OMG a Recipe: Holiday Eats and Treats on the Move!

I admit, I'm remiss on the holiday hoopla on the blog this year, not that we haven't decorated the house or put up a tree -- the house is festooned with festive-ness! I just haven't had a chance to take proper photos and post accordingly, but feel free to peek at our holiday shenanigans on my Instagram feed. I will share some of the resources for my holiday eats -- this year has been busy with making treats that can be mailed, and pre-made items easy to bring to others' houses, so that's why I call this Holiday Eats and Treats on the Move!

Homemade chips n' dips - an easy make-ahead/portable party snack - Photo by Wasabi Prime

OMG a Recipe: Ho-Ho-Holiday Home Stretch

Can you believe we're almost through the holidays? Through the YEAR, even? Thanksgiving flashed by before our eyes. Christmas -- here and gone in a flash. And New Years Eve...?! Sure, you can go out, but many gatherings are with family and friends, so you're expected to bring something else a little more festive than a sixer of High Life and a bag of chips. Wasabi to the rescue, with an easy make-ahead dessert and Avengers-Assemble! appetizers.

Be fancy, schmancy and effortless with pancetta-wrapped persimmons - Photo by Wasabi Prime

Mixed Plate: How Wasabi Got Her Holiday Groove Back

I know what you're thinking. You're looking at the calendar, the dwindling hours left to do all your holiday baking/shopping/social calls are looming like Marley's Ghost, rattling his chains to remind you that the time draws nigh to get that Christmas Spirit in your heart... OR ELSE. Fine, so I realize that's not everyone, but I know it's a few of you out there. And it's the ones who are the real doers of the family and household, the ones who make sure all their loved ones' needs are taken care of, that no one in their life feels left out. These are the Holiday Heroes who literally break their backs for every holiday/birthday/special occasion; they never forget a special date or anniversary, they're always quick with a card or a special little gift, and they are an endless font of heartfelt generosity. Baby, sit back for a spell, this post's for you.

Give yourself the gift of a day, or at least an afternoon to stop and enjoy the holiday lights - Photo by Wasabi Prime

I think of my mother during the holidays. She went into Christmas Mode early in the year, months in advance, whipping out her sewing machine and picking out patterns for some crafty, adorable handmade holiday gift for close friends and relatives. I remember one year she made a dozen or so wreaths decorated with sewn teddy bears made out of holiday quilting fabric. Another year she made these incredible stockings full of little pockets and places to stuff goodies and sweets -- exactly the kind of stocking made for kids. Every photo had the potential to be made into that year's holiday card, which would be sent out by or before the first week of December, and she'd be the one writing notes in all of them. Wasabi Mom is happily enjoying the life of leisure, in retirement on Da Islands with Wasabi Dad in temperate climate, where the Spam Musubi roam freely. She still sends a few cards out, but no photos, since it's been many years since I've lived at home for the yearly family snapshot. She puts up a few things, but nowhere near as much decor as when I was younger. But that incredible holiday spirit stuck with me all these years, and she's remained a great inspiration to stick with that tradition of making sure cards and handmade gifts never go out of style.

Holiday Hectic Mode starting...NOW - Photo by Wasabi Prime

Fast forward a few years, and many consecutive Christmases of never forgetting to send out a holiday card or making some sort of homemade baked sweets, I find myself in that Hectic Holiday mode that my mother probably felt many years ago. I would never give up the opportunity to let my loved ones know how much I appreciate them, whether it's with cards, cookies or some other weird handmade craft monstrosity I thought was a good idea at the time. And I would never consider myself the aforementioned Holiday Hero, but I understand the desire to make sure no one feels left out during the festive season -- because everyone should be reminded that they are thought of and loved! There are many people out there who truly give it their all during this time of year, with volunteering and giving so much of their time to others. If anything, those are the people who need to be remembered and thanked for their efforts, so maybe bake them a batch of cookies or something, why dontcha?

The baked good whirlwind that capsized our kitchen - Photos by Wasabi Prime

The gesture of giving means something, even if it isn't expensive or some diamond studded big screen TV. Oy, what an ugly thing that would be, no? After many weekends baking, sugar-dusting and card-writing, I finally hit the holiday home stretch of having all the goodies packaged to mail or hand-deliver. I was a multitasking queen, prepping shortbread dough, wrapping little parcels of homemade pretzels, cookies and brownies, while catching up on the last few weeks of TV on our iPad and slowly realized, Holy Crap... what about me?

Holiday baking HQ, powered by ugly cookies and iPad with recorded TV shows - Photos by Wasabi Prime

Sounds terribly selfish, I know -- ME, ME, ME. But after all that running around, I had a moment to catch my breath and say, I think I deserve a little break. And I think that goes for anyone else out there who's in the same spot as me: feeling like it's less holiday and more checking off boxes on a list of to-do's. Holiday Fail. In the pursuit of holiday magic, the spirit disappeared. Spending too much time worrying how many misshapen "Homer" cookies had to be sacrificed to a hungry Mister, and not enough time just enjoying the fact that dammit, this really is the most wonderful time of the year!

Relax, like the hookah-smoking caterpillar! - Photo by Wasabi Prime

And so I did it -- I gave myself the best possible gift one could give onself: Time. Take an afternoon or a morning -- a whole day if you can swing it. I sought out the holiday spirit in downtown Seattle, doing some simple pleasures that I'd done before, but were in danger of being sacrificed due to a busy schedule. Perish the thought! I was prompted by some appointments that went sideways, but stuck with the original plan to head into Seattle for the morning. I wanted to see the annual gingerbread village at the downtown Sheraton Hotel, near the Seattle Convention Center, now in their 20th year. They annually task local sugar artists to make these incredible gingerbread and candied creations. I saw it last year and it was such a blood sugar sight to behold, I couldn't imagine skipping it this year. This year's theme was Disney movies, or as near as I could tell, based on each gingerbread castle's design.

Sea Monkey palace never looked this great - Photos by Wasabi Prime

Right in the lobby of the Sheraton, you can tour the underwater Neptune's kingdom from The Little Mermaid, the sultan's palace from Aladdin, the Red Queen's castle from Alice in Wonderland, The Beast's rose-decorated castle from Beauty and the Beast, and even the land of Narnia. Kind of a fairy tale/Disney mashup, it's an impressive sight to see, and the display is up right now through the holidays. It's free to view, but they are accepting donations to benefit the Northwest chapter of JDRF, which focuses on the fight against diabetes. I admit, there's a part of me that finds a little irony in a charity for diabetes being involved in a sugar-coated gingerbread village display, but hey -- it's the holidays, I have to keep my snark to a minimum, lest I be given nothing but coal this year.

Ooh... ahhh... dazzled yet? - Photos by Wasabi Prime

Let's just take a moment to admire the fact that a lot of people went through some crazy-painstaking work to put these sweet sculptures on display, shall we? Cheshire Cat agrees, kick back and enjoy.

