Month: March 2016

Make This Now

Lauren12 Comments

Hi!  Welcome to a new series called “Make This Now” where I get all excited about recently used and loved recipes and then I try to translate that excitement into a convincing argument for you to try those recipes yourself.  I think we’re both gonna love this new series.  Right?!

The Best Soft Chocolate Chip Cookies

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It’s always best to come right out the gate with a recipe for “the best chocolate chip cookies ever!”

I find cookies to be annoying because there are SO MANY small factors that can totally change the way your cookies come out.  We’ve all seen those charts that show what all brown sugar cookies vs. brown & white sugar cookies look like, or what baking soda vs. baking powder cookies look like, etc., etc.  Look, I do not have time to test all these factors, so when these cookies came out PERFECTLY, I was OVERJOYED.  They totally made me forget that I had walked back to my car after yoga to find I had a flat tire.  Not to be dramatic but these were the best cookies I’ve ever made or eaten, the end.

Roasted Veg with Nutritional Yeast

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Going to overlook the fact that Bon App staffers cannot say “vegetables” and insist on saying “veg.”  And you can overlook my questionable at-home outfit choices.

Guys, are you using nutritional yeast?  You’re probably either thinking “um that’s so 5 years ago” or “what the hell is nutritional yeast?!”  But hear me out while I profess my love for that yellowy powder.  It is the best, most delicious, most life-changing ingredient, vegan or not.  Joey straight up eats SPOONFULS of it, he loves it that much.  You know, beer, Santiago’s breakfast burritos, candy and nutritional yeast.  A totally normal diet for an adult male.  Make the broccoli version of this recipe or make the squash version of this recipe, either way, your life is about to change for the better.

Cast-Iron Pan Pizza

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Not to be dramatic, but this was the best pizza Joey and I have ever made.  EVER.  And we’ve made A LOT of pizza.

Can we just acknowledge that the Bon Appétit Test Kitchen is probably the best place to work?  They are always sending SnapChat videos of fun stuff going on in there and then they do stuff like provide us with informal recipes for the best cast-iron skillet pizza and I could not be more appreciative.  BA Brad knows his stuff.  We watched that little video (click the link!) about five times and followed the directions to a T and were rewarded with this amazing pizza delight.  Seriously, I was so impressed.  And brushing honey onto the crust before it cools?  Why had I never thought of that genius move on my own?  MAKE IT NOW.Read More »

Easter Weekend Things

Lauren3 Comments

Things that are making my Monday morning a little easier:

John Mayer (I’ve yet to find a scenario that ISN’T made better by JMay), the fresh coat of polish on my nails and the fact that it’s called “Let Me Bayou a Drink,” Huckleberry Roasters coffee, the anticipation of Joey’s birthday on Sunday and thinking back on a good Easter weekend.

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I wish Joey and I were consistent “Pizza Friday” people, but we just can’t commit to such things.  I will say, however, that that just makes it extra exciting when a Pizza Friday does pop up!  Like last week, when Friday lunchtime rolled around and I suggested that we swing by Whole Foods and grab a pizza dough.  Mostly just needed to spend $30 on nuts in the bulk section, but hey, grabbing dough seemed like an obvious next step.

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When we got the dough home, we threw a cast-iron pizza together real quick and then Joey tapped our newest brew.  It’s a Hefeweizen and we ended up adding a slightly banana-flavored yeast to it.  That might sound strange, but it’s actually really good.  Post-pizza and beer, we started The Empire Strikes Back and seriously, I fell asleep halfway through AGAIN.  Kind of… it’s hard to sleep when Chewbacca keeps making those noises.

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Vaguely remember saying “I’ll take my coffee in bed around 7:45 tomorrow” as I bid Joey goodnight and then because he’s amazing and far FAR too nice to me, he actually delivered me coffee in bed the next morning.  If that doesn’t set it up to be a good day, I don’t know what does.  At 8:30, we made our way over to Hannah and Josh’s to help them load up their townhome and move.  Furreal, my arms are sore and all I remember carrying is pillows…

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I had an 11:30 Zero Balancing session with my Dad and I felt SO relaxed afterwards.  I texted him later in the day to report that my eye had BARELY twitched since I’d left my appointment.  And then I promptly made another one for this upcoming weekend.  Oh and I guess I was just collecting books from people all day too.  The Red Tent from Hannah’s mom Tracey and The Power of Now from my dad.  The book pile on my nightstand is looking happily abundant right now.

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After my massage, Joey tried his best to convince me to go watch March Madness with him, but A) I was going to be the only girl/person who doesn’t give a @#%& about March Madness and B) I was trying to remain in the Zen Zone (I just made that up, but it’s got a nice ring to it, huh?), so I let him go and did my own thang.  Meaning I went to the grocery store, started making a cake, hard-boiled some eggs, FINALLY FINALLY hung up clothes that had been in our back room since our trip to Hawaii (ahh!) and basked in the glory of 5:30 PM sunlight.  Read More »