If a cookie is baked and no one takes a photo of it, does it exist?
This is the sort of question that has perplexed me since time immemorial and memorial. I solved the "If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?" mystery the other day, in true Nancy Jew fashion (which means my coat is a lot more stylish than, say, this, and my magnifying glass is inlaid with the most darling mother-of-pearl and comes in a midnight blue cashmere pouch with a coordinating satin drawstring with silky tassels) — and the answer is "It doesn't really matter, just finish your shepherd's pie and move on to the pudding."
I assure you that the cookies I baked did indeed exist — if only for a limited period of time, thanks to a certain fellow who found them so irresistible that they were not long for this or any other world. He can attest to their existence, but then again, he could be accused of collaborating with me to further his own interests, e.g. having me bake him more cookies in the future. I also assure you that the cookies were absolutely delicious, as he can (and, if he knows what's good for him, will) attest. I know because in addition to the one I shared with him mere hours after their creation, I sampled four of them (one hot and one cooled-off from each of two batches) just to make sure I didn't poison them.
However, what I'm lacking in cookie evidence I more than make up for with proof of soup. Check out this colorful bowl of love I made on Monday:
Potato Soup with Spinach (and other guest stars)
Also, this, which I eat almost every day (so now you know how I get that glow you've read so much about in the tabloids!):
Spinach Salad with Tofu
(and co-stars who are vying for, but will never receive, top billing)
You may notice that spinach features quite prominently in both of these dishes. This is not because I receive endorsements for promoting the use of spinach or because I am Taking Back The Spinach after all the scares a few months ago. It's because I think spinach is cute and tasty, in addition to being chockful of vitamins and minerals that a growing boy like me needs. If I had a photo of the cookies, you would see that they, too, are chock-a-block with spinach. You have not lived until you've tasted a double chocolate spinach-chip cookie, trust me.
In the spirit of sharing that is an attendant part of the whole "look what I made!' experience, I invite you to ask me for the recipes for anything you see here or for the cookies you don't. Seeing is believing, yes, but so is not-seeing.
Thus concludes the deepest post I have ever written.
Shopping Days 'Til the Ides of March: 1
fresh-baked at 04:38 AM
>>All I can say is, "Thank God!"
Until I read into your post, I was genuinely and unabashedly afraid that the green circular object in the first photograph actually WAS a photo of the aforementioned cookie ...
Yep, me too. Close proximity of lede and photograph will do the distracting deed everytime.
- Temple
Offered by: Temple Stark on March 24, 2007 1:36 PMAll I can say is, "Thank God!"
Until I read into your post, I was genuinely and unabashedly afraid that the green circular object in the first photograph actually WAS a photo of the aforementioned cookie and I was thinking to myself, "What kind of sick, twisted vegan bitch creates anything that resembles that soylent green (It's people!) cookie material I see pictured before me?"
Remember.... sprouts can never truly replace the wholesome chocolatey goodness of some oversized morsels in your green, tofu toll-house cookies.
Offered by: Ds on March 22, 2007 3:04 PMEmmy: Hi! What I neglected to say is that I chill the tofu in the refrigerator before slicing it into cubes (I guess about nine cubes each "slab"). And that the tofu is this brand/variety. Weekend was quiet, with no new food-attempts. :o)
Offered by: Jodi on March 19, 2007 9:35 AMThanks for letting me know how you make the tofu. I'm going to pick up some Annie's BBQ sauce. Rob loves Chipotle flavor so I'll see if they have that one. I just bought a huge bag of Newman's Own Organic Spinach at Sam's Club so I can easily make that delicious sounding Tofu/Spinach Salad. Yum! Hope you had a great weekend :)
Offered by: Emmy on March 19, 2007 9:30 AMJeffrey: They're on their way! Soup recipe tonight, salad instructions tomorrow. I know, I know. I'm such a tease! :-O
Offered by: Jodi on March 18, 2007 8:52 PMMy dear, I don't think I can possibly go one instant more without having the soup and salad recipes. I must start assembling my menus for the week (at least the ones that involve actual cooking).
