Hey folks, sorry for the missed week last week! I was busy doing businessy things on a business trip in California in meetings. Lots and lots of meetings.
I was going to edit photos in the evenings when I had no meetings, but instead I hung out with my brother and his lovely wife who I barely see since they moved from Seattle to the Bay Area.
But instead of typing out long word of forgiveness, let me tell you about my time in California.
I ate a lot of meat.
Not usually what I associate with trips to California, but it’s true, I ate a lot of meat over the span of one week.
First was yakitori at Izakaya Ginja. Om nom nom… Everything was tender and so flavourful, even the onigiri… which isn’t meat, it’s rice, but it was just as tasty as meat!
The following night was Lolinda, a wonderful place with what I think was plaster cow heads on the walls. Or maybe plastic? Doesn’t matter outside of the fact that it was a sign of beefy things to come.
Well not just beefy. Also civiche and pork chops and chorizo and little alfjores dulce de leche cookies.
The cookies were not meat, but they were definitely noteworthy.
I was constantly full every minute I was in California.
Admittedly, it wasn’t just the awesome, meaty restaurants my brother kept toting me around to, the office I was visiting had free snacks in the kitchens. Which is incredibly dangerous. I mean, peanut M&Ms as much as I want, as often as I want?
Also Cheetos. There were a lot of Cheetos. And orange keyboards.
…because of the Cheetos? Get it? …heh?
…
And there was Mexican Coke in glass bottles that made me feel fancy. Glass bottles always make me feel fancy, probably in part due to the fact that I can’t drink beer, so I only associate glass bottles with getting a extra special pop as a kid.
Then after California, I’ve been back for 4 days with a massive head cold and have kept up the intake of food to comfort my lack of ability to inhale oxygen at a normal rate.
I’m at a jolly-ish plumper mass at +3 lbs and currently still eating thin mints as I type this.
It all has to end at some point so that I can keep my girlish figure, but until my sinuses clear, I’m stuffing my face full of cookies and ice cream.
Foreign locations and being under the weather, either emotionally or physically, will forever lead to the stuffing of my face.
That’s just how I roll.
Literally ‘roll’ if I keep this up.
omnomnom..
Cardamom Crescents
Recipe from Bon Appetit
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 3/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar, divided
- 1 cup pecans, toasted
- 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
Directions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or silipat mats.
- Whisk flour, cardamom, cinnamon and salt together in a medium bowl.
- Combine 1/2 cup sugar and pecans in a food processor; pulse until coarse meal forms.
- Using an electric mixer, beat butter and vanilla in a medium bowl until creamy, 2–3 minutes. Add nut mixture; beat to blend. Add dry ingredients; blend well (dough will be moist but still crumbly). Transfer to a work surface; knead to form a ball, about 4 turns.
- Measure 1 rounded Tbsp. of dough; form into a ball, then roll into a 1 1/2″-long log. Gently bend into a crescent shape, pinching ends to taper (cookies may crack slightly). Repeat with remaining dough, spacing about 1″ apart on prepared sheets.
- Bake, rotating sheets halfway through baking, until bottoms are golden 12–15 minutes. Sift remaining 1 cup powdered sugar into a shallow wide bowl. Working in batches of about 8 cookies each, roll warm cookies gently in powdered sugar to coat. Transfer to wire rack to let cool. Roll or dust cooled cookies with powdered sugar.
Can be made 5 days ahead. Store airtight at room temperature.
Amandeleine 