HECO Hawaiian Electric Co. home economists held cooking demonstrations at the Hilton Hawaiian Village Dome in the 1970s and '80s. These sessions were the precursors to "The Electric Kitchen" television show.

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A new day in the kitchen
for Hawaiian Electric

» Poke incorporates flavors of isles

A culinary tradition that dates back nearly 20 years came to a quiet end last week, when the final episode of "The Electric Kitchen" aired on KITV/ABC.

The Hawaiian Electric Co. began producing a television show in 1987. "Mahele" aired on public-access cable, featuring recipes and energy tips -- capitalizing on the skills of a roster of in-house home economists. In 1994, the show morphed into "The Electric Kitchen," featuring guest cooks who demonstrated dishes for host Allison Zecha.

HECO's history of cooking and teaching actually predates television by decades, back to the 1920s, when home economists went into homes to teach the use of those new-fangled electric appliances.

Later, cooking demonstrations drew standing-room-only crowds to the Hilton Hawaiian Village and the Hawaii International Center (now the Blaisdell Center).

But times and company emphasis have changed; the HECO home economists have all retired. Still, HECO wishes to share in the joy of cooking.

For one thing, all those years of cooking have left HECO with one of the largest databases of local recipes around -- why waste it?

So, today begins another chapter

"The Hawaiian Electric Kitchen" moves from television screen to the pages of the Star-Bulletin. In every Wednesday's Food section, HECO will feature favorite local recipes taken from its files, as well as recipes from community, cultural and nonprofit groups, local chefs and cooks.

The weekly column will emphasize quick and easy recipes that save time and electricity, and will often offer ways to cut the fat, sodium or sugar in a popular dish.

"Electric Kitchen" recipes -- past and present -- are available on HECO's Web site, www.heco.com.

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Poke incorporates
the flavors of Hawaii

This week we're featuring poke, one of Hawaii's favorite pupus. Traditionally made with fresh fish, seaweed and inamoma, poke nowadays can be made with a wide range of ingredients, including all types of seafoods, herbs, spices, nuts, marinades, fruits, vegetables, seasonings, and even tofu.

To celebrate Hawaii's love of poke, the Aloha Festivals holds its 14th Annual Poke Contest at the Hapuna Beach Prince Hotel, Saturday and Sunday. For event information, visit the Web site www.pokecontest.com or call (808) 936-0670.

This poke recipe was originally tested and demonstrated by our home economists in 1972 and has been a favorite ever since.

Poke Aku

1 pound aku (skipjack tuna) or ahi (yellowfin tuna)
1/2 cup blanched and chopped limu kohu (seaweed, see note)
1 tablespoon Hawaiian salt (may be reduced to 1/2 tablespoon)
1 Hawaiian red pepper, seeded and minced
2 teaspoons inamoma (ground, roasted kukui nuts)

Cut aku into 1/2-inch cubes. Combine limu, salt, pepper and inamona; add fish cubes and mix well. Chill before serving. Serves 6.

Note: Limu kohu and inamona may be omitted; other varieties of seaweed such as manawea or lipoa may be substituted if desired.

Approximate nutritional analysis, per serving: 120 calories, 4.5 g total fat, 1 g saturated fat, 30 mg cholesterol, 1,330 mg sodium, 1 g carbohydrate, no fiber or sugar, 18 g protein.

The reduced-salt version contains about 760 mg sodium.

For those who haven't acquired the taste for raw fish, we share this recipe for Mock Crab Poke. This recipe was originally tested by our home economists in 1989 and is always popular at parties. If you're watching your sodium or sugar intake, note that imitation crab varies by brand.

Mock Crab Poke

1 pound imitation crab legs
1 small cucumber
1/2 cup thinly sliced onion
3 tablespoons chopped green onions
1 teaspoon toasted sesame seeds
2 Hawaiian red peppers, seeded and minced
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sesame oil

Cut crab into 1-inch lengths. Cut cucumber lengthwise into halves, remove seeds, and thinly slice.

Combine crab, cucumber, onion, green onions, sesame seed, peppers and salt. Mix in sesame oil. Chill. Serves 12.

Approximate nutritional analysis, per serving: 50 calories, 1 g total fat, no saturated fat, 10 g cholesterol, 360 mg sodium, 5 g carbohydrate, no fiber, 3 g sugar, 5 g protein.

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