Ka'u Beef and the Volcano Market

Morning coffee+ Strolling around a farmers market= this is what great Sundays are made of.

We headed out of Hilo Sunday morning to the Volcano Farmers Market. At first we didn't know what to make of it, our breath visible in the cold Volcano morning air. We walked over to the large arena area and chatted with Olivia from Mountain View Growers. Her strawberries looked fantastic! Then we went over to Forrest and Maria where they had overflowing tables of corn, potatoes, carrots and rainbow chard. Regulars at the Hilo Wednesday market, Forrest and Maria had even more eye catching produce than I usually get to see. We purchased some of their pink and yellow skinned potatoes before moving on to the next building.

The very first thing I saw in this building was the meat lady! I had seen online that the Ka'u based  Kuahiwi Ranch sold meat at Volcano Market but I didn't get my hopes up. I stood next to a man who was in the midst of deciding what cut he wanted and the meat lady was happy to display some very nice sized New York Strips and a few hefty rib-eyes. I had my sights set on a boneless rib-eye that was marbled to perfection and glad to see he passed it up for 3 New York Strips.  The Kuahiwi Ranch Natural Beef is family raised on 10,000 acres (yes the number is correct) between Wood Valley and Waiohinu in Ka'u. Three generations of the Galimba family work the farm and are active with local 4-H activities. They raise their cattle free-range on that massive acreage with no antibiotics or artificial hormones. Is your mouth watering yet? It should be. We purchased two Spencer cut ( aka rib-eye steak, market steak, beauty steak, noted here as the best cut of beef you could possibly have!) steaks, each about 1.5 inches thick and 1.6 lbs of free-range, pastured, marbled goodness. It was a splurge for sure!

Next, we saw Papa'a Palaoa Bakery making breakfast sandwiches- and it was all made with local ingredients! I wish they could make them at the Hilo market, because I'd have one every market day! A grill toasted english muffin shmeared with Puna goat cheese, loaded with fresh basil, slice of homegrown tomato (usually a Mountain View Grower tomato) and an egg! Oh and the eggs- eye catching array of different colors! We had to buy a dozen when we saw that there are several different varieties of egg hens that they use. Some eggs are dark brown, olive green, light taupe, freckled and more! I've never been excited over eggs this much before. It isn't a bad drive from Hilo to Volcano and now that we know what to expect, we may go more often.


Ka'u Steak- it's what's for dinner!

For dinner I quartered the potatoes and then sliced the quarters into 1/2 inch pieces. I placed them in a glass baking dish with a tablespoon of chicken fat skimmed from the top of the chicken broth I just made. I tossed the potatoes in the chicken fat and sprinkled rosemary and thyme (from my garden) and placed it in the oven at 420 degrees F for 1 hour. These are perfect for putting in the oven and forgetting about them, because the outside gets nice and crispy while the inside is soft and fluffy.(Also, when friends unexpectedly show up while you are prepping dinner-like, I dunno, Julie and Marco- you don't have to worry about babysitting the stove.)

Meanwhile, I ground a hand full of Ka'u coffee and a few roasted cocoa nibs until it was a powder. I sprinkled the steaks generously with the coffee cocoa rub and a pinch of sea salt then let them sit at room temperature for 20 minutes. (Or until those friends that suddenly showed up leave, like, I dunno, Julie and Marco.)

I trimmed some large Alii Oyster mushrooms from Hamakua mushrooms and started to heat my pans. I thinly sliced a halved (lengthwise) zucchini and broadly sliced fresh basil (from Julie's garden!). Once the pans were hot I put a teaspoon of chicken fat in the mushroom pan and tossed the mushrooms in. I did the same for the zucchini but turned the burner low after putting the zucchini in the pan and placed a lid on it. We like the zucchini almost steamed but not mush.

I continued to toss the mushrooms gently so they cooked evenly. Then, I threw the steaks on the griddle. I love the hiss of steaks searing. Stir the zucchini, toss the mushrooms, flip the steaks, turn the oven off and let the potatoes cool a bit- all done at the same time! Remember to always take the steaks off first so they can rest.

Our steaks came out with a nice crust all around it while still being rare - Gordon Ramsey would have been proud. The rub gave an earthy depth to the steak that matched the meat taste without being overpowering. The potatoes were crispy, mushrooms cooked to perfection (is it just me or do they actually kind of taste like an oyster) and the zucchini with Julie's basil rounded off the meal. Oh, can't forget the Mehana Hawaiian Crow Porter I washed it all down with!

I couldn't finish my steak so I've got that lined up for lunch today. YUM! Speaking of which, it is about that time already.

Forever Seeking Aloha,
Britt