious! Our guest speaker, Jessica Rohr of Forage: Premium Hawaiian Meats, gave an informative and comprehensive talk on the challenges of foraging for meat in Hawai`i. For more information, you can contact her at www.foragehawaii.com.
Thanks much, Jess! Thanks to da Shop for hosting.
Jess Rohr Forage: Premium Hawaiian Meats
If you’d like future talks about issues of food and culture in Hawai`i, please give us your ideas. Email Kristin at mcandrewskristinm@gmail.com
February 2020 Events
Slow Food O`ahu and da ShopPresent The Cookbook Club Featuring Aloha Kitchen by Alana Kysar
Saturday, February 1, 2020 from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m.at da Shop, 3565 Harding Avenue,Honolulu, HI 96818
It’s that time again to bring cookbooks to life and try some new recipes.
Come grab a copy, find a recipe that speaks to you, and share a homemade dish potluck style as we talk story in da Shop’s warehouse after hours. Da Shop has copies of Aloha Kitchen by Alana Kysar available for purchase.
Timeline:
5:00 to 5:30 p.m. Chat. Set up. Fill in dish description cards. 5:20 to 5:30 p.m. Make plates. 5:30 to 5:45 p.m. Introductions. 5:45 to 6:15 p.m. Discussion. 6:15 to 6:30 p.m. Next meeting. Facebook group introduction. 6:30 to 7:00 p.m. Talk story. Clean up.
Please bring your own serving spoons, silverware, plate and glass/cup.
If you’ve ever wondered which Extra Virgin Olive Oils go best with different dishes, this workshop is for you. Slow Food members will learn the basics of what to look for, taste for, and smell for when choosing olive oils for your own kitchen.
You will learn to distinguish between mild, medium, and robust olive oils, and how to pair each type with different foods, wines, and cooking styles. You will taste a variety of fresh olive oils paired with small bites so you can learn first-hand how to choose the perfect olive oils for your own cooking and entertaining.
Participants are encouraged to bring a small sample of the olive oil you currently use in your home kitchen. Together, we will do sensory analysis on these oils to see if they are mild, robust, well-balanced or defective. It should be a fun and interesting way to apply what you will learn.
You are invited to bring a bottle of wine to enjoy during the event with some tapas-style pupu which will be offered.
Island Olive Oil Company will offer a discount on selected products to Slow Food Members and all attendees.
Angèl and Brian Foster are the owners of Island Olive Oil Company. They are both Certified Olive Oil Sommeliers & Sensory Analysts. They recently returned from a trip to the Mediterranean exploring new sources of distinctive olive oils for their shop.
Join Kristin McAndrews at the Honolulu Museum of Art
James Peale Still Life Balsam Apple
On February 4th, 6th and 9th from 1:30 to 3:00 p.m. Kristin McAndrews will give a Tour and Talk Story at the Honolulu Museum of Art focused on the power of food in art to evoke social and political issues. Entry is free to museum members and $10 if you’re not. Meet inside the lobby. Grab a folding stool.
Permanent link to this article: https://www.slowfoodoahu.org/slow-press-january-27-2020/
Mahalo to GoFarm Hawai`i, CTAHR, Hawaiian Seed Growers Network, Farm Link Hawaii and Kapiolani Community College Culinary Arts Program I would like to thank the organizers of the Variety Showcase at Kapiolani Community College who brought together plant breeders, researchers, organic farmers, ranchers, fisherpeople, restaurateurs, community chefs, produce buyers and eaters. Held on Monday, November 25th, the well-attended event was a wonderful opportunity to meet innovative and hardworking chefs and growers. The recipes were creative, beautifully presented and delicious.
As a chef, I collaborated with Emma Bello of Sweet Land Farm and Kathy Maddox of Mohala Farms (both farms are located in Waialua). We created a beautiful and tasty dish–Slow Roasted Butternut Squash with Mohala Farm Herbs and Sweet Land Farm Goat Feta.
Activities December 2019
The Cocktail Cookbook Club sponsored by da Shop and Slow Food Oahu In collaboration with da Shop on Saturday, December 7, 2019, from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m., join us for a short course focusing on the cocktail. Molly Pierce will prepare a few creative concoctions. The event will be held at 3565 Harding Avenue Honolulu HI 96816. For cocktail inspiration, try looking at Tequila Mockingbird by Tom Federle and Lauren Mortimer, available at da Shop.
