Saturday, April 27, 2013

Maui Earth Day Celebration 2013

While munching food from places like Flatbread (One of Maui's most generous Community donators, supply boxes of their famous meetings each month at the Maui Farmers Union United meeting, alongside the wonderful and tasty Maui Farm Fresh Locally Grown and prepared foods), Sipping on Maui Made Maui Coconut Kefir and about 19 other food vendors, you could be listening to music of people such as Makana, Dr. Nat & Rio Ritmo, Haiku Hillbillys and many more!

All this while sitting, standing or dancing in the wonderful almost secretly forgotten Keopuolani Park Amphitheater. A beautiful sheltered grass and tree lined valley in the desert region of Kahului Maui, Hawaii.

If your eager to learn, discuss and be informed on subjects like the side effects of having radio frequency Smart Meters, why Maui's beautiful blue skies are turned into looking and smelling worse than an L.A. freeway from Cane Burning or just disappear from a bright blue clear morning to a heavily overcast sky as Chemtrails slowly streak and spread across Hawaiian skies and what the advantages of building an industry around Sustainable Agriculture, or why one of Maui's largest Agriculture operations products like (GMO) Genetically Modified Organisms may be unhealthy and yet not required to be included on the label of the foods we choose to eat. Then the lively discussions taking place at noon should be of interest to you.

Maybe your burnt out from it all and just need a break and some healing. There will be a multitude of vendors and Crafters providing massage to Maui Made Products.

This all takes place on Sunday April 28, 2013 in Kahului at the Maui Keopuolani Park Amphitheater for only $7 from 10am to 6pm.

Stop by and support our small local farmers at the Maui Farmers Union United booth and check out some of the nicest and stylist Hats, Shirts and even cooking aprons. Find out more about them and join, you don't have to be a farmer, anyone that eats food should be a member, Find them also at www.MauiFarmersUnionUnited.org.

For more on the Maui Earth Day event, go to www.MauiEarthDay.org

Sunday, April 14, 2013

Demo Aquaponics Built For 2013 Maui Body and Soil Conferences at Home

(I previously thought I lost this post and published a shorter version. Well, blogger did save it and here it is.)

After working in short bursts, utilizing almost all left over material, with my brother Randy's help. I then proceeded to work from Midnight to 4:30am to finish my, I'm thinking hybrid, demo Aquarium Aquaponics to display at the 2013 Maui Body and Soil Farm-Health Conference held at the Maui Tropical Plantations, April 11th to 13th.

With just enough time to load the Aquarium Aquaponics and all the internet modem & router (mahalo AKAKU), two away radios, (Mahalo Vision Enterprises) and projection equipment with screen, squeeze in a shower and be on-site with all the other volunteers. I did manage to have it run successfully for 3 days and nights at the event.

I managed to get 10 Tilapia of various breeds and junior sized, so as not to eat my 10 various colored goldfish carp in the aquarium. Planted Taro, Royal Oak Lettuce, Beets, Stir Fry Greens, Chinese Cabbage "Won Bok", with yellow Marigold and violet Torenia for color.

The hybrid Aquarium Aquaponics was basically a planter I drilled 6 small weep holes in the bottom, a layer of Ricky Apana and Vince Mina's (IMO) Indigenous Micro Organism infused BioChar to hold water and then a bio-active layer of cider from my mature grow beds with plenty of worms populating it and an over all main overflow, in case holes plug or I the water flow was too much.

All run with a air driven water pump from a ECO AIR 2 air pump. Specs: 4.5 liters per minute, 1.7 pressure, 4 watts energy moving the water. Some tricky air/water pumping adapted from Glenn Martinez of Olomana Gardens and past State President of the Hawaii Farmers Union United, (he passed the baton to Vincent Mina as the new acting, then officially elected State President of HFUU and member of the Maui Farmers Union United.

The 2013 Maui Body and Soil Farm Health Conference was a big hit and my Aquarium Aquaponics is still running at home on top of my Jacuzzi Aquaponics system. Minus one Tilapia, travel shock I think and unfortunately all the goldfish koi. Apparently the Tilapia thought they were there for dinner, their dinner. At least the Tilapia had the courtesy to wait until after the event to feast.

Friday, April 12, 2013

As We Walk In The Darkness and Wonder Why We Cannot See

This post I started awhile ago in preparing for the 11th 2013 Maui Body and Soil Farm-Health Conference. Each year for the past 4 years of the 10 Maui Body and Soil Conferences I have helped Maui Aloha Aina Association, Vince and Irene Mina, Steve Wilson put on and met, listened and learned from such notable presenters like Jerry Brunetti, a self healed cancer victim, I have wondered why the emphasis continues to be around fixing our bodies with medicines, machines and some pretty wild science, all the while, ignoring the simple idea of growing and eating good food grown in good healthy conditions, such as healthy micro-biologically active soils and now Aquaponics.

So when the money runs out, the clinics can't keep up, science has no answers, drugs and treatments are financially beyond the vast majority of unhealthy people, we see the panic and fear that so many people have when they see not only the quality of life disappear, their financial futures gone and death staring them or loved ones in the face, we either remain in the darkness with our eyes closed or make the simple choice to grow and eat healthier foods as early in our life as we can.

So don't wonder why we can't see the answers, come out of the darkness, open our eyes and be the answers.

http://m.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2013/04/03/cancer-clinics-are-turning-away-thousands-of-medicare-patients-blame-the-sequester/

Aquaponics all nighter for 2013 Maui Body and Soil.

Aquaponics . So the water used IMO BioChar base and mature cinder and water from my system. And is running. bit rough on a fish, but their hanging in there.
Lost my last back up reading glasses, so this is tough.

Friday, April 5, 2013

Maui Cooking

I just love using slow cookers. Prep my stuff and get on with my day. Add  ingredients as it's time and by the end of the day it's dinner.
Going to each months Maui Farmers Union United really helps me to realize how so many foods I normally wouldn't eat can be so tasty. It inspires me to try new things in my cooking.
This started out with a piece of pork, yes I eat meat, that was marinated in my usual dis & dat marinade. I have assortments of vinegars and oils I keep on hand. This one had a spicy vinegar with a sweet vinegar and a dash of rice vinegar.
With that I added a Maui Chili lime oil made in Haiku & sold in Makawao. Some peanut & sesame oil, Braggs and let soak a day.
Then cooked it in some chicken stock, normally I would have used Beef Bone Broth.
After a few hours on high in the slow cooker, I added white and red onion, potatoes, purple cauliflower and cooked another hour. By now the meats falling apart and I had eggplant from my neighbor. I had skinned it and let it soak with some salt in water for about a half hour. Rinsed it and let it cook for one more hour.
In the meantime, I cooked brown, Jasmine and Forbidden Rice together. It was good, but second day even better. Added some flax seed crackers to thicken it and I just like them and that was dinner again. Sometime some unsalted sunflower seeds go in.
Variations could have been okra, green onion, celery or taro leaf from my Aquaponics. It all works and I don't add salt or much else. The flavors work themselves out. Every pot seems like a new and different dish.