Chapstick Cookies²

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 cup butter, softened
• 2/3 cup white sugar
• 1/2 tsp almond extract
• 2 cups flour³
• 1/2 cup jam (I used strawberry, but any flavor would be delicious.)
• a sprinkling of confectioner’s sugar

Preheat your oven to 350°F (180°C). If you have a convection (fan) oven, preheat to 300°F (150°C).

In a medium sized bowl, cream together butter and sugar until smooth. Mix in the almond extract. Add flour gradually until the dough reaches a clay-like consistency. Don’t put in too much flour⁴ and be sure not to overwork the dough!

Roll the dough into 1-inch balls, about the diameter of a quarter, dirham, or euro coin.

Without flattening, press a hold in the center of each ball with your chapstick tube or similar cylindrical instrument. Each indentation should be about halfway into the ball.

Fill each hole to the top with jam, being careful not to let it overflow.

Chill your baking trays in the freezer for ten minutes to stiffen up the dough, then bake for 15-20 minutes in your preheated oven. Cookies should still be soft and light in color when finished, but will harden as they cool. Mine cracked a little, but I didn’t really care.

Sprinkle lightly with confectioner’s sugar, then hide them somewhere so you don’t have to share.

Makes at least 24 bite-sized cookies.

1. Unless you were one of those weird kids who ate chapstick. At one point, I had Jolly Rancher and jello-flavored chapstick, but I still didn’t try to eat them.
2. This blog is in no way affiliated with ChapStick, Pfizer, or anyone else in the lip-hydrating industry. In fact, you can use any old tube of lip balm, a large pen cap, or other cylindrical device with the correct diameter.
3. I only ended up using about 1.5 cups.
4. You will probably have some left over.

After the hike a windy theatre
With cliffside seats and comedy feature²

Then on to biomes full of plants,
An indoor rainforest, birds and ants³

Fields of flowers, the best bouquet
And one to take back home, in gray⁴

Gates, plays, plants and all
How many days was I in Cornwall?⁵

And finally, some bonus ones
Just a few, since I took tons

Another flower, just as nice

Clearly one would not suffice

A tiny ship, made of wood

And the very largest pan of food

Hiding on St. Michael’s Mount

Was easy, by any account

I found a spiky succulent

And ate meringue to my heart’s content

1. This rhyme is based, as you may know / On one written long ago
2. The protagonist, a real sad sack / Was Moliere’s hypochondriac
3. Other environmental types / Will find that Eden’s more than hype
4. The photo of this gorgeous flower / Was taken after a rain shower
5. This dessert was only one / Of many; we both ate a ton

WRONG!

Oh, dear muffin grumbler, you haven’t had these banana muffins. These are not garden-variety, bring-to-your-in-laws-after-a-panicked-last-minute-stop-at-the-grocery-store-because-you-can’t-arrive-empty-handed muffins. These are banana walnut chocolate chip muffins. You heard me right. Banana walnut chocolate chip. Moist on the inside with crunchy surprises, gooey pockets of melted chocolate, and sparkling sugar crystal tops, these are the kind of muffins you eat three and four at a time, sputtering crumbs as you insist to horrified onlookers, “But it’s okay… they’re healthy. They’re banana.”

 Nut Your Chipical Banana Muffin ¹

INGREDIENTS:²

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 5 medium-sized overripe bananas
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup walnuts, chopped
• 2/3 cup chocolate chips
• sugar crystals for the tops

Preheat oven to 375°F (190°C). Lightly butter your muffin tin(s) or line with paper cups.

In one bowl, combine flour, baking soda, and salt. In a second, smaller bowl, mash two of the bananas with a fork until mushy, but still lumpy. Set both bowls aside.

In a third bowl, combine the remaining bananas and sugar, then whip with an electric mixer for about 3 minutes.³ Add the melted butter, eggs, and vanilla, then continue to beat until reasonably smooth.

Dump in the dry ingredients and mix until blended. Gently fold in the nuts, hand-mashed banana,⁴ and chocolate chips.

Fill each muffin tin about two-thirds of the way with batter. The original recipe suggests rapping the filled muffin tin on your counter to eliminate air pockets. Do it if you think it’ll be fun.

Shove your future muffins into the oven and bake for 18-20 minutes, until a toothpick⁵ comes out clean. They will be very moist on the inside and light to medium golden brown on the tops. Don’t forget to sprinkle sugar crystals across the top!

Apparently you’re supposed to let these cool for a few minutes, but sometimes molten chocolate is worth roof-of-the-mouth burns. You decide.

