Cookies & Compost = Yummy Deliciousness

Huh?

Say what?

Yup...cookies and compost equal some pretty darn yummy creations...especially when that creation is from the uber-renowned NYC restaurant Momofuku.  Ok, so it's not really compost per se, but basically you take whatever you have on hand and throw it into this cookie.

This is actually the cookie that you saw my kids were sharing.  That cookie was out of pure laziness since I ran out of room for the initial shaping & chilling stage of the cookie and dumped it into a bowl.  I then proceeded to dump said bowl onto the cookie sheet & baked it as is.  Yeah, I'm lazy a rebel like that.

For our cookies, I threw in chocolate, peanut butter, & butterscotch chips:

Ok, yes, that's quite normal...so here's where we make it interesting:

See that?  That, my friends, is a melange of pretzels, Oreos, potato chips, & coffee grounds...and yes, it all goes in the cookies.  I know I made my sister throw up a little in her mouth when I mentioned my add-ins.  Whoops.

But, if you're a person who likes sweet & savory creations, give this a try!  Christina Tosi, pastry chef of the Momofuku restaurants and David Chang, chef/owner/culinary bad-a$$ of the Momofuku restaurants serve this cookie in the Momofuku Milk Bar.  His other Momofuku restaurant Momofuku Ssam Bar was named of the 50 Best Restaurants in the World.  David has been nominated/won several James Beard awards over the years and was one of Times 100 Most Influential People for 2010...plus he's a DC native...whaaaaaaaaaaaaaat.  His cookbook Momofuku was released last fall.

My friend Linda, a fellow foodie and restaurant owner tipped me off to these bad boys.  You can find the recipe here.  Christina Tosi was on "Live with Regis & Kelly" showing how to make them.  On that segment one of the things they used was Goldfish crackers...I'm adventurous, but I'm not sure I could use those.  Anyhoo...if you have a stand mixer, you're in luck...'cause these bad boys need a total of 10 straight minutes of butter/sugar beating!  Also, definitely follow the chilling time.  I actually chilled mine at least overnight and even waited the 36 hours as recommended by Shirley Corriher when making cookies.  Ooh and my last rec would be to use the coffee grounds (which I used fresh coffee grounds and I've seen as used, dry grounds)...they lend a depth to the cookie which is ridiculous!

Again, find the recipe here and ENJOY!

Triste

For those of you not versed en Espanol...that means sad.

Well, the hubby's week-long turnover with the PWEPS (perspective weapons officer) has turned into a week and a half long turnover.  My goal during his turnover...bake a bunch of new cookie recipes to try them out and to feed the USS TN.  I was sick as a dog last week and managed to 1) be hygienic enough not to infect anyone but my hubby and 2) not infect anyone.

I'm all good now.

Last night I made these Martha Stewart PB&J bars.  But, before you cut them you have to refrigerate them.  Unfortunately, we had to go to sleep...so I told Sean to wake me up this morning so I could cut them for him and he could take them to work.  Mind you the man wakes up at 4am and I am NOT a morning person.

He didn't wake me up.  (Because he's thoughtful like that)

He took the bars.  (I'm sure without cutting them and with the IKEA kiddie knife I left in there)

He didn't leave me any.

I've been baking up a storm to try out new recipes and Sean could take 90% of them to work.  

But this time...the USS TN got 100%.

I didn't even get to take pics of my hard work...for my food blog that I rarely update but still take photos for.

Oh my hubby...I love that man.  But really, how can I blame a man who wouldn't wake me up at the butt-crack of dawn.  Who was probably too tired and too sick to even think of saving some of the bars.

Still...I do have a craving for them.

But really, it all goes back to...I've got a really good man.

P.S.

Don't forget to visit Becca's blog to enter in her giveaway!

Loca

Yeah, I think I'm crazy. Well...that I've always known...but it seems that I always like to put more on my plate than I can handle...except for food, 'cause I can literally put a lot on my plate and handle that bad boy with no problem...thank you Li genes for big appetites and high metabolisms (except mine is definitely a lot more sluggish nowadays...lack of exercise doesn't help)!! ;o)

Take for instance, gearing up to move, Hubby's out to sea, Xmas is approaching...so, I decide to MAKE Xmas presents instead of doing my usual Amazon.com ordering (Amazon.com Prime...I LOVE YOU). Yeah...seriously? It started with these for our neices:

I was pretty proud of 'em since they were 100% handmade/designed/sewn...by someone who is now 100% not crafty. I used to be artsy when I was a kid, but that took a backseat as I grew older. Anyhoo...it was part of a kit I put together. THEN...I really liked it and wanted to do it for our other neice who is like a big sister to Kaia...and of course since they're like sisters, they have to have the same things...so then I had to make one for Kaia (poor thing is still waiting for hers since I ran out of trim for the apron). Jaida also got a halter that's like Kaia's sub halter. Of course, since I was doing an apron for the girls...I couldn't be gender-biased with the aprons and not make one for their brothers!! Boys gotta learn how to cook as much as girls! Equal opportunity is our motto. Also, I can't claim all the credit for the sub shirts...the kids painted them for their "siblings"...the Martinos!

This (Jaida's tank)...
...is modeled after these the kids made in the summer...

...and this (Kaia's dolphin tank that she waited on me for FOREVER to make):

Anyhoo...Jaron's birthday party is this weekend in DC. We're having it early so my neice (who's birth date is supposed to be in mid-May) does not crash the party early. I want her to ripen up as much as possible in my sister's uterus!!! ;o) LOVE YOU, TALIA!! I've made two cakes and going to make two batches of cupcake lollipops. Jenn Shih...you can thank me later. This girl can single handedly eat an entire batch of these lollipops...and I make over 50 per batch and these bad boys are not small. However...Jenn Shih is tiny and can pack 'em away like no other! ;o) I *heart* you, Jenn!

