"The Mauna Loa Macadamia Cooking Treasury" (Ten Speed Press, $19.94, paperback) offers recipes for appetizers, main dishes, desserts and breads, all using the Big Island's signature nut.

A sampling: Macadamia and Crab-Filled Onaga, Macadamia-Crusted Tofu, Chicken Ding with Macadamias, Sweet Potato and Macadamia Muffins, Macadamia Rum Bars, Macadamia Shortbread Cookies.

The recipes are Mansfield's and those of prominent local chefs, among them. Here's one:

2-1/2 cups flour
4-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup cold butter, cut in pieces
1/2 cup finely chopped mac nuts
1/2 cup currants
1/2 cup heavy cream
3 eggs
2 teaspoons milk

In separate bowl, blend cream and 2 eggs. Pour into the well of the flour mix. Stir well, then gather dough into a ball. It will be moist. Divide in half.

Roll each half into 1-inch thickness and cut in 3-inch rounds. Place on baking sheet. Blend remaining egg and milk and brush tops of rounds. Bake at 350 degrees about 20 minutes or until golden. Makes 12.

Nutritional information unavailable.

State casts net
for hungry tourists

Operating under the theory that one of the fastest ways to a tourist's heart is through the stomach, the state's tourism gurus are developing a CD ROM designed to market Hawaii as a seafood destination.

"Hawaii and Pacific Islands Seafood" includes an interactive recipe book, videos about the fish auction, the Kakaako Seafood Festival and more, as well as reference material for selecting and understanding island fish.

The Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism plans to release the CD at the International Boston Seafood Show and in tourism promotions in New York next month. It will be available to the public through University of Hawaii Press.

To complete the package, DBEDT is soliciting signature recipes from local hotels, restaurants and chefs. Recipes and photographs will be included on the CD for a $25 publication fee. For information contact Howard Deese, 587-2685.

To sample the CD's contents, visit the Web site http://hawaii-seafood.org.

Conference set on 'Living Aloha'

The Governor's Conference on Volunteerism will be presented in six communities statewide this month, beginning 8:30 to 3:30 p.m. Friday at the Hawaii Okinawa Center.

The conference, themed "Living Aloha Through Community Service," aims to bring people together to improve their communities.

Speakers include Harmony School founder and director, Steve Bonchek, who will describe ways students can learn to balance individual growth and community responsibility, and Henry Izumizaki, who will talk about creating opportunities for families by strengthening the neighborhood organizations that serve them.

There is a $15 fee to cover the cost of materials and light meal/refreshments on site. Call the State Volunteer Services office at 586-7200 to register. Registration on the day of the conference is $20.

The Hawaii Okinawa Center is at 94-587 Ukee St. in Waipio.

Other conference dates and sites are:

Saturday -- At Maui Community College, 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

Sunday -- Chaminade University, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Feb. 25 -- Kauai Community College, 3 to 8 p.m.

Feb. 26 -- King Kamehameha Hotel, Kona, 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

Feb. 27 -- New Hope Gathering Place, 840 Kupulau Road, 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

PREVIEW

Coming to the big screen

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Five movies begin their Oahu run on Friday:

Affliction: Nick Nolte is Wade Whitehouse, police chief of little Lawford, N.H., but actually errand boy of the town's only successful businessman (Holmes Osborne). Wade is always too late, too stoned, too loud, too delusional and/or too rough for anything he attempts to do. (R)

Jawbreaker: Four girls form the most powerful clique at Reagan High. Leader of the pack is Courtney Shayne (Rose McGowan), who dominates her friends: Marcie Fox (Julie Benz), Julie Freeman (Rebecca Gayheart) and Liz Purr (Charlotte Roldan). (R)

October Sky: The true story of Home Hickham Jr., a high school student in rural West Virginia, who seemed destined to repeat his father's harsh life in coal mines until he turned his attention to the skies. (PG)

Office Space: Peter Gibbons (Ron Livingston) undergoes hypnotherapy but the hypnotist dies midsession and Peter is stuck in a state of apathy. He hardly shows up at work, and when he does, he doesn't work. Instead of getting fired, though, Peter gets promoted. (R)

Rushmore: At Rushmore Academy, horrid little 15-year-old Max Fischer (Jason Schwartzman) calls the shots. Only a steel tycoon and Rushmore benefactor (Bill Murray) seems on the same wavelength with Max. (R)

Online Movie Listings

Click for online
calendars and events.

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