Quick Links:
• How to Cook 'Ahi
• Mahimahi or 'Opakapaka
• Piña Coladas
• Ono Panko
• Smoked 'Ahi
• Dennis' Macaroni Salad
• Haupia Coconut Pudding
• Ho'i'o
• Banana-Nut Bread
• Other Favorites
• Is it ono or 'ono? Ahi or 'ahi?

How to Cook 'Ahi by Dennis Painter Rule number one, don't overcook 'Ahi. Cook it on the Jenn-Air grill. Coat both sides lightly with butter and squeeze a few drops of fresh lemon juice on each side. For 'ahi about ½" thick, grill for 2 minutes on each side. Add about 1 minute for each ¼" of additional thickness. For sandwiches using 'ahi about ¼" thick, grill each side for one minute, or a little less.

Note: 'Ahi is the Hawai'ian name for yellowfin tuna and it is our favorite fish! If you buy it in the market (we recommend KTA), look for a deep red color similar to raw beef (it lightens as it cooks). It is a wonderfully flavored fish! We like ours medium-rare when grilled and even raw as sashimi.

Dennis also makes us piña coladas, which we enjoy on the länai in the afternoons, while we watch the nai'a (dolphins) & honu (sea turtles). I prefer the taste of the dark rum, so these turn out a light to medium brown rather than white. But very tasty!

Piña Coladas ½    can (15-oz.) Coco Lopez coconut cream 1    cup pineapple juice ½    tray ice cubes 1    cup dark rum 2 - 3    tablespoons pineapple chunks (optional) ½    can (15-oz.) Coco Lopez coconut cream Mix coconut cream, pineapple juice and ice cubes in blender until finely ground. Add rum and blend again. If desired, add the pineapple chunks and blend 10 seconds just to chop (we love it that way).

This is Sherron's favorite way to prepare ono. The panko crumbs keep the fish moist inside, while the crumbs get nice and crunchy on the outside. And it's very easy and tasty! This serves 4, depending upon the amount of fish.

Ono Panko ½    cube butter, approximately 4    pieces of ono, about 1" thick      Soy milk to dip fish in (or use regular milk) ½    pkg. panko crumbs (Japanese bread crumbs), enough to thoroughly coat the fish      Garlic powder, to taste      Dried or fresh basil, to taste      Freshly ground pepper, to taste Preheat oven to 500° F. Cut butter into pieces into baking dish large enough to hold all the fish without crowding and place into preheating oven to melt. Remove from oven when melted and bottom of dish is well coated with butter (add more butter if bottom is not well covered). Pour milk into shallow bowl. Place panko crumbs on flat plate. Wipe fish clean with damp paper towel and dip the fish into the milk, then place on panko crumbs on plate and turn to coat evenly. Press crumbs into fish so that they stick and the fish is well coated. Place each piece of coated fish in butter in baking dish, then turn to coat other side with butter. It needs to be well wet with the butter in order for the crumbs to get crispy during baking. Hint: If there isn't enough butter, I will add slivers of butter to the top of the fish before placing in the oven to make up for it. When all the fish has been prepared and placed in the baking dish, sprinkle it with the garlic powder, basil and pepper. Place the baking dish in the oven and cook for 20 minutes (for 1" fish, less if the fish is thinner). Use a spatula to move the cooked fish from the baking dish to individual plates when it is done. I like to spoon the extra panko crumbs from the baking pan onto the fish portions, although they are usually quite brown by the end of coooking time. Serve with Meyer Lemon slices, if desired.

This is a recipe from Auntie Maebelle on the Aloha Joe website. I use a larger can of coconut milk and reduce the water appropriately. This is very good and easy, but it can be a little difficult to get the servings out of the dish in one piece! We love it with crushed pineapple spooned over the top.

