The Very Best Soft and Fluffy Chocolate Chip Cookies

Baking is something I love to do and have for a long time. However, I also really like to eat the things I bake and since I have no self-control I try to limit how often I make treats.

Now, here’s the thing about chocolate chip cookies; I like mine without chocolate chips. I know it’s strange, and I’ve never met anyone else who shares my preference, but I swear it’s delicious! That being said, my most recent batch does have chocolate chips because I will be using them to make s’mores and this cuts out a bit of the melted chocolate mess.


1/2 cup butter - soft, not melted

1/2 cup coconut oil – I have used solid, soft and melted, all worked fine.
3/4 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup white sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla – I never actually measure mine, just pour!
1 tsp sea salt
1 tsp baking soda - Dissolved in 1 tbsp. hot water
2 1/2 cups flour
Extras, however many please you! – Chips, candy, nuts or nothing at all


Preheat the oven to 350F
Beat the butter and coconut oil until smooth
Add white and brown sugar, beat until smooth and creamy
Add eggs, mixing between additions
Dissolve the baking soda in hot water
Add the soda water, salt and vanilla
Add flour, mix until dough forms
Stir in any extras
Roll the dough into balls, approx. 1.5 tbsp and place on a baking sheet
Chill for 2-5 minutes in the fridge
Bake for 13 minutes – Cookies will be pale with lightly golden bottoms and quite soft. They firm slightly while cooling.
Makes approximately 30-35 cookies

Here is my best cookie advice: Don't skip the chilling stage. Chilling the dough before baking allows the butter and oil to harden and therefore not melt as fast in the oven. When the butter/oil doesn't melt so fast the cookies don't spread as much and therefore stay tall and fluffy inside.

I know 1 tbsp seems a bit small for a cookie, but 1. I like the convenience of getting tons of cookies out of one batch, 2. I feel less guilty when I eat a lot of small cookies and 3. We all know that little desserts are very appealing.



Bucketlist Hawaii

Creating a list of things to do, places to see and delicious (donuts) to eat before going on any trip is one of my favorite things to do. I’m always prepared to see and do very few things on the list since we never know how a trip will go, but just the planning for potential activities makes me that much more excited to get going!

 

Here are some of the plans for Hawaii.
 
The Internet very kindly informed me that Hawaii has a few bays where, with a bit of luck and good conditions, people can see/swim/snorkel with wild dolphins. This sounds like the most amazing experience and I really hope we get the chance to live it. I’m still researching the best Bay for it since we will need to swim out rather than taking a boat.
 
Visit the summit of Mauna Kea for either sunrise or sunset, or just in general. Mauna Kea is a dormant volcano and the tallest mountain on earth! I was quick to assume that this fact was untrue when I first read it as well, but with a little research I found that it is very true. Mauna Kea does not reach higher into the sky than Everest but it is a taller mountain because its base is below sea level. Mount Everest is approximately 29,000 feet and Mauna Kea is around 33,000 feet.

 

Hawaii boasts having one of the only green sand beaches in the world and I have every intention of spending some time on it. It will be a bit of a hike to get there but one we are excited to do! It is also the southernmost point of the USA which fits well with my new love of geographic extremes.

 

I went to the black sand beach on Maui and though it was beautiful, but honestly, I couldn’t imagine spending too much time there. Being barefoot was unbearable due to the heat and it was one of the busier places we visited. The one in Hawaii looks very nice as well but the main draw is the high chances of seeing turtles and I don’t think I have to tell you how excited I am about turtles!

 

We have been talking about hikes we want to do since day one but haven’t really settled on a definitive list. I know we need to hike to the green sand beach, through Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park and most likely to visit some waterfalls, but other than that, we’ll have to see when we get there!

 

Visiting Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park and having the possibility to see an active lava flow are actually my top draws to this particular island. I’ve wanted to see this for so long; fingers crossed it happens! Even if we don’t see an active flow, I’m pretty excited to just walk through the lava fields and hopefully through the lava tube.

