Fresh from the island farm

• Recipes call for fresh Island produce

By Wanda A. Adams
Advertiser Food Editor

Allen Hiraoka of Hiraoka Farm harvests Parris Island romaine lettuce at the family farm in Waimanalo. Hiraoka Farm will participate in the Hawai'i-grown-only farmers' market Saturday at Kapi'olani Community College. Bruce Asato • The Honolulu Advertiser

Saturday Farmers' Market 8 a.m. to noon, Saturdays Kapi'olani Community College parking lot C, near the chapel on Diamond Head Road Information: 848-2074

Tips for farmers' market customers Spend slow time; stroll around, see what's there, price things and plan a menu. Ask questions. Growers often can help; and if you ask loud enough, someone else may step forward with advice or a recipe. Bring cash. Farmers appreciate it. If someone offers you a taste, it doesn't commit you to buy it. You may find a new ingredient, or you can just walk on. Be aware that many items have a short season; if you see something you like, keep in mind that it may not be there next week. Bring a cooler in which to pack your goods for the trip home. Bring a string bag, tote or other hold-all; remember, there aren't any shopping carts. Wear comfortable, sturdy shoes; the ground is often uneven and you may be standing for a while. Sunscreen and a hat are good, too. If you take the kids, let them make the connection between farm and food. — Based on tips in Deborah Madison's "Local Flavors: Cooking and Eating from America's Farmers' Markets"

A forest of hands went up.

On Saturday, that market — coordinated by Namkoong, grower Dean Okimoto of Nalo Farms, the state Farm Bureau and Kapi'olani Community College — will debut on the KCC campus.

It will offer only products grown or harvested or made in Hawai'i — produce, of course, but also aquaculture fish, grass-fed beef, fresh ogo (seaweed), breads from Beau Soleil Catering and noodles from C&C Pasta, as well as jams, jellies and flowers.

One farmer who signed up is Lucy Hiraoka of Hiraoka Farm in Waimanalo, who grows tomatoes and greens such as baby arugula and frisée. "I'm really excited about it. It's a chance to be around other farmers and around customers. It's a little bit of pride, putting your stuff out there to see how it stacks up," she said.

She's done farmers' markets before and she says if you're organized it's not an undue amount of work. Hiraoka Farm has been in her family for more than 46 years. Brother Allen Hiraoka and other siblings share the work.

One selling point for Lucy Hiraoka is the chance to test-market new plantings. "Half the time you don't know if something will sell," she said. "This is one way to find out before you make a big investment."

Markets are also an opportunity to educate customers. She recalls one woman who kept pressing and poking Hiraoka's heirloom-type tomatoes and complaining that they were soft. "I said, 'Ma'am, they're supposed to be soft. They're ripe!' She'd never experienced that before," Hiraoka recalled.

Farmers, customers benefit

The story behind the new farmers' market is typical, says Deborah Madison, author of the award-winning book "Local Flavors, Cooking and Eating from America's Farmers' Markets" (Broadway Books, hardback, $39.95) for which she traveled to more than 100 markets nationwide. Madison was in Hawai'i last week for an agricultural conference.

"It takes a lot of work, and it can bring a community of people together," said Madison, speaking by phone a few weeks ago from her hometown of Galisteo, N.M., 25 miles south of Santa Fe. In

Galisteo, she has been intimately involved with a local farmers' market as shopper, manager and board member.

For Madison, farmers themselves are the root of a good farmers' market. "It has to be local food, it has to be farmer-produced — that's the No. 1 thing," she said.

"You may take that for granted, but not all the food available in farmers' markets is local." (This is the case with some items sold at Honolulu's city-sponsored markets, where sellers may bring in food purchased elsewhere.)

Putting those who grow or make the food and those who consume it together is key, Madison said. From this, farmers find out what sells and what people wish they would grow. Buyers find out how complex farming is, and build a deeper appreciation.

Garnering vendors

Namkoong, who "retired" as Advertiser food editor a couple of years ago, made the proposed market her charity project for the year. She and Okimoto flew to San Francisco at their own expense to visit the upgraded farmers' market there.

