The Smiling Onion

Vegetarian and Gluten-free Cooking

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Raspberry-Rose Cookies

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I wish I could photograph the smell of these cookies. Seriously.

And don’t take that lightly – the glory of mid-fall brings with it so many sensory pleasures that it takes a lot for anything to wow me these days. You know what I’m talking about – unbelievably crisp air, the awesome sound of leaves crunching under your feet, that unparallelled fall light … not that I’m complaining here, but it kind of makes most other things pale in comparison. Smells that normally do all sorts of good things for me – coffee in the morning, cut flowers, even really awesome Chinese food (which usually has a whole forbidden-thing going for it too since its rarely available gluten-free) – get an “eh.” But these cookies – oh my gosh. When copious amounts of butter meet rose syrup, raspberries, and almonds and then decide to party together in an oven, even fall takes a backseat to the sensory pleasures that unfold.

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Middle Eastern Shake

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When it comes to shakes, I’m a pretty picky eater … er… drinker? In my opinion, a good shake must be creamy, smooth, rich, luscious, full-bodied, sweet but not sweet enough to cause a sugar rush, and most importantly, NOT ICY. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve experienced severe buyer’s remorse after shelling out good $$ (shakes are expensive!!) only to realize my “cacao banana power shake” (or some variation thereof) is half ice and half store-bought almond milk with maybe a couple teaspoons of cocoa powder and a tiny piece of banana. Sadness! Anger! Ice! So. Much. Ice.

While I’ll occasionally throw one or two cubes of ice in a shake I make myself (usually because I have a cat shaped ice cube tray and the kitty ice cubes are so darn cute that I can put aside my ice hatred and remember that all things can be good in moderation) I generally find that if all my ingredients are cold, shakes do not need ice at all. And I much prefer them creamy and rich to cold and watery. This Middle Eastern Shake is no exception – it could probably be eaten as a pudding if you’re into that. Personally, I prefer to consume it in shake form (I mean, for one thing, you get more of it: it is so much more socially acceptable to consume a full glass of shake than a full glass of pudding.)  [Read more…]