who is h. maloha?

i stumbled upon this website the other day and am loving the brilliant marketing strategy and beautiful packaging of maloha and the story of its mysterious founder, a purveyor of foodie treats from hawaii à la j.peterman.

if you have been searching for a fresh take on island goodies then check out maloha's selection of teas (palaunu sounds delish - a coconut/chocolate/vanilla/rooibos black tea blend) and flavored macadamia nuts (waikiki cajun, anyone?). and, yes, they also stock 100% kona coffee.

roselani ice cream

back on the mainland after yet another too short visit home. one of the highlights was sampling roselani ice cream which was super onolicious. today we stopped by the grocery store to stock the pantry and i spent far too long in the freezer section searching for something . . . anything that could compare to roselani's luscious kona mud pie.

instead i came home disappointed and empty handed (a first for me, the self proclaimed ice cream addict). even b+j's failed to make it into the basket so i'll just have to wait for my next visit to scoop up more kona mud pie (yep, it is that good). maui-based roselani does not ship to the mainland but you can find flavors like banana mac crunch, haupia, mango 'n cream & more all over the islands.

frank sinatra ate here

another day kicking it at the made in hawaii festival website and it's definitely time for a tasty treat. if you're heading to the blaisdell this weekend, the abundance of samples you'll get to dig into will probably put the sport of grazing at costco to shame, but this photo of a happy cake will have to suffice for those of us far from honolulu.

you simply cannot go wrong with any of these words: chocolate. macadamia nut. fudge brownie. and let's not forget it's all baked into a cake (a happy one, mind you). this is not your mother's duncan hines so if it's moist and delicious it sounds like a winner.

and did you know that hawaiian happy cakes also has a hollywood connection? the cakes are baked at kemo'o farms in wahiawa which just happens to be one of the hawaii location's seen on from here to eternity. once upon a time stars like frank sinatra, ava gardner & lana turner had pineapple happy cakes shipped up to the mainland so make like a movie star and have your favorite flavor sent to your door.

salsa magic

dehydrated food typically conjures up thoughts of vacuum sealed packets of sustenance for astronauts & campers. a more gourmet option is pat's pineapple salsa which has been featured on food network's food finds.

each packet is filled with dehydrated pineapples, onions & chili peppers (no additives or sweeteners) straight from hawaii. all you need to do is add a few tomatoes and watch the ingredients magically plump up into fresh hawaiian salsa to enjoy no matter where you call home.

the salsa business is a labor of love for the family of the late pat campogan who are following his dream of sharing his culinary creations with the rest of us. the family also dishes up organic fare at the nasturtium café in kealakekua on the big island so stop by and see what they can whip up with nary a food dehydrator in sight.

goats make good cheese

there's even more to love about upcountry maui with the award winning goat cheese from surfing goat dairy where owners thomas & eva-marie kafsack have been whipping up a mouth watering variety of cheeses since setting up shop a few years ago.

serious foodies will want to add the shark bite line, which features gourmet ingredients like truffles and gold flakes, to their wish list while cheese lovers on a budget can savor aloha chèvre cheeses enhanced with maui lavender, mangos & more.

if you want to learn more about the cheese making process, check out one of the many tours available where you can try your hand at herding or milking the goats that make all this cheesy goodness possible.