Would you like papaya with that?

A high point of my stay in Kauai has been has been my daily treat, a fresh papaya smoothie. Papayas are in season now and can be had for next to nothing; at the Koloa market yesterday, large, 2-3-pound fruit were going for just two dollars!

At these prices, I can afford to stock up and so my  little kitchen hasn't been without them. For a smoothie that generously feeds one, the recipe goes like this:

1/2 papaya

1/2 c plain, nonfat yogurt

1 banana

2 glugs of soy milk (about 1/4 cup)

1/4 c bran cereal, such as Fiber 1 or All Bran

4 ice cubes

Whir the whole thing in a blender until ingredients are well mixed and ice is crushed. I guarantee that you will be trying to lick the inside of the glass to get every drop. As you can see from the shape of my preferred smoothie glass, this is an ongoing challenge.

Kauai's papayas are a delicious but endangered species. During the second half of the twentieth century, papayas on every Hawaiian island except Kauai have become infected with  the ringspot virus. As the fruit is re-introduced, many farmers are opting to plant a genetically modified version. The citizen group, GMO-Free Kauai, charges that the genetically modified papaya is less resistant to disease and unpopular with importing countries. Keeping Kauai's papayas pure is a cause celebre and GMO-Free Kauai has begun a grass-roots program testing the island's papayas to ensure that they haven't been contaminated with the genetically altered variety.

Groceries: Kauai's Dirty Little Secret

With Hawaii's lush landscape, you might expect there to be an abundance of inexpensive, delectable produce in the markets here. Unfortunately, the produce aisles at Kauai's markets all look like war zones. Limp lettuce and bruised apples at out-of-sight prices only begin to tell the story.

Whether I'm on vacation or off, I usually enjoy grocery shopping. For me, shopping for food is an interesting way to learn more about an area and its people. If I were to judge Kauaians by their grocery stores, I'd say they've given up. Lemons sell for $1.99 EACH. (In California, they're usually four for a dollar.) Bananas are brought in from Ecuador at premium prices when a more flavorful local variety grows unharvested by the roadside. A single-serving bottle of V-8 juice is $2.75. Surely the merchants here don't think that consumers are happy and wouldn't go elsewhere if they could?

Fortunately, others are questioning the high prices, low quality, and dangers of Kauai's reliance on imported food. The Kauai Food Industry Forum, a group of concerned community members, estimates that 90 percent of the island's food supply is imported. Recently, the group held a conference to encourage open dialog about the problem. Foremost on their agenda is encouraging home and community gardens. To learn more, visit kauaicommunitygardens.org.

Strange Fruit. Really.

I recently attended my  second farmer's market in Kauai. The first one was last June in the west side town called Kekaha. The market was very simple: half a dozen senior citizens congregated in the parking lot behind the community center, opened their hatchbacks, put out the fruits and veggies they had gleaned from their backyards, and called it a farmer's market. If you sneezed, you missed it because it lingered only for an hour or so, unlike California markets, which typically last all morning or all afternoon.

This weekend, we journeyed from our home base in Poipu to the north coast town of Kilauea, where I was prepared to see a 'real' Hawaiian farmer's market, with produce from farms instead of backyards, longer hours, and more vendors. But that wasn't meant to be, as the Kilauea market was remarkably like the one in Kekaha. Rather than lament having again missed the 'real' market, I embraced this one and in return, made a number of priceless discoveries.

The first of my take was the rambutan. This golf-ball sized fruit is red and covered with what Wikipedia describes as "fleshy, pliable spines."

 Actually, the term 'rambut' is Malay for hair, so the name is fitting.

Judging from its outer shell, I never would have guessed that the rambutan is edible. To get at the insides, you score the leathery, red, protective coat, and pop out the inside. What do you imagine is there?

Fertility symbolism aside, the rambutan's egg-shaped, pulpy interior has 

a texture similar to that of a stone fruit: think plum in both texture and taste. Like stone fruit, the rambutan also has a pit similar to that of a peach. 

The day's other notable find was the chico fruit. On first glance, I thought it might be an Asian pear or an overgrown kiwi fruit, but the inside was nothing like them. The texture was a little too grainy for my palate, but a pleasant, mild cinnamon taste. I could see pureeing this -- remove the seeds

first -- for use in cakes or quick breads. By the way, Mexicans, Philipinos, and Indians also call this a sapodilla.