Hawaii Day 6: Arriving in Waimanalo

This is the day we moved over to Oahu for awhile. We packed up all of our stuff, said goodbye to Dallas’s parents, and headed to the airport. On Oahu we got our rental car and headed to our friends Billy and Ging Ging’s house in Waimanalo. But they weren’t there! We beat them from the airport. .. they were just coming in from Taiwan! So, we let ourselves in and when they got home we all ate dinner that Billy’s mom had made earlier in the day and put in the fridge.

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Billy and Ging live just down the street from the beach and it is so beautiful. I’d never been to Waimanalo before and was taken with all the gorgeous pali (cliffs) and the wooded beaches (they’re ironwood trees). I’d never even visited this Eastern side of the island before, so it was interesting to see.

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Billy grew up in Waimanalo and moved the family back home about a year ago. Their boys Damien and Hoku took to Makai immediately. They mostly called him “baby” or “baby Kai Kai”. It’s totally normal to wear a santa hat for two days in June in Hawaii, right? Damien and Hoku kept putting it back on Makai’s head whenever it fell off! (Not that it even fit on his head to begin with!) The boys played and played, past their bedtime, and then finally it was time to rest!

Gingerbread Bars with Lemon Cream Cheese Icing

Each Christmas I usually bake either Gingersnaps or Gingerbread Men for my dad for Christmas since they’re his favorite cookies. This year I decided to make this cake version instead. I made it on Christmas Eve Eve then brought it up to Wisconsin as one of his gifts. This post is way late.

Click the link below for the recipe.

Gingerbread Bars with Lemon Cream Cheese Icing

Gingerbread Bar Ingredients
3/4 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar
1 egg
1 tablespoon McCormick® Ground Ginger
1 teaspoon McCormick® Ground Cinnamon
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup molasses
3 tablespoons water

Lemon Cream Cheese Icing Ingredients
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup sugar
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon McCormick® Pure Lemon Extract

Directions
1.  Line a 13x9x2-inch baking pan with foil.  Spray foil with nonstick cooking spray.  Preheat oven to 350ºF. 

2.  Cream butter in large mixer bowl.  Beat in 3/4 cup sugar, egg, ginger, and cinnamon.

3.  Combine flour, baking soda, and salt in a small bowl.  Add to butter mixture and mix well.  Stir in molasses and water; mix until just blended.  Spread in prepared pan. 

4.  Beat cream cheese in a large mixer bowl until smooth.  Stir in confectioners’ sugar, lemon juice and lemon extract; beat until smooth.  Using 1/2 cup icing, spoon dollops (about 1 teaspoon each) over batter in pan.  With a knife, swirl icing through ginger base with  3 to 4 large strokes in each direction to marbelize.  Refrigerate remaining icing.

5.  Bake 28-30 minutes or until batter begins to pull away from edges. Cool completely.  Spread icing over bars.  Cut using a sharp knife.  Store in refrigerator.

Nutritional Information
Calories: 131, Fat: 7 g, Cholesterol: 28 mg, Sodium: 117 mg, Carbohydrates: 16 g, Fiber: 0 g, Protein: 1 g

Source
McCormick.com