“Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.”
How true...
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
Saturday, October 1, 2011
Monday, September 26, 2011
Cooking: Bacon Chocolate Chip Cookies
Bacon chocolate chip cookies. Sounds weird, right? It's something I've been hearing more and more about, these days. I think it's something to do with the "sweet and savory" craze in the baking world; I've also heard about adding bacon to muffins and even to chocolate bars, but I digress. I'd been hearing so much about bacon chocolate chip cookies that I just had to try making them myself. Using Google, I located a random recipe and decided to give it a shot. I wasn't sure what to expect, but I must say I was pleasantly surprised. I thought that the bacon flavor might be a bit overwhelming, but it actually balances quite well with the semi-sweet chocolate chips in the cookies. To be honest, the cookies tasted even better the next day; maybe the flavors balanced themselves a bit as they settled.
Want to try it? Here's the recipe that I used.
Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup butter (room temperature)
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
3/4 cup white sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon maple extract
1/3 cup chopped cooked bacon
1 cup bittersweet chocolate chips
Directions:
1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper (or spray them with non-stick cooking spray). Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
2. In another bowl, beat together the butter, brown sugar, and white sugar with an electric mixer until smooth. Add one egg and beat until blended into the butter mixture. Add the remaining egg, the vanilla extract, and the maple extract; beat until blended and slightly fluffy. Stir in the flour mixture a little at a time, mixing just until combined. Stir in the bacon and chocolate chips. Scoop by rounded tablespoonfuls onto the prepared cookie sheet.
3. Bake 10 to 12 minutes until the edges are golden brown. Remove and cool on a wire rack.
...So, if you tried it, what do you think? Better than you expected? Worse?
Hyakugojyuuichi! Memories.
I think I discovered this sometime during my freshman year of college. Wow, memories. Give me back my sweater or I'll play the guitar!
Friday, September 23, 2011
The Drive-In
Up until the summer of 2011, I had never been to the local drive-in. I was fairly antisocial in high school. I moved to Louisiana for college. I was just too busy with life once I returned to Utah (after Hurricane Katrina in 2005). I guess it's not surprising that my parents never took me to the drive-in when I was younger; it's not really their "thing." Needless to say, I'm happy that I was finally able to experience the drive-in.
The excitement builds even as you stop for snacks at a nearby store; you can hear various patrons talking about the drive-in while they select their snacks and drinks. Cars line up to pay for their tickets; the lines are quite long, usually. Smaller cars tend to park closer to the screen, while bigger cars (and trucks like our Tundra) park towards the back. Bringing the truck just makes the entire experience so much better; we throw our air mattress in the truck bed and have a cozy spot to enjoy the films.
Concessions are cheaper than your average movie theater, which is nice. We brought everything except for a bag of popcorn; we bought that at the drive-in. I mean, you just can't see a movie without popcorn, right?
I love how "eventful" the drive-in can be. Families set up little camps; they eat dinner and let their children run and play afterwards. Everyone waits for the sun to set, anticipating the moment the movie screens come to life. Since each screen is a double-feature, most of the cars will remain in the lot until almost 2:00 a.m.
At first, I was afraid that I'd be too distracted by all of the activity, that I would miss the movies and not enjoy the experience quite as much. I was a little surprised, because I wound up enjoying the drive-in more than any other theater I've been to. The drive-in is an experience that I'll cherish above other movie viewings, simply because of the environment. I'll never forget the warm summer breeze, the giggling children in the next car, the distant fireworks in the night sky, or holding my girlfriend close to me as we lay under a blanket of stars.
My kids are definitely going to experience a drive-in. Everyone should, really.
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