Chipotle, Strawberry & Lilikoi Jam

My friends Jim and Cherie own a strawberry farm in Mountain View. The farm is a hydroponic farm and many of our group of friends chipped in to help plant the thousands of bare root berry plants. And the fun part is that we got invited back to pick berries! So, what do you do with a gallon of strawberries that only have a shelf life of two days or so? We had berries with home made whipped cream for two nights, then what? Make Jam! When I make jams and jellies I like to do flavors that I cannot buy in the store, so I decided to make A Chipotle, Strawberry & Lilikoi Jam. I Have lots of Lilikoi (passion fruit) growing here and constantly am juicing it. You can omit the lilikoi if you do not have access to it. You can also make this with frozen berries.  You can play with jam making, it is fairly easy to do, just follow the directions on the kind of pectin you buy, or here is what I did for some perfectly spicy, sweet and tangy jam, which also made a great glaze on grilled chicken breasts. I had it on toast yesterday and it was incredible. I think maybe I could just eat this stuff with a spoon! Or dip chocolate in it! You can make a very small batch of refrigerator or freezer jam if you do not have all of the equipment.

Chipotle, Strawberry & Lilikoi Jam

8 cups strawberries

1 can Chipotle Chiles in Adobo

4 cups raw organic sugar

1 cup honey

1 cup Lilikoi juice

2 envelopes of LIQUID Pectin

Special Equipment: Canner with rack, jars, jar lifter, canning funnel and new seals.

Put jars, lids and seals in dishwasher and run on the hottest temperature. Leave in the dishwasher till you are ready to use. If you don't want to to this, wash all items and then place in a pot of boiling water for 5 minutes and leave in the hot water till you are ready to use them.

Process chiles, lilikoi and berries in a food processor, being careful not to over process, you want some pieces of berry.

Makes 12 pint jars of jam.

Pour berry mixture, sugar & honey into a large pot. Cook, stirring frequently till mixture comes to a boil. Add the liquid pectin and cook for another 5 minutes. Immediately pour the hot jam into hot jars and put the lids on. Once you have completed this, put the jars into a canner with warm water and bring to a boil for 10 minutes. Remove and cool. Once the jam is completely cool it will solidify. If you want to use it as a glaze, just heat it up in a small pan. This is also great served over cream cheese or marscapone.

Creamed Tuscan Kale

I love Tuscan Kale, also known as Black Cabbage and Dinosaur Kale. My favorite way to make it is to make crispy chips from it. Last night I made a simple creamed dish with it and it was over the top delicious. Fortunately I made a large batch and had some more for breakfast.

Creamed Tuscan Kale
*You may use other kale, but this one is particularly tender. I suggest blanching other kinds of kale for one minute in boiling water, then to an ice bath before proceeding with this method.
Ingredients:

About 1# of Tuscan/Dinosaur Kale (the smaller leaves the better for this recipe) washed and dried
2 tablespoons of olive oil
2 tablespoons cake flour
1/2 cup of heavy whipping cream
1 nut of nutmeg
zest of one lemon
salt to taste

• Rough chop the kale. 
• In  a wok, sauté the kale till limp
• Sprinkle the cake flour on the kale and stir 
• Add cream and stir 
• Add nutmeg and lemon zest, stirring till the cream thickens slightly. 
• Taste and add salt as needed 

How easy is that? 

Wordless Wednesday: Hilo Coffee Mill

Simple Local Dinner~ Grilled Ono and Bok Choy

I got some great Ono (local fish, also known as Hawaiian Wahoo) steaks and grilled them up, stir fried some bok choy that I bought from my "plantain lady" at the Hilo Farmer's Market and smashed a few fingerling potatoes and grilled them along with the fish. 


Ono is a realative of the King Mackerel. The flesh of the ono is whiter, flakier and has a more delicate texture than the meat of other fast swimming pelagic species. Although they may make oceanic migrations as far as those of tuna and marlin, it contains less of the strong-tasting "blood meat" that the latter species use for long-distance swimming.  While ono may grow to up to 100 pounds in round weight, the local Hawaii catch is usually between 8-30 pounds. It is a perfect fish for grilling and can usually be found at reasonable prices in Hawaii because it is so local. We have a Big Island Grocery chain Foodland/Sack n Save that regularly buys fish from local fishermen. They sell them cut up as well as whole. They also make the best Poke on the island, fresh daily. 


Grilled Ono
serves two but can be easily doubled


Two Ono Steaks (6-9 ounces each)


Marinade: 
1/2 cup of pineapple vodka * 
1/2 cup Hoisin Sauce
1 inch of fresh ginger grated with a microplane 


2 tablespoons smoked paprika


In a bowl, stir marinade and add ono. Marinate for 30 minutes. 


Remove Ono from the marinade and sprinkle with smoked paprika. 


Oil a hot grill and place the ono on the grill. After 4 minutes turn. The fish should be ready 3-4 minutes later. 

* I make pineapple vodka by steeping pineapple slices in vodka for 4-6 weeks. You can also use sake in place of the vodka if you do not want to take the time to make it. 

Stir-Fried Baby Bok Choy
serves two but can easily be doubled


This is such an easy and healthy recipe! 


