Fourth of July Cookie Baking

The fourth of July seemed like a great day for baking so I decided to make something new and something familiar. I can’t make cookies without Casey craving chocolate chip so I made the usual “family recipe” (the one on the back of the Nestle chocolate chips package). I can practically do those in my sleep and they are always tasty, especially when they come right out of the oven!

For the something different I looked to Serious Eats since I’ve been marking recipes as favorites like crazy there. While I was very tempted to make the Spicy Hot Chocolate Pie, that will have to wait until my birthday. Casey and I decided we’d make that together to celebrate. But for the 4th I wanted something a little less ambitious, but just as tasty. Eureka! Chewy Ginger Cookies with Cardamom and Black Pepper. I made them as described other than the candied ginger, which I had to leave out since I just could not find at my local Safeway. I’d like to try it with that another time, though. Oh and I used regular sugar (not coarse) for rolling, but I couldn’t see or taste a marked difference there. Nex time I’d also amp up the amounts of black pepper and cardamom. They’re tasty ginger snaps, but it’s hard to tell there’s anything really different about them unless you know what to pay attention to.

May? June? Where’d the time go?

It’s not for lack of things happening that I haven’t written. I’ve been too busy and the knitting project I’m deep into is a secret one so there’s not much I can say about it.

Just a sample of the things that have happened in May and June:

• SF Ballet’s Romeo & Juliet (for Mother’s Day)
• First SF Ravelry Meet-up (a ton of fun and a very successful event)
• Attempting to start the snapdragon mitts and failing miserably (will try again later)
• Picked up and cast aside a new form of exercise
• Vassar 5-year Reunion trip to New York with Casey
• Finally using the yarn swift and ball winder (which I can’t get enough of now)

Some pictures to prove I’ve been busy! (more after the break)

Finished Yarn Wranglers Anemone Pin

Real Simple Summery Dinner

To celebrate the warm weather I decided to try out some new recipes from Real Simple (the magazine I love so very much). So I went to Trader Joe’s and Market Hall to pick up makings for Gingery Pork and Cucumber Pitas (torn out of September 2009 issue and placed in Real Simple binder) and Cool Southwestern Salad with Corn and Avocado (from Real Simple’s Best Recipes Cookbook and August 2008 issue). Casey and I are both nuts about cucumber salads (used in the pitas) and the Southwestern salad is tailor made for my boy since it has both cumin and avocado in it (yum, his favorites).

They both turned out fabulously. The only things we’d change for next time would be to add a little less lime (we used juice from a whole lime. It wasn’t bad, but it did overpower some of the other tastes) and a hotter pepper (the Jalapeno we got from Market Hall was beautiful – handpicked by a helper there – but a little too mild). Maybe a Serrano?

Topped the meal off with a bottle of 2002 Leonetti Cellar Sangiovese (Walla Walla, WA) from our landlord. Happy Sunny Sunday!

Bread!

I know this isn’t a cooking blog, but that’s probably because I rarely cook new things. That doesn’t mean, though, that I don’t want to! St. Patrick’s Day this past week reminded me that I once had Irish soda bread at someone’s house on St. Patty’s and I’ve always wanted to have it again. Well, hey, I can make it!

Mule‘s client Serious Eats posted several recipes for soda bread this week so I had my pick to choose from. Fully intended to do the whole wheat one, but ended up making the plain version (explained below) of Spotted Dog since that way I didn’t have to go out for groceries. It’s that elementary.