Here's a teaser of the lollipops...

So, as I waste my time in this wasteland called the internet...it's off to make these lollipops, bake two more cakes from SCRATCH...none of that boxed-mix crap), two batches of buttercream, two desserts, run errands, 5 loads of laundry (2 down, 3 to go), and PACK!!

Yet, it's so worth it. Doing things from the heart for people we love...family...it's worth it. I LOVE CELEBRATIONS!!!!!!!!!!!!

P90X...kiss my rump.

Hahahaha....JK. The hubs has been dying to do this darn P90X program that he's seen on the infomercials for the past few months. By seeing...I literally mean the man watches the infomercials like real t.v. shows. Even the kids know what P90X is. HAHAHAHAHA.

Anyhoo...seeing how this fine piece of perfection that he married is...I figured, I'll humor him by doing it. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. This poor body of mine has not seen exercise since college and is DYING. Shoot...I started falling apart in my 20s and I directly attribute that to lack of exercise.

ATROPHY IS NOT MY FRIEND.

So, we'll see how long we keep up with it. We're both not the ideal body shape we'd like to be. I want muscle definition back and to lose some extra LBs of fat that I've accumulated over the years...slowly replacing all that atrophied muscle. Sean would like to lose the extra fat and get more cut. My man's already nice and buff...*sigh* His only downfall is way too big/many portions of my cooking...and his *mealing* habits. Mealing is what I call his snacking...except you can tell by my term his portion sizes. ;o) At least I cook uber-healthy (fresh, loads of veggies, high in fiber, lots of unsaturated fats, no trans fats, etc.)! I shudder to think what we'd look like on a different diet. Eek!

The only place I've managed to lose weight over the past 5 years is up north...somewhere below my neck and above my stomach. I love my kids and wouldn't change the fact that they were both breastfed for a year...but man, did they do a number on the itty bitties I once had. Now, I am the proud owner of just nipples and no breast tissue. Sorry for the TMI. Then again, if you know me...you know I'm always no-holds-barred on everything...honesty...brutal honesty. Anyhoo...if you see me, know that it's 100% Victoria's Secret....100%. If we add a third child to the mix, I'm probably looking at concave boobies! HOORAY! *sigh*

Anyhoo...it's already been a nice week of muscle soreness and the expected DOMS (delayed onset of muscle soreness...that, Kids, is something from my kinesiology days). But, we've been doing more outdoorsy stuff and not just staying at home (even though we SHOULD stay at home since *surprise, surprise*...we still have boxes to unpack and lots of stuff to do around the house...like CLEANING IT). But, I like us being good role models for the kids by working out since they're going to grow up loving food...and they're high metabolism genes will only last so long.

I hurt...and I love it.

P.S.
Thank you for the help with the dress. I actually went boring and ordered it in black. I figured I'll have this dress forever and probably will end up passing it down to Kaia one day! Hahahaha. Now, I'm just paying the waiting game!

Tagged

Alrighty...so my wacky friend and fellow wardroom wife Kelly has tagged me in this fun little game. Thanks, Kelly...;o) I'll entertain her and play since I need a break from transcribing an old term paper from grad school that I apparently did not SAVE onto my hard drive. Nice.

First, here are the rules of the game:
1. Link to the person that tagged you. DONE
2. Mention the rules. DOING
3. Tell six quirky yet boring, unspectacular details about yourself. ABOUT TO.
4. Tag six other bloggers by linking to them.
5. Go to each person's blog and leave them a comment so they know they've been tagged.

My 6 Boring facts:

1. Food is my passion. I love cooking and eating just about the same. It's probably why I have a separate food blog. My appetite is quite huge as I have been ask which of my stomachs I store different courses in. It's also an expensive addiction, since besides eating out (which has definitely been curbed since we've been down here), I have WAY TOO MANY kitchen gadgets. Could I use more? You're damn right I could!! ;o)

2. I am very loyal and protective...kinda like Jax, my German Shepherd. ;o)

3. I used to be pretty athletic. Back in the day, at school, the gym teachers would sometimes separate the kids into groups on athletic ability. Two other girls and I usually were placed with the boys. Now...I rely on my jock BFF Hilary to explain sports stuff to me and live vicariously through others who get exercise. ;o) Oh yeah, did I mention I was getting certified to be a personal trainer in college?

4. I never wanted to be a stay-at-home parent and now realize that I am very, VERY blessed to have this job. Going to grad school and having an assistantship while pregos and when Kaia was 1 was hard...but almost like vacation when I was there. Weird, huh? Probably not too much of a vacay since I started having contractions 5 months into the pregnancy and had a common cold for 12 weeks. Hehehehe. Anyway, from working as a manager in Abercrombie & Sephora to Director of Programs at a nat'l civil rights group to being a mom...dirty diapers, fights, and teaching my kids about life absolutely does not compare. I won't lie though...I sometimes miss working outside the home as well as the extra income!!

5. Stupidity really irks me. I know people can't help it, but I really get annoyed with stupidity. It ain't cute either.

6. I have an uncanny ability of remembering odd facts about things/people.

I'm tagging (and apologize to):

Ellyn
Giles
Linda
Neel (after the wedding & honeymoon, of course!)
Sopheak
Neha and/or Kart