Food and taste are cyclical in a person's life. A dish that is a hands-down favorite in your childhood may not seem so desirable as an adult. Take scrambled eggs. These were my favorite childhood breakfast, but once I was a teenager I detested their wobbly texture and thought their odor was slightly sulfuric. Then, when I was pregnant, I couldn't seem to eat enough scrambled eggs.

So what does this have to do with tamale pie? Everything. You see tamale pie is one of those dishes many of us loved in our youth, but then either forgot about or hated once we were in our 20s. The whole casserole thing belonged to a time of culinary naiveté from the 70s and 80s, and so we tucked the thought of tamale pie away with deviled eggs and Jell-O.

But now that I'm a mom trying to find new meals for my kids to eat, I have finally come full circle. What seemed unsophisticated a few years ago now seems like a completely legitimate dinner for a family with two kids. There is nothing urbane or refined about a weekday meal crammed in between homework and Girl Scouts and a quick casserole that is full of nutritious ingredients your kids will eat without complaint is the only appeal you need. From Creamy Chicken and Rice Casserole to Cheesy Enchilada Casserole, my weekday meals are relying more and more on one-dish recipes that fall into the category of comfort food and are easy on a kid's tongue. Bring on the casseroles and pass the sour cream!

Here's my Half-the-Meat Tamale Pie recipe. Unlike other similar casseroles, this one uses only a half-pound of meat (either beef or turkey is fine) plus two cups of whole beans. This makes it not only more heart healthy, but also incredibly inexpensive. The entire dinner for four to six people costs about $10 to make and includes fresh vegetables like Anaheim peppers and whole kernels of corn. It's also a dish my children love, and I have to say that although I wouldn't have made this dish in my 20s, I am rather fond of it now.

Recipe: Half-the-Meat Tamale Pie

Summary: A Southwestern casserole made using meat, beans and chilies with a cornmeal crust

By Denise Santoro Lincoln

Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 40 min
Total time: 1 hour 5 min
Yield: 1 tamale pie (4-6 servings)

Ingredients

• 1 Tbsp corn or vegetable oil
• 1/2 pound ground meat (beef or turkey)
• 1 15 oz can or 2 cups black beans
• 1 whole onion minced
• 2 Anaheim peppers minced (If you want to really go retro, use a can of sliced Mexican chilies instead)
• 2 Tbsp tomato paste
• 1 cup chicken or vegetable broth (plus more if needed)
• 1 Tbsp chile powder
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp dried Mexican oregano (regular Oregano is fine)
• 1 cup slice black olives (You got it. The ones from the can. Now stop sneering.)
• 1 ear of corn (removed from the hull) or 1 cup frozen corn

Cornmeal Crust

• 1/2 cup masa harina or finely ground corn meal (if you don’t have this on hand, just use 1 cup medium ground cornmeal)
• 1/2 cup medium ground corn meal
• 1 cup water
• 1 cup chicken or vegetable broth
• 1 cup cheddar or Monterey jack cheese grated
• Salt to taste

Instructions

1. Heat oil in a large pan on medium-high heat and then add in the onions. Sauté for 3-5 minutes or until softened.
2. Add in the meat, chili powder, oregano and ground cumin and then continue to cook until meat is browned.
3. Toss in the Anaheim peppers and sauté for another minute and then combine the tomato paste into the vegetables and meat. Cook for another minute before adding in the broth and then stir to fully incorporate.
4. Add in the beans, cover and simmer for 15-20 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350 degrees.
5. For the crust, you should now boil the water and broth in a medium pot with about 1/2 tsp salt. When mixture comes to a boil, whisk in the masaharina/finely ground cornmeal and medium ground cornmeal. Simmer for 5 minutes, stirring almost constantly (this is sort of like making a quick polenta). Add salt to taste.
6. Add the olives and corn to the meat and bean mixture and then place it in a 9x13 baking pan (or just use the pan you cooked it in if it's oven proof. Once again I use my handy dandy large cast iron pan).
7. Add 1/2 cup cheese into the hot cornmeal topping and then pour it evenly over the meat and beans and then top with the final 1/2 cup of grated cheese. Bake for 30-40 minutes (if you have a convection oven you will be closer to 30 minutes; if a regular oven closer to 40).
8. When crust is golden brown remove casserole from the oven. Serve with sour cream.

Culinary Tradition: USA Southwestern

Sean of Hapuku Fish Shop at Market Hall

You wouldn't think that something as mundane as making a sandwich for my daughters on a weekend afternoon would be loaded with controversy, but it is. You see, my daughters love tuna fish sandwiches. Easy enough, right? We all grew up on sandwiches made of canned white tuna mixed with mayonnaise and served with a pickle. Yet although this quintessential American lunch may seem benign, it's something I refuse to serve my children. The tuna fish sandwich we all grew up on is now too controversial, and potentially dangerous, for my daughters to eat.

As a recent San Francisco Magazine article entitled "The New School of Fish" by Erik Vance has helped highlight, eating carnivorous fish like tuna is unsustainable. But as a mother, I'm equally (if not more) concerned with mercury levels in the foods I give my family, along with antibiotics founds in many farmed fish stocks. Yes, I want to support sustainable fishery, but I also want to make sure I'm not dousing my children's bodies with poison.

Mr. Vance's exploration of fish sustainability and Forum's latter discussion on the topic were both incredibly informative and helpful to me as a consumer, yet I'm starting to realize that although I know more now than I did before, I am still woefully uninformed. One of the big discussions on Forum was that although fish markets and restaurants may think they're offering sustainable and healthy choices, they later find out that they were misinformed, and in some cases lied to, by distributors. On Forum, Craig Stoll of Delfina said that he found out only that morning that the Petrole Sole he offered the night before had questionable sustainability issues. If he can't figure it out, how do ordinary consumers stand a chance?

Over the years I've struggled to find a solid list of fish that I can give my family, but like a neighborhood built on landfill, what seems solid at one moment can buckle the next. So although a type of fish may seem okay one year, an El Nino season, a hurricane somewhere, an oil spill, or simply new scientific information about fish habitats and levels can change everything.

This is why I now purchase my seafood from a local fish shop that is owned and operated by someone who is passionate about providing sustainable and healthy fish to his customers. As an East Bay resident I go to Hapuku Fish Shop at Market Hall in the Rockridge District of Oakland. Going to a market like Hapuku allows me to be a little lazier. The store chooses their selection according to the Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch list and they make an effort to know where their fish selection comes from and how they were caught. I now also try to avoid all large carnivorous fish because their mercury levels are higher (and, as it turns out, these fish also dominate the overfished and endangered lists).

