Gingerbread Cookies, Vegetarian Sushi and Snow Peas Beef (PICS)

I had a really nice time during the holiday season this year. Had a great time with my family and learned to cook some new things. Never really used to cook, although I’m a champion eater, but I’ve been getting pretty good at it since the economy tanked. My curious brain requires constant stimuli and challenges and, oddly enough, cooking apparently bubbled to the top, in the absence of enough business stuff to keep the system whirring 24/7. I made gingerbread cookies for the first time since when I would have done it with my mom and been knee-high to her. My recipe was very different because I wanted really soft cookies. They turned out kind of ugly but delicious.

Partly, I did not want to make gingerbread men. Eating anthropomorphized food kind of troubles me. If you are going to be a cannibal, do it for real or don’t, go big or go home. So, anyway, my gingerbread cookies were just kind of misshapen circles and wedges and not gingerbread men or whatever gingerbread boys are. I swear I saw a lot of recipes for gingerbread boys, when I was figuring out options, but I didn’t look too closely at what the difference is between gingerbread boys and gingerbread men.

I also learned how to make snow peas beef. Being able to make giant portions of something I love so much, only being able to make them with all organic and high quality ingredients is kinda great.

And I learned how to make vegetarian sushi. I stuffed mine with gobo, carrots, avocado, and scallions. The white rice sushi rolls were way easier to get right than the brown rice ones. My brown rice sushi rolls looked drunk and pretty much had to be eaten with a spoon (or both hands, if messy.) But I’m pleasantly surprised and proud of how the white rice ones turned out.