thanksgiving surprise

i've been off in my own world planning for a thanksgiving that was two weeks away which really means i wasn't making any plans at all because i thought i had two weeks left. until tonight when my fella informed me that thanksgiving (and the upcoming holiday rush) was next week which means there are 7 less days to procrastinate. yikes.

what's a girl with no thanksgiving menu to do? give this little holiday surprise some time to soak in while surfing the internet to find all kinds of goodies to tempt you, that's what. and so i share with you find number one: a mac pie from the big island that sounds like a hawaii twist on the good ol' pecan pie with ingredients like maui raw sugar and all the fixings baked in a handmade butter macadamia nut crust. yum.

mac pies are so popular that the company whips up thousands of pies each day in flavors like original vanilla, kona coffee, maple, butterscotch & chocolate chip to keep up with the demand. for those of us who can only nosh on pumpkin pie if it's drowning in whipped cream, a mac pie would definitely be a welcome treat on the thanksgiving table.

kauai caffeine fix

despite the fact the i am quite possibly one of the few people on earth who don't drink coffee, one thing i know is that coffee lovers everywhere swoon when you gift them with a bag of coffee from hawaii. the big island typically gets all the glory but did you know that coffee farms also exist on the other islands? in fact, kauai was the first island in hawaii to establish a commercial coffee farm way back in 1836.

kauai also happens to be home to the blair estate which grows 100% organic coffee on their farm north of kapaa. you really get to understand life on a coffee farm on their super informative website, but if you want to see the journey from coffee bean to cup of joe firsthand, the owners also welcome the public to take a tour of the family owned farm.

of course, if you can't get yourself over to kauai you can still savor blair estate coffee (and chocolate covered beans, and guava jam, and lilikoi butter . . . yum!) via their online shop where the beans patiently wait to be freshly roasted until the order button is clicked.

sustainable sugar cane

most people don't give much thought to the humble paper plate holding their picnic/potluck feast but remember this biodegradable dinnerware the next time you drive past yet another subdivision. the cool thing is that these plates and cups are made from sugar cane fiber so not only are a few more trees saved from the chopping block, but it also prevents the bagasse, which is a byproduct of the sugar refining process, from being burned and generating more air pollution.

the irony for the islands, of course, being that all the sugar cane land that used to dot the landscape  and which has been systematically cleared away for development seems to have found a renewed life in the 21st century.

yummy honey

 

one of the first things that caught my eye when i first spotted a jar of volcano island honey was the label. the artwork was donated by dietrich varez, the noted big island linoblock artist (and one of my favorites), who must be a fan of the lovely organic white honey. in addition to the original honey, you can also savor honey with a ginger, lilikoi or lehua twist.

the artisanal honey company has been sharing their nectar for 25 years and it has been said to be "some of the best honey in the entire world". the secret may be that the honey is harvested from a kiawe forest on the big island where some sort of alchemy occurs when the unique topography and nature meet up with the honeybees.

volcano island honey can be found at specialty shops around the islands. if you're ordering online remember that there is minimum order of $40 to avoid a shipping surcharge or just stop by your nearest whole foods which also stocks the honey.

island treats for halloween

yes, this is probably a bit more than you want to pass out to the trick-or-treaters in your neighborhood unless you live in kahala (although think of how popular your house would be), but big island candies has a few yummy halloween surprises to give to those extra special ghosts and goblins in your life.

halloween treats are filled with everything from those onolicious chocolate dipped shortbread cookies that big island candies is known for to macadamia nut brownies. and don't forget to order a grab bag to keep you from raiding the candy bowl.