ALOHA FESTIVALS COMMENCES MONTH-LONG CELEBRATION OF HAWAIIAN CULTURE
For the first time in 50 years the Court is a Hawaiian Family The first event is the Aloha Festivals Royal Court Investiture, where members of this year’s Court will officially take their place and be adorned with traditional symbols of their respective titles. This event will include traditional chants, hula kāhiko and the pageantry and regalia associated with traditional Hawaiian royalty. The official Opening Ceremony will follow that afternoon, at the Royal Hawaiian Center Royal Grove to mark the commencement of this year’s Aloha Festivals celebration.
WHO: Aloha Festivals 2010 Royal Court WHAT: Aloha Festivals 2010 Royal Court Investiture WHEN: Thursday, September 2, 2010 2:00 p.m. WHERE: Hilton Hawaiian Village, Village Green
WHO: Aloha Festivals 2010 Royal Court WHAT: Aloha Festivals 2010 Opening Ceremony WHEN: Thursday, September 2, 2010 5:00 p.m. WHERE: Royal Hawaiian Center, Royal Grove # # # # # CONTACT: Nicole LaBerge, 808-354-2132, nlaberge@commpac.com
Sun, earth, water. It’s easy to see how these three elements factor into farming.What may not be so obvious—at least to those of us who rely on the widely used Gregorian calendar—is the importance of the moon in planting, gathering and harvesting food. If the impact of lunar cycles on farming seems somewhat… well, alternative, to put it gently… one doesn’t have to look far to see examples of the moon’s influence on our physical world.
Water, which flows through plant cell walls and tree sap, is subject to the moon’s gravitational pulls; this effect is most visibly manifested in the ocean’s high and low tides. There’s also the curious incidence of Hawai‘i’s box jellyfish, which tend to swarm Hawai‘i’s shores approximately 10 days after every full moon.
These days, biodynamic agricultural practices, which take into account cosmic forces such as the moon, planet and stars, are becoming more popular. But long before the principles of biodynamic farming were laid out, the Hawaiian lunar calendar guided all farming and fishing in the Islands. The Hawaiian lunar calendar, or kaulana mahina (literally, “positions of the moon”), detailed 30 moon phases, each with its own name (in contrast, most American calendars recognize only eight).
“Each [moon phase name] tells you what you can expect from that day,” said Kalei Tsuha, a Maui-born researcher whose work focuses on Hawaiian science, and in particular, the kaulana mahina, on which she wrote her master’s thesis while at the University of Hawaii, Manoa. “The moon traditionally told Hawaiians how to do what they needed to and when they needed to do it in order to make things efficient.”While the moon governed all activities, Tsuha helped me understand its importance as it relates to food:
“Certain phases, like the full moon phases, folks plant in the evening,” she said. “For daily phases when the moon was up during the daytime, then they would plant during that time.”
When Tsuha and I spoke, the next four days were kū moon phases, meaning the moon was going to be up the whole day. “We’re going to plant in the daytime and get the most mana that we can from the moon,” Tsuha said. “That’s basically what it is: trying to capture and harness the energies of the moon while it is up in our presence. And getting the most productivity from the seed or the tuber or the slip or the huli that we place in the ground.”
“In terms of farming, it really has to do with what the moon phase name means, and the luminosity of the moon, or brightness,” she said. For example, Tsuha said in the Kahalu‘u district of Hawai‘I Island, farmers will plant bananas by the evening moonlight of kulu, one of the last four full moon phases. “They believe kulu means ‘to drop’ and therefore the bunch of bananas will be so heavy that you’ll need to prop it up with a stick.” Tsuha emphasized that all her examples are extremely place-based. Each farming practice “was something that they learned over generations of time. And it differed from one ahupua‘a to the next, from one island to the next, from family to family,” she said. For example, people just up the coastline from Kahalu‘u will choose the night of mahealani, the third full moon phase, to plant bananas. “It’s the same practice—planting in the evening,” Tsuha said. “However, the reasons for why they would do it, the mana‘o of why they choose those certain moon phases is different. It’s all based on what they’ve learned over time to be efficient.”
