 Aloha and welcome to Lillian's Vegan World. I'm your host, Lillian Cunik with Think Tech, Hawaii. Today's show is New Hawaiian Cookbook Hits Stores 2021, Tasting Hawaii Vegan Style and New Way to Eat. I would like to introduce my guest today on the show, Dave Molanero from HCAT. Welcome to the show, Dave. Aloha, Lill. Great to see you again, my love. How are you doing? I'm very well. Thank you. Thank you for joining us today. I would like to show the picture of the book. It's just coming out. It will be Hitting Stores in mid-November, which will be next month of 2021. Very, very excited for this second one. It's actually over 120 plant-based dishes and recipes of the island's foods, trending in restaurants in Hawaii. It is also all gluten-free. You've got two books in the one this time. I'm very excited for this. Dave actually took the cover shot for this book. How did that come about, Dave? Well, I had a very good model. Well, you're a natural. I want to tell you, too. I'm very proud of what you are doing. I know this book is just going to be amazing. You are very caged in putting it together. I could do a little bit of the work with the editing, but I am really jazzed about it. I know this is going to be exciting. I'm glad to be part of it. You're very, very talented. I'm probably very biased, of course, to being in love with you very much. Yes, I'm your husband, and I'm really jazzed about this. Dave, yeah. I'm sure a lot of the viewers want to know what it's like living with a vegan, because you yourself are not vegan, but I like to call you plant strong. Explain what your lifestyle is since marrying the author of the book, yours truly. Just last night, we were talking about our relationship, and I said I, in a million years, never thought I would be married to a vegan. It's been rewarding to say the least. I know I'm really spoiled, because you are such a talented chef. What you create is just amazing. What you pull out of your refrigerator and put together is truly remarkable. You're right. I'm not totally plant-based, but the home is. It has made a big difference, because it really cut out a lot of dairy, a lot of red meat. I know I'm definitely eating healthier. I think overall, my health has really improved. For those in your audience that are like, oh my God, I could never be vegan, try one meal at a time, try once a week, twice a week, three times a week, breakfast, lunch, or dinner, take your pick, but make the jump into it, because it does make a difference. With Lilian's help, I'm in a much better place. I'm glad to hear that. I can vouch for the fact that you have definitely changed your eating habits in the past three years, since we have been together here in Hawaii. Thank you for bringing me to the islands. Who knew I would end up writing two books about the local food here? Dave, as we go through some of the dishes in the book, I would love for you to chip in and tell the viewers what you thought of some of the dishes. Let's start with the first slide, because you did a lot of the taste testing. Dave, what is this? Okay, vegan, this is the vegan honey, and I will let me caveat this. One of the things that there was a rather funny conversation you and I had was, honey, I miss honey, and you said, no, it's bee vomit, it's not vegan, but your plant-based honey is really delicious. The consistency, the smell, and obviously the taste is very, very close to honey, and I love it. You knocked that out of the park, but it was funny. I did miss honey, and I was like, I'm struggling with this. How the hell am I going to enjoy my honey when it's not vegan? I know, well, you can't just be married to one. I know that you missed it, and this is why I chose this first slide to date, because I was so happy when I nailed this recipe for you, because I had heard several times throughout the years that how much you missed honey. By the way, for the viewers who don't know why vegans do not consume honey is because it's a by-product. It is considered an animal by-product along with a lot of other things, but honey is something that most vegans do actually stop consuming when they embark on a 100% plant-based diet. The three honeys in this picture are actually, so one is a plain honey, the other one is a pineapple ginger honey, inspired by Hawaiian flavours, and the third one is a chilli honey, which I call hot honey, and all three are just incredible. You're going to have a tough time distinguishing them from the real stuff, so that's one of my recipes in the book, in the chapter which I have veganised condiments. So it's a lot of veganised condiments like the honey. The second slide is also in that same chapter. Here's one that is very, very Hawaiian. It's the Hawaiian chilli pepper water. This is something I had never, ever seen until I moved to Hawaii, and I just thought it was amazing. It brings out so much flavour, and the good news is you can actually make your own. So there is a recipe for that. Dave, you're not very much into the spicy factor. Yeah, I'm not. I like spice, but you being, especially your Fujian background, I know you love heat. And like you said, this is a staple, and I know this is a go-to for you. You use it a lot, and it is very delicious. The freshness, the heat, the flavour is awesome, so I know you love this a great deal. Yeah, it's a very, I was going to say it's a very clever condiment because this is something, this is something I love about this book and my first book, Hawaii, a Vegan Paradise, is that I am hoping that by showcasing Hawaiian food, you can see all the fun stuff that