“All journeys have secret destinations of which the traveler is unaware."

                   Martin Buber 

classically comforting

Ingredients:

2 1/4 cups flour, 1 teaspoon baking soda,

1/2 teaspoon salt, 2 sticks of butter,

3/4 cup white sugar, 3/4 cup packed brown sugar,

2 teaspoons vanilla extract,

2 eggs & 1 bag Ghirardelli chocolate chips

Combine flour, baking soda and salt in a small bowl. In a larger bowl, combine butter, both sugars, eggs and vanilla extract. Slowly, add flour mixture to the butter mixture. Finally, stir in entire bag of chocolate chips. Arrange on cooking sheet and bake on 350 degrees for about 7-9 minutes.

{This photo unfortunately doesn't do them justice but they are TO. DIE. FOR}

double fried spuds

As I mentioned in a previous post, potatoes are kind of a guilty pleasure of mine. No really, it's almost an unhealthy addiction. With all the time on my hands I had while visiting my parents, I decided to make some homemade fries. Usually, we try to be healthy and bake them in the ovan, but since I've officially been on an eating binge, assuming greasy American food will be scarce in India and I'll lose some lbs., I decided to live a little and fry those babies up! And let me tell you, they were worlds better than the baked ones and totally worth the calories (thanks for the idea, Guy!)

peel potatoes and leave the skin on the ends.

soak in water for at least 30 minutes.

pat dry. fry in canola oil. remove. repeat. remove and top with salt.

{Too easy. Yum dood.}

'shroom sando

On a whim, I took some random stuff from the refrigerator and combined it to create one hell of a sandwich... I call it, the 'Shroom Sando. If you prefer more protein, add some grilled chicken to that sucker... it's quick and easy and will leave you a very happy camper.

Ingredients:

Mushrooms, balsamic vinegar, olive oil,

dijon mustard, gouda cheese,

avocado, pesto & artisan bread

Marinate sliced mushrooms with 1/4 cup of olive oil, 1/8 cup balsamic vinegar, salt, pepper and a tablespoon of dijon mustard [in a ziplock bag] and refrigerate for at least an hour. Sautee mushrooms with marinade until soft. Spread pesto on your bread, add mushrooms, smashed avocado and top with a slice of gouda. Bake in the oven, open-face, until cheese is melted.

the best-o pest-o

Pesto. I would put it on everything if I could... and I kind of do: toast, chicken, pasta, empanadas, a sandwich... you name it. Although Trader Joe's carries a decent packaged pesto and some of my favorite Italian restaurants make it pretty well in house, nothing beats the pesto my mom makes from scratch. It's garlicy, fresh and the prettiest shade of green, how could you not want this on every piece of your food?

Ingredients:

3 cloves of garlic, handful of parsley,3 to 4 cups basil leaves, 

3/4 cup parmesan cheese & 1/2 cup walnuts

Throw walnuts and garlic into the food processor. Add parsley and basil and grind down. Keep food processor going and drizzle olive oil until it's the right consistency for you.

I bought some gnocchi from Whole Foods made by The Pasta Shop, which were very soft and handmade. I highly recommend serving the pesto as a sauce with either gnocchi or pasta with grilled chicken.