Slow Food O'ahu News

Number 2015-04
Mailed March 27, 2015

Table of Contents

HOFA Annual Conference - March 28

March is Localicious Month - It's Almost Over

Women in the Future of Hawai'i's Food - April 10

Movie: Steak (R)evolution - April 12 and April 19

From Soy Bean to Miso - April 18 (Slow Food O;ahu event)

April Chinatown tour - April 26 (Slow Food O'ahu event)

Gnocchi and Friends - May 9 (Slow Food O'ahu event)

A little bit of this and that

Hawaii Organic Farmers Association

Annual Conference - March 28, 2015

8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. at the KEY Project

(With apologies for the very late notice... but there's still time)

The Hawaii Organic Farmers Association (HOFA) invites you to attend the upcoming Annual Organic Farming Conference, "Healthy Soil, Healthy Communities, Healthy Ahupua'a" to be held at the KEY-Project in Oahu, 47-200 Waihee Road in Kaneohe, on Saturday March 28, 2015.

The Conference will consist of hands-on activities in the morning, to talk about soil quality and by helping to start a garden at the KEY-Project, followed by a discussion panel and presentations in the afternoon.

Registration: $25 for non-members, $12 for members, scholarships available for students.

For the agenda and to purchase tickets visit

http://d2e.co/HOFAFArmDay

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/hofa-annual-conference-tickets-16089845160

March is Localicious Month

March is nearly over. But it is not too late to contribute to Localicious Month.

The Hawai'i Agricultural Foundation (HAF) launched its second annual Localicious Hawaiʻi which will run from March 1 - 31, 2015. Localicious Hawaiʻi aims to raise public awareness of restaurants that are committed to sustaining our local agricultural industry and also teaming up with them to raise funds for agricultural education in our public schools. Last year, the Hawaii State Legislature declared the month of March to be Localicious Hawaiʻi month in support of the program.

More than 126 restaurants will participate in the campaign this year by asking patrons to order a Localicious dish which will be made with a locally grown, caught or raised product. Each time the dish is ordered, restaurants will donate $1 to HAF's Veggie U educational program. The dish(es) will be identified on menus with a Localicious sticker or logo next to the item. For a complete list of participating restaurants, visit the Localicious Hawaii website.

HAF's Veggie U

program is part of the national Veggie U organization (www.veggieu.org) that supplies classroom garden kits and a robust five-week science program that combines science, health, language arts, and math into an engaging educational experience for students in elementary schools. Each restaurant that raises a minimum of $500 will be able to adopt a public DOE fourth grade classroom wanting the program in their school.

Last year, 58 restaurants participated and raised $31,000 for 65 fourth grade classrooms across the state of Hawai'i. The goal of the campaign is raise $50,000 and to extend the Veggie U program to 100 classrooms. The program will initially be offered to only fourth graders with the intent to expand to other grade levels in the future. HAF currently has a teacher on staff that has worked with the Department of Education (DOE) to align the Veggie U kits with Hawai'i State science and common core standards. Funds will be used to purchase the kits, provide stipends, arrange ground and air transportation, and develop training materials for teachers. To see a list of participating schools, click here.

(This is not a Slow Food O'ahu event but may be of interest to our members)

Women in the Future of Hawaii's Food - April 10, 2015

Moiliili Community Center, 2535 South King St. from 7:00 - 9:00 p.m.

Kokua Market and Seeds of Truth present a free public event "Women in the Future of Hawaii's Food - Will it be Feast or Famine?" in the Harry Weinberg Studio (above the Thrift Store) at the Moiliili Community Center on Friday, April 10, 2015. You are invited to join a lively panel discussion on the concerns about the loss of agricultural lands, bee colony collapse, GMOs, chemical spraying, and the rising cost of living. The panel will focus on how women can create a thriving future for food growing.

Panelists will include: Kai Hinson, farmer, Green Rows Farm; Penny Harmeyer, beekeeper; Juanita Kawamoto-Brown, Environmental Caucus; Jann Roney and Alison Woltunski, Pu'uohoku Ranch; Kathryn Xian, Pacific Alliance to Stop Slavery. The moderator will be Dr. Melissa Yee, beekeeper.

For more information, contact Dr. Melissa Yee at 292-1179. No registration is necessary.

(This is not a Slow Food O'ahu event but might be of interest to our members)

Steak (R)evolution - April 12 and April 19

Hawai'i International Film Festival - Dole Cannery

The Hawai'i International Film Festival will screen the movie, Steak (R)evolution, a 2014 French documentary that goes around the world in search of cattle farmers, butchers, and impassioned chefs on the subject of good steak. Far from intensive farming and industrial output, a revolution is already under way, good red meat has become a rare, indeed luxury product.

Jordan Minzer in the Hollywood Reporter writes... "Yet this engrossing, somewhat overlong 130-minute expose also raises questions about mass food production and the ways in which man and nature interact on the dinner plate, reaching a conclusion that could even please the likes of Jonathan Safran Foer: eating animals is no laughing matter, and the best steaks on the planet are often those that result from the most humane livestock raising techniques. It's an argument Michael Pollan made with extreme eloquence in his book The Omnivore's Dilemma, to which this film plays out like a friendly and celebratory footnote. And one that's filled with enough juicy tenderloin close-ups - in a brand of food porn best described as "filetio" - to propel it beyond Gallic borders into festivals, scattered theaters and onto VOD networks catering to farmers and foodies alike."

To attend, go to the HIFF website to buy tickets.

