From Ground to Grindz — Day 2: The Office Locavore

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Eggs For Breakfast

Posted Monday Sept. 27, 9 a.m.

We found out Sunday that breakfast can’t consist of half a papaya and one apple banana.

So while Korina got ready for work Monday morning, I headed to the kitchen and made us a half-dozen eggs, mixed with a splash of skim milk and scrambled with diced shallots and three leaves of Italian basil.

The hope is that if we start our stomachs with some protein and a hot meal, we can keep our hunger under wraps, at least through the workday. We’ll see how that goes.

Just in case, we split another papaya for good measure.

Grateful For Distractions

Posted Monday Sept. 27, 2:30 p.m.

Maybe my body is starting to get accustomed to local food and smaller portions. Or maybe keeping my mind on things other than Eat Local is helping.

Anyone who has ever had something troubling in their personal life already knows about the therapeutic qualities of work. Today, with some papaya and local eggs in my belly, I sat down at my Civil Beat desk and buried myself in a slew of non-food-related Hawaii news. I spent some time writing about the race to represent Hawaii’s 1st Congressional District.

All of a sudden, it was 1:30 p.m., I hadn’t eaten in five hours and my stomach wasn’t even rumbling. I was even able to have some friendly conversations in our office break room/kitchen without stealing colleagues’ food from the fridge or microwave.

A small lunch of reheated chili from last night and a side of long beans, bok choy and shallots might not keep me full all afternoon, but if I can keep my mind off my stomach until my next meal, it might not matter.

Maybe I should repurpose that old TV and radio campaign engineered by the Meat Council to promote beef consumption. “Work. It’s what’s for dinner.”

We Was Had!

Posted Monday Sept. 27, 6:30 p.m.

So much for 100 percent local week.

It turns out that “Kona coffee” isn’t necessarily from Kona, or anywhere else in Hawaii for that matter. In our preparations for Eat Local week, Korina and I picked up a 10-ounce bag of “Kona Classic,” a ground coffee produced by “Hawaiian Isles Kona Coffee Co.” There’s a picture of palm trees set against a sunset, a sketch of the eight major Hawaiian Islands and a trademarked motto: “The Warmth of the Islands in Every Cup.”

That was enough branding to confuse us two malahini, and we might have never been the wiser had it not been for some of my Civil Beat colleagues tipping me off about this scam. Truthfully, we should have known better when it was priced at only $6 for maikai cardholders at Foodland.

Had we looked more carefully, we would have seen the note toward the bottom of the packaging that it was a “10 percent Kona coffee blend” — a number that can look an awful lot like 100 percent to an unsuspecting, coffee-craving eye. More information on the back tells consumers that the Kona Coast coffee is blended “with the finest arabica beans from around the world to bring you a truly unique gourmet taste.”

Read the not-so-fine print and it’s obvious this coffee isn’t “local.”

Fortunately, I’m not a coffee drinker, so I’m still pure. Korina, on the other hand, has been contaminated, and she’s none too pleased.

“I’m pissed,” she told me when we got home from work and confirmed her worst fears. “Here I am really trying to eat local. I’ve been drinking my coffee without sugar and giving up stuff. I’ve been duped!”

We picked up some new, 100 percent Kona coffee at Whole Foods in Kahala, stamped with an official seal from the “Independent Kona Coffee Growers Association.”

Short of flying over to the Big Island to pick the beans ourselves, this is going to have to suffice.

Can 1 Bag Hold $70 of Groceries?

Posted Monday Sept. 27, 10 p.m.

Yes it can. With room to spare.

Fresh off our Sunday night success, Korina and I decided to try some fish for local dinner No. 2. We headed to Whole Foods in Kahala to check out their selection, which turned out to be pretty impressive. But while eating seafood might help me get lighter, it also lightened my wallet.

One pound of swordfish, which became the centerpiece of our dinner, set us back $19. A pound of opah, which we’ll use Tuesday, cost $15. Two pounds of Kula strawberries: another $12. The new coffee: $12 for seven ounces. Some green onions, daikon and Twin Bridge Farms sweet onions brought the final total to just short of $70. And it all fit in just one paper bag.

When we got home, we layered napa cabbage in the bottom of a 9-by-13 pan. Sliced onions, white mushrooms, jalapenos and garlic went in next, followed by the swordfish, cut into four quarter-pound steaks. Some zucchini, butter and Hawaiian sea salt completed the dish, which spent 45 minutes in the oven at 400 degrees, the first half covered in tin foil.

Swordfish with onions, mushrooms, jalapenos, zucchini and garlic in a napa cabbage “boat.”

When the pan came out of the oven, the flavors had combined nicely, with a little kick. We were surprised at how much liquid had collected in the pan — the salt probably drew some of it out, and of course fresh vegetables are often quite water-laden.

We each enjoyed the napa cabbage “boat” filled with veggies and fish. The meal, served with a glass (or two) of “Upcountry Gold” white wine from Maui’s Tedeschi Vineyards, probably cost as much as a night out at a decent restaurant.

But at least we have enough leftovers for Tuesday’s lunch.

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