The kaulana mahina as it relates to fishing is perhaps more obvious. Of particular importance are the tides and moon luminosity. Reef fish are generally gathered during the dark moons, whereas red fish and fish more accustomed to bright light would more naturally be caught during the bright moons. But just as with farming, “It made a difference from one ahupua‘a to the next,” Tsuha said. “Because if you’re on the eastern side of the island, you’re more concerned with when the moon is actually rising and how that is going to impact your tides and your landscape and your oceanscape. As opposed to those who are on the western side of the island who would be more concerned with when the moon would be setting because that is when the impact is greater.”
While some may be frustrated that the lack of universal rules precludes a “Lunar Farming for Dummies” guide, such a handbook would in a sense be in opposition to the very philosophy behind farming by the moon: being aware of our surroundings. This is especially important in Hawai‘i, given the number and variety of microclimates on each island; There simply isn’t one solution for all the islands.
In these days of Internet connectivity, where information from one corner of the globe can be accessed in another, it’s tempting to assume that knowledge is universal, but in the case of farming, it’s exceedingly place-based. For example, biodynamic farmer Richard Clark of O‘o Farm on Maui, says that while he does Internet research to learn biodynamic principles, he found “it’s all on [mainland] East Coast time. Even the moon phases information is one or two days off. So I have to go on my own observations.”
While the kaulana mahina was created long ago and has fallen out of Hawai‘i’s general consciousness, the principles it drew on are universal: “It’s all based on paying attention to your environment, which is something we lack today,” Tsuha said. “We’re so disconnected from it. If more people started paying attention to the moon phases, I think that helps us reconnect … to reconnect to wherever it is they’re living, to their ahupua‘a, to their geographical district. And help them learn more about their place…Then we’re a little more efficient about how we can live and sustain ourselves off of our own environment.”
HAWAI`I OCEAN'S & CORAL REEF AWARNESS EVENT AT PU`U POA BEACH, KAUA`I
SATURDAY, AUGUST 21, 2010,
9 A.M. - 12 P.M.
Aloha, On Saturday, August 21, 2010, Save Our Seas (SOS) in collaboration with St. Regis Princeville Hotel, Malama Na `Apapa (MNA) will be hosting a Hawaii Ocean’s & Coral Reef Awareness Event at Pu`u Poa Beach (the beach in front of the St. Regis Princeville Hotel.) Pu'u Poa reef is the site of the first Reef Check location in the World which was surveyed thirteen years ago in 1997.
All residents and visitors are invited and encouraged to come and join us at this free event and participate in activities, education, and awareness of our Marine Ecosystem.
Event Schedule 7:00 am – 8:30 am Participants set up at the beach.
9:00 am Welcome ceremony Hawaiian Blessing Message from St. Regis Princeville General Manager Mr. Milton Sgarbi – Presentation of new coral reef awareness signs
10:00 am – 12:00 pm Scuba Reef Survey – Scott Bacon. All Scuba divers interested in joining must be certified and provide their own equipment. Contact Scott for more details. 808-482-0683.
Ocean Pulse: Intro to Reef Check monitoring, basic REEF training on fish and invertebrates, Eyes of the Reef - Invasive Species and Coral Disease followed by a snorkel survey with SOS President Capt. Paul Clark and other volunteers. Please bring your own snorkel gear and underwater camera if you have one.
Guided snorkel tours of the reef with multiple SCUBA and Snorkel instructors.
If you will be Scuba diving we will be meeting up at the Princeville Foodland parking lot at 7:30am then driving our gear down the hotel access road to the beach. There is a locked gate so we will need to all go down together. This will only be a one tank dive as we are doing some additional training on surveying invertabrates and the substrate plus it is a long swim to the outside reef.
Perfect Tomato Salad BY SUSIE MIDDLETON From Her New Book Fast, Fresh & Green, a collection of more then 100 vegetable recipes.
Heirloom Tomato, Summer Peach or Mango, and Fresh Herb “Gazpacho” Salad
I call this a “gazpacho” salad not because it looks like one, but because you can roughly purée any leftovers in a blender, chill it, and you’ve got a delicious gazpacho. The dressing for this salad has orange juice in it, but in summer when mangos are in season, blend them instead, a substitute is store-bought mango smoothie drink (like Odwalla). When you toss the salad with the dressing, taste the juices, and if they aren’t bright-tasting, add more balsamic vinegar or soy sauce. You can also add more mango drink if you need sweetness. Dress the salad close to serving to keep a nice texture.
