At any rate, now that berry season is upon us (here in California, anyway), it’s time for the jewel-toned crisps and crumbles, cobblers and betties and buckles to come out of the wood work.  And I think by “the wood work” I mean “your oven.”  (Side note: if I end up having three children and those children end up being two boys and a girl, I will be hard pressed not to name them Crisp, Buckle and Betty.  My kids are going to be so popular.)

I’ve been experimenting a bit with buckwheat as of late; I made buttermilk buckwheat pancakes just last week with my tiny-faced students, and then there’s this buckle.  A buckwheat berry buckle.  (Alliteration is fun.)  Turns out I really like the rich, delicate, nutty flavor that buckwheat flour contributes to baked goods – it seems to elevate things, somehow.

I was intrigued to learn that using buckwheat flour, even just the scant quarter cup called for here, darkens the batter (whether pancake or cookie or buckle) pretty significantly.  So it doesn’t make for the prettiest crumb topping at this berry buckle ball — but I happen to know that you’re not into artificial, skin-deep beauty.  You wait to make judgements until you’ve gotten to know what’s inside.  And in this case?  What’s inside is cake.  Deeply-purplish and royally ruby-splotched, berry-laden cake.

Grab a fork and a cup of creamy coffee!  It’s berry baking time.

Buckwheat Berry Buckle

Buckles are named as such because the rich batter, so heavy with fruit, “buckles” as it bakes up in the oven – there’s almost as much berry as there is cake here.  It’s reminiscent of coffee cake and is as great for breakfast as it is come 3pm snack time.

Ingredients:

for streusel:

• 1/4 cup all purpose flour
• 1/4 cup buckwheat flour
• 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into smal pieces and softened to room temperature

for cake:

• 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 10 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
• 2/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• zest of 1 lemon
• 1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs, at room temperature
• 4 cups berries (I used a mix of blueberries, raspberries and pitted sweet cherries), rinsed and gently patted dry

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.  Grease a 9-inch round springform pan, and line the bottom with parchment paper.  Grease the parchment, too.

To make the streusel, combine the flours, sugars, cinnamon and salt in a large bowl, or in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment.  Add the butter and work it into the dry ingredients, either with your fingertips or by beating it in with the paddle attachment; work the butter until the mixture looks like dark, wet sand.  Set streusel aside.

To make the cake, whisk the flour and baking powder together in a small bowl, then set aside.  In a larger bowl (I used the bowl of my stand mixer), beat together the butter, sugar, salt and lemon zest until light and fluffy.  Beat in the vanilla.  Add the eggs one at a time, waiting until each is fully incorporated before adding the next.  Add the flour mixture all at once, and mix gently until combined.  The batter with be quite thick, almost like cookie dough.  Carefully fold in the berries, then transfer the batter to the prepared pan.  Gently spread the batter to reach the pan edges, then sprinkle the streusel evenly atop, squeezing it with your fingers before sprinkling to form different sized clumps.

Bake the buckle until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean, 50-60 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through.  Allow the cake to cool on a wire rack, then release the springform pan.  Cut into wedges and serve warm or at room temperature.

The buckle will last, well-wrapped at room temperature, for about 3 days.

Serves 8-10, depending on how thick (or thin, but really? Thick.) you slice it.

(Hi, mom circa 1985.  Get after it with that power haircut.)

Does she smell like mom (aka some sort of mixture of love and baby powder and Lancôme’s Tresor?)  Did she teach you to play tennis?  Does she give the most delightful back scratches and arm tickles of all of the back scratches and arm tickles?  Does she have the loudest voice on the telephone, especially when she’s talking to your Aunt Lis?  Do you owe her, like, pretty much everything?

For me, the answer is yes.

(I don’t want to talk about the floppy ears or mammoth cheeks or multiple chins.  Hey, mom.)

If your mama is half as fantastic as mine (and I bet she is — pretty much all moms are the best), you’ll want to do something special for her this Sunday.  A card is good.  Flowers are better.  Breakfast is best!

