Line Up for TechConKona on November 2

TechConKona is a powerful business | technology | solutions conference. The event will bring together change agents, thought leaders and innovators. It all happens on Saturday, November 2 from 8:30 - 4:00pm at the NELHA Gateway Center in Kona. Come participate by registering here. 

At TechConKona, attendees will master how to use technology to boost the bottom line with immediate results. TechConKona is an eye-opening and exciting networking, educational and synergistic event for current and future business owners.

For half of the conference, speakers and panelists will focus on the technologies you can use to reach clients faster, easier, cheaper, and more efficiently than ever before.  The other half, speakers and panels will talk about the changing face of being green- and how it’s more possible than ever to have a healthy planet by using new ways to connect, communicate and run business.

Keynote Speakers are:

Henk Rogers – Video game designer and entrepreneur.  Best known for bringing Tetris to the world, Mr. Rogers, a Big Island resident, is founder and Chairman of the Blue Planet Foundation, which is currently working on ensuring Hawaii is moving towards it’s energy sustainability goals. Mr. Rogers is a proponent of food security on Hawaii Island. He will be discussing how technology and sustainability intersect for the benefit of all island residents.

Sonny Bhagowalia – The State of Hawaii’s first Chief Information Officer.  Mr. Bhagowalia has headed IT in multiple federal agencies including the US Department of the Interior. He is now working with the state of Hawaii to increase broadband access for all of the islands. He will be discussion the island wide wifi access initiative, and is encouraging small business to share their concerns with him. Sonny’s goal is investing in people. He is working to use the government workforce and provide them with the things they need and grow them in their jobs. He believes in giving people something exciting and a reason to stay here in Hawaii and not go to the mainland.

Chef James Babian – Chef, restaurateur, and Food Network participant. Chef Babian is known as an expert in  the sustainability movement of local, organic food on the Big Island.  A champion of the concept of creating menus using “seasonal, artisanal, and regional” cuisine, Chef Babian will discuss his experiences in food sustainability on the Big Island of Hawaii.

Speakers include:

Michael Kramer – Adviser for Natural Investments LLC, founder of the Hawaii Alliance for a Local Economy and board member of the Sustainability Association of Hawaii.  Mr. Kramer is the voice of green business in Hawaii, helping pass legislation to establish a new corporate structure in Hawaii, the Sustainable Business Corporation. Mr. Kramer will discuss the Think Local Buy Local campaign for local businesses and his work on the Big Island.

Amber Bieg – Sustainability expert, green business consultant, and strategic marketing consultant.  Ms. Bieg works in the San Francisco Bay Area on cutting edge projects including www.fibershed.org and www.thefoodcommons.com . These projects use technology to re-localize production of products and she will be a great resource for local farmers, food producers, restaurant managers, chefs and more.

Scott Schang – Manager at Broadview Mortgage, Orange, CA.  Mr. Schang is a successful business owner  and entrepreneur who helped pioneer inbound/content marketing in his field by utilizing the WordPress blogging platform, search engine optimization and Google analytics. An expert in SEO, website development for small business, and online marketing, Scott will share his knowledge about successfully marketing small businesses online.

Julie Ziemelis-Owner, Ziemelis Communications in Kona, Hawaii. Ms. Ziemelis is a local blogger, social media expert and marketing professional. Ms. Ziemelis is an influential online voice for Kona utilizing a variety of online social media platforms. She will share success stories, case studies and mobile applications to help you get your online marketing game ON!

Denise Laitinen-Big Island Blogger and Firewise Communities Hawaii Communities. Ms. Laitinen, a Stanford graduate, has been a Big Island journalist/writer for many years. Denise will focus her discussion on “Think Local, Hire Local” and will contribute her extensive knowledge in using social media platforms for outreach and marketing on the social media panel.

Won't you join us?

Cheese Plate 101

For those not in the know, I am very fancy. We enjoy a fine selection of canned beans in the cupboard, toss rocks for our dog to retrieve and if you're lucky I'll even wear make-up on the weekend.

Another way we keep it fancy is by enjoying cheese plates down at the beach on a Saturday evening. If you live in Kona, head down to Westside Wines where you can buy samples of their large cheese collection for $2-3 plus a great bottle of wine to wash it down.

