Tom Pickett’s Mac- Nut -Aroons!
Tom Pickett of Pau Hana Bakery in Kilauea
Make em’ yourself or find them at Pau Hana Baker in Kilauea (if you’re lucky…the Guava Macaroons are pretty outta control too)
This is on of our new Nuthin’ recipes. Aka: “Nuthin’ bad’s in ‘um!” They contain no sugar, gluten, cholesterol, dair
y or animal products.
- 1 1/4 lb Fresh young coconut, grated fine
- .5 lb Fine macadamia nut meal toasted
- 1/4 lb xyltol
- 3 oz. Brown rice flour
- 1 Tbsp + 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Dark Chocolate melted for drizzling (if you don’t mind a little sugar)
That makes them pretty simple and easy to make. Climbing the coconut tree might be the hardest part. Or draining, cracking, scooping and grating the coconut. The only tricky part when mixing is getting the right kind of coconut. Not complete young Jello and not totally dried out old meat. You want some moisture in the coconut meat to help hold the cookie together and make it moist.
Method; Mix and scoop out into a half-sphere onto a baking sheet. Bake until slightly crispy on the outside yet still moist and chewy on the inside. Let cool and then drizzle melted chocolate over the outside if you don’t mind a little sugar. Chill and serve.
Macnuts come from Emeritt Grolsch at HPR. He’s a local broker on the Big Island. We make coconut water, milk and grate the fresh meat for the cookies. We could include a picture of my coconut cracker. We designed and built it. It’s a big gothic looking device we call Vlad the Impaler, check it out!
This is a photo of three tools we made for processing local foods for Pau Hana Bakery.
1. The coconut punch is the little thing that we use up front to poke the hole in the husked coconuts.
2. The beige structure and the hydrolic jack is a cider press I made for pressing our Noni juice for “Tom’s Super Sonic Noni Tonic”
3. And last but not least is Vlad the Impaler. We crack the whole green coconuts after draining them for their water so we can scoop the meat and use if for making coconut milk
We currently use about 80 coconuts a week.
Vlad got his name because he is so gothic and ugly and dangerous. The welder made me sign a paper that his name would never be mentioned in workers comp. lawsuits should someone died or be maimed using “him”. His main blades are log splitting wedges welded to an anchor shaft. We invite anyone to copy our design as long as our names won’t be mentioned as the designers!
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Liam Cooney’s Coconut Delight!
Preparation
- Meat from approx 2.5-3 coconuts (medium thick meat- not super thick)
- 4 Tbsp cacao powder
- 1 large pinch vanilla powder
- approximately 2 cups (more or less) H2O (use coco water from coco’sif you have the meat from fresh cocos. I put about 1/4 – 1/2 cup in the one I made, only because we drank the rest)
- honey to taste
Fresh coco meat will always blend easiest (using Vitamix or similar). The one I made was with frozen coco and that’s a pain. I always try to blend the meat with as little water as possible at first as this seems to make it creamier / less fibery. Once I have a good coco cream I’ll add the H2O. Don’t try 
to blend too much coco at once (unless it’s really soft). Start with one and add from there- you can always add more. If you have blended up 2+ cups of coco cream & realize you will want more, add a splash of H2O at that point. The more batches of coco cream or milk (just add H2O to the cream) you make the more you get a feel for it. The water added is an approximate as different coco meat has different thickness and/or texture. As always everything is to taste. Some like things sweeter, some don’t. Experimentation is the best. Replacing the cacao with lilikoi might be a tasty option….
Aloha, Liam
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Laurel Brier’s Coconut Cookies!
by Laurel Brier
Fresh Coconut Cookies
Rehab Unlimited Kaua`i 1977
Mix together:
- 2 c. butter
- 2 c. raw sugar
- 4 c. freshly grated coconut
- 4 c. whole wheat flour
Shape into several logs as long as the wax paper, wrap and freeze overnight.
Slice thin and bake at 300 on ungreased cookie sheet until golden. Remove from sheet
while still warm.
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Laurel Brier’s Kaua’i Paradise Pie
by Laurel Brier
Crust:
Blend & then press into 9” pie pan
2/3 c butter, melted
1 c chopped and toasted macadamia nuts
2 c rolled oats, slightly blended
½ c toasted fresh coconut
1/3 c brown sugar
Bake 350 degrees for 10 minutes
Filling:
In processor Blend
3 c cooked and diced ripe ulu
1 c fresh coconut milk
3 T orange liquor
Add slowly
1/2 # sweet dark chocolate melted (60%+ Cacao)
Beat
2 pts whip cream (sweeten lightly)
Fold in half of whip cream to ulu chocolate mix and put in to baked and cooled crust
Top with remainder of whip cream. Arrange thinly sliced orange pieces on top and
sprinkle with chopped mac nuts and shredded chocolate
Refrigerate 1 hour before serving.