Haupia Coconut Pudding by Auntie Maebelle 12     ounces coconut milk, chilled 1½     cups water ½     cup + 2 tablespoons sugar ½     cup + 2 tablespoons cornstarch 1     7-ounce can crushed pineapple, in its own juice (optional) Combine all ingredients except the pineapple in a saucepan. Stir over medium heat until thickened. Lower heat and cook for 10 minutes, stirring constantly to avoid lumping or burning. Pour into an 8"x8" dish and chill until set. Cut into squares to serve. Spoon drained crushed pineapple over top of each square, if desired.

You can get a lot of local produce at the Farmer's Market in the Old Industrial Area. I like the ho'i'o when they have them - they look like fiddleheads, which they are. They are a native fern and the young fronds can be eaten raw or cooked.

Ho'i'o Soak the fronds in cold water to help loosen any soil, then wash them gently as they are very fragile. Steam fronds very briefly for about 5 minutes in the top of a double-boiler. Serve hot or cold. I like to sprinke them with furikake, which is a Japanese seaweed & sesame seed "gourmet topping." My favorite is Urashima Ao Nori Goma Furikake, which contains only prepared seaweed and sesame seed. A lot of the other brands have sugar, salt, and a lot of other undesirable ingredients. The Urashima brand has become difficult to find lately, however.

This makes a heavy, dense but tasty loaf. We haven't tried it with macnuts yet, but it might be interesting!

Banana-Nut Bread 1     cup firmly packed dark brown sugar ½     cup butter 1½     cups very ripe bananas, mashed (about 4) 1     tablespoon lemon juice 2     large eggs 2     cups flour 1     tablespoon baking powder ½     teaspoon salt 1     cup nuts, chopped (preferably black walnuts, but macnuts work well, too) Preheat oven to 325° F. Butter large glass loaf pan. Place butter and brown sugar in mixing bowl and cream together. Add eggs and mix well. Peel bananas and cut into chunks. Sprinkle with lemon juice, then coarsely mash (I use a potato masher). Add to sugar mixture and mix thoroughly. Mix flour, baking powder and salt together. Add to banana mixture and mix quickly. Add chopped nuts and mix briefly. Pour into prepared loaf pan. Bake 60 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center of loaf comes out clean. It tends to get a little crusty & dark on the outside before the inside gets done. Invert & remove from pan onto wire rack to cool. Slice to serve.

These are foods and other items we have found that we really enjoy!

• Be sure you try apple bananas! They are small (about 3-6") and have a tart apple-like taste and are delicious! I can't stand regular bananas for weeks after we return to the mainland from Kona, because they are tasteless in comparison. We go through a hand of these in a few days, at least. They usually have a distinct "nipple" on the non-stem end, but just ask the vendor and they will tell you which they are. If really green, they can take 4-5 days or more to ripen. They are very popular and many vendors have them, usually for about $2-3 a hand (about 14-15 bananas) at the Farmer's Market. If you get them at the Flea Mart near the Kona Inn, expect to pay the same for only 4-5 bananas!! KTA does carry them, but they are always much larger than the ones available from the farmers markets. We prefer the smaller ones - our experience has been that the smaller bananas are more tangy & flavorful than the larger ones. There are several varieties, 'though, so the tanginess can vary. (9/19/2008)

• Kona Coffee. Our favorite coffee is Kona Jacks 100% Kona coffee, dark roast. We used to mail order it from the mainland, but now we just buy it locally. KTA usually has it the cheapest; currently around $29/pound for whole dark roast beans (plus tax). There is a coffee grinder and a good coffee maker in the condo.
  