I hereby call to order this meeting of the Last-Minute Emergency Mother’s Day Brunch Committee. General agenda?  Brunch-spiration.

I’ve compiled some simple ideas that I happen to know that your wonderful mama loves. Probably.

We’ve just discussed smoothies.  They’re still a good idea.

How about pancakes?  Always a good choice.  Try these ones, made with almond milk.

You could always fancify mom’s typical yogurt and fruit racket — with some Meyer lemon yogurt mousse!  This stuff is ethereal.  Like mothers.

Eggs more mom’s speed?  A frittata is the simplest of dishes.  Try one with greens and goat cheese!

Moms love muffins.  How about these lemon-ish berry berry muffins?  Bright and delicious!

You could always be your mom’s favorite and go with cake.  Pistachio rhubarb not-quite-pound cake is the bee’s knees, and perfect for springtime.  And moms.

And if all else fails?  Pink grapefruit with honey and salt.  Throw a fresh flower on that tray and boom — you’ve just made brunch in four minutes flat.

(Meeting adjourned.)

Happy Mothers Day, moms!  We love you so.

Ps: got more ideas for the Committee?  For the sake of your mama, link to them in the comments!

Also that she has found her match and will embark upon a new and happy phase of life with him by her side – that part, yes, is a pretty good part of the general your-sister-is-engaged situation.  But getting invited to the wedding cake tasting is, you know, right up there.

So maybe you spent the whole weekend eating cake?  And dark ganache and smooth fruit curds and various flavors of buttercream?  (Thanks, A Cupcake Wonderland.)  So what?

This morning, like pretty much most other mornings since you bucked up and bought a blender, you will be awoken to the sound of loud things crashing around inside that machine.  On the one hand, you’ll be annoyed — in a bleary-eyed, frizzy-haired and too-tired-to-actually-get-annoyed sort of way.  You’re pretty sure you were just sleeping, quite soundly, a minute ago.

On the other hand, breakfast in bed!  It’s a trade-off, really.

A fruit-and-yogurt-packed smoothie rights all wrongs.  It erases all traces of errant cake crumbs and swipes of buttercream.  It makes you feel okay about that extra spoonful of salted peanut ganache.

Is that sort of logic foolproof?  Will it hold a bunch of water?  I mean, probably not.  Do I still want to jump on the breakfast smoothie bandwagon?  You bet your frozen berries I do.

Ben’s Berry Smoothie

Ben considers himself something of a smoothie aficionado, and I’m sure would want me to tell you that, although a solid smoothie base, this recipe welcomes many additions and substitutions.  A big spoonful of peanut butter is a great idea.  Frozen peaches instead of berries?  Orange juice instead of apple?  Wonderful.  A handful of spinach?  Throw it in there. Ben has even been known to add a tablespoon or two of silken tofu to the mix, which I totally thought was weird at first, but actually contributes extra creaminess and a good shot of protein.  Just be sure to start with a foundation of banana and yogurt.

Choose your favorite combination and whip up a quick and healthy breakfast in bed for your favorite Mama this Sunday!

Ingredients:

• 1 banana, peeled
• 3/4 cup frozen mixed berries
• 6 ounces vanilla Greek yogurt
• 1/2 cup apple juice
• 1 small handful ice cubes (about 3 cubes)

Directions:

Place all ingredients in a blender, and blend at a high speed until smooth and frothy.  Pour into 4 small or 2 large cups, and serve immediately.

Makes about 4 cups.

Today is not one of those days.  

Today the sky is blue and the sun is shining; it’s an iced coffee kind of day.  I’ve got a new bottle of conditioner and my nails match my tank top, accidentally on purpose.  Tomorrow I’m taking a trip east, to see my family and this band live and to eat some wedding shower cake. And according to my Astrology Zone forecast for the month of May, I’ve got the next 31 days on lock.  So, there’s that.

Also?  Cold sesame noodles!

