Peanut Butter Cookies

I "accidently" ate some of these cookies for breakfast yesterday.  Eating cookies at 7am is not something I normally do, but we forgot to make steel cut oatmeal the night before and, well, it was early and they were sitting there on the table and didn't require any effort.  I justified it by telling myself that if I were having pancakes I would have put peanut butter on them for protein, so it was kind of like the same thing...
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Lemon Poppy Seed Yogurt Popsicles

I know it is winter and maybe you aren't thinking about popsicles, but in my world, popsicles are a year-round food group--especially these ones.  I don't know who the first person was to put lemon and poppy seeds together, but I wish I could have met her, because she must have been exciting. 
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Chocolate Anise Balls

Chocolate anise balls coated with powdered sugar.

I based these cookies on a chocolate bar I first tried a few weeks ago.  The bar made me realize how perfectly anise and chocolate go together.  If you're not a lover of anise, then these cookies aren't for you.  On the other hand, if you love anise and you love chocolate, then you'll want to try these. 
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Beef and Broccoli Pie (with a Cheddar Cheese Crust)

It’s finally cold here, and that means I want to eat comfort food.  I love this pie and ate it quite a bit when I was little.  I’ve made it several different ways since I got the recipe from my mom.  At times I’ve added extra broccoli, substituted textured vegetable protein (TVP) for most of the beef, used low-fat cheese, sprinkled in wheat germ, and tried whole-wheat crusts.  I can tell you that if you are known for hiding TVP and wheat germ in food and using low-fat cheese, that people will pick up on you if you try all of your tricks at one time in this pie.  They may say things like, “did you use low-fat cheese in this? You know it doesn’t melt.”  Or maybe they will say, “you know, you kind of have to put beef in beef and broccoli pie.”  In the end, I’ve settled on the version that I’m sharing with you.  Although it is a humble dish, it is comfort food at its finest and is perfect for those days when the weather is cold and pie is the only thing you want to eat for dinner. 

P.S.  I know I said I would post a chocolate ginger cake recipe.  You know those times when you start experimenting in the kitchen and have a recipe that is close, but not perfect?  That is where my chocolate ginger cake recipe is right now.  As soon as it is perfect, I'll share it with you!
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Ginger Cooler

This ginger cooler comes out of my recent obsession with ginger simple syrup and finding new ways to use it.  The drink is light and refreshing, and it’s not overly sweet-tasting like ginger ale can be.  I started making ginger simple syrup last fall when Scott and I visited some friends in Connecticut.  One of our friends there is a master at making dark and stormys.  That weekend, we had a tasting to determine which ginger beer makes the best dark and stormys, and in passing, our friend mentioned how she had once tried the drink made with ginger juice.  Her comment made me think about how exciting it would be to make ginger simple syrup.  Ok, maybe everyone wouldn’t be excited just thinking about it, but I was.  I love ginger, and I love sugar…why shouldn’t they come together in one perfect syrup?

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