Cinnamon Chocolate Chip Cookie baking adventure.. wheeeee!

Today was another one of those make-a-quick-snack-requiring-very-few-ingredients days. I felt like making an eggless & butterless (i.e. vegan) chocolate chip cookie, but eggless, butterless cookie recipes are few and far inbetween. However, in a time of great recipe need, my #1 go to recipe site Vegweb never lets me down.

The ingredients for this cookie: flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, chocolate chips, sugar, oil, vanilla and water. Check, check, check... got all of these things. Yes!

I made some slight variations in my cookie:

• I added a slight bit more water then the recipe called for.
• I used slightly less sugar than the recipe called for.
• I used Ener-G egg replacer instead of baking soda. Which in retrospect I think makes no sense. Correct me if I'm wrong (which I am more often than not), but I believe baking soda is a leavening agent and Ener-G is a binder... but whatever, it worked!
  
• Rather than chocolate chips I chopped up a bar of 70% Cacao Bittersweet Scharffen Berger Chocolate which I think helped out a ton flavor-wise.
• I also halved the recipe for trial purposes which produced about 9 medium sized cookies, perfect for myself and a couple others as a midday treat.
  
• I heated the cookies for 7 minutes on one side and about 5 minutes on the other- worked out well for me, slightly crispy (and not burned!! arg... oven fry flashback!!) on the edges and chewy in the middle.
  

I forgot to take pictures as I was cooking, so all you get to see is the finished result: my semi-malformed, sort of too shiny chocolate chip cinnamon cookies. They were actually very tasty (the cinnamon was great), also the perfect combination of crunch and soft! Best of all, super simple to make!

snack of the day : garlic oven fries (+ recipe) !

I was running low on food (I need to get to the grocery store STAT) so I cooked up a batch of garlic fries with the staple ingredients that I had lying around (and that are always around). Not the healthiest snack, but still beats fast food. This recipe is super simple & very intuitive, so if you haven't tried making your own yet, I definitely recommend it. Also, if you have any tips on the perfect oven fries, I'd love to hear them! *Takes notes frantically*.

This is my method: Cut up 2 medium sized potatoes into wedges or strips. Personally I prefer thin strips because they seem to cook more evenly and also more quickly (I'm impatient), you also minimize the risk of a fry thats uncooked on the inside and burned on the outside ewwwwie! Toss the fries with a little bit of cooking oil (just enough to coat them).


Place the fries in a single layer on a cookie sheet (place the side with the greatest surface area down on the sheet). Set your oven to 425 and cook for 15 minutes on one side then scrape the fries off the sheet, place browned side up and cook for an additional 3-5 minutes.

While you're waiting for the fries to heat up, crush 1-2 cloves of garlic and place them in a bowl. I cover mine with a little bit of oil to enhance the flavor and make my fries a little bit more soggy (gotta love those soggy fries!).

After your fries are cooked they should look something like the picture below. I was watching youtube with headphones on so I missed my timer going off, thus this batch o' fries is a little more.. well... burned.. than I'd like them to be. Note to self: don't wear headphones when cooking. Toss your fries in your garlic and top off with a sprinkle of salt.


Dip in your sauce of choice and you are doneeee. Voilà!

Ingela P Arrhenius prints from L'Affiche Moderne

L'Affiche Moderne has just released a great selection of prints from Swedish artist Ingela P Arrhenius and I've become a huuuuge fan of every single on of these prints. The artwork is adorable! I love the classic style and combination of bold and subdued colors used in each of the pieces.

Prices range from 29€ ($41.64) to 129€ ($185.21) depending on size (12x16 inch or 20x28 inch) and format (regular, mounted canvas, framed, mounted PVC).

On Stage

Islands

Friends

Friends on Tree

Swedish illustrator Ingela P Arrhenius takes her inspiration directly from the 50s and 60s.

She creates wonderfully naive and classy illustrations, full of vibrant and playful colours. L’Affiche Moderne has never been so modern while being so retro..

Giveaway : win 1 of 10 Cottonelle gift baskets

Leave a comment on this post for a chance to win 1 of 10 Cottonelle gift baskets (please include your contact information or have it visible in your profile). The winners will be randomly chosen by Cottonelle on January 29, 2010 from all entries across all blogs sponsoring this giveaway.

Are you team over or under (Team Over FTW) ?

http://www.cottonellerollpoll.com

**This post is sponsored by Cottonelle, by posting I am entering a contest for a month's worth of Cottonelle toilet paper via Mom Bloggers Club. Visit Mom Bloggers Club for your own chance to win!**

Hello Kitty Swatch "flik flak" watches

I've always loved Swatch watches. As a kid (and even as a teen) I wore their Flik Flak watches pretty much exclusively because they were cute, affordable, super durable and extremely lightweight. Now Swatch and Sanrio have teamed up to produce 3 awesome watches. I totally want one (or all) of them!

Flik Flak for Hello Kitty Watch and Pencil Pot, $60

Keep time in Hello Kitty cute style with this adorable Swiss-made wrist watch. Beautifully designed watch dial and fabric strap featuring Hello Kitty looking very pretty in red. Easy to read numerals. Includes a matching pencil pot for your desktop!

Flik Flak for Hello Kitty Watch: Fashion, $50

The Hello Kitty fashionista keeps time in super cute style with this very cool Swiss-made wrist watch. Lovely watch dial and fabric strap with Hello Kitty and logo in sweet hues of pink on classic black.

Flik Flak for Hello Kitty Watch: Angels, $50

Hello Kitty helps you keep time in super cute style with this adorable Swiss-made wrist watch. Lovely pink watch dial featuring Hello Kitty face and easy to read numerals. Hello Kitty dresses up as an angel on the sweet pink fabric strap.