Chewy chocolate cookies

I have a confession: sometimes, chocolate desserts really don't do it for me. I know. Saying that chocolate is my second choice is like saying that I don't prefer oxygen to breathe or Colin Firth as Mr. Darcy. Unspeakable. Truly abominable. I cover this up in front of friends and colleagues by oohing and aahing over the molten chocolate cake on the menu or the Death by Chocolate on the dessert cart, but my heart yearns for a piece of lemon meringue pie, a slice of strawberry shortcake, or a ramekin of creme brulee.

Hate me if you want, I know that what I've just related to you is shocking and may take some time to process. While you sort through your conflicting feelings of utter devotion to my food (and sparkling personality) and total betrayal at my indifference toward chocolate, please accept this humble, delightful chocolate cookie as penance . . .

Seedy, nutty, hippie granola

My cooking at the moment is focused on clearing out my pantry and buying as few new ingredients as possible. It's partially an attempt to reduce the amount of food I waste, but mostly it's a cost-saving mechanism. This is all to say, man, I have a ton of random stuff in my cupboard/refrigerator. 

Curried chicken salad with Israeli couscous

I used to love chicken salad. It was not something I grew up with, but I discovered it working in an ice cream parlor/luncheonette at the end of high school. It was my sandwich of choice for a couple of summers, but I outgrew it. It was too much mayonnaise and not enough vegetable.  Traditional chicken salad is....soft and kinda bland. I'm not terribly impressed with subtlety in my food, unless it is also paired with something else that packs a punch. This curried chicken salad that I'm offering up to you is very punchy.

Poor little Buster. He faithfully watched me prep all the ingredients, mix the curry mayonnaise together, and poach/boil the chicken. After all that, he only gets a small piece of undressed chicken. Oh, the cruelty he has to endure!

Graduation break

Hey, y'all. I know it's pretty barren here lately. I've been in the process of graduating from school (yay!) and my parents visited, so my mum didn't let me cook anything. Seriously, she didn't. Let. Me. Cook. I enjoyed the break because, in addition to graduating, I got the most heinous cold. My body completely forfeited its health at the end of the semester, presumably because it knew I was done with school.

Anyway, I'll be cooking and writing much more frequently in the coming days and weeks, as I continue the search for a job (know anyone hiring a policy master's grad? I'll bake for the entire office every week!) and try not to be too terrified about reentering the labor force.

Additionally, I've been brushing up my Spanish (and possibly my Italian) on Duolingo, walking my dog A LOT, and watching Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries on Netflix and the third series of Call the Midwife on PBS. Anybody recommend any pilates DVDs? Maybe I can also work on my fitness during this, my time of demoralizing unemployment. :)

If anyone has any recipe requests or suggestions for me to try out, let me know!

As a small consolation for the lack of posts, please accept these pictures of my dog, Buster. Unlike me, he's adorably photogenic.

Candied peanuts with cinnamon

My mom knows a peanut farmer, or, at least, she knows a guy who knows a guy who can get fresh Virginia peanuts pulled straight from the dirt. This means she buys them in bulk every year and she ends up giving me a kilo or two every couple months. Now, I always have them around because of my mom's twin love of both buying from the source and in bulk. I've made peanut butter, peanut sauce, peanut blondies, and--the reason for this post--candied peanuts.

Chocolate Chip Skillet Cookie

I made this last night, not knowing that today is National Chocolate Chip Day. Really? National Chocolate Chip Day, we all ask skeptically? Yes, everyone. Really. I'd like to say that I knew about this contrived holiday(?) beforehand, but sadly, I'm not that cool. You guys deserve better, I guess, but I'm all you're gonna get. From this blog, anyway.

So, on to the cookie. This is a giant cookie, probably more "cookie cake," actually. It's a favorite among my friends and I think it's perfect for entertaining. It's easy to make (bonus!) and only dirties a few utensils and one cast-iron skillet, so there aren't a lot of dishes to clean afterward (double bonus, am I right?). I'm pretty sure you can make this if you don't have a cast-iron skillet. You'd just heat the ingredients in a regular pan and then pour it into a baking dish instead of sticking the pan in the oven.

Forage: 2-Ingredient Ice Cream Bread

This is wizardry. Like, serious magic. This YouTube Video from the Simple Cooking Channel was being passed around on tumblr and I figured I'd give it a shot:

Spinach salad with feta, blackberries, honey-glazed walnuts, and balsamic dressing

Yeah, there has to be a better (re: shorter) name for this recipe. I'm not really in the right headspace for contemplative blogging with thoughtful recipe names right now. I'm about to graduate from school and it's finals time and I'm desperately looking for fulfilling employment. . . . You might say I have bigger fish to fry than wordplay. Maybe.

Adventures in eating

This past weekend, I went to the Passport DC event with some friends. 55 embassies opened their doors and allowed the public to walk through their embassies, ask questions about their countries, and even sample their food. We went to Iraq, Peru, Trinidad & Tobago, Botswana, and we almost made it to Australia and the Philippines. It was a lot of fun and I really enjoyed seeing the art, hearing the music, and hanging out with my friends before we graduate.

Green smoothie

I am no health nut. I think maybe the blog speaks for me, in that respect. I do love vegetables though, even if I haven't posted a lot of veg recipes yet. Brussels sprouts, bok choy, broccoli--it's all good. One of my favorites though, is spinach. It's so versatile. It shines in salads, alfredos, and, one of my favorite Korean banchan dishes, sigeumchi namul.

However, this post is not about highlighting the glories of spinach. It's about burying it deep in a blend of yogurt, banana, peanut butter, and almond milk. It's about hiding its flavor so well, you can't identify what makes this smoothie green. I discovered this recipe last year and drank it frequently last summer. I gave it up during the cold months, because smoothies don't appeal to me when it's snowy outside. It's spring though, so now it's time to break out the blender!

Banana chocolate chip donuts with peanut butter frosting

I've mentioned my donut maker before. It gets way more use than you'd think a specialty kitchen appliance would get. This is really only because my brother's top requests for food are donuts and buttermilk pancakes with bacon, in that order. ::le sigh:: I envy his young man's metabolism.