Chocolate Puddle Cookies

I came across a cookie when I visited Portland a couple years back. It was a crackle-edged puddle of chocolate with a texture that made me think of a collision between soft meringue and a fudgy brownie. I kid you not, love is not too strong a word to use here. I fell hard for this cookie.

Without getting too serious, I've been having an internal debate about whether or not I should post this recipe. When I post sweets or treats, I like them to have some sort of whole grain twist, or feature a natural sweetener. I mean, that's usually how I cook and bake. But I have a big-time crush on this cookie, and I figured I'd post the recipe in all it's powdered sugar, chocolaty glory in case some of you want to make a batch. In short, there are just six ingredients between you a baking sheet of these, no mixer necessary - just a big bowl and wooden spoon.

As far as the origins of this recipe? I came across a recipe shortly after my return from Portland that sounded very close to the cookie I tasted there (they seemed to be a version of the François Payard's Flourless Chocolate-Walnut Cookie), but the recipe I was working from didn't work all that well for me. The good news is, it did provide a good starting point. I adjusted a few ingredients and my technique, and now I've been able to make them reliably. That being said, please read the head notes before making these, they have a few quirks that aren't like other cookies - and I've outlined the exact ingredients I've tested and had success with.

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Eleven Slushie Cocktails I Bookmarked for Next Summer

I think it's best that we stop at eleven here ;) This is my personal slushie list, inspired by some of my favorite cocktail maestros.

1. Frozen Mezcal Palomas - (Serious Eats)
Number one on my list. From Julia Turshen's much-loved Small Victories cookbook, you know these are going to be hard to beat. Get the recipe here.

2. Frozen Sgroppino - (PUNCH)
Vodka + Limoncello + Lemon Sorbet + Prosecco - preferably enjoyed in the sun somewhere on the Italian coast. Get the recipe here.

3. Color-Changing Frozen Mojito - (Buzzfeed)
Have to admit, I'm intrigued by this one. Red cabbage is infused into boiling water to create blue simple syrup. When the acid in the lime juice hits it, color shift! I think it's in the Tasty cookbook, and you can see it play out in the video. Get the recipe here.

4. Mango Coconut and Orange Vodka Crush - (Heather Christo)
Fresh Mango and coconut milk, offset with orange and lime juices, and vodka. Get the recipe here.

5. Friesling - (PUNCH)
A case for swapping switching out your rosé habit. Some good guidelines and recommendations here. Recipes in right-hand column on this page.

6. Cucumber Gin Slush - (QUITOKEETO)
A go-to this summer. I love the refreshing cucumber, gin, and limoncello trifecta. Get the recipe here.

7. Peach Wine Slushes - (Dessert for Two)
A simple as it gets, in the best way - fruity white wine + frozen peaches. Get the recipe here.

8. Cherry Moscato Slush - (Salt & Lavender)
I always stock up on frozen cherries (because I'm usually too lazy to pit them). Pair those with a bottle of moscato and a spike of lime, and this is where you're at. Get the recipe here.

9. Strawberry Dragonfruit Margarita - (Host The Toast)
In addition to frozen cherries, I always stock up on frozen dragonfruit puree when I come across it. I can imagine a version of this using the puree being A+! Get the recipe here.

10. Frozen Blood Orange Negroni - (The Kitchn)
The classic Negroni is equal parts gin, Campari, and sweet vermouth. Here it meets the blender and gets rounded out with fresh blood orange juice. Yes, please. Get the recipe here.

11. Bourbon Slush Punch - (Smitten Kitchen)
Finishing strong. Literally. Smitten Kitchen meets Garden & Gun. This one looks a tad dangerous. Get the recipe here.

Also, just in case you want to get serious and roll out your own slushie machine, you're going to want to read this. Straight talk from the master: How to use a slushie machine. And, here's a little tip sheet on Bon Appétit related to crafting your own frozen drinks. Lastly! I also love (and make a lot of) weeknight non-alcohol cocktails, let me know if you'd like me to do a list of those. Enjoy!

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Ten Whole-Food Plant-Based Tomato Recipes You Should Try This Week

Some of these are definitely going to happen this week. My personal hit-list for peak tomato season.

