From tree to nib: making a small batch of cacao

cacaopodsandnibs Cacao pods and seeds with pulp. One of the many lovely things about Hawai’i is we can grow our own cacao or find the pods fresh for sale. Although making chocolate is pretty complex and involves some expensive equipment (Champion juicer, Cuisinart or melanger, molds), you can get a great chocolatey result from just using the nibs. Here is how to select a handful of fresh cacao pods and then ferment, dry, roast, and winnow them to create bitter yet delicious and nutritious nibs, and a few ways to use those nibs.

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Teeny Tiny Laupahoehoe Farmers Market

Laupahoehoe-P1017592 Laupahoehoe farmers market.The Laupahoehoe Farmers Market started in September of 2009 with two enterprising women setting up a tent and selling their harvest and that of their neighbors. They persevered for several weeks until another vendor, and then another, started setting up Sunday after Sunday.

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Newsletter 59 - January 2014

Aloha

The holiday season is about friendship and reconnecting with each other, meeting together and sharing meals. It's how we keep communities together. Over the past few years, we as a network of individuals, families, and friends have cultivated deeper connections with our food, which also implicity invigorates the fabric of our community.

This year it was pleasantly surprising to see how much of our Christmas dinner was locally sourced, seemingly without much effort or forethought. We can only hope that this is a sign of how our local food system is changing slowly but surely, right in front of us.

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Newsletter 58 - December 2013

Aloha

We have entered another season of turning and celebration. The sun’s course in the eastern and western skies will miraculously reverse itself from south to north.

We’re in the midst of Makahiki, Thanksgiving is around the corner, the winter solstice is but a moon away, and several major religious holidays, whose origins are embedded in nature’s cycles, will soon be upon us.

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Locally Grown Skin Care Products by Second Skin Naturals

SSN 009 Raven C.J. Liddle of Second Skin Naturals in Moloa'a, Kaua'i, harvesting ingredients for her line of skin care products.Second Skin Naturals™ produces beauty and skin care products, including its flagship Hawaiian Jungle Shield Spray, salves, scrubs, masks and rejuvenators, all made from certified organic and locally grown ingredients. The company’s founder Raven C.J. Liddle created the company out of her personal search for high-quality skin products, finding that the market did not supply what she was seeking.

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Mayor Kenoi Signs Bill 113, restricts future GMO growing

On November 19th the Hawai'i County Council voted 6-3 in favor of Bill 113 (Council members Onishi, Yoshimoto and Ilagan voted Against), which restricts future cultivation of GMO crops on Hawai'i Island. Mayor Kenoi, who faced substantial political pressure to veto the bill, instead signed Bill 113 into law on December 5th with a strong statement advocating local control of agriculture in Hawai'i County: "With this new ordinance we are conveying that instead of global agribusiness corporations, we want to encourage and support community-based farming and ranching."

For the complete text of Mayor Kenoi's powerful position supporting Bill 113 and sustainable agriculture, CLICK HERE.

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From tree to nib: making a small batch of cacao

Teeny Tiny Laupahoehoe Farmers Market

Newsletter 59 - January 2014

Newsletter 58 - December 2013

Locally Grown Skin Care Products by Second Skin Naturals

Mayor Kenoi Signs Bill 113, restricts future GMO growing

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