Food Whisperer: Paradise day 2:

June 9^th

Hawaii: 5:45

New York: 11:45

Wow, my first day here was amazing. After waking up early I had the kids poke their heads into my room/ their playroom at about 6, so I am expecting them any minute.

I went to not one but two potlucks yesterday. In the morning I helped some with the kids, played with the ducks and read them stories. My favorite part about the morning was our hour that we all sat in a circle around a compost bin and ate lychees. In New York lychees are going for like 8 or 9 dollars for a QUARTER of a pound. And here everyone is stuffing their faces with them before they go bad. Nothing goes to waste so the plan is once they start to get over ripe lychee wine it is!

I feel like I am talking all over the place but so much happen yesterday! The first potluck I went to was a birthday brunch. Talking to my cousin’s wife she said potlucks are pretty common, everyone here is a farmer so everyone brings their food. Simple food, a lot of this amazing organic food just needs a light sauté with some coconut oil and a pinch of salt. At this first potluck I talked to a women about my future. We talked about culinary school and what kind of business plan I want that is different enough that it is unique but not to different that it freaks people out. We then talked about her daughter who lives on the Upper East Side and is making BANK.

It is interesting hearing everyone’s story of how they came to the island. Some people like my cousin came to take care of someone else’s farm and then got so into it he started his own. Then others have been here their whole life and their parents were the ones who moved to be farmers.

The second potluck I went to was a house warming party. A bunch of the women were pregnant and there were almost as many kids as there were adults, I loved it. Again amazing food that everyone brought from their nursery. I ate the best fish in my life yesterday. Ono means good, so of course a fish called Ono is going to be delicious. With a simple marinade and a quick party on the grill the fish was perfectly tender and had a meaty consistency that most white fish don’t.

I tried to stay up until a normal time here so I would not be so jetlagged. I stayed up until 9 which doing the math that is 3 in the morning in New York time. I talked to some of the guys here who made a huge dinner for themselves consisting of beet patties (traded at the farmers market for cheese), quesadillas (made with the cheese made here), sauerkraut(made here), cottage cheese (also made here), and eggs (guess what they were laid here). Boys can eat, I watched them cook for 45 minutes and devour the food in 5.

here are some pictures from the day..