1. Summer Vegan Green Goddess Salad - (Bojon Gourmet)
Crispy lettuce, heirloom tomatoes, crunchy cucumbers, toasted seeds, creamy cashew herb dressing, and a dusting of nutritional yeast. Get the recipe here.

2. All the Tomatoes & Pasta Salad - (101 Cookbooks)
Crispy lettuce, heirloom tomatoes, crunchy cucumbers, toasted seeds, creamy cashew herb dressing, and a dusting of nutritional yeast. Get the recipe here.

3. Anna Jones's Arroz de Tomate - (The Guardian)
Inspired by time spent on Portugal's south-west coast, a piquant tomato rice accented with fragrant saffron, garlic, smoked paprika, and bay. Photograph by Matt Russell for the Guardian. Get the recipe here.

4. Weeknight Ponzu Pasta - (101 Cookbooks)
All things green in a quick, weeknight pasta option. It's feel-good food that won't weigh you down - ponzu dressing, green vegetables, and the pasta of your choice. Get the recipe here.

5. Anna Jones's Tomato and Coconut Cassoulet
I love Anna's recipes (and style in general). As she says here, "...sticky roasted tomatoes, the soothing creaminess of coconut milk and sweet little white beans, topped with a crust of sourdough bread." Yes, please. Get the recipe here.

6. Tara O'Brady's Esquites & Yellow Tomato Gazpacho - (Andrew Zimmerman)
Genius take on gazpacho by Tara. My guess is you'll do exactly what I did - click through and bookmark. To keep the toppings WFPB, just use a favorite non-dairy yogurt in place in place of the crema/cotija swirl, and a heart whole grain bread. Get the recipe here.

7. One-pot Summer Vegetables Skillet Lasagna - (Making Thyme for Health)
This is a stove-top lasagna, which makes it perfect for hot summer nights. You've got ripe tomatoes, plus a summer bounty of corn, zucchini, and bell peppers. It's all cooked in a skillet with pasta, topped with cashew ricotta and fresh basil. Sarah includes a GF option here as well. Get the recipe here.

8. Tomato Basil Chickpea Salad Sandwich - (Peas & Crayons)
This is a beautiful riff on something along the lines of a tuna (or chicken) salad sandwich. Fecked with colorful tomatoes, carrots, peppers, arugula, and served on multi-grain, it's one of the most inspired versions I've seen. Use a vegan mayo to keep it WFPB. Get the recipe here.

9. Burst Tomato and Zucchini Spaghetti with Avocado Sauce - (Pinch of Yum)
A love-letter to summer (written in the depths of winter), Lindsay puts her spiralizer to work on the zucchini, rounds it out with whole wheat spaghetti, and tosses it all with a triple green avocado sauce. Burst tomatoes top it all off, and make this a perfect recipe to revisit right now. Skip the Parmesan to keep it WFPB/vegan. Get the recipe here.

10. White Chard Stew - (101 Cookbooks)
And as we round the corner from summer into fall, a riff on ribollita, using anything and everything I had on hand - all the chard in the crisper, plump white beans, potatoes, celery, the last of the last flat of summer tomatoes. Again, just skip the Parmesan to keep it WFPB/vegan. Get the recipe here.

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Want to Weave Millennial Pink into your Kitchen, Tabletop, and Photos? Here's how.

I was shopping for plates the other night (for a photo shoot), and had a very specific idea of what I wanted - millennial pink, clean lines thick, modern rim. I wasn't finding the plates I was after, but did come across quite a lot of blush amazingness. It occurred to me that posting some of my tabletop finds, along with a few musings on the topic might be interesting to some of you? Details styling, sourcing links, and the like...let's give it a shot.

Find the right pink. I'm sure most of you know what I'm referring to here, but for anyone who isn't sure, millennial pink is that salmony-pink, blush, pale grapefruit pink you see everywhere now. There's actually a single millennial pink in my mind, but you actually see products and designs in a range of pinks intending on hitting this mark. There's a lot out there in millennial pink land, in quite a wide spectrum. I'm pretty specific about the shade range I prefer. The zone right around the Pantone Pale Dogwood shade is where it's typically at for me - it's not super saturated or bubblegum, and can function as a nice neutral in many ways.

