Sugar Cookies for Grown-Ups

I do not particularly care for sugar cookies.  They are bland, boring, and usually too crispy or even stale.  I didn't even like sugar cookies as a kid.  In fact, I remember my very first rejection of a sugar cookie at the age of four.  

My mother had taken me and my little brother along for grocery shopping at the supermarket where she worked.  The ladies in the bakery always gave us cookies (but the people in deli handed out cheese slices, which was only a billion times better).  I was acquainted with receiving chocolate-chip cookies, which I liked.  But on this day, I found something unfamiliar but covered in rainbow sprinkles laid before me.  You would think that the pretty colors would have been enough to persuade my four-year-old senses (since they usually persuade my twenty-four-year-old senses), but no.  Definitely no.  There was something wrong with the cookie.  When I asked where were the chocolate chips, a grown-up (my mom?  lady in the bakery?) explained it was a sugar cookie.  My young mind was blown.  A cookie without chocolate chips?  Who would do such a thing?  I cried out, "Blasphemy!" and thus rejected the bastardized cookie.

But lo and behold, I like these cookies I have for you here.  Probably because they are meant to be *butterscotch* cookies.

Vindicated

Finally!  I finally did it!  Not only did I knead and bake edible bread, but I did it without ripping any hair out of my skull!  First there was the well-documented sourdough fiasco.  Then less-than-stellar pizza dough.  After that, a French baguette which looked like bread and tasted awesome, but stole away an entire Saturday afternoon.  Everything that went wrong did so because I was a cocky moron.  I failed to put in the same level of research effort that I normally do with any new undertaking.  But now, I have finally learned something.  And with this rosemary bread, I am vindicated. 

Knowledge is power, bitches!

Edamame Hummus

By the time a photo was taken, this was all that remained of the edamame hummus.  Happy snacking.

I whipped this up for two reasons:

1) A month ago, I had a sandwich wrap with hummus.  But when the eating began, I realized that the hummus was a pretty green and yummier than what I expected.  It dawned on me that it was edamame hummus.  From that moment forward, I was on a mission.

2) Turns out, most recipes out there are really effin' easy.  And with all my recent obsessive-compulsive bread baking/learning, I was due for the self-esteem boost.

Sourdough Fail-Bread

The sourdough project has climaxed in an epic failure.  My hopes and dreams are dashed.  What went wrong, you might ask?  Oh, so very many things.

Evil Science Project

 

After countless experiments and years of futile calculations, I have finally done it.  Once a storm blew in and a lightening bolt gave the perfect boost, there was a slight twitch of movement from the surgical table.  And I cried, "It's ALIVE!! WAHAHA!!!"

Okay, not really.  This is sourdough starter.  It is the magical goop of yeast, bacteria, and other cute, little microbes used for sourdough bread, pancakes, pizza dough, etc.  As it turns out, people were doing this for thousands of years before commericially available dried yeast came along,  So, how hard could it be? 

A Perfect Caprese Sandwich

Yeah, I said PERFECT.  What are you going to do about it?  Now read on.

At the age of fifteen, I started my first job as a grocery bagger.  Kids that were between 16-18 had orange nametags.  But I had a special yellow nametag so that customers would know that I wasn't just a minor, but a super-minor!  I had a very good reason for working as a super-minor-- to go to Italy with the high school chorus.  And to Italy, I damn well went.

In Italy, we rode on a bus and saw billions of churches.  We sang in a few of them.  One night, we went to a discotecca.  And while looking for the bathroom, I found the (married) chorus teacher in a closet with company.  We did other stuff, too.  Like eat food.  A lot of food.  Food as I had never had it before.  Fresh food, flavorful food.  Food that was crafted with care and respect for the meal.  A meal that was meant to be eaten slowly at a table with conversation (and maybe wine).  It was a formative experience and provided me an alternative to the preconveived notions of food, eating, and cooking that I had grown up with. 

Moving on. . . .

Tips for a Bitchin Couscous

Couscous with chick peas, red pepper, onion, kalamata olives, peas, and fresh goat cheese

It is really hard to screw up couscous.  Well, maybe not.  Sometimes those little semolina grains can stick to the pot, but that's about it.  Overall, it is pretty straightforward to make a standard, mediocre couscous.  But here's the thing.  I make a mean couscous.  A bitchin couscous.  And I'd like to tell you how you can, too. 

Yet, I don't think of couscous as something that requires a particular recipe.  And so, this post isn't a recipe post.  What goes into my couscous often boils down to either what I have or what I'm craving.  It is doubtful that I have ever made the same exact couscous dish more than one or two times.  There are some combos of veggies, cheese, and beans that I turn to, but even those always get tweeked.  However, there are some principles, guidelines, and tricks that bring the simple food to a whole new level. 

Things I Like Today

 

I took a couple days off from work this week.  Laziness reasons, mostly.  The cats are happy; I like them.  Did you know that you don't need to buy cat-toys?  Seriously.  Just pick out something from the garbage, and they will LOVE it.

I made No Knead Bread today.  It's really super popular in the Food Blogger World, so just google it.  But I can tell you this-- it is mega easy.  I have no previous bread experience, limited dough experience, but it didn't matter.  The golden, crispy, chewy block of love that came out of my oven was wonderful.  

It goes great with lots of things.  Especially. . . .olive oil, sea salt, chevre cheese, pinot noir.  I think that I'll skip dinner and keep muching on the bread, cheese, and wine until I'm comatose.

I do not like Easter.  But I love Easter candy.  My favorite are the mini egg-shaped ones in pretty little foil wrappers of pink, blue, and yellow. 

I guess the bunnies are okay, too.