But shopping at Hapuku isn't always realistic for me, and not everyone has access to a fish monger who's passionate about what he sells. When I'm shopping somewhere else, I've come up with a list of resources that help me determine what I should and should not buy. Most of the resources are online, so having a smart phone is pretty helpful when purchasing fish and although I think it's ridiculous that I need to be plugged into the Internet to buy salmon, this is sadly the world we live in now. If you don't have a smart phone, you could easily copy these resources and take them with you when shopping.

Here's my list. If you know of other reliable resources, please share them in the comments section.

Consumer Fish Resource List

• The granddaddy of all resources is the Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch List, which catalogs every imaginable fish and details what is a best choice (taking into account both health issues and sustainability factors) and which fish should be avoided. If you have an iPhone or other smart phone, you can download their free app. If not, you can print their cheat sheets from their site; or you can pick up a nicely printed card from them the next time you go to their wonderful aquarium.
• Only buy fish that is in season. Sausalito's Fish Restaurant has a fantastic Truly Sustainable Choices cheat sheet available for this purpose. When you look at it you'll see that fish have seasons, much like peaches and tomatoes, so if want to buy California Sea Bass, get it in the summer.
• Monterey Fish Market has its own incredibly helpful list of sustainably-fished seafood on their site that is worth checking out.
• Erik Vance's San Francisco Magazine article The New School of Fish provides an in-depth look at fishing and sustainability, but even if you don't have time to read the whole thing, it's worth taking a look at the visuals that go with it. I especially like the alternatives list, where Mr. Vance provides information on good sustainable alternatives (such as substitute California Albacore Tuna for Ahi Tuna). The article also details the difference between various fishing techniques, from rod and reel to long line (and I guarantee you that once you read about long-line fishing you'll never knowingly purchase anything that was caught that way again).
• Whole Foods shoppers can look for the "Fish Forever" label, which lists fish endorsed by the Marine Stewardship Council, although beware that this independent non-profit organization has been questioned by the Times of London and that Greenpeace does not endorse it.
• Greenpeace has its own International Seafood Red List which inventories fish to avoid.
• And of course, there are a variety of wonderful small fish markets in the Bay Area that are run by people who are knowledgeable, so seek those out.

Sustainable Fishing Issues in the News this Week
Should selling and distributing shark fins be illegal?
Challenges to the Endangered Species Act to Protect Delta Smelt

Photo: Sophie Constantinou

Fancy a film documenting the evolution of school lunch reform in Berkeley and there's not an interview with Alice Waters in sight.

We'll get to that. First, some background: The Berkeley Unified School District's (BUSD) school food makeover and its much-lauded School Lunch Initiative has garnered lots of media coverage and is considered a stellar example for other public school district's struggling to bring fresh, healthy food into their cafeterias and classrooms. Students at Berkeley public schools get to learn first hand about cooking and gardening too.

Given that, it's surprising it's taken so long for a documentary filmmaker or two to cover the school food revolution in this university town.

Now comes Lunch Love Community, a series of mini-movies or webisodes, inspired by a New Yorker story on the "Renegade Lunch Lady" Ann Cooper. Cooper came in and overhauled Berkeley's central kitchen and school lunch menu, with a little help from Waters and her Chez Panisse Foundation.

What documentarians Helen De Michiel and Sophie Constantinou quickly discovered, though, after spending time in Berkeley's public schools and steeping themselves in the history of the school food reform movement here, is that it takes a village -– not just a couple of school food rock stars -– to fix school food.

"Alice Waters is a visionary, Ann Cooper is the general who mobilized the troops, Bonnie Christensen, the BUSD's executive chef, and Marni Posey, the district's Director of Nutrition Services, are in the trenches every day," explains De Michiel. "And they have taken this experiment to the next level, fined tuned it, and made it something sustainable that really works. That's the story we were interested in telling -- along with all the community members who came together before them to bring about change."

Unhappy about the ubiquitous frozen tater tots, chicken nuggets, and canned fruit in heavy syrup trucked in from afar, a group of concerned parents worked for eight years on a Child Nutrition Advisory Committee to bring salad bars and fresh, local, made-from-scratch food into Berkeley schools. In 1999 the BUSD was the first district in the country to have a food policy -- recommending soda machine bans and wholesome over heavily processed foods.

In light of recent developments on the school food front, the San Francisco-based filmmakers wanted to get their footage out as quickly as possible to a wide audience, particularly with the passage of the federal Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act. They also thought, frankly, that a digital distribution approach might help free up hard-to-come-by funding for a pending one-hour documentary project on the same subject. "We wanted to seize the moment, share what we found, and give people a way to respond to it and take away what was useful for them in their own communities," says Constantinou. "It's a key time in school lunch reform across the country."

So they came up with the webisode concept, three-to-five minute pieces profiling different aspects of Berkeley's school food scene. The Parent Factor highlights the adults who banded together in the 1990s to change school food, including Eric Weaver, Beebo Turman, and Joy Moore.

"Everything we put into our mouth’s isn’t food," explains Moore, who has worked on this issue for several decades and currently teaches cooking and gardening at Berkeley Technology Academy. "I want kids to know that and make smart choices for themselves. So I’m trying to raise the consciousness of all our children about food and health. My mission is really simple: it’s to get kids to value good food."

The Labor of Lunch captures the time-consuming task of making from-scratch meals for 5,000 students every day.

Flamin' Hot dishes up a funny take on teenagers' obsession for a certain kind of Cheetos.

But Is It Replicable? addresses the question on many school administrators' and parents' minds.

If They Cook It, They Will Eat It features Le Conte Elementary School cooking instructors Kathy Russell and Brenna Rich and their students illustrating what Waters has been quoted saying for years: Kids will consume vegetables -- even dark, leafy green ones -- if given the opportunity to grow, harvest, and cook themselves. And this: Food made with love tastes good. That's something that many of the district's devoted school and garden teachers have been sharing, organically, for years.

The Whole World in a Small Seed focuses on Malcolm X Elementary's beloved school-under-the-sky run by Rivka Mason. "I'm a garden teacher and a body worker and I know just how important it is for students to get out of their heads and away from their desks so they can see, touch, taste, hear, and smell to learn; an edible garden is a perfect environment to do all those things," says Mason. "My mantra is: No child left inside. We've got so many kids sitting in front of screens for so long there's an epidemic of Nature Deficit Disorder. When kids get out and play in a school garden and pick produce and eat what they grow it's a wonderful, healthy thing. Here in Berkeley we have an entire generation of food-savvy kids who have grown up this way."

Berkeley's school lunch program isn't perfect, as comments on this recent Berkeleyside story suggest. But Lunch Love Community is a timely reminder of the trailblazing role this community has played in laying the groundwork for the national school lunch reform movement now being espoused by the likes of First Lady Michelle Obama, Jamie Oliver, and the incognito middle American school teacher who writes the blog (and soon-to-be book) Fed Up With Lunch.

Six shareable short films launched publicly right after Thanksgiving last year at www.lunchlovecommunity.org, six more are due to come online.

