Nothing says last minute like pulling out a cookie recipe just two days before Mother’s Day. I’m nothing if not a procrastinator. Luckily, this recipe comes together really quickly and if you’re in a bind over what to make your Mom for Mother’s Day, may I recommend whipping up a batch of these coconut lime shortbread cookies and serve them alongside a pot of hot tea? While it may not be breakfast in bed, you can at least let your Mom sleep in. I’m sure she’ll appreciate it.
I can’t believe that I almost forgot to post this recipe for Soft-Baked Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Cookies. Do you want to know what reminded me? Here it is – scrolling through my own Instagram account. I spotted a photo I had posted over a month ago of these cookies cooling on a rack on my kitchen counter and my jaw dropped when I found these photos still on my camera. Am I the only person who does that? Forgetting to edit photos and post recipes I mean, not scrolling through one’s own Instagram profile. I like to at least pretend that everyone secretly checks out their own account from time to time.
Seeing as how sukiyaki is considered a wintertime meal, it seems fitting that I would share my Grandma’s recipe on the last day before spring. Sukiyaki is a Japanese hot pot dish that consists of meat and vegetables that are slowly simmered in a mirin, soy sauce, and sugar mixture. Along with the meat and vegetables, my Grandma would also add sliced water chestnuts, potatoes, mushrooms and a package of Ichiban noodles. The whole pan would be brought to the center of the dining room table and we would eat everything over a bed of hot rice. My Grandpa enjoyed his in a more traditional sense by cracking a raw egg into a bowl before adding his hot ingredients.
I had emailed myself the measurements and instructions to this sukiyaki recipe a couple Christmases ago when I was made it alongside my Grandma, and I recently discovered the email while doing a massive inbox cleanup. After cooking and posting the end results on Instagram, I received a few comments and requests for the recipe. I get it, nothing is more comforting than a hot pot meal.
The last few days have been filled with cold medicine, kleenex, and binge-watching Netflix. I don’t know how they do it, but our favourite shows seem to always know when we’re feeling run down and they all come back at once to make us feel better. Lately, Trevor and I have been enjoying the last season of Girls (sob), the mid-season return of Last Man on Earth and the newest season of Love. Cooking has been pretty minimal due to lack of energy, so I’ve been making a point to clean out the freezer and eat all the leftovers. It’s times like these that I’m grateful for batch cooking.
I’ve been cautiously enjoying the warm weather we’ve been experiencing as of late. Cautious because I know it won’t last. Concerned because it’s a little unnatural to have double digit weather in the middle of February. I think this Sarah Scribbles comic I recently saw on Facebook properly sums up my feelings best.
Despite my conflicted feelings, I took advantage of this nice weather a couple weeks ago and shot these cookie photos outside. I normally don’t do any photography on our little south-facing balcony, but I really wanted to make use of this old table I snagged a couple years ago from the furniture recycle drop-off room in our building. The last few wet winters have not been kind to this table, but this makes for an excellent surface for food photography. I’ll take what I can get, especially since our limited condo space makes hoarding multiple photography surfaces pretty difficult. In fact, at this point, I’m pretty sure my days of dragging this musty table inside for photos are now over.
Canadian food blogger, baking and eating her way through life. Musical theatre fanatic. Personal finance nerd. Sometimes runner/yogi. Green smoothies are pretty amazing.
