Let’s Talk Food: Sam Choy’s In the Kitchen cookbook

KHON2 put out a challenge to their staff to come up with a new local program to air on Sundays at 6:30 p.m. The entire station was involved with collaborating and coming up with different ideas for a new show. This prime time, family/dinner hour show was to create something unique, special, and a destination program to give Hawaii families a fun way to end their weekend and prepare for the week ahead.

The age of the tasting menu is coming to an end

Restaurants play host to all classes of diners: the good, the grand, the gullible, the greedy and so on. However, as a consequence of the last three decades of chef-artistes, many of the most famous dining establishments in the world treat these diverse clients as if it they were an audience with a single palate and a single motive — to worship at the chopping board of the cook-auteur. There is only one magnificent tasting menu full of delights and curiosities (with, of course, adjustments for allergies and some degree of protein preference, though these polite accommodations rarely equaled the innovative originals).

Amy Greenwell Garden celebrates Arbor Day

Arbor Day is celebrated -annually on the U.S. mainland on the last Friday in April. Here in Hawaii, the annual tree-giveaway is scheduled in early November which is a better time for planting trees in our tropical climate. Several locations around the state are participating including one at Amy Greenwell Garden in Captain Cook.

Let’s Talk Food: Culinary students show their stuff

Culinary students at Palamanui Campus recently hosted Flavors of Japan. Kitchen managers Scott Largent and Jacob Malapit, along with chef instructors Paul Heerlein, Fernand Guiot and Catherine Harlan gave attendees a wonderful lunch and experience as the students got to hone their culinary skills.

Burgundy: Bulging barrels, barging and beyond

One of my favorite corners of France is bucolic Burgundy, a region overflowing with imbibable and scenic delights. Crisscrossed with lazy canals and dotted with quiet farming villages, it’s easy to like — and its sunny hillsides produce the superior wines and fine cuisine that say “French.”

Quick Fix: Chicken Korma

Chicken Korma is an exotic, South Asian dish with a creamy sauce with aromatic spices. It’s a comforting meal that can take several hours to make. I love the flavors but wanted to make it for a weeknight meal. Here’s a simple version that captures the flavors without the hours of marinating and slow cooking. Once the ingredients are assembled it takes less than 15 minutes to cook this meal.

Let’s Talk Food: History of umami

The Hilo Meishoin Mission monthly newsletter is often full of history and interesting facts about the people and places of Japan. Reverend Junshin Miyazaki is great if you are interested in getting information about your family tree or knowing where your grandparents lived in Japan.

The Rhine River: Raging with history

Jostling through crowds of Germans and tourists in the Rhine River village of Bacharach, I climb to the sun deck of the ferry and grab a chair. With the last passenger barely aboard, the gangplank is dragged in and the river pulls us away.

Volcano Watch: First light (and flight) for HVO’s new airborne lidar system

Topographic mapping has been a key component of volcano monitoring for decades, helping scientists to study morphologic changes and predict the paths of lava flows during eruptions. Lidar systems are a preferred mapping tool and the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory now has a lidar system of its own to generate mapping products more frequently than ever before.

Plant of the Month for October 2024: Gingers

The Ginger family (Zingiberaceae) has nearly 1,000 members. The roots of two well-known spices, turmeric or ‘olena (Curcuma longa) and ginger (Zingiber officinale) have been highly prized in international trade for more than a thousand years. Most of the species in the family are tropical plants that grow well here. Several exotic specimens can add interest and beauty to a Kona garden. These plants usually grow from fleshy rhizomes, have aromatic tall, cane-like stems with large leaves and stunning flowers.

Restaurant customers aren’t tapped out. They’re just bored

The restaurant business has been through a volatile stretch. Restaurateurs battled through the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic (when no one was eating out); the “reopening” period (when everyone was eating out, but there weren’t enough workers); and the inflation surge (when ingredients and other input costs surged). Overall, restaurants prospered despite the turmoil, thanks to innovation and nimbleness at every turn.