Mac & Cheese with Thyme & Anchovies

Anchovies, thyme, caramelized garlic, a mixture of gruyere, parmesan and cheddar - this is a nice mac 'n' cheese.

This is my first time making mac 'n' cheese, actually.  I had no idea that it was more complicated than I had originally anticipated.  I had always made a cheese pasta by cooking the pasta and then just stirring in the grated cheeses afterwards - a nice mixture of blue cheeses and mozzarella and parmesan is the way to go, by the way.  But anyway, mac 'n' cheese involves a roux and a bechamel and all that.  I made this this morning (and I'm procrastinating now because I don't want to work on my essay), and oh my, the entire house smelled like cheese at 9am, it was glorious.  I had a bit of it for breakfast.  Some of you may think it's too much for breakfast, and it is, but just two forkfuls of delicious cheesy pasta is suitable for any time of the day. 

Champagne Truffles

I meant to post this on Valentine's Day but my internet stopped working (I'm refraining from ranting on about this perpetual problem and bad customer service).  Anyway, you can make these champagne truffles anytime.  I made these for my flatmate on Valentine's Day, and you know what?  I love Valentine's Day.  I'm single and I love Valentine's Day.  I think it's such a cute holiday, as it's a day dedicated to celebrate love.  Not just romantic love, any kind of love.  Love for friends, love for family, love for pets --  just love.  I know I'm in the minority here.  Even couples hate Valentine's Day, they think it's too much pressure or whatever.  I mean, it's like birthdays - birthdays are a celebration of one's existence.  We may appreciate that person's existence everyday but it's nice to have just one day dedicated to it, no?

Cranberry and Goat's Cheese Love Scones

What flavors define love for you?  The conventional chocolate, strawberries and oysters are just a bit too cliched now.  The aphrodisiacs for the current generation should involve beetroot, duck and goat's cheese.  These are definitely my top three foods of love.   Beetroot dyes everything a lovely pink and goes along with all your other aphrodisiacs like those mentioned above.  There's just something so luxurious about duck that makes it very worthy of a special occasion.  And then there's goat's cheese.  I don't even know how to explain it.  It just is sexy and romantic.

Goat's cheese is like the popular nice kid in school that gets along with everyone.  You can even find it playing around in a sweet setting like a chocolate goat's cheese cheese cake.  It just shines when paired with sharp sweet flavors in savory dishes though.  So here I've put it together with dried cranberries.

Sweet Carrot Chips

I was going to post this yesterday but I was met by the most horrid lower back pain known to man.  Well, known to 21-year-old's for sure.  I could not stand up straight, and my stomach was upset as well and it was the time of the month - I was not in a good state. 

But I woke up after a healthy 8-hour-sleep feeling better than ever.  I dreamt that I was trying my luck with Morgan Freeman but then he turned me down because he said I was too young for him - fair enough.  I've been having weird dreams and I've been spending too much time trying to analyze them.  Did I tell you about my dream where I tackled someone and repeatedly punched them and tried to strangle him?  My friend said that he had to quit his last job because he had repeated dreams of him murdering his boss. 

For something less dark now - sweet carrot chips or crisps.  Commercial veggie chips are incredibly overpriced, especially kale chips, but fear not, here I offer a nice homemade alternative. You shave the carrots into strips, toss them in oil, sugar and salt and bake them at a low temperature and you have your carrot chips.

Garam Masala and Citrus Scones

I know that it's not right to boast, but you know what? I will. I've been having a horrible couple of days and you cannot imagine how proud I am of myself for these little inventions.  I'm usually the happy go-lucky girl holding a glass half-full with an unlimited refill.  Well that glass shattered.  And it cut my hand.  And blood just went everywhere.

I applied for a culinary school scholarship and I didn't get it.  I knew my chances were low but it still hurt, as it was like a big slap in the face.  With a cast iron skillet.  My friends say I should just view this as a speed bump in life.  Yes, a speed bump where I tripped over and fell and twisted my ankles. 

I lost faith in myself.  Cooking is the only thing I care about and that just shattered my confidence.  I've been avoiding cooking at home because I felt like I can't.  I know it's silly but I just wanted a break from the kitchen...But last night I just needed to bake something.

A quote sprang to mind

“My choice sometimes is: I can kill myself or I can make a dozen cupcakes. Right, so I'll do the cupcakes and I can kill myself tomorrow.” - Marian Keyes