Beachcomber’s DelightForty years ago, Hawaiian knickknacks were...

Beachcomber’s Delight

Forty years ago, Hawaiian knickknacks were fashionable. Twenty years ago, they were embarrassingly square. Now, it seems, people are excited about them again. A Ventura County company called Hawaiiana Traders sells quite a variety (both collectibles and replicas), including leaf-shaped luau trays of monkeypod wood and an impressive range of Hawaiian-themed mugs: tiki mugs, surfer mugs and these classics, a ‘50s-style bamboo mug and a hula girl tumbler--they’re $14.95 a pair, postage and handling included. For a catalogue, call (800) 429-8502.

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Fortune Tellings

Say it with . . . fortune cookies? Cards and flowers are fine, but more and more, sweeter greetings are what’s called for. After all, a personalized fortune cookie can say “Happy Birthday” or “Congratulations” as well as a Hallmark card--and you can eat the wrapping. Good Fortunes from The Wish List in Encino--(800) 644-9474--come plain or dipped in chocolate, white chocolate and caramel. Fortunately Yours--(800) 337-1889--specializes in giant fortune cookies, 10 times the size of a regular one.

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Twiggy

Sticks, but no stones make up this woodsy placemat. Maybe you wouldn’t use it for your fine bone china, but a setting of glazed Italian stoneware would look pretty good if you’re going for a true rustic look. Available at Room With a View in Santa Monica.

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The Rice Stuff

One of the greatest kitchen inventions has to be the rice cooker--you plug it in, add a little water, some rice and wait for the timer to tell you when the rice is cooked. No special skills necessary. Now there are microwave versions of the cookers. They’re not really much faster than a conventional rice cooker, but we did some testing and were relieved to find that the microwave didn’t do its usual texture-destroying work. The rice was nicely fluffy. Available for about $13 at Southland Mrs. Gooch’s stores.