I do! It's me! So I'd been thinking about making muffins- mostly because I love baked goods for breakfast. And as everyone knows muffins is the legit way to eat cake for breakfast! I also originally wanted to make up my own recipe. I've heard tale of a basic "creaming method" that allows for a standard fats to flour ratio then add in the additional flavors and textures you want. I know Alton Brown talks about this in his 2nd cookbook "I'm Just Here For More Food," but I don't own that one. I was on my way to the library to check it out when I stopped in to TJMaxx and found a small cookbook ALL about muffins. It uses a basic recipe and then tweaks it for a variety of recipes. Of course I bought it:


The recipe I chose was for Coffee Hazelnut muffins. Sounds good right? Let's find out what's in them:


That's right... good ol' instant coffee and the tangy goodness of buttermilk mixed with brown sugar and safflower oil. Also the usual suspects of flour, salt, and baking powder to "activate" the buttermilk. Now for the obligatory shot of baking in progress:


Here's what they looked like before I enjoyed them throughout the week as part of my AM routine:

...and I made a lemon cake! For my grandpa's (PaPa's) birthday. As you probably know by now I loves my family...and we bond a lot through food. So to celebrate my PaPa's 87th birthday he hung out, had some fancy aged cheddar cheese (not Kraft brand=fancy) and cake. Previously my PaPa had expressed some interest in a lemon cake recipe I had in a magazine. He doesn't own a zester so he wasn't about to buy one. I thought... I own a zester and I can't imagine what I'd be able to afford to buy him so I'll make that cake. At least that way I know he'd get some use out of my gift. It's at times like this (when I need to buy a gift for my PaPa) that I think back to that Cosby show episode where Cliff wants better Fathers' Day Gifts... And I feel bad for all the tie/cufflink combos I've bought my loving gramps. So without further mumbo jumbo here's the video:



I got a bit ahead of myself once I started the crumb coat. In an attempt to make the best use of dwindling time I took a break to the store to buy other appetizer stuff while the crumb coat set. Then I forgot to take a process pick of the just crumb coated cake. So there's only the final view for you all. If nothing else this picture tells me I need to take one of those Wilton frosting 101 courses... I even bought myself a new off-set/angles spatula. Making those nice even lines when frosting a cake is hard!

Hahahaha! I crack myself up with my third grade humor. And now for an awesome transition....

Speaking of making the grade (badda bing!) my eldest sister's wee ones recently started school. Okay, technically it was like 3 weeks ago which is when I actually made these whoopie pies. I wanted to help my niece and nephew celebrate their return to school with a big whoopie... or hurray but that wouldn't have been such an awesome pun. Also I know for a while whoopie pies were supposed to be the new cupcakes. But I don't think that ever panned out. Actually, I think donuts may be the new cupcake now. I guess someone should tell those TV executives (zing!). In case you didn't get that food media joke let me hip you to it... As of late (a little too late) there's been an influx of cupcake themed tv shows. However cupcakes are at the end of their fadome according to some (moi). I still loves them though! So maybe my next blog post will be about putting some new cupcake wrappers to use. For now, here's me making whoopie (pies). It's not a sex tape folks!




As I've mentioned before I usually freeze all baked goods prior to shipping them. These whoopie pies were a bit trickier though due to the cream filling... So I bought a box with a bit of extra room, one of those chilly bags from the dollar store, and an ice pack. I pulled the whoopie pies out of the freezer post prepping the box, wrapped it up in the chilly bag, threw in the ice pack and shipped it all off priority mail. My sister reported they arrived in tact, fresh, and tasty! Here's a picture of the results... I had a couple extra that I shared with some more local friends.

So in my summer quest to keep busy baking... and not eating it all I sent some new cookies in the mail. A dear friend of mine took the bar exam this summer. Thus, the beginning of her "vacation" was filled with 10hr study days. I decided to send her some sweet 'n' salty cookies to celebrate the beginning of the end of her training as a lawyer and the beginning of the beginning of her chosen profession (lawyering).

I have always been a fan of the sweet and salty combo which usually ends up being chocolate and peanut butter in my book. However, I wanted to try something new. And since the bacon craze has died down a bit I felt it was okay for me to jump on that bandwagon without being accused of trying to be too trendy. I looked through my bookmarked food pages and came across an awesome recipe for peanut butter and bacon cookies at Joy the Baker.

