made in hawaii 2007 - foodie edition

it seems everyone has an ono secret family recipe that created a big enough foodie following among family, friends, neighbors and co-workers to inspire the more entrepreneurial souls to whip up bigger and bigger batches to satisfy demand.

for those who don't find themselves in waipahu very often, the made in hawaii festival is your chance to stock up on a fresh bag of ishiharaya senbei which have been made by the same family since 1920. alas, it's a strictly old school operation so the only way to score a bag of their delicate tea cookies online is to click over to zippy's website.

both top chefs and home cooks agree - sea salt harvested from the pacific has earned its place in the pantry as a favorite finishing salt for everything from poke to artisan bread. family owned 4j's (who keeps it all in the ohana) adds a bit more zip to dishes with their doctored up 'alaea and plain ol' sea salt in flavors like kiawe smoked, maui onion and hawaiian chili pepper. you can get your salty fix via menehune mac which stocks the most extensive selection online or at pat's island delights (fewer flavors but more competitive pricing). hit the stockist list to find the shop near you.

while the neighborhood bakery seems to be going by the wayside in the islands to make room for yet another big box store (which, save for hokulani and cake couture cupcakes, i find a bit perplexing considering all the hip bake shops popping up from coast to coast on the mainland), kapuakea satisfies the sweet tooth by baking up old fashioned treats like banana poi bread, lilikoi lemon bars, and kona fudge brownies. all of kapuakea's baked goods are made fresh to order (fyi - online purchases are shipped out only on tue & wed) and are free of preservatives. discover the story behind kapuakea over at mid-week.

next up: a sneak peek from a few h|h favorites!