(This is not a Slow Food O'ahu event but may be of interest to our members)

From Soy Bean to Paste: Miso - Saturday, April 18, 2015

3:00 - 4:30 p.m. MOA Natural Food Cafe

If you've ever eaten at a Japanese restaurant, chances are, you've been served a tannish brown soup with your meal. The slightly sweet and salty ingredient that makes the soup so delicious is miso. Occasionally, miso will also lend its flavor to butterfish and salmon in a sweet miso and shoyu (another soy product) preparation.

Learn all about this versatile culinary powerhouse - from how to make it, to its many uses - in a 60 to 90-minute course led by Mai Fujii of the MOA Wellness Center. Mai will unravel the mystery of miso, allow us to take home a sample of miso and we'll enjoy some soup together.

The Mokichi Okada Association (MOA) has established the MOA Wellness Center, a facility devoted to their Health and Wellness Program (OHWP) and Integrative Medicine. They offer services to improve physical and spiritual health and the quality of life of its participants. Mokichi Okada (1882-1955) is the visionary whose lifestyle, passion and teachings became the founding inspiration for this center and its programs. They hold many food-related classes and also have their own farm!

Well, yes, you could just buy miso from your local grocer, but we're Slow Food O'ahu, we want to know more so that we could make it ourselves and use it in the kitchen.

The cost is $25 for members; $30 for non-members. The limit is 15 attendees. To register, go to http://www.eventbrite.com/e/slow-food-oahu-miso-workshop-tickets-16291416064 or you may go to http://bit.ly/sfoevents for a list of all Slow Food O'ahu events.

Slow Food Chinatown Tour
April 26, 2015 from 9:30 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. (includes lunch)

Our successful Chinatown tours will continue in April.

Explore the history, culture, and food traditions of Honolulu's Chinatown. Visit markets, bakeries, noodle factories, specialty shops, temples and historic sites. Sample local foods such as poke, roast pork, look funn noodles, and tropical fruits. Bring your shopping bags with you so you can buy fresh produce, noodles, and specialty products. Enjoy a 5-course lunch after the tour at one of Chinatown's finest restaurants included in the tour price.

The cost for the tour with lunch is $50 for members; $60 for non-members. The limit is 8 people, just enough to fit around a large table for your post-tour lunch.

Please sign up for the tour at http://www.eventbrite.com/e/chinatown-food-tour-and-lunch-by-slow-food-oahu-tickets-16237796687 or go to http://bit.ly/sfoevents which lists all our Slow Food events.

Gnocchi and Friends - May 9, 2015

10:30 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.

Private home in Maunawili (Windward side)

Gnocchi is a delicious little Italian dumpling usually made from potatoes, flour, egg and water. As you can imagine, there are many varieties of gnocchi from the different regions of Italy and can be eaten in several preparations.

Several years ago, Dirce, a longtime friend of Slow Food O'ahu, taught members how to make these delicate dumplings, from mixing the dough to forming the shape and cooking them (- we learned how to eat them all by ourselves). Since then, some of us have practiced this skill with a local Hawaiian flare - we use kalo (taro) and kabocha squash in place of potatoes. Come experience variations on gnocchi from the diversity of your own home.

In this demonstration, Michelle Wilhelm, one of Slow Food O'ahu's esteemed members, kalo farmer and past Terra Madre delegate will make her fabulous kalo gnocchi and Nina Bermudez will use kabocha squash in her interpretation of gnocchi. Be prepared to get your hands dirty (or floury) to help shape the dumplings using just the average fork. A brown butter sage sauce and a few other sauces will be provided. You are encouraged to bring an appropriate accompaniment and wine, if desired, to the meal and an apron.

You will never order this dish again in a restaurant so indifferently.

This event is limited to eight (8) Slow Food members at $20 per person. We will open it up at the end of April to non-members if space is available. For members, register at http://www.eventbrite.com/e/slow-food-oahu-gnocchi-with-friends-tickets-16291633715 or go to http://bit.ly/sfoevents which lists all our Slow Food events

A little bit of this and that ...

* News from Kokua Hawaii Foundation...

1) Update on AINA In Schools: KHF is now doing AINA Educator Trainings on 4 islands: Oahu, Maui, Kauai and the Big Island. Our program on Oahu is strong in 16 participating schools and even more are on the waiting list. KHF invites Oahu Slow Food Members to become AINA docents or partner Chefs/Farmers. There are so many places where folks can plug into AINA.

2) KHF Job Openings: KHF has two job openings: one Program Director and a new Waste Reduction Coordinator. Applications are being accepted this month. The following is the direct link to the posting on the KHF website:

http://kokuahawaiifoundation.org/news/detail/kkua_hawaii_foundation_is_hiring1

* Slow Food USA announces Slow Meat, a National Symposium on slow meat production on June 4 - 6, 2015 in Denver, Colorado. Workshops will offer curated presentations, small group discussions, and peer-to-peer learning will combine to engage the delegates in a holistic evaluation of the status of meat production and consumption. For more information regarding attendance, check the link above.

Slow Food Leadership

Slow Food O'ahu Officers: Mae Isonaga and Rike Weiss, Co-leaders; David Bangert, Treasurer; Francine Wai, Newsletter Editor; Nina Bermudez, Membership and E-mail correspondent; Tom Sheeran, Slow Food Chinatown Tour Coordinator.

Slow Food Regional Governor: Laurie Carlson

Facebook manager: Brilana Troublefield

Slow Food Membership

To join, go to the http://donate.slowfoodusa.org/site/PageServer?pagename=Member_Benefits

Quick Links

Slow Food O'ahu Convivium website

Slow Food Hawai'i Convivium website

Slow Food Maui Convivium website

Slow Food USA website

Slow Food International website

Contact reservations.sfoahu@yahoo.com for information on our events.
Contact slowfoodoahu@yahoo.com for general information

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