 

I’ve been getting more and more excited for our snorkelling excursion as we get closer to leaving. We’ll be going out at night to swim with Manta Rays that can be up to 20ft across! I highly recommend you look this up on YouTube because it looks truly incredible!

 

I’m not a foodie but I do have a few food items I’m really looking forward to having on the island. Donuts mostly, but also shave ice and fresh seafood. I may even try a cup of Kona coffee while I’m in Kona, despite being someone who doesn’t ever drink coffee.

 

You can click on the embedded links to view some of my other posts about previous Hawaiian adventures!

The 5 Best Places to Eat in Maui

As someone who enjoys eating but is also very picky, I find it particularly exciting to find so many places that I really love. These were my 5 favorite places to eat in Maui!


For a cool down – Wow Wow Hawaiian Lemonade (Strawberry + Pineapple lemonade)
Handcrafted lemonade made with locally sourced ingredients, but more importantly, delicious, refreshing and cooling on a scorching hot day. Good enough that we actually went in 3 times over our time in Kihei. Not that I got to try a whole lot, but the strawberry pineapple lemonade is best!

A quick take-out meal – Fork and Salad
Like with most other places I stumbled on this one quite by accident. We couldn’t decide where to go for lunch and while walking around an area we had previously visited I happened to notice it way back in the corner of the square. Fork and Spoon is a one-off restaurant in a similar style to Subway, but all vegetarian which works out great for me!! I had an amazing sandwich with falafel, olives, tzatziki, Sriracha hummus and salad. It was huge and messy but so satisfying!

Casual sit-down lunch or supper – Nalu’s South Shore Grill
Similarly to Wow Wow, we visited more than once. Nalu is a light and breezy open-air restaurant with a simple and tasty menu. It isn’t cheap but not overly expensive either. Ryan had a Cubano sandwich both times which I guess means it’s delicious. On the side he got crispy chips with truffle salt and I got to eat them!! I had a crab cake and mango salad on the first visit and pasta the second. I have to say, this may have been the best seafood Alfredo I’ve ever eaten. The shrimp and clams were incredibly fresh and SOOO good!

Fancier sit-down supper – Honu
Ryan says this might be his favorite pizza ever, even better than Famoso!! I would have to disagree though; Famoso is still my #1. It was however very delicious pizza and not greasy at all which is always great! We had Marguerita pizza.

Dessert – Maui Pie
Ryan and I agreed that this was some of, if not THE best pie ever. Perfect for dessert or an afternoon snack on a rainy day. We shared a warm piece of “Mountain Berry” pie with vanilla ice cream and it was to die for. Strawberry, raspberry and blackberry with a cinnamon, brown sugar and out crumble on top.


Honorable Mention - Shave Ice
I can't remember the name of the place that I got my shave ice from, but I think most places do it the same. The point is, shave ice is delicious. I honestly thought it was just a snow cone but it has ice cream hiding inside the shave ice and flavors on top. A+

4 out of 5 of these places are located in Kihei and that’s because we spent more time there than anywhere else, also because Kihei is a gorgeous little town and we loved it there. As well, all 4 are located within 1 block of each other. Honu is located in Lahaina on the waterfront. If you ever make it to Maui, I highly recommend looking these places up!!

Eating our way through Canmore

Over the past weekend Ryan and I took a little trip to the mountains. I've been craving an escape for what seems like ages now and this weekend worked well for our schedules.


Jasper is my favorite National Park, as I'm sure you've noticed, but I wanted to go somewhere else this time.


Nearly a year ago we took ourselves to Canmore and found that we quite liked it there. We went to Banff as well but spent very little time in the town.


This year we planned to spend our time partly exploring Canmore and partly doing things in Banff.


After arriving mid-day on Friday and getting checked in to our hotel we set out for a walk and to look for somewhere to eat supper. We weren’t really prepared for how cold or windy it would be along the way. Fortunately once we got downtown there is a door every few feet that we could have gone into for warmth.