Avoiding the trend-trap. I think the key to incorporating a color like this into your kitchen, or table, and (correspondingly for many of us) photos, is usually to find individual pieces, or ingredients versus appliances, or anything installed or super permanent. I mean, there are certainly exceptions to this, but I tend to prefer to invest in a lot of neutral foundation elements, and then accent with whatever I'm enamored with at the time. Here'the the key, try to focus on picking up pieces that will age well, and will outlive any current trend. I love sourcing old or vintage pieces, so you end up with a very now color, but from fifty years back.

Think beyond plates and products. The spectrum of color in food and individual ingredients is magic to me, and I love to work pale pink into my photos (and my meals) when it makes sense. There's pink Himalayan sea salt, pale rose wines, herbal teas (for example, a weak hibiscus tea), blended strawberry almond milks, and raspberry oatmeals.

So! Here's a selection of items I came across the other night, in a range of prices, eras, design styles, etc. In addition to favorite shops, I like to haunt eBay and Etsy, and, in this case, searched using terms like - millennial pink tabletop, blush ceramics, vintage pink plate, pale pink textile, blush tablecloth. Some of my finds are one-of-a-kind, so anything is out of stock, search around! I suspect you can find so much more. The individual products are numbered in the graphics, with corresponding links just below.

Sources

- 1. Powder Pink Earthenware Bowl - Herriott Grace
- 2. Gold Platter Party Napkins - Oh Happy Day
- 3. Christiane Perrochon Soft Pink Petite Boule Vase - MARCH
- 4. Blush Watercolor Salad & Cake Plates - FOOD52
- 5. Caravan Bistro Glasses - GOOP
- 6. Blush Stripe Party Plates - Oh Happy Day
- 7. Vintage Pink Serving Tray - Etsy

- 8. Powder Pink Jug - Herriott Grace
- 9. Gilded Rim White Wine Glass - Anthropologie
- 10. Kas Table Linens - ABC Carpet & Home
- 11. Blush Watercolor Salad & Cake Plates - FOOD52
- 12. Petalpress Pie Dish - Anthropologie
- 13. Small Powder Pink Bowl - Herriott Grace
- 14. 12-piece Modern Dinnerware Set - Urban Outfitters
- 15. French Arcoroc Bowls - Etsy
- 16. Pink Coral Birthday Plates - Etsy

Let me know if you like these sorts of posts. Happy to do more if you like! -h

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New-fashioned Oatmeal Pancakes

Let's talk pancakes. A few of you saw a pancake batter in a refrigerator shot I posted here, and requested the recipe. They're a current favorite for reasons I'll list off below, but let me describe them to you first. We're talking about oatmeal pancakes, but I think of them as oatmeal porridge pancakes because of the texture you experience as you cut through their golden tops into the crumb. Instead of a traditional crumb, you've got what ends up being a leavened porridge. If you prefer a feather-light stack, these aren't going to be your jam. These are hearty, substantial, and absolutely delicious. They're also made with 100% whole grain flour, oats, and ground flax. I always get questions about buttermilk substitutions, so I make them with a simple almond "buttermilk" here. They're pancakes that will work for vegans, and those avoiding dairy as well. I'll add a couple of technical notes down below, related to ingredients and favorite add-ins, but I typically make them to order on a Saturday or Sunday, and then save any extra batter to use in the next day or two. They're like 90% as good with leftover batter - which, in my book, is just fine on a Monday morning ;).

A couple notes - you see cornstarch or brown rice flour here to counter-balance some of the moist density you get when cooking or baking with oatmeal or whole grain flours. You can certainly leave it out - but I'm always a bit sorry when I do. Toppings? I tend to skip the syrup with here, but love to dust them with cinnamon sugar. It gives you that crunch and texture before a tender interior (sort of churro-like). Or, if we're getting extra specific, sometimes I'll make a big oatmeal pancake and cut it into 4 or 5 long strips. And then when I want to take a bite, I'll roll one of the strips (cinnamon roll-style), and dunk the end in a bit of sugar. You also cant go wrong with a side of smashed berries.

I mix all sorts of ingredients into the batter from day-to-day, but it's hard to beat toasted walnuts and blueberries (frozen is a-ok). Grind up a few rose petals with some sugar and use that to sprinkle - there is something magic about the blueberries and rose. Enjoy!

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