What makes this recipe so awesome? It has no flour! How amazing is that?! As a result, the cookies were super easy and baked super quick. Which on a hot summer day makes for a GREAT time in the kitchen because I don't end up shvitzing into the batter.... Which I never do anyways (ever) b/c that'd be gross. That's what headbands are for people! Now without further ado....

A last note on the final pick... the cookies look foggy because my rule for sending baked goods in the mail without paying $30 to overnight them is to freeze them first. Then I send them priority mail for a lot less. This hopefully explains the wee bit of condensation on the bag/ The days following my friend's bar exam were kind of wild and crazy. I do know she got the cookies...and I think she enjoyed them. I had fun making them!

As you may have realized by now I spend a lot of time experimenting in the kitchen and I love to share the prototypes with my family.... Especially my PaPa whom I went to visit for a mini-family gathering a couple of weeks ago. In my family there's a long history of summer camp participation. There's a camp in Michigan that my fam has been going to since my mom was a kid... and all her kids went... and now her kids' kids are going. Additionally, I come from a hard working family and summer has always been when kids get to spend quality time with relatives. This is also a great way to save on childcare during the summer. The fact that your kids get to commune with the older generations of their family, cousins, and such is an added super non-financial bonus! Thus, (to make a back story short), my family gathered for these reasons at my PaPa's condo. The cast of characters included:

* My twin
*Her son
*My elder sister
*Her son and daughter
*My mom
*My PaPa
*My Aunt
*Her 2 daughters

With all those mouths in on 3 bedroom condo I thought it'd be a good idea to bring a sweet treat. A while ago I bought Fine Cooking's Sweet Cakes magazine. I took this opportunity to take a closer look at the recipes I'd tabbed and pick on to bake. I settled on their super easy cinnamon rolls... The perk? No yeast! Have I shared my fear of yeast? I dunno why but I always feel like I'll muck it up. There's something about the "live" descriptor that gets me. I figured this Fine Cooking recipe would be a great way to make a crowd pleaser without having a dry yeast panic attack on my part.

FASTEST EVER CINNAMON BUNS

For the dough
3/4 c cottage cheese
1/3c buttermilk
1/4c sugar
2 oz. unsalted butter, melted
1 tsp. vanilla
2c flour (more for rolling)
1 Tbs. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. baking soda

For the filling
3/4 oz. unsalted butter, melted
2/3c (packed) brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground allspice
1/4 tsp. ground cloves
1c chopped pecans

For the glaze
2 1/2 oz. powdered sugar
2-3 Tbs. cold milk
1 tsp. vanilla

Preheat oven to 400, grease the sides and bottom of a springform pan (or just a regular ol' cake pan if your me).

So the recipe itself calls for making the dough in a food processor which is what's supposed to make it so easy. I didn't have a food processor until recently (thanks Mom!) I gave it a whirl with a good ol' wooden spoon. I ran into some challenges... the dough wasn't completely smooth because I wasn't able to break up all the cottage cheese curds. Also the dough wasn't as dense as it should have been which made it delicate and hard to handle. In the end I thought I was going to have to botch the whole batch of buns (alliteration shout out!) because the dough wasn't stiff enough to roll. So prior to tucking my tail in shame and sneaking to the trash can I cut the misshapen log into pieces and then re-rolled each individual bun.... I also iced the buns twice, once immediately after baking, and then another time once the buns had cooled. The initial icing was absorbed into the buns and I felt that I needed another coat to make them look delicious AND be sweetly topped. The end results were pretty tasty- even if I didn't end up with the 12 buns the recipe should have made.









Cheese curds, buttermilk, & sugar















Adding in the dry stuff
















Getting a little knead-y















Iced and on a plate














Yummie!

Ok.... so I must confess the obvious and then get a little self righteous about it before we get to the fun part of this post. I, dear friends, neatly fit a stereotype. I am a fat girl who loves cake. More specifically I love chocolate cake. A double stereotype for sure with all running associations between women/chocolate and fat people/food. Now mind you I am just using the word fat as a factual descriptor. You can try to be nice all you want about it with euphemisms (zaftig, rubenesque, thick, curvy, etc.) but it all boils down to the an avoidance of the dreaded F-word. So I'm claiming it in on my own terms, lovin' it, and this chocolate cake recipe I pulled from Fine Cooking. The secret? MAYO!!!! I don't even like mayo... but I guess I'll have to amend that blanket statement now to be "I don't like mayo except when it's used to bring exceptional moistness to chocolate cakes." How's that for a mouthful? Speaking of which check out this photo journal of chocolate decadence:







Dry stuff, you know, the usual... flour, cocoa powder, salt, baking powder, baking soda....












