Ann Arbor Farmers' Market

I managed to get to the Farmers' Market before 8 AM when shadows were still long and crowds not yet dense.
I've written about it many times before. Two weeks ago in Kona, Hawaii, I was seeing rambutans,
pineapples, super sweet ripe mangos, and local coffee -- it's different here, but it's always wonderful.  

The farmers had been up for ages: the person who sold me eggplants and
onions mentioned that sunrise at 6 AM had changed her sad mood to a happy one.

Maple sugar candy is one of the most marvelous things to buy at the Farmers' Market.

Back home by 9, I peeled and chopped most of my peck of peaches and made them into peach sauce.
The cantaloupe on the shelf is another market purchase. We had delicious tomato and lettuce
salad for lunch as well, and will be grilling corn and peppers this evening.

Hawaii Photos

We're back home now... it's not as colorful here as it is in Hawaii. For Len's wildlife photos see his Flickr Set here. Above: the Red-Billed Leiothrix, which we saw on a hike on the Pu'u O'o trail.

Last few days in Hawaii

Old Hawaii? No, just a sepia photo at the Kona Brewing Company.
We ate there yesterday after spending a long morning on the beach with a rope swing.

Waiting for our table.

Sliders and beer at Kona Brewing Co.

Ohelo berries, at the Pu'u O'o Trail.

Starting our hike at the Pu'u O'o trail.

Fish sandwich at Annie's Burgers... with purple potato salad.

Annie's burger.

Merriman's Restaurant, Waimea Hawaii

The open kitchen at Merriman's was an innovation, though now open kitchens are seen frequently.

As we do just about every trip to Kona, we ate dinner tonight at Merriman's Restaurant in Waimea, around an hour's drive from where we're staying. The owner, Peter Merriman, founded the restaurant in 1988. He was one of several innovators who developed the Pacific Rim style of cuisine and various other innovations that have now become almost standard. Fortunately the restaurant has stayed true to its origins and is still wonderful, despite many imitators.

Merriman encouraged a number of farmers in the area to grow excellent produce and special meat for his restaurant. The results of his efforts and those of his cohort are still available in the restaurant as well as at farmers' markets and even supermarkets throughout the island. He worked with small-scale fishermen and created a number of dishes to use the local fish in the most delicious possible ways. He was an early promotor of small-scale local produce along with Alice Waters and several others in Hawaii and California. I've written about this restaurant before, and still love to eat there.

Dinner begins with in-house bread and butter from a local dairy.

Among the six of us, we tried several fish dishes. The special (top) included local farm-raised prawns, polenta, and broccoli. Manchong (lower left) and ahi tuna (right) were also on the menu.

My dessert: lilikoi mousse with macadamia nut shortbread.

Of course we don't spend all day eating -- though we did have lunch at the most highly recommended hamburger place
in Hilo. We spent the afternoon at the Hawaiian Tropical Botanical Garden, which is in a beautiful seaside setting.

Light and shadow in the garden today were stunning.

The waves were very high and breaking up on the rocky shore.

Kona Farmers' Market

First thing this morning, we went to the Kona Farmers' Market.
We bought tomatoes and basil from Malamala Farms, shown above.

Rambutan, a type of lichee... we tasted it at the market and bought some for lunch, as well as several other fruits.

We also bought Kona coffee: light and dark roast, from a farm
that's located uphill from where we have been.

100% Kona coffee is quite wonderful. Unfortunately blends are often labeled quite deceptively... you have to read carefully!

By around 9:30 we were heading for Two Step the great snorkel place near the Honaunau National Park.
Left to right in the water: Alice, Evelyn, Miriam, and Len.

You can see the national park from the snorkel beach. 

Two Step beach viewed from the National Park (a couple of days ago).

After snorkeling at the beach, we came back to eat our farmers' market purchases.

Tomato and basil salad, an incredibly ripe mango, other fruit, and bread from the artisan bakery.

Volcano

The Blue Moon setting this morning: it's the second full moon this
month, so it's a blue moon.

We shared a dragon fruit for breakfast, along with our cereal. Then we drove to the volcano.

From afar we could see the fumes rising from the vent in the crater.

Lunch at a picnic table near the visitor center of the National Park.

Miriam and Alice entering the famous Thurston Lava Tube.

In the lava tube.

Steam rising from a vent in the ground. 

Sulfur deposited on a rock near a vent.

Vents and sulfur deposits.

In the forests around the volcano, fascinating ferns and other flowers.