Hawaii has to offer. Most people on a plant-based diet don't immediately think Hawaiian food, because I never did until I moved here. I never realised that there was so much exciting stuff here, so many interesting ingredients to play around with, and definitely the chilli pepper water is something that it's made primarily from vinegar, so it's very sour, but it just adds a really great punch to a lot of dishes. So I'm hoping this book reaches people outside of Hawaii and can open up your little Pandora box to a whole new world of condiments, flavours and spices. I'm really looking forward to it, and that it gets into, we've talked about this a lot, but you have written a Hawaii themed cookbooks, and I think that's because you see the potential here in Hawaii and the diversity of food, you've veganised it. Expand a little bit more to your audience on why you think plant-based foods, Hawaiian foods are so important. Well actually Dave, according to the Diabetes Research Centre in Hawaii, about 442,000 adults or 41.5% of the population here pre-diabetic. While they say, they go on to say on their website that about 154,365 people, individuals in the adult population or 13.1% of adults here actually have diabetes. Those are scary figures. I have some friends and colleagues that are struggling from that as well too and I've talked to them about a plant-based diet obviously and telling them to grab one of your cookbooks because they're so good. For me to adapt a plant-based diet, I know there's a lot of benefits to it and I know it's a passion for you and that's why you find vegan cooking and vegan lifestyle so important. It is important and actually I'm not sure if you saw the article on the front page of today's Star Advertiser. The article is about how the pandemic fuels spike in childhood obesity. Childhood obesity is increasing unfortunately here in Hawaii as well so there's a lot of reasons why I'm so passionate about sharing my knowledge of the vegan lifestyle and plant-based diet especially in Hawaii where it seems there is a need for some kind of shift and I think that it's going to have to start with children because sometimes as adults we're so set in our ways in what we believe is healthy and what we believe we should be feeding our children that we are actually not giving sometimes the kids what their bodies need in order to grow into healthy adults. No I was just going to say and the thing is children develop eating habits that they carry on throughout their adulthood so it's so important to educate children. I would love if there's if there are any viewers watching today's show I would love anyone in the educational system to reach out I would love to get into helping schools and children learn a better way of eating and I think no one can argue the fact the research is there the studies are shown again and again that plant-based diet not only is it the fastest growing diet on the planet today it is also what everyone is calling the best the best diet in the world in terms of what it can do for your health and more importantly how it can prevent lots of unnecessary illnesses including diabetes which you know is is going to very be very scary if you contract COVID-19 if you're diabetic so very serious problems and getting back to your point Dave that's part of the reason why I like to share this vegan world of mine because I know how important it is and as a human being I think it's my social responsibility to leave the world a better place than when I entered it. That's one thing I think you and I also have in common is we're trying to make this planet a better better place so but I getting back to kids and in the lifestyle it's really important that kids are early adopters they understand and I think it's great that you're like to entertain and get a plant-based more plant-based diets in the school systems we've talked about that as well too even in our fire departments the first responders I think they could really benefit and would want to benefit from a plant-based diet too so that's another option for you. Yeah I mean you know the relationship that you have with food it is similar to relationships you have with people whether it's your spouse your family or children your neighbors your friends the relationship with that you have with food is very real it can be very toxic on the other hand it can be very healthy so mindful eating and being aware of what you're putting on your plate is of the utmost importance especially in times like this. Dave I would like to take a short break to the viewers please do stay tuned for more about my new book Tasting Hawaii Vegan Style we'll be right back after these short messages. I'm Joshua Cooper and welcome to Cooper Union we look at what's happening with human rights around the world and we invite you to tune in every Tuesday where we feature the voices of the people from the front lines sharing the struggles for self-determination for the importance of sustainability and solidarity with one another to make the world a better place for all of humanity. If you can't catch it live you can also look at thinktechhawaii.com as well as on Vimeo and many other places to catch the amazing shows where we hear from authors, activists, academics, analysts, and artists who are contributing to positive social change around the planet. Aloha and Mika Pono thank you for joining us for justice. Aloha and welcome back to Lillian's Vegan World I'm your host Lillian Cumick with ThinkTech Hawaii. Today I'm talking about my my latest book and the release of Tasting Hawaii Vegan Style