2 lb./910 g heirloom tomatoes (a mix of sizes—including cherries—and colors is nice) 1 lb./455 g ripe peaches or 2 small mangoes, peeled and pitted ½ small red onion (about 2 oz/60 g) 2 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil 2 Tbsp. fresh orange juice or mango smoothie drink, and more if needed 1 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar, and more if needed 1 tsp. soy sauce, and more if needed ½ tsp. finely grated lemon zest ¼ tsp. Kosher salt, and more if needed ½ cup/15 g lightly packed small whole fresh mint and basil leaves (or large ones torn into smaller pieces) edible flowers, petals separated if large, for garnish (optional)
Core the large tomatoes and stem any cherry or tiny tomatoes. Cut the larger tomatoes into large, evenly sized pieces. To do this easily, first cut the tomatoes crosswise into thick slabs, and then cut the slabs into large dice (3/4 to 1 in/2 to 2.5 cm wide). If the tomatoes are very irregularly shaped, just cut them into wedges and then cut the wedges in half. Cut the cherry or tiny tomatoes in half (if small) or into quarters (if larger). Put all of the tomatoes into a large, shallow serving bowl.
Peel the peaches with a paring knife and slice them off the pit into wedges or chunks that are close in size to the tomato pieces. Add the peaches to the bowl. (If using mangoes, peel the skin with a vegetable peeler and slice the flesh off of either side of the pit. You will have 2 disks. Lay them flat and cut them into pieces close in size to the tomatoes.) Slice the onion lengthwise as thinly as you can and add it to the bowl, too.
Whisk together the olive oil, 2 Tbsp. orange juice, 1 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar, 1 tsp. soy sauce, lemon zest, and 1/4 tsp. salt. Pour the dressing over the tomatoes and peaches (or mangoes). Add half of the herbs, season with salt, and toss gently but thoroughly. Taste the juices and add more vinegar, soy sauce, and orange juice if you need to. (You can let the salad sit for a few more minutes and taste and season again if you like.) Before serving, toss again and sprinkle with the remaining herbs and the flowers (if using).
Serves 6
Every year, there’s that blissful moment when you hold the season’s first vine-ripened tomato in the palm of your hand. Maybe it’s late afternoon, shadows lengthening, and you’ve pulled over to the side of the road to dash into the farm stand boasting “ripe tomatoes” before it closes for the day. Or maybe you’ve wandered, expectantly, into your own backyard garden, where every day you’ve been saying a little blessing over one particularly perfect fruit that’s just about ripe. Now you’re holding it—sun-warmed, plump and heavy with promise— and you know that between vine and dinner table, this tomato will need nothing more than a slicing knife, a sprinkle of salt and maybe a drizzle of olive oil.
But fast forward to late summer or early fall, and now your tomato blessings are getting burdensome. There are more and more coming all the time (those cherry tomatoes reproduce like rabbits) and you need ideas, please. Canning, preserving, making sauce and even roasting are all wonderful things to do with tomatoes. And yet it would be nice to enjoy simple tomato side dishes while you still have the real, ripe thing around.
A fresh tomato salad is the answer. This is such a versatile dish that, depending on how you put it together, it can be almost like a salsa or a topping for grilled meat—or it can be so substantial that it could easily turn into a main dish. One thing’s for sure: You won’t get bored.
There are just a few keys to making harmonious tomato salads (and avoiding those droopy, overly marinated things that are the denizens of bad salad bars.) Start with proper seasoning (a good vinaigrette), then combine vine-ripened tomatoes with complementary ingredients (like summer fruits), then cut everything into similar-sized pieces (tiny or chunky, depending on your goal). A final flourish of fresh herbs—and dressing just before serving—will guarantee you a fresh, vibrant dish.