Mmmmm.... creaming ingredients (butter, sugar, buttermilk, eggs) are tasty!












It's simple math: Part A + Part B = C (C cake!).
















Action shot!









So post baking I let the two cakes cool at room temperature. Then I used tom baking tips I've picked up along the way to make it a bit easier to assemble. I made sure to ensure the cakes released easily from the pans by lining them with parchment paper on the bottom. After releasing the cakes from the pans I wrapped them in plastic wrap and them sealed them in a freezer bag. I put them in the freezer to firm up and be easier to cut into layers later on. After about 30 min. in the freezer I leveled both cakes and then split eat one into two layers. I then pulled out my ganache and attempted to do a crumb coat to make sure the cake looked sexy sweet upon completion. However, the summer weather had different plans.... Due to my frugality and the heat (I try not to turn on my window AC unit if at all possible) the ganache wouldn't keep its proper consistency and kept melting. After turning on my AC and trying my darndest (i.e. putting the ganache in the freezer to firm up between layer frosting, keeping the cake in the fridge once it was crumb coated) I decided it was not ganache weather. So I added a bit more chocolate and some confectioner's sugar to turn it into frosting. That switch did the trick and my cake was frosted firm and ready to eat!

This past weekend was foodtastic! I did a lot of eating of good food and sharing of good food with friends.

I started out reuniting with some old friends who were visiting the Great Lake state for a conference. The pair are both native Chicagoans so I know they may have been a little skeptical about what Michigan- particularly Detroit- could offer food wise. We all know Michigan has quite a reputation and it's not necessarily about quality gourmet local foods... or is it?! I met up with Gilad and Sarah (my friends) in Detroit for some food and fun. I originally wanted to take them to Cass Cafe because their homemade lentil burger is amazing and they have local brews on tap for a good Midwestern price. However, the two had been eating there a lot since they got into town so option 2 was Slow's Bar B Que. Now, Slow's is a bit of a Detroit institution (like GM) but I'd never been there because I don't eat pork. In my mind it's kinda silly to go to a BBQ joint if you're not willing to throw down on some ribs or at least a pulled pork sandwich. I am glad I got off my highfalutin' arse and made the trek though.... It was AMAZING and the company only made it even better. Check us out!

Sara's ready to get sauced.














Mmmm...catfish tempura nuggets.
















Gilad's sandwich and sweet potato mash














Sarah's sandwich is looking delicious even it is full of pork... I was tempted but I stayed strong!














My faux BBQ... seitan cubes tossed in sauce and topped with slaw and pickles.








Wait...there's more! Well, not with Gilad and Sarah but rather back to basics in my kitchen. My friends Kelly (of the famous "Kelly and Erica Show,") and Sara asked for baked goods via parcel post. Well, Kelly asked out right while Sara kind of hinted via her Facebook status. Either way I heard the requests loud and clear. I was also happy to oblige because I can't... or should I say I shan't, keep eating a batch of cookies and/or a new cake each week while trying to get these blog posts out to the masses. These posts don't write themselves and the sweet treats won't eat themselves either! So I looked through my bookmarks and picked a recipe from a favorite blogger/baker of mine... Smitten Kitchen. I tried my best to make her hazelnut thumbprint cookies. Why? Because chocolate and hazelnut are one of my favorite flavor combinations... Nutella anyone?!







The ingredients take center stage.
















Set up and ready for the oven.














A few for me.....
















And some for Kelly and Sara.









Overall I did like these cookies a lot. I hope my friends enjoy them as well... I will say next time I'd process the hazelnuts by themselves and then add them to the flour. Smitten Kitchen's instructions called for the cook to process them together while making sure not to create a paste. I think my hyper vigilance against a paste-like state led me to not processing the hazelnuts enough... so the dough had more texture than perhaps it should have. But like Alanis Morriset once said, "you live, you learn...." So next time I'll do it a bit different. My mom has already let me know she'd be open to cookies via mail..... stay tuned and see what comes out of the oven next!

