For Pamela Boyar and Annie Suite, food represents health and community — and the building blocks for a healthy community. And for eight years they’ve made a career for themselves in Hawaii based on this philosophy.
The two own FarmLovers Farmers’ Markets, which runs weekly markets in Haleiwa, Kakaako, Pearlridge and Kailua. The markets accept vendors who are farmers who have grown the food they sell.
"We try to create a place for the community to gather healthily," said Suite.
The women’s concept of health involves not just the physical health of individuals, but a holistic health of the entire community.
"There are so many ways to promote health: a health consciousness, a healthy economy and natural farming that puts nutrients back into the soil," said Boyar.
"New immigrant farmers, for instance, might be using pesticides because that’s what they know. But because customers are asking, they’re starting to learn natural farming methods. Things are shifting," added Suite.
These women walk their healthy talk. Boyar in particular eats with the guiding principle of food as medicine, and one of her favorite things to make at home is a slow-cooked, nutrient-dense bone broth drawn out of the bones, marrow and cartilage of chicken feet and chicken, turkey and beef bones.
Boyar says the broth is an especially good source of calcium and minerals. The key to its nutritional richness is the slow cooking — 18 to 24 hours for turkey and chicken bones, and 48 hours for beef bones — and vinegar, which draws nutrients from the bones.
"It’s the perfect thing to make after Thanksgiving with your turkey bones," she said. "If you eat a little bit of bone broth every day, it helps keep calcium in the body. Some people tell me it helps them with joint pain."
Though the primary intention of the recipe is nutrition, add-on ingredients enhance its deliciousness. Boyar includes turkey drippings, aromatic veggies such as carrots, celery and onions, and herbs such as oregano, thyme, rosemary, sage, parsley and cilantro.
"The more stuff you put in, the better it is," she said.
The broth can be consumed on its own or can serve as a base for another soup recipe. It can also be used to cook beans or grains.
"Mix in an egg in the morning and you’ve got a delicious soup for breakfast," she said.
Boyar is also the queen of quick, healthful dishes that utilize local products. In minutes she can whip up tasty ulu pancakes and a ganache combining coconut milk and Waialua Estate chocolate, which she uses to drizzle over the pancakes and as a dip for local fruits.
Served post-Thanksgiving with egg-drop bone broth, they make for a hearty and healthful breakfast, she says.
Both Boyar and Suite had their first introductions to Hawaii on vacations, and they found themselves drawn to the isles.
Boyar, 61, came over in 2006 from Austin, Texas, and decided she had to move. She sold her half of her marketing firm to her partner, moved and promptly began getting familiar with the local food scene.
Boyar had spent much of her career running her own food-related businesses, from juice and organic produce delivery services in California to starting various farmers markets, including a nationally award-winning market in Austin. Suite was a customer of that market.
Suite, 52, a former university drama professor, also visited in 2006.
"When I got on the plane to leave, I thought how glad I was that I came because I’d probably never come back again," she said.
But in the following year she unexpectedly had the chance to move to Hawaii.
She ran into her old friend Boyar, and when an opportunity arose to start a farmers market in Haleiwa, the women teamed up.
The original Haleiwa Farmers’ Market opened April 2009 at the junction of Kamehameha Highway and Joseph P. Leong Highway, and became a huge success. In October 2012 it moved to Waimea Valley after the state prohibited vending at the junction.
The women say farmers markets can be a tremendous economic engine for the areas in which they are held. Boyar says the original Haleiwa market generated $1.82 million in annual retail sales and $5.46 million for the Haleiwa area.
"For every dollar spent at the market, $3 was spent in the outlying area," said Suite. "People would make a day of it. Vendors spent money there, too, and so did we. Businesses in Haleiwa said their Sunday sales went down 30 percent after the market moved."
The partners opened the Kailua town market in March 2012, the Pearlridge market in August 2013 and the Kakaako market in October 2013.
Boyar grew up in Los Angeles before the big push of processed foods.
"My mother always had lots of fruits and vegetables on the table," she said. "The produce man, Mr. Powell, came in a truck and let us pick one thing. I always picked fresh peas.
"The love of good food really started then."
