Went to Kauai last week. Saw new things. Made a new friend. Picked up a new recipe.

That’s what vacations are for.

Sandi Kato-Klutke was at her usual station at the Saturday farmers market at Kauai Community College in Lihue, selling sushi, mochi and lilikoi tarts. She’s been doing this for only a year or so, she says, but having just retired from her job as a hotel manager, she’s thinking of expanding her tiny enterprise, called Ti Leaf and Taro.

It seems there is a demand. Within an hour just about everything at her small stand was gone. Latecomers would show up and ask, "Is there anything left?"

This weekend she’s likely to have a different batch of offerings, as her product line is determined by her mood and the availability of ingredients. "I never have the same thing."

She’s always loved cooking, Kato-Klutke says, starting as a 4-H Club member. "I used to enter the cherry pie-baking contest. My family ate cherry pie every day for three consecutive years." Her talents developed through practice, experimentation and "creative swiping" of ideas drawn from eating out.

This recipe began with a basic formula for cream cheese tarts that used puff pastry. She ditched the puff pastry as "too humbug" (mood) and added lilikoi curd because she’d made some (availability).

For me, mood and availability aligned because Kato-Klutke gave me a jar of her lilikoi butter. If you don’t have a friend to do the same for you, lilikoi butters and curds are sold in many supermarkets, specialty stores and farmers markets.

With lilikoi season approaching, you should also be able to locate fresh lilikoi to puree as the recipe requires, but if not, Kato-Klutke says you can do without.

Mother’s Day idea: Make some tarts and give them to Mom with a jar of lilikoi butter. Aren’t you thoughtful?

LILIKOI CREAM CHEESE TARTS

32 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature (four 8-ounce packages)
2 eggs
1-1/4 cups sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
8 ounces lilikoi curd or lilikoi butter
1/4 cup lilikoi puree
24 graham cracker tart shells (Keebler brand is sold in most supermarkets)

>> Glaze:
1 cup lilikoi puree
1 cup canned lilikoi juice drink
1 cup sugar, more or less to taste
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
3 tablespoons cornstarch dissolved in 1/4 cup water

Whip cream cheese until smooth. Add eggs; beat well. Beat in sugar and vanilla. Add lilikoi curd and puree. Beat well. Chill overnight.

Heat oven to 415 degrees.

Fill tart shells to the top with cream cheese mixture. Bake 20 to 25 minutes. Filling will rise above the level of the crust but will settle as tarts cool.

To make glaze: Combine ingredients in small saucepan and bring to simmer over medium heat. Slowly stir in cornstarch slurry and simmer until thickened. Cool slightly and pour over cooled tarts. Makes 24.

Nutritional information unavailable.

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