I've been working a lot lately... oh summer jobs.. work yourself to exhaustion in anticipation of studying yourself to a brain aneurysm back at school in the fall. It's been a nice summer though. I never did get to make videos of myself cooking like I had wanted to, but there is always time.

This past Monday we blew off our chores and responsibilities. We went for something we decided to call The Best Day Ever 2009. It consisted of getting extremely drunk at the Alligator Farm, and it was amazing. It stormed the whole day afterward and Shawn and I nearly ate an entire extra large pizza between us. The whole day seemed like a blur.





I need more of those days... not the drinking necessarily but the carefree direction of the day. As we get older it seems the obligations trickle down and build up over and over. I feel like as a 21 year old I shouldn't even be thinking that. Drunken days at the Alligator Farm is what I need... along with waves.. and today I made chocolate chip cookies. All good ingredients...... very simple and delicious.





Taylor's Chocolate Chip Cookies

2 1/4 cup all purpose unbleached organic flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 cup Sucanat
1/4 cup raw sugar
2 large organic eggs
2 tsp natural vanilla
1/2 cup organic butter
12 oz dark chocolate chips
1/4 tsp celtic sea salt



Preheat oven to 350F. Grease a cookie sheet. Mix flour, baking soda, and salt in a bowl. In a separate bowl, mix melted butter, beaten eggs, both sugars, and vanilla. Beat until smooth. Add the sugar mixture to the flour mixture and stir until combined. Add chocolate chips and mix.

Scoop rounded tablespoons of dough onto cookie sheet about 2 inches apart. Bake for 11-13 minutes.

Let cool on wax paper.

See how it easy? Now I still have time to go to the beach before work!

It has been raining on and off for two days now.... Luckily we were still able to do the kids' surf camp yesterday morning between the rain. It was a messy camp though. Two instructors couldn't make it, one was very late, and we forgot the life jackets...Life jackets because these are special needs children. Stress! The kids were screaming, it looked like it was about to pour, and Shawn had to hold down the camp alone while I ran to grab the life jackets at home. It all worked out though. I try to remember all the camp days can't be perfect- and I'm sure no one noticed!

Lately I've strayed a little bit in my genre of cooking. At first it was mostly vegan and the healthy alternative for desserts, but I have to admit the lasagna was a bit heavy and obviously (although delicious!) the cake pops should not be consumed in large amounts. Now I'm back on track... my old man plain oatmeal for breakfast.. 6 small meals a day and back at the gym. I was up for a possible covershot paddleboarding in a fitness magazine in Charleston but they ended up going with someone else. It's disappointing but I suppose I will live. It would have been a pain to get the paddleboard up there anyhow. It only hangs 6ft outside of the truck bed.

So for a little while, I will be posting only healthy recipes, a lot more vegan, a lot of natural energy bars, dinners, snacks, etc. About a month ago, I made these triple chocolate protein pancakes using unsweetened cocoa power, chocolate protein power, and chocolate soymilk. I only topped them with a little bit of vegan powdered sugar. I'm going to try to remember the recipe but until then, the pictures will do.

HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY!





I got to wake up to America's birthday without a cell phone, wallet, or bag. Phone-less, money-less, and generally hopeless because some guy jacked my bag at a 4th of July eve party last night. What a mess! There are four things that I lost that really upset me:
1)a keychain Sarah Roogle gave me from an obscure little shop in Barcelona
2)ginger lemon lip balm
3)my new recipe/ random thoughts notebook
4)my von zipper sunglasses Jocelyn gave me for my birthday!

Not my phone, cash, ID, or credit card really matter compared to these things. Silly I know. ANYWAY................

For the 4th of July, Shawn's parents always have a big party at their house on the water that overlooks downtown. I wanted to make something special to bring this year. Luckily, I have known since May what I wanted to make ha ha....seriously. CAKE POPS! I saw them on Bakerella blog: http://bakerella.blogspot.com/2008/04/make-your-cupcakes-pop.html They are the cutest party food I have ever laid eyes upon.



They did take a couple days to make because of my schedule, but they are well worth it.

CAKE POPS: adapted from Bakerella.
1 13X9 baked cake (I used extra moist chocolate)
1 can cream cheese frosting
2 packages white chocolate
bowls for dipping
wax paper
about 50-75 lollipop sticks
red and blue sprinkles or any colors
styrofoam block to hold the cake pops

Bake the cake per box instructions and let it cool completely before using. I baked mine the night before just to get it out of the way. Yes, I realize this is an empty glass pan but you get the idea!





Crumble the cake into a big bowl and add the entire container of cream cheese frosting. Mix until entirely combined. I put mine back in the fridge for several hours after this to help it firm up again.




Roll the cake with your hands into little balls about 1.5 inches or so and place them on a sheet of wax paper. Put a lollipop stick in each ball. Place them in the freezer while you prepare the chocolate and bowls of sprinkles.





Melt the white chocolate in intervals in the microwave at 50% power. Stir it often so it does not burn. While it is melting, put the sprinkles in separate bowls for dipping.
When the chocolate is melted, take the cake pops out of the freezer and dip them in the chocolate. You can either dip them in the bowls of sprinkles or do it free hand. I did a little of both. When finished, place the pop back on the wax paper and put it in the freezer for about an hour to really harden the chocolate exterior.




See how easy! I rocked it out this morning despite all my misfortunes. However, I did make a "Sean Paul" station on the Pandora.com radio to listen to while I decorated my cake pops. Who can stay in a bad mood when "Temperature" comes on? Dancehall always puts me in a good mood. Feelin' irie!



Can't wait to shot off my cake pops at the party tonight. Everyone will be jealous, and they should.