Chocolate Chip Cookies

Greetings, my pretties! I've so enjoyed reading all of your posts and felt it was probably time for me to get in on the action. I was feeling like chocolate chip cookies a few days ago, so I made some! The recipe is my mother's own, and when I was younger I liked to eat it raw by the spoonful. Now I just use my fingers. No judging!

Chocolate Chip Cookies
1 c. butter, room temp
3/4 c. brown sugar
3/4 c. sugar
1 egg
1 t. vanilla
1 t. baking soda
1/2 t. salt
2 c. flour
1 c. oats
2 c. chocolate chips

Cream the butter and sugars. Add all the other stuff in the order listed (roughly). I suggest using an electric mixer for everything up to the chocolate chips, and then stir those in by hand. Bake in 350 degree oven for ~10 minutes (I start checking at 7 and set the timer accordingly). Enjoy!

Breakfast in Madison, WI

I got this beautiful (and delicious!) plate of pancakes at Frida Mexican Grill on State Street.

Ames, you would love Madison. They're very proud of their cheese.

I'm Sticking with Kozy Shack

I tried to make stovetop rice pudding, but it looks like a bowl of rice and tastes like a bowl of chalk! I'm not sure what I did wrong, but I'm guessing I cooked too much of the liquid out of it. Any tips?

"Gastrosexuals"

I haven't been able to make any food--USC locks the kitchens in their dorms--so I have not been posting. Boo. I should be taking more pictures at restaurants, but I'm always so hungry I forget...

However, I did see this ridiculous document written by market researchers about a new, hip group they term "gastrosexuals." Basically, guys who cook.

Be amazed here: http://www.gastrosexual.com/EmergenceoftheGastrosexual.pdf

And read comments on the original thread here: http://www.metafilter.com/82657/Savory-seasonings-stimulate-the-appetite

Beet Curry

I think most people don't like beets. I like them but I've only had them in curries, not salads or anything else. My mom is a big fan and says that they're really healthy.

I love the color. The only downside, though, is that beets will temporarily stain your hands. And if you're messy it'll look like you murdered something in the kitchen.
As for taste, the curry is a little too sweet, even though I added spices and salt. I'll have to ask my mom how she makes it more savory.

I'm leaving Swarthmore for cooking school!

Here is a collection of food I've made over the summer...

I apologize for intruding but Shilpa invited me after she found out that I have discovered...(drum rolls)...the JOY OF COOKING! I never would have thought that I would enjoy it but there is something really enjoyable about the slow process. It teaches patience, learning to trust your intuition and five senses, and creativity--all things that I'm working on. So really, I love it, and if you don't believe me, ask Liz, Urooj, and Tiff. I, Klambert, have become obsessed with cooking.

I'm a big fan of fresh vegetables! Yep, that's not even canned corn..it's corn that I cut from the cob. yum. Pasta makes multiple appearances in this series simply because it's so simple so I try to be creative with the other dishes.

Here's a typical dish..zucchini, bell peppers, chicken + pasta. simple and quick but still tasty.

Here's where I tried to copy a dish my sister made last summer. She fried mahi mahi fish with tom yum sauce with bell peppers and green onions. Above is a version of that but apparently I'm not great at cooking fish so it didn't turn out as well but it still quite tasty nevertheless. And anyway, the bell peppers make the dish look so pretty!

Mmmm, here's where the good stuff starts! My sister also made some tasty spicy salmon sushi last year, and I replicated it with some success last weekend. I cooked some rice, added generous squirts of lemon and a tad bit of salt, and rolled it into sushi with cucumber and smoked salmon mixed with green onions and chili-garlic sauce. Delicious!

Last weekend, Althea came over and I had been dreaming about steak for awhile so we decided to get some steak and green beans with red onions. I cooked it past the point where the steak could moo but it was nevertheless good for the first time I've ever cooked steak. The green beans, on the other hand, were amazing--crunchy and flavorful after having soaked up the steak juice. double yum!

Here is some baked salmon that was simple and tasty. Trader Joe's (now referred to affectionately be me as "Joe's") sells decently priced wild-caught Alaskan salmon. All I did was cover it in some olive oil, oregano, basil, chili powder, salt and maybe some pepper and stick it into the oven.

Ahh, and this is one of my personal favorites. When I was a kid, my mom used to make pico de gallo, and I was recently craving some so I decided to try it out. I got some tomatoes, red onions, bell peppers, limes, and green onions. All I did was chop the vegetables up and squeeze lots of lime into the mixture and add a bit of salt. Homemade, fresh pico de gallo really is a treat. If you want to make this yourself, I would suggest adding lemon, fresh chili peppers, and hard (less-ripened) tomatoes.

Tonic Restaurant, D.C.

Tonic is a restaurant located in Quigley's, a historic pharmacy around the corner from Liz, Urooj, Tiff, and Katherine's apartment.
I got grilled veggie tacos which were pretty good.
Katherine got Bourbon-Glazed Pork Chop. I tried it and it was delicious. The peaches were drenched in bourbon, which was too much for me. But they look great!

Amy and Jasper's Excellent Food Adventure

Greetings, all! I am sorry it has been such a long time since my last post, but I have been rather preoccupied with visiting with Jasper and have not had the chance to update. But now I do! I tried to take pictures of the exciting food, though I unfortunately forgot to make use of my camera when we ate at City View dim sum (so good). Oh well. I apologize in advance for the length of this post, but I have 2 weeks of food to share! So without further ado, I give you: Amy and Jasper's Excellent Food Adventures!
I'm only going to include the very biggest highlights/the stuff that's not already on FB, so for In-N-Out, tea house, and Sweet Life, you'll have to go to my photos there.
Wine country! On Saturday we went with his parents to Napa/Sonoma Valley and ate at this fantastic Italian place. Our meal took about 2 hours and at the end of it I was so full I kind of wanted to explode. We started with fried calamari and fresh mozzarella and prosciutto pizza:

I had the rabbit papardelle with fresh mushrooms and some kind of sauce. Rabbit's nummy, in case you were considering having it!

For dessert, I had the most amazingly rich and fantastic hazelnut gianduja mousse cake with fresh raspberries and housemade gelato:

You can see why I gained 3 lbs, since this meal was by no means an isolated incident.
Road trip up to Oregon we had a picnic his parents had made. We got attacked by an epic thunderstorm around Ashland so we pulled over and had a picnic in the car in front of a dentist's office.
It was very classy. Cowgirl Creamery Mt. Tam cheese is DELICIOUS:

For the Eugene highlights, you'll have to go to my FB album "JasperVisit", if you haven't already! Though the fruit monster we made for McKenna's graduation party deserves to be seen here as well:

Isn't it magnificent?
Also, I don't know if any of you care, but Jasper and I are staying together for the summer (and beyonddd), which makes me happy at least!

I haven't posted anything since moving in to the Swat apartment because I've mostly been making curries, rice, eggs, and pb&j sandwiches and those don't really photograph well. BUT today I had an amazing lunch with Katherine, Neena, and Liz.

Neens made some delicious asparagus.




Katherine made a stir-fry and I made some potatoes with spices.
Roasted chicken and salad with almonds, walnuts, and sun-dried tomatoes were also on the menu.

After our feast, we had ice cream outside on the grass and said our goodbyes.

Vanilla Cupcakes

Guys, I just really like orange frosting.