Sunday, March 11, 2012

How to Stop Cars in Kakaako

Yesterday, I met Pickles. She sure got attention on Auahi Street, near downtown Honolulu. As I admired her, I watched the cars just about stop, or at least slow down!

Pickles is pretty, has much better eyeliner AND lashes than most of us, and yes, she was NAKED.

It's not often you see a cow in a parking space in Kakaako, but the cowgirls from Waianae's Naked Cow Dairy put Pickles under a nice tent, with a tarp under her feet and water to drink. As @yelphawaii said, it was "Cow-kaako"!

So, why was Pickles far away from sweet home Waianae, visiting the big city? She and the cowgirls, Sabrina and Monique, and their cowhands, were there for a cheese tasting in the @HIGreenHouse @RnDHI area to promote their IndieGogo fundraiser. In one afternoon, they raised about $3000, but that still leaves them $6000 short of their goal of $15,000. Although they received a USDA grant to promote their cheese, the dairy needs the fundraiser money for a cheese vat and pasteurizer, and to build an aging room.

Tasters were (subtly) encouraged to donate on the spot, in the tip compote jar or via the IndieGoGo website using the handy laptops available. @hnlfarmers @LisaAsagi was there - she is always so gracious and welcoming. Once again, I missed @Jayparasco - since we hang out in some of the same places, we'll meet IRL some day! I did get to properly meet @gidasnyder, Cheese Sorceress, who conjured up many of the great cheeses we tried.

What did we taste? Naked Farmer (!) cheese and a soft young cheese flavored with herbes de Provence or cumin and other flavors, Gouda - all good. But the Brie with port wine soaked figs and the buttermilk bleu with alae salt - Oh My Buddha - yum, yum, yum! I had tasted Naked Cow Dairy cream cheese and delicious feta at the farmers' market, but these little tastes left me WANTING MORE.

If you can, contribute something to the fundraiser in this way. As I write this, they have advanced and are only  a bit less than $6000 away from their goal.

Why should you contribute? Almost 100% of the cheese we eat in Hawaii comes from Somewhere Else. Somewhere FAR AWAY. 80% of the food we eat is imported. It comes here on boats and planes, and the carbon footprint is immense. Gas cost $4.35 in my neighborhood for regular yesterday!

Helping farmers who are working to produce good local food will benefit all of us by contributing to food security. The food will be fresher and last longer, too.

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