For this fancy cheese plate date you'll need:

- A decent bottle of wine. White or rose is nice for a picnic, but get what you like.
- A selection of cheeses. If you are lucky enough to live near a cheese store, grab a few small portions of whatever sounds good, try some you've never heard of. Be bold. If you are not lucky enough to live near a cheese store, places like Safeway have some decent cheeses. Or slice up the cheddar block in your fridge, it's no big deal.
- Root through the contents of your refrigerator door for things like olives, artichoke hearts, peppers, pickles, kim chee maybe a sauce or two. Don't worry about trying to pair them with the cheese, just grab.
- Cut some veggies and fruit like cucumbers, broccoli, peppers, carrots, apples or peaches. Fresh herbs are nice.
- Find some bread or crackers.
- Pack up your goodies, don't forget wine glasses, a wine key, a cutting board, small knife, and some napkins.
- Find a picnic spot. We like Otec because we can bring the puppy.
- Mix and match! A little brie with some honey and jalepeno? Truffled goat cheese on toast with olives? Get creative. Get fancy.

The puppy that chases rocks

Cream of the Crop: Kona Coffee and Dessert Tasting

Kona Rising Coffee Co. offering up their excellent cold brew

Where can you taste all the very best Kona coffee the island has to offer and work on a sugar high at the same time? At the Cream of the Crop event held every August at the Four Seasons Hualalai of course.

Elite Kona coffee farmers and roasters face off in cupping competitions to see who has the best cup of joe in categories such as organic and estate grown coffees. There is also an amateur and professional Kona coffee dessert competition. Winners will be announced soon, check back here. Entrance, parking and coffee and dessert tastings are all free to the public.

Although it can get very hot at this event, the outdoor venue offers plenty of shade and the ever mindful Four Seasons supplies ice cold water for all. Live music plays in the background and a it's only a short stroll to admire the shoreline or enjoy one of the resort's restaurants. In addition to coffee and desserts, there are plenty of other vendors offering locally made products such as art and clothing.

Coffee highlights came from Kona Rising Coffee Co. and Buddha's Cup. Good luck to all. If you missed the event this year, mark your calendar for next August.

Avocado Kim Chee Potstickers

As promised, below is the recipe I entered in this weekend's Big Island Avocado Festival. While the recipe didn't snag any awards, I do think it is a fun vegetarian version of potstickers that is totally unexpected.

They do take some time to assemble, so if you can borrow an extra set of hands, that would make the process much faster.

Avocado Kim Chee Potstickers

By

Gwen Edwards

For potstickers:

·      1 package locally made potsticker/gyoza wrappers  (you'll need about 50)

·      1 ripe Big Island avocado

·      1 fresh egg

·      1 cup locally made kim chee

·      1 chopped Big Island green onion

·      ¼ cup chopped Big Island cilantro

·      ¼ cup chopped Thai basil

·      1 Big Island lime

·      Salt to taste

·      About 6 TBL spoons coconut oil

For dipping sauce:

(adapted from For the Love of Cooking)

·      ½ cup Hawaiian shoyu

·      ½ cup water

·      4 TBL spoons rice vinegar

·      4 tsp Hawaiian sugar

·      4 tsp sesame oil

·      1 chopped green onion

·      2 chopped garlic cloves

·      1 tsp chopped ginger

Instructions:

Make dipping sauce first, so it can marinate.  Combine ingredients in a mason jar and shake well.

In a small bowl, combine and mash avocado, chopped herbs, lime juice and salt.

In a food processer, pulse kim chee until shredded.

In another small bowl, beat the egg.

Working one at a time, fill each wrapper with 1 tsp avocado mixture and 1 tsp kim chee.

With your finger, put a little egg on edge of wrapper, fold over and press to seal.

In a skillet over medium heat, add about 1 tsp coconut oil.

Cook 6 – 10 potstickers at a time - do not crowd in pan.

Cook covered for 2 minutes, flip and cook another 2 minutes uncovered.

Repeat until all potstickers are cooked, adding coconut oil as needed.

Serve with dipping sauce and enjoy!

Big Island Avocado Festival & Recipe Contest

The creamy green fruit was celebrated once again at the 7th Annual Avocado Festival held at the Sheraton Kona.

The free event included a variety of food and craft vendors, live music and hula, a recipe contest, and appearances by Miss Kona Coffee and Avocado Man.

10 foot tall Avocado Man

Samples of recipe contest entries were on offer and included a number of creative and delicious dishes including the overall winner, Avocado Truffles and the People's Choice winner, Mushroom and Avocado Flan. My entry, Avocado Kim Chee Potstickers, got a nod for creativity. I'll be posting the recipe soon.

Avocado Kim Chee Potstickers

If you missed this free community event this year, look for it again next spring. And work on those avocado recipes!

1st Place in Kona Coffee Recipe Contest

The Big Island's most important recipe contest of the year was held on Sunday at the Sheraton Kona Resort. The Kona Coffee Recipe Contest, sponsored by KTA and Kamehameha Schools, included dessert and entree divisions divided in professional, amateur, and culinary student categories.

My display table. We went with a "candy shop" theme

I entered the amateur dessert division with my Kona Coffee Brigadeiro recipe and won first place!

