A few weeks ago, we decided to make a pretty major dietary shift toward eating vegetarian dinners from Monday through Thursday. I love animal-based sources of protein (beef! pork! chicken! seafood!), and I've always included them in dinner recipes. But we're trying to improve our nutrition as we age, and this shift is a big… Continue reading Vegetarian Dinners and Vegan Cheese
We explored the RoC Market this past Sunday. The market is a popular event held in downtown Suva every third Sunday of the month. It features local small businesses selling artisinal goods, plants and food. One of the booths we stopped at belonged to Fijian artist Alifereti Malai. We were struck by his beautiful artworks… Continue reading Closeup: Fijian War Clubs
Vanua Chocolate is a chocolatier based in Fiji that sources it's cacao from local farms. The company is releasing a new product: a chocolate sampler with fruit infusions. It makes for a lovely little gift for yourself or others. The chocolatier does not use emulsifiers. This artisinal product is elegant in the simplicity of it's… Continue reading New Fruit-Infused Vanua Chocolate Sampler
Farm supervisor Joeli and senior cocoa grower Richard start the tour with an introduction in the shop.A praying-mantis-looking insect inside the shop's small conservatory.Pupae on a plant in the conservatory that will transform into butterflies.Preparing chocolate for packaging in the temperature-controlled kitchen.A flower from a cocoa tree.Cocoa trees.Vanilla beans.Kava.Roro (taro).Cocoa fruit.Joeli opens cocoa fruit to… Continue reading KokoMana: Artisinal Chocolate and Agri-Forestry
Vanua Chocolate is a sister company of Cacao Fiji, and it's recently expanded its distribution to Extra Supermarket in Suva. It makes small-batch, artisinal chocolate. We wanted to support support these local businesses, so we picked up a couple bars of dark chocolate from Extra. Dark chocolate is known for its health benefits. It's high… Continue reading Fiji’s Artisinal Vanua Chocolate
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