Okay, so I have been drooling over this cookbook I see EVERY TIME I go into Borders or B&N. I feel I must have this cookbook (shameless plug for a gift idea for me, bashful grin ensuing). The possibilities seem endless with a cookbook like this in my hands. Imagine all the friends I could make and all the pounds of butter I would go through. Ahhhh.
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Now can you see why I must have this cookbook. All about cookies. And I love how she organizes the book: light and delicate, soft and chewy, crumbly and sandy, chunky and nutty, cakey and tender, crisp and crunchy, rich and dense. Instead of a table of contents using words, she speaks my love language–literal pictures of every cookie. There is a recipe in here for everyone. Dark chocolate cookies with sour cherries (can I get a “Brendan” on that one?). Chocolate black pepper cookies (definately my dad’s choice). How about this one: Earl grey tea cookies (definately a sure thing for my friend, Lizzie)?
So instead of purchasing this amazing cookbook (short on cash these days and as I mentioned before I may just drop a not so subtle hint that I would like someone reading this blog to buy this for me for Christmas, please), I checked it out at the library. I have grown awfully fond of our humble Waukegan library for just this reason. I thumbed through the book this evening after coming straight home after picking it up, grabbing my little pink sticky notes and marking all the ones that immediately struck my fancy.
Here is my first selection (mostly based on what ingredients I had in the house): CHOCOLATE THUMBPRINTS [literally].
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Not bad, eh? Please note the striking resemblance of the finished cookies on the cooling rack to the lovely photo in the cookbook in the background. Impressive. I think it is my turn to enter myself in my husband’s baking contest he does with his men’s group. I am sure to win! HA!
[side note: the common English interjection, "Holy moly!" comes from the name of a magic herb "Moly" (Greek: μῶλυ) in Greek mythology.]
Audrey and I harvested only half my basil plot and we made two batches of Kati’s amazing pesto. Talk about bounty. I ran out of cheeses and garlic so I was forced to halt my pesto expedition.
We packaged it up in little half cup containers and froze a bunch of it in ice cube trays for the winter, which I have found to be a wonderful way of using it in cooking. Usually you only need a small amount of pesto–add it to chicken in the frying pan, throw a cube of it in homemade spaghetti sauce.
Here is the recipe if you are interested:
Kati’s Pesto Recipe
4 garlic cloves
1/2 cup pine nuts or walnuts
1 tsp coarse salt (give or take to your liking)
1/2 tsp ground pepper (I usually use more)
3-4 cups fresh basil leaves (packed into the cup)
1/4lb fresh Parmesan, grated
1/4lb fresh Romano, grated
3/4-2 cup olive oil (I usually use 1/2 cup olive oil and add more later if I am freezing it and then using it in cooking later; you can always add more oil to it.
Blend all the ingredients in a food processor. Blend till super smooth.
Wallah!
Kati also taught me that if you are just going to keep it in the fridge, to help prevent it from changing color on you the way a banana turns brown, put a layer of saran wrap on top pressed nicely against the pesto and then apply the Tupperware lid.
One other delicious Kati pesto recipe that I didn’t believe her about until I tried it—take a bagel, cover it in a thin layer of cream cheese. Spread a thin layer of pesto on top of that and then to top it all off, cut a thin slab of a red, juicy tomato and lay it on. Oh my goodness! There is nothing like it! Trust me. And when Kati suggests eating these for breakfast, I wholeheartedly agree (now)!
I made one of my best chocolate pear pie yet! This is a Bebe recipe for those of you that know of her, but I have tailored it a little bit for my own liking.
In the Martens’ family, they historically eat apple pie for breakfast. There is a legend that goes something like this: Jason wanted a certain something (we will spare you those little details and at the same time, Jason’s reputation) and so his dad made a deal with him. I will buy you that certain something if you make an apple pie every day for a month. So Jason did just that and perfected his apple pie filling and the crust. Imagine that much pie in a house for one month; you are bound to have some left over for breakfast.
When I married Ivan he insisted (in a silly way) that if I was to truly become a Martens’ and take on the name, I would need to acquire a taste for apple pie in the morning on occasion. I am much more a protein/salt kind of breakfast eater. And apple pie is only good with a heavy dollop of whipped cream or vanilla ice cream, which it seems you can’t indulge in that for breakfast (well, maybe in your coffee).
So I have been a gradual and maybe not a full covert in the Martens’ tradition of eating apple pie for breakfast. However, this morning I had no difficulty wolfing down a substantial piece of my chocolate pear pie. And I sure did offer a piece to my two year old and she is currently making her way through the piece, particularly looking for the large dark chocolate chunks that have solidified since it cooled (smart girl).
I know that I should probably be sticking to the high protein breakfast, being pregnant and all. Especially since my family genes puts me at risk for gestational diabetes, but that chocolate pear pie was damn worth it. I promise to eat protein the rest of the day and avoid carbs at all cost.
Yummy in the tummy.
Can I get an AMEN for the beautiful weather we had here in Chicago this weekend?
I spent every day at the Illinois State Beach Park, lingering on the beach with Audrey Anne acquiring more freckles and going for long walks in the woods and along the shore. These nature trails are my new discovery that I am just reveling in like a delicious perfume. I went Saturday morning and fell in love. Wild roses lining the paths sending up there light scent; made me want to invest in anything rose scented (call me old lady). Wild irises, lilies, these interesting purple droopy flowers, little five petaled white flowers that looked like strawberry plant flowers. I even saw cacti with extraordinary yellow blooms. This orange blossomed plant was everywhere covered in butterflies. The colors scattered through the woods was eye candy for me and I needed it so badly.
I spent time in the garden every day, too. I am loving my garden these days. Transplanted some sunflowers I planted from seed that took off in a space that isn’t getting too much sun. I kind of gave up on the vegetable garden this year and they were in that corner. So I moved them to two other plots in the front of the house and near the fence in the backyard where they will get much more attention and glory. Weeding and more weeding, but that’s okay, because it makes all those little plants happy as they stretch their roots and leaves out. Thankful for all the rain and sunshine these past few weeks.
Hope you all had a lovely weekend outside!
