Sunny Savage | Inviting the Wild Inside

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ALOHA, I’M SUNNY SAVAGE

Internationally recognized wild food forager. I’ve taught thousands of people about wild foods, have traveled to every continent, and enjoy distilling my observations of the natural world into storied solutions.

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Discover six edible invasive species in Hawaii with the Savage Kitchen App. Find wild foods near you, with mapping and recipes for tropical and subtropical locations around the globe. Wild adventures await!

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SUNNY’S WILD WORLD

Blog of all things wild.

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Is Your Name Really Sunny Savage?

Fried Cereus Flower & Pa’i’ai Pizza – Eat Local Maui Challenge

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Having fun amidst something painful, if you haven’t found it yet, you will out of necessity. I am feeling joyful, complete, scared shitless, and loved the fuck up by so many. Thank you. All clear for surgery tomorrow 7:30am EST at Johns Hopkins, prayers for me and my team gratefully accepted (can you believe I got a doctor whose last name is a wild food!!!)

Lauren @hawaiiflorafauna gifted me this incredible lei po`o full of native Hawaiian & aromatic plants, which has brought so much delight to me as well as spreading the aloha of Hawai`i nei to those on my path getting to Baltimore.

Showing up for brain surgery round 2 like, “yo, I got this” ✌🏽 if you wanna know more about what’s going on with my head, link in bio.

Love you fam!

📸 @logicalgirls

Foraged Java plums, banana, and taro syrup from @m

Foraged Java plums, banana, and taro syrup from @mohalaexpressions …just something about it 💜

Did you know Job’s Tear leaves make a nice tea?

Did you know Job’s Tear leaves make a nice tea? As everyone gets out to enjoy this beautiful weekend notice this abundant/invasive plant in our streams around the islands. The plants are flowering in the valley near me now. I pick the last ~6” of stalks without seeds. Boil water, throw a large amount of fresh leaves in the pot and turn off heat to let steep for minimum 10 minutes, covered. Strain and enjoy warm or cold.

Second photo shows Job’s tears in lower right of image. Different from the cane/guinea grass growing up top. Job’s tears (Coix lacryma-jobi) really looks like corn from afar. Thick stems with leaves hugging it. And third image, morning cuppa with this wild blessing.

#eattheinvasives #watershed #tea #jobstears #coixlacrymajobi

Java Plum leaves riding in on cosmic winds. Fruits

Java Plum leaves riding in on cosmic winds. Fruits are ripening now - my hands stained from the processing. For many people indigenous to India, this tree sits on the center island with five other sacred trees surrounding. It is said fruits the size of elephants rain down forming rivers of purple juice.

Honoring indigenous wisdom of this sacred tree on #indigenouspeoplesday - I have to acknowledge what can feel confusing in my line of work… I am on Hawaiian lands where the people have fed this `āina before and after the colonizers came, where their wisdom of living and being here is unmatched. And yet, I honor an invasive species. And I honor kanaka maoli. Sometimes it just is. Complex. Loving.

Day 7 - 💯 percent local It was an amazing week

Day 7 - 💯 percent local
It was an amazing week of eating only foods grown/foraged/raised in Hawai`i. My third one here on Maui (last year was 30 days), and one year while living in northern Minnesota. I’m ready to commit to at least one 💯 percent local meal moving forward. This allows the freedom to still go to pot lucks, out to eat, include some food items I LOVE like my haole koa miso where the koji is grown on rice, etc, while keeping this commitment that feels minuscule when compared to what is needed for our climate/cultural crisis…each little step adds up to big steps over time. Read on for Day 7 ingredient highlights.

Breakfast
Coffee from Kupa`a Farms
Foraged strawberry guava juice

Foraged cereus flower stuffed with venison/pork sausage (traded for foraged kiawe beans), Maui onion, celery and carrots and thyme from Oko`a Farms, black pepper from Oko`a Farms, foraged ‘pink peppercorns’ of Schinus molle, dipped in egg (gifted) and dredged in cassava flour made from my garden, pan fried in Olinda Orchards olive oil, topped with minced jalapeño from Kumu Farms, foraged haole koa green seeds, and sambal from HI Spice.

