The Halloween Bag!! Oct. 30th & 31st…

 Aloha everyone!  Here’s what we’ve scared up for you this week.  Instead of filling your bag with candy,    we’ve got sweet treats like mixed citrus and fall faves like beets and butternut squash.  And for the really  adventurous, we have ulu (breadfruit) this week!!

This week’s items include mixed citrus from both Hoalike Farm and Kamaaina Land Plant Rentals and     Nursery, both located on the North Shore.  We have Meyer lemons and Tahitian limes from Hoalike Farm, and Tahitian limes, tangelo, clementine, and lilikoi from Kamaaina Land Plant Rentals and Nursery.  Also we will be including 3/4 lb. organic beets from Kahumana Farm, a swiss chard/kale mix, grape tomatoes, and bush beans from Pacific Gateway Farmers, butternut squash from Ho Farms,  and  Hawaiian Ulu from ‘Ioleka’a valley in  He’eia and Mililani Ag Park.

If you haven’t tried breadfruit (ulu) before, you are in for a treat.  It’s extremely versatile, so no matter what condition its in you can put it to use.  When green and immature, ulu can be used similarly to artichoke heart.  When mature but still green, it can be a substitute for yams or potato, and when very ripe it can be used where you would use sweet potato, yam, banana, pumpkin, and chestnut.  For a really great intro and recipe ideas beyond what we’ve shared here, go to the National Tropical Botanical Garden Breadfruit Institute website.  Ulu is mature when the skin yellows and milky sap seeps through the skin.  When half ripe it is firm on the outside but slightly soft in the center when sliced.  Ulu will ripen in 1-3 days.

 

Mashed Ulu  

1 mature green ulu

2 tablespoon minced yellow onion

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup dairy or soy milk

1/2 stick butter

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Wash, peel, and core ulu.  Cut into 2 inch chunks, boil in water until tender.  Drain ulu in a colander then mash while hot.  Add butter and onion, salt, pepper, and milk.  From Fae Hirayama’s The Breadfruit Cookbook.

Roasted Ulu with Garlic

1 green mature ulu cut into 2 inch chunks

3-4 cloves garlic, crushed

2 tablespoons olive oil

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

1/2 cup water

Wash, core, and peel breadfruit.  Toss with crushed garlic and olive oil.  Place in baking pan with 1 cup water.  Cover pan with foil.  Bake one hour at 325 degrees, removing foil after 45 minutes, stirring occasionally to brown evenly.  Salt to taste before serving.  For onion ulu, add 1 cup chopped onion in place of garlic.  You can also add olives to this at the end, about 1/2 cup of green, black, and or Calamata olives, chopped or sliced.  From Fae Hirayama’s  The Breadfruit Cookbook.