This week we’ve revisited an old favourite and are trying a new favorite!
The old favorites are the Mexican Chocolate Icebox Cookies from Jenny Rosenstrach’s “Dinner: A love story” cookbook. I’ve always really liked this cookbook- it’s full of easy and tasty recipes that are great for families. I’ve had it for years now– in fact, even before I was married or a mom. She has a great blog, (Dinner: A Love Story) too which I follow. It now leans more plant forward but it’s really good. I’ve made these cookies before and they’re yum! Spicy, chocolatey and very easy.
I also tried Christina Tosi’s Cinnamon Bun Cookies from her All About Cookies cookbook. I love all of her cookies, and these are no exception! They’re not quite as easy to make (because you have to stuff them with cream cheese) but they are tasty! They’re small batch- maybe only 10-12 per batch but they were excellent. So tasty and moist.
I’m also on the hunt for Thanksgiving cookies. I have a couple of cans of Libby’s pumpkin to use, and probably won’t be making any pies with it– so why not make cookies????? I’m kind of getting Deja Vu from last year– I think I wanted to make Thanksgiving cookies last year too! Hopefully this year, I find some crowd pleasing pumpkin cookies- or maybe ChatGPT can help to invent some!
I’m not working at the moment but spending a lot of time working on myself- specifically the physical activities I love pole dancing, gym tennis- and tomorrow I try pickleball for the first time! I’m very excited!
I’m in week 2 of my spring break and I’m leaning into it a bit. It’s a bit of a weird break but it’s good.
I’m enjoying the downtime and getting a bit done too. The best thing about having time off is Monday morning pole classes. I’m feeling really fit, healthy, and a bit sore but it’s great starting my week with 2 hours of exercise that doesn’t feel like exercise.
The only downside, they don’t get cookies. I’ve thought about it but I haven’t brought them into the cookie circle. Is that bad? Monday nights and Wednesday nights get cookies, but I’m just not sure I have it in me. Luckily, very few Monday morning people also do Monday or Wednesday nights so maybe ignorance is bliss for them?
Not sure. I do feel slightly guilty though about not including them in the cookie fold.
This week’s cookies are amazing – Gochujang Chocolate Chip Cookies and Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies from Sarah Keiffer’s 100 Cookies. Both are incredible but the Gochujangs are next level. They’re not spicy but they have a tinge of heat to them which makes them really nice. They’re less spicy than some of the other chilli chocolate ones I’ve made, but they have a lovely warmth to them. Big Fan! I am secretly paranoid that one of the cookies will be a full on spice bomb with ALL the chilli heat in one cookie, but it hasn’t happened yet!
And the brown butter chocolate chip ones are really good too. I’ve finally learned to brown butter without fear. I mean, there’s the constant fear of going too far and the butter burning, but also the fear of not going far enough and just having butter. But this brown butter was perfect. And the cookies were delicious!
So that’s a good metaphor for life right now, kind of being in limbo but being good-ish. The cookies, like life, are just spicy enough to be interesting but not blowing me away. There’s lots of exciting things are the horizon over the next few weeks, but for now, we’re just mellowing and waiting!
Oh…. and I got Crocs. Only 4 years late to the Croc party, but I’m in the Croc gang.
So this week, we go back to the beginning- Von Stapele Cookies aka The Amsterdam Cookies aka THE cookies that started the baking journey. It’s been almost a year (I think) that I’ve been baking cookies every week. And it’s been a crazy year. One major down (and some not so major ones) and lots of big ups too. So, it’s just been life. We skate along every day until we come to a big bump in the road, we fall down, we get back up and keep skating until the next big bump. I can’t really complain. This is what being alive is.
I lost my job and gained a job, I lost a lot of confidence and gained a lot of resilience. I got to spend time not working and realised how much I was missing by constantly running from one thing to the next. I lost someone who I loved and loved me, and I gained a new appreciation of the tiny person I made. I grew. I still miss what I lost, and I still grieve and wonder, “what if?” But I’m happy. I mean I still complain about lots of First World Problems, and still hassle the humans in my house over a range of things. But overall, at at the risk of jinxing myself. Things are ok.