  The farmers markets & flea marts also have many other brands of Kona coffee - watch out for (and avoid) the non-100% Kona ones! There are a great many brands of 100% Kona coffee, as the coffee is produced on many little farms, usually family owned, some of which produce their own labels. Many of them are very good! Our 2nd favorite is Sweet Spirit Farms in Honaunau, which is sold at the Keauhou & South Kona Green farmers markets. Kona Blue Sky in Holualoa is also good, but even more expensive. Mauna Kona Coffee is also very good and is reasonably priced. Paradise Found Hawai'i coffee is also quite good & moderately priced. There are many others to try and you are sure to find a favorite! (9/19/2008)

  Websites or phones for some of the 100% Kona coffee farms:

  • Kona Jacks 100% Kona Coffee, Honaunau Mauka Estates: (808) 328-8442
  • Sweet Spirit Farms 100% Kona Coffee: http://www.sweetspiritfarms.com/
  • Mauna Kona Coffee 100% Kona Coffee: http://www.maunakonacoffee.com/
  • Kona Blue Sky 100% Kona Coffee: http://www.konablueskycoffee.com/
  • Paradise Found 100% Kona Coffee: http://paradisefoundHawaii.com/
  
  
• Smoked 'ahi, KTA's Mountain Apple brand. Yummy! This makes a great pupu simply sliced and stir fried a minute. Delicious!

• Ikari Tonkatsu Sauce ("steak sauce"). It is great on rice, tonkatsu & stir-fry. Very flavorful! Bottled, available at KTA and other stores.

• Papayas - we prefer the regular orange-fleshed Solo variety, but you can also find pink-fleshed Sunrise or Strawberry varieties at the Farmers Market & flea markets (non-GMO). We like ours with a squeeze of lime!

• If you can find them, the best local varieties of avocado we have tasted are Linda, Kahalu'u and Malama. You will have to get them at one of the real farmers markets like Keauhou or the South Kona Green Market (at Amy B.H. Greenwell Ethnobotancial Gardens in Capt. Cook) where only local produce is sold, otherwise all that you will find are usually Sharwil, imported, or unidentified "local" varieties. We used to think that Sharwils were good, but the ones we originally tried must have been another varieity, as we have never been happy with any of them we have tried in the last couple of years. And we buy local; we don't buy imports. And in a recent article on a survey of consumers and restaurant owners, the Sharwil and imports came out last in the voting. Their favorites? They pretty closely matched our own: Linda, Kahalu'u, Malama, Yamagata and a few others. (9/19/2008)

• Kona Chips (formerly Kona Kitch'n Cook'd potato chips), manufactured by Sansei Chips, Inc., Capt. Cook Furukawa Potato Chips. On our trip in November 2001, we found Kona Kitch'n Cook'd potato chips had renamed and repackaged their chips, but they are still great! They are now called "Kona Chips" and are in a larger black bag, and their store/factory is now located right next to the Manago Hotel. Crunchy, tasty chips!! (808) 323-3785.

• Papaya Seed Dressing, Original Hawaii Hula Dressing, Hawaii Food Manufacturing. This is our favorite dressing. (KTA)

• Sunflower Sprouts, "Kona Grown", Jack Sprout Foods, PO Box 1805, Kailua-Kona, HI 96745. Usually available from KTA, although they often are temporarily out. We really like these on our salads.

• Waimea butter lettuce; hydroponics, no soil (KTA)

• Edelweiss Restaurant Tarragon Mustard salad dressing. This dressing is also good on salads, but we primarily use it to spice up our macaroni salad (see recipe). (KTA). Note: even though the Edelweiss restaurant has sadly closed, their dressing remains available. (9/19/2008)

• Urashima Ao Nori Goma Furikake, Japanese Gourmet Topping. Contains prepared seaweed & sesame seeds only. I like this on my salads, potatoes, and other vegetables. Very hard to find, but there are other varieties with additional ingredients that aren't bad. You can usually find them on sale at Long's, KTA and other markets. I also like to add this to the packaged udon noodles to give them extra flavor. (9/19/2008)

• Purple fleshed sweet potatoes from the farmers market are beautiful and taste good, but can be very dry so you need to compensate.