Upcoming Activities – January 2020
The Annual Slow Food Oahu Members Meeting will be held on Sunday, January 19, 2020, at da Shop from 11:00 to 1:30 p.m. da Shop is located at 3565 Harding Avenue Honolulu HI 96816. Parking is across the street at the public lot. As usual, this meeting is a potluck. Please bring a favorite dish and/or drink to share. Also please bring recyclable silverware, dishes (serving spoons, bowl or plate as well as a cup or glass). We are in the final stages of arranging for our speaker. To register, an Eventbrite link will go up soon.
The Slow Food Oahu and Chinese New Year Food Tour is planned for Sunday, January 26, 2020, from 9:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Tickets are limited to eight guests. I will send you the Eventbrite link as soon as I have that information.
For 2020, the Board has brainstormed some fun and informative classes: olive oil, rum and maybe souchu will be on the agenda. If you have ideas for classes you’d like to participate in, please contact me at mcandrewskristinm@gmail.com.
New York Times news article forwarded by Laurie Carlson (Thanks!)
The root vegetable was a staple food for centuries until contact with the West. Its return signals a reclamation of not just land but a culture — and a way of life. By Ligaya Mishan Nov. 8, 2019
This newsletter will be my last for 2019.
See you in January 2020!
Happy New Year!
Permanent link to this article: https://www.slowfoodoahu.org/slow-press-december-1-2019/
November 7, 2019 at 6:00 p.m. See Marion Nestle at Kennedy Theater (UH Mānoa)
Sponsored by the Hawaii Culinary Education Foundation
Nestle’s lecture is on “What to Eat: Dietary Advice Meets Food Politics.” It’s at 6:00 p.m. at the University of Hawaii’s Kennedy Theater, 1770 East-West Road. Registration and other Information on Eventbrite. Information about the Hawaii Culinary Education Foundation is here. Other sponsors are the College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources, UH-Manoa and the University of Hawaii-West Oahu Sustainable Community Food Systems Program.
Limu Festival
From November 14 to the 16th 2019 Nā Mamo O Mū`olea is hosting the 10th annual Hāna Limu Festival in Hana, Maui, that honors Dr. Isabella Kauakea Aiona a marine biologist and researcher. For more information, contact Claudia Kalaola, wehi@kalaola.com.
Saturday, November 23, 2019 4:00 PM 5:30 PM Join da Shop for a Talk and Tasting by Kusuma Coorey on Accompaniments
Join da Shop for an author talk + tasting followed by book signing with Kusuma Coorey, who will be flying in from Sri Lanka. Her book Accompaniments: Chutneys, Relishes, Pickles, Sambals, and Preserves (UH Press) will be available for sale at da Shop, 3565 Harding Avenue, Honolulu, HI 96816
Luscious mango chutney spiced with Ceylon cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg; exotic jaggery pickle with fruit and dates; tomato “pachadi” bursting with the fragrance of cumin and black mustard seed fried in olive oil; stunning and versatile carrot marmalade; fiery, pungent, and creamy green chili and coconut sambal, laced with fresh lemon juice. These are only a few of the tantalizing dishes you will find in this cookbook.
The tastes of Asia and the West are brought to life through 175 recipes, along with lavish full-color photographs, in five categories of accompaniments: chutneys, relishes, pickles, sambals, and preserves. Chef Kusuma Cooray is inspired by flavors from her childhood that originate from India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Indonesia, and other South Asian countries abundant in exotic spices. At times her tempting creations show the multicultural influences of decades spent living and teaching in Hawai‘i, with its bounty of fruits and farm-fresh produce.Spices—the chef’s specialty—are what make these delicacies unique, lending mystique with their fragrance and, occasionally, additional nutritional value from their medicinal and curative Properties.
Written throughout in a clear and engaging style, each recipe includes a brief preface by Chef Cooray, offering tips, serving suggestions, or a charming remembrance. In a similarly warm and personal tone, introductory essays open each of the five main chapters, providing explanatory background and overall preparation methods. Whether a person is a professional chef, culinary student, home cook, or simply enjoys reading cookbooks, Accompaniments is an exciting addition to their bookshelf.
Kusuma Cooray is a Professor Emerita at the Culinary Institute of the Pacific, University of Hawai‘i. She is Dean Emerita for the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka in Hawai’i.
Monday, November 25th, 5:30 to 8:00 p.m. Variety Showcase Oahu!
Culinary Breeding Network: Variety Showcase Oahu!