The webisodes will also be featured at a public screening premiere on Sunday, February 13 at 2:30 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive in Berkeley.

The filmmakers will be on hand for a post screening discussion, along with school lunch reformers featured in the films, including Bonnie Christensen and Joy Moore.

Event Details:
Lunch Love Community
Sunday, February 13, 2:30 p.m.
Pacific Film Archive
2575 Bancroft Way, Berkeley
Tickets: $5.50-$9.50

Related Article
Berkeley’s school lunch program is flawed, say insiders (Berkeleyside)

As food justice advocate Joy Moore pointed out to a room full of mostly white folks in food and farming: When you hear "urban" and "youth" in the same headline it's never good news. It's usually something negative associated with drugs, violence, and crime, right?

But at the annual EcoFarm Conference at Asilomar in Pacific Grove on Friday Moore, who teaches cooking and gardening to Berkeley youth, moderated a panel where young city dwellers received top billing to showcase some of the positive programs they're helping to run in their communities.

So we meet Tenise Murphy, a farmers' market coordinator for Farm Fresh Choice, a program of Berkeley’s Ecology Center, begun by Moore and other food activists, to get fresh, organic, sustainable, and affordable food to low-income residents.

We meet Jamila Chandler who walks us through a slideshow of the work done by Urban ReLeaf, a non-profit that has planted and maintains 8,500 trees along median strips and public sidewalks in otherwise barren neighborhoods in Oakland and Richmond.

Chandler gives a shout out to fellow panelist (and her mom) Kemba Shakur, a former corrections officer, who started Urban ReLeaf because she wanted to find ways to both beautify and improve the health and environment in blighted urban enclaves surrounded by freeways and pollution — as well as employ black youth after seeing so many of them in jail in her former job.

And we meet Paul Walker, the self-appointed smoothie maker who helps run the Purple Lawn Cafe in Oakland. Heads up: it’s not purple or a cafe but it is a mobile food booth serving hot, healthy, affordable eats in an an area not known for such offerings.

Walker works with ex-Air Force man Jason Harvey’s non-profit organization Oakland Food Connection, which builds school and community gardens in East Oakland and runs a farmers’ market every Saturday on MacArthur Boulevard in the Laurel District.

Harvey provides a personal perspective on African Americans' roots in both farming and food production. Harvey was raised among elders who knew how to grow food and canned and preserved. And he notes that the Black Panther Party of the mid-1960s and early 70s introduced a free breakfast program for children, which helped spawn the federal government’s school breakfast program that continues to this day.

Fast forward a couple of decades and many urban, low-income communities of color are riddled with corner stores selling mostly junk food or liquor — and their residents are struggling with obesity, diabetes, and heart disease, while also dealing with hunger and malnutrition.

Oakland Food Connection, working in collaboration with like-minded groups such as People’s Grocery, Mandela Marketplace, and City Slicker Farms, is part of a growing movement to bring good grub to so-called food deserts in East and West Oakland.

Murphy is part of an umbrella organization known as Rooted in Community, a national grassroots network that seeks to encourage youth to take up leadership positions in food and farming in their neighborhoods. Kim Allen, the garden program manager for Berkeley Youth Alternatives, was on hand to spread the word about the worthy work of Rooted in Community.

There’s nothing like the enthusiasm, optimism, and idealism of the young to make a room full of adult conference attendees sit up and pay attention.

This is the second conference I've attended in the past few months where urban youth wowed the crowd.

In October last year the Community Food Security Coalition Food, Culture, Justice Conference held in New Orleans highlighted the food and farming work of youth in the town devastated by Hurricane Katrina. We took a tour of school gardens in various stages of development, including a local Edible Schoolyard affiliate where gumbo is on the menu and a line on the kitchen classroom wall marks how high the water rose during the storm.

At a panel discussion we met poised and articulate students from The Rethinkers, who pushed to improve lunch in cafeterias in several schools. And we also heard about a novel education experiment from youth living in the impoverished Lower Ninth Ward who are part of an inspired garden program run out of a former corner store known as Our School at Blair Grocery.

There, Nat Turner and his small team of staff work with youth in an alternative school setting to grow micro-greens that are snapped up by the town’s leading chefs, including John Besh, who owns culinary hot spots Luke, August, Domenica, and La Provence.

It's not just Oakland, Berkeley, and New Orleans. Across the country — as the national membership of Rooted in Community reveals — innovative food and agriculture projects created for and run by the next generation of farmers are sprouting up all over.

And collectively they have a simple message they want to convey about what we eat: Everybody has a right to good food.

A steaming plate of enchiladas is one of my favorite meals. I love how the depth of flavor in a good enchilada sauce wakes up the tongue; and then of course there's the added bonus of melted cheese. But the process of making enchiladas is a bit fussy. Baked while sitting rank and file, nestled against each other in a queue, they demand a tidy symmetry. The result is a row of neat and snug packages wrapped in their own corn tortillas, which is lovely on the plate, but unnecessary for a family dinner. Anyone who has gone through the process of making homemade enchiladas knows that filling each individual tortilla can be time consuming and messy; plus traditional enchilada sauce is difficult to make from scratch and it's hard to find a good one in a can or jar. It is for all these reasons that I abandoned making red sauce enchiladas at home and instead converted my recipe into a casserole. Little did I realize how good this dish would be, how inexpensive it would be to make, nor how much my family would love it.

The casserole's innate unruly character seemed like a perfect fit for enchilada's zesty ingredients. I figured I would use many of the same components -- chicken, cheese and a red sauce -- and then crossed my fingers that I would end up with something that was close to enchiladas. Yet as with so much in life, making what seemed a paltry amendment to preparation instructions ended up altering the finished product's essence. With the ingredients now added in a hodgepodge of layers, the spices and flavors were given the freedom to intermingle while chilies, sour cream and cheese were at liberty to melt into each other. And while conventional enchilada sauces are made up of dried chilies, I felt that the freewheeling nature of the casserole gave me license to be a bit more innovative. Okay, fine, I only added in tomatoes as a sauce base, but I never would have done this if I'd been making old-school enchiladas. When all was said and done, and I removed that bubbling cheesy dish from the oven, I found that enchilada casserole tastes even more luxurious than its authentic cousin.

As with enchiladas, this casserole is full of southwestern ingredients. Fresh Anaheim chili peppers cooked with chicken (or vegetables), onions, tomatoes, cumin, and Mexican oregano, not to mention a nice dose of chili powder, provides the satisfying Mexican flavors you expect but also a little more. You can also add in a jalapeno for some heat. If you want to keep this dish meat-free, just use roasted butternut or acorn squash instead of chicken (and savor the sweet earthy taste of those vegetables against the mildly picante flavors of the sauce).