Both spent untold hours on the phone convincing local farmers that it would be worthwhile coming into town on what is, for many, a harvest day. Some didn't see the value; they're not comfortable with selling or with the time and hassle involved.

Okimoto frankly says he doesn't expect to make money by participating in the market, but he does expect to create customers.

One irony: They couldn't find a lot of those folks who had raised their hands at the conference. There is no central directory of farms. The Farm Bureau is a membership organization and not everyone belongs; the state is not allowed to give out the names of the farms on its rolls.

Many producers who would be interested are so small they have no listing in the phone book, no business telephone or, in some cases, even a business name.

Still, Namkoong and Okimoto were able to garner a respectable lineup of 21 vendors — about eight individual farms, in addition to six or so growers that will send produce under the Nalo Farms umbrella and a group of North Shore producers who'll send produce for Jeanne Vana's North Shore Farms.

Farmers' concerns

Some farmers worried that by selling at the market they would lose other distributors, who would in effect be competing with themselves. Okimoto counters that it would be shortsighted for buyers to cut farmers off for that reason.

"Farmers' markets create market," he said. "They create the taste, the brand awareness; somebody who tastes something they like is going to go ask the produce buyer at their supermarket for it."

The planners had to find partners to share the work and expense. The Hawai'i Farm Bureau Federation, a nonprofit consortium of farmers and ranchers, was a logical choice.

Conrad Nonaka, director of KCC's culinary program, is a big supporter of farm-to-market links, sending his chef students to learn about farming first-hand on field trips to Okimoto's farm. He was able to smooth the way for the market.

Madison says that while farmers are essential to farmers' markets, customers are, too.

Farmers' markets aren't as convenient as grocery stores, but they are much more dependent than a supermarket on the loyalty of customers because they generally have fewer of them.

It behooves those who love the idea to support the reality, Madison said.

Recipes call for fresh Island produce

If you get your hands on some great Kahuku corn at a farmers' market, try this simple recipe from Deborah Madison's "Local Flavors, Cooking and Eating from America's Farmers' Markets."

• Creamy corn and herbs
• 6 ears freshly picked sweet corn
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 2 shallots, finely diced
• Sea salt and freshly ground pepper
• 1/4 cup cream
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley, torn basil leaves or chopped dill

Shuck the corn and slice off the kernels with a sharp knife, cutting no more than two-thirds of the way into the kernels. Reverse the knife to the dull side and use it force out the scrapings, keeping them separate from the kernels — these will be part of the "cream."

Melt the butter in a wide, non-stick pan. Add shallots and cook over medium heat for 2 minutes. Add the corn kernels, sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon salt and raise the heat. Cook for 2 minutes, then add the scrapings and cream and cook for 1 minute more. Turn off the heat, season with pepper and stir in the herb. Serve immediately.

You may come across some fat avocados at a farmers' market. Here's an idea for them: Deborah Madison's Avocado Sandwich — Toast good quality whole wheat bread. Halve, peel and slice an avocado. Gently arrange the slices on the toast. With a fork, lightly mash avocado on bread. Drizzle fresh Meyer lemon, calamansi, Key lime or regular lime juice over the top and add a pinch of salt and grinding of black pepper. You can drizzle over a fruity little olive oil, too.

When liliko'i are in season and you find a sweet pineapple, try this as a filling for a jelly roll, or as an easy dessert. You can also use passion-fruit concentrate or passion-orange juice.

Passion fruit and pineapple fool

• 1 small, sweet pineapple
• 1 cup whipping cream
• 2 tablespoons confectioners' sugar
• Strained juice from 2 passion fruit
• White ginger blossoms or seeds of passion fruit for garnish

Slice the skin off the pineapple, remove the eyes with the tip of a potato peeler, then cut the flesh away from the core. Coarsely chop in a food processor, then transfer to a bowl. As the fruit settles and the juice pools around it, pour off the excess juice (reserve for another use).

Whip the cream with sugar until barely stiff, then fold in the passion fruit and the pineapple. Mound the fool into parfait glasses, garnish and serve.

Correction: The telephone number for information on the Saturday Farmers' Market at Kapi'olani Community College is 848-2074. Incorrect numbers were given in a previous version of this story.