GoFarm Hawai’i + Culinary Breeding Network are back at it again.
This event is an interactive mixer to build community between plant breeders, researchers, new and established sustainable farmers, ranchers, fishers, food artisans and eaters.
It’s a one-of-a-kind experience where attendees taste new, unique, traditional and in-development vegetables, fruits, grains and animal products with the breeders that created them and the researchers, farmers, ranchers and fishers bringing them to your plate.
Come taste a wide variety of banana, avocado, olena (turmeric), taro, peppers, corn, tomato, sweet potato, breadfruit, sugarcane & more!
Join us at the Ohi’a Cafeteria located at Kapiolani Community College, Honolulu Stay tuned for breeder and chef line up and details on how to buy your tickets.
For tickets: https://varietyshowcaseoahu2019.bpt.me/
Mahalo to Jason Chow, of Local General Store, for organizing a benefit fundraiser for Slow Food Oahu and to Ed Kinney for hosting a delightful and delicious dinner at Mud Hen Water on October 14, 2019. Jason gave a fascinating demonstration on butchering a pig. The menu included Kalua Pig Rillette, Arancini, Abura Miso, and Chicharrones as well as Somen Salad, Tom Yum Soup, Pork Chops and Pork Belly Luau Stew. The desserts were extraordinary in form and flavor: Strawberry Guava Fluff with Christmas Berry oil, basil and guava and Kalo Cotton Cheesecake. Num.
Thank you! Thank you!
Kristin’s Book Recommendations
Anthony Bourdain’s Hungry Ghosts by Anthony Bourdain and Joel Rose. In this graphic novel by Bourdain “chefs gather to outscare each other with terrifying tales of fee and food from around the world as they play Hyakumonogatari Kaidankai, the game of 100 candles . . . and pray they survive.”
The Good Good Pig: The Extraordinary Life of Christopher Hogwood by Sy Montgomery. This memoir is about a very good pig. The author, Sy Montogomery opens “her heart to a sick piglet, she had no idea that this creature, later named Christopher Hogwood, would provide her with something she had sought all her life: an anchor (eventually weighing 750 pounds) to family, home, and community.”
In Grocery: The Buy and Selling of Food in America, Micheal Ruhlman writes about “ a culture obsessed with food—how it looks, what it tastes like, where it comes from, what is good for us—there are often more questions than answers. Ruhlman proposes that the best practices for consuming wisely could be hiding in plain sight—in the aisles of your local supermarket.”
Slow Food Oahu Looking Forward
Slow Food Oahu Cookbook Club and da Shop
All the following events will be held at da Shop at 3565 Harding Avenue Honolulu HI 96816
Saturday, December 7, 2019, 4:00 to 6:00 p.m. Tequila Mockingbird by Tom Federle and Lauren Mortimer
Saturday, February 1, 2020, 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. Aloha Kitchen: Recipes from Hawai`i by Alana Kysar
Saturday, May 2, 2020, 5:00 – 7:00 p.m. Nopi: The Cookbook by Yotam Ottolenghi and Ramael Scully
Saturday, July 11th, 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. Vietnamese Food Any Day by Andrea Nguyen
In Fall 2020 The Slow Food Cookbook Club will be partnering with The Friends of Italy. More information forthcoming.
In January 2020 we will have a Slow Food Oahu membership meeting: date, place and time to be determined.
Permanent link to this article: https://www.slowfoodoahu.org/slow-press-october-31-2019/
Whole Hog Butcher Demo & Collaboration Dinner by The Local General Store & Mud Hen Water
Join us for a special collaborative event featuring a whole hog butcher demo and dinner by Jason Chow and Harley Tunac of The Local General Store and Alika Chung, Chef de Cuisine of Mud Hen Water!
Learn how to break down an entire pig while enjoying pupu from various pork cuts. The demo will focus on the different cuts of a pig and how to cook them, utilizing the entire animal.
A five course family style dinner will follow the demo, here’s a sneak peek at the menu:
*menu subject to small changes based on the availability of fresh, local ingredients
Tickets prices are inclusive of taxes, fees, and gratuity – $95 for Slow Food O‘ahu members, $115 for non-members.
This event is a benefit for Slow Food O‘ahu, an organization that seeks to create dramatic and lasting change in the food system by reconnecting with the people, traditions, plants, animals, fertile soils and waters that produce our food, inspiring a transformation in food policy, production practices and market forces so that they ensure equity, sustainability and pleasure in the food we eat.
