breakfast | lunch | 88th annual maui county fair.
the fifth day of the kanu hawaii eat local challenge was just that, challenging. with a working lunch meeting and a dinner date with the husband at the maui county fair, i was wondering just how local i'd be eating today. breakfast has proven to be the easiest of the meals to eat entirely local. this morning's breakfast consisted of kula strawberries, an apple banana from the in-laws' backyard, and maui maid bakery whole wheat toast with up-country guava jam from jeff's jams & jellies in makawao.
for my lunch meeting we ended up eating at a favorite local downtown wailuku business lunch spot, cafe o lei. i had the blackened mahimahi with papaya salsa on brown rice with a caesar side salad. our server assured me that the mahi was caught fresh locally, so i can sleep easy knowing that the major part of my lunch was local. i have to admit that i'm not really a huge mahi fan, but it was delicious! it was perfectly cooked, not tough or chewy, but moist and flavorful. quite possibly the best mahi that i've ever had. the papaya salsa was the perfect accompaniment, sweet and light but not sugary or mushy.
for my lunch meeting we ended up eating at a favorite local downtown wailuku business lunch spot, cafe o lei. i had the blackened mahimahi with papaya salsa on brown rice with a caesar side salad. our server assured me that the mahi was caught fresh locally, so i can sleep easy knowing that the major part of my lunch was local. i have to admit that i'm not really a huge mahi fan, but it was delicious! it was perfectly cooked, not tough or chewy, but moist and flavorful. quite possibly the best mahi that i've ever had. the papaya salsa was the perfect accompaniment, sweet and light but not sugary or mushy.
passion fruit | buddah's hand citron | heirloom tomatoes.
we enjoyed checking out the wealth of local produce in the war memorial gymnasium. it was amazing to see the numerous different varieties of passion fruit, and the numerous fruits, vegetables, and herbs that can be grown in maui soil. there were even several types of apples grown by haiku school. who new that apples could actually gown in hawaii, and i'm not talking about mountain apples. there was a 330 pound pumpkin, kaffir lime leaves three times the size of the ones we have on our tree at home, beautiful dragon fruit, and even a citrus called "buddah's hand citron". it doesn't really look like it'd be good for squeezing for juice.
one of the great things about maui county fair is that the food booths are all run by volunteers from non-profit organizations, and each non-profit retains the proceeds from their food booth's sales. my all time favorite booth is chow fun. the noodles were the perfect texture, soft, but not mushy or too thin. the flavor is mild, but can be doctored up with the right amount of tabasco and shoyu. i'm not positive but i'm pretty sure that the chow fun noodles are from a local noodle company. my husband's small kid, nostalgic fair must have is the flying saucer, distinguishable by the long line. a flying saucer consists of a sloppy joe-like mixture sandwiched between two slices of bread that are all placed into a "flying saucer sandwich press" until the edges sealed together and the outside of the bread is nice and toasty. this year the maui veterans association opted for a healthier starch alternative. flying saucers are now made with whole wheat bread instead of white. shaun is pictured at the top right biting into one of his flying saucers. on to dessert ,and the second longest line at the fair, fried poi mochi! that's gotta be local right?
one of the great things about maui county fair is that the food booths are all run by volunteers from non-profit organizations, and each non-profit retains the proceeds from their food booth's sales. my all time favorite booth is chow fun. the noodles were the perfect texture, soft, but not mushy or too thin. the flavor is mild, but can be doctored up with the right amount of tabasco and shoyu. i'm not positive but i'm pretty sure that the chow fun noodles are from a local noodle company. my husband's small kid, nostalgic fair must have is the flying saucer, distinguishable by the long line. a flying saucer consists of a sloppy joe-like mixture sandwiched between two slices of bread that are all placed into a "flying saucer sandwich press" until the edges sealed together and the outside of the bread is nice and toasty. this year the maui veterans association opted for a healthier starch alternative. flying saucers are now made with whole wheat bread instead of white. shaun is pictured at the top right biting into one of his flying saucers. on to dessert ,and the second longest line at the fair, fried poi mochi! that's gotta be local right?
the yoyo | the zipper | the ferris wheel
no rides for me, but they make for some fun photos!
Oh, sounds fun! Wow- apples grown in Hawaii???
ReplyDeleteThat's fun. Maybe one day we can go apple picking here:)
Aloha