Sunday afternoon baking- Classic Crinkle Cookies

You all know how I love alliteration. Classic Crinkle Cookies- how can I resist? This is my attempt at the Betty Crocker original, and no, these weren't made at Christmas time in my childhood, I wonder if I was missing out? These chocolate cookies are rolled in powdered sugar, and as they bake they expand, creating a web of cracks that show the dark chocolate center from underneath the powdered coating. The ingredient list is simple, all things I ordinarily stock for baking projects, and while they do take a while to make (up to 4 hours total) most of that time is for the batter to chill, the active prep time is actually quite short, and the preparation itself is simple. Since they require so long to chill in the fridge, I chose to make the batter in the morning and bake them in the late afternoon. In between, a trip to the Children's Museum with some friends seemed like a perfect diversion.

Sweet Potato & Black Bean Chili

On Saturday night a good friend of mine came to visit while in town for the MTELS. As it happens she is vegan, so I ended up searching through my cookbook collection for a recipe that both fit her vegan lifestyle, and was interesting enough for me to want to eat as well. While I respect those that choose veganism, the issue I always encounter is saying goodbye to the foods I love in exchange for what is sometimes boring food. This is not to say that I think vegan food is boring, just that it can be. So, as I searched, I ruled out those recipes that tried to imitate traditional meat or dairy products, and picked a simple dish I was quite excited about trying despite its lack of egg, dairy or meat.  The recipe I chose was the "Quick Sweet Potato Black Bean Chili" from The Vegetarian Family Cookbook by Nava Atlas, a recent gift from my cousin Anika.

With a short ingredient list, and quick cook time, this was the perfect last minute week night meal. Sure, Saturday isn't a week night by most standards, but as I work Saturdays and come home tired and with limited time, I would say this counts as weekday cooking as well as any other night.(Though to be fair, the amount of wine that was imbibed, and the eventual impromptu dance party- yes, that happened-, was not so very typical of a week night)

Tortilla Soup with summer squash

I have just returned from Southern California and I have Mexican food on the mind. Nothing to remind you how far from the border Boston is like eating authentic Mexican food in a place much, much closer. Southern California is littered with hole-in-the-wall taco joints, hiding behind nondescript facades in strip malls and street corners, some even have drive-throughs. A taco or enchilada at one of these unimpressive looking eateries is bound to outshine that of a well known chain or east coast hotspot.

While in Southern California, I didn't get many chances to eat the Mexican food seducing me from freeway roadsides, rather as I was visiting family we were almost always full from eating homemade comfort food including my Great Aunt Lois's biscuits and gravy, grilled sausage and corn on the cobb, fresh-from-the-chicken-coop egg scrambles, cornbread, cooked chard and beans. All of this was wonderful, and certainly soulful food, and perhaps at a later date I will post more specifically about some of these foods, and maybe try and create some myself. But today I am craving some spicy Mexican food. It seems one place where these food traditions meet- comfort food, Mexican flavors and southwest traditions, is represented well by an easy but flavorful dish- Tortilla Soup.

A Sunday Night Dinner Party

Last night I had the pleasure of hosting several of my friends for a dinner party. Spring has sprung, everything is in bloom, and I can't help feeling a little extra optimism this time of year. Maybe that is part of why I thought cooking for 12, when I have hardly ever even cooked for 4, would be an easy and relaxing way to spend a Sunday afternoon, which also happens to be my only day off this week. I have to say, though, for all the stress earlier in the day, and all the repetitive tasks (like trimming fat from 20 chicken thighs, and peeling 60 cloves of garlic) by the end of the night it felt worth it. It is wonderful to share good food with good company, and last night that is just what I got to do.

The menu for the night:

Chicken with 40 cloves of garlic
Rosemary roasted new potatoes
mixed greens with edamame, almonds and herb vinaigrette
Roasted asparagus with balasamico
fresh locally made bread

Danielle's $2 tuna

First off, I like this dish because I like alliteration. Two-dollar tuna. It's those t's that get me. I have spent an embarrassing amount of time trying to think of a perfect 3rd t-word to stick in there. Unfortunately the only t-words that come to me are entirely unrelated to this dish. Oh well, I am sure one will strike me next week, and I may go as far as to edit this post to stick that final t-word in its place...

The other night while I was busying myself with cauliflower and such, my roommate Danielle was also cooking in our kitchen, making a large batch of a tuna pasta salad of her invention to be eaten for a handful of lunches or dinners. After agreeing to be featured in a blog post,Danielle made not a single complaint as I buzzed around her taking pictures. When I said "wait, stop chopping, your hand looks blurry...just pretend to chop for a bit!" she did so without so much as an annoyed glance in my direction. Now there is a good sport, right? Well, she even agreed to photograph my process as I went on to cook dinner myself (the photographs of this entry should be credited to her), and above all of that, she allowed me to share the bottle of wine she had bought. Excellent. After all of this, she certainly deserves a glowing endorsement.