Disney movies and sugar -- what's not to love? - Photos by Wasabi Prime

I had a nougat-filled soft spot for the Beauty and the Beast castle. I'd say of all the more recent classic hand-drawn animated films of Disney, that is by far my favorite. I'm inclined to watch it with a big plate of pasta and a bottle of wine, like so many viewings of 50 Dresses or Pretty in Pink. Another gift of Me Time I look forward to indulging in.

Market shopping done right - Photos by Wasabi Prime

Another gift to myself was taking a walk through Pike Place Market. It's in its holiday finery, with the fresh tree mini-lot at the entrance. You get a lovely whiff of fresh evergreen, then likely another whiff of delivery truck exhaust, as I went during the middle of the day. Well, it is a working market after all. But I always love coming here, rain or shine, as cheesy/touristy as that sounds -- especially during the week, since weekends can get extra busy. It's a gorgeous historic market with some of my favorite shops -- I did a quick run-through of DeLaurenti to pick up some food gifts, admired the fresh mushrooms and loved seeing the winter fruit like pomegranates stacked high. There's always something to admire and marvel at, and a walk through Pike Place Market was a reminder to do so, every day.

Holiday Sanity Check Yourself Before You Wreck Yourself - Photo by Wasabi Prime

So if you're feeling the pressure of the holiday season, take a moment to breathe. Better yet, take a whole afternoon, if you can. Appreciate someone else's exuberance for the holidays, as that will reinvigorate your own spirit. If you're not certain you've gone mad with harried holiday to-do's, take one look at the four-foot high pile of boxes set for delivery, and the extremely worried look on your dog's face, wondering why silly hoomins gotta be so weird. Thanks for the reality check, Indy.

This is also my holiday post for the week, as I'm taking some time to just relax, so I hope you all have a very Happy Holidays, a Merry Christmas, survived another wild Hannukah, and looking forward rocking out the family love and fellowship of Kwanzaa. Merry-merry, y'all.

Mixed Plate: My Own List of Favorite Things (Take THAT, Oprah!)

We're in the terrifying thrall of X-Days Till Christmas and it's barely the second week of December. I felt my chest start to tighten the moment I had to change the calendar over once November croaked out its day. Despite the fact that Santa's laws-of-physics-breaking visit is at the end of the month, the hard truth is, the gift-gathering should be mostly done because you know it's going to take the whole month to track people down for a holiday meetup to actually give them that glorious Chia Pet you so lovingly selected last minute from the drug store bargain aisle. Gift giving has become less of a thoughtful art, and more of a mad dash to some imaginary finish line with gift-wrapped Snuggies in our clutches. Just Say No to a Pajama Jean Holiday. Instead, how about thinking outside the box, making gifts more about use and less about clutter, and most importantly: Shopping Local.

Unique cutting boards made with salvaged Big Leaf Maple wood - pretty AND useful! - Photo by Wasabi Prime

This post was inspired by Oprah, or rather, to counteract her demigod-like status. I remember when she first started doing her Favorite Things list around the holidays, showcasing hidden gems and artisan products that she would package up in a well-produced yearly episode. She's given a lot of great press to small companies and changed a lot of lives, and for that I appreciated her efforts to give people an alternative to Big Box Store gift buying. Then, after a while, the Favorite Things turned into too many high-end, designer items, and then there was the car thing where everyone in the audience literally got a car, my eyes rolled into the back of my head and I turned the television off. But I still appreciated the heart of what Almighty Oprah was trying to do and I wanted to come up with a few of my own Favorite Things that I've discovered this year.

My Favorite Things are just a handful of items; they're just a few items I thought were showcase-worthy because at the heart of all great gifts is a story, whether it's in the product itself or the way you as the gift-giver came to discover it. And yes, they're all food-related, which makes sense for a food blog, but makes better sense for a recipient because heaven knows we all don't need more decorative dust-collectors. It's nice to get something we can consume and enjoy the experience without wondering where to put the thing, or if it's an object, it should be something you can use regularly, and kitchen-related items can be both artful and useful. 

Which leads me to one particular item that I think brings a little beauty into your everyday life -- handmade cutting boards made from a local Northwest native species of tree called Big Leaf Maple. These are really special items because the particular tree that was used to harvest from was a massive 60 year old Big Leaf Maple tree in Olympia which fell in that huge winter windstorm back in 2009 -- if you lived in the area at the time, you probably recall that insane storm. We were without power for a week, so I sure as heck remember. But from the wreckage comes beauty, as the salvaged wood was made into cutting boards all shapes and sizes, with no board being exactly alike, given the nature of the reclaimed wood. The boards are cut down and left to dry age in a method called spalting, which enhances the wood's grain and develops unusual coloring patterns. They're sanded and treated with food grade mineral oil and are safe to serve items like cheese, crackers and prepared meats. It's not recommended to cut raw meat or chicken on, but that's fine because I would consider these boards more presentation serving ware than something you'd hack up a side of beef on. They're finished with a custom brand in the corner, the initials ML, which stands for the mother who owns the property, and the son who crafts each board. 

Display your favorite winter fruits on a schmancy Pacific Northwest cutting board! - Photos by Wasabi prime

I was introduced to these boards by my friend Jameson Fink, who you probably know as the man, the myth the legend behind Wine Without Worry, wine writer for magazines, as well as the author of Beginners Guide to Wine. And also just a very cool dude. Jameson's a friend of the family in Cooper Point who makes these beautiful cutting boards and along with good taste in wine, he has great taste in gift ideas. These are handcrafted boards from a single tree, and given the artisan nature of the items, it's a limited supply, so get 'em while they're hot. Think of it as art you can use because they're lovely conversation pieces and a great gift for someone who likes to entertain. Believe me, you can never have too many serving platters, boards, etc. If you want to know more information about the boards and where you can get one of the Preciousses, contact Jameson directly. He's volunteered to be the point person for this very boutique family operation, so send Jameson a ping through the various networks of interwebs he has on his contact page.

The boards would make a perfect Big Gift for someone special. What about stocking stuffers or little goodies to add to gift bags? Instead of one big centerpiece gift, I usually opt for a mishmash-melange of little finds that I've collected throughout the year like handmade soaps and lotions, flavored salts and sugars, cute mittens -- all wonderful finds that you can typically find at farmers markets. But, OH SNAP -- most farmers markets have closed up shop since it's off season. Luckily there are small craft shows that open for the holiday season -- find one and go to it, you will find all the little affordable gifts and stocking stuffers to your heart's content, and you'll be buying items from the person who made it, so they can tell you all about each piece. My favorite place to see what's going on locally is the bulletin boards in coffee shops -- the Starbucks has become the Town Hall for the 21st century. While you're waiting for that peppermint mocha with whipped cream and sprinkles, take a gander at the bulletin board for upcoming craft fairs in your neighborhood. 

