Island Pantry
Mail your student some Hawai'i goodies

• After-school treats for kids

By Kaui Philpotts

The ingredients for chocolate chip squares are Graham crackers, condensed milk and chocolate chips. And that's all there is to it. Deborah Booker The Honolulu Advertiser

One popular belief for college freshmen is that the first year brings the obligatory weight gain of 10 to 15 pounds. The added stress of adapting to not only a new school, but often a new culture, new foods and cold, winter weather packs on the pounds. That kind of weight can be difficult to take off, even when you're young. So it is best to adopt a regular exercise routine as quickly as possible and have healthy snacks on hand at all times.

Frequent calls home, and if it's affordable, a trip home or to a family friend or relative during the holiday season (also something to look forward to), can ease some of the separation anxiety.

It's important to know ahead of time what the rules of each school dorm or living situation may be. The University of Hawai'i, for example, requires dorm students to buy meal tickets, and the word is that the dorm kitchens go mostly unused. Many students, along with new laptops, cozy bedding and local CDs, opt to buy rice cookers and single-cup water heaters. The rice cookers can also steam foods, and the water heaters are ideal for instant coffee, cocoa, tea and saimin.

A friend says many students don't like getting up for breakfast, and so begin the day with fruit, cereal and energy bars in their rooms. She recommends buying for dorm rooms big boxes of gallon-size zip-closure bags. Students can use them for everything from storing food to packing makeup, shoes and underwear for the weekend.

Her daughter's friend, who was going to the East Coast, took beach sand in a plastic jar to remind herself that she would be returning to warm weather at the end of the school year. If you are thinking of sending a care package to a student on the Mainland, here are some of her suggestions. Most of them can be kept easily in covered plastic containers:

• Local-style puffed-rice crackers.
• Homemade or commercial energy bars.
• Teri-beef jerky.
• Chinese crack seed.
• Japanese milk candies.
• Diamond Head cookies and individually wrapped creme crackers.
• Guava jelly.
• Li hing mui powder (to sprinkle on fruit).
• Furukake, mochi crunch and microwave popcorn (to make hurricane popcorn).
• Nori twists.
• Microwave mochi.
• Tropics Oriental Salad Dressing.
• Dried saimin packets.
• Coffee in macadamia and French vanilla flavors.
• Genmaicha ("popcorn" tea).
• Aloha brand shoyu.
• Lup cheong (to throw on top of the rice while steaming).
• Anything homemade you know they will miss.
• Soft, fluffy slippers for cold dorm floors.
• Rubber slippers for showers.

After-school treats for kids

Here are two very simple after-school treats for children. The Dump Cake really is just that, an idiot-proof snacking cake. Both snacks have very few ingredients and take next to no equipment to make.

Dump Cake

• 1 20-ounce can pineapple chunks (packed in juice)
• 1 8-ounce package coconut
• 1 package yellow cake mix
• 1 cup butter or margarine, softened

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9-by-13-inch baking pan. Dump the can of pineapple chunks with the juice into the bottom of the baking pan and spread evenly. Dump the coconut over the pineapple chunks and distribute evenly. Dump the box of yellow cake mix over the pineapple and coconut and spread evenly. Cover the surface of the cake mix with small pieces of butter. Do not mix. Bake for 45 minutes, or until the top is browned and the center springs back to the touch. Cool and cut into squares as a snack cake. Makes about 20 pieces.

Chocolate

• Chip Squares
• 22 Graham crackers, crushed
• 1 (14-ounce) can condensed milk
• 1 (6-ounce) package chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. In a bowl, mix the crushed crackers, condensed milk and chocolate chips until combined. Grease a 9-inch square pan. Spread the mixture into the pan. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes. Cool on a wire rack. While cookie is still warm, cut into squares and continue to cool on the rack. If you like, wrap individually in waxed paper. Store in an airtight container. Makes about 12 squares.