I blew through New York City a couple of weeks ago, rolling in on a Red Eye Tuesday morning, and jetting out on Wednesday evening. Road warriors, I do not envy you. The red eye is a killer. Even with my short legs and an open row --3 seats worth of luxurious space -- the shuteye I got was somewhere just north of dozing. I checked into the hotel, flipped on the TV, and after a shower, I looked down onto the street below at what I can only describe as an oasis. Green letters emblazoned at street-level. In my best Homer Simpson voice, I said (it even may have been out loud), “Mmmmm. Coffeeeeee.”
Sometimes you just need things to be easy and uncomplicated. To cap off a long week, you want something familiar. Something simple and delicious. That’s what this chocolate pudding is, just simple. No parfait treatments or graham cracker crusts or whipped cream dollops here -- just good ol' pudding. Where the box variety suggests chocolate flavor, this pudding doesn’t skimp. It's sweet, simple, and seriously chocolatey without being too rich.
While I’ve been waiting for stone fruit to really come in full force, I’ve been baking cookies. It started with some gluten-free peanut butter oat cookies from this month’s mailer from PCC, our local market. Then, the Spice Cookies from Jerusalem. Now, Cowboy Cookies…oats, pecans, chocolate chips, a little coconut. This time, with olive oil instead of butter. There are worse ways to pass the time.
After spending a long winter in the deep freeze, it’s about time to dust off the ol’ Zoku popsicle maker. If like me, you’re not quite ready to go blending up those beautiful strawberries for a taste of spring, there is another flavor that can put you in mind of sunshine and take you right out to the desert. Dates. And in this case, we’re talkin’ about a Banana Date Shake Zoku pop.