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Laurel Brier’s Okinawan Sweet Potato and Avocado Summer Rolls
by Laurel Brier
- 2 medium okinawan sweet potatoes, steamed and skinned
- 1-2 medium ripe avocados
- Sprouts – choice of radish, clover, broccoli, alfalfa sprinkled with a little bragg’s aminos
- Rice Paper for summer rolls (Rose’s is a brand we like available at Hoku Whole Foods)
- coconut milk
- Laurel personally suggests crushed macadamia nuts for an added
Preparation:
Get a bowl of hot water ready to dip the rice paper, a porcelain or plastic cutting board and a platter. Meanwhile, mash sweet potatoes with coconut milk and add a little braggs to taste. In a separate bowl, mash avocados with a little bit of lemon juice. Have sprouts ready. When the water is hot, dip one piece of rice paper at a time and lay flat on the table/plate/cutting surface. Add mashed sweet potato in a long strip, layer avocado on top and lastly, top with a small handful of sprouts. Gently roll from one end to the other, folding the sides in as you go. Slice rolls in thirds. Enjoy as a pupu with your favorite peanut dipping sauce!
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Okra-Homa Fried Okra with Pineapple Chutney
by PurEssence Foods
(see below for chutney recipe)
I had a client, Jeremy Ragland visit for a “soul” adventure to Kauai. For nearly three weeks we got to cook together, talk story and redefine what down home cooking really means. This was a hilarious outcome one evening as we experimented what a bit of okra, some corn meal and some hot hot oil would inspire. The turn out was killer! These little southern fingers of joy were enjoyed with some spicy pineapple chutney – a dish just screaming local. Needless to say, Jeremy became a good friend at the end of our cooking adventures. Great things spark with few ingredients, some imagination and an appetite. Enjoy 
local okra – usually sold at farmers markets in small bags
1 cup corn meal
1/2 cup coconut milk
2 medium local eggs
2 tsp curry powder
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp ginger powder
1/4- 1/2 tsp cayenne
Salt and Pepper to taste
Oil – Organic Canola or Olive
Preparation:
Wash and dry okra. Set aside.
Start by heating a wide pan with copious amounts of oil, enough to cover the entire bottom of the pan. In a medium bowl mix all wet ingredients together. You can beat your eggs together beforehand or just skip it. I didn’t find any problem with the “kitchen sink” approach for this dish. If you feel you need more liquid add a bit more coconut milk or a touch of water. Once your ingredients are incorporated, check that your oil is hot enough by dropping a tear drop amount of your batter in the oil. If it ‘dances’, you’re ready to go. One at a time, coat each finger of okra with batter and drop carefully into the hot oil. Fill the pan with just enough battered okra so you’re able to flip each over to fry the other side. Flip as their ready and when both sides are done, place on a paper towel until ready to serve. These are best served almost immediately as they’ll lose their crunch. Enjoy with your favorite chutney – Mango or Pineapple is divine!
For Pineapple Chutney adapted from Mark Bittmans How to Cook Everything Vegetarian:
- 2 cups of small chopped Hawaiian pineapple
- 1/2 cup of chopped dates or dried apricots
- 1 1/2 Tbsp peeled fresh ginger
- 1/2 tsp mustard seed or dry mustard
- 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
- 1/4 cup fresh squeezed Tahitian lime or similar
- 2 Tbsp brown sugar or local honey
- 1 Tbsp minced fresh Hawaiian chili, or jalapeno (you can also use cayenne or chili pepper flakes)
- Salt
~ Put all ingredients in a saucepan, mixed well and cover. Bring to a boil over high heat and uncover.
Turn the heat to medium or medium-low and simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Remove from the heat and cool to room temperature, taste and adjust the seasoning if necessary. This keeps well, covered and refrigerated, for at least a week; bring back to room temperature before serving. This chutney is also a delicious addition to bean dishes and Dahl. Aloha!
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Happy Healthy Hawaiian Poke
by PurEssence Foods
Served fresh, this local Hawaiian favorite is healthy, filled with minerals and trace elements from seaweed and delightfully flavored with hints of garlic, ginger and tamari
1 1/2 – 2 lbs of locally caught Fresh Local Ahi from your favorite fish monger, (some reason fish tastes better when you buy it off the side of the road) cut into cubes
- 4 cloves garlic
- 1 inch piece of ginger minced
- 3 tsp toasted sesame oil
- 1 1/2 – 2 Tbsp Tamari
- 1 1/2 cups soaked Wakame
- 1/3 medium white onion or 3 scallions, chopped small
- 2 Tbsp Sweet Chili Sauce
- 1/3 cup fresh Cilantro
~ Mix all ingredients together, adjust seasonings and chill. Serve when ready with prepared Wasabi.
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Guava Smoothie
by PurEssence Foods
With an abundance of guava in our backyard and a minimal counter life – this simple, 3 minute (if that!) smoothie is a refreshing and delicious. Use any fresh juice you have on hand, blended guava’s are quite creamy but adding a banana will ensure that it has that ice cream quality.
Ingredients and Preparation:
- 1 1/2 frozen bananas
- 1 medium ripe guava
- pineapple juice – start with 1/2 cup and increase depending on how thick you like it
- add in ideas: fresh ginger, mint, green powder
Add all into high powered blender and blend on high for a minute. Enjoy, maybe with a sprinkle of granola or your favorite cereal on top. Uber yum. Enjoy