it's my second book with over 120 plant-based recipes of dishes trending in the islands. I'm happy to have and very excited to have on the show Dave Molinero welcome back to the show Dave. Lillian, good to be back. Dave we are talking about my new book and I do want to tell the viewers you are as much a part of this book as I am because the amount of time that you helped edit the book and helped me of course with the taste testing and gave me advice on some of the dishes it's been a pleasure creating this with you. I do also want to thank my publisher it's the local publishing house Mutual Publishing Bennett Haimer the publisher and of course my awesome designer layout designer and editor Jane Gillespie who helped create the book with me her design for the second book and the first book both just amazing she is awesome and I I do want to send out a huge mahalo to Jane Mutual Publishing by the way doing most of the cookbooks in Hawaii and and have a you know a huge array of cookbooks including one from Sam Choi who I have actually had the pleasure of cooking for I was very excited about that. Yes Dave I do want to show the viewers some more of what they can expect in the second book Tasting Hawaii Vegan Style so let's take a look at some more of the dishes with the next slide. What does this look like? I think this is going to blow people away like people don't expect that this is vegan this is actually a vegan mozzarella which I have named Mocarella so again all made possible with plants this vegan Mocarella is actually made from cashews and I have some roasted red bell peppers eggplant and I've turned that into a caprese an Italian salad that you often see so with some fresh basil it's just stunning. I love this this is up Dave I next time tell me to wear a bib before they show because I'm drooling yeah that is such a delicious I love caprese and you have done with your vegan cheese it's just remarkable and I know our friends and family that have had it just they've just raved about it so I'm looking forward to the response or reaction on this one as well because it's delicious. Thank you Dave I actually do have in this book a whole chapter on my vegan cheese is the next slide is also one of the creations in that that chapter this is a tofu feta platter I have done tofu so many ways in the book it's made from tofu obviously tofu is actually feta cheese in disguise who knew has exactly the same texture profile and once you marinate it in some spices and vinegar it does actually come out to be very very feta like almost scary I've also baked the feta put it in olive oil bottled it in olive oil which is going to be a great gift for people so I mean this platter is just out of this world something that you can't find unfortunately in restaurants that's why I was compelled to write this next book of foods trending in restaurants because I don't want anyone to miss out just because they're on a plant-based diet or gluten-free remember this book is all gluten-free as well every single recipe in there gluten-free and plant-based I think there's going to be a run on tofu after people see this video in that picture I hope so because it's so easy to make it's just a matter of marinating so it just incredible how far we've come with vegan food let's take another look at a different recipe this is something that I had neighbors come over to try it's the mox tail for the mox tail stew I've even put birdock fruit in the center of the the patties to make them make it look like the bone of the of the ox tail which is I've called which I've called mox tail and in the next slide you're going to see the recipe the end result which is a very very umami-filled stew which is incredible there it is it doesn't even it doesn't look vegan no I I remember this day very well I remember our neighbors coming over and sampling it and yeah just off the hook good and with the birdock root in the middle it looked so much like ox tail was it was it was scary good yeah it actually is a bit it's a bit scary for someone like me because as you know I actually avoid food that looks anything like meat even though it's plant-based but I did I did include a chapter that I have named for the curious cook in my book and it is filled with recipes of vegans seafood dishes and vegan meat dishes none of which contain fake plant-based meat none of that processed meat is used in any of the recipes so all of the recipes are made possible only with plants in particular mushrooms I have utilized mushrooms to the point where I think it's going to freak the people out the amazing things that you can actually do just with a you know variety of mushrooms so all of the all of the recipes are made from whole foods and plant-based let's take a look at another recipe this is my favorite restaurant yeah this was a this was a favorite among amongst my neighbors when they came over for some of the taste testing I'll let you describe this one Dave obviously it's a vegan calamari yes so I'm a huge calamari fan out of the house obviously and there is some really great calamari and island and this was remarkable it looks exactly like calamari and obviously it's not seafood-based it's just absolutely spectacular it's actually made from king oyster mushrooms that's right yeah they actually take on a very very similar texture because the king oyster mushrooms are used often as a seafood alternative if you're familiar with plant-based food you may already know that but I also use the king oyster mushrooms to mimic scallops and in this case obviously the calamari they the texture is very