cook & bake more

I think I can definitely check this off now, given that I’ve been doing totally insane amounts of cooking & baking lately. Recent delicious treats include an AMAZING coconut cheesecake, tasty vegetable samosas, fattoush, garlic paste, truly fantastic banana bread, chocolate chip cookies, and probably some other things I’m forgetting. The near future should include snickerdoodles, white beans with rosemary & olive oil, peanut butter cookies, & maybe a red lentil dish for a friend who’s never tried them before…

...but I might do it soon. The baking’s been out of control with cooking lagging slightly behind. Recently I’ve made zucchini bread, banana bread, tabbouli, an experimental Indian-inspired spicy Basmati rice (to which I’m going to add cooked red lentils tomorrow), and surely some other things I’m forgetting.

I got a bread machine for my birthday, so suddenly I’m making bread at least once a week! It’s awesome. I also got an apron and 2 cookbooks (one Indian, one Italian), so I think it’s safe to say my friends and family like me taking up this goal. :)

In recent weeks I’ve made bread a number of times (French bread in the bread machine + banana bread in the oven) and a batch of Russian tea cakes (one of my favorite types of cookies, but this was the first time I made them! They came out well.). I don’t think I’ve cooked anything significant, though, which is too bad…hopefully I can try out a new recipe soon!

Last Thursday I attempted to bake bread from scratch and failed miserably when the dough didn’t rise—BUT I made Lemon Garbanzo Bulgur Pilaf and it was astoundingly superb. You win some, you lose some. :)