A funny thing happened on the way out of the hardware store... - Photos by Wasabi Prime

Shop creatively and in unexpected places. Be open to discovery. Skip the Ninth Circle of Hell that is the shopping mall during the holiday season, because it's just full of people with the glazed-over look of Black Friday regret, junkies looking for that next bargain/red tag discount hit. My biggest discovery this year was, of all places, at the local True Value hardware store right in Duvall. I needed something random like wreath hangers and as I was leaving the store, my eye caught on a small display full of locally harvested raw honey. Jackpot. I actually left the store, thinking of the honey, then ran back to buy a few bottles. It was Kismet, swarmed by bees. The honey was bottled by a local beekeeper who knows the owner of the hardware store; he up hives all over the Cherry Valley, and then collects the honey to sell at a very affordable price. I picked up a couple of bottles of blackberry honey and one called knotweed, which sounds less than sexy, but the honey was a gorgeous caramel color, darker than the golden blackberry variety. It's pretty sweet stuff, ideal for tea drinkers or anyone who wants something sweet on their morning toast. Once I packaged the bottles up in a more festive way, they went into gift bags and boxes knowing the recipients would literally have a taste of the Cherry Valley, and the place I call home. It's not just honey in a jar, it's personal, a treasure discovered, and something I know the recipient will use and enjoy.

Granted, not everyone lives near Duvall, much less in Washington. Maybe raw honey isn't your thing, but the point is to always keep your eye open for discoveries. And small towns are perfect for these unexpected treasures, since shops are willing to sell unusual items like handcrafted jewelry and yes, food items. I guarantee you'll find more amazing treasures and trinkets shopping five small shops along the Main Street of a little town than you will browsing the mega aisles in a single Big Box Store. Think on a bigger level -- just by diverting a few of your holiday gift budget towards small, local businesses, you're a part of a growing collective that supports creating more jobs. It's holiday cheer that is priceless. 

That's one big, hot... rooster - Photos by Wasabi Prime

But of course, it's the holidays, which means -- who the hell has the time to be out driving around, making precious discoveries in quaint Small Town America? We all have busy schedules and for as much as we pine for a leisurely holiday season, everything turns into Murderball in December, and I still shop online like a madwoman. As tempting as it is to use the hell out of that Amazon Prime membership this holiday season, take a second to see what else is out there in Retail Interwebs-landia. One of my tastiest finds this year was during breakfast at our neighborhood spot, the Duvall Grill. You get your delicious plate o' food, and they bring out the typical array of condiments: ketchup, Tabasco (red and green), Cholula and/or Tapatio, aka, Spooky Blue-Eyed Creepy Uncle sauce. This time, it was a funky bottle of hot sauce with a dapper, suit-wearing rooster on the front. A clever ode to our Other Favorite Rooster Sauce, which I would argue is the Unofficial State Condiment of Washington, this new spicy little devil was simply called DeMars's Rooster Sauce. It wasn't dying-of-spice hot, just a really satisfying touch of heat, but with vibrant sweet pepper flavor and vinegar-forward -- a bonus to Tabasco fans. It's all natural, vegan, gluten free, so no junk, and by god, it's flavorful. It made an already good breakfast wicked-awesome mo' bettah, and I was hooked. I looked up the company and DeMars is based out of Olympia and sold in a few stores, so keep an eye out for them on the shelves of small grocers, or if you're impatient like me, go to their website. 

Hot sauces are perfect gifts for people who love their food to bite back, and we have a lot of family and friends who I knew would dig this rooster the most. I went ahead and bought a case of the smaller bottles from their site -- 12 bottles = 12 mini gifts. Bazam. And how cluckin' awesome is that, when they included a nice little handwritten thank you note from "The Rooster Crew." Love it. And given its in-state proximity, I received my order within two days, no express shipping needed. I was able to dress up each bottle with a little gift tag, noting their delicious local-ness, and add them to gift bags and boxes full of homemade cookies or other goodies like local chocolates.

You don't have to run out and buy each item like on Oprah's Favorite Things. In fact, I hope you find your own Favorite Things this year. I wanted to highlight some discoveries I'm quite proud to show off, because they're a piece of home, they all come with a story, and no matter where you live, I know there are treasures waiting for you to discover and share with loved ones this holiday season. So keep a watchful eye out, whether you're in a hardware store or just having breakfast at your favorite neighborhood diner -- you can avoid the typical shopping snarls this year and never have to buy another Chia Pet again!

Mixed Plate: Home for the Holidays

There's no season I love more than Christmas. For all the complaints about how early it starts, with a kickoff from the retail industry, decorated trees up as early as September, I still look forward to the time of year. As a child, it was of course about Santa and getting the equivalent of the Red Rider BB gun without shooting my eye out, and then in my late teen/early twenties, I lost sight of the holidays. I would sit staring at the tree and wonder if the day would be any different than the next, disappointed to not easily have that holiday joy again. It felt as though something important was misplaced and you were left frustrated, looking everywhere to find it, feeling even more distressed having known you once had it and now it was lost. It wasn't until being apart from family, losing the things you had begun to take for granted that you realized the holidays were for celebrating the times of togetherness and maybe trying to recapture a little of what was lost. That's when Christmas came back for me, and why it was important to make a big deal out of something, at least once a year.

Tis the Season to Celebrate - Photo by Wasabi Prime

Not to get all maudlin about the holidays, but since Christmas has just passed us by, it feels a little silly to list off holiday food ideas and suggestions. Plus I think everyone's probably sugar plummed out by now. It's more important to see why we make such a fuss over this time, especially since there's so much effort into the lead-up to December 25th. We did our share this year, but with a measured effort. For the first time, I didn't decorate a tree, mostly because my schedule was too stressed and I knew in my mind it would come down to a question of taking time to dress up a tree or use that time for spending with friends, and quite frankly, myself. What they say is true, if you don't take care of yourself, you can't take very good care of others, and the season is all about giving of yourself and your time. And even if we weren't planning anything extraordinary for Christmas, I wanted it to be a good and comfortable one. The Mister and I were long overdue for the recharge.

So our big Christmas feast was shared by a few friends who came over and I made a heaping pile of spaghetti and meatballs. Extravagant, no? Mostly because some of our other friends made the clever suggestion to do a Flying Spaghetti Monster dinner party, a kind of internet meme secular feast. Also, spaghetti and meatballs is a pretty easy dish to make ahead of time, which was a good thing, since our Christmas dinner was a little touch and go -- a sudden windstorm knocked out the power for a short time and we were having flashback fears of a previous holiday when the storm knocked out power for days. Luckily, this was not the case. Power was restored, friends gathered, we drank several bottles of wine and totally carbed-out on pasta, bread and tiramisu for dessert.