Posing with Kona coffee royalty

Let me tell you, the competition was fierce. On either side of me were contestants that had entered for many years and knew all the tricks of the trade. We chatted as we set up our display tables and the intimidation factor grew quite high for me, as this was my first go at this particular contest.

I was so surprised, happy and grateful to have won. Those little brigadeiros (a Brazilian fudgy candy) look humble, but pack a mighty flavor punch. The display turned out pretty cute too, thanks to my helper Rosanne. Thanks also to Renee for cheering me on, and to Ciara and Brendan for bringing me a sandwich when I forgot to eat the entire day. Please see the winning recipe below and don't forget to drink 100% Kona coffee!

My lucky coffee cup ring

The Kona Coffee Festival continues until November 11 with loads of fun activities including a parade, coffee cupping contest, a concert, and much more. See you there.

Kona coffee brigadeiros

Kona Coffee Brigadeiros
A twist on a Brazilian fudgy candy

Makes about 3 dozen

1 cup sweetened condensed milk

½ cup espresso or very strong Kona coffee

2 TBL butter

2 tsp light corn syrup

½ cup cocoa powder

36 Kona coffee beans

In a medium saucepan combine condensed milk, coffee, butter and corn syrup over medium-high heat stirring constantly with a wooden spoon. Once the mixture begins to boil, turn the heat down to medium-low and continue to stir for 15-25 minutes or until the mixture thickens, like fudge.

Pour the mixture into a bowl without scraping the sides of the pan, discard what remains in the pan. Allow the mixture to cool in the fridge for 3-4 hours. 

Using a teaspoon, scoop the mixture and roll into balls with butter-coated hands. Dip into cocoa powder to coat and press a coffee bean on top. Enjoy!

You should know that it took me 4 attempts to get the technique for this recipe right. Don't get impatient when you are cooking the batter, it needs to be pretty thick or else it won't hold together. I just don't want anyone to get the idea that this is an easy recipe, it's not! But it is certainly delish and was worth all previous failures. 

Sustainable Sunday: Natural Energy Lab Tour

On the Kona side of the Big Island we have a place called NELHA (Natural Energy Laboratory of Hawaii Authority) that stretches along the coast between the airport and the harbor and houses a diverse  collection of science research facilities, aquaculture farms, and even a charter school that focuses on ocean science. They offer wonderful informational tours of the facilities that include tastings at some of the farms. I was in it for the abalone, but managed to glean a ton of other interesting facts along the way.

Our tour guide, Guy Toyama, began with a presentation in the Gateway center, a building powered entirely by the sun and ocean. We learned all about OTEC, Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion, a technology that has been used (intermittently) in Hawaii since 1974 to produce clean energy by using ocean temperature differences. The photo above is part of an OTEC plant, built by Lockheed Martin.

Experts estimate that by the year 2050, we will have depleted our oceans of fish. For real. Aquaculture farms, like Kona Kampachi, are looking to close that gap by using sustainable practices to supply hungry fish eaters. Fish farming has gotten a bad rap due to pollution and flavor issues. But Kona Kampachi is doing it right with open ocean cages that do not harm the fragile ocean environment. And it tastes dang good, too. We bought some of their smoked kampachi, but sorry folks it can only purchased at the farm directly. Their fresh kampachi, however, can be found in many restaurants all over Hawaii in the form of sushi, sashimi and poke. So if you see Kona kampachi on the menu, just remember you are doing something really good for the planet by choosing it versus the wild caught and nearly extinct Japanese version.

Our last stop on the tour was Big Island Abalone. We got to see how they are raised and shipped (live!) to points as far as Japan and California. This was my first taste of the little mollusc. Now I know why they are so valuable. Our guide simply placed the abalone, shell down meat up, on a hot grill for a couple minutes.

That's it. No salt or seasonings or butter or oil. Just sliced abalone perfection.

NELHA has many fascinating tenants (not part of the tour but some can be visited individually), including Mahalo Water, which is very deep sea water that has been piped to the surface and filtered. Not to mention a seahorse farm, seaweed farms, shrimp breeders, and a lobster hotel.

If you are on or coming to the Big Island and are interested in science, sustainable energy, or just how a fish farm operates, you will not want to miss the tours through NELHA. They offer a couple different versions of the tour, we went on the Friday "grand tour," which was well worth the cost. Enjoy!

Sustainable Sunday: Edible Sea Purslane

Last weekend, as part of the Ka Hua program I'm involved in as a teacher, we participated in a service project removing 'akulikuli, or sea purslane, from delicate anchialine ponds. This low-lying plant can be found sprawled out near shoreline areas, as it can tolerate brackish water and wind, salt, and sea conditions. Also known as pickle plant, it is indigenous to Hawaii, and probably got the nickname from the salty flavor of the leaves.