In this salad, our noodles are cool and slippery, rich with toasted sesame oil and Sriracha-style spicy.  Thinly sliced fresh and verdant veggies keep things bright and crunchy.  So many good things, to go along with all of the other good things.  

This month better watch out — because we are coming at it with noodle salad.  And pink nails and general sass.  But mostly noodles.

Cold Sesame Noodle Salad

If you can, make this salad the day before you want to eat it — it’s best after a night in the fridge, when all of the flavors have melded and married and matched up nicely.  Alliteration and all that.  If you’d rather use soba noodles instead of plain old spaghetti, you are fancy and possibly also uppity but I support you.

Ingredients:

• 1/2  pound spaghetti noodles
• 1 red bell pepper, cut into thin strips
• 1 orange bell pepper, cut into thin strips
• 1 large zucchini, cut into thin strips
• 1 heaping cup fresh snap peas, cut into strips
• 4 scallions, thinly sliced
• 2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
• 2 tablespoons canola oil
• 2 tablespoons peanut butter
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
• juice of 1 lime
• Sriracha (or your favorite chili sauce), to taste (I used about a teaspoon)
• 1 to 2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds

Directions:

Cook spaghetti in a large pot of boiling salted water according to package and drain.

While spaghetti cooks, chop your vegetables and combine them in a large bowl.  In a small bowl, whisk together the oils, peanut butter, soy sauce, rice vinegar, lime juice and Sriracha — set dressing aside.

Once noodles are done and drained, pour them, still warm, on top of veggies.  Pour dressing on top of it all, and toss to coat.  Add sesame seeds and toss to combine.

Cover well and chill salad in the fridge for a few hours (or, even better, overnight) before enjoying cold.

Serves 4-6.

Pie!  A light and creamy one, covered with bright and juicy strawberries.

For you.  Love, me.

So.  Yeah.  That’s all, really.  Need I say much more?

I think it’s safe to say that this has been a rough week, and a little big slice of pie feels like a welcome thing this weekend.

This one’s got a sugar-and-egg-enriched crust and a sour-cream-and-yogurt-based custard filling. It’s smooth and velvety and just faintly sweet with brown sugar.  And the ruby tumble of berries on top?  Essential.  Pile those on there.

It took me a few happy bites slices of this beauty before I realized that the whole thing is actually pretty reminiscent of cheesecake, which makes a lot of sense if you look at the ingredient list (eggs, sugar, sour cream… oh hello, extensive pastry training).  A welcome discovery!  Strawberry cheesecake pie?  Alright then.

Sour Cream & Fresh Strawberry Pie

The inspiration for this pie came from a beautiful Labneh Tart recently featured by Alice Medrich on Food52. When I set out to bake I didn’t have the time or patience to make my own Labneh, but I had a carton of sour cream and big dreams to pie-ify the classic strawberry/sour cream/brown sugar combination.

I lightened things up a bit by using some Greek yogurt alongside the sour cream, and the pie turned out gorgeously creamy but only faintly sweet.  I’m a big fan of the recipe as-is, but if you want more sweetness and brown sugar flavor, I’d try doubling the sugar in the filling, to 1/2 cup.

Ingredients:

For crust:

• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 7 tablespoons butter, very cold, cut into small pieces
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2  tablespoons granulated sugar
• 1 egg mixed with 2 teaspoons water

For filling:

• 3 large eggs
• 1/4 cup dark brown sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 10 ounces sour cream
• 6 ounces Greek yogurt (nonfat is fine)
• 2 cups sliced fresh strawberries

Directions:

To make the pie dough, whisk together the flour, sugar and salt in a bowl. Mix the cold, cubed butter into the dry ingredients using two forks or clean fingertips, until the butter is incorporated and the mixture has a sandy texture.

Form a well in the butter-flour mixture and pour the egg/water mixture in the well. Begin to combine the liquid into the flour-butter mixture with a fork or wooden spoon, being careful not to overwork the dough. If the dough seems too dry (if it’s too flaky and won’t stick together), add a few drops of ice-water (a tablespoon at a time) until it comes together.

