Cookies, Cookies, and Cookies

My little sister just moved back to college. I have decided I will make her a ton of cookies.

My first adventure actually came from an experiment from earlier this week. Well, two experiments. Last weekend, I found myself obsessed with wanting to make Olive Oil Ice Cream. I happened to have Lime Olive Oil from The Olive Oil Shops in Fredericksburg (which I know I keep raving about). So I made the ice cream. Honestly, I didn't care for it. As a matter of fact, I believe I spit it out.

But I took it to my work anyway to see what the girls thought. They all loved it. So, now I'm confused. I wasn't sure if they were lying to me to make me feel better or if they were being honest.

It turned out they were honest. It's gone. They wouldn't go back for seconds if they hated it. My assistant said her first bite is the one that is off, but the more you eat it, the more you love it. Okay -- I can work with that. My other assistant said I had a marketing problem. I shouldn't call it Olive Oil Ice Cream. I should call it Key Lime Pie Ice Cream.

Light bulb.

I hate Key Lime Pie. That must be why I didn't like it. As soon as she said that, everyone vehemently agreed. Okay, problem solved. So this then spurred me to another outrageous thought. Chocolate and chipotle. These two flavors compliment beautifully, and I wanted to see if their affair would make it through an ice cream marriage.

Oh my goodness, they did. The Chocolate Chile Ice Cream is incredible. I'll take it to the girls on Monday, but I did have my co-worker try it Friday night. *bing!

So it was because of the Chocolate and Chile marriage, I wanted to see what a baby would look like. I made a chocolate jalapeno cookie. I first made a compound butter of jalapeno and used that instead of regular butter.

Insert image of me spitting out the cookie. I'm sorry to say that it was a very ugly baby. My mom had a good suggestion though so I didn't just waste 30 cookies. I will freeze and crush the cookies and press it into a pie shell for a Chocolate Mousse Pie.

Next cookie: Coconut-Lime Ginger Butter cookies. I did the same thing of making a compound butter with ginger and using that as my butter for a regular butter and did a basic sugar cookie recipe adding lime zest instead of orange or lemon, and i put lightly toasted coconut in.

It's a hit! The Lime in the Coconut song comes to mind.

The next cookie to go into the oven will be a regular sugar cookie with chocolate and peanut butter chips for a Reece's effect (my sister's favorite). And the last cookie that will be made tomorrow will be a Chocolate Nutella Cookie. If you have not been blessed to meet Mr. Nutella, you must run out and find him. He is well worth his acquaintance.

On a healthier note, I've been going to the gym twice a day. Okay, most days. I've been going to the gym every evening. Yes, there were two days last week where I just went to bed too late and couldn't get up the next morning (most likely because I was at the gym late), but I've been going twice a day. I feel fabulous. The scale hasn't changed too much as of yet, but I'm still optimistic.

One more batch of cookies, and I'm heading back to the gym after a grueling spinning class this morning. Or maybe I'll just do Jillian Michael's yoga. The thought of going out in the Texas heat is making me sweat in my chair.

Ginger

Okay, so I'm posting. That means my threat was real. I didn't just post the introductory blog.

First off, I'm going to say that I'm writing as my peanut butter protein shake is blending after my grueling spin class. So, that's done. And I'm still sweating in my clothes despite the shower.

So, I would like to delve into my new culinary infatuation of ginger. What a crazy ingredient. I had the privilege to watch ginger used as the secret ingredient on Iron Chef America, and I must say, who knew you could do so much savory and sweet treats with ginger. For most people it's an oppressive taste that is overpowering and off putting.

However, if you put the right amount in, you will be amazed at how much something will pop.

The first encounter I had with ginger (that I remember) was just this last February. My boyfriend and I went to a bed and breakfast in Waco, TX (far enough away, but not breaking the bank) for our three year anniversary.

The best restaurant in town was called The Green Room. It was an amazing place. Such great food in the middle of the historic downtown with absolutely nothing else going on. Well, we had our first dinner there. This place was so fancy, it had sorbet before our entree to "cleanse the palate." *Insert Princess Diaries joke here.

It was a lemon sorbet with tiny bits of candied ginger. I couldn't put my finger on the taste since I hadn't experienced ginger like that before, but I must say, since then I was hooked.

I try to incorporate ginger in my food more. I made an amazing Lemon Blood Orange Sorbet and did the same thing with tiny bits of candied ginger.

I just bought a giant ginger root at the grocery store. Big enough for the clerk to say, "Did you find everything--whoa. That's a lot of ginger." Felt good.

Now, I will say as well (because I said I would mention my failures) that ginger and I have had our first argument. It wasn't pretty.

I went to Fredericksburg a couple of weekends ago for their peaches. Well, when I came home, I busted out my giant ginger root and went to work on a Ginger Peach Ice Cream. Needless to say, the recipe I followed called for way too much ginger. That's what I get for trying to take a chocolate based ginger recipe and making it fruit based.

Don't get me wrong, ginger and I will make up. We will make a better ice cream this weekend, and I will let you know how our compromise goes, but for now, we're on a break.