Looking back, I had NO idea what was ahead of me. But none of us ever do really. A year ago, I couldn’t imagine anything changing- everything was great. A year from now, I know things could look totally different and that’s ok. It could be better, or it could be worse. But it will be different. That’s the only thing I know for sure. Will I still be baking every week?? Who knows??
And in the spirit of Change. I’ve tried something new-ish. I made friends with AI- well ChatGPT and for one of the first times used ChatGPT to create a new recipe. Well, multiple new recipes.
Bonkers. Game changing. Bizarre.
So, why now?? What happened this week?
Full disclosure, I was inspired by the Cabaret show I went to last week hosted by Dame Chilli Rox. Chilli or Dame Chilli happens to be the only person I’ve seen consistently every week for the past 18 years, and someone who I treasure dearly. She’s my Pole Dancing Teacher and an absolute icon, and the person who I’ve seen once or twice a week almost every week since 2007(ish). I’ve known her longer than my husband and seen her more regularly than almost anyone else I know. I’ve been through relationship changes, career changes, house changes, every type of change- but I’ve taken Pole Dancing Classes with Chilli on Wednesdays at 830 for most of my adult life.
Anyway, Chilli, who is also the Most Influential Pole Dancer in Australia and an amazing MC, hosted a show last week and in the show, she had ChatGPT come up with cocktails for people she knew in the audience. (Mine was a Half-Assed Spritz- because I’m very bubbly, loyal, but I don’t try very hard in class.)
Anyhoo, I was inspired to use ChatGPT to come up with cookie recipes– what a brilliant idea! Last week’s Dulce de Leche Cookies were a huge hit– and someone said, “ooh, Banoffee pie cookies would be really good.” I searched for recipes online but then, inspired by Chilli’s AI cocktail creations, I thought what if I asked ChatGPT for a Banoffee Cookie recipe. AND it delivered!!!
So then, I asked Chat GPT for a recipe inspired by Dame Chilli Rox- and it delivered on that too!
The description was amazing–
“Let’s create something as fiery, fierce, and unforgettable as Dame Chilli Rox herself — a cookie that’s spicy, sultry, and unapologetically fabulous.
Vibe:
Think: dark chocolate for drama, chilli for her name and boldness, cinnamon for heat, and raw sugar sparkle for the glittering glam she brings to the pole.”
And it is!!!! Spicy chocolate chocolate chip with glitter sprinkles!!! Throw in a jade split and it’s Chilli in a Cookie!
ChatGPT also suggested adding Fireball Whiskey or Chilli Liqueur for an extra kick. I might try them again and call them Chilli Rox on the Rocks.
I also asked for a recipe for Von Stapele copycat cookies… and 3 or 4 other cookies that I was inspired to create… (they may make an appearance next week!)
I”m VERY pleased with how they’ve turned out (they look and smell very credible!) and it was super fun creating a recipe of my own(-ish). Who knows, this could be the next evolution of my baking. Creating recipes not just baking from recipes… I mean, I don’t know if I trust AI for everything all the time but it’s fun to try!
Literally. I was Cookie Monster this week. I baked A LOT of cookies that I’d made before- Mexican Hot Chocolate and the Chipless Wonders. But the main headline is that I was actually Cookie Monster.
And trust me, it was a time.
Did I win the competition? Definitely not. Did I have a great time? I did indeed! Will I compete again? Possibly. As Cookie Monster? Probably not. But never say never.
I had the best time being slightly out of my comfort zone and performing with my Pole family at Pole Class. It’s hard to really put into words how much the pole community has meant to me. I’ve been poling for almost 20 years now (I’m not that good or strong- but we’ll leave that to the side for now). But it’s meant so much to have a supportive group of mostly women- but also of gays and theys, to surround myself with. And it’s meant a lot to see the same faces every week- for a lot of that time. Before I was married, before I was a Mom or a Mum, I was a pole dancer. It’s been one of the few constants since 2007! I mean, even my name has changed!
