CHICAGO

eggboy and i are in chicago now, escaping the north dakota cold and seeing my family. it is a crisp -9ºf right now and it's supposed to warm up to zero later today! such excitement, i think i'll shed one sweater layer. 

we spent the weekend in the suburbs with homeland season 3 and a massive stack of cookbooks. we did not surface except to take a salty cheesy trip to eataly with these two and to eat about 12 orders of brunch paella at ba ba reeba. 

my sisters and i, we do this thing where we impersonate al dente noodles. that's what that gif is all about. i dunno how it started, i think it's a variation on the helpless dog pose that we do when we don't want to do something or if pops is taking too many pictures (do you see where i get it from?). my best guess is that stoop is a penne noodle, mia is a bow tie or perhaps udon, and i like to think that if i were a noodle i'd be some sort of hand pulled strand like one you'd find at xi'an. 

i find myself obliterated with excitement to do things that were once a norm. going to a mall, going to the paint your own pottery place, staring at the whole foods cheese counter. even a five minute trip to trader joe's has been a highlight. it feels benjamin buttony and i like it.

anywho. ikea calls, so i am off to "brave" this "bitter cold weather" and i promise not to call anyone a wimp in the process. (but seriously, chicago, grow a pair.)

-yeh! 

SASKATOON MACAROONS

one thing about being in a relationship with a farmer slash songwriter who lives for making things rhyme is that if you successfully smuggle saskatoon jam out of canada and then have a desire to make a pavlova with it, you will not be making a pavlova with it. 

you will obviously be making saskatoon macaroon. macaroons. (can we just pretend that it's singular so that it is a perfect rhyme? i'm imagining one big fat hedgehog-sized macaroon right now, you should too.) 

other than some stress that accrued during my search for the perfect pavlova recipe, i really cannot complain about the task of making macaroons. they're one of my favorite things to make and i've been making a lot of them recently with the help of danny macaroons' the macaroon bible.

unless coconut offends you, there is truly no reason not to have a bag of coconut and a can of condensed milk on hand in case you need to quick whip up a batch of thank-you-for-making-me-steak macaroons or i-hope-your-nose-job-heals-soon macaroons. the ingredients for these macaroons have a long shelf life, the recipe doesn't require refrigeration or anything labor intensive, and they taste soooooooooo good. with a sturdy manly shell and a chewy satisfying center, you'll feel silly for ever buying the canned ones.

danny macaroons' basic recipe is so easy that i memorized it after one time of making it, and from there i graduated to his red velvet macaroons and chocolate ganache ones. they can be dressed up or dressed down with booze, bacon, nuts, or any flavorings you please. i dare you to come up with another perfect rhyming one. 

oh but wtf are saskatoons? they are like little blueberries that grow in manitoba, and when i eat this jam, i get a hint of apple. others taste almond. saskatoons also go by the name juneberry and they're quite difficult to farm, says eggcousin elaine. i just love the name saskatoon... it is pleasing to say.

so here are some logical next steps:

1. click through this slideshow on jew and the carrot where danny demonstrates how to make his delightful macaroons.

2. go to the store and stock up on condensed milk and coconut (which will set you back all of about six dollars).

3. buy saskatoon jam (online might be easiest) or blueberry jam or any other jam if you just don't have that kind of patience.

4. fend off the januaries and make these...

saskatoon macaroons

based on danny macaroons' recipe from the macaroon bible

makes 24-30 macaroons

ingredients

one 14-oz can sweetened condensed milk

1 tsp vanilla extract

one 14-oz bag sweetened shredded coconut

2 large egg whites

1/4 tsp kosher salt

about 3/4 c saskatoon jam

clues

preheat oven to 350ºf. line a baking sheet with parchment, set it aside.

in a large bowl, combine 1 cup of the condensed milk (i find that 1 cup = the amount that i can easily pour from the can without scraping it. you will have a little bit leftover... which you should pour on some clean snow to eat) and vanilla. mix in the coconut and set aside.

in a separate bowl, beat the egg whites and salt until stiff peaks form. 

fold the egg mixture into the coconut mixture and then spoon balls of it onto the baking sheet. danny recommends 1 1/2 inch balls, which is good for crowds, but if i'm just baking for a few people, i'll make bigass plum-sized macaroons.

bake them for 20-25 minutes (more if they're larger), until they become golden brown. let cool and then spoon about a teaspoon of jam onto the tops. 

-yeh!

a resolution cake

in 2014, i resolve to...

1. spend more time with cake.

2. shower more often than i did in 2013.

3. go less insane when people call frosting "icing," say "melk" in stead of milk, and pronounce caramel "carmle."

4. brush my hair at least twice a week.

5. eat more macaroni and cheese at midnight.

6. not leave one square of toilet paper on the roll and then blame eggboy for not changing the roll.

7. eat all the vegetables before they spoil.

8. be a good chicken mama.

9. read the chicken mama books before ordering chickens.

10. splurge on stone ground chocolate, mrs. meyer's lavender hand soap, and the good bacon.

11. not splurge on dumb things that are trendy and dumb and also stupid. 

12. go to the library.

13. check my instagram less when i'm around other humans.

14. read the chocolate chip cookie thing in its entirety and memorize it. read more things like it and improve my kitchen skillz.

15. invite friends over for high tea, midnight supper, and elevenses.

16. go to montana.

17. eat more collard greens.

18. expand my egg repertoire and make more exciting breakfasts for eggboy.

happy 2014, everyone!!!!

-yeh!

........but, molly, we were told there'd be cake?

oh yeah! oh yeah! check out this cake i made:

it is a chocolate graham cake with chocolate cream cheese frosting and marzipan balls.

i made it by subbing half of the flour for graham flour in my favorite chocolate cake recipe and then the frosting, well, i just mixed up a bunch of softened butter and cream cheese and then added a crap ton of powdered sugar, some cocoa powder, a splash of vanilla, and a few pinches of salt. for the marzipan balls, i just kneaded in some food coloring and rolled a few in gold jimmies. then i dusted the cake board in cocoa powder to give it a little sumthin sumthin. 

i donated it to the extended egg family white elephant gift exchange, where grandma egg won it and shared it with everyone, so we all won! yay!

2013: THE YEAR OF THE SUGAR BEET (AND OTHER SWEET THINGS)

a short new year's reflection, in list form.

things that i acquired in 2013:

a brother-in-law, a north dakota zip code, accidental dreadlocks, a perm, tractor driving skills, camel riding skills, a rash from a hong kong beach, the knowledge of what -20ºf feels like, a trip to the mustard museum, new friends, new friends that hunt and deliver me elk, a bomber hat, soju from north korea, affection for the ruby tuesday salad bar, a surprise cousin, a craft cave, sugar beets, and a homeland addiction.

hmmmmmm.

oh and a lot of squash.

and sweaters.

...knitting needles/yarn...

alright i'm done, who has champagne. 

-yeh!