Making the filling for this one-dish meal is a breeze, but assembling it is even easier. After toasting the tortillas a bit in a pan, you just layer half of them in a casserole dish, top with half the filling, some cheese and sour cream, and then add on another layer. That's it.

So if you love enchiladas, but aren't crazy about making them; or if you simply crave an easy-to-make hearty one-dish meal that will please your entire family, here is my recipe for Cheesy Enchilada Casserole. The main recipe uses chicken but I've also included a vegetarian alternative that uses butternut or acorn squash at the end. Both are great choices for an easy and hearty dinner at home.

Cheesy Chicken Enchilada Casserole

Makes: one 9 x 13 casserole

Ingredients:

12 corn tortillas
5 chicken thighs (or two cups leftover chicken)
½ cup chicken stock or water
2 large Anaheim peppers chopped
½ large onion chopped
1 Tbsp plus ½ tsp Ancho or Chipotle chili powder (regular chili powder can be subbed in, but the Ancho and Chipotle are so good they're worth seeking out)
1 tsp cumin
1 Tbsp Mexican oregano (or regular)
1 15 oz can diced tomatoes
Salt and pepper to taste
2/3 cup sour cream
¼ cup milk
1 cup shredded Monterey jack, Colby or cheddar cheese (use 1 ½ cups if not using Cotijo)
½ cup Cotijo cheese (optional)
1 Tbsp lime juice
¼ cup chopped cilantro (optional)
1 Tbsp corn or vegetable oil (or enough to thinly coat the bottom of a large pan)

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. If using fresh chicken, place thighs in a pan, sprinkle with salt, pepper and about ½ tsp chili powder and then cover with chicken stock or water. Cook covered for 7-10 minutes, turning over after about 4 minutes. Simmer until cooked through and then remove both chicken and broth from the pan to cool. Shred chicken and keep the broth in a separate dish.

3. Heat the same pan (now empty) to medium heat and then add in the oil, chopped Anaheim peppers and onions. If using jalapeno, add now. Sauté for 10 minutes.

4. Add in the rest of your chili powder plus your cumin and oregano. Be sure to crush the oregano in your hand first (as this releases the flavors more thoroughly into the dish). Add salt and pepper to taste.

5. Add in your shredded chicken (if using chopped leftover chicken add in now), broth, and tomatoes and stir until everything is thoroughly mixed in. Taste and then add more salt if needed. Simmer for 15 - 20 minutes on low heat.

6. Heat a medium pan (I like to use cast iron) to warm up your tortillas. I use medium high heat. Add in a little oil (must enough to barely cover the bottom of the pan) and fry each tortilla until warmed through and slightly crisp. Set aside on a plate.

7. Mix the cilantro and lime juice into your filling and stir. Taste one more time to see if you need to add any salt or pepper and then remove from heat.

8. Mix the milk into your sour cream (whisking to combine) and then set up a workspace with your 9 x 13" pan (which you should spray or line with oil), tortillas, grated cheeses, and filling.

9. Using a ladle, scoop mostly sauce (i.e., not much meat or vegetables) into the bottom of the casserole dish and then lay 6 of your heated tortillas into the bottom of the pan. Top with half your filling followed by drizzling on half your sour cream (making sure you even distribute). Set half your cheese on top of that and then repeat by laying on the remaining tortillas, filling, sour cream and cheeses.

10. Set dish in the oven for about 30 minutes (25 if using a convection oven) or until the entire casserole is warmed through and the cheese is bubbly.

11. Serve and enjoy.

Cheesy Squash Enchilada Casserole Variation
Follow the above instructions with the following alteration:

1. Instead of cooking the chicken in step 1, roast your peeled and chopped squash in the oven with some olive oil and salt until al dente.

2. In step 5 leave out the chicken (obviously) and add in ½ cup vegetable broth instead. Also, do not add in your squash yet as you don't want to overcook it. Instead just simmer your other vegetables in the tomatoes and broth.

3. Add your cubed and roasted squash in step 7.

Elmo and kids have a great time enjoying fruits and vegetables as part of Sesame Street’s Food For Thought initiative. Copyright 2010 Sesame Workshop. Photo by: Gil Vaknin.

"Elmo loves wasabi," said an unmistakable voice over the phone. "Do you know what wasabi is?"

Taking an invisible squeegee to the brain, we realized that this conversation was actually taking place. Elmo was on the other end of the line, explaining the difference between sometime foods and anytime foods, one of the big lessons of Sesame Street’s new initiative Food For Thought: Eating Well on a Budget.

“Wasabi?” we asked, still stunned.

“Do you like sushi?” asked the iconic red monster, who has been three-and-a-half-years-old since the mid-Eighties. Of course, we said.

“Well, Elmo loves it,” he replied, “but it’s a sometime food. An anytime food is like broccoli or any kind of really good fruits and vegetables and stuff.”

Even poor Cookie Monster has gotten the message about sometime versus anytime foods and is now just as likely to be spotted with a fresh avocado than a box of Chips Ahoy, thanks to this bilingual (English and Spanish) multimedia program aimed at educating struggling families with kids aged two through eight on healthier food choices. A free kit sponsored by Merck and United Healthcare includes recipe cards with low-cost and well-balanced meal ideas, tips on broaching difficult topics regarding financial difficulties and healthy eating with children (such as what to say when food is hard to come by), and a DVD packed with songs and educational adventures with Elmo, Super Grover, and the charming new Super Foods (whole grain bread, broccoli, banana, and cheese).

Elmo and Super Grover pose with the four healthy food groups (Fruits, Vegetables, Dairy, and Grains) as part of Sesame Street’s Food For Thought initiative. © 2010 Sesame Workshop. Photo by: Richard Termine.

“We’ve always been involved with [healthy eating], but now we’re trying to get out there in a more major way to help families not only eat healthy but to find ways where it’s affordable for them also,” said Kevin Clash, executive producer of the DVD and author of My Life as a Furry Red Monster: What Being Elmo Has Taught Me About Life, Love and Laughing Out Loud. “What’s exciting for us is that we get to send these out and it’s no charge, it’s free. We get send them to everybody who really needs it without them incurring a cost to get it. There are wonderful recipes in the kit and of course there’s the Muppet story — we always try to entertain at the same time that we educate.

“It’s such a major challenge for this country,” lamented Clash. “There are so many children under the age of four who are not eating healthy for a number of reasons. It’s the economy, unfortunately. I think all of us have to be more clever about how we get healthy food on the table for our kids because we don’t want them to go to school hungry.”

Elmo personally likes to start the day with a breakfast of oatmeal with orange slices or yogurt and orange juice.

“Elmo loves breakfast!” he declares. “Elmo’s mommy and daddy say it is the most important meal of the day. Elmo can’t wait to go outside and play with his friends after a really good breakfast.”

Elmo cooks with his mom all the time, which he loves, and his favorite recipe is a healthy take on the perennial kid favorite chicken fingers.