Feast of the Flying Spaghetti Monster (with Meatballs!) - Photos by Wasabi Prime

You're seeing an Italian theme, albeit an Americanized variation. Everything revolved around the spaghetti and meatballs. I said that's what I was planning on making and everyone was happy to have it. Regardless of one's background, it's the one dish that evokes a lot of comforting childhood food memories, and maybe that helped make it a good holiday choice. Since neither the Mister nor I are particularly religious, there's no compelling ritual we adhere to outside of the fact that we just want everyone to have a good time and not feel like this was fancy. I was wearing fuzzy PJ pants through dinner! I made a big batch of antipasti, which was like a Kitchen Sink salad of everything -- artichoke hearts, fresh cucumber, roasted bell pepper, garbanzo beans, salami, cheese, all tossed together with some pesto and left to marinate in the fridge. I also made a tapenade to spread on toasted bread, made of sundried tomatoes, kalamata olives, capers and pistachios. I have to say, adding pistachios is fantastic for pesto -- gives it a nice sweetness and a nice alternative to the typical pine nuts.

Dinner was finished off with little tiramisu parfaits. A more personalized and pretty way of presenting dessert. Plus one of the people we had over was having a birthday -- sharing your big b-day with JC, that's a tough room, no? And a little tiramisu parfait looks just dandy with a little birthday candle in it. I used the basics of this tiramisu recipe from Epicurious, swapping out the traditional ladyfingers with sliced chunks of pound cake. Total cheat, yes, but tis the season to take shortcuts. Knowing the cake would be layered in a little glass, the ladyfingers would be too bulky and the smaller bits of cake made for even layering. And for the coffee sugar syrup, I used amaretto instead of marsala, which gave the cake a fragrant almond flavor - definitely doing that again. For as many times as I've eaten this dessert, it was the first time I'd ever made it, and I was really pleased with how it turned out. I could have eaten just the creamy mascarpone layer on its own!

Pesto is made best-o with chopped pistachios, a new tasty addition - Photos by Wasabi Prime

As for our Christmas at home, it was one that was becoming a growing tradition in our small household, since I've stopped spending the holidays with family. Brock and I wake up, we give our dog Indy a Christmas Morning snuggle (no different than other lazy weekend snuggles, but special all the same), and we have a good hearty breakfast. This Christmas breakfast was a taste of Hawaii -- I had made some Spam fried rice earlier and seared up some Portuguese sausage and fried some eggs to go with the rice. Not exactly the same as waking up to a tropical Christmas, but good enough. We stay in our cozy robes, having our very own Forever Lazy/Snuggie morning, opening presents and taking calls from family.


Christmas gifts galore, Indy is the happiest dog in the world - Photos by Wasabi Prime

We always give each other one special Christmas gift -- Brock got a membership to the Rare Beer of the Month club, so weirdo beers are starting to arrive to our house. I got a very special gift from the Mister -- all new cookware. He's a nut for researching products and chose a set of stainless steel, heavy-duty pots and pans. It wasn't the gazillion-piece set, where you wind up with odd-sized cookware you never use; he chose a select few pots and saucepans the size we'd use and not so heavy so that I couldn't easily handle and clean. To some, this may sound like a Bad Husband Gift, the bowling ball with "Homer" engraved on it, but it was really special to me because number one, I really needed new cookware, I've been using pots and pans from college, and number two, he knew I'd never have bought them for myself. He knows how I am -- any spare bit of money goes towards savings or bills; buying something like good quality cookware, despite how much I'd use them, would feel too extravagant. My brain tends to work this way: I have pots and pans, why buy new ones? Even if those ones I have are so old, the bottoms are totally warped to a curve and the handles are plastic, aka, not oven-safe (yet I put 'em in the oven anyways). I'm fairly sure the old nonstick coating flaked off ages ago, and it's just a miracle we haven't been poisoned or gone blind from some weird metal poisoning. Yeah, this new cookware is a total godsend! You totally rock, Mr. Wasabi!

Christmas goodies, including what everyone needs, an inflatable turkey - Photos by Wasabi Prime

And so another Christmas has come and gone. The madness of the holidays can subside for another three hundred and sixty-odd days until the decorated trees get propped up around September, or maybe even earlier next year. We didn't have a big decorated tree this year, but I didn't need to stare at it blankly, trying to find the spirit of Father Christmas somehow nestled in its pine needle-filled boughs. I'm thankful to find the holiday spirit so much easier these days, especially after this year minus the crutch of a big Christmas tree. It was found in the time spent with friends, silly and sweet gifts, food that's more familiar than fancy, and in the appreciation for changing traditions. I hope you all had a good holiday, no matter how you celebrate this season, and I hope you find the spirit of goodwill stays with you throughout the coming year.

UnRecipe: Holiday Wishes and Last Minute Gift Shuffle

I know I said this before, if you weren't holiday gift-ready by the first couple of weeks of December, it's Game Over by now. Hey, the Prime doesn't pull punches when it comes to the holidays! Procrastinators, abandon all hope, ye who enter these waning days before December 25th. But I've got one final bit of last-minute holiday gift inspiration!

Homemade vanilla extract, easy-peasy 1-2-threesie gift idea - Photo by Wasabi Prime

I talked before about making vanilla extract -- it's pretty basic: take a bottle of vodka and shove some vanilla beans in the bottle, let it sit. In a few weeks, you'll have at least the basic beginnings of liquid vanilla gold. If you had a vodka bottle-sized batch of vanilla extract in your pantry, siphon some of that tasty goodness off into some smaller bottles and label them up as a little gift for someone. Sharing is caring, and it always sounds impressive that you made it yourself. To gussy-up the bottles, I  got some decorative oven mitts, shoved in a decorative tea towel, some silicone spatulas and a bar of baking chocolate to go with each bottle of vanilla extract. For a friend who loves to bake or just loves chocolate chip cookies, it's a sweet, easy gift where a lot of those items can be picked up at a grocery store. For someone who prefers cocktails over cookies, give it as a flavoring agent to add to a cocktail, along with a pair of highball glasses. If you've been steeping vanilla beans in bourbon, all the better to give to your cocktail nerd friends for a vanilla-flavored spirit.

Share some flavor and sweetness - Photos by Wasabi Prime

But, Wasabi, I don't have a giant bottle of vodka sitting in my pantry, shoved full of vanilla beans. What then? Well, if the vanilla beans aren't fully steeped, consider adding a label of "Do Not Open till (Almost) Next Xmas" to the flask of soon-to-be vanilla extract and throw in a batch of fresh-baked cookies. Chances are the recipient is wrapped up in their own holiday whirlwind and will be pleased to just let the science experiment of homemade vanilla extract take its course. I didn't say this would be the perfect gift, just one that could be fashioned as a last-minute holiday gift bail-out!

