A cookie, and a heck of a lot easier to make than a homemade pop-tart. Each issue of Everyday Food magazine ends with a cookie recipe. This month features the Mexican Hot-Chocolate Cookie. A simple chocolate batter that’s formed into balls then rolled in a bowl of sugar, cinnamon, and a pinch of chili powder. As Greg put it, “the chili powder really rounds out the complex flavors.” Clearly, he’s watched a lot of Food Network with me over the last nine years.
So, I’m flipping through my new issue of Bon Appetit magazine this week and I come across a recipe that I had to make. Homemade “Pop-tarts”. I love a good pop-tart. A cherry iced pop-tart ranks right up there with a really great steak, in my book. Ok, maybe not that high, but I do love them. Since starting the diet about a year ago, there have not been many occasions for pop-tart consumption. So I thought that if I was going to have one, a great homemade version was the way to go. What I really learned, was something that I always knew. I am, most certainly, not a pastry chef. I don’t have the patience to deal with making pastry dough and all the chilling and sticking to the board and rolling-pin that always happens. Not a fan. They did turn out quite delicious, even though I wasted a great of dough in the process. Let’s just say, I won’t be baking down this path again any day soon.
I found the healthiest and heartiest looking asparagus at the grocery yesterday. A sure sign that winter’s on its way out and spring is arriving.
It’s certainly no secret that I’ve been on a bit of a granola kick of late. A couple of weeks ago, the wonderful cooking blog Smitten Kitchen featured a chewy granola bar recipe. Yes, please. Yesterday after we got back from our day in Cleveland, I went right to work. The foundation of the recipe is very simple and adaptable. It’s the mix-ins where you get to have some fun. 10 – 15 ounces of your choice of nuts, dried fruit or other tasty treats. I went with some sweet and tender dried cranberries that I had picked up at Seven Grains Market, sunflower seeds, unsweetened coconut, sliced almonds, chopped pecans and mini semi-sweet chocolate morsels. Baked for over half an hour, then chilled; they were cut easily into delectable bars. These chewy granola bars are far superior to any of the prepackaged types you find at the grocery. Sweet, chewy and very filling. They are going to become one of my regular weekend treats to make. Just perfect with a tall glass of cold milk.
Greg turns 38 today. His birthday breakfast request was a chocolate cream stick from Jubilee Donuts and a large coffee from Dunkin’ Donuts. It’s nice that they’re right next to each other on the Tallmadge Circle. We’re heading up to Lakewood later today for lunch at Melt. It’s one of Greg’s favorite places to eat from when he briefly worked in Lakewood. They were recently featured on Food Network. Here’s the clip:
Greg’s birthday is this weekend. I offered to make him the cupcake of his choice. He chose the Triple-Citrus Cupcake from Martha Stewart’s Cupcake cookbook. The cupcakes have the zest from oranges, lemons and limes in the batter. I divided the glaze in three dishes and made one for each citrus. And I have to tell you, being around all this brightly colored fruit has me yearning for spring and summer. Oh, and the fruit in the cupcakes makes them Weight Watchers friendly, right?
I’ve had one of the best weekends ever. A weekend where we had no obligations. Just had two days of do-whatever-we-want. Yesterday, I made homemade chicken noodle soup. Today, I made a new granola recipe. It was ok. Not as good as my favorite, the maple-nut granola. Also today, I ventured into candy making. Last week on Martha, there was a guest who made goat butter and honey caramels. It’s one of my favorite forms of candy, and made even better when sprinkled with sea salt. They turned out really well, and I got to use my candy thermometer for the very first time. The caramels did have one unusual ingredient, goat butter. Not available at our regular grocer; I was able to find it at the fabulous West Point Market. It, combined with the locally sourced honey, makes for a more uniquely flavored caramel. It’s more floral, earthy and quite pleasant.
My first attempt at homemade chicken noodle soup. It’s all packed up and ready to be delivered to a dear friend that’s under the weather this weekend.
I thought that it might be a good time for a “list” update. In the last couple of weeks I finished two more items. I made Ina Garten’s Lemon Chicken with Croutons and I read an entire book in a day. The chicken was great and the book was short. Just eighty pages. But hey, it counts. Oh, and anyone from work that checks out my blog, please don’t read anything into my book selection. I was checking out a friend’s book shelves and went for the shortest. Though the book did provide a great deal of insight into many aspects of life. Did you know that’s it’s perfectly ok to quit something? It’s true. One thing I’m not going to quit? This list. In fact, I think I may need to pick up the pace if I hope to get through them all.
Five down, thirty-two to go… To be continued…
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