BABIES GENIUS

Hanalei Valley taro farm
One of the largest taro growing areas in the Hawaiian Islands is the Lower Hanalei Valley

About 10% of the world's population uses taro or taro-like plants (Araceae) as a staple in the diet, and for 100 million people this is an important daily food.


Taro is similar to the Irish potato (Solanum tuberosum) in many properties, and is sometimes called the "potato" of the humid tropics. In comparison with potato, taro corm has a higher proportion of protein (1.5-3.0%), calcium, and phosphorus; it has a trace of fat, and is rich in vitamins A and C. Moreover, taro is 98.8% digestible, because it has very small starch grains fairly rich in amylose (20-25%), which breaks down to sugar with human saliva. This type of carbohydrate is excellent for people with digestive problems, so that taro flour is used in infant formulae and canned baby foods and is good for people with allergies, such as lactose intolerance. Some workers say that taro produces fewer dental problems than other starch crops. Recent research indicates that plastics can be made to be biodegradable by adding taro starch grains.

When Captain Cook discovered the Hawaiian Islands in 1778, the native population (est. 300,000) lived chiefly on dasheen (taro) and sweet potatoes (Ipomoea batatas), supplemented with things from the sea. In the Hawaiian Islands, taro was said to have been formed by the union of daughter earth and father sky, before man was born, so taro was honored as superior to man and treasured as the most important food crop. So intensive was its cultivation there that there may have been up to 300 cultivars in Hawaii when Captain Cook landed. Poi was traditionally prepared by removing the corm "skin" and then pounding the white flesh on a board with a stone pounder (pohaku ku'I) to make a thick paste, which was dried, diluted with water, kneaded, and then aged. The infamous Polynesian poi may be fermented (first bacteria, then yeast) or sometimes unfermented forms of this sticky dasheen paste, eaten with the fingers or as small balls. Some Polynesians were said to consume up to 20 pounds of poi per day!

I’m not saying sex. I don’t need that. I’m saying staying up reading kindergarten books with you, not necessarily reading them, but reminscing on how we used to love reading these over and over, especially the ones where you can feel the dog’s fur and the alligator’s scales. I’m saying playing card games and boardgames. Watching you make the most adorable faces at me and sticking your tongue out everytime you win and saying psh, I just let you win everytime I do. I’m saying making handshadows on the wall. Laying a flashlight on the floor and making our hand puppets pretend to eat each other. I’m saying popping a good CD or putting your ipod on the ihome while we just lay there drawing pictures with our fingers in the air. I’m saying finger food. Getting all the fruits, crackers, chips, and candy from the kitchen, blindfolding me, and telling me you’re going to feed me a strawberry and you put a lemon in my mouth. I’m saying looking at pictures. Going through albums of when we were babies and what our parents looked like in high school. I’m saying star gazing. Opening the curtains and letting the moon be the only source of light in the room. Pointing out constellations and naming stars after one another. I’m saying prank calls. Laying down next to each other, on our stomachs, looking through yellowpages, and practicing our british, indian, or asian accents before we dial the number. I’m saying just maxing. Snuggling next to each other, letting our bodies touch as if we’re about to dance the tango. Our chests are glued to one another and our arms and legs are interlaced. I’m not saying sex. I don’t need that.