FOOD FOR THOUGHT
Mililani's grad 'Grinds' take the cake
By Wanda A. Adams
Advertiser Food Editor
The latest community cookbook to reach my desk is "Grrr-eat Grinds," a recipe book from the Mililani High School 2004 Project Graduation committee, which is raising money to give the seniors a really great drug- and alcohol-free graduation party. (The tiger is the Mililani mascot, get it?)
Besides soliciting recipes from parents, friends and relatives of students in the Class of 2004, these folks went the extra mile. They assembled the books by hand in neat three-ring binders. They tested most of the recipes themselves and each recipe was edited by at least four members, checking to see that the ingredients were listed in the order used and that the steps made sense. Not every community cookbook committee does all this.
As with any project, this one comes with some good stories. A couple of seniors loved the Chamorro dish called champuladu, a chocolate rice porridge, but there was no written recipe for it. So a couple of moms spent all morning with their Auntie Lola, measuring ingredients and taking notes as she prepared the dish. It took five trials for them to perfect the recipe, but the kids were in heaven during the testing period.
Committee chairwoman Lynn Tamashiro said several recipes are cherished family favorites from relatives who are no longer living. She submitted a recipe she got from her father-in-law, Roy Tamashiro, who worked in several local restaurants and owned the Skylane Inn. She wanted to surprise him with the submission, but he died unexpectedly just before the book came out.
To keep the focus on the kids, the recipe credits identify the giver's relationship to the student: "Tyson K. Perry's Grandma Teresa Gaulien," for example. Students also did the illustrations: Lorenzo Abernathy III did the cover and binder spine; Kelli Ann Harada did the sections and page fillers.
One dad was finally persuaded to share his melt-in-the-mouth almond cookie recipe after years of keeping mum. He labeled it: "Was a family secret."
The $12 books are being sold from 6 to 8:30 Friday evenings at Mililani Town Center mall (next to the Surprise! store). Mail orders: MHS SPADA-Class of 2004, P.O. Box 894174, Mililani, HI 96789 (add $4 postage and handling). Information: mhs04projgradckbk@hawaii.rr.com.
The books are also at: Kilani Bakery, 704 Kilani Ave., Wahiawa; Baldwin's Sweet Shop, 98-040 Kamehameha Highway, 'Aiea; and Tanioka's Seafoods and Catering, 94-903 Farrington Highway, Waipahu. The committee will sell the books at several craft fairs, including two at Mililani High School, Nov. 22 and Dec. 13.
