Contest

Really Great Prizes!

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We are really excited about something over here and we’re finally ready to tell you all about it.

We are throwing a contest! It’s the Hamakua Springs Tomato Recipe Content, and it has some great prizes.

There are three categories:

Entree
Dessert
Preserves & Condiments

Here’s how it works. You send us your best, original recipe by January 31 (you can enter more than one recipe, but please send each entry separately).

Our judges will go through all entries and choose what are, in their expert opinions, top recipes in each category. Then those recipes will be prepared by students from the Hawai’i Community College Food Service program.

Then our panel of judges will taste and select the top three dishes in each category. We have some terrific judges!

Food writer Sonia Martinez
Food writer Joan Namkoong
Hawaii Community College School of Continuing Education program director Randy Nunokawa
Hawaii Tribune-Herald food columnist Audrey Wilson
Hawaii Community College Chancellor Rockne Freitas

Prizes? Each category will have a first, second and third place winner (nine prizes total). First prize in each category is $350 in Makana cards (gift certificates valid at Foodland or Sack & Save). Second prize is $300 in Makana cards, and third prize is $250 in Makana cards.

Winners will be announced right here on the blog on March 14.

Foodland has started advertising our contest in their newspaper insert — have you noticed it?

We’re excited about it. And I’m not just saying that; we really are. I hope we’ve got you thinking about your favorite tomato recipes. We want to hear them! Please send ’em in. Our mailing address and all the contest details are here.

Okay, go get your recipes out and put them in the mail to us right now while you’re thinking about it. You know, before the holidays distract you.

But you know we’ll be reminding you about it from time to time. — posted by Leslie Lang

Losing Weight, Salads

Eating Well

Richard Ha writes:

Today’s weight: 197.2 lbs. This week’s target weight was 196.0 lbs. I am 1.2 lbs. behind schedule.

Starting weight on 10/15/06: 200.0 lbs. End goal, on 12/31/06: 185 lbs. Since 5/23, I have lost 17.4 lbs.

My goals: To lose one pound per week for 15 weeks, and to lower my resting heart rate to below 50 beats per minute.*

* (Heart rate goes down as one gets into better shape. Lance Armstrong’s is said to be 32. George W’s was reported to be 47 beats per minute. Out of shape, mine is in the 70s. My best was 52 many years ago.)

* * *

I’ve noticed that when I include a lot of weightlifting in my weight loss program, I develop a voracious appetite and always have to take entire days off from exercising in order to recover. This week I took three days off, and I gained weight. I need to slow down and not try to do too much, so I don’t overeat and also rest too much. Catching a chest cold this week did not help.

When I’m not overtraining, I am in good enough condition that I can comfortably do 90 minutes on the elliptical trainer, twice or even three times per week. When I spend 90 minutes on the elliptical, I use up about 1,200 calories (that’s about a third of a pound). And on the other days of the week, I can still, easily, do 30 minutes. This next week I’m going to catch up and get back on schedule.

Something else I started doing is eating a really good salad for my dinner every night, along with a little meat, fish or chicken. I’m fortunate to know where to get some really tasty lettuces, tomatoes, cucumbers and watercress. I also make sure to eat a good breakfast and lunch.

I’ve gotten away from the salads but I’m going to get back to them now. As soon as I finish writing this, I’m going to the market to get dried cranberries, yogurt, oranges, anchovies, dijon mustard, bacon bits, green onions, lemon juice, sunflower seeds, grapes and red wine vinegar. I’ll use these ingredients to experiment and make interesting, tasty salads. I’m leaning toward green salads that have fruit in them, and fruity dressings. I’ll report back on what I come up with.

My resting heart rate today is up: 65. I don’t know if the chest cold has anything to do with it. Whatever the case, I need to get it into the mid-to-low-50s.

Rumor has it that George W. is going to ride the Kulani trails with the boys. I know he’s going to be on O‘ahu soon—and I thought I saw the decoy Air Force One doing touch-and-goes at the Hilo airport.

