Peanut Butter Hot Chocolate

Every year, about three weeks into the month of January, I start dreaming of beaches, sand, bikinis, warm sunshine, and margaritas. I shut my eyes tightly and plead to be transported somewhere, anywhere, warmer than here. These next three months, the long weeks between the bustle of the holidays and fluttering down the sidewalk in a cute sundress, toughen up us New Yorkers. Or at least it toughens up those of us who have migrated from warmer climates.

Mother nature has thrown us an especially harsh winter this year - an endless stream of storms coupled with unyielding frigid temperatures. This type of cold seeps deeply into your bones, only melting away by tucking yourself tightly under a down comforter and cupping a steaming cup of homemade hot chocolate. As each sip passes my lips, it warms me from head to toe, and I am one sip closer to the warmer days ahead.

Coffee Break

COFFEE BREAK
© Dolcetto Confections | Allison M. Veinote, 2010

Kale Chips

I know what you are thinking. I can hear the tone of disgust in your thoughts. Kale chips? Really?!

I know, I know. For two years, I adamantly refused to create these chips, knowing there was no way they could replace the love I felt for a perfectly crisp kettle-cooked potato chip. But not too far into the new year, I grew tired of the bland, boring dinner salad and started hankering crunchy, salty chips to accompany our sandwiches. Knowing I would have zero self-control once the bag was opened, I unwillingly opted to pick-up a bunch of kale and give this recipe an honest try.

But that was far from the biggest hurdle I would need to clear. Mike returned home from work just as I was placing the green leaves, glistening with olive oil, into our small oven. Upon being informed of what these leaves would become and, yes he would be expected to at least try one, he started sulking and glaring at the oven.

Tapaç24

Bleary-eyed and in desperate need for caffeine, Mike and I ventured to the highly recommended Tapaç24 for our first breakfast in sunny Barcelona. This basement level restaurant welcomed us in with the smells of strong coffee and eggs. Mike and I each ordered a café and then desperately attempted to decipher the Catalan menu. While the server was not especially willing to help two Americans, only one of which knew Spanish and zero Catalan, we settled on the recommended omelets.

I blindly chose the truita de trempa, which arrived as a delicious, slightly greasy omelet with chorizo and potatoes. Mike settled on the truita de bacalla, a salted cod omelet with beans. Although Mike hates all fish dishes, he was able to stomach his breakfast with the help of a few pieces of my chorizo in between. Another café for Mike, a café con leche for me, and we were fueled for touring La Sagrada Familia for the remainder of the morning.

Tapaç24

http://www.tapac24.com/tapac24/english/index.html

Neighborhood: Eixample

Diputacio, 269 08007

Barcelona, Spain

Phone: +34 934 880 977

Nut Brown Ale Bread

Last Christmas I presented my craft beer-loving boyfriend with a home-brewing starter kit, a new hobby he approached with the thoughtful research and the detailed nature I expected. What I did not imagine is how much space home-brewing would require of our 700-square foot apartment, how the kitchen would periodically be taken over for hours at a time, or how pleased our neighbors would be with the pungent aromas of all-grain brewing.

Within a month, bottles of his first home-brewed beer, a nut brown ale, were ready for consumption. Since then there have been many other brewing days, lots more bottles, and tons of wonderful brews. But soon there was an over abundance of the nut brown ale, temporarily forgotten in favor of the newer beers. While I usually have to fight to use a bottle of perfectly good beer for cooking or baking purposes, a few weeks ago Mike declared these bottles up for grabs.