SEEING STARS

It's star fruit season, although a few months later than last year. I clearly remember the last of the star fruit being picked the day we got on a plane back in September 2008. We are as they say here in Hawai'i, "CHOKE STAR FRUIT". So what else do we do, besides sit under the tree, pluck them from the branches and eat them right there, the juice sugary sweet after being warmed by the sun? We make dessert. We also get a little upset at all the fallen fruit on the ground. But it does keep the birds happy.

Last week was a batch of banana/star fruit jam and this week…
~ Star Fruit Crumble
~ Star Fruit Upside Down Cake
~ Chicken Star Fruit Stir Fry

And there are plenty other star fruit dishes we aim to try over the next few weeks.

Star Fruit Upside Down Cake:

Was and slice starfruit, melt butter in a cake pan, sprinkle in brown sugar, lay in star fruit, pour batter on top.

You will want to make sure you bang the pan on the counter a few times to make the batter settle into all the crevices. cover with a cookie sheet first to avoid batter splatter. Cake is done when golden and all gooey brown on the edges.

Place a cookie sheet or plate on top of cake and flip over. I used a cookie sheet since I used a 9x13 pan (you will need to make 1 1/2 batches for this size pan.) Serve warm. Place in fridge. To reheat, place in 175 degree oven while eating dinner. Turn off when done eating and leve in oven. Cake will be warm when ready for dessert. I have also placed in a non-stick skillet with 1-2 teaspoons water, cover and heat on low for 5-10 minutes.

Here is a great link to "choke" STAR FRUIT RECIPES.

ALL ABOARD

Last week, John and I were invited by Anne over at one of our favorite "getaways" - Prêt à Voyager - to participate in an interview segment called Boarding Pass. We had a great time rummaging through not only digital photo's, but some old images from something called film. Mahalo Anne, for allowing us to look back at some of our favorite travel memories.

Read Conn's interview here.

Read John's interview here.

PINING FOR THE GOOD OLD DAYS

Today we learned that MAUI LAND & PINEAPPLE will not be planting or growing anymore pineapple here in Maui starting immediately. This is news that literally made me sick to my stomach. I cannot imagine our drive into town or up Baldwin Avenue and not seeing the pineapple fields as they change from silvery green, to purpley green, to golden green and smell the sweet fragrance as the warms sun releases that signature aroma. This surely means the land will be sold off and developed. I still can't grasp it. This of course means we will be getting pineapple shipped in from South America and will of course cost much more than it does now.

The pineapple fields along the Hana Highway in Ha'iku. When this field is full and ripe, the aroma is amazing and you literally breathe in as deep as you can so as not to miss one second of the experience.

And just last week we learned that GAY & ROBINSON is ending sugar cane production on Kauai. The closure leaves Hawaiian Commercial & Sugar Co. on Maui as the only sugar producer in the state. And if we loose that… it will be a sad day here.

Hawaiian Commercial & Sugar Co. here on Maui.
No, it's not pretty, but it is full of old world charm.

So we better get to town and stock up, cut those tops off and get them in the ground if we want to keep fresh Hawaiian pineapples on the menu here at CFC. It takes at least 18 months to get a pineapple.. slower when not pumped full of fertilizers. Here are a few of our "award winners" at different stages.

GUA-VA-VA-VOOM!

I finally got around to using up some of the 96 guavas I gathered a few days ago and made my first Guava Cheesecake. It's very very light but very very guava-y and very very good. Now I need to use up the other 70 guava (and counting) and the 45 star fruit and make jam or even just some pulp and juice to freeze for later use.



Fresh Guava Pulp
15-20 fresh guava, peeled. enough to make 1 1/2 cups of pulp.
Place in a saucepan and cook until softened. Place in a food mill to remove the seeds and fibrous bits. I usually run through twice. You can prepare this the day before if desired. Chill until ready to use.

Shortbread Crust
1 cup butter (softened)
2 cups sifted unbleached all purpose flour
1/2 cup sifted confectioners sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt (if using unsalted butter)

Press into a 9" spring form pan, going either all the way up the sides or half way as I did. Poke with a fork to avoid bubbling and to allow steam to escape. Pre-bake 350 for 10-12 minutes. You will see in the picture below I let mine go a little too long. If you over pre-bake, the crust could end up burnt if the center of the cake is too thick and cooking slow.


Filling
2 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, room temperature
1 cup sugar
5 large eggs
2 tablespoons lemon or lime juice
1 cup fresh guava pulp, cooled to room temperature or chilled.
(you may be able to use guava paste or guava juice as well, but I find there is no substitute for fresh guava. If using a juice try to use a concentrate. Start with 1/4 cup. Otherwise it may be too runny could require more egg.)

Cream the cream cheese until smooth. Add sugar, pulp, citrus juice and cream. Add eggs one at a time.

Pour filling into slightly cool crust. Bake 350 for 40 - 60 minutes depending on thickness of cake.
Let cake cool then refrigerate. Drizzle with glaze (see below) and serve.