To be honest, it really wasn’t very long before we were too cold and too hungry to care where we went so we returned to the restaurant we ate in last time; The Grizzly Paw Brewing Company. Considering that I’m a pescatarian and neither of us drink, it’s not the most obvious choice, but we enjoyed it anyway. The winners of the evening were the orange cream soda (made locally) and the Caesar salad with fried capers. I’m not sure who came up with the idea of frying capers, but I think I love them.


Still not quite warmed up after supper, we went for tea at Good Earth Café. By this time of day it was mostly empty so we could enjoy the big comfy chairs and each other’s company for a while without too much distraction. I made sure to have enough tea leftover to keep my hands warm on the way home too.


Saturday morning we enjoyed a much needed morning of sleeping in and taking our time to get ready for the day before breakfast.


We found the morning much warmer and more pleasant than the night before and even had our breakfast on a patio. Rocky Mountain Bagel Co. turned out to be the very best breakfast decision we could have made, a decision I would like to be able to make on the daily. We considered stopping in on our last trip but were deterred by the long line. Because of how thoroughly I enjoyed my Greek bagel, I will know for future reference that the line up is well worth the wait. Spinach eggs, tomato and feta on a cheddar bagel are a true winning combination.

Mountain Juice café was our next stop. I wouldn’t consider it ideal to get smoothies and then go for a long winter walk, but they’re too delicious to pass up.

One of the really lovely things about Canmore is that you can be walking through town one minute and then suddenly find yourself crossing a bridge surrounded by nothing but mountains and trees the next. We walked for quite a while before stumbling back on to Main Street in search of warmth.

We had been recommended to check out CommuniTEA but it was closed when we tried before. Now was the perfect time to go back.


As it turns out, CommuniTEA is exactly the kind of place for me. A Bright comfy café with a huge tea selection and a really delicious looking menu that's perfect for vegetarians. We weren't ready for lunch so I didn't get to try the food, but my pink grapefruit herbal tea was great. Well worth another visit on our next trip through Canmore.

This trip unintentionally turned into us doing not much of anything except enjoying our time away from home and work, walking huge amounts and eating all the delicious food.

We walked over 10 miles throughout the day on Saturday and barely covered any ground. I initially felt a tiny bit guilty that we finally got out of town and weren't even doing anything with our time, but it was exactly what I needed in my life.

Sometimes doing nothing is the best thing to do.

We skipped lunch all together in favor of snacks so when supper time came we were ready for some real food. Rocky Mountain Flatbread caught my eye earlier in the day and after looking at the menu online we decided to check it out.

We had to wait about 30 minutes to get in the door but for pizza waiting is OK. All the pizza here is cooked in a big stone oven and comes out just perfect; melty, crisp and delicious. The only downside is that the oven produces a lot of smoke and it hangs in the air, burning my eyes. For the sake of good pizza, much like waiting to get in, I put up with it.


We had no more energy after our late supper and went back to the hotel in favor of watching TV in bed. Next stop, Banff.

1 Year as a Pescatarian

I have officially survived my first year as a pescatarian.For anyone who doesn't know what that is, it's like being vegetarian (which I usually refer to myself as) but I still eat fish and seafood.

People asking me why I don't eat meat is a pretty frequent occurrence so I'm going to clear it up for everyone here and now.

I was bored.

Yes, you read that right, I was bored. I got to a point where anytime I was eating red meat or poultry I would put it in my mouth and then have no desire to chew it. It's a pretty bizarre reason to completely change the way I look at food but it seemed the right direction for me.

I can honestly say that I don't miss eating meat at all. Once in a while I'll get a momentary craving because of something I see or smell, but other than that I'm pretty content. The only thing I was a bit "concerned" about missing out on was Christmas turkey and that turned out just fine. I eat soy-based faux meats to help with my protein intake and also keep food more exciting so I was able to bring my own vegetarian turkey to Christmas dinner.