Gather the dough, form it into a flat disc, and wrap it in plastic wrap. Chill in the refrigerator at least 30 minutes.

Heat the oven to 350 degrees F.  Once chilled, roll out the dough into a large circle, about 1/4- to 1/8 inch thick, then transfer it to a 9″ pie dish.  Use your fingertips or a fork to crimp the edges decoratively.  Gently prick the bottom of the crust a few times with a fork.  Set the dish on a baking sheet, and bake the unfilled pie shell until golden brown and dry on the bottom, 20-25 minutes.  Remove shell from the oven and lower heat to 300 degrees F.

While the shell bakes, mix up the filling.  Whisk together the eggs, sugar, salt, and vanilla, then whisk in the sour cream and yogurt until smooth.  Pour the filling into the warm pie shell and return the pie to the lowered oven for about 30 minutes, or until the custard is set around the edges but still jiggles a bit in the center.

Allow the pie to cool completely before arranging the fresh strawberries on top. Serve immediately or chill in the refrigerator until ready to serve – pie will last about 3 days in the refrigerator.  Note: if not planning to serve right away, chill the naked pie on its own; top with berries just before serving.

Makes one 9″ pie.

And sometimes we hop in the car and drive towards sunnier skies.  To chilly sunny beaches in Carmel.

Or richly green and windy overlooks along Big Sur.

Other times we fly to Seattle, which is unexpectedly warm and full of sunshine for Easter.

The blossoming cherries there!  Nothing better, I’m almost certain.

While you’re in Seattle, you might meet a new man.  Charming and adorable.  Killer style.  I was instantly smitten with this one.

He doesn’t say much, but I think he sort of likes me, too.  His name is Ro.  He has so many faces, and I want to eat them all.

Home from the traveling and the frolicking and the other-people’s-baby-stealing fun, I’m back in the fog and hungry for soup.  This one is richly warming and stop-midway-through-the-bowl-to-take-a-deep-breath spicy, bright with fresh kale and lush with cheesy pasta pockets. Hang on, let me say that again: cheesy pasta pockets.

Fog or no fog, you’ll want to get in on this one, I think.

Spicy Tortellini Soup

This recipe is courtesy of my gorgeous friend Jane Bursky, the very same woman responsible for this velvety carrot potato soup, which has become one of my favorite last-minute dinners. Ben gives this soup “five stars out of four.”  Clearly, Jane Bursky knows her way around a soup bowl.

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 1 bulb fennel, finely chopped
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 1/2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme
• 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 12 ounces smoked turkey kielbasa, thinly sliced
• 6 cups chicken broth
• 2 cups chopped fresh kale
• 1 (15 ounce) can cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 1/2 grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 (9 ounce) package fresh cheese tortellini

Directions:

In a large saucepan or dutch oven, melt the butter over medium heat.  Add the olive oil, to warm.  Sauté the onion and fennel until soft and translucent.  Add the garlic, thyme, and red pepper flakes and sauté another 5 minutes, until fragrant.  Add the kielbasa and continue to cook until browned in spots.

Add the chicken broth and bring soup to a gentle boil.  Add kale and cannellini beans, then reduce to a simmer.  Simmer until kale is slightly wilted, about 5 minutes.  Add the Parmesan cheese, a little bit at a time, stirring to incorporate and melt into the soup.

At this point, if you’re not planning to serve the soup straight away, cool, cover and refrigerate the soup until you’d like to serve it.  Just bring it back to a simmer before adding the tortellini.

Once the tortellini has been added, simmer the soup until the pasta is just tender, but not overly soft (it should still be slightly firm to bite), 2-5 minutes.

Serve immediately, with extra grated Parmesan for topping.

Makes roughly 8-10 cups soup.

Could that bit of bad ricotta be to blame?  Or maybe the full moon?  Newman?  Maybe the news of Wisconsin’s first-round loss in the (NCAA basketball, for all of you normal unfortunate people without a Badger-obsessed father) tournament is responsible for my funk.  My own personal sort of March Madness.  I don’t know, but it’s weird, this feeling, and I need to figure out a way to shake it.

