Lazy Woman’s Chocolate Chip Cookies AKA Blondies

Tower of delicious-ness

I know y’all, it’s Salad Mondays, I promised you a nutritious recipe of salad goodness that would inspire you to take on the world and your week.

But ALAS. It’s not to be because although I have a salad to present to you… it looks like this:

In case you actually want to know what this is, it’s leftover chopped romaine, baked salmon with a simple lemon-garlic-oil dressing. Actually its crazy tasty. Just not very photogenic.

This past weekend I went to a barbecue and of course I had to take something because I have a food blog. If I didn’t take anything that would make me A) lose credibility and B) an asshole.

But I really didn’t want to take a potato salad, which is basically the easiest thing you can make for a group, and I didn’t want to make brownies because I recently have had some bad luck baking brownies. They’ve just been underdone and potentially salmonella causing.

What I really wanted was chocolate chip cookies.

What I really didn’t want was to spend my Saturday watching my oven.

Then I had a brainwave. Ages ago, when I was attempting to win host-of-the-year with my bruschetta bar themed brunch, I made this crazy easy batch of blondies for dessert. They took 5 minutes to prepare and 20 minutes to bake and my guests kept raving about them like no other. I, on the other hand, was on the fence about them. They seemed so normal.

BUT they had chocolate chips and were easy so I thought – why not?

This time I decided to kick it up a notch. I started with browned butter and added some crystallized ginger for some kick (I’m totally lying, I have a bag of leftover crystallized ginger that I bought, like, 3 months ago that I can’t finish).

It turned out so amazing and so soft that they were demolished at the barbecue.

The next morning I woke up wanting more and made a whole new batch, sans ginger and with coffee stirred into the batter.

My body protested these bad decisions but my mouth did not. Coz DAYAMN.

1/2 cup / 113 grams butter
3/4 cup light brown sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup flour
1 tsp salt
3/4 cup chocolate chips (semi-sweet or bittersweet is fine)

Add-ins (optional):
1/3 cup crystallized ginger, chopped + 1/4 tsp ground ginger OR 1/2 Tbsp ground coffee

Preheat the oven to 175C/350F.

Generously butter an 8 by 8 square baking tin.

Cut the butter into even pieces and melt in a small saucepan over a medium fire. I suggest you whisk it so that it melts evenly.

Do this until the butter is light brown and smells nutty. This didn’t actually happen with me, but this is what the internet told me would happen. Mine just got very dark yellow and smelled quite good and coz I was scared of burning it, I stopped.

Wait for butter to cool till warm. Beat in the sugar until smooth.

Beat in the egg and vanilla. At this point, if using coffee, this is when you stir it in.

Stir in the flour and salt.

Stir in the chocolate chips and, if using crystallized ginger, this is when you stir it in.

Pour into prepared pan.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes. I personally prefer 25 because otherwise I find the middle is a tad runny.

It’s SO good guys. I’m like swooning just writing this.

*Adapted from smitten kitchen.

Ginger version

No-Inspiration Salad with Honey Dijon Dressing

Doesn’t look too bad eh?

Recently I have been feeling extremely uninspired by all the food I’ve been eating.

That’s really weird for me.

I’m that person who plans my meals two days ahead of time. I literally hum and do a chair dance when I’m eating something I like.

But these days I’ve just been feeling like – whatever man, I’ll eat it for energy but who cares what IT is.

I don’t know what’s happened.

I’m sleeping well and I’m not crying randomly – so it can’t be depression.

Maybe I just want my mom’s cooking?

I really don’t know.

So last week when I had to make my Monday dinner I was all BLAH, I don’t want to eat this salad I’ve already planned, BLAH, everything SUCKS! BLAH, I HATE MY LIFE, BLAH!!!!

So then I basically chopped up all the vegetables I had left and a stray baked chicken thigh. Added some leftover quinoa. And had a pretty decent salad.

What’s a girl gotta do to stay discontent around here??

Serves 1 hungry girl

Salad
Handful of mixed salad leaves
9 cherry tomatoes, half
1/2 Japanese cucumber, chopped
1/2 avocado, cubed
1 grilled chicken thigh, cubed
handful of roasted almonds
1/4 to 1/2 cup cooked quinoa

Honey Dijon Dressing (Recipe courtesy Alton Brown) – this is for two servings
2.5 Tbsps honey
1.5 Tbsps Dijon mustard
1 Tbsp rice wine vinegar

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and whisk until smooth. Serve as a dressing or a dip.

Toss salad ingredients with the dressing.

Enjoy. BLAH.

Green Things Sandwich

Whole shebang

Looks like Salad Monday has became Sandwich Monday.

Ok so I saw this sandwich on Shutterbean and had some version of a meltdown because it looked SO amazing that I knew I had to have it.

But I have to tell you, this recipe, calls for goat cheese.

I don’t know if you know this but goat cheese is freaking expensive.

Like a tiny amount cost me SGD13.

I don’t know about you but SGD13 is a lot of money.

I mean I could buy like a salad in a mall for that money.

Or watch one movie on the weekend.

Ok. Clearly living in Singapore is not exactly a value-for-money type situation.