To make a good vinaigrette for a tomato salad, start with a flavorful extra-virgin olive oil as your base. (If you don’t have a favorite olive oil, invite friends over and do a side-by-side tasting of some of the better grocery-store brands to pick your “house” favorite. You can always splurge on the good stuff, too, but it’s nice to have something good around that you can use every day.) Next, look to deeply colored vinegars like balsamic or sherry for your vinaigrette; their slightly caramelized flavors work well with the tomato’s acidity. Taste your tomatoes; unless they are low-acid yellow or orange tomatoes, you’ll probably also want to add something a little bit sweet to your vinaigrette. I often use fruit juice (like orange or even mango or pineapple), but a touch of honey is great, too. Use just a pinch of salt to bring your vinaigrette together, then season the tomatoes themselves with a bit more salt before dressing the salad. Dress your salad only a few minutes before serving—just enough time to jumpstart the flavor-mingling, but not so much that the texture of the salad is compromised.
Great salad partners for tomatoes include summer stone fruits like peaches and nectarines, as well as juicy cucumbers and unctuous avocadoes. (Diced zucchini can work in salsa like salads, too.) In summer salads, don’t pair tomatoes with dense vegetables like raw carrots and broccoli; these veggies need a long marinating time to be palatable in a salad, and your tomatoes will be too soft by then. Besides, those veggies don’t lend any complementary juices to the mix. Peach juices create an amazing alchemy when they mingle with tomato juices. As a bonus, stone fruits and tomatoes are in season at the same time, so you might happen to pick up both from the farmers’ market on the same day. You can also certainly make a terrific tomato salad without adding any other fruits or vegetables as main ingredients—simply mix a few varieties and colors of tomatoes instead.
Add secondary aromatic ingredients to your salad for another layer of flavors. Thinly sliced sweet onions or scallions, minced fresh ginger or garlic, crunchy sliced radish or jicama … these ingredients all add subtle character to your salad. Also, feel free to go crazy with copious amounts of tender fresh herbs like mint, basil, cilantro and parsley. Combine two or more, and instead of chopping them to death (they can get bitter), tear them into small pieces or even use small whole leaves. And if your herbs are flowering, toss the flowers in, too. You’ll have a beautiful salad.
There’s one last way to change the character of your salad—vary the size of the ingredients. You can dice all of your main ingredients (including the tomatoes) for a salad that’s almost like a salsa. Spoon it on grilled fish or grilled eggplant.
If you’re just using cherry and other tiny tomatoes, cut them into halves or quarters for more of a chunky dressing, and use that to top a grilled steak. Or go bigger—a salad with vegetables cut into larger pieces can double as a dressing for a pasta or a main dish destination for seared shrimp. Just remember to keep the size of your pieces relatively consistent within a salad to give a pleasing texture.
By now you’ve probably figured out what I’m up to: giving you some guidelines for improvising a summer tomato salad. But I realize that at the end of a long day, we don’t always feel like improvising. So I’ve included a recipe here that you can follow whenever you like (Heirloom Tomato, Summer Peach and Fresh Herb “Gazpacho” Salad). But be forewarned: Once you make it a couple times, you’ll find yourself tweaking and adding and playing around with flavors. It’s fun like that.
Susie Middleton is a food writer, magazine consultant, chef and recipe developer. She is the former editor and current contributing editor for Fine Cooking magazine, and consulted on the startup of Edible Vineyard magazine in 2009. She’s a member of the Institute of Culinary Education’s Alumni Hall of Achievement, and has developed hundreds of recipes for publication. She lives, cooks and gardens on the island of Martha’s Vineyard in Massachusetts. She blogs about sustainable food on the Huffington Post and about cooking vegetables on her website, www.sixburnersue.com. Fast, Fresh & Green is Susie’s first cookbook.
Fast, Fresh & Green is available at your favorite bookseller
Mahalo to all of you who have written in, Tweeted and added Facebook comments on this issue. I can't tell you how much all of us at Edible Hawaiian Islands appreciate the time you took to let us know how much you love what we are doing.
For those of you who have asked for more breadfruit recipes, I have a link from the National Tropical Botanical Gardens, thanks to Diane Ragone just click on this link, Breadfruit. Let us know your favorites.
As for the beautiful photo on the cover that so many of you have commented on, it is by Jim Wiseman, if you would like his contact info, email Lana at INFO.