So.... as I mentioned in the video I was making this coffee cake for my grandpa (officially called PaPa). He recently had eye surgery so I wanted to go have some quality time and hangout. He's a man of habit so usually he eats the same thing for breakfast everyday. However, he also knows how much I like to experiment with food so he'll try just about anything I make. While this coffee cake wasn't too much of an adventure I did get him to try some other more diverse offerings. For dinner I made (per my mother's request) fish with mango and avocado salsa, a shrimp salad w/ avocado and a cilantro dressing, and rice. Unfortunately, there are no pictures of those things b/c I wasn't thinking ahead. Also I would like to admit I cheated on the rice because it is one of the things I can never seem to cook correctly. So I used minute rice... sad but true. I'm keepin' it real yo!

But that's all a bit of a tangent. Let's get back to the star of this post.... Brian's Super Secret Coffee Cake. Here's a photo diary of the process:



This marks the beginning of the process... all (or at least most) of the ingredients out and ready too mingle.






Here's what a bowl of butter and sugar looks like close up pre-creaming.









And the dry stuff... flour and baking powder.







In order to not over cream your butter and sugar some people give an estimated beating time of about 4-5min.... until the mix is "light and fluffy." I didn't take a picture of that but I did get one of after I'd added the eggs in.








First layer all set... now just add another and bring on the heat!

I'd say that's a mission accomplished!


* I cannot believe I got him to pose for this "candid" shot. What a grandpa does in the name of love. Thanks Papa!

Hello there! Per an in person request I am finally getting around to posting the "after" pictures of those Ray Ray (that's Rachael Ray for those not in the know) brownie ice cream sandwiches. Have I mentioned that I am an amateur baker/cook? That I have no traditional culinary training? That while I like making delicious (note I did not say yum-o) food that sometimes, often times, I make mistakes? I have? Good! Then we can get on with it!

So these ice cream sandwiches gave me a bit of trouble. Who knew a Ray Ray recipe could be such a challenge? Not I peoples. Not I. One of the reasons (see part one of this post) that I love Ray Ray is the simplicity of her recipes. And while I may have a bachelor's from one of the premier public universities and am on my way to a master's at the same institution I do not have an architectural degree... At this time me thinks that is what one would actually need in order properly assemble these ice cream sandwiches. Either that or a sub-zero freezer and I don't have one of those. Going into this experiment I thought... "Hey I make an awesome savory sandwich. Adding ice cream instead of layers of fixin goodness should be an easy substitution." Those were the blissful thoughts of me in my more innocent days- roughly 3 weeks ago. In short... I tried making these brownie ice cream sandwiches 3 times (THREE TIMES!!!). And I have yet to get the perfect combination. So I'm giving you a reprise of the process and the best post production picture I've got!

Ok... from where I left off in the video you bake the brownies for 10-15 min. until they are still a little soft to the touch. You don't want them to be totally firm b/c you don't want dry brownies AND there will still be some residual heat that will result in residual baking once you pull them out of the heat. After letting the slab cool for 10 min. at room temperature you want to invert the baking sheet and pull off the foil/parchment paper you so dutifully lined it with. As the brownies cool to room temperature you should intermittently press them flat with the baking sheet to get them nice and..... well, flat. (Neo Griot tip #1: While it doesn't call for it the second time I made these brownies I also set the brownie sheet in the fridge to cool and get a bit more solid/firm prior to filling.) Once the brownies are completely cool the path forks....

Neo Griot attempts #1 & 2: Per one of the suggestions on the Ray Ray website I cut the slab in two and tried to fill one half to make on giant sandwich. Then I topped it with the other half and put it in the freezer. I let the super sandwich set for about 1 hr then i took it out and cut it into individual servings. (Neo Griot tip #2: Even if you are tempted to speed up this process because you're so excited for ice cream sandwichy goodness do not soften the ice cream in the microwave. This seemed like a good idea b/c I do this at times with a pint of Ben & Jerry's if it's too hard. But it was not... I just ended up with ice cream soup and soggy brownie halves! Not portable. Not sandwichy. Messy... but still edible.)

Neo Griot attempt #3: Once the brownie slab is cool individually cut out matching sandwich halves to be filled with ice cream. Wrapped in wax paper and then frozen for flavours to meld prior to serving.

Here's the deal.... you need the ice cream to be somewhat soft in order to smoosh it onto the sandwich halves. However, ice cream outside of the freezer can get soft pretty quickly (even without putting it in the microwave). So each time I tried to make these sandwiches I ended up at some point either with ice cream too hard too smoosh OR too soft and liquid-esque to stay in place. Thus I was not able to get a nice smooth layer of ice cream inside the sandwich. Some attempts to level the entire sandwich resulted in a cracked crust (not cute) or leaky sides. One scientific expert suggested I get some dry ice to super freeze things into place. But I am not that adventurous yet. In fact the suggestion just led me to think about that scene in "A Christmas Story" where the kid gets his tongue stuck to the pole on the playground. In my over active imagination this scenario would then end up with me in my itty bitty kitchen, with my hands stuck to a block of dry ice, and unable to call 911 nor Bill Nye the Science Guy for help! So I didn't try it....