From December 2011

Meanwhile, as for the Prime, I'm in the home stretch of finishing off our own supply of holiday sweets for ourself and getting ready to settle in for a bit of a winter's nap. I love the holidays, it's a mad dash of crazy-busy energy getting things wrapped and out the door, and the reward is just feeling like I made the most of the season trying to let others know how much they mean to both the Mister and myself. Yes, I totally took shortcuts this year, doing a mix of homemade sweets mixed with store bought treats for some care packages -- Trader Joe's always saves my bacon when sending gifts to family in TJ-less Hawaii. I don't feel bad about it because there's only so many hours in a day and a big gift for myself this year was trying to give myself a spare moment's breath wherever possible. Time is the greatest luxury of all, and it's one of those gifts we can only give ourselves, if we can afford it.

A very Merry Christmas and happy holidays to you all, and to all a good night, from the Prime.

FoodTrek: Christmas in Seattle

I know we're not supposed to say "Merry Christmas," because we're supposed to be nondenominationally-sensitive to all cultures, religions, etc. At the risk of turning the holiday spirit upside down - forget that noise, Christmas is here, and I'm ready to jingle bell rock-it all the way till December 25th.

Grrrawwwwrrr - It's Christmas, so deal with it, Political Correctness Police! - Photo by Wasabi Prime

The holidays have a special place in my memory because over ten years ago, my first view of Seattle was right around early December, touring the city with my mother, wondering if this would be the place I would call home. The Space Needle had the string of lights atop, making it look like a big Christmas tree, and Macys hadn't co-opted the local department store yet and it was still the Bonmarche Star that continues to hang all bright n' twinkly on the building corner in Westlake Center. All the halls were decked, all the streets were merry with holiday decor, and it really felt like a city ready for festivities. And it was a welcome sight for someone who was parting ways with family, off to a strange new place with an unknown economic future. Not too far from where a lot of us are today, I suppose.

A very sweet and edible Christmas in New Zealand - Photos by Wasabi Prime

But current affairs notwithstanding, Christmas in Seattle continues to hold a little piece of my heart, so despite the total stressball I become during the holidays, I try to take a day to at least enjoy some of it, walk the main downtown blocks to relive some of those decade-old memories and take in the city's way of celebrating. I recently used an afternoon to join the masses of holiday shoppers and muster up some Christmas Spirit patience as I dove into the fray. If you're unfamiliar with Seattle's main downtown area, there's a pretty concentrated block of shopping and large retailers, all near the Westlake Center area, pretty much smack-dab in the middle of the Needle and Pioneer Square/South Downtown. I mostly wanted to admire the store window displays and see the special decorations that come out for Christmas, like the gingerbread house displays at the Sheraton Hotel on 6th Avenue. This year's theme was trains and railroads, with each of the gingerbread structures representing stations from around the world, as well as imaginary ones. The display is open to the public, benefitting a local charity, so do remember to drop a few bucks into the collection box, as it's all for a good cause.

If only travel by rail could be this sweet... Photos by Wasabi Prime

The one from Britain had, of course, a Harry Potter theme. And then some were just too cute for words, like the New Zealand station swarming with adorable wide-eyed kiwi birds wandering around, and little lambs singing carols at the doorstep. For whatever reason, Grand Central Station had been overrun by the weird little cyclops creatures from that animated movie, Despicable Me. Maybe if I'd seen the movie, I'd have gotten the reference, but hey, the kids seemed to love it, and the cyclops creatures were cute, so who am I to complain?

I get a sugar high just looking at it - Photos by Wasabi Prime

It was a lot of walking about, and looking at all that sugary sweetness helps towards building an appetite, so it got me thinking about nearby spots to get a holiday nosh or two. I wound up at Sullivan's Steakhouse on 6th and Union, really close to the shops, but not right in the thick of it to where it's too busy to get a seat. They're in a great location since they're close to the retailers but also nearby the theaters, so it's a good spot to drop by before or after a show. The Mister and his workmates have dropped by here for happy hour before -- they do these crazy-good specials every Thursday, where their signature cocktails and bar food is $6 each. The place gets super-packed, but they run the special until closing, so if you're a happy hour-crawler and work in the area, you need to put that on your list of places to visit on a Thursday.

Tastebuds are partying it up at Sullivan's - Photos by Wasabi Prime

It was totally cocktail-o'-clock for my friend and I, so after a day of holiday wanderings, imbibed several of Sullivan's holiday-themed offerings, along with a big plate of their spicy-sweet calamari, which is one of my new favorite snacks. I have to say the most refreshing was the pineapple-vodka Knockout, and the Merry Berry, which had several different fruit juices like strawberry, pomegranate, lemon and lime juice, with Chambord. The most rich and holiday-decadent was the Chocolate Christmas, which is a perfect Seattle cocktail with its use of espresso liqueur. With the cream and chocolate syrup-decorated glass, it's dessert in a glass, to be sure. It was an indulgent way to spend the day, since these aren't drinks I'd normally have outside of a party, but hey, it's the holidays, and sometimes the best gifts are the ones you give yourself. In my case, it was a day to enjoy the pretty decorations and time to enjoy some pretty cocktails. Consider this your list of to-do's the next time you're on a holiday shopping mission in downtown Seattle.

What about you? What are some of your favorite things you like to do when the holidays come a-calling?

UnRecipe: the Universe is Expanding, and so is the Wasabi Waistline

How to begin this post.... Perhaps with the wisdom of the great furry feline philosopher, Garfield, where he once said that diet is simply "die" with a "t." Or maybe I should just submit this blog to This Is Why You're Fat-dot-com, because it's been a marathon of eating well for weeks and our antacid supply is ransacked like Whoville after the Grinch came a-callin'.

'Twas the Night Before Xmas, not a creature was stirring, only my rumbling tummy - Photo by  Wasabi Prime

Probably not the most graceful way to start the new year, but let's be honest, it's the one period out of all the months where advertising goes from encouraging luscious cuts of ham, rich chocolate desserts and pure holiday indulgence, straight to the unceremonious guilt-ridden Special K diet and the weirdly adorable orange muppet that Weight Watchers uses to anthropomorphize one's insatiable food cravings. Why do you confuse my mindgrape, Madison Avenue? You tell me I should eat with abandon, and then riddle my conscience with shame?? Just for that, I'm crawling into my Snuggie and eating a cheesecake while watching The Housewives of... marathon, and I'm not coming out till next Christmas!!

I'll likely do my usual holiday detox of soup to give my insides a break from all the rich foods we've been having. It'll be kinda nice not to finish each meal with a Tums chaser because I clearly have lack of impulse control. Stop me before I om-nom-nom again! But there's no harm in enjoying the memories of the holiday food that took the vacation from my gaping maw to my stomach.