“We get to crunch up my favorite cereal and put the cereal all over it, and then we put it in the oven! It’s really good. My mom likes to use egg whites instead of the whole egg. We dip the chicken into the egg and then we put it in Elmo’s favorite cereal.

“It doesn’t have any sugar on it,” he giggled.

One of the DVD’s many highlights is “Try It,” a musical number that encourages children to take chances on new foods. In the song, Elmo discovers that he likes kiwi after trying it a second time. This is a key concept when food needs to stretch over thin budgets.

“What Elmo’s mommy and daddy does is that if Elmo doesn’t like it the first time then they try to prepare it a different way,” observed Elmo. “One time they chopped up Brussels sprouts and they put it in Elmo’s potato soup. And it was really good! Elmo didn’t know until after Elmo finished that it was in there, but Elmo got to love Brussels sprouts that way.”

Just as important is showing how economical preparing fresh and healthy meals at home can be.

“Elmo has a really good friend named chef Art Smith,” explained Elmo, “and he taught Elmo’s mom and dad that you could take a chicken and you could make four meals out of it! You can have four days worth of chicken but prepared different ways. So he grilled it, that’s one way. Then he took some of the chicken and he put it in salad, that’s number two. Then he took the chicken and he made a pasta dish with the chicken, that’s number three. And then he made a really cool soup with some of the chicken. And that was four meals! Elmo’s mommy and daddy say you have to be creative sometimes because food can be expensive. But you have to figure out ways of using it more than once.”

Elmo is no stranger to the world of culinary celebrity. In his short three-and-a-half years, he has collaborated with chef Emeril Lagasse on the Food Network special Emeril and Elmo’s Healthy Start (in, um, 2005), made eggnog on Emeril Live, and loosened up Martha Stewart on two of her shows. Now he’s revealed that he’ll be appearing on an upcoming episode of Top Chef.

“We don’t know what we’re going to do yet, but we can’t wait to spend some time with them,” said Elmo. “They’re really cool. And the chefs are so talented. We love watching it. Elmo watches it with his mom.”

Wait, isn’t Top Chef on a bit late at night for a young monster?

“We TiVo everything!”

Like much in life, raising kids is all about give and take, except the takers will whine and (literally) cry if they don't get what they want, and they'll also tell you you're mean. The tug of wars extend to the food arena. Although I have diligently raised my children with daily helpings of fresh vegetables, I still find myself making deals with them when it comes to eating some of them. Broccoli and kale are no problem. Swiss chard is a favorite. Olives and sea weed actually top the list of most beloved foods. But Brussels sprouts, asparagus and summer squash are trouble.

I know plenty of parents who simply don't serve the vegetables their kids dislike, while others hide the vegetables in the food. I have to say that I think these ideas are a mistake. Kids have many reasons for striking a vegetable off the list. From hearing on the playground that something is gross, to remembering (or misremembering) when something looked icky, those sweet and adorable little opinionated people have many reasons for rejecting entire plant families outright. But we need to remember that these are the same kids who decided they hate pink after years of wanting to wear only that color. So instead of caving in to what is often a misinformed judgment (spinach is NOT slimy all the time; it’s only like that when Aunt YouKnowWho makes it), I say we parents stand firm (which includes not serving mushy vegetables). Let's teach our kids that vegetables are crisp, crunchy, sweet and tasty. Plus it's our jobs as parents to educate them about the nuances of life. Sure, overcooked cauliflower has a pungent smell, but sauté it in olive oil on high heat with sea salt and those florets taste sweet and even a bit nutty.

But getting kids to try (or sometimes retry after years of happy consumption) a vegetable may take some bargaining. For instance, earlier this week when I was dropping Brussels sprouts in a bag while shopping, my daughter Maddie held up her hand (imagine the international sign for STOP) and exclaimed, "I don't like Brussels sprouts anymore." My first thought was "Huh? You've always loved Brussels sprouts"; but my second thought was "Too bad; you're eating them anyway." And so I bargained.

"Well what other vegetable do you like? We can have that one tomorrow."

"Kale, but we had that the other night."

"Okay. Well I want to make a root vegetable stew tomorrow anyway, so how about this: I'll buy something else you like if you promise to eat all your Brussels sprouts tonight."

Now my daughters can see an opportunity to get something they want but that I usually wouldn't buy a mile away. So realizing such an occasion had occurred, Maddie stopped and turned to her twin sister, Sophie, for consultation. I continued to drop sprouts in my bag, giving them space to figure out their demands.

After a minute or two of whispering, both girls looked up at me and said, in unison, "We want Cup of Noodles."

My stomach twisted in a knot. I detest Cup of Noodles (which on the package is actually called "Cup Noodles" When did they lose the "of"? There's also Maruchan Instant Lunch, but really they're all the same thing).

I know. I know. What's so bad about ramen in a cup, right? Many people lived off those dehydrated noodles and corn kernels during college, but when I spy a package all I see is 1480 mg of sodium and a Styrofoam cup that will still be here in 2110. Now I'm no enigma. My thoughts are usually plastered all over my face, so seeing my obvious annoyance at their terms, Maddie said "we'll eat ALL our Brussels sprouts."

Knowing that my daughters are little tree huggers at heart, I tossed out what I thought was a sure fire deal killer: "That Styrofoam cup isn't recyclable. It will sit in a landfill forever."

Maddie looked up at me with those big brown eyes, "I'll keep it on my desk and put erasers in it." And I know she will.

So what's a mom to do? Stand firm and make Cup of Noodles a forbidden fruit or grab an opportunity to get my kids to eat all their vegetables and convince them that Brussels sprouts really are delicious. I did the latter.

Later that evening as we ate our dinner, I asked my daughters how they liked the slivered Brussels sprouts sautéed in pancetta and garlic and served with toasted walnuts and mascarpone cheese (recipe forthcoming next week). Both girls seemed to have forgotten that they hated Brussels sprouts. "It's good. Why?" asked Sophie while Maddie just powered through the meal without a word. Next time, I'm going shopping by myself.

How do you handle food battles with your kids?

Note: I've since learned that my trash company will recycle the Styrofoam cup, but I still hate Cup of Noodles.

If the kleig lights circling out front didn't show you the way to the Contra Costa Festival of Greek Food & Wine at St. Demetrios Greek Orthodox Church in Concord, the smell of spit-roasting lamb surely would.

Autumn, it seems, is the time for the Bay Area's moussaka-loving, retsina-toasting, fisherman-cap-wearing lovers of all things Greek to wander from booth to booth in church parking lots, dusting their shirtfronts with buttery shards of phyllo, munching souvlaki and sampling olive oils.

