A Taste of the Country

Yesterday, Brandon and I headed out for an adventure upcountry with the company of our roommate Andrea. We started off bright and early, having breakfast at a coffee shop named Java Jazz. Eating here makes you feel as if your in Europe. Everything about this atmosphere was just so... different. Live entertainment, warm greeting and service from the owner, and some very interesting and unique decor. It was fantastic and a great kick off to the day.
First on our to do list for the day was a tour of Al and Joanie's Wheatgrass Farm. Now hold off before you get grossed out, thinking about how bad wheatgrass has tasted in the past. Andrea had us try of shot of her wheatgrass a few days ago and it was surprisingly sweet! no bad after taste, just a smooth and healthy shot of energy. So this wasnt just any old wheatgrass farm, Al and Joanie run their business from their home. It has grown quite large in fact because they even ship their wheatgrass to the mainland. It's just that good!



When we arrived at their home, we were welcomed with very generous hospitality. We were given fresh mangos from their trees which is of the reposa variety and a glass of milk, milked straight from their cow only 30 minutes prior. They have one cow and one bull of the dexter variety. These are miniature cows from Scotland. Beautiful and the milk had no pasteurization,  just 100% wholesome milk.


      We sat down and had a long conversation about why wheatgrass was good for you, what made their special wheatgrass so sweet, how it helps the body, and what wonderful stories theyve heard from the people who try their wheatgrass. This stuff truly is a body healer.
So first off, what is wheatgrass??   
             plain and simple, its a fresh grass commonly used for grazing of animals but now used to help the body.
why is Al and Joanie's wheatgrass so sweet?   
            they let the roots grow down 15 inches into the already rich soil. along with that, they use special worm castings to enrich it.
why is wheatgrass good for you?     
            the chlorophyll in the wheatgrass alkalizes the body, the magnesium in the greens goes into your molecules and the grass releases oxygen that enter the bloodstream, creating new cells and healing the old ones which therefore heals the body. Al and Joanie worked with  Dr. Fyodorov who invented the laser for lasik eye surgery and he says that in order for your body to heal itself, it has to reach -50 milavolts which brings us to a pH balance of 7.88. After our bodies have healed themselves, your body goes back to normal voltage of 20-25mV or a pH of 7.4.
Wheatgrass does not heal your body, but by taking the wheatgrass, your body can now heal itself. about 2oz a day is recommended. We have definitely started ourselves on this. I bought a wheatgrass juicer and some wheatgrass. Its delicious and will benefit us in so many ways. We dont come from very healthy families, and we want to ensure we stay ahead of the game.
How do Al and Joanie farm their wheatgrass?
           First, they till the sweet soil of the hawaiian islands in their backyard, they add nutrients essential for it to thrive, sift the dirt, add in microbes, and cover them with worm castings  (worm poop). the seeds are then planted. Once the wheatgrass grows, usually takes about a week, they cut the grass. It seems like a lot of worm just for one cutting but that helps the next crop be sweet too. They let that crop rest, dry out, then mix it into the new soil.
We were so grateful for their generosity and i am so happy Andrea turned us on to this whole wheatgrass trend. When making the wheatgrass juice, Al told us to make sure we put the grass in a bowl of water because they dont wash it. They cut it and immediately cryovac it. Using the cryovac bags help the grass to breathe and stay fresh. Also, make sure to put some oil in the water, this makes sure that you get just juice when putting the grass in the machine instead of having some foam come out.

After leaving the wheatgrass farm, we headed for the lavender farm. Of course, we had to stop at a cute farmers market.

Brandon just got some fresh veggies like corn and asparagus and picked some really nice tuberose for me! Made the car ride smell so beautiful.

Driving on the way to the lavender farm had drop dead gorgeous views! Every turn of the road let more lavender fuse with the air we were breathing. We didnt pay for the tour here, but we did just stop and take a look around the gardens.

from here you can see both the north and south shore of the island!

By this time we were in a time crunch. Andrea had a beauty appointment so we had to rush into town. Brandon and I spent an hour at the mall to have lunch and we were soon back on the road to make it just in time for our tour at the Surfing Goat Dairy Farm.

For the tour, we had the chance to feed all of the goats, milk the goats, and taste some of the cheeses!
Coincidentally enough, they feed the goats alfalfa hay from Washington. It seems as if Washington likes to follow me a lot here in Hawaii. So while feeding the goats, we realized it smelled a little funky. Not just like smelly goats. Like urine. This is when we learned that the goats pee on themselves because the pheromones attract mates. Fancy that. These goats tend to live about 10 to 15 years old. Their favorite food to eat is the grain from the Kiawe tree which is a protein rich legume. (its nice to know that there is some goodness to this tree because all i see are giant thorns that get stuck in my feet). Anyway, the goats are herbivores. another fun fact. After feeding, we got to milk the goats!

the actual surfing goat! (he is real)

The goats have a 2 chambered utter and 2 tits. The key to milking them is the create the o.k. sign with your hand around the utter and squeeze. When milking, they move the goats to a feeding table so they are preoccupied during the milking. It's funny because they stomp around while they eat because they are naturally 5 degrees warmer than us and our hands are cold to them so they move around. 

After, we washed up and moved on to learning about making the cheese! The milk is naturally homogenized (meaning the cream doesnt separate) and it is naturally lower in fat compared to cows. After milking, it is immediately started in the slow pasteurization process where it is kept at a temperature of 150.8 degrees for 30 minutes. This process takes longer than most cheese farms use but it is most nutritious. After the 30 minutes, it is put in an ice bath, the culture is added and the vegetarian rennet(the enzyme). It sits for 20 hours with the culture. This goat cheese isnt as pungent as most. You dont get a strong goat flavor because rather than letting the milk sit with protein 'Casein', they pasteurize right away which gives it a much milder flavor.
Then the fun part. The tasting!
We tried 5 different goat cheese. 
#1: the base goat cheese. this is always my favorite, there is so much potential waiting to be created flavor wise.
#2: The Rolling Green, flavored with garlic chives
#3: The French dream, one of their aged cheeses
#4: Maui Secret, mixed with Sicilian olive oil,  lemon zest and thyme
#5:Fruit Quark, almost a dessert! a Lilikoi (passionfruit) flavored cheese

YUM!

We finished the night off by sight seeing and having dinner at Casonovas. We learned so much! But we definitely arent finished yet, we have exactly 3 weeks left here and we plan on enjoying our time fully.

Julia and Brandon