similar it's almost a rubbery kind of mouth feel chewy yes chewy there's a bit of pool in it so it's it's just the perfect substitute for calamari so well what's amazing about your cooking is you have taken again a plant-based option and not only the taste but also the visual but in this case the texture and mouth feel was just amazing so yeah I your your audience and the people that are going to buy I guarantee the second book is going to fly up the shelf the first one's awesome this one is even takes it to the next level and but this is this is a prime example of how talented you are this type you amazed me thank you thank you for putting a ring on it let's have a look at the next slide that's a big rock how about this one Dave this one is actually dedicated to my mother this recipe my mother is a tuna sandwich fanatic she has been eating tuna sandwiches for a very long time so I knew I had to do a vegan tuna sandy which I've named it named the recipe in the book vegan tuna who knew that you could do this with chickpeas or garbanzo beans and you again knock this out of the park I remember having a smattering and taste of this when you and I went out for a weekend getaway and we packed a little picnic you made a tuna sandwich for me and I loved it it was fantastic yeah this is something I think I mean all of the recipes in the book I must say are not they're not targeted for a vegan audience they're targeted for anyone who loves food period you don't have to be vegan to enjoy stuff like this and it just going back again to the the state of our health here in Hawaii I think it's so important to start really thinking about substitutes or changing some of those eating habits that are just not serving you well and I think one way you can do that is to honestly delve more into plant-based cooking and food and I know that a lot of people here say you know that the Hawaiian food I can't live without it well I'm going to prove to you in this second book also in my first book Hawaii a Vegan Paradise that you absolutely can continue eating all your Hawaiian favorites just the healthier versions so again you mastered that in the first book well absolutely and I think the second one is going to even take it to the next level as well too we're not vegans out there don't be afraid of making the plunge because you are really missing out on a great opportunity to eat and help here yeah yeah I do really want to make um bring that point across that it is a book for any person on the planet and also because it's gluten free I have opened up um that opportunity as well for people who can't consume gluten to to delve into some of these um really beautiful Hawaiian inspired dishes let's have a look at another one ah this is called Da Hawaiian Da the Hawaiian taro and spinach soup um the the soup chapter Dave in my book I have actually named the Super Bowl I remember the remember that well yeah and it goes through all um it goes through all of the uh all of the soups in that soup chapter are actually roasted soups so I explain in the book how just by roasting the vegetables before adding them to your soup you add a char and another flavor profile and depth that you simply cannot get by boiling vegetables so you'll learn something in each chapter of the book there's a lesson to be learned and there's tips and tricks on how to just take your how to elevate your cooking whether it's plant-based cooking or not so I do want to quickly run through the last slides if you could just um show them one after the other as we are running out of time this is a chicken dish made from mushrooms tofu span mushroom jerky oh a favorite rocky beach road that you named Dave thank you for naming that delicious your photography is amazing well this is um the furikake glazed popcorn and nuts pecans okay so that that's um furikake as you know is a popular spice here in Hawaii and I have turned it into a glaze that I've also um smothered sweet baked sweet potato in it's just some of the the recipes in this book are crazy crazy good crazy in the in the best way possible Dave we are coming towards the end of the show can I ask you to leave a thought with the viewers when it comes to plant-based food you need to try plant-based food I know plant-based food has got there's a political element to being vegan and uh don't shy away from it don't be afraid it's not about boring salads it's not about bland vegetables that are steamed it it's really creative and really tasty and remarkable and um William your first book really went a long way in explaining about the lifestyle and it has a lot of techniques and spices I know this next book is going to take it to the next level but um don't worry about making the transition all it takes start with one meal and I guarantee you that's going to move to a second third and fourth and perhaps maybe a change to old vegan lifestyle but that's great great advice thank you thank you so much great advice and thank you Dave for being on the show uh tasting Hawaii vegan style is available now for pre-order sale from the from Mutual Publishing you can go to their website MutualPublishing.com you will also be supporting local when you purchase this book the information is on my web page my website lilyandvegan.com you can go there and there's information on where you can purchase the books thank you so much to the viewers and thank you to the people of Hawaii for all of your support with the first book I look forward to meeting you all at some of the book signings in the the near future do stay safe eat healthy and uh until next time aloha