Guava Glaze
1/2 cup remaining guava puree
(Or you could use 3/4 cup any other fruit juice, like pineapple, mango, orange, or even coconut milk. The combo of flavors are endless.)
2 1/2 tablespoons sugar
2 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch

Make this after the cake has cooled. Blend together in a saucepan and simmer until bubbly and thickened. Allow to cool and place in an icing bag and squeeze over cool cake. You could also just pour this glaze over the top of the entire cake then refrigerate at least 30 minutes.

DRAGON EYE

A few days ago, our electrician brought us two branches full of Longan Fruit. Having never tried it before we were excited yet wary to try this new fruit with the nickname "dragon eye" because it looks like an eyeball when the shell is removed. Here you see it along with some other goodies from our yard like papaya, lime, liliko'i and star fruit.

You need to remove the shell much like a lychee. To crack them open you simply squeeze them between your finger and thumb until the thin brown shell cracks. Then peel off and pop in your mouth for a somewhat light melony flavor. It is very similar in texture to lychee, but I like the longan better. It is best to store them in the fridge as they spoil quickly if left out. Keeping them cold also makes the cracking of the shell easier.

If you have never experienced longan and happen to see it in a specialty store, pick some up. But I warn you... they go fast. Once you start, it's hard to stop eating them.

POSTER BOYS

A few weeks ago, we dropped of our Hawaii Volcanoes National Park poster by artist Charley Harper to be framed and we finally picked it up yesterday. We were completely exhausted yesterday and barely had the energy to run into town, but when the lady behind the counter unwrapped it we both came back to life.

The poster measures 29" x 39" and was printed in 1986.We chose a simple 1 3/4" square black frame with non-glare glass. It set us back a bit more than we wanted, but to finally see it removed from the tube it lived in for the last 4 years was worth it.

As usual, Charley managed to capture all the amazing beauty of Hawaii's native plants and animals as only Charley can with. First off, he placed them in the composition as they would be found at their proper elevation. Then he uses "minimal realism" as he calls it to capture the "details" with the fewest details possible. Lines, circles, triangles, squares etc. Charley often said he never counted the feathers , only the wings. Below are some details of some of our favorite native species... although we have never seen an 'I'iwi, 'Akiapola'au and the Palilia. Still hoping to one of these days.

Mamane flower, the 'I'iwi bird and
Pueo or Hawaiian Owl.

Bamboo Orchid, Ulehu Fern, Hawaiian Morning Glory and Hawaiian Hibiscus

Nene

Silversword plant and ʻAkiapōlāʻau bird.

Kamehameha Butterfly

'Ohiʻa lehua flowers and Palila bird.

BIRTHDAY SUGAR

For his birthday on tuesday, Conn wanted a starfruit pie. Our Starfruit tree is finally turning out this year's crop with giant fruits that look more like they were pushed out by a giant Play-Doh Fun Factory than the normal-sized fruits from passed years. I used to make pies a lot back when I had spare time so I took on the challenge with gusto. Back then, I'd make a double crust from memory but I found myself reaching for the Joy of Cooking to try one of their classics.

Pie Dough Cockaigne (9-inch Double Cruster slightly modified form original)

Sift together: 2 c. all-purpose flour, 1 t. salt, and 3 t. of sugar

Measure and combine: 1/4 c. butter (i used salted butter) and 3 T. shortening

Cut half the shortening mixture into the flour mixture until it has the grain of cornmeal, thencut in the remaining half until the it is pea-sized. Sprinkle dough with 5 T. of water. Using a spatula, just blend the water into the dough, if it looks too dry add a some more water in small amaounts until the dough holds together. Then knead it in your hands for a about 30 secs, forming it into a ball. Divide in half, wrap each portion in plastic wrap and refridgerate until you are ready to roll it out!

This was slightly different than the crusts I used to make, I never had shortening on hand, so I'd always use more butter. And we usually only have the salted kine butter.



For the filling, take around 10 medium starfruit (or 8 big ones) and remove pits and inner membrane and chop them up (that's why the cut up bits in the pic look like little arrows.)

Ok, so now this is where the recipe we found online went wonky and we realized it was for 2 pies! But we still only got one pie filling out of it. Anyway, the recipe said to cook the fruit with 2 cups of sugar and 2/3 cup of water. But if I were to try this again, I'd use only 1 cup of sugar and absolutely no water. It turned out way too wet. (see the pic below where we spooned out some of the liquid into a little bowl.

To add some depth of flavor, we added about 2 T. of fresh grated ginger and some fresh grated nutmeg.


So when the mixture boils, you add a few tablespoons of quick-cooking tapioca. Now we assumed that would thicken it up, but it didn't work for us. So try it if you like tapioca, it might work for you. If not, sprinkle some flour into the mixture to thicken it up, just before you fill the pie which is what we did. Bake at 425 degrees for about 35 minutes, until the pie edges turn golden.



And for his birthday breakfast he got a bacon and taro english muffin sandwich.



Then, as if the pie wasn't enough sugar, we were minding our own business in costco, keeping to our list when this little beauty sweet-talked it's way into our cart. It's a mango sponge cake with whip icing. Um, it tastes more like apricot to me, but it was tasty regardless. Kind of light except for the whip icing. Needless to say, it's size has deemed it a diet mainstay over the passed few days of little time and lots of physical labor.