Company News, Television

On the Small Screen

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Kama‘aina Backroads, the interesting new cable television program that takes a local—not visitor-oriented—look at the “cultural perspective, traditions and island way of life” in Hawai‘i, came and shot some footage at Hamakua Springs earlier this week.

Roland Torres

Roland Joseph Torres, the program’s O‘ahu-born creator, says they’d been filming at the Keauhou Sheraton when he tasted the restaurant’s delicious heirloom tomatoes and was transfixed. Hot on the tomatoes’ trail, he loaded up the van and headed over to Hamakua Springs Country Farms to check out the farm (and taste some more).

It was fun to watch Roland (shown here with his camera) and assistant Harpal sample the heirlooms (“Broke da mouth!” said Roland) and learn a little about what drives Hamakua Springs.

Richard told them how it’s always taste that determines what they decide to grow on the farm, not ease of growing or handling or shipping; that they find the tastiest product they can find first, and then figure out how to grow it.

He drove them up to see the source of free, abundant water that will eventually power much of the farm operation and we watched as Roland held onto overhead branches and crossed a rickety old plantation bridge to look at the stream.

Roland Torres

 

 

 

 

 

 

Richard told the camera how sustainability—of the land, the employees, the community—is foremost, and how he makes farm-based decisions based on the family’s intent to still be farming in 100 years.

It was great to watch this interesting new program put together a small segment about the farm. It’s just one part of the Kama‘aina Backroads program that airs tomorrow—Saturday, 11/11/06, at 9 p.m. on Oceanic Cable 16.

Roland Torres has an extensive background in television production, having worked on television series for KFOX-TV, the AMC Television Network, PBS and more. In 1996, he won an Emmy for his work on a “Get the Vote Out” series targeting Hispanic youth.

In case you don’t get a chance to see the Kama‘aina Backroads program when it airs tomorrow, Roland says he will post some of it on his Kama‘aina Backroads website. I’ll post a link to it when it’s available. —posted by Leslie Lang

Community

Old School

At Kaumana Elementary School’s 100th Birthday Bash a couple weeks back, kindergarten teacher (and Hamakua Springs daughter-in-law) Kris Cabreira said it was “chicken skin” to see the two daughters of the school’s first principal and hear their story.

Kaumana School

“We found out that their father used to ride his horse to school,” she said, “and that he decided to find another profession after he wanted to get married but his salary only allowed him to feed his horse.”

Kris, who is married to Richard and June’s son Brian, talked about watching a 70-year-old former student bowing down to his 95-year-old principal. Seeing the composer of the school’s alma mater. Having the Cera family there, who used the event as a family reunion.

She said the day was packed with more people than they expected. There were former and current students, parents, teachers and stuff as well as the community.

Hamakua Springs donated bananas, tomatoes, cucumbers and lettuce to the celebration, and the kindergartners and first graders sold them in their produce booth to raise funds for classroom supplies and field trips. They sold out of five cases of each product.

There was also a history of Kaumana School memory room, games, food booths, craft booths, a rummage sale, a plant sale, and 100th birthday commemorative t-shirts. Entertainment went on all day with Taishoji Taiko, Dru Kekaualua and friends, and Ho’okoa. In the afternoon, students put on a talent show. The principal, Lloyd Matsunami, a counselor and Gumby took turns in the dunking booth.

“We were surprised at how much this meant to so many former students,” said Kris. “You could see the pride in their eyes. It was a very humbling experience.”

Losing Weight

Intensity

Today’s weight: 196.8 lbs. 
This week’s target weight was 197.0 lbs.
I am .2 lbs. ahead of schedule.

Starting weight on 10/15/06: 200.0 lbs.
End goal, on 12/31/06: 185 lbs.
Since 5/23, I have lost 17.8 lbs.

My goals: To lose one pound per week for 15 weeks, and to lower my resting heart rate to below 50 beats per minute.*

* (Heart rate goes down as one gets into better shape. Lance Armstrong’s is said to be 32. George W’s was reported to be 47 beats per minute. Out of shape, mine is in the 70s. My best was 52 many years ago.)

