I wanted to bake for my client team so tried East Village Kitchen's chocolate chip cookies. They came out great and were the perfect size (thanks to the 1/2 teaspoon recommendations). They were a little salty but I'm obsessed with sweet/salty combos so it worked for me. I'm not sure if that was the intention.
I was in Montreal recently and although my understanding is that the city is safe, I was either pickpocketed or a good samaritan found my wallet but forgot to mail it back to me. Either way, it's gone.
I made this pesto recipe this week and it was fantastic. The flavor was unique, dynamic and I love that it used spinach. I served it over cheese tortellini but think it would be fantastic with a long pasta topped with shrimp.
Hope everyone had a Happy Chris-ma-hanu-kwanza-kah and has a safe and happy new year!
I made this recipe last night complements of Whole Foods:
Red Lentils with Garlic and Onion
Serves 6
Make sure to add the salt to these lentils only after they're cooked. If added before, it will take longer for them to get tender.
Ingredients
2 cups uncooked red lentils, rinsed
1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons canola oil
1 large red onion, thinly sliced
12 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
6 cups cooked brown Basmati rice
Put lentils, turmeric and 4 cups water into a medium pot and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until lentils are very soft and pulpy, about 25 minutes. Add salt to lentils after cooking, then purée in blender and set aside.
Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onions and garlic and cook until golden brown, taking care not to burn them. Add onion mixture to lentils and stir well. Serve hot, with basmati rice on the side.
My notes. I had lentils that were already halved so there was no need for me to puree them. Sweet! Also, I served the dish with pita bread, rather than rise.
Lastly, this recipe would have been tough had I not used my handy, new device from Crate and Barrel.
I attended Atlanta's annual ICE holiday fair. This is my second year and I've been excited for weeks about it. My purchases:
Cards from Red Bird Ink:
I was at Rockefeller Center last night to watch NBC's coverage. It was unreal!
Anyone else feel like their life is standing still until Wednesday?
I walked out of Marta on Friday and saw a huge rainbow. It was a complete arch that went across the entire sky!
For our second year, John and I went to Sunday in the Park at Oakland Cemetary. It's a nice little event and was even more interesting this year because we got to see residual tornado damage.
I got out the vote early today. In an out in 15 minutes. Pretty good experience overall. Vote Obama-Biden!
The minute I saw the drum diagram t-shirt at Slowshirt's, I knew I had to get one for John. The fit is great and it came very quickly. Huge rave!
After a bizarre dinner at Cafe 6 Sixty, John and I got ice cream at Jake's in Irwin Street Market. I, your standard Chocolate Slap Yo Mama while John tried a new Unfor'goat'able. Goat cheese and blackberry ice cream. Pricey, but worth it.
a.k.a Biscotti dello Canella-Zenzero
(adapted from Cooking Light Septemer 2008)
1.5 cups of flour
1.5 tsp ground cinnamon
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/8 tsp ground cloves
1/8 tsp grated nutmeg
dash of salt
6 tbs butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar
3 tbs fat-free milk
3 tbs molasses
1 tsp vanilla extract
cooking spray
1. Combine flour and next 6 ingredients, through salt. Stir with whisk.
2. Combine butter and sugar in a medium bowl and beat witha mixer at medium speed until light and fluffy (about 3 minutes). Beat in milk, molasses and vanilla extract.
3. Add flour mixture to butter mixture and beat on low speed until blended. Shape dough into a 6-inch disk.
4. Cover and chill 30 minutes.
5. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
6. Shape dough into about 30 balls (about 2 teaspoons each).
7. Place 2 inches apart on baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Flatten balls lightly with a spoon.
8. Bake at 350 degrees for 12 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool on pans for 4 minutes. Remove and cool completely on racks.