Suite was raised in San Antonio, where she took turns with her sisters cooking meals.
It was in college that both women became conscious of healthful eating. In her pursuit of good food, Boyar approached farmers directly, and the practice has served her well since.
Today the women’s long-held passion for good food goes beyond their own diets or their business, infusing their politics and their vision for Hawaii’s future.
They can see no reason Oahu’s lack of self-sufficiency can’t be fixed — data indicate that the island produces less than two week’s worth of food, and more than 85 percent of Hawaii’s food is imported.
"My thing is, local food is for local consumption," said Suite. "If we’ve got land, it should be used for growing food."
"We see ourselves as nurturers of this island," said Boyar. "Our work is about nurturing this island with healthy food."
BONE BROTH
Adapted from Ola Loa Wellness recipe
3 pounds total chicken feet and turkey or chicken carcass; or beef bones
1 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 cup raw apple cider vinegar, red wine vinegar or brown rice vinegar (can substitute with
2 tablespoons white vinegar)
2 onions, cut into fourths
3 carrots, cut into large chunks
4 stalks celery, cut into large chunks
4 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced in half
6 to 7 quarts water
Herbs such as oregano, thyme, rosemary, sage, parsley, cilantro or herb of your choice
Place chicken feet and carcasses or bones in soup pot. Add salt, vinegar and vegetables. Fill pot with water so water level is well above chicken feet and carcasses or bones, but not so full that it will spill over when it comes to boil.
Bring pot to boil and lower heat to simmer so that occasional bubbles surface. Cook, covered, for 18 to 24 hours if using chicken and turkey parts, 48 hours if using beef bones. Add herbs during last hour of cooking.
Remove pot from heat and allow to cool. Strain everything out of broth and debone carcass if desired. Makes 12 cups broth.
Approximate nutritional information, per cup: 60 calories, 2 g fat, 0.5 g saturated fat, 5 mg cholesterol, 200 mg sodium, 6 g carbohydrate, no fiber, 2 g sugar, 4 g protein
Variation: To make Egg-drop Bone Broth, bring desired amount of broth to boil. Scramble egg and add to boiling broth, whisking continuously. Drop in wakame or hijiki and cook until done.
ULU (BREADFRUIT) PANCAKES
Courtesy Pamela Boyar
1 medium overripe ulu (skin should be brown)
6 eggs (adjust to size of ulu)
2 pinches salt
Coconut oil for frying
Slice ulu in half and remove seeds. Peel skin or scoop flesh and place in food processor bowl. Flesh should be soft like marshmallow creme. Check to make sure there are no additional seeds. Crack eggs into bowl and add salt.
Process until well incorporated, about 30 seconds; the mixture should resemble dough.
Heat griddle and add coconut oil. Ladle onto hot griddle and turn over when browned, about 2 minutes per side.
Garnish with any topping, including butter, maple syrup, chocolate ganache, whipped cream or nuts. Makes about 15 pancakes.
Approximate nutritional information, per pancake (assumes 1 tablespoon oil for frying and does not include toppings): 170 calories, 16 g fat, 12 g saturated fat, 75 mg cholesterol, 50 mg sodium, 7 g carbohydrate, 1 g fiber, 3 g sugar, 3 g protein
Variations: Replace salt with herbs for savory version, or cinnamon for sweet version.
CHOCOLATE GANACHE
Courtesy Pamela Boyar
1 (13.5-ounce) can coconut milk
12 ounces chocolate
In medium pot on low, heat coconut milk. Rough chop chocolate into pieces and add to pot. Whisk constantly as chocolate melts, to prevent burning, or use double boiler. When fully incorporated, mixture will be liquidy. Dip fruits of your choice or drizzle on ulu pancakes.
For thicker ganache, refrigerate. Ganache will solidify in about an hour. Makes about 3 cups.
Approximate nutritional information, per 1 tablespoon dip serving: 50 calories, 3.5 g fat, 3 g saturated fat, 5 g carbohydrate, 4 g sugar, 1 g protein, no cholesterol, sodium or fiber
Nutritional analysis by Joannie Dobbs, Ph.D., C.N.S.
