Image source: tofuhaiku.com and the Toronto Vegetarian Association. Logo made by Marie Poulin, mariepoulin.com

Back in February, I wrote about how the Kapolei Library in Hawaii was hosting what I thought was the mother of all good things – the convergence of tofu and haiku.

A daze, I called it. As in: An actual tofu haiku contest – officially named the Aloha Tofu Haiku Extravaganza - for kids.

But the earthquake that hit Chile sent a tsunami across the waters, alerting those around the Pacific Rim. It touched Hawaii and apparently postponed part of the contest.

Erika Tsuji, a reader of the Honolulu Advertiser, reminds us in her article that the grand finale of the tofu haiku festival took place on April 10.

As I’ve said before when I’m happy: Amen.

The judges awarded top honors to two students, Sarah Yamaguchi and Kapua Miller. Congratulations, of course, to both.

Here’s Sarah’s winning entry:

Happy Little Square
Sitting nicely on the plate
Delicious Tofu!

The Honolulu Star Bulletin had an article in March, giving more details about the contest, selection of winners and the timeline.

It’s not only the haiku that impressed me.

I liked what other food items showed up at the celebration in the form of tales from storyteller Nyla Fujii-Babb.

From Tsuji’s article: “spam, musubi, mochi, and of course, tofu.”

Speaking of Spam, it’s apparently so popular that there’s a museum devoted to it and on Saturday, people gathered in Hawaii for the annual Waikiki Spam Jam.

There’s a game named in its honor and after Monty Python’s famous skit with the food. Musicians have crooned songs after the food product, too.

I digress.

You might have known that I once lived and worked on Guam. I’ve traveled to Hawaii years ago for vacation. I’ve also visited Saipan and Tinian, two islands near Guam.

So, I’ve had some experience with living and traveling through some Pacific islands.

All these foods fit perfectly with places that are between Asia and North America.

Librarian Caroline Coleman, who works in the children’s section, came up with the idea while searching the Internet, Tsuji noted.

About 150 people celebrated the haiku at the event. Students submitted about 290 haiku poems.

Aloha Tofu sponsored the event – and get this, according to Tsuji’s article:

There was also an abundance of free tofu samples of many varieties.

It’s too bad the Seattle area and Hawaii are so far apart. I would have gone.

Finally, what did the grand prize winner receive?

Aloha Tofu kicked in a birthday party for 10 people at Wet’n'Wild, a water park in Hawaii.

Yes, there have been tofu contests and festivals before, especially in the San Francisco Bay Area, Los Angeles and Toronto.

You really do have to like island style - there’s nothing else like it in the world.

Another nice fact regarding this haiku contest: It blended bean curd and a poetry form together.

Both are centuries old and they inspired kids in Hawaii.

This is a file photo of tofu from last year. Remember: Fresh tofu is always the best.

There is much news to digest these days – if you’re in the market for this type of information.

The U.S. Senate approved legislation to create jobs, Toyota has its automobile safety woes and Federal Reserve Chief Ben Bernanke predicted the economic recovery will, um, be slow.

That Hummer deal - in which a Chinese company would buy the U.S. brand associated with military-like vehicles – has hit an obstacle has fallen through.

And consumer confidence in the United States has dropped after it did relatively better in the past months.

At TofuWatch, confidence is up (in terms relating to soybean cake) because, well, circular logic, albeit it with ventures into new territory, really can never disappoint.

Instead of Marcia, Marcia, Marcia, the mantra here is: tofu, tofu, tofu.

Plus news and observations. Just like a reel-to-reel feedback loop.

By the way, bean curd can be badass, cool, affordable, delicious, record setting and enjoyed by a sign-language gorilla (who likes it with curry).

And now, it’s poetic – in the haiku form.

Out in the Pacific – in Hawaii - Kapolei Library is hosting a Tofu Haiku contest and will announce the winners on Feb. 27, according to a citizen-written article published on the Web site of the Honolulu Advertiser.

Yes, there’s Facebook chatter about the contest for people ages 7 to 17. Aloha Tofu - which includes an online video tour of its factory – and Friends of the Kapolei Library are sponsoring the event.

I’ll add the winning haiku poems when I hear about them.

Fortuantely, the Toronto Vegetarian Association held its own competition in 2007 and even registered the domain name, tofuhaiku.com.

You can read about the winning poems.

Feel free to submit your own Tofu Haiku in the comments section because, well, we can never have enough.

And here are my two favorites.

1. From Matias Blei of Buenos Aires, Argentina:

This tofu is a raft
wandering free
in a soy sauce tsunami

2. From Martin Francisco of Azusa, Calif.:

in my first apartment
a white cube wiggles
bought for a dollar