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.

the food of paradise

most people from hawaii are familiar with the origins of the plate lunch, but have you ever wondered just how all the other food you love came to be in the islands? rachel laudan's the food of paradise: exploring hawaii's culinary heritage traces the origins of local favorites like crack seed, malasadas, saimin & saloon pilot crackers (among other foodstuffs) and their journey to become part of hawaii's food culture.

laudan also devotes a section to the influence of native hawaiian foods and the agricultural bounty of the islands. the food of paradise has received many rave reviews and definitely deserves a place on every local cook's bookshelf.

zip zip & away

if you're a fan of the amazing race, the photo above needs no explanation except to say that you don't need to leave hawaii to enjoy the thrill of ziplining! in the past year, we have friends who have gone on the original canopy tour in costa rica & puerto vallarta and each couple had rave reviews of their adventures flying through the trees.

even though heights are not my friend, i must admit that it looks pretty exhilarating on tv and now that i know people who have lived to tell their tale (and have the photos to prove it) perhaps a zipline tour by kauai backcountry adventures will be in order next time we're on the garden isle. in addition to the zipline, kauai backcountry also offers a tubing tour similar to flumin' da ditch just in case you prefer your adventures closer to the ground.

bio-beetle to the rescue

the folks on maui always seem to be one step ahead when it comes to earth friendly technology. case in point: maui-based bio-beetle which has a small fleet of rental cars that run solely on bio diesel, a.k.a. 100% recycled vegetable oil. bio diesel is a renewable source of energy that is cleaner burning compared to petroleum, and since hawaii is home to one of the most abundant eco-systems on the planet this is a very good thing for the islands. plus they're super cute!

for some reason, even though the rental car market on oahu is huge, bio-beetles are not yet available there (although the company has recently expanded to los angeles). let's hope there will be lots of demand for green rental cars in hawaii and bio-beetle will offer their eco-friendly alternative to the rest of the neighbor islands soon.

tea time

my mom and aunties always enjoy a nice cup of tea so i was happy to discover hawaiian natural tea which is an organic tea company from the islands. this means their tea is not only good for your body (full of all of those healthy antioxidants) but it's good for the earth too. what's not to love?

midweek has a nice story about the owners & their journey to bring organic tea to the islands. longs & daiai are just a few of the shops that stock hawaiian natural tea in tropical flavors like mango peach, passionfruit orange & pineapple strawberry. now if i could only find the perfect pitcher for iced tea.