Over the Christmas break, we mostly ate at home, but had a steady stream of friends to join us for meals -- best gift of all, good company. On the Eve of the Eve, we had a little group luncheon. I was craving Vietnamese style bahn mi sandwiches along with barbecue, so the two cravings became one with a braised pork shoulder shredded and mixed with a spicy black bean sauce, spread into a split baguette smeared with a lime and chili mayonnaise and topped with pickled vegetables. Our friends clearly have great minds that think alike, bringing two bags of the Thai-spiced potato chips, which went super-duper with the sandwiches. We brought holiday/back by enjoying sweets like mini cupcakes and peppermint chocolate whoopie pies for dessert. It was a drawstring pants kind of day, for shizzle.

Nothing says holiday like Asian bbq sandwich... right? - Photos by Wasabi Prime

For just Mr. Wasabi and I, we kept things un-fussy on Christmas Eve with a meatloaf of turkey, beef and chopped porcini mushrooms. Big slabs of the loaf de meat were served with a porcini gravy and a side salad of pears dotted with winter fruits like pomegranate and dried cranberries. Have to keep it simple if we're to be in bed before Santa's arrival!

The porcini sauce and pear salad did double-duty on Christmas night, when we had a friend over, and we served up mini Beef Wellingtons -- Baby Wellies, as I annoying like to call them. I didn't go the traditional route; I used flattened cuts of tri-tip versus tenderloin, which were seared lightly and then topped with sliced morels tossed with salt, pepper and mustard. Not the typical mushroom duxelle, but whatever -- this holiday was laid-back with friends and I wanted to work with what I had versus fretting over having exact ingredients. I always buy those packages of dried wild mushrooms, and it felt like the right occasion to bust it all out. And puff-pastry hides all sins after you wrap everything up in a little bundle and bake it off. I prefer doing the miniature version of Beef Wellington, especially for a small group because it's cute on the plate and when you do it with a whole tenderloin, it never cuts perfectly and the puff pastry always slides off, resulting in Hot Mess City. I don't care what the chefs on TV say or do, it never looks as perfect as how they make it. You serve a little individual parcel of steak-stuffed puff pastry with a porcini sauce drizzle, along with some puree of roasted cauliflower and broiled broccoli -- shazam, it's holiday dinner. Eat, drink, enjoy. Especialy with a giant wheel of brie in a star-shaped brioche -- much thanks to Ms. J for bringing that delicious bomb of om-nom-nom over!

We ate, we drank, we drank some more, and were super-effing merry! - Photos by Wasabi Prime

The food party rocked Christmas morning as well -- I skipped making breakfast because we were blessed with a delicious tin of homemade cookies by my favorite Angry Peanut, Miss Annie, who sent that, along with a funny Christmas card of a surly looking cat, all from the lands of Nevada. Cookies for breakfast? shhh... don't tell my mother! At this point, we considered the concept healthy eating a wash, so indulge now and pay the dire consequences later when they discover your arteries look like a giant Payday bar. I also gave Mr. Wasabi a box of his favorites, straight outta our homeskillet Washington State, Aplets and Cotlets, yo!! They're basically fruit jellies with nuts, which is kind of holiday-appropriate, and they go real nice with a big glass of thick eggnog, to wash it all down in slow motion.

Surly Christmas cat asks, can you handle this (fruit) jelly? - Photo by Wasabi Prime

The food theme spread into our gifts this year from loving friends and family. It was a lot of homemade thihngs, which I love extra-so. Knitted potholders, homemade vanilla extract, and goodies picked up from farmers markets and craft fairs like lavender sugar, soap made from goats milk and artisanal chocolate of all kinds. My Auntie S gave me a copy of Roger Ebert's The Pot and How to Use It, his cookbook full of wise and witty observations, and a ton of easy recipes using only a rice cooker. Where the heck was this book when I was in college?! I'm eager to try some of those out, so keep an eye on future posts! And Mr. Wasabi got a new bottle of rye, appropriately named Redemption. This made an appearance in some recent cocktails, and made our holiday incredibly merry and bright.

Crazy enough, this doesn't even cover the post-Christmas meals cooked by friends or New Years Eve. Makes you want to throw on a pair of sweatpants right now, doesn't it? Call this blog post aversion therapy, but I'm off to go run a mile or count my daily intake of almonds so I can save room for next Christmas season.

Merry Christmas... to my gut - Photos by Wasabi Prime

Mixed Plate: Keeping the Holidays Merry, Bright and on a Massive Sugar High

The decorative lights are aglow. The tree is festooned with the sparkling baubles of a seasonal gala. It makes one want to draw loved ones near and sing the Christmas carols of olde, such as: Jingle bells/Batman smells/Robin laid an egg/the Batmobile lost its wheel/and Joker got a-waaaaaaaaay....

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow...cookies - Photo by Wasabi Prime

Oh, come on, like you totally didn't irritate your chorus teacher by swapping out the lyrics for every Christmas pageant. What, no chorus class? Not even a glee club...? Well, they probably don't even call it "Christmas pageants" anymore either. It's all holiday-this and nondenominational-seasonal-celebration-that. Not that I'm a regular visitor to God's house every Sunday. I think I'd probably go up in flames were I to step through the doorway of a church, or at least recoil in a sinister fit of hissing. But that doesn't mean I don't love Christmas, dammit.

I like the holidays because it's the one time of year from November on (and sometimes from October, if we're going by the retail calendar), where you feel the karmic tally coming due, and you have to make good on the friendly smiles to strangers, taking the extra effort to wish people well on their day, and taking time to remember the people who mean the most to you. You don't do this because you're concerned Santa will swap out that pony you've been asking for with a big lump of coal -- you make the extra effort to remind yourself that this state of mind can be a reality, and that it's never too late to live kindly. It makes other people feel good. It makes you feel good. And it feels possible that the old adage of keeping a heart full of goodwill doesn't have to be only one time of the year. At least until you jump on the scales after that second quart of eggnog and decide, oh eff it, I'm wearing grubby sweats and not leaving the house for two months.

Apologies in advance to dentists everywhere - Photos by Wasabi Prime

This Christmas, I set about to doing the usual rounds of baking like a crazy mofo. I think participating in the fundraiser, Will Bake For Food, back in November was a great Spring Training for getting my holiday game face on. It adequately honed my Eye of the Baking Tiger. Don't worry, I didn't bake any tigers. What I did manage to make were several batches of sugar cookies, some regular and some with cocoa powder. They were all iced and sugared with little decorative flourishes, packaged into cellophane bags tied with ribbon and unceremoniously shoved into a dozen Priority Mail boxes and shipped off to exotic places like Honolulu, Hilo, and Colfax. I also made a few batches of buttermilk pumpkin scones. I defrosted more of that massive supply of roasted pumpkin from Thanksgiving and managed to find a recipe that was both festive and manages to curb my craving for Starbucks pumpkin scones. I used this recipe from Epicurious -- everything minus the glaze, because I needed the scones to be mailing-friendly and a sticky gooey glaze wouldn't travel well. So if you do use this recipe sans-glaze, bump up the sugar amount to 3/4 to a whole cup, depending on how sweet you like your scones. The spice content of the scones are dy-no-MITE, in a totally good way, so don't skimp on the recipe's calling for such a large amount of ginger and cinnamon.

