chocolate with a heart

if your mom has a sweet tooth, give her chocolate that is not only yummy but spreads the aloha spirit too. kokologo owner sherri terao was raised in hawaii and decided to spread hawaiian concepts like 'ohana, malu & hau'oli with the rest of the world by way of gourmet chocolates from the islands and donating a portion of sales to charities like the susan g. koman breast cancer foundation.

although online ordering isn't available on the kokologo website yet, you can stock up on mana'olana chocolate covered macadamia nuts on sale here or head to the ala moana neiman marcus and pick up a box of chocolates in time for mother's day.

{update | dec 2009: fyi, kokologo's website seems to have been taken down}

the java farm that mother goose built

imagine a farm where geese dot the landscape and in their own little way help the coffee beans grow as mother nature intended. such a place can be found on the big island at mother goose farms which uses sustainable farming techniques to grow their crops. the geese are free to wander the grounds and graze which not only keeps weeds at bay but fertilizes the earth.

so your morning cup o' joe is not only 100% kona coffee but certified organic to boot. mother goose has got you covered even if you prefer to roast your own beans with their certified organic green kona coffee beans.

chance encounters with a red pineapple

the past week has been filled with happy accidents (which, by the way, is also a very fun vincent d'onofrio flick) with nalani mclaughlin.

first, i discovered auntie nalani's cookies while researching island weddings last week. then i noticed that her wedding received a nice spread in the latest issue of pacific rim weddings. and then after i decided to write about red pineapple's opening at ward centre i realized that the proprietor was none other than auntie nalani herself.

weird.

anyhoo, red pineapple is the place to go when you need a gourmet gift basket or want to pick up goodies not easily found in the islands. you can fill your basket with auntie nalani's cookies, delicacies from dean & deluca and gourmet treats from the islands. red pineapple can deliver the goodies around oahu and, even better, they ship to the neighbor islands and the mainland.

let them eat cake

hawaii is a foodie's paradise so finding a wedding cake is not too difficult unless you're searching for a yummy modern creation. luckily, there are many talented pastry chefs in the islands so the most difficult decision will be selecting the flavors for all those layers of cake.

cake couture's owner, carmen emerson bass, trained at the california culinary academy and is now one of the better known pastry artists in the islands. the cake above reminds me of the hula dancers at the merrie monarch festival. carmen's fanciful creations have been featured in martha stewart weddings and pacific rim weddings.

i think this cake from the sweet stop in kailua is so pretty and tropical. once upon a time pastry chef (and former marine!) joslyn laura-annette benn created the desserts at roy's and many other notable restaurants on oahu. a few years ago, she opened up her own bake shop which means you don't need to be getting married to indulge in her delightful concoctions!

tasty treats

after yesterday's post about the culinary history of local food, i now have a craving for soda & cream crackers. since our supply from the last care package was finished off long ago (hint, hint) and the local asian market only carries the jumbo box of soda crackers (which go stale really fast), the ability to order direct from diamond bakery is a welcome option.

in addition to their famous soda/cream/saloon pilot crackers, the website also has a nice selection of cookies and, my favorite, the somewhat cheeky diamond bakery logo tee with the seemingly unintentional double-entendre.