You may be wondering how a trip to Makaha counts as “life in Ala Moana-Kakaako,” but it really does! One of my first blogs bemoaned a drawback of condo living, which is the lack of mango trees, and thus mangos.

Sen. Carol Fukunaga remembered this, and keeps me in the loop when hunting for mangos during the summer. In fact, she tried organizing a “safari” from our district out to the first annual Makaha Mango Festival, which happened a couple of weeks ago (yeah, I’m behind).

Most of us know about the Pirie and Hayden mangos, and know to turn our noses up at the imports in the supermarkets. It’s sad that most people don’t know about the two dozen or so other varieties available in Hawaii, and the distinct variables of deliciousness each one brings. The Makaha Mango Festival celebrates that.

Left to right, starting from the top: the judges are briefed by Chef Carol Nardello of Sub-Zero Wolf; Sen. Fukunaga and Melanie Kosaka of Share Your Table judging a chocolate mango drink; the Makaha Resort F&B manager threw together four mango purees for us to drink--mango chipotle, mango cinnamon, mango mint, and mango guava; one of the many dessert offerings; Sen. Fukunaga holds up some mango cupcakes; judging and grazing; one of the winning entries--ice cream with frozen shaved pureed mango.

After gorging ourselves on all the mangos, fresh and cooked, we went to a mango workshop. It reminded me of a winery seminar, where the vintners speak with passion about how the Ph balance of the soil affects the flavor of the fruit, how to make a barren tree bear fruit, and the subtle differences in sun and elevation that affect that year's crop. It was fascinating, even for lay people like me. I hope they have this same workshop next year so you all can benefit from it. The big difference between the winery seminars and the Makaha Mango workshop is, they have a lot of rubba slippas, pidgin, and…a mouse!

I went home with Candy Suiso’s mango bread, and a bag of frozen mango puree from a woman who has 108 trees. Score!

That’s my condensed account of a mango-tastic day. If you want to see the winning recipes and try them for yourself—for that matter, see the winning dishes in full color—visit ShareYourTable.com.

Maybe I’ll see you next year at the Mango Festival, which will be in June so you can really share in a bounty of the best mangos you’ll ever eat in your life. Just do me a favor—save some for me!

Makaha Mango Festival
www.makahamangofestival.com

More recipes & photos at
www.shareyourtable.com

A lot of you guys are foodies, so I thought I'd share a new site that I think you will like: ShareYourTable.com. It's not just about local food--it's about stories beyond the food we love, and more.

For example, the Honolulu Advertiser's Wanda Adams talks about Portuguese Bean Soup and shares her favorite recipe for it...and shares a recipe for making Portuguese spice, in case you are looking to make your own sausage! Renowned chefs Roy Yamaguchi and Nobu Matsuhisa talk about what they like to eat after work.  There is also a three-part series called "For the Love of Mom," in which a plate lunch empire, an artisan bread business and a Kalihi landmark can thank Mom for their start. The first one is about Eddie Flores of L&L  Drive In.

There's more--you can share your own favorite recipes or (like me) steal um from others who post. You can ask questions about where people's best hole in the wall spot is, or maybe our buddy Rod can ask about people's favorite noodles.

Share Your Table is the brainchild of Melanie Kosaka of First Daughter Mediaworks. She is a broadcast guru and a foodie, so this project was the perfect blending of all her talents. She partnered with creative director Tony Tung to make the site tantalizing, engaging, and highly interactive.

I went to the launch party the other night, by virtue of it being in my blog area, Sub-Zero/Wolf on Piikoi Street.  Oh, yes, and because I am a really famous blogger! It featured much of the food featured on the new site. Some of the vendors were: Nico Chaize of Nico's at Pier 38; Shin Ho of Ho Farms; Jean Nakanishi, Carol Nardello and Carol Nakagawa of Sub-Zero/Wolf; Chris and Dawn Miura of Mauna Kea Baking Co.; Hawaii State Department of Agriculture Seal of Quality Program; Helena's Hawaiian Food; Eddie Flores of L&L Drive-Inn; and Marjorie Kosaka (Melanie's mom).

They featured Wanda Adams' Portuguese Bean Soup, which we ate with corn bread; many of us later discovered that the Mauna Kea Bakery bread was also perfect with it. There was a rumour that the saimin at left was actually from Hamura's on Kauai, flown in just for the party.

My favorite, however, was the mangos.  Oh, the mangos!!

If you recall, one of my first blog posts exactly a year ago lamented one of the drawbacks to condo living: Lack of mango tree, and thus lack of mangos. Well, state Sen. Carol Fukunaga remembers this. She was also at the Share Your Table launch event, and when she saw me she excitedly pulled me to the back to introduce me to Candy Suiso, the owner of Makaha Mangos. Fresh mangos. Dried mangos. Mango bars. Mango bread. Mango cookies. Oh. Oh. Heavenly.

Anyway, if you want to know more about these people & the food they bring to your table, and want to share your table, check it out! This is a really neat site.