The Paresa Resort, located on Kamala Bay in Phuket, Thailand, has added its own eco-friendly hydroponic garden. The new garden, which already accounts for 30 percent of the herbs and greens that are used in the kitchen, was designed to grow products for both the kitchen and spa -- with extras grown and donated to the local community garden at the Kajonkiet International School Phuket.

Herbs and salad greens to be grown for the kitchen are decided on by Executive Chef Ryan Arboleda (right) and currently include Holy Basil, green and red lettuces, and lemon grass, which is used in the tea that greets arriving guests. Also grown are bananas, which are used in the morning smoothies.The resort also offers daily traditional Thai cooking classes using herbs from the hydroponic garden. At the Spa by Paresa, local Pandanus leaves are picked and burned to release their sweet-smelling scent, and fresh papaya, which has enzymes and vitamins that are good for the skin, is incorporated into treatments.

As some of you no doubt already know, the word "bruschetta" really just means grilled bread rubbed with garlic and drizzled with extra virgin olive oil. What you put on top of that is really up to you -- even though many people (especially in the U.S.) associate bruschetta with chopped tomatoes, garlic, onion and basil. At Fresco, the new Italian restaurant in the Rainbow Bazaar at the Hilton Hawaiian Village in Waikiki, Executive Chef Rodhel Ibay -- inspired by the name of the restaurant ("fresco" means "fresh" in Italian) -- decided to take the flavors of local farms to create his version of the dish.

"Going out to the farms brought to light how much the flavors of one simple fresh vegetable or spice can transform into a single dish," said Ibay. "When I first tried the tomato straight off the vine at Waimanalo Farm, that first bite is what motivated me to create my bruschetta."

In addition to the "traditional" tomato bruschetta, Ibay highlights other local produce with a macadamia-crusted avocado bruschetta and a roasted Big Island mushroom bruschetta -- and was kind enough to share his recipe here with us (below). Enjoy!

I've said it before and I'll say it again: One of the best ways to get to know a community when you're traveling is to visit its farmers market. That's especially true on the Hawaiian Island of Oahu, where the KCC (Kapi'olani Community College) Farmers Market is the place to be on a Saturday morning (left) -- both for locals and for visitors staying in Waikiki (a 10-15 minute drive away). Offering local produce, flowers (including gorgeous orchids and hibiscus), honey, fish and prepared foods (including some from KCC's Culinary Arts Program), the KCC Farmers Market is one of five markets run on Oahu by the Hawaii Farm Bureau, which prepares a tip sheet each week to help navigate the more than 60 farm stands at the Saturday morning market. Staying in a hotel limits the buying possibilities -- for instance, based on our visit a few weeks ago, there were many gorgeous flowers being taken home by locals and the most popular stand was Big Island Abalone. But even for visitors, there are a lot of great options.

There are three coffee stands: Koko Crater Coffee Roasters, which has the premium spot right near the entrance, for those that are in major need of a caffeine fix (like we were), Keopu Coffee and Aikane Coffee. Other favorites included two local honey stands: Rhea's Hawaiian Honey (which offers samples and where we bought some amazing macadamia nut and organic cinnamon honey) and All Hawaiian Honey Coop (which has the best t-shirts and from whom we bought the Christmasberry Honey). We also loved the green juice from Otsuji Farms, made with kale, greens, beets, fresh pineapple, lemon juice and apple juice; the fresh island ginger drinks from PacifiKool; and the fresh roasted corn by Na 'Ono at the Kahuku Farms stand. Again, with 60-some stands, this is a major farmers market and not only a wonderful overview of the abundance of Hawaii's local offerings but a great way to spend a Saturday morning. Another plus is it's located right across from the entrance to Diamond Head State Park, for those who feel fueled up enough after the farmers market to make the trek up to the top of Diamond Head and take in the beautiful views (above).