Pizza
Crust made using pa`i`ai from Kahumoku Family Farm and cassava flour from my garden. Sauce made with tomatoes from Oko`a Farms, Maui onion (don’t know who grows these - bought at Down to Earth), garlic powder made from Kupa`a Farms garlic, Olinda Orchards olive oil, and Pure Deep Sea Kona salt. Pesto with gifted basil, macadamia nuts (bought broken pieces from someone in Waihe`e), garlic powder, olive oil, salt. Zucchini from Okamura Farm, onion slices, Haleakalā Creamery goat cheese, and lots of black pepper from Greenwell Farms and foraged ‘pink peppercorns’ of Schinus molle.

Drink
Kōhana rum (had to buy my first bottle), coconut milk (purchased the nut from old man at Queen K mall), pineapple from Maui Gold.

#eatlocalmaui #eatlocalmaui2021 #projectlocavore

Day 6 of the EAT LOCAL MAUI Challenge 💯 percent

Day 6 of the EAT LOCAL MAUI Challenge
💯 percent local food all day every day bebe 😎 Felt like I was snacking all day!

First photo is a cocktail from @estersmaui made with Kōhana rum, calamansi and pineapple juice.

Second and third photos I made after being inspired by fellow participant @poppyswildkitchen recipe!

Foraged `akulikuli (sea purslane), mango from Kupa`a Farms, jalapeño from Kumu Farms. Haleakalā Creamery goat cheese, cassava coconut crackers made from cassava in my garden and leftover coco milk pulp dried and ground into flour.

Last photo is a cup of soursop leaf and lemongrass tea (both from my garden). Along with some foraged sea grapes and macadamia nut fudge. It’s the end of sea grape season, my favorite is to freeze them.

4 bowls of moringa soup (leftover from yesterday), figs and starfruit from my garden.

#projectlocavore #EatLocalMaui #eatlocalmaui2021

Day 5 - 💯 percent local food! So much delicious

Day 5 - 💯 percent local food!
So much deliciousness on the throw downs. My biggest win of the whole Eat Local Maui Challenge with @projectlocavore is definitely the second photo. I had written off moringa pods, foolishly, and damn absolutely new favorite vegetable! Love these discoveries! Read on for dish ingredients.

Brunch
Zucchini noodles with pesto (basil, olive oil, macadamia nuts, salt), sliced cherry tomatoes, ali`i mushrooms with thyme, goat cheese, black pepper and pink pepper.

Dinner
Moringa pods, moringa leaves, moringa flowers foraged. Green papaya, turmeric, and Hawaiian chillies all from the garden. Maui onion, garlic powder from Kupa`a Farms, carrot ginger and celery from Oko`a Farms, Olinda Orchards olive oil, chicken from Puna Chicks, Pure Kona Deep Sea salt, Greenwell Farms black pepper, foraged ‘pink peppercorns’ from a tree known as Peruvian Pepper Tree or California Pepper Tree (Schinus molle).

#eatlocalmaui #eatlocalmauichallenge2021 #projectlocavore

Day 4 of eating 💯 percent local ingredients for

Day 4 of eating 💯 percent local ingredients for the @projectlocavore Eat Local Maui Challenge. Photos start with dinner, then lunch/snack, and final photo of breakfast. Read on if interested in ingredients - flavors were incredible!

Dinner
Venison (traded for kiawe beans) dry brined with Kona Deep Sea Salt and pan fried in Olinda Orchard olive oil. Sautéed Maui onion sautéed in olive oil with a touch of gifted Maui Bees honey. Cauliflower from Oko`a Farms roasted in olive oil.

Cucumber Salad
foraged cats ear unopened flower buds, cucumbers from Oko’a Farms, lemon juice from garden, dill from garden, vinegar from Traveling Plum, skyr from Haleakalā Creamery, lots of garlic powder from Kupa`a Farms, black pepper from Greenwell Farms, foraged ‘pink peppercorns’, Pure Kona Deep Sea salt.

