"Ono Grinds" Cooking Class at Kuaiwi Farms

Mulberry crumble

From farm to fork to happy belly, Una Greenaway takes participants full-circle in her "Ono Grinds" cooking class.

In addition to coffee and cacao Kuaiwi Farm grows a large assortment of fruits and vegetables, many of them rare exotics. Cooking class participants enjoyed a tour of the farm, picking produce as they went, including surinam cherries, chayote shoots, mulberries, and kale. The farm has several traditional garden plots dispersed among avocado, lime, and jabuticaba trees. It was inspirational to see the variety of produce that can be grown on only five acres. And they do it all organically, amazing.

Trees dripping with rangpur limes

Back in Una's kitchen, she showed us how to prepare several different dishes all with produce from the farm. We started with a simple guacamole served with yacon (pictured below) for dipping in place of chips and fresh, lilikoi lemonade.

Yacon "chips"

Outside on the lanai overlooking the farm, we enjoyed plates piled high with roasted taro, sauteed chayote shoots, Kabocha squash with a goat cheese sauce, kale salad and homemade sauerkraut. We ended the afternoon with a mulberry crumble that was sweet, delicate, and perfect.

Chayote shoots and kale

I not only learned several wonderful new recipes from taking Una's class, but left with a renewed drive to tread as lightly on this earth as possible. I do that by making local and sustainable food choices, gardening, composting, and recycling but feel that there is always more I can and should be doing. Not only that, but eating all this wonderfully fresh and healthy food made my body feel great.

Our lovely meal

You might remember that I took a chocolate making class at Kuaiwi Farm before. The farm also offers tours by appointment and various classes and workshops throughout the year. Produce can also be purchased with advance reservations. Visit their website for complete information on how you can be their next visitor: http://www.kuaiwifarm.com/farmtours.html