On that note I can happily report that my most favourite food group has been unaffected by this whole change. Baked goods. I realize that isn't really a food group but for me it might as well be. I could very happily live on cupcakes and scones forever more.

What I have determined to be my biggest advantage of changing the way I eat is that it caused me to become more creative and adventurous and also has me cooking more at home because it is easier than going out.

Ryan and I have started eating a lot more vegetables with our meals and even having meals that are almost entirely veggies. I like to think this makes me healthier.

Pre-Christmas Creations

'Tis the season to celebrate with family and friends, and that's just what we've been doing. Ryan and I attended two Christmas parties this weekend and I got to be creative before both. 

I volunteered to bring a dessert item to both parties and spent ALL day on Saturday baking. 

I made a cake with 5 layers and 3 trays of cookies, my kitchen was the messiest it's probably ever been and I had to walk to the grocery store in between batches to get more eggs. Fortunately the store is only across the street since it was one of the coldest days this year and my poor van died in the garage at home.

After 4.5 hours of baking and with almost no time to get ready, we set off to the party. I'm going to tell you, I made the ugliest cake ever, it's could win awards for its ugliness, but when I arrived with it everyone seemed pretty impressed!! 

Supper was amazing. Curried cauliflower, though I expected to dislike it, turned out to be really delicious. Veggie pies, mashed potatoes and Caesar salad were excellent as well. There was a great selection of vegetarian food, which isn't usually the case at parties, so it was easy for everyone to enjoy. My 3 best friends are vegetarian as well and all in attendance. 

At dessert time I was told that my gingerbread cake was "the best cake I've ever had" by one of my friends and that really made my night. Baking all day paid off I guess!

Our second party was a "tacky Christmas sock" party. Better than sweaters in my opinion. Again, I was busy doing.. I don't remember what, all morning before the party so we were a bit rushed getting ourselves ready. Fortunately I did all the baking the day before so the gingerbread cookies were ready to go when we were! 

A quick trip to the dollar store to buy sock decorating supplies and then about 10 minutes at home with the hot glue gun and double sided tape had us ready. 

Ryan had a lovely oven mitt creation and I went with garland and jingle bells up to the knees. The (approximately 1 million) kids at the party seemed to like our choices, and that's what counts. 

I'm really looking forward to spending more time with people over the holidays and being festive! 

Easy Chocolate Cupcakes

Do you ever go to a bakery or restaurant, eat something delicious and then think to yourself, “I could make that?” I do. And I usually consider that I could make it myself because it’s A: too expensive to buy again, or B: I bought it somewhere that I can’t easily get back to for re-purchasing.

In this particular case I had a cupcake from LaHave Bakery on my last trip to Nova Scotia and I couldn’t get it out of my head, I also can’t go back to buy another one anytime soon.

To make myself feel better about that, I found a recipe for chocolate cupcakes, made my basic vanilla icing and then changed that vanilla to almond. Of course, it's never going to be exactly the same as what they make, even if I had their recipe, but it's reminiscent and that will have to do.

 

To be honest, I don’t actually know for sure if the icing in LaHave had almond extract in it, but it sure smelled like it. Even if it didn't, I have almond extract already from a recipe I made last Christmas and this seemed like a nice place to use it. I was actually pleasant surprised by how much more I like almond versus the traditional vanilla.