Have a scone, Santa, Baby - Photo by Wasabi Prime

So, I'll just leave you with my random sugar-addled thoughts on Christmas, the holidays as a whole, and wish everyone the best as we enter into the home stretch of holly-jolly merriment. Eat, drink, be merry and be safe this Christmas weekend! (And don't shoot your eye out)

UnRecipe: Yippie-Kai-Yay Holiday

The holidays are all about tradtion, so for as much holly-jolly spirit as one feels when Charlie Brown gets the pathetic twig of a tree for the Christmas pageant, or hearing Jimmy Stewart scream "Merry Christmas, everybody!!" as he runs through winter streets like a lunatic, or even the many warnings of "You'll shoot your eye out," traditions don't necessarily replace one another, they simply build and become like a collection of memories to call upon when the holidays come calling. This year was a first for the Prime -- after last year's icy-hell travel experience, I skipped traveling to spend Christmas with the parental-sans for the first in my thirty-odd years (I love my family, I know it's weird), and decided to start building some new traditions in my Pacific Northwest home.

Holiday dinner for eight... even though we only had six chairs - Photo by Wasabi Prime

I wasn't the only one staying home for the holidays -- several friends had no definite plans for the evening of the 25th and we opened our doors for another 'Fugee Holiday. Mr. Wasabi and I had a dinner for eight on our hands, so under the watchful eye of Miss Indy, the kitchen went into mad prep mode a few days in advance.

From the First Thanksgiving experience, along with previous large meal preparations, I've come to the same conclusion that many other home cooks probably discovered: it sucks to be sweating over the stove when guests are about. Plus it's no fun when everyone else has a cocktail in hand and you're stuck sweating over a skillet sizzling with hot oil. So despite preparation taking over previous days, it was worth doing as much of the work ahead of time, so all that needed to be done the day-of was warming things in the oven, a quick pan-sear and oven bake, and throwing items together at the last minute.

The dinner prep of Gibraltar, but it's worth doing in advance! - Photos by Mr. and Ms. Wasabi

Despite the UnRecipe header, I relied on two recipe books for the menu, based on their manageable ingredient list, what could be made ahead of time, and then some UnRecipe alterations along the way. The amazing local talent of Chef Jerry Traunfeld's The Herbal Kitchen provided a recipe for a salad of greens with wine-poached cherries, as well as an eye-poppingly rich chocolate pot de creme dessert. The main course was a roasted pork tenderloin with green lentils and root vegetables, by Szmania's Chef Ludger Szmania, from a book and program supporting nonprofit groups called Celebrated Chefs, which includes a collection of Seattle area restaurant recipes. I signed up and got the book months ago, but have only just begun to start cooking through some of the dishes -- for providing email and personal information, it's not a bad tradeoff, as the book is a nicely-bound hardback featuring recipes from good restaurants in the Seattle area. And I haven't been inundated with emails saying I have an inheritence from a long-lost relative in Nigeria, so I figure they can't be totally selling my information off.

Festive swine! Photo by Wasabi Prime

I couldn't help myself from modifying the tenderloin recipe by brining the pork first, using Thomas Keller's poultry brine recipe from Ad Hoc, which perfumes the meat with a nice citrus and parsley flavor. I doubled both the brine and the seasoning rub because I had two pork tenderloins, plus a small chicken. The lentil and root vegetables were cooked a day in advance, so all they needed was a reheat in the stove.

Among the other make-aheads included the decadent pot de creme chocolate custards, which I substituted Earl Grey tea for jasmine (more UnRecipe meddling!). Dried cherries with a bit of red wine and a sprig of thyme were poached a day in advance and kept in the fridge before being sprinkled over the salad. A bit of the holiday mulled cranberry spiced drink was made ahead of time as well. By making and preparing as much as possible, it left the seasoning and searing of the meats for Christmas Day, with a finish-off in the oven, which also reheated the lentils and vegetable side dish.

Getting our snack on with cheese, crackers and booze - Photos by Wasabi Prime

For appetizers, a large wheel of Brie was wrapped in store-bought puff pastry and baked until crisp the day-of. There was a bit of flourish added: I had had steeped balsamic vinegar with dried figs and a vanilla bean for a Christmas gift for Mr. Wasabi. Not wanting to waste anything, I kept the figs and chopped them small, sprinkling over the finished baked Brie with a drizzle of honey. The cheese was served with sliced apples and crackers brought by friend Sassy J. A mix of olives tossed with lemon zest and warmed in the oven were served as a savory snack, and an array of bubbly cocktails, wine from Miss Alice's collection, the mulled cranberry spiced wine, and homebrew beer from Mr. K were served. Let it never be said that the House of Wasabi doesn't like to get their drank on.

Winter salad where even the cherries were drunk on wine - Photo by Wasabi Prime

Once everyone had some snacks and a frosty beverage or three, salad, meats, and lentils were laid out. I will say having the oven keep everything warm and just setting everything out, already done, is a nice thing. When I watch cooking shows and the celebrity cooks and chefs flipping food in skillets to the amazement of their guests, I'm always kind of baffled. My friends like to sit, eat, drink, and relax -- and dammit, so do I, especially at my own home. So with some minor salad construction and plating the main courses on serving platters, it was time to get our grub on.

Pan-seared and baked pork tenderloin and chicken - roast beast was not available. Photos by Wasabi Prime

This was probably the largest sit-down dinner the Wasabi Household had hosted. We'll either do small dinners with friends or a big twenty-something gathering where it's more of a stand and wander while you snack. I much prefer smaller gatherings these days, but seating can be tricky when you only have six chairs. Mr. Wasabi solved this by creating the new tradition of casually gathering around the warmth of a large television to watch what we would like to consider a new Christmas classic. Nothing says "holiday" like watching Bruce Willis, circa 1988, with a lot more hair, running from Severus Snape and his band of Euro-terrorists in Die Hard.

Semi s'more dessert, way better than Twinkies - Photos by Wasabi Prime

With the power of  John McClane's action hero wit, we Mystery Science Theater-ed the hell out of this movie, calling out its holiday movie relevance at every turn: "Ho-ho-ho, now I have a machine gun," written on a recently deceased terrorist -- totally a Christmas movie. We balanced the wine and food with a wicked sugar high brought on by baked treats provided by good pal Miss SJBe and the chocolate pot de cremes. I had also made a batch of homemade marshmallows, not wanting the Epic Fail of a previous attempt to haunt my holiday steps forever. These mallows from Alton Brown's recipe were nowhere near perfect, but plopped atop each custard and hand-torched with the force of an explosive Nakatomi Tower, who the hell cares, as fire truly made it better. There was so much sugar being eaten, I think we could see into another dimension -- yippie-kai-yay, indeed.