Offered by: Jeffrey on March 18, 2007 6:24 PMThomas: I keep telling you -- haul your non-famous ass to NYC and I will take you to get fancy tofu. But I will also force you to ride the subway first, so the tofu can be like a reward!
Vendela: I am quite a dish.
Offered by: Jodi on March 16, 2007 10:09 AMYou *do* have pretty plates. And by "plates", I don't just mean your boobies.
Offered by: Vendela on March 15, 2007 9:33 PMi wish i could go out and eat cool food all the time, but being unfamous and poor i have to cook my own. thank god for Jodi, so i can live vicariously!
i totally crunch on you, jodi!
Offered by: thomas on March 15, 2007 9:11 PMEmmy: Both the soup and the salad are ever so tasty! I just LOVE colorful food -- and MUST serve it on pretty plates!
The tofu is "tofu steak" (garlic and pepper seasoned) and comes in four thick slabs. All I do is add about a teaspoon of oil to a pan and brown the tofu on each side, adding a smidge of Annie's barbecue sauce (I think the one I used here is chipotle!)(yes, that warrants an exclamation point!) and sort of "searing" it on each side so it gets kinda grilled-looking. Please note that this is not to be confused with inadvertent "blackening", which is what I was calling it when I, like, you know, burned it a week or so ago.
I considered making an extra batch of the cookies and keeping them in my freezer, too. But *I* am a notorious snitch, and would then have to self-flagellate -- which is not as much fun as it sounds.
Everyone Else: The cookie recipe can be found on Emmy's great blog, http://www.vegandiva.wordpress.com. I won't give you a direct link, though. You have to learn to do these things for yourselves! Also, this will give you an opportunity to poke around her blog a bit. It's a lot of fun and has fab food fotos!
Offered by: Jodi on March 15, 2007 8:27 PM"Taking Back the Spinach" ha ha, that's great!!! The Potato and Spinach Soup looks yummy and chock full of goodness. And yum on the Spinach Salad with Tofu. Do you marinate and grill the tofu? Enquiring minds want to know :)
Cookies don't last long at our house either. My hubby is a notorious cookie snitch! He even takes some from the cookie stash I try to keep in the freezer...as if I wouldn't notice. LOL
Offered by: Emmy on March 15, 2007 5:14 PMThomas: I don't think I even want to know what Benson's Baby Bottom Paint is. (Do I?)
Token fella: Of course harder is better. You of all people should know this. (And here I turn to the camera and leer like Mr. Roper.)
Sally: Double chocolate spinach chip cookies exist only in my cerebral supermarket. I offer them to the public for $22.99 a half dozen, and accept telepathic checks.
Offered by: Jodi on March 15, 2007 4:36 PMI am impressed you made both the soup and salad! But, I was wondering about the Double chocolate spinach chip cookies...I see an untapped market for Whole Foods!
Offered by: Sally on March 15, 2007 4:27 PMPeanut Butter. Chocolate. Two great tastes that taste great together. Get your mind out of the 70's. This is right here and now. Well, actually at my office and two weeks ago, but you know what I mean. And the chocolate was wrapped around the peanut better. And they got better as the cookie part got harder.
Hmm, what should I have for dinner tonight? I can't wait to see if the soup fairy left something in my refrigerator!
Offered by: Token fella on March 15, 2007 10:05 AMThe posts? Deep. (Insert ridiculously detailed and tawdry reference to deep here involving at the miniumum 3 of the 7 basic Rights of Man being violated much to your chagrin and intense pleasure [despite said chagrin.])
A little Benson's Baby Bottom Paint will fix that up afterwards.
Offered by: Thomas on March 15, 2007 8:46 AMSally: Which sinful delights? The soup and salad? If so, no! I made 'em m'self!
Cody: That sounds ... hott. Recipe coming your way this morning!
Offered by: Jodi on March 15, 2007 4:14 AMDoes Whole Foods sell those sinful delights? Double chocolate spinach chip cookies makes me ask, "Do they sell spinach chips too?".
Offered by: Sally on March 14, 2007 4:27 PM
