No Fail Zone

Have you ever talked yourself into failure? You know, psyched yourself up for it. Planned ahead for it.

It sounds crazy, right? No one actually sits down and thinks of ways to fail. Do they?

Have you ever considered that each time you excuse your way out of success--it's too hard, you're not good enough, that's not realistic, you don't have any resources--you're convincing yourself that failure is your only option.

What's that about? Not cool. Even if all of your friends are doing it. Even if your parents and teachers are doing it. [Reference point: In fifth grade my teacher asked us what we wanted to "be" when we grow up. Like we knew how loaded of a question that was. I said that I wanted to be an actress. "The world has enough of them," Teacher said. "It's not realistic. We need good teachers and doctors."]

Riggght. Not even a little cool. Shame on you, teach. And shame on us for not recognizing and embracing all that makes us us. Successful, powerful, capable, generous us. 


What does this have to do with cooking? Absolutely nothing. But sometimes we (and by we I mean I) need a little pep talk. And if pep talks don't work, cookies certainly will.

• Snickerdoodles
• Courtesy of Martha Stewart Living
• 
  
• 3 cups flour 
• 2 teaspoons cream of tartar
• 1 teaspoon baking soda 
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon 
• 1/2 teaspoon salt 
• 2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, softened
• 1 1/3 cup granulated sugar 
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 
• 1 large egg 
• 
  

Directions:

1) Preheat oven to 375F. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt.

2) In a large bowl, with electric mixer at medium speed, beat butter and granulated sugar until creamy, occasionally scraping bowl with rubber spatula. Beat in vanilla and egg. At low speed, gradually add flour mixture and beat just until blended, occasionally scraping bowl.

3) Working in batches, use the palms of your hands to shape rounded tablespoons of dough into 11/2-inch balls. Roll balls in coarse sugar to coat and place on a large ungreased cookie sheet about 2 inches apart.

4) Bake until lightly golden and crinkly on top, 12 to 14 minutes. Cool on cookie sheet on wire rack 1 minute, then transfer cookies to rack to cool completely.

Making Scents.

Scent is a powerful memory-maker. I, along with most people with a working nose, have very strong memories tied to certain fragrances. You're with me, right?

The smell of the warm, balmy air when you step off the plane in Florida. The scent of your boyfriend's cologne. The old-fashioned smell that lingers in Grandma's house. They all get registered in the filing cabinets of our brain, whether we realize it or not.

Food smells, in particular, can range from poignant to exciting to nostalgic. Onion and garlic sweating in a pot will always remind me of a family dinner, just as a coconut will call to mind a pool-side cocktail during vacation. Do you remember your first food memory?

Really think about this.

I'm not talking about the first 'Aha!" moment you had at a fancy-shmance restaurant or the first time you tried an exotic ingredient, but the first memory you have tied to any food, whatsoever. It's kind of crazy to reach back into those dusty files, isn't it? Mine is an absolute shame-fest, but I'll tell you anyway.

It was summer break and I think I was about six or seven years old. We had a small backyard and would set up a garden hose sprinkler to run through all day. Good times. My mom was a serial tanner back then (nothing's changed, except maybe now she's added a few SPFs to her tanning lotion), so we all had little chairs to lounge in. I remember going into the house for a snack, and when I opened the pantry I knew exactly what I wanted--no, needed. Rainbow Chips Ahoy.

You know what I'm talkin' about. And I didn't want one or two. I wanted five, FIVE!, cookies to take back to my chair. A little primary-colored stack that I would slowly nibble to make last as long as possible. I think that was the first time I fell in love. Oh, how the warning signs were there.

I said that to say this:
I recently finished and eye-opening book, Eating Animals, by Jonathan Safran Foer. In it, the author grapples with his decision to remove meat and dairy products from his and his child's diet. As he thinks and rethinks his choice, he's reminded of family barbeques and what rituals would be missed without the grilled burger or holiday roast. Then he realizes that it's not the burger itself that will be missed, but the tradition and memories that accompany it.

We all have memories we hold dear--some healthy and some otherwise--but, we also have a future that belongs to us for all of the new memories we create for ourselves and loved ones.

Cheers to that. You're remembered fondly, Mr. Nabisco, even if we have grown apart.

A little 'love thy neighbor'.

Once in a while something happens that reminds me that although I live in New York City, this town can be just as small as any other. Today, I ran into not one, but three people I know--all in my neighborhood. One in particular, Anthony, has a special place in my heart.

Anthony is an elderly man who lives in a ground-level apartment that, to anyone who doesn't know better, appears to be a pawn shop. His front, storefront-style windows are large and filled with trinkets and yes, like any pawn shop, a bit of junk. Almost every night, Anthony brings his cordless phone outside, sets a chair on the sidewalk, opens his front door and blasts Frank Sinatra, while sitting on the street talking to friends and strangers. Every night. The fluorescent heart in the window gets turned on and sheds a hot pink light on the knickknacks he's collected in his window: model cars, a Bill Clinton bobble head, old-fashioned signs.

Even though we got some stares, Anthony's stoop had to make an appearance in our engagement photos.

He knows me well enough to ask what I'm making for dinner, and has taken to calling me "honey". To be called that by any other man would result in a dirty look. But a Rat Pack-era gentleman who is balding and slightly hunched? He gets a smile. He comments that I'm always carrying groceries, he asks for Brian and he notices a new tattoo or haircut. "Hiya, honey," he says, every night.

I can't articulate how much I look forward to those two little words.

