It Started with a Journal

I have discovered a wonderful treat: the stroopwafel. Some people at work were in Germany last week, and they brought back this popular dutch cookie. It's two wafer-thin waffle cookies with a thin layer of caramel sandwiched in the middle. It's about the size of my palm, maybe a little bigger. I didn't know what I was getting into when I took one from the box... I thought it was a crisp waffle cookie, but it was oddly heavy. And then I bit down, and it had a soft, chewy give. I was like, what is this wondrous thing?! Then devoured it in about 5 seconds. I found out later that you're "supposed" to get a hot beverage, then place the stroopwafel over the mug, and the steam from the drink will make it all warm and gooey in the middle. Of course, I was forced, by scientific principle, to try it out, and I have to say, I actually prefer just eating the cookie without the steaming step. Three boxes of these things quickly (and I mean overnight) dwindled to half a box, so I was forced to do some research on where I might be able to get more, without having to go to Europe.

And I discovered that I had not one, but two sources! Supposedly they sell the full-size version at World Market. I haven't gone yet so can't confirm or deny their existence there, or if whatever brand is sold there is any good. The second source is Trader Joe's! I really should have known. They sell a mini version of the stroopwafel (the package says "Caramel Bites," but the TJ's in-store sign says stroopwafel), which I have now had, and I think it's even BETTER than the ones my coworkers brought back. It has a stronger hint of cinnamon, which I enjoy. And yes, they carry them even in far-away Trader Joe's locations, including (just for example) ones in the suburbs outside of Chicago.

I recently had a hankering for a shrimp roll. You know, like a New England lobster roll, but with shrimp instead, and not puny bay shrimp, but PROPER shrimp. I had a vision in my head of what it would be like, consulted a few recipes online, then made my own version. Some of my experiments like this turn out to be terrible, but some of them turn out to be AMAZING, and this was happily one of those times. ( Recipe for Sarea's shrimp roll )

Now... ( my thoughts on the Kids Baking Championship finale. )

adelagia and I saw Joel McHale at the Paramount last weekend, and he was, unsurprisingly, HILARIOUS. A lot of his comedy, however, is less about what he says and more about his delivery. He basically can say anything and make it funny.

Going to watch Whiskey, Tango, Foxtrot next week, which I'm hoping will be good.

I may be doing some work travel in the near future, which I am semi-excited about. Semi, because I'm eager to go to San Francisco and New Orleans, which is where I'd be going, but it's back to back, which is a little brutal. :/

I met with 2 financial advisers last week. They were both fine, and who REALLY knows about these things, but I'm likely going to go with the one I felt more comfortable with. Is she a better financial adviser than the other guy? Can't really say, which is the trouble with these things, but at least I feel like I can talk to her more openly. I have a follow-up appointment with her tomorrow, and then we'll see where it goes from there. I also contacted a CPA that she referred me to, to help with my taxes this year... she seemed a little socially awkward, but as long as she's good with taxes, I suppose I don't care.

Two shows I'm into right now: 11.22.63 and the first season of American Crime Story, about OJ Simpson.

I wanted to share with you guys the inside of one of my cherry pecan macarons:



In the words of 11-year-old Jane on Kids Baking Championship, "Not to toot my own horn or anything, but... TOOT TOOT." Jane is total GOLD on the show. Her interviews are amazing. If the producers have any say at all in it, she'll be on the show as long as possible. (I just watched her audition vid and she and her brothers are just adorable.)

Since Chinese New Year is coming up, I've decided that this year, for the first time ever, I'm going to try and make a CNY food item. I'm going to make tang yuen, which are sweet, black sesame paste-filled rice balls in ginger syrup. Except instead of syrup it's going to be more like a ginger broth, because the balls themselves are already pretty sweet, so I think eating them with ginger syrup is overkill. (In fact, growing up, I only ever had those balls cooked in plain water. It was news to me, when looking up the recipe, that everyone else always made them with ginger syrup.) I'm not crazy about Indian gulab jamun for the same reason... they're like little donuts completely soaked in syrup, and I can only have one or two tiny bites before I'm done.