Jessi's Joys

For my college graduation, my wonderful older sister got me a rice cooker!  I AM IN LOVE.  It is without a doubt the most amazing thing I own…

It can cook rice, quinoa, oatmeal, and it can even steam vegetables!  I don’t know what I did before I owned this amazing machine.  Best of all:  it makes the best sushi rice so I can start make sushi again!  Making sushi seems REALLY hard but after you do it once, I promise it is so easy.  I will post pictures of sushi as soon as I remember to take them (accidentally ate the sushi too fast…oopsies).

I made a really simple and delicious rice dish a few nights ago with plain old white rice.

I made the rice in the rice cooker (so easy!) and then chopped up some scallions, mint, and added some canned corn (I am a horrible Iowan).  I also added some fresh lemon juice, some lemon zest, and a little salt and peper on top.  

It took about 30 minutes.  Unbelievably easy.  I originally wanted to make this with quinoa like Giada’s recipe but of course, like an idiot, I forgot to buy quinoa at the grocery store so I was stuck with what I had.

If there is anything you should put on your list for your next birthday, anniversary, holiday, etc, it is a rice cooker.   Enjoy!!

A few weeks ago, I made Lemon Crinkle Cookies, very similar to the Chocolate Crinkle Cookies I made back in February.  I MUCH prefer the lemon version.  Call me crazy but I’m not big on chocolate.  Sinful, I know.

They turned out great!  Crisp on the outside but soft on the inside.  Perfection.

Ingredients

½ cup Butter (1 stick)

1 cup Sugar

2 tsp Vanilla Extract

1 Whole Egg

1 tsp Lemon Zest

2 Tbsp Fresh Lemon Juice

¼ tsp Baking Powder

¼ tsp Salt

⅛ tsp Baking Soda

1 ½ cups All-Purpose Flour (I ran out of Whole Wheat Flour so I had to use this stuff)

½ cup Powdered Sugar

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 

In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Whip in vanilla, egg, lemon zest, and juice. Stir together the dry ingredients (excluding the powdered sugar) and then slowly add to the wet ingredients until combined. Pour powdered sugar into a bowl. Use spoon to grab dough (about 1 tablespoon of dough per cookie) and roll into a ball and then roll in powdered sugar.

Bake for 11-12 minutes.

Enjoy!

Image Credit: The Love Shop, The Glitter Guide, Simply Hue, and Crazy Maybe.

It is official.  I am now a “New Yorker”.  I actually hate saying that, I feel like I’m betraying my roots.  Not to mention, if I start cheering for the Yankees, my father might not speak to me for months.  That would never happen though.  

I am very excited to be here and the number one thing I have learned is how to be creative with space.  That is a true New York talent because there is definitely not a lot of it.  My little apartment in Chelsea is absolutely wonderful and I am so excited to be here!  I am within steps to the West Village, Union Square, and Meatpacking.  It is such an exciting time and most importantly, I start my first real job on Monday!  I am ready for a routine again.  The past few months have been great relaxing, visiting friends, and going home to see more friends and family.  So watch out real world, here I come!!

The most creative uses of space I have ever seen!

Image Credit: Ideas to Steal, We Heart it, & LauraThoughts81.

Look no further, I have found the BEST chocolate chip cookie recipe ever.  Take my word that I have baked a LOT of chocolate chip cookies in my life.  In fact it was the very first thing I ever made.   Unfortunately, as a meer 6 year old wanting to surprise my family with a sweet snack, I thought 3 1/4 cups of flour meant three of the one-fourth cups…also known as 3/4 cup.  Needless to say, my first chocolate chip cookie experience was a disaster.

Sixteen years later, I have finally found the best recipe there is.  It is from Fine Cooking and let me tell you, they don’t get better than this.

Here is the recipe:

10-3/4 oz. (1-1/3 cups) unsalted butter, cold  (**I used 2 sticks of butter**)
1-1/2 cups packed light brown-sugar 
1 cup granulated sugar 
2 large eggs, cold 
1 Tbs. pure vanilla extract   
17 oz. (3-3/4 cups) unbleached all-purpose flour 
1-1/4 tsp. table salt 
1 tsp. baking soda 
12 oz. semisweet chocolate chips 

Arrange oven racks in the upper and middle positions of the oven. Heat the oven to 375°F.

Using a mixer fitted with a paddle, beat together the butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar, starting on low speed and gradually working your way up to high speed until the mixture is light and fluffy, about 3 min. once you reach high speed. Scrape the bowl and beater. Add the eggs and vanilla and beat on low until blended. Beat on high until light and fluffy, about 1 min. Scrape the bowl and beater.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, and baking soda. Add this to the butter mixture and stir with a wooden spoon until just blended; the dough will be stiff. Stir in the chocolate chips.

Drop rounded measuring teaspoons of dough about 2 inches apart onto two ungreased baking sheets. Refrigerate any unused dough. Bake until the bottoms are golden brown, 8 to 10 min., rotating the sheets halfway through for even results. Remove the sheets from the oven, let sit for 3 to 5 min., and then transfer the cookies with a spatula to a wire rack to cool completely. Let the baking sheets cool completely before baking the remaining dough.

So many of you know that I currently live in Washington, DC.  Although I am moving in a month to start my new life in New York City!! I am very excited about moving to New York but I will miss Washington, DC, my friends, and my life for the past four years.  

What most of you don’t know is that I am from Iowa City, Iowa.  A great place to grow up that is filled with some amazing people.  

Last week, I went to the Farmer’s Market in my hometown and I was thoroughly impressed!  After being spoiled by the Dupont Farmer’s Market and soon to be the Union Square Market, I wasn’t expecting much.  

Below are the best asparagus I’ve ever had.  Look how long they are!  They fill up the 13x9 pan!

I put a little olive oil, garlic, salt, pepper, and balsalmic vinegar on them and stuck them in the oven for 10 minutes at 350 degrees.  So delicious and fresh!

Thank you, Iowa City Farmer’s Market!!