Tag Archives: farming
Kohala ‘Aina Festival This Saturday 1pm-on
I will be presenting a short workshop on Heirloom Seeds for Hawaii at 4pm. Please come to this fundraiser to help the young people of North Kohala. Wanna get your kids off their phones and onto the land? This is the place.
The Return of the Waimea Farm Fair
After 20 years, the Waimea farm fair returned this year. Expanding on the giant pumpkin growing contest of years past, this year brought tomato tasting and pumpkin cooking elements as well. I may max out at a 45lb squash, so no “giants” for me, but I do love to celebrate with the growers. It is a squash solidarity. You do not understand patience until you grow squash in Hawaii.
Pumpkin and squash can be tricky here and Hawaii, and our giants can vary by hundreds of pounds from season to season. But that isn’t the point, the point is that community gathered to celebrate nature, ambition, and the pure dedication that it takes. HPA school entered three very different pumpkins that helped to illuminate how different pumpkins from the same patch can be. The Largest at rear of photo took 1st in the school garden category) Soil maverick and giant pumpkin grower Noah Dodd led the way for HPA by using his own unique soil microbe building methods to get the squash to grow to super sized proportions.
I know and respect organic grower Donna Mitts, who has been giving me updates throughout the season. ( see image above) Her squash was golden and beautiful, and very deserving of the attention that it got. She named the squash Myrtle, and it grew into it’s name.
Baby Max showed the enthusiasm that we all felt. Here Max celebrates Donna’s pumpkin. Council woman Margaret Wille joined Donna Mitts and myself in a photo among the giant pumpkins. Chefs and home cooks alike marveled at the culinary possibilities.
Young Kawika Winters himself weighed in at only 1/2 a pound more than the giant pumpkin that he grew. Here he awaits the judging flanked by the other contenders.
Ribbons were awarded in many categories, including record keeping for the school gardeners. How wonderful to reward a quieter, but valuable dedication. Mala’ai School garden won the record keeping prize by creating a beautiful photo log that captured the season. http://www.malaai.org
After the celebrations for giant pumpkins, we moved on over to the tomato tasting and pumpkin cooking competition.
As the judging took place, many of us marveled at the challenges of comparing the beautiful island grown produce. We were very happy to see some of our islands best including the innovative Chef Sandy that were part of the judging crew.
Then more talk of pumpkins. Donna Mitts wore many hats throughout the event including making the wonderful and refreshing “Pumpkin Juice” that cooled us under the hot Waimea sun. She used pumpkin puree, apple juice and pumpkin pie spice to make this welcomed treat. Then came the judging of the pumpkin cooking contest. Many of us were nervous as the judges buzzed around through plate after plate of homemade, beautiful food. There were three categories, including Main course, desert, and misc category. Pumpkin butter, pumpkin curry, pumpkin tortellini, pumpkin nut bread, pumpkin casserole, pumpkin chiffon pie, pumpkin crumble, and my dish Pumpkin Noodle Nut.
I am not sure why I was nervous with such a wonderful mix of people celebrating food. But when farmer/organizer Paul Johnson and the judges gave the “all clear sign” that the crowd could sample all things squash, my tension eased, as we laughed and nibbled the plates clean.
I mean we really went for it. Each dish was special, and made with love. We celebrated local ingredients and family recipes.
Paul was a good sport, and surprised us all by reappearing in costume. The kids loved it!
Then the prizes were announced by category. I would not have been a very good judge, because, each one was so wonderful. It was like picking puppies or kittens. The unique dishes were creative and flavorful, and many were very nutritious as well.
I took a risk by entering a brand new recipe to the contest. I wanted to showcase squash as much as possible in one dish. I had made a gluten free, vegan recipe called noodle nut last year. After meeting with Chef Stephen of Under the Bodhi Tree restaurant in the shops of Mauna Lani http://www.underthebodhi.net I was inspired to try new things. So I changed my existing recipe to include cooked pumpkin puree, ground toasted pumpkin seeds, and grated fresh pumpkin. Chef Stephen does raw and vegan entrees, and also loves to use pumpkin seed. Pumpkin is so versatile, so I thought…heck go for it, this is the only pumpkin contest we have ever had on the island, so I thought it is time to pull out all of the stops.
So just a day before the contest, I was revamping and “pushing the pumpkin” into the recipe, and I am so glad I did. Using all gluten free and vegan ingredients, my home grown black pumpkins, home grown cayenne chili peppers, Pat Hall’s aquaponic grown green onions, and local macadamia nuts. It was an island proud dish. The empty dish says it all. It was cleaned out and awarded a 2nd place ribbon in the main dish category. Third went to the lovely pumpkin curry, and first place went to one of our island’s best chefs, Executive chef James Babian. Chef Babian was the Executive chef of the Four Seasons resort here on the Big Island. He can be credited with helping to move the buy local movement here over a decade ago. He makes his own pasta from scratch in the kitchen of the restaurant that he and his wife Christine created in Waikoloa village named Pueo’s Osteria. http://www.pueososteria.com Go there, trust me.
Let’s just say if anyone deserves first place, I have to say it is him. I managed to get one lone tortellini off the plate before the other tasters descended. It was divine, and sort of melted in your mouth. I feel lucky to have gotten one, and no, I have no photos, because it was either grab one, or photograph it. So sorry blogosphere, but eating won. It was that good. But watch out Executive Chef Babian, I’ll be back next year with another year of pumpkin cooking under my belt. I’ll do my best to take on your tortellini again..or at least be quite ready to again grab one off the tasting plate.
