How to Stock a Vacation Rental Kitchen

Resort vacations hold a certain allure with quick access to restaurants and poolside drinks and two towel refreshes a day, but if you’re traveling with more than two people or for an extended period of time, a vacation rental just might be the way to go. In major cities, a well situated apartment can give you a good home base for seeing the sites; at the beach, it can you give the peace and quiet, and privacy you just won’t get at a hotel. And, you can cook for yourself. On the one hand, some would say, “It’s vacation – why would you want to cook?” Well, if say, you’re entertaining the idea of a trip to the north shore of Kauai, a vacation rental with a kitchen gives you the flexibility to really enjoy farmers markets and eat local on your own. Depending on your budget, it can help save a few bucks as well.

ByMichelleMay 21, 20140Comments

Travel

A Different Taste of Taro in Hanalei

As you cross the bridge coming into Hanalei on the north shore of Kauai, the first thing you see is a wide swath of green taro fields, spread across the Hanalei Valley. Farmed by the Haraguchi family for five generations, the fields are situated on the Hanalei National Wildlife Refuge which is home to a variety of endangered birds, including the Hawaiian nene and moorhens. Taro, a root vegetable brought to Hawaii by Polynesians, was a primary starch in the traditional Hawaiian diet and continues to be a cultural touchstone. If your only association with taro is the poi you once had at a luau, a tour of the Ho'opulapula Haraguchi Rice Mill and Taro Farm will go a long way in giving you a new appreciation for this tuber.

ByMichelleMarch 19, 20130Comments

Travel

Vacation Cooking: Hanalei, Hawaii

Vacation is usually a chance to get away from it all and let someone else do the cooking. But on Kaua’i, the Garden Isle, that’s only half true for me. If I've only got a week, I want to soak up the sunshine, slurp down some saimin and savor the sweetness of pineapple, papaya and mango. None of that requires a kitchen, but once you’ve been to one of the farmers markets on the island, you’ll want one. For our last two escapes to sunshine, we’ve stayed in a little vacation cottage steps away from the beach with a little deck and a hammock slung between two palms. And a kitchen.

ByMichelleMarch 12, 20132Comments

Restaurants Travel

Food Truck Alert: Pat’s Taqueria in Hanalei, HI

I'm usually a rigorous researcher before a vacation, so at least I have ideas for things to do and places to eat in between chilling out and reading books under swaying palm fronds. But for this trip to Kauai, I was pretty much useless. Although Pat's Taqueria was in the guidebook, I didn't know that until later, so we got lucky. But if there's one guiding light, one truism that I know is actually true it's, "Where there are surfers, good Mexican chow follows." See also: Tacofino.

ByMichelleMarch 7, 20120Comments

Travel

Eat Local: Hanalei Farmers Market on Kauai

On Kauai, the farmers market in Hanalei is serious business. It opens at 9:30 on Saturday morning next to the soccer fields and a few minutes before 9:30 a.m., there are already 20-30 people waiting to be let in. There's no leisurely browsing here, once the rope goes up, shoppers beeline for their favorite vendors. On this late February morning, there are gorgeous strawberry papayas, mangoes, rambutans, avocados, salad greens, cilantro and parsley, ginger and more. And for someone who's been eating a lot of chard and citrus, it looks like heaven.

ByMichelleMarch 4, 20120Comments