Instead after the third attempt I took my imperfect brownie ice cream sandwiches to a Memorial Day BBQ. However, I was too afraid to eat one in public let alone share them.... So, I sat in my friend's house and had a private tasting of one. I did leave a couple for my friends to try once I'd slunk away. My friend Mosaic Geek... being a good friend let me use her camera to take a picture for you all. She also reported that she, "ate the hell out of the one [I] left.... VERY tasty btw..." (that is a direct quote). I enjoyed my sandwich as well but I was a little sad b/c I didn't get the ice cream to brownie ratio quite right... This was a direct result of the melting ice cream dilemma previously mentioned. I had heavy boots (was sad) about this imperfection for a while. After mentioning my epic fail to another friend of mine he explained how he'd been watch "Private Chefs of Beverly Hills" and one two occasions the profession chefs on that show tried to make ice cream sandwiches and had similar issues... So if professionals weren't able to pull it off I was able to forgive myself for it as well. Then I went to therapy and talked it out for a couple of sessions.... and now I'm sharing the picture with the public as my final attempt to "work through" this issue and have some closure. Okay, so maybe that's a bit of an exaggeration but I bet you've attempted to do something before and had the results not be as awesome as you'd hoped. Afterward your awesome friends told you you're knitting wasn't uneven, or you're picture was hung level, or the manicure you gave yourself totally looked professional.... I have friends who tell me my cooking isn't bad. I am thankful for their mercy. Oh... and here's the picture (finally)!

Ok. So I originally wanted to name this post "How to toss my salad" as an homage to the Chris Rock bit. But, I thought it might be going too far... but I guess giving you the entire thought process makes it a little more G rated. Let's enjoy a quick snort about it eh?

So, it's summer, summer, summer time (summer time) much like the Fresh Prince used to rap about back in the day. And while I realize it's not technically summer the shvitzing I do while riding in my car sans AC tells me I can feel the heat of the night...errr day. One of my go-to meals is a big salad a la Elaine on "Seinfeld." However, as any experience salad consumer knows making a quality salad isn't always as easy as making salsa with a food processor. In general I have some handy tips/methods/OCD like steps for making salad:

1. Keep your greens clean and dry.... For bourgeois on a budget peeps like me this does no include a salad spinner. So instead I just soak my greens of choice for a few minutes in cold water to let the grit fall to the bottom of the bowl. Then I pick up my lettuce(s) of choice and shake them out... then roll them up in a paper towel to soak up any extra moisture.
2. Build with the heavy stuff on the bottom... this is a tip from Alton Brown I added to my process. I keep all the heavy stuff (i.e. anything other than the greens) on the bottom of the bowl prior to tossing.
3. DIY dressing(s)... because really it is that simple. And since it's just moi living it up Sex in the City style (NOT) having a whole bottle of salad dressing can be a bore b/c it locks me into a certain type of salad in order to use the whole thing up.

So those are the basics. And while I know I just talked about variety in my salad munching I usually eat 3 basic salads. But, my favorite (pictured above) is my not quite fattoush salad salad. I love me some fattoush and a lot of middle eastern/Donner Kabob type places don't usually have it on the menu. You're more likely to see tabouli as an option. So I've learned to make it work at home.

Not Quite Fattoush

• romaine leaves
• tomatoes (I usually go for grape tomatoes)
• pita chips
• parsley, flat leaf or Italian
• green onion/red onion
  
• cucumber

Now while those ingredients are pretty classic the not quite comes in with the dressing. Fattoush is normally served with a dressing that has sumac in it. A nice little spice that gives the dressing it's zing and little purplish flakes. But I don't ever seem to have any sumac in my cupboard... since I've never bought it. So instead I've made up my own version with some staple Griot kitchen ingredients.

Not Quite Fattoush Dressing

• olive oil
• lemon juice (or lime in a pinch)
• salt
• pepper
• garlic, minced
• Honey Cup mustard

You may be asking Neo Griot... "MUSTARD?!" And to that I say a resounding hells yeah! The mustard acts as an emulsifier to bind the ingredients together (thanks Alton Brown for your science-y food show). Another tip I got from B-rock is the 1/3 ratio for your dressings... However, I've not made my own dressing enough that I just eyeball it and taste it till it's right.