When maintaining anchialine ponds, a special and important feature of Hawaii's coastlines and ecosystem, the 'akulikuli are often removed from the edges of the ponds to prevent it from choking out the other native grasses that need to survive in order to maintain balance. The shallow ponds are found set back from the shore, usually surrounded by trees and shrubs and sometimes contain tiny red shrimp, or 'opae ula. If you see one of these ponds, please don't enter the water with any sunscreen on or bathe with soap or shampoo.

If you come upon the 'akulikuli plant, feel free to clip some leaves, wash them well, and toss them into a salad, poke, or any dish that needs a salty, crisp bite. I threw some in a watermelon salad for a sweet and salty combo, see the recipe below. If you'd like to help maintain the anchialine ponds too and see the plants growing near them, please check with the landowners or park personnel before removing them.

Sweet and Salty Salad
This recipe is featured on Kahakai Kitchen
serves 4-6

5 cups watermelon, chopped and deseeded, rind removed
1/2 cup cotija cheese crumbled (feta would work great, too)
1/2 'akulikuli leaves, roughly chopped

In a medium bowl combine watermelon, cheese, and 'akulikuli. Stir gently with salad tongs. Enjoy!

*Hawaii grown watermelon purchased at KTA, 'akulikuli found on Kona coastline, cheese is from Costco but is not locally sourced.

How to Eat Good in Hawaii

Pineapple, SPAM, umbrella drinks. These may come to mind when you think of Hawaiian food. But friends, I am here to tell you Hawaii is so much more, it's a foodie paradise. And I'm not alone, when I asked some of my fellow Hawaii blogger friends to offer their tips on not-to-miss eats, they offered many enthusiastic responses.

1. Poke (pronounced poe-kay), raw fish salad
Geology blogger Anna listed poke as her top choice, "I didn't try it until I moved here and I was totally missing out!" Tania, our Maui fashionista, likes spicy ahi poke and lomi salmon. The great part about poke is the variety, there are so many kinds to try. If you don't care for raw seafood, give the cooked varieties a try. Poke can be found everywhere on the islands, just ask a local to point you in the right direction. 

2. Mochi, sweet Japanese rice cake
Gerrit, of Love Big Island, recommends strawberry mochi while photographer Dallas Nagata White kicks it up with mochi ice cream. Solid choices.

3. Tropical fruit
Seek out a farmer's market and you will be rewarded. Angie encourages you to go for the Maui gold pineapple, Dewi suggests poha berries (I've never had these!), Sonia stands by the breadfruit, and Doug, our resident farmer/blogger, urges you to try lilikoi (passion fruit), mango, white pineapple, and yellow dragon fruit.

4. Poi, mashed taro root
Even Andrew Zimmern dogged the sticky, purple staple of traditional Hawaiian food, often referred to as wallpaper paste-like. We know better. Ihilani suggests trying poi with other traditional luau foods like laulau, kalua pig, and squid luau. Even though he's still not a fan, Damon thinks everyone should at least try it. A way to sample many of these foods is at a luau, just be sure to choose carefully. If you are on Oahu, Jen recommends the luau at the Polynesian Cultural Center.

5. SPAM musubi, a "sushi" roll with SPAM and egg
My personal favorite. It's just not a combo you see everyday on the mainland, and it is such a great breakfast. Pick one up at any grocery store or gas station.

Mahalo to all the bloggers who helped out with these recommendations. Please leave a comment below if you have further suggestions.

Award-Winning Mango Salad

One of the scheduled activities for the Mango Festival here in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii was a recipe contest. Of course I was there, mango salad in tow. I'm excited to share with you that my entry won first place in the salad division! Please see the recipe below.

The FREE Mango Festival continues through tomorrow, Sunday, July 28. Head on down to the Keauhou Beach Resort for more mango fun this weekend!

Award-Winning Mango Salad with Black Beans and Avocado
serves 4 (can be easily doubled)

For the dressing:
Juice and zest from 1 lime
1/2 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp red pepper
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
1/4 - 1/3 cup olive oil
1 garlic clove, finely minced
salt & pepper

For the salad:
1 can black beans, drained
1 ripe mango, peeled and chopped
1 avocado, cut into bite-sized chunks
1 green onion, sliced
2 tomatoes, chopped
1/4 cup cilantro

In a medium bowl, whisk together dressing ingredients. The amount of oil you use depends on how juicy your lime is, so taste as you go to make sure it's the consistency you like.

Add beans, mango, avocado, onion, and tomato to the bowl and toss very gently to coat. Garnish with cilantro. The longer it marinates in the dressing, the better it gets. Serve with rice or as a taco or burrito filling. Excellent addition to the potluck table. Enjoy!