*go on and be a grown up now!*

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Who said growing up has no perks?
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I mean, you could go and eat yourself sick with candy and no one will punish you (but your bottom may grow).
You also could make a whole chocolate cake and eat it all by yourself (then blame your slowing metabolism for the weight gain).
And stay up all night watching scary movies.
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You know what I'm talking about, don't ya?
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But if you're not doing all that, today is probably as good a day as any other to go thank yo' momma for giving you an ounce of common sense. And that big ass of yours! (Or in my case, my nasty "classy" sense of humor).
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Then squeeze her close like there is no tomorrow.
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And maybe even make her a nice ol' cup of grown up coffee!
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Big bad-ass grown-up coffee:
250 ml strong black coffee
50 ml coconut milk (or regular)
50 ml chocolate liquor
cinnamon

Blend it all together, serve it up and go watch cartoons with the old lady!!!
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*Holiday Envy*

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Yeah, I've got it. Bad. All thanks to a huge RSS feed of food blogs, all chitty chatty about Cinco de Mayo.
...
So I made myself a little something...
A friend gave me some salty corn cake he made on the weekend, so I just grilled a couple slices of that with bacon, garlic, half a yellow pepper and some kale, and served it with a side of my guacamole.
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Not too heavy, and not too light. Yum, as in dinner for one!
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*and now...*

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Here, have a cookie.
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I will admit, I'm quite shameless. Although I've been promising people high and low this recipe, I never got around to post it.
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Sure, it's not even originally mine. EVERYONE knows the NY Times Chocolate Chip Cookie. And I kept putting off posting it because my cookies never turn out very photogenic.
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But alas, here it is...
Nom! That's a pistachio chocolate variation sandwiching vanilla and chocolate icecream. And this is why I love this recipe so much...
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It can become almost any other cookie. Last year for Christmas I made an oats, coconut and raisin variation.
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Also, it's worth posting because I took the time to convert ALL the measurements.
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So ladies and gentleman, finally, the...

New York Times Chocolate Chip Cookie
(converted measurements to metric)

482 g flour
1 ¼ tsp baking soda
1 ½ tsp baking powder
1 ½ tsp coarse salt
2 ½ sticks/1 ¼ cups/300 ml unsalted butter
284 g light brown sugar
227 g granulated sugar
2 large eggs
2 tsp natural vanilla extract
567 g bittersweet chocolate chips/chunks
sea salt to taste

- Sift flours, baking soda, baking powder and salt into a bowl. Set aside
- Using a mixer, cream butter and sugars together until very light, about 5 minutes.
- Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition.
- Stir in the vanilla.
- Reduce speed to low, add dry ingredients and mix well until just combined, 5 to 10 seconds.
- Drop in chocolate chips and incorporate without breaking.
- Press plastic wrap around dough and refrigerate for 24 to 36 hours (Very important!)
- When ready to bake, preheat oven to 180C.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.

- Scoop 50 g mounds of dough (you can use an icecream scoop to measure) onto baking sheet,
- Sprinkle lightly with sea salt and bake until golden brown but still soft – 10 to 12 minutes each batch.
- If necessary, flatten with spatula (but not too much)
- Transfer sheet to wire rack for 10 minutes, then slip cookies onto another rack to cool a bit more. No rack? No problem. Use a wooden cutting board, or a grate of some kind. Even a dish rack will do.
- Repeat with remaining dough.
- Dough can be frozen up to 3 months.

Personal Notes:
- The original recipe may be a bit too sweet. Be sure to use bitter chocolate or adjust sugar accordingly.
- The sea salt may seem to be strange, but it does make things more interesting.
- You can use the basic ingredients and substitute the chocolate for other things, like oats and raisins or half nuts half chocolate. Just respect the weight proportion.
- I have always made half the recipe. It’s a lot! You can also double the size of the cookies, but be careful with excessive browning.
- For larger cookies (100g) bake for 14 minutes+.
- Turn baking sheet around in oven through half the baking time. This ensures a more even browning.
- These cookies are chewy on the inside and crispy on the edges.

Makes 40 medium (icecream scoop sized) cookies.

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Just in time for the Easter holiday. Enjoy!

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*creaming*

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Gotta love heart warming creamy foods. Specially when one feels under the weather...
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Ever finished your morning classes craving something hot and nourishing? I started the week with a soup that soothed both my stomach, my appetite and my sore muscles.

Makes 2 portions.

1 large potato, diced
100 g milk cream (I used soy)
1 tbsp butter
1 cup thinly sliced leeks
1 smoked sausage
salt and pepper to taste

Cook the potato in just enough water to cover it, for about 20 minutes.
In a food processor (or blender), mix the potato (with the cooking water) and the cream.
Saute the leeks and sausage in the butter.
Add creamed potato and spice to taste.
Enjoy!

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Anyone else feeling eager for Easter goodies?
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*multitasking*

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Thanks to college, this is where i've been eating lately.
Yes, its a mess. And that's the radish Kachumber-like salad and and chicken curry stew with soy "milk" cream I'm having for lunch.
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Lot's to do. Curry just cooks away while one reads. And that's a good thing.
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