Green Tea Cookies

I've been making several batches of these green things for a couple years now, and every time people seem to really like it. Or at least not hate it too much. Typical comments include: "Are those spinach-flavored?" "Why are they green?" "It's bitter!" "Chewy, fatty, Asian cookies" "Can I have the recipe?"  

So here's the recipe, adapted from joythebaker.com with minor modification. It's basically a standard chocolate chip cookie, except you add matcha powder and use white chocolate instead of the regular chip (ps. white chocolate is actually not chocolate at all).  There is something magical about matcha flovor and the sweet creamy dreamy taste of the white chocolate. But you really don't need to use white chocolate -- use whatever the hell you want.  

Matcha powder is made by grinding up green tea leaves really finely into powder. But you don't have to do it yourself -- just go to an Asian grocery store (or Amazon) and buy one. It's expensive, but worth it. I'll write a separate blog about what else you can do with this stuff at some point. 

1. Grab two mixing bowls, one for wet ingredient and one for dry.
2. In the dry bowl, add and mix these things
1. 2.5 cups AP flour 
2. 1 tsp baking soda 
3. 1 tsp salt
4. 1.5 Tbsp matcha 
3. In the wet bowl, mix these things until smooth and fluffy 
1. 2 sticks (= 1 cup) soft butter 
2. 1.5 cups sugar
3. 2 egg
4. 2 tsp vanilla extract
4. Mix content of the two bowls together.
5. Add 3/4 cup white chocolate chip 
6. Put dough in the fridge 45min or overnight 
7. Scoop dough onto pan, bake 12min at 350F. 
8. Remove from pan, let cool, eat

If you want to get serious about cookies, be sure to check out this post:

http://www.handletheheat.com/the-ultimate-guide-to-chocolate-chip-cookies

Rethinking Granola

I get annoyed every time I see people buying granola at grocery store. I mean, why pay $8-10 for a pound of stuff that really only costs $2 (and easy enough to make on a weeknight)? Rolled oats are dirt cheap (~$1 a pound), and often it even sits on the same shelf as your damn premade granola. The rest of the ingredient are cheap and/or common things you already have in the kitchen (sugar, salt, oil, honey, cinnamon, ...).

Here's roughly what you need in picture:

Fill the mixing bowl about half way with oats and other nuts of choice (go all oats if you're cheap). Add about 0.25 cup of olive oil, or half a stick of butter if you're willing to eat saturated fat every once in a while. Add a few tablespoons of brown sugar, a pinch of salt, and a dash of cinnamon or other spice you see fit (nutmeg, ginger, cayenne,...). Throw in some cornmeal too if you're in to that stuff. Then add honey (or maple syrup if budget allows). Mix for 30 seconds or until you're bored. The mixture should have a consistency of wet sand. If it's too dry, add more honey. Heck, add more honey anyway.

Spread it on a baking pan. Bake at 250F. Walk away for 20 minutes, then stir it up a little. Repeat 3X (total ~60 minutes). Done.

What does it taste like? Well, imagine the store-bought version without all the bullshit...plus a hint of satisfaction. If you want a real recipe, check out Alton Brown's on Food Network. But I highly encourage experimentation here. Think of it as an art of mixing nuts, grains, and a few basic flavors and spices. It's healthy, easy, and cheap. Most importantly, if you screw this shit up, you shouldn't be allowed in the kitchen.

Wicked Nopalitos Smoothie

Easter Sunday. HEB was closed. My typical grocery run was diverted to Fiesta. Somehow this peculiar vegetation landed in my shopping basket.

After a quick research, I identified the plant as Nopales -- young cladode part of a plant in the genus Opuntia (family cactaceae -- your typical cactus).

This may seem like the most typical veggie for native Texans, but I honestly had no clue what to do with it.

A good blender may solve every food-related problem.
So I chopped it up with a few celery stalks.
Put it in a blender with crushed pineapple, a few dashes of lime juice, and some orange juice. Hit "chop".

Results

Despite its strange appearance, this drink is surprisingly refreshing... perfect for a warm Texas afternoon on the balcony.
Also, because of the color, I think Glinda (Wicked) can best sum it up:
"unusually and exceedingly peculiar and altogether quite impossible to describe".

*If you wish to replicate this, please use your own imagination. No exact amount here. And please don't ask me for a recipe. Seriously, it's just a freakin smoothie.

Mini rant: I am against recipes. People should learn to use common sense when cooking (if they can cook at all). Here's my one and only one recipe for both cooking and life: If it tastes good and doesn't kill you, you're probably doing it right.

Final Project Sketch II

My eyes, Your eyes, Our eyes.

fish eyes

dog eyes

cat eyes

bug eyes(sssss)

Human eyes

Only red? Nope...just too many red cars

What if our eyes were made to see better in the dark?