• Blue potatoes (which look purple to me), are very pretty and have the same texture & moisture as normal potatoes. (KTA and sometimes Food4Less)

• Molokai sweet potatoes. Cook on high in the microwave for 5 minutes, split and eat! (KTA)

• White fleshed sweet potatoes from the Farmer's Market are no ka o'i! They are moist and tasty, but unfortunately they rarely have them anymore. We were told that all the tourists want the "pretty purple ones" instead.

• Meadow Gold Guava Nectar or POG (Passo-Guava). We drink a lot of this in Kona. Popular local brand available at KTA and elsewhere.

• Bagel croissants at the KTA in Kailua town. Make a nice dinner roll with good flavor and texture. Heat 5 minutes in 350° oven.

• Buttermilk donuts ("bowling ball" shaped) at the KTA bakery are good if you want a sweet snack. These are my best friend's favorite! I like mine with chocolate, she likes hers plain. We heat them in the oven for a few minutes just to warm.

• Reed's Ginger Beer. Available from Kona Natural Foods in the Safeway/Denny's shopping Center above WalMart or at Keauhou Shopping Center.

• Cranberry Cove herb tea. Celestial Seasoning's teas are available at Kona Natural Foods in the Safeway/Denny's shopping Center above WalMart or at Keauhou.

• Kona Coffee Chocolates, Paradise Farms Co., POB 739, Honolulu 96808. If you like chocolate and coffee, these are very nice. CostCo carries them if you don't mind buying three at a time.

• Strawberries & Cream 100% fruit juice (pineapple, strawberries, coconut cream, apple) by Hawaii Island Food Folks, PO Box 1544, Kailua-Kona, HI 96745. Sometimes available at the Farmers Market.

• Franklin Foods Portuguese Sausage. Much less fatty than the Miko & other brands. Split lengthwise and grill on the Jenn-Air, then serve on grilled buns with mustard for tasty sandwiches. Also a popular pupu sliced into rounds and grilled.

• Huli-huli BBQ chicken. Occasionally, you will see the chicken grilling on an open air grill on the main road near the south end of Kainaliu. Stop and take one back to the condo to eat; it's very tasty!

• Wilson Mkt. Inc., Honolulu. Kalua pork, imu prepared, in purple container. Much less fatty than the Miko and other brands. Remove any large pieces of fat and heat in the microwave. Makes a tasty (but greasy) sandwich with a little mayo on a sourdough roll.

• Beef & Pork Lau Lau, Kulana Foods Ltd., Hilo, HA 96720. Three lau lau (taro, beef, pork, pork fat, salt) wrapped in ti leaves. KTA.

• Hawaiian Royal Gold Potatoes, Aloha Potato Company, PO Box 184, Kualapuu, Molokai, HA 96757. Good if you can find them. Used to get them at KTA, but haven't seem them in quite a while.

• Vegetarian Recipes. We've also included some of our favorite non-Hawai'ian vegetarian recipes if you would like to try them.

For the longest time, we thought that the fish "ono" had been given it's name because it was so delicious! Haven't you heard over and over that "ono" means delicious? Well, 'ono does mean delicious. The problem is that the actual fish is not 'ono, it is just ono. That apostrophe, actually a glottal stop, or 'okina in Hawaiian, at the beginning of the word makes it an entirely different word! Ono does not mean delicious; it is a type of fish -- but 'ono (with the 'okina) does mean delicious.

The same is true for 'ahi. We long thought that the yellowfin tuna was named ahi for "fire," perhaps because of its deep red flesh. Wrong again! Ahi does mean fire in Hawaiian, but that is not the name of the succulent deep red fleshed yellowfin tuna! The Hawaiian name for the yellowfin tuna is 'ahi! Again, that 'okina makes all the difference!

So we have:		'ono = delicious		ahi = fire
		ono = a delicious fish		'ahi = yellowfin tuna with flesh the color of fire

Unless otherwise indicated, all photographic images were taken by Dennis Painter, David Seymour or Sherron Bull. All rights reserved.