In fact, if not for pole, I would not be in my current cookie era. It was the Amsterdam cookies that kicked it all off and making people happy through baked goods is what keeps me doing it. I don’t DARE show up to pole sans cookies– I’m the Cookie lady!
So even though performing is at the very edge of my comfort zone, poling is definitely something I hope to do for another 20 years and baking is too!.
So, I’ve passed another milestone…a dubious one but a milestone nonetheless.
I’ve officially broken my first bone. Don’t all go congratulating me all at once, it’s not an achievement I ever wanted to achieve.
And it’s literally a pain.
So how did it happen?
It happened when I was trying to be responsible during my pole dancing class. Quite ironically, I was trying to prevent an injury at the time. The heel of my shoe had broken so I decided to go barefoot- so that I didn’t twist my ankle. We were learning a routine and one of the moves was to kick up into a hand/elbow stand. It was all going well until my bum got over my head. And then it turned into the leaning tower of pisa… that then came crashing down. So normally, when wearing shoes, the shoes take the impact, and I sort of land with a giggle and a thud. This time, it was more of a crunch. Rather than landing on the hard plastic of a shoe, I landed on my not so hard (and apparently not so sturdy) big toe.
Ouch.
To my credit, I didn’t panic or cry (at the time) or freak out. I sort of tried to just walk it off and keep going. And then I looked down and realised that something wasn’t right. My toe looked a bit crooked and it felt a bit sore. But still I tried to keep going. I didn’t make a fuss, I did what I could for the rest of class all the while realising something wasn’t quite right. And I thought I was fine…. Until I left class and was walking down the stairs….. Holy mother of batman! I was in pain. And it only got worse….and worse…until I started crying real tears on Elizabeth St. Real tears of actual pain as I limped down the street. Oy.
Of course the first thing I did when I got home, poured myself a large glass of red wine. The second thing was to reheat the lamb for dinner. I was in so much pain, The Runner had to make the mash. In fact, I’ve been told to stay off my feet completely- including cooking. This is the one bit of advice, I haven’t followed 100%, although it hurts to stand up and move around.
So I’m on the couch with my foot iced, elevated and wrapped.. I did the grown up thing, and went to the Doctor, who sent me for x rays. It was not good news. You know it’s bad when the radiographer tells you it’s broken before she even leaves the booth. And she shook her head, and then looked at me with pity. Unfortunately, the Doctor had the same look right before he asked me if I had private health cover and prescribed me slightly stronger pain killers. I think he was surprised that I was generally in a good mood and smiling- except for my limp. I think the Doctor was trying not to let on that really, I’ve done some damage to myself. He did use words like “hospital” and “surgery” and “crutches” and asked me if I had eaten yet. Weird, I probably should have paid a bit more attention before he gave me the name of the orthopaedic surgeon, wrapped my toes and sent me on my way.
Yikes. I’m going to see the orthopaedic surgeon in the morning. Just those two words together strike fear in my heart—well, only really when it has to do with me. And I have to be honest, no one who I’ve spoken to so far has really allayed my fears. I could be in for a long hobbly road ahead… in the meantime, here are my glamour shots…
The Runner has one. I have one. Superman has one. I’m sure everyone has one. And that’s a nemesis.
In Greek Mythology, Nemesis was the Goddess of Revenge, she’s the one that brings “sorrow to mortals” (according to Wikipedia which doesn’t lie). Nemesis also believed that “no one should ever have too much good, and she had always cursed those who were blessed with countless gifts.” Sure, we’ll go with that. It kind of makes me feel better about myself.
My nemesis, (at least in the world of Pole Dancing, my sport) is the Candy. It’s a move that I’ve struggled with for years… YEARS! All the other girls make it look so simple and so easy- just throw your legs over your head and smile– hooray! Too easy!!
Nope, sorry, not me. That move taunts me, much like Nemesis taunted Narcissus. Yup, she was the one who led him to the pool where he drowned staring at his own reflection– she was soooo mean. Much like my Candy. I hate it, every week it’s a reminder of why I will never be really really good at pole. Because every week, we practice it and every week I fail. Annoying and frustrating and yes, it’s my archenemy. But I’m determined- and one week in the near future, I will conquer it– or possibly die trying.
