Everyday Food, Memories of Warmth, Accelerate your metabolism - chefshop.com/enews
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In this issue: |
Organic Oatmeal
Blossom honey
Honey
 organic oatmeal
healthy!
 restock, replenish, revive
cocoa is essential
 pink clams
lunch in a can
 golden
raisins
 homemade tomato
hawkshead sauce
 chick peas
make salad, add to soup, make a pot!
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 Good Tasting
Healthy start - eat Oatmeal!
Every list of “super foods” has oats near the top. You’ve seen the commercials - eating oats is known to lower cholesterol and improve cardiovascular health. Oats are an excellent source of fiber. They even help stabilize blood sugar - at any time of day.
You may think of oatmeal as a bland and gummy porridge, but Oatmeal of Alford is nothing like the rolled oats most of us are familiar with. We have something much better in mind: delicious, nutty-flavored oats with a wonderfully toothsome texture. And did we mention high-fiber and organic?
This is the Oatmeal of Alford; organic, stonecut, pinhead oats from Scotland.
Not only does oatmeal provide exceptionally efficient fuel, but the Oatmeal of Alford is really delicious, plain or dressed up, in any number of ways. Of course, these pinhead oats make exceptional oatmeal for breakfast, but, they’re also versatile enough to be part of a whole host of other dishes, from salads to desserts.
Read more here: The Secret of the Oatmeal of Alford. . . Delicious Ideas for Breakfast. . . And Beyond the Morning Meal. . .
Shop now for the healthy easy way to start the New Year!
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 Memories of Warmth (2009)
We take a walk amongst the mac nut trees on the big island!
Sometimes we forget how great it is just to work. As we stepped cautiously into 2009, we were able to take a quick trip to the Big Island, Hawai'i.
This is where our friends, the wonderful people who make the Big Island Bees buzz, reside - Garnett, the artisanal beekeeper, and Whendi, the artist who fills the jars with the island wonder.
With typical Island graciousness, they took a day out of their busy lives to take us out to the hives, where the bees were pollinating the great Macadamia Orchards for the big nut farms of Hawai'i. It was wonderful! To see the trees and to see the hives was very special.
Heading for the Mac Nut Trees
We met Garnett and Whendi early one morning at their warehouse in the Capitan Cook area just south of Kona. We loaded up in two vehicles, children and all, and headed north towards Volcano National Park. Although we were headed for the Mac Nut trees, on the way, Whendi and I spotted Garnett and Eliza coming back towards us with lights flashing. A quick text back and forth and we learn that Garnett has spotted early blooming Le'hua blossoms along the side of the road.
We quickly turned around and caught up with them - pulled over to the side of the road. Though Garnett's bees won't see the Le'hua trees for another few months, we got to see the Le'hua in their early stage of bloom.
I had never seen anything like it before. Garnett pulled a flower off a O'hia tree and shook it vigorously. The stamens fell on to his hand - along with a rain of nectar. These drops are the same sweet nectar that the bees would soon turn into honey. A few minutes later, when Eliza put her hand out to catch a few drops, she ended up with a handful!! And then licked it all up - so good!
The Legend of La'Hua
Legend says that Pele turned the warrior, O'hia, into a tree when he refused to marry her because he was in love with Le'hua. Le'hua was so sad at the loss of her lover, that the gods turned her into the blossom of the O'hia tree so that O'hia and Le'hua would be together forever. The legend states that if you pick a flower from the O'hia tree, it will rain - the tears of the lovers. Most interpret the legend to mean that rain will fall from the sky. But, the amount of nectar that fell from that blossom that day, I wonder if the legend really is referring to the copious nectar falling from the blossom - like sweet tears.
Soon after we picked that blossom, it started to rain….
Shop now for a taste of the Big Island!
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Our ride
On the back of the flatbed
After this quick stop and a few pictures, we continued on to our destination - a town that was originally a "sugar cane town." As we approached, the weather turned from bright and sunny to cloudy and rainy. It was like we drove through a portal into another world - as a rain cloud enveloped us and the visibility dropped to a couple hundred feet. Whendi casually mentioned that this must be VOG - volcanic fog from the local volcano, created when sulfur dioxide reacts with oxygen, sunlight, dust particles, etc. - a highly toxic mix .... VOG.
Moments later, we turned into the town and parked our van outside the post office. We then all piled into Garnett's truck and headed for the mac groves. Off the road we went - bumping and rocking, down dirt trails, over edges where no road would go. The kids thought it was great! Garnett somehow knew where he was at all times and where all his hives where placed. He showed us different hive locations - scattered out amongst the vast reaches of the mac "forests." The whole time, Garnett would feed us interesting facts about the bees and the cycles of the plants they feed off of. It was very interesting!
In the process of cruising around, we also drove through a grove of Eucalyptus trees. Garnett explained that the Eucalyptus forest was a "man made" forest. Alexander, our then 6 year old son, was listening intently and when he heard that - he asked the obvious, "So, all those trees are made out of plastic?" Garnett, without missing a beat, explained that "man-made" meant that the trees were planted by man. In this case, the trees are planted in straight rows for easy harvesting. (They were grown to create OSB for the island, which currently brings in all of its wood from the mainland.)
Talking to the Bees - Or Not...
We continued looking for the picture-perfect hive picture . Our intent was to see the "bees in action." When we left Kona, the weather was sunny with a few clouds. As we arrived at the orchards, the sky disappeared into a cloud bank and a light rain began to fall. Although overcast skies are good for electronic pictures, it is not so good for seeing the bees. When it rains, bees head indoors and don't take well to visitors. They can get pretty ornery, so we had to keep our distance and didn't get to look inside a hive.
But, we did get to see the hives from a distance - and the orchards. It was really wonderful - and much better than the usual island "site seeing"! And we learned so much about bees and trees, plants, and the politics of being a beekeeper these days. Spending time with Whendi and Garnett is always so calming and pleasant - and truly open. It is hard to explain, but Whendi and Garnett are one with the bees and the island, and the bees are one with them. Although not everyone gets to take a quick trip to Hawai'i and rub elbows with Garnett and Whendi, you can meet them any time through their wonderful honey.
Shop now for the sweetness of Hawaii |
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Ginger Syrup!
Awesome in club soda and lemonade! A blip into a mustard vinaigrette, add it to breakfast pastries, pound cakes, top yogurt and waffles.
Organic Emmer
Farro is a grain that's been enjoyed since ancient times. It's high in fiber, protein and nutrients, non-GMO and absolutely delicious - nutty, full-flavored and with an appealingly chewy texture. This one is also organic.
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Cooking Class! |
Cooking Classes with Chef Lesa - Parisian Valentine Cooking Class
Join Chef Lesa as she weaves together the perfect Valentine's Day dinner -- complete with Greens with Mustard Vinaigrette, Escargot Bourguignon, Local Oysters with Mignonette Sauce, Artichoke Soup with Truffle Oil and Cheese Lace, Stewed Chicken with Figs and Pots de Crème with Chocolate and Honey. Re-create this meal, and you will be home free!
As the holiday tide subsides, we gather the store back to a more calm state, and leave the frenetic dance to the more calming waltz of cooking classes.
It's the time of year that we look for new products and try to find a place to put them.
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DESIGN: JODI LUBY & COMPANY, INC. NEW YORK CITY, NY; EMAIL STRATEGY: CRM Group USA, SEATTLE, WA
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