Bruno wants to roast marshmallows - screencap from Die Hard/photos by Wasabi Prime

Sometimes traditions are just as much about breaking with the old and starting anew, even if they're a little off-kilter... and violent. While the holiday was tinged with a bit of sadness over missing Christmas with Wasabi Mom and Dad, creating new traditions with much beloved friends made for a very special holiday the Prime will not soon forget. Many, many thanks to the fabulous friends who made it out to the homestead to join us for a holiday dinner -- you made this Christmas at home so very special and happily memorable.

OMG a Recipe: Have an Om-Nom-Nommy Holiday

The Power of Cookie Monster compels you to OM NOM NOM NOM some baked goods for the holidays, and this year, the Prime strayed from her traditional iced sugar cookies to try out some newer recipes, several appropriately inspired by foodie bloggers. It's not too late to bake up a homemade gift of one of these delicious treats for a loved one. Don't forget to save at least one for yourself and a tall glass of milk! The 2009 Wasabi Prime holiday cookie roster included: Earl Grey Tea Cookies, Peppermint Sandwich Cookies, and the Prime's own mad-scientist creation of Peanut Chai Spice Cookies. Let the omming and nomming commence.

Homemade peppermint Oreo cookies , twist-tested, taste-approved. Photo by Wasabi Prime

Okay, okay, so let's be totally honest: these "chocolate sandwich cookies" are clearly Oreo cookies. At the risk of MIB's from Nabisco's legal department swooping in with tranq guns and a "cease and desist," I'm going to call a spade a spade -- these little morsels are homemade Oreos, and that's that. They are also freakin' delicious. Baking during the holidays is not only a nice way to create lovely handmade gifts for others, they are a great way to try new recipes and come with an opportunity to cast these sinful treats out out of the house to others' tables. For realsies, I'd have eaten the whole lot of these guys, despite the near three sticks of butter it took to make a single batch. Be still my barely-beating heart.

The homemade peppermint Oreos were adapted from one of my favorite baking bloggers, Brown Eyed Baker, aka, the lovely Michelle, who always creates beautiful goodies and her site never fails to inspire and get me off my lazy baker bottom. Her recipe was originally adapted from Gourmet Magazine, and I added a holiday tweak to it, adding pulverized candy canes to the vanilla creme filling. To make this at home, please pay a visit to Ms. BBB's site to see her recipe.

Hers were of course perfect little gems with the elegant scalloped edges. I didn't roll out the dough for these, instead cutting the wafers from chilled logs of the mixed chocolate dough. You don't get the pretty decorative edges, but I'll admit, I was on a short time schedule that day, and dough logs make for quick circular cookie shapes. I used up the extra time going totally medieval on three candy canes, going through two plastic baggies while wielding a meat mallet to reduce them to a sandy consistency ensuring the filling's consistency would stay smooth during spreading.

Baking under the watchful eye of Miss Indy D. Pupple - Photos by Wasabi Prime

Yes, the ever-present Miss Indy watched on, with a look of cookie-longing throughout the several days' worth of holiday baking. The power of Cute was strong with this one, but the Prime does not give in, as Indy's vet would most certainly not approve. Although I was almost tempted to share a bit of an Earl Grey Tea Cookie with the pup, as it's not as heavy of a cookie as the decadent peppermint Oreos.

Cookie, Earl Grey, hot. Photo by  Wasabi Prime

I was forwarded this recipe from a friend; it was originally on The Kitchn's site. You can take a look at their recipe here. A beautifully light-flavored dough, speckled with bits of Earl Grey tea leaves, it bakes into crisp little wafers that are perfect to enjoy with tea or coffee. The dough is mixed in a food processor to both pulverize the leaves and gradually incorporate the ingredients. I have baked this cookie with other teas like a spicy chai and I've found that the stronger tea flavors hold up best during the baking process. We drink a lot of the Stash teas at home, and I tried incorporating my favorite tea, lemon ginger, in a batch of these cookies, but the flavor just got lost in the oven's heat. If you decide to give this recipe a try and want to swap out the tea, definitely go big with the tea flavor.

The Spice must flow... into these cookies. Photo by Wasabi Prime

The last cookie to share is somewhat of a Wasabi Prime original. Inspired by the use of tea in cookies and a craving for the childhood favorite of fork-smooshed peanut butter cookies, Peanut Chai Spice Cookies were born.

Possessing all the familiar flavors of peanut butter cookies, these have the added warmth of chai leaves. It wasn't any particularly fancy or expensive tea -- just a few bags of Stash's chai were torn open and the contents were mixed right into the dough. The warm cinnamon flavors mixed nicely with the rich peanut butter, and a dash of cayenne pepper is also added for a subtle hint of heat. People get nervous or confused when an element of spice heat is added to desserts, but I hope this is soon overcome, because it can be a really pleasant nuance that just adds something beyond straight sweetness. As a visual reminder that these aren't the typical peanut butter cookie, a light sprinkle of paprika was added right before baking, to give a slight rouge to each cookie. I was pleased with the final result, as it was both sweet, savory, and had multiple flavors to keep the cookie interesting beyond just the straight sugar rush.

Wasabi Prime's Peanut Chai Spice Cookies
1/2 cup softened butter
3/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1 cup crunchy peanut butter (preferably unsweetened)
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
3 teabags' worth of chai (approx 2 1/2 tablespoons)
1 tsp cayenne powder
Paprika powder to dust tops of cookies
Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Mix softened butter and brown sugar together until combined and fluffy. Add egg, vanilla extract, chai, baking soda and cayenne. Add the peanut butter and mix until fully incorporated. Slowly add flour to dough until it's fully mixed, but do not overbeat. Let the dough rest in the refrigerator for 10-15 minutes to firm slightly before using a spoon or cookie scoop to place rows of dough balls on parchment-lined or silicone mat-covered baking sheets. Use a fork dipped in flour to create the criss-cross pattern that flattens dough balls slightly. Dust each cookie with some paprika before placing in oven. Bake cookies for 8 to 10 minutes, or until tops are golden and the bottoms are slightly browned. Set cookies on cooling racks until fully set, and give them away before you eat them in one sitting, because that will totally, totally happen.

Homemade gifts baked with love... and butter. - Photos by Wasabi Prime

An extra-special thanks to Mr. Wasabi, as I was very, very, very glad (emotionally so!) to have gotten the early Christmas present of a new camera recently. I'd been wanting a DSLR for a while, and this very special gift is something we will both use. So, no, it's not like the bowling ball Homer Simpson got for Marge that said "Homer" on it. This post is a mix of photos from both the new camera and the Old Faithful point-and-shoot that has been my stalwart blog companion for almost a year; I look forward to more photographic adventures for Year 2 of the Prime. Much love and thanks to Mr. Wasabi (aka Brock), as his thoughtfulness, love and support have been the greatest gifts, all year-round.