FAQs
Are you able to accommodate dietary restrictions?
Due to the nature of pop-ups, it is not possible to accommodate dietary requests. Please contact us with questions before purchasing tickets.
What are parking options for the event?
Mud Hen Water has a small parking lot on 9th Avenue & Waialae (entrance on 9th, Mauka). Street parking is also available.
Will beverages be available?
Yes! A limited bar menu will be available for purchases.
How can I contact the organizer with any questions?
The Moon or Mid-Autumn Festival has various legends surrounding its traditions. According to the story of Hou Yi and Chang’e, ten suns surrounded the earth that destroyed the crops. People suffered. Hou Yi, a Chinese hero, crafted a bow to shoot down all of the suns except one with his arrows.
For saving mankind, the Queen of Heaven rewarded Hou Yi with an immortality potion. Hou Yi did not drink it because he wanted to stay with his wife, Chang’e. Hou Yi gave the immortality potion to his wife for safe keeping. One day, Chang’e drank the magical concoction as she was attacked by rebels. She became immortal, flying to the moon. People honor Chang’e with mooncakes and offerings of food for good fortune.
Chinese Mooncakes
A rich thick filling usually made from red bean or lotus seed paste is surrounded by a thin (2–3 mm) crust and may contain yolks from salted duck eggs. Mooncakes are usually eaten in small wedges accompanied by tea.
Slow Food Tour and Lunch Celebrating the Moon Festival
Sunday, September 8, 2019 from 9:30 AM to 1:00 PM (HST), Maunakea Street, Chinatown, Honolulu, HI 96813. Member: $60, Non-Member $70. The tour is already sold out but you can put yourself on the waitlist.
Join us on our exciting Slow Food Chinatown Tour, at the time of the fall Moon (Harvest) Festival. Explore the history, culture, and food traditions of Honolulu’s Chinatown. Shop its markets to learn about seafood, fresh produce, and traditional foods. Visit bakeries, noodle factories, specialty shops, temples and historic sites. Sample local foods such as poke, roast pork, look fun noodles and tropical fruits. Bring your shopping bags with you so you can buy fresh produce, noodles, manapua, and specialty products.
Following the 2-hour walking tour we will enjoy lunch together at one of Chinatown’s finest restaurants. The 5-course family-style Chinese menu will include traditional Moon Festival dishes such as roast pork, chicken, and Moon Cakes. Meal cost is included in the tour price. Please alert us in advance of any food restrictions.Meeting location and parking suggestions will be emailed to ticket-holders 48 hours before the tour.
Please note: We keep this tour size limited to 8 to insure an intimate experience and avoid blocking already crowded sidewalks and markets, but we also need to set a minimum of 5 participants for this event in order to assure that our volunteer tour leaders’ efforts are used to good advantage. If we don’t fill the minimum, we will offer full refunds and alert ticket holders to other upcoming tours. Also consider a private tour for your family or group!
Thanks for your understanding. We hope you can make it! Cheers, Slow Food O’ahu Chinatown Tour
The tour is already sold out but you can put yourself on the waitlist.
Monthly Foraging with Nat and Slow Food Oahu
September 15, 2019 1:00 pm – 4:00 pm
Member: $15, Non-Member, $20
Forage with Nat Bletter at the Hawaii Nature Center! By popular request, Slow Food Oahu is offering monthly foraging for the really slow foodies out there! Foraging tours will be held at different locations month to month for variety. Even if you’ve done this tour before, please join us again.
Nature provides seasonal treats to enjoy. Join Slow Food Oahu once again for monthly foraging adventures led by Dr. Nat Bletter, Flavormeister of Madre Chocolate. Nat earned his Ph.D. in ethnobotany from City University of New York and is a past Slow Food Oahu delegate to Terra Madre. You’ll be in great hands as you learn about, and get to taste the incredible plant life – seeds, flowers, fruit, vines, etc. all growing wild in Makiki, and likely also growing in your backyard!
As we learned from Sunny Savage, author of Wild Food Plants of Hawaii, expanding your diet by including wild plants helps add to your gut’s biodiversity–the heart of Slow Food. At the end of the tour, Nat will toss foraging finds into a very wild plant salad to be enjoyed by all. Bring a fork and plate, and bags for gathering.
Minimum of eight people are required with a maximum of twenty. Because of the nature of this event, refunds will only be given up until a week before the date of foraging tour.
