The Amazing Story Behind Maui Ku’ia Estate Chocolate

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Little squares of Maui Ku'ai Estate chocolate -- with a big story.
Little squares of Maui Ku’ai Estate chocolate — with a big story.

It’s one thing to make exquisite farm-to-bar estate chocolate.

It’s a whole ‘nother thing to donate 100 percent of net profits to Maui charities and non-profits.

Maui Ku’ia Estate Chocolate succeeds on both those fronts.

The artisanal chocolate company was founded by Dr. Gunars Valkirs, a Maui resident and retired biotech entrepreneur, who was the inventor of the first fast and sensitive pregnancy test.

Agriculture is in his heritage, as Valkirs’ father was a farmer in pre-World War II Europe before moving to San Diego, where he maintained a lush citrus orchard.

Inspired by his father, Valkirs started experimenting with planting cacao trees at his Kapalua home. Before long, he was leasing 50 acres of former sugarcane fields in Maui. Today, his farm, which marked its first harvest in spring 2018, encompasses about 7,000 cacao trees.

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Burnt Broccoli with Tahini-Mustard Dressing

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Whisk together tahini, two types of mustard and vinegar for an addictive dressing for broccoli.
Whisk together tahini, two types of mustard and vinegar for an addictive dressing for broccoli.

Admittedly, much like a 5-year-old, my husband actually likes mayo or ranch dressing on his broccoli.

I get it, I get it. Folks like him just like a little creamy something-something to tone down the bitter, in-your-face vegetative character of broccoli.

But I’ve found something way better to dress it with instead.

“Burnt Broccoli with Tahini-Mustard Dressing” satisfies in the same way, but is definitely a step up.

This quick recipe is from “MUNCHIES Guide To Dinner” (Ten Speed Press, 2019), of which I received a review copy.

The book is by the editors of Munchies, the James Beard Award-winning food brand of VICE media group.

The look of the book is definitely millennial-driven, with its bright-colored, Instagram-like photos and its let’s-get-in-the-kitchen-and-hack-this vibe.

Some of the recipes would definitely qualify as stoner food, but ones you’d really want to eat no matter what your current state: I’m thinking of you, “Carne Asada Fries” and “Cacio e Pepe Popcorn.” Others are standards that should be in everyone’s wheelhouse, including “Lemognrass-Steamed Mussels,” “Grilled Caesar Salad,” and “Chicken Pot Pie.”

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A First: DoubleTree’s Signature Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe

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The one and only honest-to-goodness DoubleTree Hotel chocolate chip cookie recipe.
The one and only honest-to-goodness DoubleTree Hotel chocolate chip cookie recipe.

They’re craved by legions of sweet-tooth travelers. Home-cooks have tried in vain to come up with copycat recipes for it for years. And such is its stature, that it was the first food to actually be baked in orbit — aboard the International Space Station this January.

For so long, the only way to sink your teeth into a bona fide warm DoubleTree Hotel chocolate chip cookie was to check into one of its hotels, where you’re gifted with one for free with your room key.

Until now, that is.

Yesterday, in a thoughtful goodwill gesture in these horrific times, DoubleTree released a home-version recipe of its famed cookie to the public.

And faster than my printer could spit out the recipe, I was already putting sticks of butter out on my counter to soften.

At a time like this, don't we all need a cookie? Especially a DoubleTree one?
At a time like this, don’t we all need a cookie? Especially a DoubleTree one?

Knock on wood, I actually had all the ingredients on hand, too — no easy feat in this pandemic that has stripped store shelves and online sources of many baking products, as we all hunker down to shelter in place, and apparently stress-bake to no end.

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A New Snack From Leftover Beer-Making

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ReGrained Smoked Sea Salt and Pepper Puffs.
ReGrained Smoked Sea Salt and Pepper Puffs.

Berkeley’s ReGrained is all about re-purposing.

Particularly when it comes to spent mash left over from beer making, that is.

UCLA fraternity brothers Dan Kurzrock and Jordan Schwartz were avid home-brewers who got the idea a few years ago to take that oatmeal-like mash with a nutty, malty flavor and turn it into nutritious energy bars.

After their ReGrained bars became a hit, they tinkered with more products that would highlight the mash, high in fiber and protein, that normally would be discarded or composted by breweries.

The result is their new ReGrained Puffs, a crunchy puffed chip snack that has the airy crispiness of shrimp chips.

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The Chocolate Cake For When Times Are Uncertain and All-Purpose Flour Is MIA

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This chocolate cake may look plain, but it is a showstopper in taste and satisfaction.
This chocolate cake may look plain, but it is a showstopper in taste and satisfaction.

No doubt you’ve heard that Americans are drinking far more during this pandemic.

Me? I’m gorging on a whole lot more chocolate.

And that’s saying something since I consider the consumption of chocolate to be practically a daily requirement.

After all when the going gets tough, the tough get dark chocolate.

Thankfully, “Chocolate Cake” by renowned Chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten satisfies on every level. It’s from his cookbook, “Home Cooking with Jean-Georges: My Favorite Simple Recipes” (Clarkson Potter, 2011), in which the Michelin-starred chef shares favorite casual recipes he makes for his family

First, this cake uses hardly any all-purpose flour, for those who are running low on it like me. In fact, it calls for just over 1 tablespoon of the stuff. It’s such a small amount, though, that you could probably get away with substituting any other kind of flour for it.

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