Coconut Lime Blondies

Some things just don't hit me until much, much later.

For instance, when I used to work as a writing tutor, this guy came in and waited behind four people just to get a conference with me. By the time his turn came along, my brain hurt from checking thesis statements, the clock was pushing 11 at night, and that was it, I had to stop the line somewhere.

"Can you just read a page?" he asked.
"No, I'm really sorry, but I'm not reading any more papers today. Maybe you can get some of your friends to read it for you?"
"Can you just read a paragraph?" he asked.
"No, I'm sorry. I really can't."
Then: "Can you read ONE sentence?"

And that's when I got super annoyed and sent him on his way. I wanted to yell at him, like, hey kid, I'm tired and sleep-deprived. I worked overtime. I have homework, too. What difference does a single sentence make?

A few days later I was complaining to my English professor and he gave me this really amused look and I finally went ohhhh.

Some other things I didn't "get" include Chik-fil-A (Chicken fillet, DUH), a close "friend" who secretly hated me for years, and... the exact deal with Honey Boo Boo.

I didn't get what these blondies reminded me of until a few days afterwards. Let's see...tons of coconut and chocolate that's chewy and sticky and practically addictive...

Coconut macaroons, in bar form. Except made better with tons of lime zest and crunchy walnuts.

PEOPLE. Are we getting this??

Chocolate Sweet Hearts

Happy Valentine's Day!

...Or Happy Singles Awareness Day, I guess, if you're one of those people.

I'm a (sometimes) happy single who's (always) aware of her singleness and someone who loves Valentine's Day nonetheless. This day might as well be Happy Eating Chocolate Day- although Easter does prove to be a close contender for the title. But then again, roses+chocolate wins over boiled eggs+chocolate, so there's that. 

If you're like me, you bake chocolate heart cookies, treat yourself to some Moscato, and catch up on The Mindy Project. You resist the urge to shout, C'mon Mindy the character! Stop going out with random jerks! Danny's the right jerk you should end up with!!! Then you pour yourself another glass.

You also read the Valentine status updates on Facebook and predict this year's single people bitterness index. I have to say, I didn't see a whole lot of negative posts this year. Either you guys are really happy or have turned completely apathetic.

This Valentine's Day, I surprised my mother with a bouquet of red roses. She surprised me with nothing, but that was okay. I ate the last of the rice.

Soft Chocolate Chip Cookies

I was having one of those days when I knew "it's going to be all right" but everything still sucked anyway. I was tightly strung between mild irritation and steady annoyance, which basically meant I wasn't in the mood to tolerate foolishness. To anyone throwing yet another hackneyed cliche in my face, BEWARE. You've been warned.

Cookies don't actually solve anything in real life. They don't pay the bills. They don't stop the nosy neighbor from staring at you just because you're Korean also. They don't make fake friends go away into la-la land. But there's something about a freshly baked cookie straight from the oven...cooled just enough for you to break into two pieces...perfectly chewy from the caramelized sugar inside the dough...aroma of chocolate and sugar and butter swirled together like a halo around your head...

Yeah, I needed a cookie. I needed a cookie badly.

Classic Peanut Butter Cookies

Trends come and go (and sometimes stay), and the culinary scene is no exception to that rule. 

Anyone recall how molecular gastronomy was this huge thing? I mean, those olive oil caviar spheres! The herb vapors, the liquid popcorn, the disappearing pasta sheets, and my personal favorite: the foams. 

I think all that stuff is fascinating. I hope someday someone will cook up an edible gum that, after a reasonable amount of chew time, turns into a shot of fizzy liquid soda. Also, hard candy that turns cold as soon as you start to eat it would be a godsend for summer.

But at the end of the day, I'm a classic comfort foods gal. I like to try new methods, pair up unlikely ingredients, gleefully attempt a complex dish as the next baker. But sometimes you come back to the old tried-and-true. You come back to what's simple and sweet and comforting.

Classics are wonderful that way. You might have to ponder a bit before offering someone parmesan foam or frozen durian, but a classic, old-fashioned chocolate chip cookie? You know you don't even have to think twice.