yea, visiting my ohana in hawaii for 9 days was absolute bliss! the breakdown: we rented scooters and shortly after ate malasadas at leonard's bakery, got caught in a tropical rain shower, and explored the vegas-like strip of waikiki. we drove our scooters along highway 72 and pulled off at kawaikui beach to escape an oncoming shower. we toured the pacific heights road and makiki heights drive in honolulu. we enjoyed the food and performances at germaine's luau on the beach our last night there. especially the fire dancing. (link might take several minutes to load video clip) we shopped at my new favorite store, marukai 99 superstore in the ward shopping center where i loaded up on bento lunch supplies. this is my go-to store from here on out! we then flew over to the big island to stay with my grandma in kailua-kona, the real reason for our visit. since she wasn't able to make it out for the wedding, being 90 years old 'n all, we decided to come to her. which was a good thing too. her puppy, honey girl, had a nasty case of pyometra which is a pretty serious infection. luckily, we got her to the vet for emergency surgery and she's now a happy honey girl! the best part of our visit included spotting grandma reading her secret book of recipes early in the morning as she plotted what to make for us to eat. i love that at 90 years old, she still plays the hostess. we also explored the rainy side of the island to see my cousins in hilo.
Kari at Waikiki Beach
the boy and i landed in honolulu for 3 days of waikiki madness. we caught a shuttle and after an exhaustive tour of all the downtown hotels, landed at our home, the ohana waikiki west. we walked around the shopping district and along waikiki beach and the international market. our first hawaiian meal consisted of a puka dog. we toured the lovely royal hawaiian hotel, marveled at the tiki torches and wound up the evening with drinks at duke's on the waterfront.
in honor of valentine's day, i really should be donating blood. but instead, the boy and i are heading out for our next leg of our goodwill wedding tour by visiting family in hawaii. there will be much snorkeling, avoiding the hot sun and lunch-plate-eating in my future, woot!
i leave you with this fantastic recipe in the meantime. these cookies really benefit from the OXO cookie scoop we got as a wedding gift. it took me a few batches of burned cookies to learn that you want to take them out just before they are done. they will firm up after cooling, trust me.
Double Chocolate Cookies
1 pound semisweet chocolate chips
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup Dutch process cocoa powder
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
10 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
4 eggs
2 teaspoons instant coffee granules
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Melt chocolate over a double boiler or in the microwave, stirring occasionally until smooth. Sift together flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt; set aside.
In a medium bowl, cream butter with white sugar and brown sugar until smooth. Beat in eggs one at a time, then stir in coffee crystals and vanilla until well blended. Stir in melted chocolate. Using a wooden spoon, stir in the dry ingredients just until everything comes together. Cover, and let stand for 35 minutes so the chocolate can set up.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper. Roll dough into walnut sized balls, or drop by rounded tablespoonfuls onto the prepared cookie sheets, leaving 2 inches between cookies. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven. Cookies will be set, but the centers will still be very soft because of the chocolate. Allow cookies to cool on the baking sheets for 10 minutes before transferring to wire racks to cool completely.2/11/2009 10:47:00 AM