And while most street fairs start breaking down and sweeping up at 5 or 6 pm, the Greeks keep partying through dinnertime and beyond. At 9:30 last night in Concord, you could still get a paper plate of baklava or syrup-drenched loukoumas, a glass of red wine, a lamb sandwich or some garlicky Greek potatoes. The band was still playing, and a loose circle of dancers, hands joined, were revolving around the floor. Someone was doing a brisk business in glow-stick light sabers, seen waving from the hand of every child under 10.

There were tchotchkes for sale, carved wooden items, bits of painted pottery, t-shirts, the ubiquitous Zorba-style black fisherman's caps, but, judging by the vast sea of white plastic tables set up under the tent, food (and wine) was the point here.

A whole lamb was roasting on a spit next to one booth, ready to be turned into plates of lamb, lamb sandwiches, lamb dinners with rice and salad. There were booths for fried calamari, for gyros, for souvlaki on a stick. Several bars offered a selection of Greek wines, along with a few local wines made by Greeks. Made from the Assyritko grape, the Hatziyiannis white wine from Santorini was beautifully golden, with notes of honeysuckle and peaches.

The place to get the real deal, though, was inside, where the ladies of Philoptochos, the church's good-works organization, were earning their place in heaven by dishing out generous platefuls of roast lamb, moussaka, pastitsio (baked macaroni), baked chicken, stuffed eggplant, stuffed peppers, dolmas (stuffed grape leaves), green beans with tomato, and more. For under twenty bucks, we got a cup of feta cubes, a cup of kalamata olives, a hefty square of moussaka, cinnamon-scented ground beef layered with eggplant and potatoes under a thick layer of creamy bechamel sauce, some sesame bread, and an enormous lamb shank braised with tomato.

We cleaned up the moussaka, feta, and olives in no time; the lamb shank we picked at, then realized that what it really needed was to go home with us, destined to be the centerpiece of a thrown-together rainy-day soup. The next day, into the pot it went, with sauteed onions, celery, carrots, and garlic, some tomatoes from the garden, sage and thyme, some soaked and parboiled white beans, a few chunks of potato, a glug of wine and just enough water to cover. A long, slow simmer, and last night's dinner becomes tonight's, and probably tomorrow's, too.

As we paid for our plate, I asked the woman making change if all the food was made here. Oh yes, she told me, they've been working for months, chopping, cooking, and freezing. It's the church's 32nd annual festival, and by now they've got it down. "I call us the YaYa Sisterhood, you know, because "yaya" means grandmother in Greek," she said.

Over at the pastry stall, we hear the same thing: all volunteers, working for months. I ask the woman handing us our baklava and kataifi if she was one of the bakers. "No, I'm a runner!" she laughed. "The bakers are these 85-year-old women. I call them 'the machines'--their hands move boom-boom-boom, so fast! Me, I run for them--I run to get the butter, I run to put the trays in the oven, I run to take them out. It's exhausting, but it's easier." She's working on her own baklava, though. First try, the nuts--too big. Second try--too small. So she's getting up her courage for round three, sure to be the charm.

Now, I don't know if my own baklava would pass the yaya test, but I can tell that there's nothing like freshly made baklava, made with lots of nuts, honey, and butter, the pastry crackling and shiny with syrup infused with cinnamon or orange.

The best way to get the consistency of the nuts right is to chop them by hand, handful by handful, on a heavy cutting board with a big knife. You want them rough and nubbly, and even one pulse too many in the food processor will turn them to powder. If you don't already have a pastry brush, get one before you start. There's a lot of buttering that needs to happen, and while you could use your fingertips or the back of a spoon in a pinch, a pastry brush is neater and does a much more consistent job.

Baklava

The trick to getting the perfect balance of sticky and crisp (rather than stolid and soggy) is to have the syrup and pastry at opposite temperatures when they meet. Either pour hot syrup over cold pastry, or pour cold syrup over hot pastry. Let the syrup soak into the pastry for a few hours before serving. The baklava is best on the day it's made, but it will keep for a few days, if you can possibly resist it for that long.

You can find frozen phyllo dough in the freezer aisle of most supermarkets, usually next to the puff pastry and frozen cakes. Let it defrost a little before you use it. Unroll the sheets carefully, and always keep a clean, barely damp dishtowel draped over the sheets while you're using them, to keep them from drying out and becoming crackly and hard to use.

Ingredients
For pastry:
2 1/2 cups walnuts, almonds, and/or pistachios, or a combination, finely chopped
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons honey
pinch salt
One of the following flavorings: 1 tsp grated orange or lemon peel and 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom; 1 teaspoon cinnamon and a pinch of ground cloves; 1 teaspoon rosewater; 1 teaspoon orange-flower water

1/2 lb phyllo dough (half a standard package)
1/2 cup butter, melted

Syrup:
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup honey
2 tsp lemon juice
1/3 cup water
One of the following flavorings: 1 tablespoon grated orange rind; 1 cinnamon stick; 1 tablespoon rosewater or orange-flower water

Preparation:
1. Preheat oven to 325F. Lightly grease an 8-by-8-inch baking pan.

2. In a small bowl, mix nuts, honey, sugar, salt, and your choice of flavoring.

3. Unfold phyllo dough and trim into 8-by-8-inch squares. Spread a sheet over the bottom of the baking pan. Using a pastry brush, lightly brush sheet with melted butter. Repeat with 5 more sheets, lightly buttering each sheet before adding the next.

4. Spread half of the nut mixture over the top phyllo sheet in the pan. Top with another four sheets, lightly buttering each sheet before adding the next. Rewarm melted butter slightly if it gets too thick.

5. Spread remaining nut mixture over the top phyllo sheet. Top with another 6 sheets, lightly buttering each sheet before adding the next. Lightly butter the top sheet.

6. Using a sharp knife, make four equal vertical cuts (about 1 1/2 inches apart) through the top layer of pastry. Then, make eight equally-spaced diagonal cuts (about 1 inch apart) across these strips to form 18 diamond shapes. There will be a few triangular pieces left over along the edges --perfect for the cook to snack on before serving!

7. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until pastry is crisp and pale golden.

8. While pastry is baking, make the syrup. In a small, heavy-bottomed pan, bring sugar, honey, water, and lemon juice to a boil. Keep a close eye on it, as it will tend to froth and foam up. Add orange rind or cinnamon stick if using. Over low heat, simmer for 5 minutes until syrup has thickened slightly. Remove from heat. If using rosewater or orange-flower water, add now. Pour into a pitcher and let cool.

9. When pastry is baked, pour cooled syrup over hot pastry. Alternately, let pastry cool to room temperature. Reheat syrup to almost boiling, then pour hot syrup over cooled pasty. You may not need all the syrup; you want the pastry to be glossy and sticky but not drowned.

10. Following the previously made cuts, cut the pastry all the way through into diamonds. Let syrup soak in for at least 3 hours before serving.