Here are the recipes I used:

 

Chocolate Cupcakes (makes 12)

• 1 cup flour
• ½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• ½ tsp baking powder
• ¼ tsp baking soda
• 1/8 tsp salt
• ¾ + 2 tbsp granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs
• ½ cup milk
• ¼ cup canola oil
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• ¾ cup chocolate chips

 

Almond Icing

• 3 tbsp room temperature butter
• 3-4 cups confectioners sugar
• 3-5 tbsp milk
• 1 tsp almond extract (or change the extract for a different flavour!)
• Splash of vanilla extract
• Pinch of salt

 

Preheat the oven to 350F

Grease or line your cupcake tins or cake pan

Combine flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt

In a separate bowl combine sugar, eggs, milk, oil and vanilla. Whisk until well mixed

Combine the two mixtures and mix well, continue to scrape down the sides

Fill the tin(s) about halfway

Bake approximately 15-20 minutes

Wait until the cake is fully cooled before icing

 

To make the icing just combine all ingredients and mix well.

I used my emulsion blender to get the icing smooth and creamy.

If the icing is runny you can add more icing sugar, if it's dry add a bit more milk.

 

Spinach, Mushroom and Butternut Squash Lasagna

This was my first ever attempt at making lasagna and I think it turned out really well. I was looking online for an idea of what kind of flavors I could use to make vegetarian lasagna but also make it more exciting than your typical lasagna without the meat sauce.

I didn’t look at anyone else’s recipe, just took ideas that looked good. I kept seeing butternut squash come up and even though I can’t remember having ever eaten it, it seemed super appealing. Adding spinach and mushrooms was just a great way to add extra flavours and texture since I wouldn’t be using meat sauce or ricotta cheese.

Here is what I used:
Lasagna noodles
Tomato and herb pasta sauce
Butternut squash (mashed)
Spinach (frozen, thawed and drained)
Mushrooms (sliced and cooked)
Shredded cheese (marble and mozza)

Start by putting sauce in bottom of pan so nothing sticks
Make your layers, anyway that suits you
I did:
Noodle- Sauce – cheese – butternut mash
Noodle- sauce- spinach – mushrooms – cheese
Noodle – sauce – butternut mash
When the layers are done top with lots more cheese
Cover with foil
Bake at 425F for 1 hour
Uncover for the last 5-10 minutes to ensure melty cheese and a bit of a crisp

I was so pleased with this recipe, it turned out even more delicious than I imagined. Having mashed butternut squash replaced the ricotta cheese nicely and all the flavors worked together perfectly. Everything was hot and gooey and melted.

The best part is, with the noodles I had and 1 full butternut squash I had enough to make 2 separate lasagnas so I get to have it again!!

Simple and Delicious Homemade Pizza

Do you ever get that feeling like you’re bored of even your favorite foods, like it’s time to try something new? Sometimes just a new brand or flavor will do the trick.
Ryan and I have been feeling that way and have been making an effort to try more new foods. We've also started making more food at home as opposed to buying it premade.

For a relaxing Sunday at home we opted to make pizza. Since I am a vegetarian and Ryan isn’t we make a half and half. I don’t like subjecting him to the plain cheese pizza if I don’t have to so I pile the sliced mushrooms on my side and Ryan gets all the pepperoni.

You will need:

Crust mix/premade crust/premade dough
Sauce
Mushrooms
Pepperoni (or any other toppings you prefer)
Marble & Mozza cheese
I’m not going to tell you how much of each will need because it would be based on what size pizza you are making and how heavily you like you toppings piled on.

 

Preheat the oven to 450F

Make your crust

Let rise for 10-15 minutes

Slice and cook mushrooms (I make mine in a frying pan)

Slice pepperoni

Shred cheese (lots of it!)

Spread the dough onto a 12 inch pizza pan or cookie sheet

Pinch the edges up to make a crust

Layer on your toppings in whatever fashion suites you. I like mine underneath the cheese.

Bake 10-15 minutes or until the crust is golden, toppings are warm and cheese is melted

Broil on 525F for a about 2 minutes to get the cheese extra melty and add a bit of a crisp

We’ve made this same pizza twice now and it’s so satisfying. Both of us like it more than store bought or take-out because it isn’t greasy at all and it is made exactly how we like.

Do you want a crispier crust? Bake it longer! Don’t love having so much pizza sauce? Don’t put much on!

