people eat ridiculous things sometimes...

take these two websites for example

http://www.heartattackgrill.com/
you eat for free if you are packing more than 350lbs. seriously, check out their menu. and their medical disclaimer at the bottom of the page. wow arizona...

http://thisiswhyyourefat.com/
hysterical, and I may have to reproduce the "magical rainbow tower of dreams"


so keep those things in mind and don't judge me for posting this!! compared to those things its basically salad.


mmmmm! it has an icing-like consistency and is super fun to whip up! it would probably be delish on a cake, or toast, or banana, or waffle etc. we, however, chose to pair our creation with nothing but the spoons we used to eat it with

PEANUT BUTTER WHIPPED CREAM

ingredients
wegmans cool whip
peanut butter

1. combine equal quantities of cool whip and peanut butter
2. whip until combined
3. eat!!

baking powder vs baking soda

the original recipes for the peanut-butter chocolate cookies we just wrote about called for baking soda, not baking powder. considering how masterful our baking is, you probably would never have ever guessed that vidhya and elena did not know the difference between the two, and to make matters worse we only had baking soda. however, according to the internet, it turns out that is okay and here's why...

question: what is the difference between baking soda and baking powder?

answer:

• both baking soda and baking powder are leavening agents, which means they are added to baked goods before cooking to produce carbon dioxide and cause them to 'rise'
• baking powder contains baking soda
• which ingredient is used depends on the other ingredients in the recipe
• ultimate goal = to produce a tasty product with a pleasing texture

baking soda

• baking soda is basic and will yield a bitter taste unless countered by the acidity of another ingredient, such as buttermilk
• you'll find baking soda in cookie recipes
• it is made of pure sodium bicarbonate
• when baking soda is combined with moisture and an acidic ingredient (e.g., yogurt, chocolate, buttermilk, honey), the resulting chemical reaction produces bubbles of carbon dioxide that expand under oven temperatures, causing baked goods to rise (the reaction begins immediately upon mixing the ingredients, so you need to bake recipes which call for baking soda immediately, or else they will fall flat!)

baking powder

• baking powder contains both an acid and a base and has an overall neutral effect in terms of taste
• recipes that call for baking powder often call for other neutral-tasting ingredients, such as milk
• baking powder is a common ingredient in cakes and biscuits
• baking powder contains sodium bicarbonate, but it includes the acidifying agent already (cream of tartar), and also a drying agent (usually starch). baking powder is available as single-acting baking powder and as double-acting baking powder. single-acting powders are activated by moisture, so you must bake recipes which include this product immediately after mixing. double-acting powders react in two phases and can stand for a while before baking. With double-acting powder, some gas is released at room temperature when the powder is added to dough, but the majority of the gas is released after the temperature of the dough increases in the oven

substituting in recipes

• you can substitute baking powder in place of baking soda (you'll need more baking powder and it may affect the taste)
• you cannot use baking soda when a recipe calls for baking powder. Baking soda by itself lacks the acidity to make a cake rise
• you can make your own baking powder if you have baking soda and cream of tartar. simply mix two parts cream of tartar with one part baking soda

(if you are looking to make a homemade volcano, baking soda is more reactive because it doesn't contain an acidic ingredient already!)

two things

1) there are a few reasons why I am posting a million things all at once... well really, just one; its summer and I'm lazy. but they say good things come to those who wait, right? that might apply to this situation?

2) if you want to see a picture in larger form, just click on it! the format of our blog kind of cuts some of the pictures off...

magical brownie-cookies

(we created this recipe with calculation and imagination!)

first of all, the recipe we found online was european. hence, we needed to convert measurements from grams to cups and tablespoons. luckily, vid and I are smart enough to know how to cross multiply. second, the original name of these cookies was horrendous, something along the lines of "chocolate brownie cookies with hidden peanut butter filling," SO uncreative. we went through some potential names, such as wonderballs (which may already be taken), crudite (that one only made sense to us though..), and secret surprises. however, when we learned that claire's mom used to make cookies similar to these and called them "magic middles," we knew they were destined to be named this. what's better than peanut butter mixed with magic?

MAGIC MIDDLES

preheat oven to 350 degrees

cookie dough
1 1/2 heaping cup flour
1/4 c cocoa powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 c butter
1 c sugar
4 Tbs peanut butter
1 egg
2 Tbs milk
1 tsp vanilla extract

filling
2/3 c powdered sugar
8 Tbs peanut butter

to make cookie dough, combine dry ingredients, then whip the sugar with the peanut butter and slightly melted butter. Slowly mix in the egg and the vanilla, then add the dry ingredients. form into small balls, ~30 in total. set aside

in another bowl, combine peanut butter and powdered sugar. form into ~30 smaller balls.

flatten the cookie dough balls, then wrap the peanut butter balls with the cookie batter until they form a smooth round ball and the peanut butter mixture is hidden from view

cook until the top is cracked, about 8 minutes

when they have cooked and cooled slightly, just dip your fingers in some powdered sugar and pat the cookies gently, like you are rewarding them for being so delicious. then you're done!

perpetual kid

how amazing is this?


























WE WANT IT!!!

also amazing...


























uhh, too soon?

(side note: the website we found those on, perpetualkid.com, is actually the best thing ever. how could you not love a website with a category called "things that shoot?" ...take a look!)

http://www.perpetualkid.com/

first post!

hello! welcome to vidhya and elena's brand new food blog!

what is the premise of this food blog? as of right now, it is unclear (assuming it remains just a food blog, and not a chronicle of everything elena and vidhya ever do in their entire lives).
however, what is clear is that we share a mutual love of aliens, things cut into cute and unusual shapes, banana-flavored baked goods, experimentation, excitement, outer space, dinosaurs, fossils, kitch, themes, mustaches, and clever puns. also, we love baking. and you will absolutely see evidence of all that in this blog.

right now we're thinking we'll start off by baking a batch of unusual cookies every week. but really, the options are limitless. stay tuned.

by the by, wondering where we got the name? well, we present to you... unusual cookie recipe #1!

BANANA DUCK (AND BEAR) COOKIES



2 c flour
1⁄4 tsp salt
1⁄4 tsp baking powder
1/2 stick butter
1 c sugar
1 banana
2 tbs agave nectar
1 tsp vanilla
approx. 3/4 c semi-sweet chocolate chips
powdered sugar (for topping)

1. preheat oven to 400 degrees f
   
2. combine flour, salt and baking powder and set aside.
3. melt butter for 10-15 seconds in the microwave. mix in sugar, then add mashed banana, agave nectar, and vanilla. mix well.
4. slowly add the flour mixture and mix until it is well blended. add chocolate chips while mixing (you may need to use your hands!)
5. wrap and chill at least 30 minutes in the fridge or 10 minutes in the freezer before baking.
6. roll out on a floured board and cut out shapes (we recommend ducks, but we assume just about any shape will work). place shapes on lightly oiled cookie sheet and bake for 6-8 minutes, until the cookies are lightly golden.
7. cool on racks and dust with powdered sugar.

notes:

• the dough is extremely delicious, try not to eat it all
• we both agreed that more banana flavor might be nice in the finished cookie, so perhaps next time we will try the recipe with two bananas instead of one!
• you could absolutely use honey instead of agave nectar; we just happened to have copious amounts of agave nectar and no honey
• everyone in the buff* who tried one thought it was delicious! not bad for a cookie that is almost entirely vegan!

*the buff is elena's house, in case you were wondering; we weren't serving cookies to a crowd of naked people


until next time,
vidhya and elena