Here is one batch baked with a convection oven…⁶

And a second batch without. They were equally tasty.⁷

Makes 18 small muffins or 12 large ones, which will take you approximately four minutes to devour.

1. It has been scientifically proven that recipes are always better with a pun.
2. Adapted from this recipe.
3. You can do this by hand, though it’ll take a bit longer.
4. It’s still sitting over in the corner, right?
5. Or fork, for the more environmentally conscious chefs out there, or those living in a country where toothpicks are hard to come by.
6. More photos on Flickr.
7. If crusty muffin tops are your thing, bake with a fan or at a higher temperature for a shorter length of time. If you prefer perfectly rounded muffin tops, bake without fan for the original time. I was going to make a joke about skipping the gym and eating fatty foods to achieve an impressive muffin top, but I just couldn’t pull it off.

There were many beautiful, memorable things in Quimper. Long walks by the river with dramatic cloudscapes. Bustling outdoor markets. Getting caught in summer rainstorms. Translating various French menus and eating possibly the best salad of my life.¹ Playing accordion with friends. And, of course, the stained glass.²

And some experiences too recent to be immortalized in stained glass…

The cathedral ceiling.

Mystery purple leaf-flowers.

After the rainstorm.

Erin counts her wealth while waiting for sandwiches.

Erin’s BLT, a birds-eye view.

Erin’s second BLT.

The first salad. Chicken, noodles, assorted vegetables, sesame dressing.

The second salad. Tabbouleh, cherry tomato, four kinds of cheese, eggs, fresh vegetables.

Hot chocolate for weary travelers. Note the homemade brownies.

1. At this cafe recommended to us by a friend.
2. We spent several hours in Cathédrale Saint-Corentin de Quimper, until most of the cathedral’s candles had burned down and Erin’s stomach began to rumble so loudly that it snapped me out of my stained glass reverie.

We began in Bordeaux on the day of a huge wine festival,² enjoying local wine and the best sunset of our trip. The following day, we explored Saint-Émilion, an ancient city dating back to prehistoric times. We explored Roman ruins, sampled more local wine (of course), confused a cat, and visited a nearby market town with friends.

We bought homemade, herb-encrusted saucisson from a little girl,³ got lost on country roads, found out everything we needed to know about 17th century architecture and the local theatre industry, had a conversation about pesto with a chef, and enjoyed the mintiest mint chocolate chip ice cream that I have ever tasted.⁴

Obviously you should visit Saint-Émilion for the architecture, wine, food, historic landmarks,⁵ and beautiful vistas, but don’t forget to sample the ice cream!

Special bonus photos…

Grapes outside our door.

A French cat.

The fabled ice cream.

1. Really. There were miles and miles of grape vines surrounding the house. Finding our way home each day was confusing.
2. Although every day may be a wine festival in Bordeaux.
3. This lasted the next week, at least, and was delicious every time.
4. There were even flecks of mint in the ice cream.
5. It is a world heritage site, after all.

1. I get this question approximately 238974837902 times every week from friends, family, strangers, tourists, and pretty much everyone else.

I smuggled it home
and then made this recipe
just for all of you

quinoa stuffed peppers
a recipe in haiku
cooking poetry

the ingredients
(an assortment of healthy
vegetables… plus cheese)

1 cup of quinoa
3 green peppers and 1 red
(with their tops removed)

1 can of chick peas
1 cup of tomato sauce
2 diced tomatoes

2 small zucchinis
2/3 cups grated cheddar
1 small onion, chopped

half-teaspoon fennel
half-teaspoon oregano
half-teaspoon basil

one pinch black pepper
2 teaspoons of olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt

–

cooking directions
the best stuffed peppers you’ve had
are easy to make

I.
preheat your oven
to three-fifty fahrenheit
(one-eighty celsius)

II.
combine dry quinoa
with two cups water, then boil
reduce heat, cover

III.
simmer fifteen min
or until all the water
is fully absorbed

IV.
sauté the onions
and garlic in oil until
slightly translucent

V.
stir in tomato,
zucchini, and all spices
sauté five minutes

VI.
add tomato sauce,
chickpeas, and spices to taste
cover and simmer

VII.
after five minutes
mix in quinoa, fill peppers
top with pepper lids

VIII.
bake fifteen minutes
until peppers are roasted
then remove the lids

IX.
sprinkle cheese on top
bake for five minutes or till
golden and bubbling

X.
eat your stuffed peppers:
vast cascades of melted cheese
a hidden surprise