Anyone who was at the Honolulu Weekly’s last Little Kitchens event knows and probably dreams about the Big Wave Tomatoes pesto grilled pizza. Seemingly simple and unassuming, the crisp slices topped with award-winning tomatoes shrank in size as word spread throughout the hungry and progressively drunker crowd. People flooded the little stand in the corner, cramming their faces with mini-tamales and shrimp curry from the other food booths while waiting to catch the wave of flavor from Big Wave Tomatoes.

At the Kapi’olani Community College Farmers’ Market, Jeanne Vana’s North Shore-based company serves the sought-after pizza ($6 a slice) along with fried green tomatoes (genuine ones, not unripe red ones) coated in panko crumbs for $3.50 per tray, as well as a variety of other tomatoes, ranging from beefsteak to cherry. One may also find an offering of sweet green tomato pie, allegedly tastier than those green apple ones. Cruise Big Wave Tomatoes’ website for recipes featuring fresh, local produce.

Embodying slow food principles, Big Wave Tomatoes, grown in nutrient-rich fertile volcanic soil, are farm-direct to upscale restaurants and retailers. While O’ahu crops such as sugarcane have died out, Waialua Vine Ripe Tomatoes have been booming, yielding hope for the future of locally grown produce. Vana was employed by Dole for decades, both in the pineapple industry and in diversified agriculture, and when the sugarcane era came to an end, was entitled to lease the land. She then “did research work with tomatoes for long term sustainability to reduce reliance on pesticide use and turned my farm into a demo for small farmers.”

Ride the tomato wave all the way back to the next Little Kitchens on June 13. The return of the pesto grilled pizza is guaranteed.

–M.S.

389-6255 [Bigwavetomatoes.com]

Come here, little poi

The poi shortage is for real. Farmers and processors inform us it’s due not only to scarce land and water, the weather and pests, but to the dwindling number of small kalo farmers and poi makers. Larger, commercial enterprises often lack in quality and, well, mana. Things are exacerbated because harvest time, following slow winter growth, intersects with crazed demand for graduations, weddings and luau. Fast-moving supplies that sell out same-day available (briefly!) at Foodland, Safeway and Times. Support local farmers!

–M.G.

GOT a problem with advertising catchphrases?

So do we, but on Feb. 15, Wai’anae’s Pacific Dairy shut its gates and evicted its cows, marking the end of island milk for O’ahu and most of the state. There are now only two dairies left in Hawai’i: Clover Leaf Dairy and Island Dairy, both of which only produce milk for the Big Island. As recently as 1980, Hawai’i was completely self sufficient in milk, over twenty dairies across the state, but exorbitant feed, fuel and land costs drove all but the Big Island Two out of business. Tragically, at a time when our leaders are pushing for sustainability and the revitalization of our agricultural roots, you cannot buy a carton of local milk anywhere on O’ahu. As the cows might say, if they hadn’t been shipped to California for slaughtering: “boooooo.”

–R.B.

Clover Leaf Dairy,

Haw, 889-5838 Island Dairy, ‘O’kala. 962-6944

Get contained with Styrophobia solutions

The hysteria of the plate lunch is alive and well with L&L’s new three-pound meal. Along with these massive meals come massive amounts of non-biodegradable rubbish. Styrophobia offers a solution that is helpful to our love of the ‘aina and the plate lunch with eco-friendly take out containers. Although a bit more expensive, these materials are 100 percent biodegradable and are just as efficient as their harmful polystyrene counterparts. As most of their containers are made from corn straw and sugarcane, the local company gives a sweet alternative for the ongoing quest toward sustainability.

–D.L.F.

For a list of local eateries committed to biodegradable packaging, visit [Styrophobia.com]

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