Be sure to wear sun, and/or rain protection and bring water.
*Slow Food O’ahu encourages our participants to come with an open mind and an appetite for learning (and eating). If you are not sure of the plant life, do not put it in your mouth.
from Honolulu Magazine July 17, 2019 by Martha Cheng
50 Shades of Yellow: This Man Runs a Banana Library on a Farm in Waialua
Gabe Sachter-Smith Stalks Bananas Around the World and Builds a Banana Library of Hawaiian Cultivars.
By Martha Cheng
“Most people think of ‘the best banana’ as the one which tastes the best when the fruit is eaten ripe and raw,” says banana explorer, breeder and farmer Gabe Sachter-Smith. “But when I think of ‘the best,’ my thought is ‘for what purpose?’ Fruit for fresh eating? Fruit for smoothies? Frying? Fermenting? Fiber for making rope? Animal feed? Cut flowers? Medicine? Landscape foliage?” This particular banana is named Praying Hands—two “hands” of bananas fused, as if they were glued together. It’s a mutation of a Filipino cooking banana and in a half-ripe stage can be steamed and boiled, or eaten raw when ripe.
Bananas don’t grow on trees. The plant is actually a giant herb. Gabe Sachter-Smith says he learned that fact at 14, when he was still a “normal middle-schooler” growing up in Colorado. “Trying to understand what that meant led me on a never-ending quest to learn more about bananas,” he says. “I was never particularly interested in eating the fruit—it was really the concept of what exactly was a ‘banana plant’?”
Sixteen years later, on a farm in Waialua, he maintains a banana library of Asian, African, Pacific and Hawaiian cultivars. The latter includes the finicky mai‘a manini, the banana peel and leaves a variegated light cream and green, as if painted with watercolors, and the iholena, its fruit tinged coral pink. His banana quest has also sent him around the world: to the Solomon Islands, where he learned of a slender banana with a fluffy texture, nicknamed the “Five Minute” banana for how quickly it cooks. There, he ventured to Makira, “the heart of the banana world,” where a woman had collected 80 different cultivars. In Uganda, which has the highest per capita consumption of bananas in the world, he kept a lookout for giant pythons hiding in collapsed termite mounds while documenting wild native and domesticated plants. Along the way, he also sipped banana beer, banana wine and banana juice. When we first speak, he is heading to Laos and China as the expert identifier on a banana expedition: “Sometimes when you are exploring the unknown, you really just don’t know what it is you are looking at,” he says.
This stalking of bananas is not just for curiosity’s sake. Sachter-Smith breeds new varieties hoping to establish plants that can stand up to diseases like banana bunchy-top virus, which has devastated Hawai‘i’s banana production since it was introduced 30 years ago.
Sachter-Smith’s passion is simple and profound. “I just enjoy pursuing things that interest me,” he says. “Most people think of ‘the best banana’ as the one that tastes best to a human when the fruit is ripe and raw. I like to think each different type of banana has its own unique highest purpose, and it’s my calling to figure out what that is for each one, to know its story.”
He estimates that there are about 3,000 banana varieties in the world, “depending on how you measure it—which is more philosophical than scientific,” he says. “But I’ve accepted the true answer is unknowable, so that also means I will never stop learning about them because I want to try to know about them all.”
First Cookbook Club Gathering
Thank you to the cooks who attended the Cookbook Club.
Slow Food Oahu and da Shop partnered for its first Cookbook Club gathering–a discussion and potluck led by Emily Lau (da Shop), Molly Pierce (cook extraordinaire) and Kristin McAndrews (Slow Food Oahu) inspired by the book Six Seasons: A New Way With Vegetables, still available for purchase at da Shop. Twelve cooks brought a variety of delicious samples of McFadden’s innovative recipes. Lamb, tuna, pasta, eggplant, cauliflower, potato, corn, apple and tuna dishes as well as a delicious carrot pie were sampled by all. Cooks also brought homemade bread, guava mead and wine. While getting to know one another, we had a lovely conversation about McFadden’s philosophy food. Emily, Molly and I also appreciated that cooks brought their own silverware, serving spoons and dishes. We can’t wait for the next Cookbook Club meeting in November. Emily, Molly and I will keep you posted on the cookbook and the date
Permanent link to this article: https://www.slowfoodoahu.org/slow-press-august-29-2019/
Da Shop is very excited to announce our first Cookbook Club gathering, a discussion and potluck led by Molly Pierce and Kristin McAndrews (Slow Food Oahu) inspired by the book Six Seasons: A New Way With Vegetablesavailable for purchase at da Shop.