I'm grateful that someone as unassuming as my neighbor can remind me of one of the most important lessons: Relate to others. Some things--like laughing, dancing, crying and even the smile that follows taking a bite of delicious food--are universal.  It's surprisingly easy to blaze your own trail, tackle your own dreams and go at it alone. But it's so much easier and gratifying to do it with friends at your side.

After all, we're all neighbors and everyone can use a "Hiya, honey," once in a while.

Courtesy of 6bittersweets.com

I've been thinking about baking Anthony some biscotti to accompany his sidewalk cup of coffee, since he's always curious about what's cooking. Click here for a great recipe with a boost of summer flavor thanks to the addition of oranges. De.Lic.Ious.

Cookies for a Cause

I recently reconnected with a former coworker from my magazine days. We frequently planned events together and kept each other up to date on new restaurants and recipes. As we started catching up on life and updating each other on marriages, kids, food, etc., she let me know about a bake sale she was participating in.

She had me at bake sale.

I love a good bake sale. [Growing up, my school would host them to raise money for new departments or trips. I would start one on my own at the foot of my driveway, flagging down drivers in hopes for a few quarters. Although they weren't profitable, licking the Duncan Hines icing jar clean was incentive enough to keep at it. I digress.] This bake sale wasn't just one table of cookies. It is a nationwide initiative for a truly touching cause.

Cookies for Kid's Cancer was started by parents whose young son was diagnosed with the disease at age two. Four years later, after many tests and treatments, Liam passed away, but his memory lives on and is honored through these bake sales. This month would have been Liam's seventh birthday, so throughout the month of May, hundreds of bake sales are being held throughout the country to raise money for research of pediatric cancers. How inspiring to see a community of people together to make a change!

This is Liam who inspires bakers to bake for a higher cause

So, I'm thinking a bake sale is in order.

Any New York bakers care to join?

This un-baked cookie recipe is courtesy of Organic Avenue in New York City. This organic, vegan, raw shop is filled with juices, smoothies and raw foods. While that may sound off putting to many, trust me when I tell you these taste just as good as any oatmeal cookie you'll find. They're filled with healthy ingredients, like dates and coconut, are gluten-free, and are way too easy to eat!

Oatmeal Coconut Cookies

1 1/2 cups rolled oats

1/4 cup shredded coconut
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 cup medjool dates
1/4 cup Coconut Oil
1/2 cup raisins
2 tb water, optional

Pulse oats, coconut and cinnamon in a food processor until powdery. Add dates and coconut oil and process until a sticky dough forms (add water if needed). Add raisins and give a few pulses, until the raisins are well mixed throughout.

You can roll the dough into balls, coat in shredded coconut and serve, or flatten into cookie shapes.

Refrigerate to set the dough before serving, or eat them straight away if you're one of those raw cookie dough types! I topped mine with a dusting of cocoa powder and coconut.

Check out the founder of Organic Avenue, Denise Mari, making the cookies here!

She needs an umbrella with her chocolate chips.

New York is not for the faint of heart. I have a theory that New Yorkers are unlike anyone else, if only because of the brutal and often unpredictable weather patterns we brace ourselves for every season.

March in New York proves this point in its entirety.

On Friday, it was a balmy 75 degrees, with the promise of warm spring around the corner. Today, freezing rain and gusty wind escorts us into the new week. If New Yorkers, at times, seem too tough and not quick enough to exchange toothy grins and hugs, this is why.

If you lived in sunny Miami, wouldn’t you be inclined to smile a little bigger and step a little lighter?

Luckily, there are certain things that make the gray days more palatable: Family, friends, chocolate-chip cookie bars—or a combination of all three, not always in that order. Fortunately for me, all of the above assembled in our apartment this weekend. As I think about us laughing, acting silly, and passing around a plate of these cookies, I find myself more capable of dealing with a gloomy Monday. At times you need a vacation, other times you need family and sometimes you simply need comfort food. Clouds are lifting.

This recipe is adapted from Food & Wine’s Chocolate-Chip-Pecan Cookie Bars. I prefer to replace the pecans with sliced, toasted almonds.

A bit of espresso mixed into the flour highlights the flavor of the chocolate;  replacing some of the sugar with quality maple syrup deepens the flavor, while cutting out some of the processed sugar.

Rainy days never tasted so good.

Chocolate-Chip-Almond Bars

(adapted from Food & Wine)

Makes about 16 bars

1. 1 cup sliced almonds, toasted
2. 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
3. 2 tablespoons canola oil
4. 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
5. 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons maple syrup
6. 1 large egg
7. 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
8. 1 teaspoon ground espresso
9. ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
10. 1 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
11. 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
12. 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
13. 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

1. Preheat the oven to 350° and line the bottom of a 9-by-13-inch baking pan with parchment paper. Spread the almonds in a small skillet and toast over low heat until golden and fragrant, about 4 minutes.
2. In the bowl of a standing electric mixer, beat the butter and oil with the granulated sugar and maple syrup until light and creamy. Beat in the egg and vanilla until smooth. In a small bowl, whisk the flour with the baking soda, espresso, cinnamon and salt; add the dry ingredients into the mixer at low speed. Fold in the chocolate chips and almonds until evenly incorporated.  
3. Transfer the dough to the prepared baking pan and press into an even layer. Bake for about 20 minutes, until lightly browned and nearly set in the center. Let cool completely, then run a knife around the edges and invert the rectangle. Peel off the paper and invert onto a cutting board. Cut and serve.