Mahalo to all those who attended, volunteered their expertise, and added their talents to the day. We all love a good come back story, and what better come back than that of the community farm fair.
A week in images
The Poetry of the National Heirloom Expo
Looking Out for Your Neighbor
I often question why farmers are pitted against each other at a time when farming is harder than ever. I have had many try to coax me into being competitors and not allies with others that work the land. More importantly, the question remains why do farmers fall victim to it?
Let me explain my upbringing, and that may clarify my confusion. I remember a B&W photo of my Grandpa on a tractor. He was one of many tired, but glowing faces at the end of a long line of tractors, and at the tail end of a long harvest day. One of the farmer’s in the area had suffered an injury at a critical time of the year. Without being asked by the injured farmer, or his family, a small convoy of tractors made their way to the field one Saturday at dawn. It was community in it’s purest sense.
From what I hear, that was pretty common. The take away was a photo, maybe some sandwiches shared under a shade tree, and the comfort in knowing that you were in it together. It is just what people did, and it is what people can still do.
Political leaders, and some farmers in Hawaii, and beyond have tried to dismiss that kind of sediment, noting that romanticizing farming isn’t the way to go. But what if you are not romanticizing, but simply farming with the integrity that used to be common. To me, not having concern for your fellow farmers isn’t “real farming” rather than the opposite. Where did our ethics go? When did greed outshine being a neighbor? I ask us all to look inside ourselves and see if we are being a neighbor in a true sense.
From Farmer’s Daughter to a Seed Advocate
I am a farmer’s daughter, and though all thought I would marry a farmer, I became my own farmer. We can trace farming back more than 7 generations in my family, back to those who left Ireland so long ago. So why do I mention this? Because as of late the idea has been weighing heavily on my mind. At last week’s GMO round table, here in Hawaii, I watched people’s head dip low in shame when I mentioned my family legacy with the earth. You see, I don’t “look” like what they think a farmer should look like, and that makes it evermore easy for the pro-GMO clan to dismiss my optimism as the result of being young and silly. But the next generation of farmers looks an awful lot like me, and many, like me, want to return to the farming ways of our own ancestors.
The way I look at it, just by living and breathing all of that farming knowledge throughout my childhood has put me above the rookie category from the get go. So ever more often, when the topic of GMO vegetables comes up, I notice that more are averting their eyes, and changing the subject. I know where my ancestors would stand on things. They were proud of their “family” tomatoes, beans, potatoes and the like. My Brother continues to garden and he grows the same variety of tomatoes that my Grandmother did. Needless to say, that is a wonderful link to a woman that shaped our childhoods. The downside is that kind of seed connection between generations may not always be a possibility.
One issue that never gets brought up by any of the Big Island GMO panel discussions is that when we lose our tie to the seed, we shatter our ties to the many thousands of years of food knowledge that bonds us to both our human family, and to the plants that feed us. This link to ancestral intelligence, along with the pride in growing the food that they did, is what helps people get through hard times. You are never alone, as you carry your ancestors with you. Sometimes we have physical reminders like a pocket watch from a grandfather. At other times, the tie to a people and a place are contained within a tiny seed. The Native Hawaiians and other First Nation Peoples get it, as do many regional farmers who pride themselves in growing what their ancestors did. Any farmer who ever left their homeland did so with seed in their pocket, guaranteed. My family is no exception.
When people ask “how long am I going to farm?” I never have an answer, because farming is a gift. It is a calling. I think about seed a lot these days, and I have to say that I feel successful as a small farmer, because people hug me a lot. I mean a lot. Sometimes I get hugs everywhere I go. It isn’t so much me, but it is my actions, and my interest in their family history. By seeking out the ancient and historic seeds, I am using my skills with the land to rekindle people’s ties to their own ancestors. By planting, nurturing, and harvesting the food of their ancestors, I am tied in with their family. That is why they hug me, and that is why I keep speaking up for those who came before us.
A Week in Pictures
For the Love of Baskets
Bringing a bit style to my deliveries are the baskets the I use. I have tried my best to make a sustainable, stylish solution to delivering to the chefs of Hawaii. They have loved the vintage style that both the car and the baskets add to their day. I have even been asked to leave my ol’ little car out in front of Merriman’s restaurant at their 25th anniversary party. Both “Pixie”the car and the delivery basket brimming with squash are featured on this month’s special 4-course squash menu at the Hapuna Beach Prince Hotel.
Both examples prove that an inexpensive, stylish, zero-waste solution comes in ahead of mainstream produce marketing. Rethink your marketing and delivery system and you may win by creating a big cost savings for your farm, and a meaningful connection with your customers. Do it your own way…guerilla style.
The Gettles of Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds Visit Farm!
Honored to say the least, it was a pleasure hosting the Gettle family as they toured Hawaii. I began my farm with Baker Creek Heirloom seeds, and I continue to this day with their company. Last April 1st, I took a chance by growing only heirloom seed as a means of trying to bring back squash growing to Hawaii Island. I thought that maybe I could avoid the many pests and disease here in the islands by using historic varieties. Bingo…it worked and with a great deal of style, beauty, and flavor to boot.
I loved the Gettle’s company, and I believed that they were an honest company that I wanted to do business with. Who would have thought that they would visit my pumpkin patch just prior to the farm turning one year old. Some times dreams do come true. That “chance” I was taking put me on the map for local produce. I grew exceptional, big, flavorful squash and worked directly with chefs to make a market for them.
Thank you Jere, Emilee, Sasha, and wee baby Malia!
Some of the take aways from their seed: Great germination, wonderful flavors, pure seeds, history, a wide variety of Winter squash and so much more.
Squash and Awe 