When: Saturday, August 10th | 5-7 p.m. Where: da Shop: books + curiosities | 3565 Harding Avenue, Kaimuki Cost: Free Event Parking available in municipal lot across the street.
Please bring a homemade dish from the book Six Seasons, a bottle of wine if you wish (BYOB) and your own dishes, silverware, cups and serving spoons (in an effort to be eco-conscious).
Six Seasons received the James Beard Award for Best Book in Vegetable Focused Cooking and has also been acknowledged as Best Cookbook of the Year by The Wall Street Journal,The Atlantic, Bon Appétit,Food Network Magazine, Every Day with Rachel Ray, USA Today, The Seattle Timesand The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel.
Joshua McFadden says that his “goal in writing this book was to encourage and energize cooks of all skill levels—that means you—in your efforts at seasonal and local eating”. McFadden also encourages shopping at locally sourced food markets. More about the author on his web site.
Join Slow Food O`ahu, da Shop, and University of Hawai`i Press to celebrate Hawai’i Regional Cuisine – Author Talk & Book Signing
On Saturday, July 20, 201 from 3:30 to 5:00 p.m. at da Shop: books and curiosities 3565 Harding Avenue Honolulu, HI 96816
Hawai’i Regional Cuisine: The Food Movement That Changed the Way Hawai‘i Eats by Samuel Hideo Yamashita
The first in‐depth study on the origins, philosophy, develop‐ment, and legacy of Hawai‘i Regional Cuisine (HRC), this book is based on interviews with thirty‐six chefs, farmers, retailers, culinary arts educators, and food writers, as well as on nearly everything written about the HRC chefs in the national and local media. Yamashita follows the history of this important regional movement from its origins in 1991 through the following decades, offering a boldly original analysis of its cuisine and impact on the islands.
The founding group of twelve chefs—Sam Choy, Roger Dikon, Mark Ellman, Amy Ferguson Ota, Beverly Gannon, Jean‐Marie Josselin, George Mavrothalassitis, Peter Merriman, Philippe Padovani, Gary Strehl, Alan Wong, and Roy Yamaguchi— grandly announced in August 1991 the establishment of what they called Hawai‘i Regional Cuisine. At the time, they had no idea how dramatically they would change the food scene in the islands. While they each had their own style, their common commitment to using fresh, locally sourced ingredients of the highest quality at their restaurants quickly attracted the interest of journalists writing for national newspapers and magazines.
The book’s final chapters close with a discussion of the leading chefs of the next generation and an assessment of Hawai’i Regional Cuisine’s impact on farming, fishing, ranching, aquaculture, and culinary education in the islands. Hawai‘i Regional Cuisine will satisfy those who are passionate about food and intrigued by changes in local foodways.
Bio of Author:
Samuel Hideo Yamashita is currently the Henry E. Sheffield Professor of History at Pomona College, where he has taught since 1983. He grew up in Kailua, on the island of O‘ahu, Hawai‘i. A Woodrow Wilson Fellowship led to graduate work in history at the University of Michigan and a postdoctoral year at Harvard University. Long fascinated with food as a historical subject, he has been gathering material for a history of Japanese food since 2009 and has given lectures on the origins and evolution of Japanese cuisine and the “Japanese turn” in fine dining in the United States. Hawai‘i Regional Cuisine is his first book‐length foray into food studies and part of a larger exploration of fusion cuisines along the Pacific Rim.
Upcoming Events
NEW!
Cook Book Club Saturday, August 10, 5:00 to 7:00 PM featuring Six Seasons: A New Way with Vegetables by Joshua McFadden with Martha Holmberg
Join us for the first Cook Book Club at da Shop, a collaboration with Slow Food O’ahu, showcasing Six Seasons: A New Way with Vegetables by Josh McFadden. Celebrate this innovative cookbook with a potluck style dinner, featuring dishes from Six Seasons, prepared and shared by participants!
Meeting details TBA soon.
Six Seasons is available for purchase at da Shop: 3565 Harding Avenue, Honolulu, HI 96816.
September 21, 2019 is VegFest!
Join VegFest Oahu on Saturday, September 21, 2019 at Frank Fasi Grounds near the SkyGate sculpture, 558 South King Street, Honolulu.
