cooking the cold away (figuratively and literally)

I discovered a very delicious recipe for a RAW Japanese style soup. This was an awesome meal that gave me great benefits without all the carbs and depleted nutrients!

OK! so I might be a good girl when it comes to the actual meal (see above picture) but I cant help the fact that I just happen to have a really big sweet tooth (see picture below)... So I went all out and made my all famous chocolate chip cookies with my  new favorite cookie ingredient, DRIED LAVENDER BUDS!!!! I promise you, you try this once, and you will be hooked forever....I am fully aware now that when, G-d willing sooner then later, I actually have a  house to call my own, I will have to have a large lavender patch out front so that I can have a nice stock of dried buds to last me each year for my never ending batches of cookies....and maybe some fresh lavender tea....or you know, all the other various things one may want to do with lavender, like make soap...or essential oil.....or....well....you probably get the picture!

I did mention that I have a REALLY BIG sweet tooth right? Good. Lemon bars =YUM!! These were full of organic fresh squeezed lemon juice and the rinds of those very same lemons. They had such a fabulous sweet/tart quality going on that I cant even describe how good they were...lets just say that between me, my roomates and my friends, the pan was empty pretty fast ! (There are three new lemons sitting in my fruit basket waiting to be turned into this very same creation sometime soon....)

creativity

Yes, creativity. Both, in and out of the kitchen this time :) so, for starters, I must share this with you. My vary own, hand-made, challah cover. Thats right folks!

Truth is I started the center piece, which is painted, last spring. I did it, I wasnt into it, I forgot about it. Then one day, I found it and finding old forgotten about things, can be such a serge of inspiration, its actually ridiculous.  So I dug up some other old forgotten about things, namely fabric from you-dont-even-want-to-know-how-long-ago and, to my big surprise, liked what I found. So I immediately set to work and, tadah! My very own challah cover! Im seriously considering at this point to make more of these little, easy creations to sell or give to others. Because they can be boring, the same old cover at every single persons house, Im pretty sure a new look, could actually get me somewhere....

Now, on to the next coolest thing in my life at the moment...

Ravioli in Orange Miso sauce with Avocado and Tomatoes. Yes, just that incredible.  The sauce was totally easy to whip together and it tasted SOOO good, I think I just might start putting it on everything!

Chocolate!

Thats right all you chocolate lovers out there! I learned the art of chocolate. Four hours of the most intense chocolate immersion I have ever experienced. It has been my please to share some of these tasty treats with family and friends and I can not even begin to tell you how much I look forward to getting my hands into that mess again for a second round. And, if all goes well in that second round, EXPERIMENTING with chocolate! Oh I know that caught your attention...I mean how could it not, if this is good, imagine what could happen if the recipe was deviated from!  Anyhow, as much as I am personally trying to stay away from the intense sugar intake, I have totally been on a sweets kick when it comes to kitchen time. What can I say, I just like dessert the best! thoughts currently milling in my mind: culinary school for both general culinary as well as pastry and baking arts :) We will see what time and money have to say on the matter....

FYI I think I am going to have a very big knitting project to share with you all very soon so keep posted!!