Serves 1 hungry girl

Cilantro Hummus
1 can garbanzo beans, drained
1/2 cup cilantro, stems removed
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup olive oil
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
salt and pepper, to taste

Other things
2 pieces of bread
2 Tbsps of Cilantro Hummus
1/2 avocado, sliced
dollop of goat cheese – up to personal preference
handful of mixed salad

Cilantro Hummus
Blend all the ingredients together in a food processor.

Seriously. It’s that easy.

Assembling the sandwich
Toast the bread to your level of toastiness.

Spread one side of bread with the Cilantro Hummus.

Top with the sliced avocado.

Top that with the goat cheese.

Top that, carefully, with the mixed salad.

Top with the second half of bread.

Bite, enjoy, savor.

It’s a fancy sammich.

*Disclaimer: I ate this with a boiled egg because let’s face it. Ain’t nobody got time to be vegan.
** Adapted from Shutterbean.

Last Resort Salad with Lemon Dijon Dressing

This was a salad that was borne out of desperation.

Last-resort salad in it’s full glory

Picture this.

It’s Thursday night and it’s 8:00pm I am ready to make my dinner. I had already gone to the grocery store two hours before and I got my salad leaves and MAH chicken.

I had gone for a run and I’m now showered and ready to EAT.

I should have the chicken ready by 8:30pm. I slit open the clear wrap on the chicken packet.

*Sniff*

*Sniff* *Sniff*

What the hell is that smell?

No it’s nothing. No, nevermind, it’s fine, I mean uncooked meat sometimes smells interesting. Right? Right.

Hmm.

Facetime beep boop boop sounds.

“Mom, MOM, can I eat chicken if its smells a little weird? Like just a bit?”

“Like how weird?”

“Like, just a bit. Nevermind I’m sure it’s ok.”

“Dini, just throw it away. Do you have eggs?”

“No Mom, it’s fine, really.”

Looks at chicken – takes a big sniff.

Facetime beep boop boop sounds.

“Mom I think I won’t eat it.”

“Good idea.”

BAHHHH. That was 10 minutes lost and me 10 minutes hangrier.

WHATDOIDONOW?

The only thing there is to do. Boil eggs and fry bacon.

Find some lemon and make a dressing.

Lemon Dijon Dressing – oso goodddd

Chop up all the vegetables I have.

Pre-dressed salad

Oh wait. This is yum.

Dammit. I was ready to be irritated allnightlong.

Serves 1 hungry girl

Protein
2 free-range eggs
3 strips of streaky bacon

Dressing
2 Tbsps olive oil
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp dijon mustard
1/2 garlic clove, crushed
dash of salt
sprinkle of pepper

Salad
½ cup cooked quinoa
handful of mixed salad leaves
1 Japanese cucumber, chopped
1/2 yellow pepper, diced
9 baby tomatoes, halved

Protein
Preheat water in electric kettle or stove for eggs.

Once boiled pour over eggs and boil on stove with lid on for one minute.

Remove from fire and let sit for 10 ten minutes. Pour out hot water and submerge eggs in tap water.

Fry the bacon until brown and crispy in a saucepan over medium heat.

Remove from fire place the bacon on paper towels to get rid of excess oil/fat. Crumble once cool.

Dressing

Whisk all the dressing ingredients together in a bowl.

Salad

Put the salad ingredients and protein in a bowl.

Toss evenly with the dressing.

Eat. And congratulate yourself for being resourceful.

No-Brainer Salad With Lemon Chicken

Hi friends,

I am firmly back in reality, after a weekend of rest, recuperation and frenzied Christmas shopping.

So just in time for the end of the day, my Salad Monday post today is also a bit of a #saddesklunch.

So sad. But so good.

See its lying a bit forlorn in front of my keyboard, ready for me to absently shove down my throat while I feverishly surf fashion blogs.

Could I have made that any sadder? Yes, yes I could have.

But as you can see, this is not a sad salad. This was yummy and filled with nutritious things.

The other nice thing about this salad was that I made it without even really thinking. I just wanted something quick and simple and I wanted to use cheap and easy to find vegetables. Make it the next time you need a no-brainer meal.

It is guaranteed to satisfy.

Serves 2

Protein
1 chicken thigh
Rind and juice of ½ a lemon
½ tsp dried thyme
2 cloves garlic, minced/crushed
1 Tbsp olive oil
Pinch of salt

Dressing
4 Tbsps extra-virgin olive oil
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1 clove garlic, minced/crushed
¼ tsp ground black pepper
Pinch of salt

Salad
½ cup cooked quinoa
1 packet of baby spinach, washed and dried
2 Japanese cucumbers, chopped
2 red or yellow peppers, diced
22 baby tomatoes, halved, this is only because I am sometimes super OCD and occasionally have to eat things in prime numbers – don’t ask

Protein

Marinate the chicken thigh with the rind of the juice of the lemon, dried thyme, minced garlic, 1 Tbsp olive oil and pinch of salt.

Ideally let it sit in the fridge for an hour to a whole day.

When ready to eat, bake in the oven at 175C/350F for 30 to 40 minutes, flipping once in the middle.

Check if done by cutting the meat in half, it should not be pink.

Cut into cubes.

Dressing

Whisk all the dressing ingredients together in a bowl.

Salad

Divide the salad ingredients and chopped chicken into two bowls.

Drizzle evenly with the vinaigrette.

Toss!

Eat!