S'more Bites

Let's talk about opposites. Sometimes all I eat are vegetables from the farmer's market and garden and sometimes I can't resist a SPAM musubi or poke bowls with fish from Lord-knows-where. You might catch me making my own yogurt or pasta, but you'll never find me making my own mustard or nutella, because ain't nobody got time for that. Sometimes I make you a healthy coleslaw and sometimes s'mores are just on my brain. I hope you don't mind.

Seriously, I try not to keep sweets in the house because it'll be stuffed in my face faster than you can say high fructose corn syrup. My name is Gwen and I'm addicted to sugar. So I hope you understand that while I tempt you with the cutest marshmallow treats ever, I totally want you to eat your vegetables, too.

S'more Bites
serves as many as you want to make!

1 bag marshmallows
2 cups chocolate chips
4 graham crackers

Melt the chocolate chips in a bowl in the microwave, stirring every 30 seconds until chips are melted and smooth.

Place graham crackers in a ziplock plastic bag, seal and crush crackers into a fine meal, a little smaller than the size of rice kernels. Place crushed crackers on a plate.

Dip marshmallows, one at a time, in the melted chocolate and then in the crushed graham crackers. Allow to cool on a drying rack. Serve as a dessert, party favor, holiday treat or snack. Great recipe for kids to make. Enjoy!

Original Hawaiian Chocolate Factory Tour

Cocoa beans drying in the sun

The Original Hawaiian Chocolate Factory is one of only a handful of places in the United States where chocolate goes from bean to bar. In fact, it was the very first. And right here on the Big Island, no less.

The Coopers bought the small farm in 1997, with about 1 acre of already established cacao trees. Not knowing exactly what they had, the cocoa beans were tested and revealed to be of both the forestero and criollo varieties, ideal for making high-quality chocolate.

Which is exactly what they did. Today, the Coopers sell their single-bean chocolate (a rarity in the chocolate world) all over Hawaii in addition to offering tours of their farm.

Mr. Cooper, owner of OHCF, wows the crowd with raw cocoa peans straight from the pod 

Come on a tour and you'll be treated to the smell of cocoa beans drying on racks in the sun and a glimpse of the otherworldly manner in which cacao pods grow straight out of the trunks of their mother trees. Cooper likens the cacao harvest to an "Easter egg hunt," as the ripe pods come in various bright hues such as magenta, yellow, and orange. The pods are then split open to reveal slimy white beans that  self-ferment in wooden crates until they shed their outer coating. The beans are then dried, cleaned, roasted, winnowed (to remove the hard, outer shell), conched (the process of adding soy lecithin and vanilla powder), and tempered to become chocolate. Witnessing this involved process brings chocolate appreciation to a whole new level and is highly recommended.

Freshly picked ripe cacao pods

Tours can be had at their farm in Keauhou on Wednesday and Fridays at 9am for only $15. Be sure to book ahead, these tours sell out fast. More info: http://ohcf.us/tour/

This farm tour was part of the 2013 Big Island Chocolate Festival.

Big Island Chocolate Festival Prelude Reception

Chocolate and wine flowed freely under a gloamy light at the Big Island Chocolate Festival's kickoff event hosted by The Shops at Mauna Lani.

Chef Wressell explaining chocolate and wine pairings

The tasting reception included chocolate and wine pairings by chef Donald Wressell of Guittard Chocolate Company, known for his 2011 win at the National Pastry Team Championship. Wressell emphasized the similarities in both wine and chocolate tasting, in that terroir (where the grapes/beans are grown) plays an essential role in the overall flavor.

Ruth's Chris chocolate samplings

Several restaurants offered sweet and savory samplings. Monstera created a spicy ahi roll with tuna, pineapple and chocolate sauce. Ruth's Chris Steakhouse served chocolates with mango, raspberry, and chocolate mousse as well as a lava cake. Just Tacos provided churros with white and dark chocolate drizzles. And the evening's standout, Tommy Bahama Tropical Cafe, presented pulled pork sliders with  a chocolate hoisin sauce and last year's winning dessert, a malted chocolate pie which didn't disappoint.
Westside Wines and Johnson Bros. of Hawaii both supplied the revelers with wines meant to pair well with chocolate.

Proceeds from the reception support the new Hawai'i Community College-Palamanui kitchen and Kona Pacific Charter school. The prelude reception was part of a series of events in the Big Island Chocolate Festival going on now through March 23, 2013. For a full list of event details visit http://bigislandchocolatefestival.com/ .

Vegan Avocado Ice Cream

What if I told you this ice cream was vegan?

What if I told you this can be made without an ice cream maker?

It's creamy and simple and pretty darn healthy for a dessert. Oh, and if you make it with Maui sugar, it makes a nice little Sustainable Sunday treat. Would you run off and make some? Let's do it!

Avocado Ice Cream
serves 3-4

2 very ripe avocados
1/4 cup sugar  or agave syrup
2 TBL lemon juice

Chocolate sauce:
1 part cocoa powder
1 part agave syrup

Cut avocados into chunks and toss with lemon juice. Place in a freezer safe container, taking care to spread the chunks out some so they don't freeze in one large block.

Once avocado is frozen, place in a blender or food processor with sugar or agave and blend until smooth. Taste and adjust sweetness or add more lemon juice if desired.

To make chocolate sauce, mix cocoa and agave together in a small bowl.

Serve immediately topped with chocolate sauce. Enjoy!

Sustainable Sunday: Kona Chocolate

A few weeks back I was lucky enough to snag a space in a chocolate making class at Kuaiwi Farms in Captain Cook. That's right, chocolate made right here in Kona.

We learned how chocolate is made from bean to bar. Kuaiwi Farms is known for their excellent organic Kona coffee, but they also grow cacao (for the chocolate), mac nuts, and a variety of tropical fruits and vegetables.

Cacao trees and pods

In fact, I think the farm tour was my favorite part of the class. It was inspirational to see how owners Leon and Una used all organic methods to farm their land. They were so passionate about their crops, it shone through quite brightly in the way they run their farm, their products, and their smiling faces.

And making chocolate is no small feat. After the beans are harvested, they go through a fermentation process which must be carefully monitored for spoilage.

The beans are then dried and roasted.

The nibs must then be separated from their shells mechanically, then ground into a "meal." Whip this in around in a choc-o-matic machine made especially for this purpose for a day or so along with a little cocoa butter and sugar and you, almost, have the finished product.

Vague, you say? Yes, well that's the point. As I said, making chocolate is a long and delicate process and I don't blame these guys for wanting to keep some of their processes a mystery. Class attendees were provided more details and video, however if you want the same info you'll have to take the class, too. My lips are sealed.

Once the chocolate reaches the proper consistency it must be tempered, or brought slowly down to a certain temperature.

This is accomplished by smearing it all over a marble slab and sliding it back and forth with some spatulas.

Once the chocolate reaches the right temperature, it gets poured into molds and left to harden into candies and bars.

We were then invited to indulge in some of the still warm and melty chocolate. That little bowl of goodness nearly made me cry. It was that good.

Live in Hawaii and want to take a chocolate making class? Contact these folks for their next available classes:
Kuaiwi Farms (they also offer farm tours by reservation, HIGHLY recommended if you can't attend a chocolate class)
Madre Chocolate

Want to skip the class and get your hands on the good stuff? Here's where to score:
Madre Chocolate
Original Hawaiian Chocolate
Island Naturals

*I was not paid or compensated for the content of this post. I just really like these guys:)