* * *

I am managing to lose weight. I have started eating salads for my evening meal. This is working well for me as long as I control snacking and stay on my exercise program. I am able to lose extra weight when I exercise at a low rate for 90 minutes and avoid eating more than normal.

But I am not making good progress on my other goal, which is lowering my resting heart rate.

On 5/23, my resting heart rate was 65 beats/minute. Today it’s 59. That’s only six beats better than May 23.

My goal is to get it below 50. I need to face the fact that I have not been training intensively enough. I need to start riding my mountain bike up Banana Hill again.

My average training heart rate of 125 beats for 30 minutes is higher than before, when it was 108. But my interval training heart rate, now at 145, is lower than it should be. I need to get it up over 155 for three or more intervals during a 30-minute session.

Community

Walking With the Goats

A couple weeks ago, about a hundred people turned up for a mile-long walk through the beautifully landscaped Panaewa Rainforest Zoo. It was part of the national WalkAmerica event, and the first time the March of Dimes event was held in Hilo.

It’s just the kind of event we like donating our product to. It raises money for a good cause while also encouraging people to get outside for some physical activity.

The band No Etiquette played. A breakfast was available—bentos from Blane’s Drive-In, juice from Meadow Gold, and our Hamakua Springs bananas. And Terry the Tiger was there. That’s a guy in a giant white tiger costume (the Panaewa Zoo is, of course, home to the white tiger Namaste).

It turned out that everybody who participated in the walk took home a door prize. There were gift certificates from places like Hilo Bay Café, the Palace Theatre, Seaside Restaurant; $50 worth of tickets from Cold Stone Creamery; boxes of posters from Hot Topic, gift baskets of hair products from Regis Salon, and a lot more.

And if that wasn’t interesting enough, a couple goats from the petting zoo joined the party and they did the walk, too. Although they didn’t get out and gather as many pledges as some of the people did. While one gentleman raised more than $1000 (which won him a weekend stay at the Hilton Waikoloa), the goats only brought in $5.

Our congratulations to everybody who walked for the March of Dimes. We hope to see you there again next year. — posted by Leslie Lang

Contest, Tomatoes

The Hamakua Springs “You Say Tomato” Recipe Contest!

We are excited to announce our brand new tomato recipe contest!

We look forward to seeing your best tomato recipes. You can enter original recipes in one (or more) of three categories:

• Entree
• Salad
• Preserves & Condiments

Each category offers three prizes: $350, $300 and $250 Makana cards (gift certificates) good at Foodland and Sack and Save stores.

Top recipes will be prepared by students of the food service program at Hawai’i Community College, and then judges will select winners.

Winners will be announced on March 14, 2007 on the Hamakua Springs blog Ha Ha Ha!. Entries may be featured on the blog, in other promotional materials, and possibly in an upcoming Hamakua Springs cookbook.

Read the blog for updates on the contest and more about Hamakua Springs Country Farms.

Allan_okuda_richard_haAllan Okuda, director of the Hawai’i Community College Food Service Program, left, and Richard Ha, owner of Hamakua Springs Country farms, right

How to enter

Email your entry to contest@hamakuasprings.com, or mail it to Hamakua Springs Recipe Contest, 421 Lama St., Hilo HI 96720. Include the recipe’s title, ingredients list, preparation, your full name, address, daytime phone number and email address. Enter as many recipes as you’d like (each recipe must be submitted in a separate email or on a separate page, each with full information as above) but we must receive all entries by 11:59 p.m. on January 31, 2007.

The rules

1. Submit your favorite original recipe that includes tomatoes in one of the following three categories: Entree; Salad; Preserves & Condiments.

2. Entry requirements:
Ingredients must be readily available. Please indicate which category your recipe falls under. Please include the name of the dish, ingredients with exact U.S. measurements, how it’s prepared, and the number of servings. Your recipe must not have been previously published and it must be an original creation.

3. How to enter:
Email your entry to contest@hamakuasprings.com, or mail your clearly written or typed entry to Hamakua Springs Recipe Contest, 421 Lama St., Hilo HI 96720. Include your full name, address, daytime phone number and email address. We must receive your entry on or before January 31, 2007.

