Posted on: Wednesday, December 18, 2002

FOOD FOR THOUGHT
The best new Hawai'i community cookbooks

By Wanda Adams
Advertiser Food Editor

Community cookbooks are an excellent option for Christmas gifts because they're usually very reasonably priced and nobody ever had enough cookbooks, right?

• "WEST KAUAI'S PLANTATION HERITAGE: Recipes and Stories for Life," West Kaua'i Community Development Corp. This one is going into my collection: a warm-hearted cookbook that revisits plantation days with recipes and talk-story from current-day mill camp residents, as well as dishes borrowed from out-of-print collections, such as the 1954 classic "Kaua'i Cookbook" and 1977's "The Kaua'i Museum Presents," and recipes gathered by the 1954 Kekaha Parent-Teachers Association. Created with the help of a Hawai'i Tourism Authority grant and assistance from the Kikiaola Land Co. in Waimea. Inviting black-and-white photos and illustrations; spiral-bound with recipes organized by ethnicity. Many are hard-to-find, old-style dishes handed down within families; talk-story segments add immensely to appeal. One drawback: Lacks an index.

To get the book: $15, Borders Books & Music (Lihu'e, Waikele, Kailua-Kona, Maui or special order); Gay & Robinson Plantation Tour office, Aunty Lilikoi Products (Waimea), Waimea Plantation Cottages or by mail ($20) P.O. Box 548, Waimea, HI 96796.

• "KAILUA COOKS HANA HOU," Le Jardin Academy. In celebration of the school's 40th anniversary, this book brings together family favorites from parents and staff — tested, streamlined recipes designed for busy households and weekday nights. It's a beautifully done, spiral-bound production by Island Heritage publishers with charming color photos of students at work and play. Incorporates some recipes from an earlier Le Jardin cookbook.

To get the book: $20 at the school (261-0707, development office); or Kalapawai Market in Kailua.

• "PUPUS FROM PARADISE," Assistance League of Hawaii. The focus of this very basic, spiral-bound, 8 1/2- by 11-inch collection is our favorite food group — the pupu, especially the "heavy" pupu that can be an entire meal. Organized by food type. Proceeds support philanthropic projects including teddy bears to comfort kids in distress; reading tutoring; providing clothing, shoes and hygiene items to needy children; teaching children to care for animalsTo get the book: About $20, Executive Chef, Ward Warehouse; Queen Emma Summer Palace; or phone Dot Mason, 526-4008.

• "HAWAI'I'S FAVORITE FIREHOUSE RECIPES" by the firefighters of the Islands. A companion book to the Filmworks video "A Tribute to Hawai'i's Firefighters," this little spiral-bound collection notes that as the introduction explains, firefighters spend so much time in the firehouse that they eat many of their meals together. The cooks work with a daily budget of $7.50 per firefighter and cooks have to get pretty creative to keep their coworkers fed and happy. Here are their secrets, many of which would work wonderfully for potlucks and other gatherings. Some proceeds benefit the Straub burn unit, largest in Hawai'i.

To get the book: $9, by mail to FilmWorks Ltd., P.O. Box 61281, Honolulu, HI 96839-1281; or Borders, Native Books and Na Mea stores.