The Contra Costa Festival of Greek Food & Wine continues through Sunday at the St. Demetrios Greek Orthodox Church, 1955 Kirker Pass Road, Concord, across from the Concord Pavilion. Sat., 9/18, Noon-11pm; Sun., 9/19, noon-8pm. Admission $5 adults, $3 seniors (55+), children under 12 free.

In San Francisco, the Annunciation Cathedral at 245 Valencia St will be hosting its annual A Taste of Greece festival Sept. 24-26th. Fri., 9/24, 11am-10pm; Sat., 9/25, 11am-10pm; 12pm-9pm.

I have a love/hate relationship with eating in Kauai, Maui and Hawaii (the Big Island). I'm leaving Oahu and the smaller islands out of this culinary conundrum as I hear Oahu has a pretty great food scene and I've never been to Molokai, Lanai or the other smaller isles (although I'd love to go). As a mom, I'm always disappointed with the quality of food in family restaurants on the islands. They're full of fried foods and overpriced entrées. I am always left wondering why, in a state full of farms and surrounded by fresh fish, are most of the restaurants so lacking. And then I remember, Hawaiian restaurants are for tourists.

First let's talk about the love: I ADORE all the fresh and ripe tropical fruits that are so hard to come by on the mainland. Pineapple sweetened in the field is a completely different fruit than what you find in your local grocery here. And the papayas! Sweet and fragrant, ripened on the tree as they should be, they are the ultimate tropical treat as far as I'm concerned. Oh wait! I forgot about the apple bananas, which are tied with the papayas on my love list. If you've never had one, they’re worth a trip to Hawaii all by themselves. I am also always impressed with how much better the fish tastes in Hawaii. Restaurants and fish markets on the mainland may officially tell you that their catch of the day was just flown in and is fantastically fresh, but when compared to the local fish you find in Hawaii -- fish that really was caught that day -- you can see, smell and taste the difference. The only problem is going someplace that knows how to prepare that fish. Which leads me to my hate list…

I DETEST the abundance of mediocre restaurants serving overpriced and poorly cooked food. As Hawaii's main industry is tourism, most restaurants seem to cater to a clientele that will come only once or twice, so they focus on island ambiance and big Mai Tai's instead of quality food. As a mom, these places have no appeal, even if they have great views. First of all, the prices are outrageous. $30 for an overcooked fish entrée slathered in butter is bad enough when you’re paying for just you and maybe your partner, but throw in a couple of children and you start eyeing the kids menu, which is usually just the standard fare of chicken fingers, burgers and pasta with butter. Now normally I try to avoid kid menus, but the idea of paying $60 for my kids to pick at their meal brings out the devil on my shoulder -- there he sits, smugly convincing me that French fries served with mac and cheese is a perfectly acceptable and nutritious meal for my growing girls. After all, they can get their vitamins from the pineapple slice in their POG (passion fruit, orange juice, and guava juice cocktail), right? Of course there are a few high-quality restaurants serving fresh seasonal foods, but these are far and few between and a dinner for four can often reach $300.

So last week, when my family and I were in Kauai, I tried to seek out some food love on the Garden Island, Yelping, Chowhounding and asking around to find some alternate food opportunities that would allow me to feed my kids (and myself) a variety of local and fresh food that didn't break the bank. Following is a list of my top picks. After finding an abundance of $39-an-entrée establishments that served food similar to what you'd get at Fisherman’s Wharf, I am hoping to steer you to some better locations for your own island getaway. Unfortunately, those expensive restaurants with overcooked fish covered in macadamia-nut butter often have the best views, so you may find yourself in one or two of them anyway. I admit we spent an evening in a restaurant that was overpriced and barely passable, but only because my daughters wanted to spend their birthday eating Japanese food and the only other sushi restaurant was in a strip mall 20 minutes away. Plus this place made virgin Mai Tais with umbrellas, which really made my daughters smile from ear to ear.

The following list highlights restaurants, markets and one farm that are focused on serving the best fresh local food the Island of Kauai has to offer. If you know of a place not listed, I'd love to hear about it in the comments section.

Koloa Fish Market
5482 Koloa Road, Koloa, HI

The Koloa Fish Market is everything a fresh fish place should be. With a case full of Ahi, Ono and Mahi Mahi, this is an old school market that only sells locally caught fish. I also love that you can purchase their products a few ways.

Raw: When you buy raw fish to cook at home, you will be asked how thick you want the slices, how many people are eating, and how you plan to cook your fish. The fish mongers (is that still a current-day term?) will cut your fish the way you want it. Be sure to get some sides of teriyaki and wasabi cream sauces to go with your fish as they are fantastic.

Poke: There are a variety of pokes available in the refrigerated case (poke is a Hawaiian dish of cubed raw fish, usually Ahi, that has been flavored with various herbs or spices). I tried the Ahi with Sweet Maui Onion, Korean Poke, and Tako Poke (made with octopus). All were great, but the Korean Poke was my favorite as it was slightly spicy yet still mild and perfectly suited for that fresh tuna taste.

Cooked: Each day the market features a couple of cooked fish plates that you can top with their teriyaki, wasabi cream or butter and garlic sauces. You can't go wrong with any of these. The plates are served with cooked rice, macaroni salad (which is pretty good) and a random lettuce salad. And if fish isn't your thing, you can get pork or beef dishes as well.

When you go to the Koloa Fish Market, be sure to avoid the lunch hour if possible as the store is full of hungry locals and the employees try to rush everyone through quickly. They can also get a little testy if you take too long to decide what to order. Also, be sure to grab a bag of cooked edamame and a container of seaweed salad to go with your meal. Both are fresh and cheap.

Hanalei Coffee Roasters / Java Kai
55183-c Kuhio hwy, Hanalei, HI‎

After my various coffee adventures this summer, I was excited to stumble upon a local roaster in Hanalei. The Hanalei Roasting Company does small-batch roasts of locally-grown Kauai coffee (yes, the beans are grown right on the island) and also Kona coffee. Mild and slightly sweet with a rich coffee taste, their beans were really amazing. They also make a variety of lattes and cappuccinos from their home-roasted espresso and have a wide array of teas as well.

The restaurant is also run under the name Java Kai, which is a small breakfast and coffee chain, so if you're in Hanalei, look for the Java Kai sign. This seems to be the go-to breakfast spot for the North shore of Kauai. I can vouch for their banana macadamia nut waffles, which were nutty and fluffy, while their smoothies -- made with apple bananas, fresh papayas, and a hint of ginger -- are sublime. My kids loved the freshly baked bagels and muffins, and the patio was a beautiful and relaxing spot to spend a morning before we hit the beach.