4. Judging:
Judges to be announced here soon! Judges’ decisions are final. Winners will be announced at Ha Ha Ha! on March 14, 2007, and by phone soon thereafter.

5. Prizes:
Three grand prizes (one per category): $350 Makana Cards (valid at Foodland and Sack and Save stores) Second place in each category: $300 Makana Card. Third place in each category: $250 Makana Card.

6. General rules:
Open only to Hawai’i residents. Employees of Hamakua Springs Country Farms, its affiliated companies, contest sponsors, their agencies and families are not eligible. No purchase is necessary. Enter as many recipes as you’d like. Hamakua Springs cannot be responsible for problems with email transmission or late, lost, damaged, incomplete, illegible or misdirected mail. Entries cannot be acknowledged or returned. All federal, state and local laws and regulations apply. Prizes are nontransferable and may not be redeemed for cash. Judges’ decisions are final. Hamakua Springs Country Farms reserves the right to use entrant’s name and likeness and to publish any entry submitted. All entries become property of Hamakua Springs Country Farms. Entry constitutes permission to edit, modify, publish and otherwise use the recipe in any way without compensation.

7. Winners:
For a list of winners (available after March 14, 2007) send a stamped, self-addressed #10 envelope to: Hamakua Springs Country Farms, 421 Lama St., Hilo HI 96720.

And one last thing:

Now that you’re here, we hope you’ll look around our blog. We generally update it three times a week and we have a lot of fun with it.

Here at the blog you can read about Hamakua Springs president Richard Ha’s “39 pounds in 39 weeks” weight loss goal. He updates how it’s going–and how he’s doing it–every Monday. As of 11/1/06, he’s almost halfway there!

We also blog about:

our farm
our employees
our tomatoes, lettuce, bananas, cucumbers and new products
trips we take
our community
riding bicycles
restaurants that use our products
how we operate
the beautiful Hamakua coast of Hawai’i
sustainability
charity events we are involved with
articles written about us
hydroponics
wearing shorts
and much, much more.

If you like what you see at Ha Ha Ha!, please bookmark us or sign up for our RSS feed. And now go get your tomato recipe together!

Losing Weight

Heavy Lifting

Richard Ha writes:

Today’s weight: 197.5 lbs. 
This week’s target weight was 198.0 lbs.
I am .5 lbs. ahead of schedule.

Starting weight on 10/15/06: 200.0 lbs.
End goal, on 12/31/06: 185 lbs.
Since 5/23, I have lost 17.1 lbs.

My goals: To lose one pound per week for 15 weeks, and to lower my resting heart rate to below 50 beats per minute.*

On 5/23, my resting heart rate was 65 beats/minute. 
Today, it’s 65. It’s high because I’ve been training at a higher intensity for longer periods of time. I expect my resting heart rate to be in the mid-50s when I’m well rested.

* Heart rate goes down as one gets into better shape. Lance Armstrong’s is said to be 32. George W’s was reported to be 47 beats per minute. Out of shape, mine is in the 70s. My best was 52 many years ago.

* * *

Last week I was in San Diego at the Produce Marketing Association trade show. I had access to an exercise room, which allowed me to keep losing weight even though I was on the road.

Recently I started lifting weights. I’ve been doing arms, legs and abdominals on one day, alternating with working on my chest and back on another day. I do 10 minutes on the elliptical at 125 heart rate and then one set of whichever body part is scheduled.

Then I do 10 minutes at 129 beats per minute on the elliptical, and then a second set of the body parts I’m working on that day. Lastly, I do another 10 minutes of elliptical at 139 beats per minute and then finish off with the third set of weightlifting.

I’m phasing in the weightlifting at a very slow and easy pace. I’ve got lots of time and, after all, it really is all about the journey. Besides, I’ve done this many times before and I’ve learned how to avoid sore muscles when first starting back at the weights. I’ve learned that the trick is to not push too hard during the first three weeks.

I fly to Sacramento tomorrow, where we will visit Ag Tourism facilities as well as farm stand operations. This will help us to design our own facilities when we’re ready—we’ve got plans to expand our operation in the near future. I return to Hilo on Thursday.