Lunch/snack
Crackers made with cassava from my garden, coconut flour (dehydrated and ground leftover pulp from making coconut milk), and Pure Kona Deep Sea Salt. On top is Haleakalā Creamery goat cheese that I added a ton of Kupa`a Farms garlic powder (fyi, I dry and powder myself from the fresh they have available once per year), rosemary and sage from garden, basil gifted, thyme from Oko`a Farms, black pepper from Greenwell Farms, foraged ‘pink peppercorn’. On top are foraged cats ear flower buds, blanched.

Breakfast
Made poi from the pa`i`ai, gifted banana, gifted pomegranate, fig from garden, kumquat from garden, starfruit from garden, mango from Kupa`a, pineapple from Maui Gold, and the black olive things are foraged Java plums that I cured in a honey/vinegar mix with wild fennel seeds/cardamom/clove/cinnamon.

#eatlocalmaui2021 #projectlocavore #EatLocalMaui

Day 3 of eating 💯 percent locally grown/raised/

Day 3 of eating 💯 percent locally grown/raised/foraged foods!

Brunch
Cassava from my garden, boiled and then baked in Olinda Orchard olive oil with lots of garlic powder from Kupa`a Farms, rosemary from my garden, thyme from Okoa Farms, Greenwell Farms black pepper and foraged ‘pink peppercorns’ (Schinus molle), salt from Kona Deep Sea. Toasted pumpkin seeds from my garden in olive oil and kiawe smoked Hawaiian Sea Salts. Tomato sauce made with Okoa Farms tomatoes, Maui onion, garlic powder, salt.

Tea :: foraged strawberry guava juice, tulsi and blue butterfly pea flowers from my garden.

Dinner
Pumpkin Soup made with pumpkin from garden, Maui onion, sage & Hawaiian chili pepper from garden, salt, pepper, olive oil, coconut milk. Ali`i mushrooms cooked with loads of garlic powder, thyme, black pepper, salt, in olive oil. Pumpkin seeds toasted in olive oil with kiawe smoked salt on top.

Dessert
foraged kiawe and coconut milk popsicles

#eatlocalmaui #eatlocalmaui2021 #projectlocavore

Day 2 of the Eat Local Maui Challenge! The focus t

Day 2 of the Eat Local Maui Challenge! The focus this year is involving family and kids…the next generation of eaters who are building their food preferences now.

In this video you’ll get a glimpse at the wild green Chinese violet (Asystasia gangetica), how I use the moringa powder I make from my garden, and processing cassava root. There’s so much buzz in the health & wellness community around sulphoruphane…but the isothiocyanates in moringa are possibly even more powerful.

Every time I do a local food challenge it astounds me how much food is gifted or traded, a powerful act of community building that crosses so many perceived lines. Food sovereignty, for all, now!

#eatlocalmaui #eatlocalmaui2021 #projectlocavore

Instagram post 17849403899632269

Instagram post 17849403899632269

It’s that time again…for me to get on social m

It’s that time again…for me to get on social media after a fabulous 2 month break, LOL 😜…but ya, it’s time for another Eat Local Maui Challenge. Starting tomorrow, for one week, with a focus on engaging the next generation of eaters cause they gonna do what we show em what to do.

If anyone needs to find a garden to volunteer in I’m happy to offer mine 🙋🏼‍♀️ and of course you’ll go home with all kine local organic foods. Will try and do daily posts showing my journey eating 💯% local, but it’s just for inspo cause every single item you replace with something grown here not flown here is a win.

#eatlocal #eatlocalmaui #eatlocalmaui2021 #projectlocavore #locavore #alohaaina #aipono

