Friday, April 30, 2010

day 7 and chai cookies again!

it's the last day of no pb:D and i'm really excited to eat some tomorrow. but it hasn't been too bad. i definitely ate tons of tuna salad and carrots for lunch in lieu of peanut butter sandwiches, which is good all around fun. but let's get to the good stuff...
i am really liking these chai butter cookies. but since it's supposed to be in the 80s today i didn't want to waste heating up a whole oven to 400 degrees. so i'm using the baby oven and i feel like i'm using one of those toy ovens. i also added about 2 tsp of orange zest to the recipe but i'm not really tasting it. but who cares, it still is some yummy chai goodness. you can see an orange flake and the pretty sugar crystals!

Saturday, April 24, 2010

pb detox day 1

i'm going to blame it on it being the end of the week and being tired from work, but somehow my twin managed to convince me to try to live without peanuts/peanut butter for one week. 7 days! good grief, this sounds pathetic. but this is probably for my own good. i have an unhealthy love for all things peanut. i think i could have been carver's prize pupil. i would have been open to any and all peanut testing. we'll see how this goes- b/c the peanut butter jar was already giving me a sad look when i passed it by this morning...

Friday, April 16, 2010

chai butter cookies

these make the house smell deliciousssssss. that's all i have to say. plus, finding great uses for the Ann's House of Nuts chai seasoning mix. this recipe comes from All Recipes. the only changes of course are that i used Ann's House of Nuts chai mix, i took out 1/2 cup of sugar b/c i think the chai mix is sweeter than the mix on the recipe, and only used 1 tsp of salt. these would taste perfect w/ some coffee or tea. or you can do it my way and i have it with some ice cream:)
i forgot how fun it is to press down on dough with a fork! and it definitely gives the cookies that extra special look

Thursday, April 15, 2010

orange bread

spring is up and running! greens, yellows, pinks, all sorts of colors. and especially orange. well, at least orange zest. this is actually the frozen stuff from over the winter that i've been wanting to use to make some orange bread from simply recipes.
the bread is good. not too sweet. nice orange taste (i added about an extra tablespoon of zest). i didn't make the glaze b/c i'm not a big fan of confectioner's sugar, but i am wondering how some orange juice would work in the bread. the crust has a nice crunch and the inside is a wonderfully soft and moist and light quality to it. the bread comes out beautifully so it would make a lovely gift!

Monday, April 12, 2010

an ode to butter, and chocolate, and everything in between

wow. can i just say that. i mean, look at them! you can't say they don't look good. and the smell! and when you bite into one you get that slight crisp crunch on the outside and ooey gooey goodness on the inside. i think i need another one:) i didn't bother to even do something pretty for a picture, these cookies just wanted a picture pronto
the cookies were a bit difficult to slice from the roll. it might have been b/c i didn't chill the batter first and then roll it into a log. next time. also for future reference to make actual round ones, probably doing a little shaping before popping them into the oven would be a good idea

Sunday, April 11, 2010

i cant' believe it's butter

i am embracing butter. loving it, creaming it, smushing it...
maybe i should back track. after a day at work and then studying for a chem exam, i wanted nothing more than to bake. and not the "healthy" baking that doesn't quite taste the same, but real sugar and real butter kind of baking. the only reason i need to re-embrace butter- "chocolate pooh cookies" so cute, but so wrong in taste

so i went back to the first cookbook my sister and i ever got- nestle cookies. and even went to the beloved chocolate chip cookie recipe. and let me tell you, i went from no butter to a whole cup! did i also mention that it's almost midnight? maybe it's something about a silent house and a whole kitchen to myself that makes it okay to let loose (albeit, in a very quiet, try not to wake anyone up kind of way). since it's dark outside, it seems even my usual photo composition became more of a look into the kitchen. welcome, make yourself at home:)since it's late and i have some sort of realistic thinking to life that maybe trying to bake 5 dozen cookies at midnight when i have work and an exam tomorrow isn't such a grand idea, i'm trying the "chill overnight so the egg yolk can work its magic" technique. too bad i can't remember what the cookies tasted like pre-chilling. but they're enjoying their time in the fridge. come back tomorrow for some fresh baked cookies!

Wednesday, April 7, 2010

when it's 90 degrees outside...

this is some strange strange weather! but, if the heat is getting to you, this is something I found when browsing the wonderful world of online food blogs- fake me out fruit sorbet

blend frozen fruit (i had strawberries) with a little bit of orange juice, and ta-da! a delicious, cold, nutritious sorbet-ish snack/dessert!

Monday, April 5, 2010

chicago

went to chicago for the weekend. first time in the "midwest." although from my own ideas/sterotypes of the midwest, chicago does not come to mind. it was a weekend of eating, walking, and just hanging out w/ my darling mims. probably eating too much food, but that's the fun part! the picture is from under the bean. i love the fact that the city is so walkable, and everyone is out and walking their dogs. we visited the chicago institute of art for free w/ the free first weekend of the month deal with bank of america. if you've never heard of it and have a bankofamerica card check it out for your city.