Kauai Coffee
1 Numila Rd, Kalaheo, HI

I am very sad to say I didn't actually go to the island's coffee plantation, but I did try (sort of). My kids and husband weren't all that interested in going -- "Mom, that's boooooorrrrriiiing" was the response I got when I suggested we head over to see it. I also have to admit that once I was sitting in my beach chair, it was almost impossible to get me out of it, especially as I already had locally-grown and roasted coffee sitting in my cupboard from Hanalei Coffee Roasters. That said, I am sorry I missed seeing how coffee is grown and have vowed to get my arse off the beach and to the coffee farm next time I'm there. Also, if you are interested in buying Hawaiian coffee, there's no need to make sure it's fair trade as coffee farms in Hawaii adhere to all US labor laws (it is the United States, after all) and many are unionized, so you can rest assured you're drinking coffee where everyone is getting paid at least minimum wage.

Postcards Café
5-5075 Kuhio Hwy # A, Hanalei, HI‎

Postcards is a very cute organic restaurant in Hanalei. I ate there during our last visit to Kauai, but as we were staying on the south shore this time (and they're located at the north), I wasn't in the area for dinner this visit. When I was there previously, however, their menu was full of locally-raised vegetables and fruits, locally caught fish and Kauai-raised meats. I asked a few locals about it and they all said it was still great. This is also a wonderful place to eat if you are vegetarian or vegan.

Savage Shrimp
Truck on corner of Lawai Road and Poipu Road
Koloa, HI 96756

Sitting on the side of a lonely little road in Poipu Beach is Savage Shrimp. Susan -- the owner, chef and server of this food truck -- offers shrimp three ways. You can go with the Garlic Scampi, the Bahia Scampi (which uses a Brazilian coconut and tomato sauce sauce), or the GrassHoppa Scampi (a spicy concoction). We tried he first two and devoured each and every shrimpy morsel on our very full plates within five minutes flat. Maybe I was really hungry, but at the time I was thinking this may be the best shrimp I've ever had. Served with rice and a salad, the dishes of fresh local shrimp are filling and more than worth the $12.50 price tag.

Monster Tacos
Koloa Rd
Koloa, HI 96756

This food truck is widely admired by many, so I wanted to mention it here. I need to come clean and tell you, however, that I didn't actually get to eat a taco here. When we stopped by for lunch, the very nice lady who cooks for Monster tacos informed us that she only serves her fish with Cajun blackened spices. Although I'm not a big blackened fish fan (and neither are my kids), I wanted to give the tacos a try. I figured I'd quickly order one little taco and then go someplace else to get something for my hungry kids, but after being told it would take 15 - 20 minutes for my one taco, even though only one guy was sitting on a bench ahead of us, we left. That said, people rave about this place, so if you like blackened fish tacos and are on the south shore of Kauai, this is your place.

Sunshine Farmers' Markets
Located in a different town Monday - Saturday of each week

The state of Hawaii runs a series of local farmers' markets on Kauai Monday through Saturday. These are a bit of a scene as they're run almost like tourist attractions where some guy with a bullhorn opens the market at noon to a crowd of people and then let's everyone loose. But don’t be turned off by the management as the fruit and vegetables awaiting you are worth the septuagenarians elbowing each other out at the gate. Full of fresh local fare, you can find exotic fruits that just aren’t available anywhere else at these markets. We purchased some star fruit and dragon fruit, along with fresh and ripe guavas, wing beans, the cherished apple bananas and papayas, along with regular cucumbers, lettuce, spinach and bok choy. As we were staying in a condo, it was fun to bring home our bags and explore the variety of produce available from local Hawaiian farmers.

Lappert's
Various locations throughout Hawaii

What visit to Hawaii would be complete without an enormous scoop of ice cream, and what better place to get it than Lapperts? With frozen yogurt, gelato, sorbet, and ice cream on hand, you can pretty much get whatever frozen treat you’d like -- oh, and they serve coffee too. My favorite flavor was the caramel macadamia nut, although my husband had a few servings of the triple summer berry, which was also mighty nice. Whichever flavor you choose, this is a great way to cool off in that tropical sun.

2008 Block Party. Photo by Calvin Tsay

Two years ago, Bi-Rite and Delfina threw a large birthday block party on 18th Street. Many have labeled the block as a blossoming Gourmet Ghetto, and the party was a mix of gourmet food and the desired "community building" fundraiser that has people chatting and hanging out over plates of food. Getting the block to close down required planning and permits, but the attendance levels were boisterous, meaning a lot of people showed up. Spit-roasted Niman Ranch pork shoulder was on display and for sell, and adults sipped in a beer garden while kids dug in to sundaes and ate farm fresh corn or Fulton Valley brick-grilled chicken. It was a warm weekend day, and seemed to match the ideal of a San Francisco summer day.

The Whole Hog at the 2008 Block Party. Photo by Calvin Tsay

The prep work for the 2008 block party was for multiple days made up of cooks from Delfina and Bi-Rite. It turned out to be a party with major organizational effort that led to months of planning. Eaters camped out in Dolores Park, drinking aguas frescas and mulling over plates of pig. This blogger participated as a prep cook for the 2008 event, and learned that the costs and details for the Block Party may have provided a challenge that was tough on the organizers, who are in the business of selling food rather than putting on street events. Hence what led to a two-year wait for a repeat performance.

Post-event analysis got the organizers (mainly: Bi-Rite's Sam Mogannam and Delfina's Craig Stoll) thinking it was a great idea, but one that should happen every other summer. "We'll make it a bi-annual thing," said Mogannam. This year's 18th Street Block party happens on Saturday, August 28, from 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. Mogannam said, "We want to create some fun energy and bring people together. That's what we're all about." The uniting factor will be food, as well as beverages of all stripes. Regalito will offer suckling pig carnitas, and Delfina will have porcetta pork loin for sale; no whole hog to ogle this time.

The SF Brewers Guild has been brought in to do craft beer. Products from Out the Door, Regalito, La Cocina, Kasa, Unti Vineyards, and Earl's Organic Produce will also be used and highlighted. All proceeds will benefit the neighboring Women's Building, as well as the BuenDia Family School, literacy org 826 Valencia, Next Course, and Pie Ranch.

There is also a pie contest for the first time. Mogannam said, "We want it to have a county fair feel. So folks can make pies, and be judged based on flavor and appearance. There will be one judge, who is a non-professional, chosen as a raffle prize." Bakers need to fill out an online entry form, and the rules are:

• Entry Fee is $20 which will be donated to Pie Ranch (paid on day of contest).
• Entrants will be chosen on a first come/first served basis.
• Entrants accepted into the contest will be notified via Email by August 23rd.
• Entrants are required to supply two 8 inch pies (same) on August 28th (location to be announced to accepted entrants)
Pies must be able to be served Cold or Room Temperature

Event Information:
Women's Building events: Party on Block 18
Women's Building newsletter: Party on Block 18

2008 block party coverage :
SFoodie -- Tamara Palmer: Party on Block 18 This Saturday
Jalapeño Girl (aka Mary Ladd): 18th Street Block Party this Saturday afternoon