Saturday at the marketplace

Didn't sell too many cookbooks last Saturday but sure did have fun meeting vendors, trying out new foods, shopping a little for produce, seeing old friends. You should check out this new market (just two weeks old); it's by the same people who do the successful Haleiwa Farmers Market and occurs every Saturday from 8 a.m. to noon (new hours) Saturday at Kaiser High School, just off Lunalilo Home Road. It's neither as large nor as crowded as the KCC farmer's market, which is nice, but it's growing each week.

Big Wave Tomatoes was there with their killer fresh heirloom tomato pizza, a farmers market MUST. The best breafkast there is.

Nearby, farmer Ed Otsuji and his family have been selling $10 produce boxes from their property just over the hill for some time, a Hawaii Kai institution. Otsuji brings his box operation to the market each week. They grow 20-plus types of vegetables including kale and purple kale, arugula, kabu turnips, parsley, red and golden beets, mizuna, lettuces, chard, gailun, choi sum and more. They have their own operation going a little ways back down the street from 7 a.m. to 11 a.m. with by the box sales. They're at 459 Pakala Street; call 395-1224.

Marisol Ruiz and Soufiane Bouharkat of Le Crepe Cafe, who make delicious savory and roasted crepes. They've been doing crepes fro three years and have a tiny shop at 2740 E. Manoa Rd., (in the old service station), which they've turned into a little slice of Paris with wall murals and, of course, crepes.

Finally got to taste the frozen pops called OnoPops that everyone has been raving about. Josh Lanthier-Welch makes them from real fruit juices, real spices and herbs, real chocolate and adds nothing to retard melting (so be prepared to slurp them down fast). I tried the chocolate and Chinese five spice but regretted I had no room for the strawberry and goat cheese. Pineapple basil is also very popular, he said. To find Josh, call 415-971-4087 or email onopops@gmail.com.

Enjoyed my conversation with Brazilian import Isabella Nunes-Baptista, who came to O'ahu to run the bakery operation for Whole Foods, but took some time off to have a baby and then decided to start the Brazilian Corner, a private catering operation that also works some farmers markets, including the Tuesday night farmers market in Kaka'ako. Her specialty is the most popular street food in Brazil, a deep-fried, filled pastry called pastel (PASH-tel). These are absolutely delicious: Nunes-Baptista is careful not to re-use the oil and knows the secret of making a light pastry (rather like a won ton in its thin, crackling texture) that is never greasy. No gut bombs here. I tried a roast pork version and a beef and roast corn-filled version. Wow! I could eat these every day. They make pizza-filled pastel and sweet ones, too: banana nutella, caramel-banana and such. Reach her at 253-9012.

To find out more about the market, go to:

Makeke O Maunalua Farmer's Market
(Hawaii Kai)

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Saturdays 9am-1:00pm

at Kaiser High School
511 Lunalilo Home Road
Hawaii Kai, HI 96725

MOMFarmersMarket@gmail.com