Who’d have thought kiawe was edible? Ipo Kea and Ka‘ua­lani "Ka‘ua" Cari­aga learned that it is, and their healthful recipe using kiawe flour is so delicious it earned them a win in the For Kids, by Kids Healthy Snack Contest presented by Hyatt Regency Waikiki Beach Resort & Spa.

The Nanakuli pair’s PALS Coconut ‘Aina Treats, which also features organic sunflower seed butter and local honey, apple, tangerine and coconut, was one of three winning recipes selected to be served at Hyatt Waikiki’s SHOR restaurant during the spring school semester.

Other winning dishes include Fruit Sushi, by Brittany Amano of ‘Iolani School, and Grown-Here Green Taro Smoothie "Ice Cream," by Matilda Colvin of Mid-Pacific Institute. All the winners will receive a class party.

Ipo and Ka‘ua are members of the Program for Afterschool Literacy Support, or PALS, at Nana­kuli High and Intermediate School. The program’s current focus is on ingredients grown or raised in the Leeward area that students can develop into their own products.

Waianae resident Vince Dodge, founder of ‘Ai Pohaku, a community group that produces Wai­‘anae Gold kiawe bean pod flour, taught the PALS group how to select and process kiawe pods. When the students heard about the contest, they adapted a recipe by Dodge for submission.

"First, we changed the peanut butter to sun butter because someone in our group is allergic to peanuts," said Ipo, 12. "You have to keep in mind things like that."

Tangerines and apples, which came from the trees of a friend, were selected for the recipe after trial runs using various fruit.

"We tried to see if lime or lemon would work, and we gave it to others to taste. They said it was too sour," said Ka‘ua, who turns 14 this month. "Then we tried apple, we tried coconut, we tried tangerine. The three fruits add texture and juice."

The recipe also calls for a pinch of Hawaiian salt.

"Once we put it all together with the pinch of salt, the taste exploded," she said.

PALS COCONUT ‘AINA TREATS

1/3 cup kiawe flour
1 tablespoon honey
2 level tablespoons sun butter (sunflower seed butter)
1 tablespoon grated Granny Smith apple
2 segments tangerine juice
Pinch Hawaiian salt
Freshly grated coconut

Mix all ingredients except the coconut. Be sure to allow salt to dissolve and make its way throughout the mixture.

Make 1/2-inch balls or squares and roll in coconut. Makes about 1 dozen bites. As an alternative, use as a spread on apple slices.

Nutritional information unavailable.