From the Smokey Hills of Northern Minnesota, emerg $From the Smokey Hills of Northern Minnesota, emerge the Headwaters of the Shell River. This is also the place of my origin, where my mother grew me in the waters of her body, and released me into the river of time. I stayed for 18 years, then danced with coming and going, until Maui’s lasso pulled me to the House of the Sun. When I heard Gaa-jiigawegamaag ziibi (Shell River) was being compromised, I knew I had to go home to support the Indigenous Women-led movement to Stop Line 3. To be a water protector of the waters from which I come. This tar sands pipeline expansion project crosses the Shell River 5 times, along with 75 other river crossings and over 800 wetlands. My son and I set up our tent at the Shell City resistance camp for a few nights. While frac-outs were happening during the horizontal directional drilling under the waterway, it became imperative to hold all the most beautiful thoughts I could remember of the water being healthy and vibrant and supporting life. Of course, let’s be honest, this was really a fishing trip for my son Zeb! LOL. I was so excited to share with him all of my old haunts and oh the joys of life through the eyes of a 7-year-old naturalist. I fell in love with it all over again; eating wild raspberries, gooseberries, milkweed, lambsquarters, sumac, leeks, letting cattail pollen anoint us, and if you remember my story of overharvesting wild bee balm in my book Wild Food Plants of Hawai’i, then you’ll be happy to know that the patch has now increased more than 10-fold in size and was the main herb I used in my cooking. Nearly every friend I visited had a boat and fishes (and hunts) – I love my friends! The ‘Land of 10,000 Lakes’ has far more bodies of water than the slogan says, and is truly one of the richest places for wild foods on the planet. ….more of this post below in comments$

There is no doubt the disruptive role invasive spe

There is no doubt the disruptive role invasive species play in our ecosystems. For those who love the land it is painful to see how quickly these opportunistic plants come in and change the entire balance of a native environment. But the way in which they are dealt with is also heart crushing, it doesn’t give us the opportunity to grieve what we’ve lost and move on to what we are dealing with now. Let’s shift the narrative to abundance species, and start integrating the most abundant things in our ecosystems into our daily lives.

It’s the final day of the PIN IT to WIN IT contest! Hope you’ll get out there and drop some haole koa pins in the #savagekitchenapp Haole koa is in the Top 100 Most Invasive Species on the Planet.

🎥 @audrey_andthewild
mandala design set @wingnutwoman

#loveyourwild #lovetheland #stopsprayingchemicals #invasivespecies #abundancespecies #haolekoa #leucaenaleucocephala #rivertamarind #guaje #foraging

Hey Foraging Family…we are just over 24 hours ou

Hey Foraging Family…we are just over 24 hours out from the end of the PIN IT to WIN IT contest. So many great prizes on proffer…hope you can get out there and drop a haole koa pin in the #savagekitchenapp

#haolekoa #leucaenaleucocephala #rivertamarind #guaje #whiteleadtree

😍 haole koa & roasted garlic spread. Aloha Frid

😍 haole koa & roasted garlic spread.
Aloha Friday! Recipe in the #savagekitchenapp by Chef Sofia Flores Florencia @abuelitatechnology

#guaje #leucaenaleucocephala #wildfoodlove #foraging #eattheinvasives #invasivespecies #abundancespecies #haolekoa

The Dirty Haole. martini 🍸 I put this recipe, u

The Dirty Haole. martini 🍸
I put this recipe, using dill pickled haole koa bud juice and garnish, plus 5 more fun new haole koa recipes up in the #savagekitchenapp

#dirtymartini #martini #craftcocktails #wildcocktails #over21 #loveyourwild #haolekoa #leucaenaleucocephala #rivertamarind #haole #maui #hawaii #guaje #whiteleadtree

Have you had an introduction in #savagekitchenapp

Have you had an introduction in #savagekitchenapp ?

#haolekoa #leucaenaleucocephala

Are you seeing haole koa in a new way? #mask art

Are you seeing haole koa in a new way?

#mask art #reveal #haolekoa #leucaenaleucocephala #see #savagekitchenapp

A raw mole verde made with green haole koa seeds i

A raw mole verde made with green haole koa seeds is now up in the #savagekitchenapp It pairs beautifully with pumpkin tamale 🥰 Recipe by Chef Sofia Flores Florencia @abuelitatechnology Can’t see it when you open the app? Make sure to update to see all the new haole koa stuffs.

PIN IT to WIN IT contest is on now…maybe your Sunday Funday is playing along by making this recipe and tagging us using #savagekitchenapp

I have more haole koa recipes to upload over the coming days!

#goodfood #realfood #wildfood #invasivore #eattheinvasives #wildfoodlove #sundayfunday #haolekoa #leucaenaleucocephala #guaje #moleverde #whiteleadtree #rivertamarind

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