God's Garden volunteers
By Catherine Kekoa Enomoto
puree their way to success, raising thousands
for mission work with the humble fruit
Star-BulletinThe kingdom of heaven is like to a grain of guava seed, to paraphrase the Book of Matthew.
Consider a group of volunteers at Wesley United Methodist Church in Kahala. Their twice weekly guava-related project during the past 16 years has netted more than $150,000 for missions and charities in Hawaii and elsewhere.
The Guava TreesBy Hiroshi Minami Unlike the fig tree
At the Wesley Church
The green guava trees
Nourishments provide
And one may wonder
Grant, O Lord, that we, |
 By Craig T. Kojima, Star-Bulletin Showing off the finished product is Mary Nakamura.
|
"To be honest, I didn't think that I was going to do all this," 75-year-old Mitsue Ishimoto laughed. She had planted four guava trees in 1979 so congregation members wouldn't have to gather guavas atop Tantalus to make jams for bazaars benefiting the church.The white A-frame church is located one block mauka of Kahala Mall. In 1899 Japanese immigrants had founded Wesley Methodist Church, whose prior site was the Diamond Head-makai corner of King and Kalakaua until 1964.
"God's Garden" flanks the present church with five guava trees, three dozen crownflower bushes and two beds of bozu. Bees browse contentedly in and out of its flowers, nodding in the warm sunshine.
The parable of the guava seed starts with a corps of 20 God's Garden volunteers. They collect and sort mayonnaise quart jars throughout the year. When in season, guavas are harvested during the week. On Mondays volunteers gather to wash, slice and machine process the fruit; then strain it twice to produce a velvety, fresh pulp the vivid pink of cactus blossoms.
"Oh, yeah, people say it's so much better" than frozen guava nectar, Ishimoto said.
The volunteers make an average of 50 quarts of guava puree weekly. They sell it to church members, friends, Gelateria's Italian ice maker and other interested people for $1 per quart. They also string purple and white blossoms into lei of single crownflower and bozu, triple crownflower and rope crownflower for florists and Greeters of Hawaii. And, periodically they make guava jam ($1.50) and mango chutney ($4 to $6).
Ishimoto thinks the jam recipe is remarkable, when really she and her cohorts are remarkable.
By Craig T. Kojima, Star-Bulletin
Preparing the puree is a weekly ritual for Helene
Takamiya, Mitsue Ishimoto, Dora Yamanaga and Satsue Ogawa.
"You know, it's amazing," she said. "I guess the Lord has been with me all this time. I never altered the jam recipe; to this day I still use the same recipe for the guava puree."Several years ago we celebrated that we made over $100,000. Can you imagine?" she marveled. "Right now the fund is up to $155,000. After $100,000 I haven't set any goal ... The lei-making is a big money maker, because the guavas are seasonal."
Equally valuable benefits accrue to the volunteers.
"We keep coming, jammin' and jellyin'," laughed Merle Shimokawa, 67, a former Maui teacher.
"It's a wonderful group. We get together like this and we exchange recipes, exchange plants. We talk about long-term nursing and estate planning; there isn't a thing we don't talk about. And we support each other. Yeah, I think it's a wonderful thing."
Mary Nakamura, the youngest member of the guava corps, volunteered only on weekends until she retired as a Kaiser medical technologist last December. She has graduated to the Monday group.
"Oh, I love it," Nakamura said. "I think the fellowship is just wonderful. The pace is leisurely. There're really no deadlines we have to meet and so when we finish, we finish, and then we go home. And we usually have lunch here, so it's really marvelous."
Other guava/crownflower volunteers include Helene Takamiya, Dora Yamanaga, Satsue Ogawa and her husband Sei Ogawa. Also, Kikue Nakamura, Hazel Sugiyama, Hazel Toyama and Jo Tsark.
Ishimoto credits Wesley's former pastor, the Rev. Theodore Lesnett, now assigned to Honokaa on the Big Island, with naming the effort.
"One day he came by the guava trees and he said, 'How's God's Garden doing?' and I said, 'Say, that's a good name for our project.'
"And it is God's Garden," Ishimoto sighed.
"I thank God for everything, because I had no idea I was going to do all this stuff."
Here are some ways to use guavas and guava puree:
God's Garden Guava Juice
(From "Feeding Our Flock" cookbook,
Wesley United Methodist Church, 1996)
2 cups fresh guava puree
4 cups water
1/2 to 3/4 granulated white sugar
1 tablespoon lemon or lime juice
Combine ingredients and stir to dissolve sugar. (Can add orange punch syrup for color.) Makes 1-1/2 quarts.
Approximate nutritional analysis per 8-ounce serving, with 3/4 cup sugar added: 150 calories (115 calories with 1/2 cup sugar), no fat, no cholesterol, 20 milligrams sodium.*
God's Garden Guava Sherbet
(From "Feeding Our Flock" cookbook)
1 quart fresh guava puree
1 quart 2-percent or whole milk
2-1/4 cups granulated white sugar
1/4 cup lemon or lime juice
Combine ingredients and mix to dissolve sugar. Pour into a covered container or ice trays covered with foil. Freeze until slushy; then stir from front to back or beat to reduce the size of crystals. Refreeze and repeat beating at half-hour intervals. Remove from freezer to refrigerator 20 minutes before serving.
Or, pour mixture into an ice cream maker and follow manufacturer's directions.
Especially delectable when served in hollowed out guava shells, garnished with mint. Makes 24 servings.
God's Garden Guava Jam
(Courtesy of Mitsue Ishimoto, Wesley United Methodist Church)
2 quarts fresh guava puree
7-1/2 cups sugar
3/4 cup lemon juice
In a 1-1/2 gallon stainless steel pot, combine all ingredients. Boil for 15 to 20 minutes, until mixture coats a wooden spoon. Pour into sterilized jars and seal with wax.
Guava Bread by Ruth
(Courtesy of Ruth Sato)
4 cups flour
2-1/4 cups granulated white sugar
4 teaspoons baking soda
3 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup walnuts, chopped (optional)
1 cup raisins or dates, chopped (optional)
4 cups fresh guava pulp
1 cup vegetable oil
6 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
Into a large bowl, sift together dry ingredients -- flour, sugar, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. If desired, add walnuts and raisins or dates; toss to coat with flour. Make a well in dry ingredients and add remaining ingredients. Mix well.
Pour batter into loaf pans that have been coated with vegetable oil cooking spray or lightly oiled. Bake at 350 degrees for 50 to 60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Make 4 large loaves.
Guava Barbecue Sauce
(From "Tropical Fruit Cookbook" by Marilyn Rittenhouse Harris,
University of Hawaii Press, 1993)
2 cups guava puree
1 thumb fresh ginger root, finely chopped
1 4-ounce can diced green chiles
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 cup soy sauce
1 cup ketchup
1/4 cup olive oil
Thoroughly blend all ingredients. To intensify flavors, refrigerate at least 1 hour. Refrigerate up to 1 week or freeze up to 3 months. Good with all grilled meats and seafood. Makes 4 cups.
Cookbook provides ideas
The "Feeding Our Flock" cookbook was published by the Wesley volunteers last year.
The 138-page softcover collection features recipes such as Canlis Special Salad, Chart House Artichokes, Chicken Tremendous, okara patties, "Secret" Kahua Ranch Cheesecake, Elsie's Christmas Granola, Kauai Community College Atemoya Haupia, and several guava recipes.
Pick up one book for $10 at the church or send $10 plus $2.50 for postage and handling.
Buy guava puree and other products of God's Garden: Pick up your puree
