Monday, January 18, 2010

The Napali Coast




I want to touch briefly on the Napali but I think I'll let the photos do most of the talking. This incredible coast line is on the north shore of Kauai. It is the only portion of the island with no roads on it, for obvious reasons. It has been left untouched by vehicles and can only be reached by a grueling hike, or by boat. It has to be one of the MOST breathtaking and awe-inspiring hikes I've ever done in my life. To add to the already beautiful scenery, there were 30-35 foot waves that day. We could hear thundering crashes and heart pounding explosions from below us along the whole trek. It was an amazing time to be on the north shore, and it created a unique photo from all the sea spray, as you can see from the picture above. Enjoy the rest...



Truly a sacred spot,
Peace be with you all...
WW

Favourite Fruit on the Farm




I just want to say that I love avocados. Now I know that they're not for everyone, but I love them. One of the best parts about wwoofing on an organic farm is the food trade. And we have an abundance of avocados. There are over 30 varieties that grow on Kauai alone. Where I am we have at least 10 different varieties, all shapes and sizes and all sorts of flavours. Dave has planted his Avocado trees in the nursery for shifty shade, and he also chose specific varieties for there fruiting season so as to try and have Avocado year round. Year round...wow!

Avocados are very healthy for you as well and provide a great substitute for meat. Avos are known to reduce your LDL levels (bad cholesterol) and raise your HDL levels (good cholesterol). They also have a higher fat content then most fruit which is mostly monounsaturated fat (good stuff as well). And a little known fact: Avos have 60% more Potassium than bananas...who knew?

We make guacamole here by the bucketful...one of the best feelings in the world is cutting up like 10 avos and putting all the necessary ingredients and blending it with your hands! Really the only way to really to make guac! I eat avo on my toast in the morning, on my sandwith at lunch, and in the salad at dinner. J'aime les avocats!



Second on the list of favourite fruits: Tangelos. These are an incredible fruit. We're talking about a sweeter more potent orange flavour. In appearance they are almost identical to an orange, however they have something very special about them. Tangelos are affectionately known as juice bombs here on our farm. I've done this research myself, so I can attest to it's authenticity, but a tangelo in comparison to an orange has a 4 to 1 ratio of juice!!! Isn't that amazing!!! Same size and everything almost twice the weight, and so much juice. I drink around 8-10 tangelos every morning. I cut them in half and then squeeze them with my hands into a glass. 8 tangelos fills up two full glasses of freshly squeezed organic tangelo juice, and I do it all the time. It's almost addicting, I've talked about it with Drew, but you crave it. It's so much natural fructose, you just start to want more and more. Which is a good thing, because citrus fruits are going off right now, we can't eat them fast enough. It's just madness out there, 5 or 6 falling every day and we have like 8 trees on the property. Oh and if the tradewinds kick up and knock a ton down, I'm making litres of tangelo juice!!! Lastly, I want to make this point. One medium tangelo provides you with 120% of the recommended daily intake of Vitamin C. One, not 8-10. Dave swears by these fruit, says he never gets sick. And you know what, I believe it, I feel sensational during tangelo season and it has everything to do with our immune systems being just pumping with Vitamin C...thank the heavens tangelo season lasts 5 months...what a blessing that is!



Ok last but not least the papaya. We have 3 papaya trees right outside our outdoor kitchen. I'd say 3 mature trees give us at least one papaya a day. Perfect for breakfast, papaya is such a great fruit. It's so awesome because you cut them in half, take out the seeds, and you have a bowl. We like to put in almond butter, or maybe even MacNut Cream inside the middle. It's a great treat and I really enjoy them.
Now here's the coolest part, papayas are the only natural source of Papain, an effective natural digestive aid, said to digest an amazing 200 times it's own weight in protein. Known as the "Nutritional Masterpiece" papayas are very high in Vitamin C, folate, potassium. Also good sources of vitamin A, vitamin E, fiber carotenoids lutein and zeaxantin and lycopene.

I also like Papayas because they bear fruit year round.

That's all for now, I hope you enjoyed my top 3 favourite fruit on the farm.
Peace be with you,
WW