I’m a list-maker; the process of writing lists helps me feel in control of my own destiny (even if I don’t check off every last thing on it, the act of writing organizes my brain, I think).  In that vein, here is a list of things to help beat the occasional funks:

1. Chicks in top hats.
2. Phone calls with sisters.
3. Brisk walks along the water (bonus points for a walk that ends with a trip to Swensen’s for ice cream).
4. Easter cupcakes.
5. I hate to admit this, but green juice.  It makes us feel good.  And until we buck up and spring for a juicer, $9 for “local, organic, cold-pressed” juice will have to be acceptable.  …Yes, I too can hear myself.  Oy.
6. (Finally!) Starting season 1 of Downton Abbey.  Lord Grantham rules.
7. Instagram.  Can’t get enough.  Sorry I’m not sorry.
8. Bake-spiration, mostly here.
9. Baking cookies with a fabulous friend.  Chocolate ones, all dolled up for spring.

Alright, funk.  We’ve got cookies now.  Get lost.

 Chocolate Spring Flower Cookies

(Otherwise known as Deb’s Brownie Roll-Out Cookies, All Dressed Up For Easter Slash Mother’s Day)

On first bite, I was a little nervous that these wouldn’t be chocolatey enough — but it’s a Smitten Kitchen recipe, so I should have known better.  The chocolate flavor deepens as you chew these little guys, and they’re great on their own, but if you want to dress them up with a bit of vanilla glaze and a few sprinkles (or, as Deb suggests, make them part of the perfect ice cream sandwich), I won’t be the one to stand in your way.

Ingredients:

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 cup butter, softened (if you can, use one stick salted, one stick unsalted)
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa 

For decorating:

• 3 cups confectioner’s sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1-3 tablespoons water
• a few drops food coloring (optional)
• colorful sprinkles and sugars (I used Wilton’s “Spring Nonpareils” and “Daisy Sprinkles)

Directions:

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Whisk together the flour, salt and baking powder in bowl and set aside. Cream butter and sugar together in a stand mixer with the paddle attachment.  Add eggs, vanilla and cocoa and mix well to combine.  Gradually add in the flour mixture, and mix until dough is smooth and dark brown. Wrap in plastic and chill for at least one hour.

Roll out cookie dough about 1/4-inch thick on well-floured counter. Cut into desired shapes, (re-rolling dough scraps is fine) then bake on a parchment-lined baking sheet for 8-10  minutes, until the edges are firm and the centers are puffed and still slightly soft.

Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

While cookies cool, make the sugar glaze/icing: whisk together the confectioner’s sugar, vanilla, lemon juice and 1 tablespoon of water, until smooth and shiny.  Add more water by the tablespoonful if it’s looking/feeling too thick.  It should be thin enough to spread onto the cookies but thick enough not to run.  If you’ve accidentally over-thinned it with too much water, just whisk in some more sugar.  Mix in a few drops of food coloring, if you like.  The icing will harden quickly, so cover the bowl with a damp paper towel to prevent it from drying out too fast.

Frost and decorate the cooled cookies until the cows come home/you get hungry for cookies.

Makes lots of 1-inch round cookies – about 4 or 5 dozen.

The other day I ate bad ricotta.  Not like, “I’ve had better ricotta before, this is kind of meh-tasting.” Nope, I mean I ate bad ricotta.  I’m talking well past the expiration date and straight-up funky.  I ate kind of a lot of it, too, before realizing.

How does a person do this, you might ask?  Well, I can confidently state that if you are feeling sort of sniffly and put rancid ricotta on a toasted English muffin and then top it with a fried egg, chances are high that you will eat the whole effing thing before realizing that the ricotta has gone the way of one of Michael Jackson’s most popular songs.

Ugh.

But!  Turns out I’m fine.  Aside from being generally disgusted, I felt no ill effects of the naughty ricotta cheese.  And then I found food redemption in a jar of Seville orange marmalade for $3.50 from Trader Joe’s.

