Ohia-Lehua honey is a popular wedding favor in Hawaii and is an inspired gift for any romantic occasion.

For a more complete complete discussion of the legend, and to learn why picking a Lehua blossom allegedly causes rain, see our Lehua page.

• 8 medium sweet potatoes (5 lbs), left unpeeled, halved lengthwise and cut crosswise into 2-inch pieces
• 2 navel oranges, left unpeeled, thinly sliced
• 2 large red onions, peeled and trimmed (leaving root ends intact) and cut into 1/2-inch-thick wedges
• 1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, melted
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 cup golden raisins
• 1/3 cup raw Hawaiian Wilelaiki Blossom honey
• 1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

• Prepare grill for cooking.

• Toss together sweet potatoes, oranges, onions, butter, oil, and salt and pepper to taste.

• Put a 2-foot -long double layer of foil on a work surface. Place half of sweet potato mixture in center and sprinkle with 1/2 cup raisins. Cover with a third sheet of foil and tightly roll up all sides to seal. Wrap packet in a fourth sheet of foil to ensure insulation. Make another packet with remaining vegetables and raisins.

• Put packets side by side directly on hot coals. Cover grill and open grill vents, then grill packets until vegetables are tender, about 30 minutes.

• While packets are grilling, stir together raw Hawaiian honey, lemon juice, and parsley. Remove packets from grill and carefully unwrap. Drizzle vegetables with raw Hawaiian honey mixture.

Serves 10 to 12.

Gas grill method: Put packets on grill rack and close lid. Roast with grill set to moderately low.

Oven method: toss potatoes, oranges, onions, raisins, butter, and oil together in a large shallow roasting pan. Cover tightly with foil and roast in  a pre-heated 450 degree oven until potatoes begin to soften, about 50 minutes. Uncover and roast until vegetables are browned in spots and tender, about 25 minutes more.

1 teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon baking soda

1/3 cup sugar

Pinch of salt

1 teaspoon nutmeg, freshly grated

2 cups buttermilk

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

2 Tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

1 big handful sweetened shredded coconut

1 big handful macadamia nuts

Banana slices

Macadamia Nut Honey

In a large bowl mix together flour, baking powder, baking soda, sugar, salt, and nutmeg. Next, add buttermilk, eggs, butter, coconut, and macadamia nuts and stir until just combined. It’s okay if batter is a bit lumpy. Don’t overmix.

Heat your skillet or pan to medium-high heat and coat it with a bit of butter. If a drop of water dropped into the pan starts to dance, the skillet is hot enough.

Slowly pour about 2/3 cup of the batter onto the skillet. Place about 3 extra-thin slices of banana on top of the pancake batter as it is cooking. Wait until the pancake bottom is deep golden in color then flip with a spatula and cook the other side until golden and cooked through.

Top generously with Big Island Bees Macadamia nut honey and serve.

-from 101 Cookbooks, by Heidi Swanson

2 cups macadamia nuts

4 oz. unsalted butter

¼ cup Macadamia Blossom honey

½ cup sugar

Roll out pastry, place in 9-inch pan and chill for 30 minutes. Blind bake pastry shell for 10 minutes at 400 degrees and cool.

In a heavy saucepan, bring honey, sugar and butter to a boil. Remove from heat and stir in nuts. Spoon mixture into chilled tart shell. Bake in preheated 400 degree oven for approximately 20 minutes or until golden brown.

¾ cup sugar

1 generous cup Macadamia Nut Honey

3 eggs

1 cup dark, strong, warm coffee (Whendi uses Kona)

3 cup flour

3 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

2 teaspoon cinnamon

2 teaspoon dried ginger

½ teaspoon nutmeg

½ teaspoon cloves

½ teaspoon allspice

½ cup Macadamia nuts, chopped

½ cup candied ginger, diced

Cream butter and sugar together. Add honey and eggs, and mix well. Sift dry ingredients together and add to butter/sugar mixture alternately with coffee. Fold in candied ginger and nuts, and pour into greased 10-inch bundt pan or two greased loaf pans. Bake at 350 for 50-60 minutes.

1 lemon

2 Tablespoons Macadamia Blossom Honey

Grated unsweetened coconut or chopped nuts for garnish

Cut peel from 6 oranges, being careful to remove all the pith. Slice the oranges into a bowl.

Cut the peel off of 6 oranges with a sharp knife being careful to remove all the pith. Remove the orange segments from their casing, and put into a serving bowl with the juice of the remaining oranges and the lemon. Toss gently to mix, and serve garnished with coconut or chopped nuts.

Adding sliced banana or fresh pineapple is delicious too!

1 oz. salted butter

1 Tablespoon organic Lehua honey (slightly warmed)

½ teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary or ¼ tsp. dried

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Cut the squash in rounds and then cut each round in half to make semi circles. Remove seeds. Place the squash in a bowl with the warmed honey and toss to coat.

Arrange the squash in overlapping rows in a shallow baking dish. Drizzle the squash with the leftover honey. Dot the squash with butter and then sprinkle with rosemary. Bake in the oven for 30 minutes until golden brown and caramelized.

2 small bananas

8 litchis

2 passionfruit

8 Tablespoons Greek or strained yogurt

4 teaspoons Macadamia nut honey

½ cup chopped roasted macadamia nuts

Peel and slice the mango and bananas. Peel and quarter the litchis. Scoop out flesh from the passionfruit. Mix the fruit together and divide between 4 custard cups. Top the fruit in each cup with a Tablespoon of macadamia nut honey and sprinkle with the chopped nuts. Serve.

1 Tablespoon wasabi paste

1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger

¼ cup organic Wilelaiki honey

¾ cup soy sauce

Mix all ingredients. Marinate fish for several minutes. Put fish on grill and baste with remaining marinade while grilling.

Big Island: Saturdays at Keauhou shopping center

Big Island: Sundays at Amy Greenwell Park in Captain Cook

Big Island: May 1st in Kamuela at the Hawaiian Homestead farmers’ market

Oahu: May 1st and 15th at the KCC farmers’ market.

On sale will be our white organic Hawaiian Lehua honey in quart and 9 and 4.5 ounce jars. Also available will be our rich, dark Macadamia and amber, spicy, organic Wilelaiki honeys, in the same quart and 9 and 4.5 ounce jars. Gift sets also available.