I forget sometimes that I like to cook, not just bake, so it's nice to try new things. What should I make next???

Charlottetown to Moncton

Still a bit tired and certainly still sick we woke up ready to enjoy our first full day.

Our early thoughts led us to breakfast and we couldn't do much until that happened. I was a bit sad to be leaving our tree house but also really excited to get to Charlottetown.

30 minutes down the road we decided to get breakfast from a grocery store instead of eating out, that was a great choice. Not only is it a lot less expensive, but has potential to be a lot healthier. We got fresh fruit and juice as well as mini cereal (circa childhood camping) and milk. We weren't prepared to deal with the heat and humidity quite yet so we enjoyed out feast inside the car in front of the grocery store.

Can I also just say, buying produce in PEI is dreamy. I don't understand how it can be so much cheaper there and look better than ours. A+ PEI

Our full bellies prepared us for an afternoon of adventure through downtown Charlottetown. I was planning on doing a tiny bit of shopping, maybe getting some ice cream and enjoying the all around feeling of this lovely city. I knew how much I loved it from my previous visit 6 years ago.

As it turns out, it really wasn't what I remembered at all. Certain things looked right, but mostly it seemed like a brand new place.

When we eventually found a place to park and started walking it seemed like this whole area had very little to offer, unless you're hungry because then you are set. Restaurants everywhere! Little in way of shopping and tons of traffic.

We took our time walking down the streets and down near the water, then back up and along other streets. We had hoped to go inside Province House for a little history lesson but it seemed to be closed. Not long after that we decided that what we really needed was some Cows ice cream.

At the Cows Creamery factory our excitement returned! We love a good "your face here" photo and that was the first thing we did. And then hugged the big cow...

Inside the factory we did our little self guided tour. It's really just a video and then a hallway with windows where you can watch the staff make ice cream, butter, cheese and screen print T shirts. You can also see the room where the cheese is left to age. You also get a fun paper hat....

When we finished our tour it was off to the shop to buy a little souvenir, in the form of a shirt. That shirt still smells like ice cream and fresh waffle cones. I'm having a hard time convincing myself I should wash it.

And naturally, we got ice cream, the real reason for our visit. For some unknown reason I got apple pie flavor. It was good, but I'm really more of a bubble gum or Oreo kinda girl. We sat outside at a sticky bench in the damp heat and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.

In the same area is an Anne of Green Gables chocolate shop and a few other stores. We walked around a few of them, tasted one of the chocolate covered chips and considered lunch before deciding against it.

Some plans changed during the day and as we tried to figure things out and make them go smoothly we decided to leave PEI and spend the night in Moncton. The plans didn't work out but we were both happy to be in Moncton anyway, if for no other reason because we got to stay at the Rodd Moncton again.

I'm telling you here and now that this is THE comfiest bed. Ever. And when you are tired out from a day of travelling, there is nothing better. I actually made a point of asking the lady working at the desk what kind of mattress it was, I love it that much.

After getting checked in we ran back outside in hopes of catching the tidal bore which can be viewed directly behind the hotel. Last year we watched a man surf, this year we didn't see anything, we had missed it by about 2 minutes.

Having skipped lunch in favour of eating ice cream we were both very ready to eat now. Ryan decided ahead of time where we would go and it was a convenient 5 minute walk down the street. Ryan got the steak and potatoes that he desired and I got sweet potato fries and delicious mussels.

After supper we took a walk down Main street, dipped in and out of a few shops and then turned off to Church street (which is actually a street full of beautiful churches.) Since our plans fell through we took our time wandering around before going back to the hotel for a bit.

We didn't stay at the hotel long before we got bored and ventured out again. This time we walked along the river with no destination in mind.

We didn't put this on the bridge, but it was so close that we thought it would be ok to borrow it for this picture. It actually says BRIAN loves Danielle.

Our walk eventually led us to a mall where we spent some more time walking without purpose and finally to a frozen yogurt shop! My favorite!!