YES.

Sweet, bitter, and versatile on toast or tarts, this marmalade is one of my favorite finds of late.  And the best part?  Marmalade doesn’t go bad.

Hazelnut Marmalade Linzer(ish) Tart

Adapted from Poires Au Chocolat

This tart is sort of like a big, round and jammy cookie.  It’s sweet, nutty, bitterish and delicious.  The original recipe calls for a teaspoon of ground ginger in the dough.  I didn’t have any around so left it out, but I bet it would be a welcome addition.

Ingredients:

• 100 grams roasted hazelnuts
• 130 grams all-purpose flour 
• 150 grams brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 150 grams unsalted butter (straight from the fridge is fine), cubed
• 2 teaspoon almond milk (can substitute regular milk)
• 200 grams seville orange marmalade
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

Directions:

Place hazelnuts, flour, sugar and salt in a food processor fitted with a steel blade, and blend until finely ground.  Add the butter and pulse a few times to start incorporating.  Then add the milk and continue blending just until the dough comes together (it will clump together but still be slightly crumbly).

Wrap a 50 gram chunk of dough in plastic wrap, and set it aside in the refrigerator to chill. Lightly grease an 8-inch tart ring with a removable bottom, then press the remaining dough into it evenly, making sure to press it up into the sides of the pan to create a little lip around the edge.  Place the filled tart pan into the fridge with the smaller ball of dough to chill for 30 minutes.

While the dough chills, stir the marmalade with the lemon juice until smooth and spreadable. Heat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Once chilled, spread the marmalade over the dough in the tart pan, leaving a bit of bare dough around the edge.  Tear the extra ball of dough into small chunks and scatter them on top.  Bake the tart for about 45 minutes, until the dough is deeply browned and the jam is bubbly.

Allow to cool on a wire rack before slicing up and serving with tea.

Makes one 8- (or 9-) inch tart.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: I’m not that into St. Patrick’s Day.  I mean, I don’t even know the guy.  I don’t own a green plastic hat, have never gotten belligerent with green beer or even a real Shamrock Shake, if I’m being honest.  (McDonalds isn’t really my thing.)  (But I’d eat their fries if you gave me some.)  (Also maybe a McFlurry.)  (Gross Yum.)  (I can only assume that a Shamrock Shake is sort of like the Harlem Shake, only minty-er.)

Still, there are aspects of St. Patrick’s Day I can get behind.  Mostly Irish Soda Bread, with extra salted butter.  Jameson, maybe.  But a glassful of cool, minty, blended vanilla ice cream topped with fresh whipped cream and shower of dark chocolate cookie crumbs?

Well, yes.

If I could have one of those in the name of St. Patrick, whoever he might actually be, then absolutely.  Let’s Paddy it up.  A toast to St. Patrick!  Happy day of milkshakes him.

Shamrock(ish) Shakes

I know that real Shamrock Shakes use sweetened whipped cream and omit the cookie crumbs, but why would you want sweet on sweet on sweet with that cream?  And no cookie crumbs? What’s good about that?  In the matter of no cookies versus cookies, I think we all know the right choice.

Also, I prefer my shakes to be only gently minty, so I go for only 1/4 teaspoon peppermint extract. If you’re bigger into the mint, don’t be shy about adding a bit more.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup whipping cream
• 4 cups vanilla bean ice cream
• 1 cup milk (any percentage will do)
• 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon pure peppermint extract
• a few drops green food coloring (optional)
• 4-6 chocolate wafer cookies (or thin mints), crushed

Directions:

In a bowl, use a whisk to whip the cream until soft peaks form.  Set aside.

Put ice cream, milk, 1/4 teaspoon peppermint extract and green food coloring (if using) in a blender, and pulse to combine.  The resulting milkshake should be thick, creamy and light green in color.  Taste the shake — if it’s not minty enough for you, add more extract and pulse to combine.

