The Best Oatmeal Raisin Cookies EVAR

(Notice there's one missing in the photo! I couldn't wait!)

You need:

3/4 cup butter, softened

3/4 cup sugar (I used demerara, but you can use white)

3/4 cup packed light brown sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking soda

3/4 tsp ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp ground cloves

1/2 tsp salt

2 3/4 cups rolled oats

1 cup raisins

Preheat oven to 375*F

In a large bowl, cream butter and sugars. Beat in the eggs, then add vanilla. In another bowl, combine flour, baking soda, spices, and salt, then add dry mixture gradually into the butter mixture. Stir in oats and raisins gradually -- mixture will be THICK!

Drop by teaspoonfulls onto ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 8-10 minutes in the preheated oven, or until golden brown. Cool about 5 minutes, then move cookies to wire rack to finish cooling.

Chinese Takeout-style Fried Rice



You need:

• 2 cups leftover white rice*
• 3 eggs, beaten
• 1 small onion, chopped up
• 2 cups of thawed frozen mixed vegetables (carrots, peas, green beans)
• 1/3 cup soy sauce
• 1/2 tsp white pepper
• 4 tbsp oil

Heat wok over high flame** until it is smoking. Add 2 tbsp oil, swirl to coat wok surface. Add eggs. Eggs will poof up quickly -- stir to make sure the uncooked egg goes down and gets cooked, too. Remove eggs and set aside.

Add rest of oil. Dump diced onions into the oil, and let cook until barely transparent, stirring often. When onions start to turn transparent, add rice, and stir, breaking up chunks of rice as you go. Cook for about 2 minutes, until rice starts to turn golden-brown, then add veggies. Continue to stir until veggies are tender and rice is fluffy. Chop eggs up slightly, and return them to the wok. Add white pepper and soy sauce. Continue cooking and stirring for another minute or two to allow flavors to meld. Remove from heat and serve immediately.

* It is important to use leftover rice. Freshly-cooked rice is too moist and the result will be tasty but not fluffy like fried rice. If you are really jonesing for some fried rice and have to use freshly-cooked rice, use a 1:1 ratio of water to rice.

** I use a gas stove. I have heard that it is difficult to get a wok hot enough on an electric stove, but I don't have any personal experience with this. I know you can buy electric woks, and I am assuming that they get hot enough to make fried rice. You can also use a large skillet on any kind of stove.

*** If you want pork fried rice, ask your local Chinese restaurant if you can buy some Char Sieu -- Chinese barbecued pork. If you can keep from eating it all in the car on the way home, it's great in fried rice!

Mango Salsa



Favored condiment of cavemen everywhere.

2 ripe mangoes*
1 smallish fresh pineapple* , cut up (or 1 can pineapple tidbits, in a pinch)
1 handfull of cilantro, chopped
juice of 1 lime
dash salt
sprinkle of dried chipotle pepper

1. Split, score, and dice mangoes. (If you use mangoes often, I recommend using a mango splitter.)
2. Core, peel, and cut pineapple into chunks.
3. Toss in bowl with lime juice and cilantro.
4. Add remaining 3 ingredients to taste. (Use only enough chipotle to give salsa a slight bite, not to overpower the fruit.)
5. Refrigerate at least three hours, preferrably overnight.

*It really is worth the trouble to use fresh fruit instead of canned or frozen. It's not that difficult to work with if you use the right technique.