When Worlds Collide

"How Not to Measure" and "Call Me 'Yo Miss'" are vastly different -- one is full of adventures in the kitchen that just get thrown together and the other analyzes aspects of the world of education. But... somehow... they combined forces last night.

For my Human Growth & Development I, and my classmate Abby, presented to our class about the importance of nutrition. We actually had to fight other groups to be able to present on this topic, so we knew we had to make it good... Which was easy, because it's something we're both very interested in.

Only last month, the USDA passed new regulations for school lunches -- including the first financial increase in 30 years!! (An extra 6 cents per lunch.) But in the next 3 years school lunches will begin to include more fruits and vegetables, whole grains, and decrease the amounts of sodium, trans fat, and sugar. All great changes. During our presentation, our main point was that students need to be educated about nutrition in order for changes to be really effective. They need to know what to choose and why they should choose it.

And, of course, we had to bring some treats in for the class! We both chose to make desserts using healthier ingredients just to prove that small changes can be made and they're not drastic or gross! Abby made delicious, fudgy, dense, chocolatey brownies using black beans instead of flour. (Once I get the recipe from her, I'll definitely post it.) And my treat was just regular chocolate chip cookies -- the same recipe from the back of the bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips. The only difference was all whole wheat flour instead of white flour and brown sugar instead of white sugar. (Oh, and my secret ingredient: a big drizzle of honey during the last few stirs.)

So yes to nutrition education and yes to healthy changes!

This should tide you over...

Since I'm still AWOL, I've added a new site on the side, under More Food: Food Gawker. Everything on here looks amazing, especially this...

Red Velvet Cheesecake Ball

A Beast of a Cookie

When I saw the recipe for Oreo Stuffed Chocolate Chip Cookies a while back, I knew I'd be making them... I just needed an excuse. And I think a birthday care package for a best friend is the perfect one.

The best caption to the original recipe for these cookies I saw was, "Because sometimes you just need a cookie inside your cookie." And it's true. I tweaked the recipe a bit to make it my own and, of course, didn't really measure out the differences... But since it's baking I'll try my best to record my steps. (Oh and the original maker of these cookies said she got 2 dozen cookies... I only managed to get about 14. Sized for giants.)

What You'll Need*:

• 1 package semi-sweet chocolate chips. I prefer Nestle, but really any will do.
• The recipe for chocolate chip cookies on the back of said package and all ingredients listed there. With the addition of cocoa powder.
• A bunch of Oreos. I used reduced fat, but... come on... like it matters.

 *Note: I originally wanted to use peanut butter chips instead of chocolate chips because I looovvve peanut butter and Oreos, but they didn't have any at my grocery store. Sad.

Put it All Together:

• Follow directions on the back of the chocolate chip bag making the following amendments:
• Use 1 cup of brown sugar and 1/2 cup of white sugar
• Add about 1/4 cup of cocoa powder to dry ingredients

• Put batter in the fridge for about 10 minutes and preheat the oven to 350.  

• Take a bunch of Oreos out of their package (You don't want to be reaching in there with batter all over your hands.)

• Now basically what you're going to do is wrap an Oreo cookie with your cookie batter.
• It works best if you cover the bottom first, then the top, sealing the sides up. As you do this you will realize just how beastly huge these cookies are going to be. 

• Bake for about 20 minutes... or until they look done. 

I think sending these cookies out as a birthday present will more than make up for the fact that the package will be over a week late! You're welcome, Melanie. ;D

⚡

Amazingly Dangerous Cookies

This website has some crazy stuff: picky-palate.com. Go to it. 

But I'm warning you, it looks incredibly dangerous.

...Seriously.