Sprinkle spoonfuls of cookie crumbs into the bottom of 4 small or 2 larger serving glasses. Pour milkshake on top of cookies.  Spoon large dollops of whipped cream on top of milkshake, and finish with another dusting of cookie crumbs.

Enjoy immediately.

Serves 2-4.

Firstly, I got contacts.  For my eyes.  I’d been avoiding it for awhile, but the necessity of fixing my terrible vision made itself clear last week when, during a game of pick up field hockey on some multi-purpose turf fields, I yelled over to a guy on the sidelines, ostensibly waiting his turn to join the game — “Oh, hey, do you want to sub in?”

Which really would have been fine and rather accommodating, except for the fact that, upon closer inspection, the guy turned out to be a 14-year-old boy in a baseball uniform waiting for his mother to come pick him up, looking at me like I’d just sprouted another head.  Oops.

Contacts!  Fine.

The second thing that happened this week was the official one-year anniversary of my cross-country move to SF.  One whole year!  A year ago, I was packing up all of my things and eating oreo cake and taking a nervous flight, and then unpacking all of my things in a new and small and lovely apartment.  With a boy!  I mean, whoa.  The whole living-with-a-boy reality was hard to grasp at first, but it set in firmly that first morning in our new place, when I abruptly discovered that we were out of toilet paper.  Who doesn’t buy extra rolls of toilet paper?!?

Boys, that’s who.

I learned that lesson quickly, and Ben and I haven’t had any (fine, many) issues (toilet paper-related or otherwise) since.  It turns out that this boy is an expert pasta maker, a skilled note-leaver/cartoon draw-er, the dapperest of dance partners, and an enthusiastic helper in the effort to ration our newly acquired boxes of Girl Scout cookies.  A good man, clearly.

Thirdly, this week was K.Gro’s birthday!  For those that don’t know her, K.Gro is special. She is a bff/cousin extraordinaire and a recent inductee into the ranks of the gluten-intolerant. Happy gluten-free birthday, K.Gro!  Naturally, I thought some cookies were in order.  They’re my first foray into gluten-free baking and I have to say, all gluten aside, these are good.  Their texture is perfection: crispy-shelled and soft-and-chewy-crumbed.  Flavor-wise, these are deep and full of chocolate – not quite as peanut buttery as I’d prefer, but I’m the kind of person who’d prefer everything to taste more like peanut butter, so that should come with a grain of (sea) salt.  Which is also essential to the recipe.

So tell me — have you tried gluten-free baking yet?  What are the tricks of the gluten-free trade?  Leave word in the comments — inquiring (and cookie/cake/bread-loving) minds want to know!

Gluten-Free Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

Adapted from Averie Cooks

I love how short the ingredient list is for these bad boys.  But no butter?  No flour?  What’s happening to the world?

…I know.  Just go with it.  The world is a crazy place.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup peanut butter (I tried the recipe with both smooth and chunky — I prefer the texture of smooth in these cookies)
• 1 cup dark brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 large egg
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 6 ounces semisweet chocolate chips, roughly chopped

Directions:

Heat oven to 350 degrees F.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together the peanut butter, sugar, egg and vanilla until smooth and no longer grainy, 2-3 minutes.  Next, beat in the baking soda.  Then mix in the chopped chocolate, just until combined.  The dough should be clumpy but also crumbly in the bottom of the bowl.  It will feel quite oily to the touch.

Scoop the dough into well-packed balls (about 2 tablespoons large – I used a 1.5-inch ice cream scoop), and place them on the baking sheet about 2-inches apart (you’ll get about 8 balls on one baking sheet – we’ll need to bake them in batches).  If the dough balls start to crumble, just use your fingers to pack them back together.  Press the tops of the unbaked dough balls to gently flatten.

Bake cookies 8-10 minutes, until the bottom edges have browned but the cookies still feel quite soft on top.  Allow to cool on the sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack.  Repeat the process with the rest of the dough.

Enjoy cookies warm or at room temperature with a very tall glass of cold milk (or almond milk, if you’re feeling vegan).

Makes 18-20 cookies.