the most important meal of the day. and more s'mores

i'm slowly getting over my weird hesitation to cook in my new kitchen.  one morning, i decided to bust out the package of golden malted pancake mix i'd ordered from amazon - it's the same mix that they use at disneyland for their famous mickey waffles.  i measured it out and added egg, some milk and some melted butter and poured some batter onto my preheated pan.

the new range has a griddle built right into the cooktop, but i hadn't had time to season it properly as the installers had recommended.  that'll have to wait for another day.

while the pancakes were cooking, i turned on the air fryer to make some bacon to go with them.  i'd read that it was the easiest and fastest way to cook it, and i was excited to give it a try.

i kind of underestimated the power of the air fryer and ended up with mostly overcooked bacon, but managed to salvage a few pieces that the bean wouldn't deem too burnt for her taste.  she was pretty happy with the plate i served up for her.

the next morning, i decided to make some spam and eggs.  we've all been talking about how much we miss hawaii and have no idea when we'll get to go back, so if we can't be there at least we can eat like we are

i was super excited when i finally found my hand mixer in one of the many kitchen boxes we'd packed up and stored in the garage for the last few months.  it's so much easier than hand whisking the mixture for dalgona coffee:

and then one night, the bean and i decided it was a good time to try out a different idea for s'mores.  instead of making them the usual way like we'd done the week before, we broke up the chocolate bar and placed the pieces on the bottom of an oven safe baking dish.  then we stuffed as many of those giant marshmallows in it as we could fit, and popped it right into the air fryer, set at 390.  we kept a close eye on it, and when the marshmallows were just the right shade of golden we turned it off and pulled it out.  it'd taken all of about 3 minutes.

kinda looks like a bowl of hawaiian rolls, doesn't it?

we dug into it with pieces of graham cracker, and it was DELISH.  highly recommended.

still haven't found any bread flour or yeast.  bummer.  but when i do...it's ON.

tackling the road to hana

the next morning, we decided to head back out to lahaina to grab breakfast at a cafe that our friends had highly recommended.  except that when we got there, the line of people waiting to be seated was insanely long, and we were all starving.  and so we turned to the easiest, fastest option that was just around the corner...mcdonald's, for one of their spam plates.  delish.

we didn't have any plans for most of our time on maui, opting to just wing it and do whatever sounded good.  after we were done with breakfast, we ended up hopping onto the road to hana.  the first stop we made was here, at twin falls:

it was hot and humid, and a little busy (at least, for a wednesday) as we went on the short hike to the waterfall.  it was pretty easy though, and the bean didn't complain...much.  heh.  and i was extra glad i'd sucked it up and bought a pair of teva sandals for myself, because as much as i hate to admit it, those ugly things were really comfortable and the best for light hiking on uneven terrain and even through water.

a few minutes later, we found the waterfall.

 once everyone was cooled off and happy again, we turned around to head back.

we came upon this weird little cocoon thing in the trees, and while the bean and the guys decided they wanted to walk through it and see what there was to see, the old lady and i opted out.

it was a long winding road to hana, with lots of narrow areas where we had to yield to oncoming traffic before proceeding.  we were behind a tour bus that was obviously quite used to the drive, and the hub happily followed along as they whizzed through the curves and took all of the turns instead of waiting for others to pass.  haha.  but it was a fun drive, with lots of beautiful scenery and gushing waterfalls along the way.

we stopped at waianapanapa state park so that we could see the black sand beach and stretch our legs after the long ride in the car.

 the bean had zero interest in taking pictures and headed right into the water.

look ma, black sand!

on our way back to the car the hub and the bean stopped to check out the cave we'd spotted off to one side.

 and we stopped for another photo op before giving up our sweet parking spot.

the drive to hana really isn't about hana itself - there really isn't much there at all.  it's really all about the journey, the gorgeous scenery, stopping to check out the waterfalls and the little eateries that pop up on the side of the road.  we'd made a note to stop at one of those spots as we prepared to make the drive back to town, but of course when we arrived the kitchen was already closed and the only things available to eat were loaves of homemade banana bread.  while i'm sure it's delicious, it wasn't what we were in the mood for, and so we drove on.

this time, though, the waterfalls were on my side of the car and i was able to get a few more pictures.  we even stopped at one, but the hub and i were the only ones interested enough to get out for a minute.

once we were back in civilization where internet access was again available, yelp directed us to our dinner spot - da kitchen.  there were quite a few people waiting to be seated, but it didn't take too long for us to get a table.  and as the bean pointed out on the wall, guy fieri ate here too.

deep fried spam musubi and kalua wontons were our pupus of choice.  the wontons were served with a spicy cream cheese sauce that we all wanted to bathe in.

the bean must've been hungry, because she went for the hawaiian plate - pork lau lau, kalua pork, a chicken noodle dish plus salmon with rice and macaroni salad.

the kalbi ribs were tender and flavorful.

kalua pork plate, with rice and macaroni salad.

and their special garlic shrimp fried rice.

we stuffed ourselves silly with the delicious grub, and by the time we got back to the condo everyone was sleepy and ready to hit the pillows.  it was somewhat cool once we got inside, with that a/c wall unit working overtime.  and while it wasn't as comfortable as our last condo, we were all tired enough from our long day and went right to sleep.  another great day in hawaii, check!