Double Chocolate Chip Cookies

Talk about food porn!! These cookies taste like brownies. Very chewy and indulgent. I did copy the recipe from the Hummingbird Bakery Cookbook, but I usually don't follow it all the time. The chocolate chips are my own idea. This is a tricky and messy recipe, but it is totally worth it. I have spent hours cleaning up after making these, because the chocolate will go all over the place. 

Recipe makes 12+ cookies depending on size
Calories per cookie: 200

Ingredients: 

• 10 oz of chocolate or chocolate chips-> this is the chocolate that you will melt. 
• 4 oz of chocolate chips 
• 3 tablespoons of butter
• 3/4 cup of brown sugar + 2 tablespoons 
• 2 eggs 
• 2/3 cup of flour 
• 1/4 teaspoon of vanilla 
• 1/2 teaspoon of baking powder 
• 1/2 teaspoon of salt 

Directions: 

• Heat the butter and chocolate in a heatproof bowl and melt the chocolate until it is thoroughly melted on medium heat. 
• Mix the eggs, vanilla and brown sugar with an electric mixer. 
• Mix the flour, baking powder and salt in a separate bowl. 
• Add the chocolate mixture to the eggs, vanilla and brown sugar and mix. 
• Add the flour, baking powder and salt into the whole mixture and make sure that everything is smooth and mixed well. 
• Add the extra chocolate chips. 
• Put the cookie dough into the fridge for about five minutes and spoon it out onto a baking sheet with parchment paper. Flatten the cookies out a little. They will puff up in the oven. 
• Bake for 12-15 minutes at 325 degrees. 

Oatmeal

Oatmeal with blueberries, banana and cinnamon 

Photo Credit: Jenny 

Oatmeal with strawberries, blueberries, chia seeds, cocoa powder and protein powder

Photo Credit: Jenny 

It's important to start your day with breakfast, so why not fuel your day with something filling, nutrition and packed with fiber and some protein? Oatmeal has so many amazing health benefits and is so tasty!

You can add any healthy combinations with oatmeal as well as unhealthy ones. You do not need brown sugar or sweetener to sweeten up your oatmeal. Rather, adding yogurt and fruit sweetens up the oatmeal just enough. A 1/2 cup of dry rolled oats has 150 calories and five grams of protein. Steel-cut oats has 170 calories per 1/4 cup of uncooked oats. Steel-cut oats also take longer to cook.

Overnight oatmeal:

A popular fad called “overnight oatmeal” also makes your oatmeal delicious and savory but is stored overnight in a closed container. Although I prefer a big, juicy, hot breakfast, you add your oatmeal to a jar with water or milk, then add fruit and a healthy fat such as chia seeds, peanut butter or almonds. Then you store it overnight in the fridge. It still tastes great, and looks beautiful especially in a jar.

Hot Oatmeal: Make your breakfast between 250-450 calories

1. It is important to cook the oatmeal in a pan or in the microwave, so the oatmeal will puff up. If cooking it on the stove, put the oatmeal into small pan on medium heat for five minutes at least with a little more water than the amount of oatmeal you are cooking with.
2. Mix flavored protein powder or egg whites and a choice of fruit of ½ banana, strawberries, blueberries, apples, peaches or all.
3. Mix cinnamon or cocoa powder in with your oatmeal (optional). 
4. Add dairy (optional). Yogurt goes really well with oatmeal. I commonly use non-fat Greek yogurt.
5. Add peanut butter, almonds, chia seeds, nut butter or almond butter (optional).

Read more about oatmeal at http://nutritionandmindfulness.blogspot.com

Peach Cobbler

Lawrence's Cultural Food Club went to Lawrence's "cabin in the woods" Bjorklunden. The group made peach cobbler. The oven did not work very well, but the peach cobbler ended up tasting great. It is very sweet and light and not too bad in calories. I highly recommend this desert! 

Ingredients: 

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 cups sugar
• 3 teaspoons baking powder
• Pinch salt
• 1 cup milk
• 4 cups peeled, pitted and thinly sliced fresh peaches (5 to 6 medium peaches)
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• Several dashes ground cinnamon or ground nutmeg (optional)

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
• Pour the melted butter into a 13 by 9 by 2-inch baking dish.
• In a medium bowl, combine the flour, 1 cup sugar, the baking powder, and the salt and mix well. Stir in the milk, mixing until just combined. Pour this batter over the butter but do not stir them together.
• In a small saucepan, combine the peaches, lemon juice, and remaining cup of sugar and bring to a boil over high heat, stirring constantly. Pour the peaches over the batter but do not stir them together. Sprinkle with cinnamon or nutmeg if desired.
• Bake in the preheated oven for 40 to 45 minutes or until the top is golden-brown. Serve warm or cold. 

Creative Dumplings

Makes about 8-9 dumpling wrappers
Ingredients:

• 1 cup of flour 
• 1/2 teaspoon of salt 
• 1/2-1/3 cup of water 
• Fillings of your choice (ground beef, turkey or chicken, chicken, peanut butter, jam, potatoes, shrimp etc..) 

Directions: 

• Mix the ingredients 
• Roll out the dough to be very thin 
• Take a cup or a round cookie cutter and cut the dough. Make sure there is flour on both sides of the dough. 
• Add the filling and with some water seal the sides shut. 
• Now you can either fry them or boil them.

Boil the dumplings:

• Heat up about 1 cup of water. This should be just enough for the dumplings to be submerged in water. 
• Boil the dumplings for about 5 minutes. 

Fry the dumplings: Add 1-2 tablespoons of canola oil

• Heat up the oil on high heat and then drop in the dumplings
• Fry for 1-2 minutes and then add 1/4 cup of water
• Stir vigorously 
• The bottom of the dumplings should be light brown

Spaghetti Squash

Spaghetti squash is my new love. Only 1 cup of spaghetti squash is 30 calories. It is very light and can adapt to any sauce and toppings. If you pre-make your meal ahead of time, the squash will conform to the sauce and taste even better. 

When I went to visit my boyfriend in Nashville, we made spaghetti squash with red sauce and shrimp and stir fry with the squash. It was really funny how we thought the strands that contain the seeds was the only spaghetti squash. We did not understand right away that you scrape out the squash around the rind. 

Serves 2-3 people

Ingredients:

• 1 spaghetti squash

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 400 F
• Cut the squash in half, take out the insides and seeds, and lay it face down on a baking sheet
• Bake the squash for 35-40 minutes
• Take it out of the oven and let it sit for ten minutes. It will be too hot to touch immediately. 
• Scrape the insides out with a fork and apply any toppings or sauces to the squash. 

Cooking

Ever since I was little, I've enjoyed watching my mother cook and bake. She became a great cook from living and watching her Italian mother and grandmother cook everyday. My mother is amazing with food. Everyday, my family and I sit down to a nice homemade dinner. Every Sunday my mother prepares Brunch ranging from pancakes, scones, blueberry muffins, biscuits etc... Every other weekend we go out to eat at some of the most amazing restaurants in Minneapolis and St.Paul. I've also been to other great restaurants in Italy, Paris, California, New York and Chicago.

I have created this blog to write about my experiences with cooking and baking. Since you are reading this blog, you are probably interested in cooking or baking. I hope you enjoy viewing the pictures and reading about about food. Iwill post a variety of different posts ranging from recipes, tips and my experiences with different recipes.