Vintage Shopping

In the midst of crazy Christmas shopping I found these vintage treasures for my kitchen.

Beautiful gold decoration on the edges and the detailed images...

 As pretty as a postcard...

I love the red and black color combo on this little cup which is perfect for my morning Keifer yogurt. The plain glasses are perfect for a casual glass of wine, I just feel wrong drinking wine out of plastic cups - keep it classy!

Better Together

Buttercream Snickerdoodle Sandwiches 

For my birthday, I decided to make one of my favorite recipes from the past year (seen here). Good news is they were as fantastic as I remember. Except afterwards I found myself with an extra tub of frosting (I am always very worried about having skimpily frosted anything). To keep myself from consuming the enture container with a spoon, more baking needed to be done ASAP. Feeling a bit lazy and confined by my dorm room kitchen, the search was on for a recipe that involved minimal work and mess. Snickerdoodle cookies to the rescue! 

Snickerdoodles are one of the easiest cookies to make, other than the classic chocolate chip. Their cinnamon flavor also feels very fitting for a crisp autumn day. I found a recipe here, but if you find yourself in a time crisis, Betty Crocker also has a box mix that will work. 

Now for the frosting. Let me please take a few line to profess my deep love for this confection. It is everything that you would hope and dream for; smooth consistency that won't drip or dry out. Soft, creamy color that resembles a perfect cloud. The flavors of real vanilla, butter and cream, merged together, none of that artificial deception. Be warned, this is not low-fat, healthy or even remotely good for your caloric intake. But it will make you happy. 

Like bacon and eggs, both the cookies and frosting are great on their own. Together, however, they are a dangerously delicious combination. 

p.s. don't forget about the sprinkles!!! 

Basic French Toast

Yesterday I moved back into college (senior year!). Moving is by far one of my least favorite things, so to make it more bearable I made french toast for breakfast. What better way to enjoy my last meal at my home kitchen than a sweet sugar and carb combination. Plus it's one of my brother's favorites and since he was left to help me haul all my stuff back and forth, he deserved it.

After much researching and testing, I found that this recipe from Alton Brown is my favorite. The honey gives it some sweetness without all the extra sugar (if you are like me, you already drown it syrup anyway). I follow his 2-3 min suggestion on the pan and it ends up perfect. If you make several rounds, however, make sure you keep a close eye on it because as the pan gets hotter, the cooking time decreases.

Another nice thing about this recipe is it's versatility. I made this the day after a holiday weekend, which meant the fridge was pretty bare, meaning no milk (we should have a cow in the backyard with all the milk my family consumes). We did however, have some vanilla coconut milk. After about 5 minutes of deliberation, seriously staring into the fridge, I decided that I really, really wanted - no needed- french toast.

My risk was a success! My brother didn't even notice until I pressed him to tell me if it tasted strange, he silently shook his head no while continuing to eat. This makes a great non-dairy option for those who are allergic. For my mom and sister who can't have gluten, this batter also works with any sort of gluten-free bread you like. More options:

• Substitute regular milk for half and half (or coconut milk like I did)
• Add a little cinnamon sugar on top just before putting into pan
• Fresh fuit tastes amazing on top, especially strawberries, raspberries and orange slices
• Can't go wrong with a healthy serving of whipped cream
• Experiment with different breads (I avoid anything whole wheat/whole grain). Good 'ol Wonder white bread and Butternut are good, cheap options. 

Life's Simple Pleasures

Enjoying a Sprinkles cupcake on the train home from the city.

(Thankfully no one was sitting next to me seeing as how I managed to look like a 5-year old trying not to make a mess while eating it.) 

You Can Never Have Too Much Chocolate

What to do with leftover chocolate chips?

How about some chocolate covered strawberries...

or chocolate dipped peanut-butter cookies...

Cardamon and Coffee Ice Cream Sandwiches

As a very indecisive person, I often find myself overwhelmed by baking possibilities (a few hours on Pinterest only makes the problem worse), leading to dozens of saves issues of cooking magazines, several untouched cookbooks and a hundred bookmarked pages on my laptop. 

I saw this recipe awhile back and was instantly a fan. I mean, the kid in the picture looks so happy, how could it not be good??? I wanted to be this kid. For some reason, the recipe stayed on the back burner, getting lost behind new ideas and occasions. When a friend who likes coffee (almost) as much as I do was getting ready to leave for school, I knew these would be perfect. And they were. 

For those who have never even heard of cardamon, let alone baked with it, do not be afraid. It has a wonderful, spicy scent that fills the whole kitchen. Added into the rich chocolate it offers a surprising kick, especially with the cool coffee ice cream. What pleased me most about the recipe was the consistency of the cookie. Many, many cookies are great on their own but either too hard or to soft or too thin to hold up in an ice cream sandwich.  

We were too excited to put the assembled sandwiches back into the freezer and wait, so we proceeded to eat them with the slightly warm cookies - messy but worth it. If you planned ahead, you could easily make these sandwiches the day/night before and have the perfect afternoon pick-me-up for several days. If they last that long, that is ;) 

Summer Movie Afternoons

With the recent temps rising over 95 degrees and the humidity threatening to turn my hair into a lion's mane, I have been limiting trips outside my front door to a bare minimum. That does include trips to the library to pick up DVD's and a stop at the grocery store for copious amounts of ice cream. One of my favorite things to do is hide out in the cold basement watching movies and getting brain freeze from ice cream or a homemade smoothie.

all images from Google

My most recent movie afternoon was a French theme with Amelie (a classic) and The Flight of the Red Balloon, which was new to me. Based on the 1956 short film, The Red Balloon, this film offered a similarly picturesque view of Paris through the life of a little boy. Although a bit slow in the plot, it is perfect for when you want to travel to Europe without leaving your couch. It also has great music, which adds to the mood. The theme continued later in the evening with How to Steal a Million. This film has Paris, art, Audrey, great clothes, and boomerangs - what more could you ask for? J'aime la France!