Let Encounter Kauai
cultivate your inner
wisdom about food
and health with our
gourmet culinary meals.
Encounter Kauai strives
to awaken the senses
through the utilization of
seasonal, local ingredients,
which supports island
organic farmers and the
perpetuation of conscious,
sustainable agriculture.
Soul Food
Cooking is like praying. With a clear mind and an open
heart, offer your best intentions for the good of all
sentient beings. When you partake of food prepared
with love, it fulfills your spiritual hungers as well as your
physical desires.
The organic farmers, who toil in the
fields, give of themselves by treating the earth and the
harvest with reverence. There is a direct exchange of
positive energy from food that is grown with love to the
person who consumes it. When preparing meals, do it with mindfulness and a joyful
spirit, so that the energy and intention you put into the
food will nourish the body and soul.
The kitchen can be a
wonderful place to introduce a more spiritual way of living.
By preparing food with love, you create a bridge between
the sacred and the mundane. Let food be a delight to the
senses. Appreciate the varieties of flavors, textures, and
brilliant colors; exquisitely arranged like a temple offering.
When you are consciously aware of the meals you create,
you invite a more profound sense of spirituality into your
life, enriching yourself and those around you.
Exotic Fruits
The benefits of a diet high in living foods are well
documented and studied. The variety of these raw foods,
mainly fruits, which grow on the Garden Island, is
stunning. There is a season for some of the fruits on
Kauai, like mangoes and lychees, but no matter what
time of year, you can always find something new and
exciting to tempt the senses.
The island provides
optimum growing conditions; rich, fertile volcanic soil,
abundant rain, and year-round sun. The quality and
assimilability of nutrients found in local organic fruits
are perfect for complete health and wellbeing. Most
exotic fruits on the island are originally from Asia,
although some are also found in the Caribbean and
Central America.
The noni fruit has been heavily touted
for it's health benefits and revitalizing properties.
It is high in antioxidants and great for digestive ailments.
It has a very complex taste, exploding on the palate
with flavors ranging from astringent to sweet to funky.
You can enjoy it fresh or in juice. Look for the lantern shaped Surinam or acerola cherries
growing by the roadside. They are bright red when ripe
with a sweet tartness, and provide the highest amount of
Vitamin C found in any fruit.
The mangosteen, or “queen
of the fruits”, is widely sought after. Originally from
Southeast Asia, this small purple brown fruit contains
tasty white segments with a sublime flavor and multiple
health benefits. For a fruit that is as pretty as it is sweet,
try a crambola or starfruit. It has a cool, crisp flavor and
a pleasing star shape. The unusual rambutan looks like a
spiky red tennis ball. Inside is a juicy, sweet fruit
resembling a lychee in flavor. It's cousin, the longan, is in
a more demure brown skin, with a spicy honey-like flavor.
Fruit is a gift of the gods.
There is no taking of life; instead
the fruit is given as an offering. The plant remains intact
and benefits from the interaction even after it bears fruit.
By living simply and appreciating the bounty of sustenance
that the island provides, our lives will ripen to become
sweet, vibrantly colored, and full of flavor.
