It’s been a while since I last posted something. I just came off a major writing stint. To be honest, that’s going to happen every year around this time (May), and again in December. I’m on a semester system, and as many students can attest, it’s crunch time during May. It is also a really exciting time of year. Many of my friends are graduating and moving on to do even greater things. It’s both wonderful to see, and produces a bit of angst for me as well. It wasn’t too long ago that I graduated with my BA and was experiencing the joys of walking the graduation stage with my son. I too was filled with great anticipation about the next phase of my life. However, I’m in the middle of my PhD program now and it often feels like the doldrums. I’m ready to walk that stage again and move onto the next phase in my life. Except… I still have at least two more years (being optimistic) before that can happen. Sigh.
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I do realize that we are way past the winter holidays and headed into glorious spring and all the beautiful bounty that it brings; except, there’s not yet much spring fruit at the farmers’ market besides newly emerging, and not quite summer sweet, strawberries with white shoulders. There are still a ton of citrus…
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Eggs are awesome. Deviled Eggs are even more awesome. I LOVE eggs.
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One of my favorite meals to make is a cheesy stuffed pasta. Today was a day for spinach and cheese stuffed shells. The really cool thing about the stuffing though, is that instead of using ricotta, I like to substitute cottage cheese. You can’t taste the difference, and I like to do a little…
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This post is dedicated to all the students out there. I personally ate about 10 of these cookies while studying last week. There’s something about the fact that they have golden raisins, old-fashioned oats, and shredded coconut in them that makes me feel like they can almost be classified as a healthy cookie–which is probably…
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This past Saturday I picked up a whole pasture-raised chicken from Riverdog’s stand at the Berkeley Farmers’ Market. When I say the whole chicken, I mean it literally. It came with it’s head and feet still attached. I broke it down into 10-pieces (the breast was quartered) for this recipe, while my seven-year old son stood…
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There are as many different recipes for chocolate chip cookies as there are bakers. Some like their cookies chewy; others like them crispy; and some like them puffy, soft, and cakey. I personally like mine to be crispy around the edges with a bit of chew to the center. These particular cookies have a somewhat…
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I’m not much of a coffee drinker, though I enjoy a nice decaf soy mocha every now and then. I do, however, drink chai tea lattes on a regular basis–especially during the winter–and at cafes when I’m studying, or meeting up with a girlfriend or colleagues to have a chat! I love the warm spices,…
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This post and recipe is dedicated to my mom. She recently came to visit us because my 7-year old had a whole week off of school for a “mid-winter break.” He is always so super excited to have her here, and starts counting down the days before she will arrive a week ahead…
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As far as I’m concerned there is no such thing as “plain vanilla.” This is especially true when you can take vanilla cupcakes to a whole other level by grinding up a 1/2 of a vanilla bean pod from India, with unrefined cane sugar, and then top them with a fluffy vanilla marshmallow-y frosting.
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