Whole Wheat Oatmeal, Chocolate Chip, and Carrot Cookies

I find myself on more than a few occasions wishing that I liked things as much as others like them—rather than harbouring deeply negative thoughts about them (like wanting to punch fictional characters in the face—with knuckle dusters. NO, not knuckle dusters, that would be violent and undeservingly mean. O, jeez, my heart is all in a nervous flutter over how cruel that must have sounded.)

I wish that I like coffee (too bitter, but smells so good).

I wish that I like the movie Bridesmaids (Revolutionary film with strong female comics…I feel anti-feminist for not loving it. I don’t find it hilarious.)

I wish that I like watching sports (collective cheering and high-fiving looks fun).

I wish that I like bitter melons (too green—kiiiiiiding, too bitter).

I wish that I like watching Korean dramas (too…much…pouting…stoppit.)

Alcohol…there’s a lot of things out there that I shouldn’t knock until I try them, eh?

Whole wheat cookies, an entity that I once thought would fail, hands down. How about whole wheat cookies with a vegetable in it too? And oats! These whole wheat oatmeal, carrot, and chocolate chip cookies came oat amazingly well. I had a huge fear that they’d come out cakey, like muffin tops, so I squished them down slightly. Instead, the cookies came out chewy and delicious, tender from all the grains and grated carrots and you can definitely taste all of the ingredients.

I need to give everything else a second chance, don’t I?

However, I had a funny conversation with one of my clients once about this topic. I was going on and on in a self-pitying speech about how I wished that I understood the movie, Bridesmaids, and why people liked it. Why, o why? “Oh, you’re one of those people,” my client said. “What people?” I asked. “You care what other people think of you,” he told me. His comment stopped me in my tracks immediately. It was true. But…..should I really be putting so much effort and worry about a movie? Naw.

So, live your lives as you see fit, my peaches (but lend a ear to advice as well–might be wise stuff.)

Whole Wheat, Oatmeal, Chocolate Chip, and Carrot Cookies
I used the recipe by Marcus Samuelsson. The only thing I changed was using whole grain flour instead of whole wheat flour. 

Homemade Nutella

Happy Christmas, dears. Do you celebrate? Even if you don’t, and particularly if you live in an area with a high population—there’s a highly contageous festive mood in the air. Lights! Shiny baubles! Fat men in red suits! Jolly, jolly, jolly!

Now, people in my neck of the woods usually expect presents at this time of year. This year, I made some Nutella (a chocolate and hazelnut spread) to wrap up for peeps. It tasted divine. But goodness, that was a whole lot of chocolate that I had to melt down.

Homemade Nutella
I used the recipe by David Lebovitz. The only thing I changed was using completely hazelnuts.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Granola Bars

I’ve never walked around alone in the dark as I have in these past 4 months.

I don’t drive, and buses sometimes don’t run early enough for me to get to work sometimes, so I walk the hour to work. On other times, my work runs late and I miss the last bus, so I walk the hour home. True, I can take the cab, but I am an awful cheapskate. Rather use that money for groceries. Or books. You should see my pantry and bookshelf. I’ll never be hungry for food or stories! BWAH!

Did you know…that skunks exist in the world? Personally, I’ve only seen them on tv. I did not realize that until I saw many in real life. Goodness gracious, it is terrifying to see one run directly towards you. They are terrifying runners! Their bodies roll and tumble like sacks of potatoes falling down a hill. I’d guffaw outloud if I wasn’t running away to keep my skin human-smelling.

To make up for all the skunk existence that pops into being at night, people seem to disappear. It’s rare for me to bump into a human soul in the night time. It’s just me and the world at night. And the stars! They exist and they twinkle!  So, it’s me, the world, the stars, and the skunks.

My story about skunks and the night has nothing to do with the food I made: Pumpkin Chocolate Chip granola bars. I just really wanted to share my amazement with you. To re-cap: 1. Skunks are fur-reaky when they run. 2. Stars exist. 3. It’s not that scary to walk alone in the middle of the night. Just don’t think too hard about the things that go bump in the night.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Granola Bars
I used the recipe by Two Peas & Their Pod.

Chocolate Cake with Strawberry Buttercream

Some time ago, I asked for a weekend off work and I nearly fainted from fright.

You see, I hadn’t even completed my first day on the job yet and I was already asking for a weekend off work. Och.

But a celebration was to be had! Some dancing had to be done! Loud and obnoxious singing were in my plans! It was a birthday! It was a party day! It was meet-the-boyfriend-of-the-birthday girl-for-the-first-time day!

Needless to say, I got my days off and another friend and I got cracking on the cake: chocolate cake with a chocolate butter cream in the middle and a strawberry butter cream all around.

Our reaction: Meh. It was too sweet. Cake by itself? GOOOD. Strawberry butter cream by itself? DOUBLE GOOD. It actually tasted like strawberries and sugar! Wow! But when you eat it in a larger portion and all together…didn’t work as well as it could have.

But it’s alright! Still had a blast! Canoeing and eating and card-playing. Birthdays are so fabulous. Unless, you know, they are not fabulous. Then…I hope your next one is happier.

Pumpkin Pasties
We used this One Bowl Chocolate Cake recipe from Sips and Spoonfuls.
And then we used the Chocolate Buttercream and Strawberry Buttercream recipes from The Little Red House. The chocolate buttercream tasted like canned frosting—-not an insult! That was not an insult! My sister and I would eat that stuff with our fingers. And the strawberry buttercream tasted like strawberries and sugar. And look at that piping by The Little Red House! We tried to replicate that piped frosting look. However, our lack of supplies (we used a ziploc bag) combined with our mediocre skill resulted in…something different.

Basic Quiche

FDH DHPSI$_#(^ OJAMGSP :LAET PAE R$@)B T OSHK!

Oh my…goodness. I baked a quiche. I ADORE QUICHE. Quiche! Quiche! Quiche got into my belly!

Pastry, lovely pastry and a savoury cheesy centre.  Oh, goodness gracious, droooool.

I finally used the quiche pan that me seesta gave me for my b-day about a year ago too. And look how purty the pan made my quiche look. Oh, purty quiche, you are divine…

Basic Quiche Recipe
1 pie crust

I used this recipe, but subbed whole grain flour. I also prebaked the crust for 7 minutes at 375 degrees F beforehand to prevent the crust from going soggy from the egg mixture.

4 eggs*
2 cups milk*
salt and pepper
2 cups of desired mixin’s

Whisk the eggs. Add the milk and combine. Add in salt and pepper to taste, perhaps a teaspoon of salt and a half teaspoon of pepper. Stir in your mixin’s. Pour the egg mixture into your crust. Bake at 375 degrees F for 30 to 35 minutes or until the centre is set.

*A good thing to remember when you make quiches of assorted sizes is that 1 egg = ½ cup of milk. In other words, when you make the egg mixture for quiches, make sure that for every egg you have, you also add ½ cup of milk as well.
**Add any mixin’s that you like! This time, I used ½ cup of cheese (cheese is always necessary in quiches, yessir), 1 cup of sautéed broccoli, and ½ cup of cooked chicken.