Joyfully Weary

These babies are currently my cookies of choice. Today will be the third time I've made them in less than two weeks - just a bit obsessed. Not only do they combine two of my favorites, dark chocolate and peppermint, but their texture is also amazing. The outside is crunchy while the inside is incredibly light and airy.  Ingredients 1/3 cup soften butter 2/3 cup brown sugar 2/3 cup dark cocoa powder 1 teaspoon baking soda 2 egg whites 1/3 cup vanilla yogurt 1 teaspoon peppermint extract 1 1/2 cup flour 1/4 - 1/2 cup white sugar Directions preheat oven to 350' cream brown sugar and butter add cocoa powder, baking soda, egg whites, yogurt, and peppermint extract, beat until combined add flour and mix until combined pour white sugar in a shallow yet wide bowl, then drop rounded teaspoons of dough in to the sugar, roll dough around in sugar while forming a ball place sugar coated balls on an un-greased cookie sheet bake approximately 9 minutes ...

This summer there is one food that we've enjoyed almost every week - a couscous, black bean and corn salad. It started out as me mimicking a corn and avocado salad my sister-in-law, Heather, made for our annual Memorial weekend bash , but over time I've adapted it so much that's it's now quite different from the original.  This has become our go-to party and potluck dish and is always well received, with at least a few people asking for the recipe. My favorite things about this salad is that it's delicious cold or room temperature and it makes for great leftovers.  Ingredients 3 ears of sweet corn 1 cup (dry) couscous 1 can of black beans 1 T cumin 1 lime 1/2 red onion 2 cloves of garlic 3 red sweet  peppers (or 1 red bell pepper) 1 avocado 5oz (1/2 package) queso fresco Directions cook sweet corn (in husks) in oven at 350' for 30 minutes, then set aside to cool cook couscous according to package directions rinse and drain ...

I love coffee - like used to drink 5-6 cups a day love coffee! As I've gotten older though I've noticed that coffee doesn't always sit well in my stomach and sometimes leaves me feeling edgy and with a bit headache. I still have my one cup (and occasional second) in the morning but for the afternoon and evenings I've started searching out other drinks. Hot cocoa and peppermint tea are my go to winter choices but for hot summer days I prefer something cooler. This iced peach green tea has been perfect. It's refreshing and gives me the mid-afternoon pick-up I sometimes need with out any of the aches and jitteriness. Ingredients: 6 C boiling water 6 green tea bags 2 ripe peaches 3 Tbsp honey Directions:  pour water into blender and steep tea bags for five minutes slice peaches and remove skin add peaches to blender and puree add honey to blender and mix throughly  strain tea through a fine mesh sieve chill in refrigerator  serve over ice ...

I mentioned in last week's Small Graces post that Trader Joe's Dark Chocolate Covered Ginger had become a recent favorite treat. I decided to mix it in with another one of my favorite treats - banana bread. I can't help but feel happy whenever I eat banana bread because it makes me nostalgic for some of my favorite times during high-school. Before every cross country meet my senior year, the team would get together for pasta dinners and banana bread was always the dessert. The evenings were full of encouragement, anticipation, and laughter. I attended three different high schools so by the time I was a senior I wasn't sure I'd ever find my "place" or my "people". These dinners changed that. They made me feel part of something bigger than myself, being part of a team, and I found friends I knew I'd cherish forever .  Ingredients 1 C sugar 1 stick butter (soften) 2 eggs 3 very ripe bananas 1/2 C vanilla yogurt 1 C all...