6-8 baby bok choy cut in half


2 Tablespoons Peanut Oil
1 Teaspoon Sesame Oil 
pinch of crushed red pepper 


2 Tablespoons Soju (soy sauce)


In a large wok, add the oils and pepper, heat on high and toss in the bok choy, stirring frequently. It only takes 5-8 minutes to cook.  


Sauce with the soju before serving. 


Grilled Smashed Fingerling Potatoes
serves two but is easily increased


This can be done with fingerlings or small red or yukon gold potatoes. 


6 small potatoes or fingerlings
olive oil
Hawaiian sea salt (I use my home smoked salt) 
freshly ground pepper


Microwave or bake the potatoes till barely soft... do not over cook them or they will fall apart. I usually microwave them for 2 minutes and check them, then add a minute more if they are not soft enough. If you are using an oven, I would check them after 15 minutes. 


With a potato masher gently smash the potatoes so that they are about 3/4 of an inch thick. Again, the key here is not to Over mash. The potatoes skin should be mostly intact so that the potato will hold together. Drizzle generously with olive oil, salt and pepper, then flip and do the same on the other side. 


On a hot grill, grill the potatoes for 4 minutes, flip and cook for 4 minutes more. You want a nice crust. 

You may need to add more seasoning as much of it will fall off when cooking, but I like both the "cooked seasonings" and the freshly added ones. You can also add some fresh herbs such as rosemary or parsley. 

Seafood Farmer's Market in Kona

On Friday April 29th I attended the National Energy Labs Hawaii second Seafood Farmer's Market. It was 100% local and 100% awesome. It is billed as the first market of eco friendly sustainably raised seafood in the world. Another first for Hawaii. Lucky us!

Chef Olelo pa'a Faith Ogawa gave a demonstration on cooking the beautiful farmed abalone in a browned butter sauce. This is a technique that I took home with my abalone and recreated for an appetizer. Simply, you take butter, add garlic and shallots, then some chopped parsley, some capers and then a bit of white wine. Simmer to reduce the sauce slightly then toss in the sauteed slices of pounded abalone. The abalone was pounded and then dipped in flour and an egg wash before being flash fried in canola oil. 

The prawns I bought were the main star of my dinner. I marinated them in a sate marinade and  then grilled them and served them on bamboo rice. I did the abalone as an appetizer and started a collection of the shells. 

This market is a service to the local community and an astounding 2000 people showed up for the first one in April, which surprised the vendors so much they ran out of seafood. Now the market also features local produce, honey and other products. Mark your calendar for the last Friday of the month. Get there early! 

There are many vendors that I regularly buy from at NELHA (aside from the market) and there are tours of various vendors there during the month. Click here to see what is available to the public. 

Final NYC Post: RAMPS!

I have long loved ramps, before they were the new arugula. Being in Hawaii is something that has prevented me from cooking and eating ramps, along with another of my favorite wild spring treats, morels. I have not found any  morels here in New York, but last week suddenly ramps appeared at Union Square Green Market and even Whole Foods. I greedily cooked them twice and this post is a result of the last meal I made with them:

Duck breasts sauteed then finished off in the oven served with a reduction  of pomegranate juice (syrup consistency) on a bed of wild baby arugula tossed with olive oil and lemon, Russian fingerling potatoes halved and blanched then sauteed in the remaining duck fat, grilled asparagus and ramps and grilled pineapple slices for dessert.
Please go here:  Spring Dinner With Ramps  for the full post on my other blog. Meanwhile, enjoy these pictures!

Birth of a Farmer's Market

On Thursday, January 21st, Hawai'i island got a new Farmer's Market! This is a good thing for the community and the island. The small village of Pepeekeo on the Hamakua Coast opened their new market with a blessing by Reverend Baron Kimura of the Tenrikyo Kaka'ako Church. About 80 people from the community attended the opening.

Matthew Pritchard-Tage (above) is the owner of the 1.6 acres on Highway 19 where the market is being held on Thursdays from noon till dusk and Sundays from dawn till 2 pm.

Tom Lackey's Huli Huli Chicken was the star of the day and there were long lines waiting for the chicken to finish cooking. We took one home and it was succulent and delicious. Also at the oepning was Bob Ferazzi's  Make'a Nursery  selling young healthy vegetable and herb plants 3 for $2. We bought some purple tomatillos and hot peppers from them and I plan on going back again to get some more starts.

There was shave ice of course, what Hawaiian event does not have shave ice and huli huli chicken? A fruit and vegetable vendor had her hands full keeping up with her orders, there is certainly a need for more vendors to meet the demand.

The mayor sent an emissary to speak to the crowd on his behalf. Public Information Specialist Desiree Cruz thanked the vendors and customers for supporting the market and talked about the importance of community support and fresh local foods.

County Councilman & local grocer Dominc Yagong spoke at length with enthusiasm about how important farmer's markets are to the people of Hawaii and how we are so fortunate to have so many things growing locally. He emphasized that it is not just the marketing that is important, but also a chance to talk story with friends and neighbors in a way that builds community.

It will be great to see this market grow and to see how it provides a service to the people of the Hamakua Coast. If you are interested in a spot at the market, each 10' X 10' space rents for $15. Produce vendors, food vendors and artists are needed to grow this market.  See you in Pepeekeo!