mahalo! civil liberties fighters collab on calamondin cookies.

i work for a very special organization that i love. we protect civil liberties. we defend those that have no voice. we take on the man. bill o'reilly hates us, we are keeping the human rights on lock, and rachel maddow (LOVE HER) is our friend. also- we have affiliates all over this great big U.S of A! recently, on a trip to hawaii, i got to hang out with our hawaii affiliates. they are super awesome. one affiliate in particular, who always sends sunshine in her emails, also mailed me some delicious calamondin jelly she made herself! i had never tried calamondin. it's sweet and tangy and looks like honey. i have enjoyed it on crackers- but i wanted to attempt baking with the jelly.


HAWAII/NATIONAL COOKIE COLLABORATION EXTRAVAGANZAZAZA!

*also- my co-workers and i watched obama land today- i guess these cookies are also in his honor- son to hawaii!

i used a very basic butter cookie recipe.

i made thumb prints. i added the calamondin jelly, which was sticky (not easy)-- i decided to make a few blueberry jam cookies on a whim.



15 minutes later:



i should also mention i work in an office of culinary savages/foodies/cookie monsters. get ready kids.

squash this!

it's fall, so squash is in season! i plan on making a lot of squash and pumpkin deliciousness in the next few months, but this was my first squash celebration. it's a warm, sweet, gooey, earthy and somewhat healthy dessert. not that i care about that... i mean, i can remember at least one occasion where i had tunnocks for breakfast. to be fair--- manda and i were waiting for a train in st andrews scotland and it was that or cigs. i think i took the healthy road.

your journey to a yummy maple acorn squash bake:

cut squash in half
remove seeds
sprinkle salt
brown sugar (to taste)
maple syrup (to taste- i fill it up good and coat the sides)
spices (cinnamon, clove, nutmeg are what i go for)
place in dish
put a bit of water on the bottom so the skin does not burn
bake at 400 for 1hour 15 minutes.

so easy. and so good. happy fall!

sprouts! by way of brussels.

you know what my mom never forced me to eat as a kid: brussels sprouts. i have discovered my love for them late in life, but now we are more in love than ever. brussels sprouts and chestnuts are one of the dishes i most look forward to at our annual brooklyn heights thanksgiving. these sprouts were a purchase from alice's farm. since they are organic i soaked them for a good while. i cut off the stems and halved them. i then coated them with the following:

salt
pepper
sweet paprika
lemon juice
olive oil

when it comes to ingredients, i say, season to your taste. i LOVE paprika, and probably put in more than most... then again i was raised on hungarian cooking, so i think i have paprika running through my veins at this point.

i baked it in my lovely le creuset casserole dish, which i got at the cooks companion (i love this place!).

i baked it at 400 (because that's what the mahi mahi from trader joes called for) for 20 minutes (give or take a few).

mmmmmmhmmm! brussels sprouts! where have you been all my life...

to the organic farm we go!

oh! autumn! the leaves are changing, i can wear sweaters, drink hot tea, and enjoy one last weekend in lake huntington before we close up the bungalow for the summer.

i had a lovely weekend in the catskills this weekend. my friends and i stayed in lake huntington summer community, which is a few minutes from bethel woods, site of the famous woodstock music festival (1969).

the farm we went to is called river brook farm, and it's one of my favorite places to go when i am in LHSC. not only is the produce AMAZING, there are goats and sheep to play with. the property is beautiful, and as well as amazing produce (veggies, fruit, meats, milk, eggs) they also sell locally made goodies such as beach lake bread (pies and challah breads that are made with love). my friends and i made out well at the farm: great veggies for salad, farm fresh goats cheese, potatoes, farm fresh bacon, and a blueberry pie from BLB.

we ate ourselves into a coma, watched he-man (who btw, is totally dating skeletor!), took some nature hikes, and drank lots of tea... goodbye catskills! see you next summer <3>