I love, love, love this salad because it's pretty simple and the dressing has a clean flavor (not super heavy like ranch or even some french dressing). Sometimes I like to get jiggy with it an add in some extras:

• tuna (protein)
• feta/goat cheese (who doesn't like cheese?)
• garbanzo beans (protein)

So what say you fellow foodies... do you have a go-to salad recipe you like to enjoy? Pack up for a picnic or lunch? Share your thoughts and tips!

...with the help of some dear friends of course. A week ago I took a vacation (on a budget) to visit two of my closest friends in the big city that never sleeps. Dhyana and Juan are two awesome people I meet while studying abroad in Espana, and now that we've done the New York tour we can officially say we've hung out in three countries as a trio! This trip was super kewl (notice the renegade spelling to further prove how cool it was) snags and all. I stayed for four day and came armed with a list of things to do. Most of them food related. With all that background info given we should all be on the same page. So a review of Neo Griot in New York:

DAY 1
I arrived mid-afternoon into LaGuardia and took the Super Shuttle in. When arranging my trip I thought this would be the most prudent plan as my friends have grown-up jobs and wouldn't be able to meet me at the airport. Unfortunately, I arrived during the whole "white cooler" apocalypse and my shuttle was promptly delayed. By the time I was all loaded up to make the trip to Manhattan it was about rush hour which meant a lot of time in crazy NYC traffic, throughout Manhattan, in an old van with no shocks. I got car sick and crabby. So when I called Juan to meet up post checking into my hotel I greeted him fondly with, "I am so hungry I could punch somebody in the face." Totally an exaggeration but he knows me well enough to know how moody I get when hungry. (It can be so much like those Snickers commercials!) So we made plans to meet for Vietnamese in Union Square for dinner with Dhyana. The dinner was pretty good... I had an awesomely spicey curry shrimp soup thing... but the best was dessert. Knowing my love for all baked goods Juan took my to his favorite cupcake bakery: Crumbs.

Hello peoples.... First things first! I know the video from the compost cookie post is down. I uploaded it from my desktop and it worked for a bit. Now it doesn't and I'm still trying to figure out why. In the meantime here's the first installment of my confession episode. I'm spilling my heart out hear so please be nice. I know this is a controversial issue so just know this is my opinion. You can agree or disagree. So without further melodrama I present my confession (part 1).

Hello all! Whew! Much like Hattie McDaniel (shout-out to a Black cinema goddess) I previously may, "not know nothin' 'bout birthin' no babies," but I kind of feel like I do now. This first episode has been almost 2 months in the making. I was able to get started thanks to lots of help and support from friends (thanks Shannon, Will, Chris J., Kyle, Densmore, et al.). But, it also took a lot of self schooling regarding video editing and uploading on a PC. I love my PC but this past 2 months has been a time when I wish I was part of the ilife crew (here's lookin' at you all you Apple product lovers). To each his/her (zer?) own!

Anyways... here's the deal. While I love to bake I am not quite there yet regarding making up recipes. SO this little kitchen experiment was made possible from a recipe I got from the lovely baker and blogger Amateur Gourmet. One last disclosure... as I said this was my first attempt at video editing and as a camera woman. I am sorry for the random water make, any odd splicing and/or shakey camera moments. Take a chill pill and some anti-motion sickness meds if it really bothers you that bad- with time I should get better. I did invest in a new Flip cam so things should be much easier in the future.



Lastly....
1.) The cookies turned out awesome! A great mix of sweet and savory. Unfortunately in all the hubbub (i.e. taste testing) I forgot to take a picture so you could see for yourself. My bad.
2.) Remember, this cookie is all about re-purposing those last bits of pantry ingredients. SO, if you don't like my mix-ins it's okay Pick some of your own and bake away.

Hola party peoples....

And by that I mean mostly my nearest and dearest friends. I've decided that since the aughts are done with I should do something super cool and retro. Which is what brings me to this awesome blog. Errr...vlog. Well, it's gonna be a combination of videos of me cooking some of the gazzillion recipes I have bookmarked and other deep thoughts. I'll try to keep it all food related but I do love a good tangent. So, I hope you stop by from time to time and check it out. You could even (GASP!!!) add griotkitschen to your RSS feed. Oh, and if you have an food suggestions... just sent me a shout out (aka comment).