This week also features The Runner’s nemesis (and no, it’s not Valentine’s Day). It’s the triathlon in Huskisson aka Husky Long Course. This is the 3rd time he’s doing it and hopefully it will be the year he beats it…..Because frankly, I’m not sure that it could be any worse than the previous two years he’s done it.
Last year was so bad, he came second in a competition for who had the worst race. Second! Which means that not only did he have a horrible race, but he didn’t win a prize for having the worst race, which really just adds insult to injury….and by injury, I mean an actual injury…. two years in a row!
The first year he did it, he pulled his hamstring, and had to limp his way out of the race. Last year, he lost his watch during the swim and then rode through a pothole at 50km/hr and came off his bike and wound up in the first aid tent after the race. Ouch! Every other race he’s done has been flawless- or at least relatively drama free…. It’s just something about the race in Husky that’s, well, trouble.
So, understandably I’m a bit nervous for him. Unlike my nemesis, which realistically is only hurting my ego, I’ll be waiting and watching on Sunday morning with baited breath hoping that The Runner finishes the race and makes it through in one piece and not broken and bruised.
There’s nothing better than beating your nemesis once and for all, and I really think that this could be the year he does it. I’ll let you know how it goes but keep your fingers crossed…. maybe once he conquers this race, I’ll finally get my Candy sorted!
A girl can only dream…..
P.S I found a great blog that pretty much sums up how I feel about pole….
So there are definitely people in the world who love exercising- The Runner, for example, and there are definitely people who definitely hate it- mostly the morbidly obese future Biggest Loser contestants, and then there are people like me. People who hate to do anything that feels like exercise but who are vain. Vanity is a very powerful motivator, as are pants that fit. So this week, I’ve gotten back into my exercise routine- or at least I’m attempting to.
After 8 weeks of eating ice cream, cookies, cake, cheese, and every other tasty thing I could get my grubby mitts on, time, calories and super premium ice cream have caught up with me– or was it the two thanksgiving dinners?
Whatever it is the vain side of me has decided to fight back against the side of me that thought making toasted cheese sandwiches using triple cream Brie was a great idea (it was actually an excellent idea in my defense- very tasty, very oozy, very fatty) and today I make my return to the gym. Or at least that’s the plan.
Earlier this week I got back on the pole, with three pole dancing classes in two days. Pole dancing is a great form of exercise that doesn’t actually feel like exercise. Great music, dancing, high heels, doesn’t feel like hard work until you’re out of breath and trying to figure out whether your arms are actually strong enough to hold you while you are holding onto the pole upside down with your legs in a V. Judge if you must, but any form of fitness that forces you to pull your bum over your head using your arms and core muscles and then hang there can’t be all bad! Talk about rude awakenings, I can barely lift my arms today- they were struggling to lift an extra three kilos of bum and stomach in the classes, not pretty. Not pretty at all.
Today, after work, it’s back to the real gym- planning a Dance Jam class (slightly overweight girls with no rhythm jumping around to Ricky Martin- it will be fun, I’ll fit right in) and maybe some weights afterwards. Yeah, right.
In truth, I’d love an excuse not to go to the gym, it’s a nice, friendly place with great people but too much like hard work. I’ll be lucky if i make the class when really I’d love to go for drinks followed by ice creams after work but the vain me has put the brakes on that idea.
The Runner, after coming back from his 3rd 5am cycling session this week, pointed out that I should set a goal for myself that way the gym won’t seem like such a chore….. This from a man who rides his bike 80 km in the mornings before work for fun. (How is that fun???) And don’t get me started on how he exercises two or three times a day most days. This is the kind of bad idea that people who love to exercise think is great! Clearly, I am supportive but I do think he’s crazy- or Mental Man as one of our friends call him.
Hmmm, my goal is not to wind up on the biggest loser and not give up eating ice cream- oh and to button my pants – unfortunately it looks like exercise could be the only way forward. If anyone has a better idea, please let me know! Until then, see you at the gym so!
He Runs, I Cook 