these are “lactation cookies”. meant for moms who are breastfeeding. but if you are not breastfeeding or even a mom, you can still eat them. and surprisingly they are pretty good! i think i might even like them better than the nutella cookies. and don’t worry, boys can eat them too. i tested it on boyrobot and friends and noone started lactating.

lactation cookies

1 Cup Butter
1 Cup Sugar
1 Cup Brown Sugar
4 Tbs Water
2 Tbs Flaxseed Meal
2 Eggs
1 tsp Vanilla
2 Cup Flour
1 tsp Baking Soda
1 tsp Salt
3 Cup Thick Cut Oats
1 Cup Chocolate Chips
2 Tbs Brewers Yeast

Preheat oven to 375. Mix 2 Tbs of flaxseed meal and water, set aside 3-5 minutes. Cream butter and sugar. Add eggs, stir flaxseed meal into butter mixture then add vanilla. Beat until well blended. Sift dry ingredients (except oats and chips) Add butter mixture to dry ingredients. Stir in oats then chocolate chips. Drop rounded spoons onto baking sheet and bake 8-12 minutes.

but i seriously couldn’t have picked a better recipe to start baking with. you can’t tell from this picture but the middle of this cookie is a layer of nutella and it is oh so good. by the way, i think i put the rack too low in the oven causing these cookies to be thinner than usual and not as pretty as your normal cookie. i told you i haven’t baked in awhile!! oh well, they still tasted yummy!

nutella chocolate chip cookies

Ingredients
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter (1 stick)
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1-1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup Nutella
1-1/2 cups chocolate chips

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees and prep baking sheets with silpats or parchment paper.

2. In a large bowl whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt.

3. In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream the butter, the sugar and the brown sugar. Add the eggs and the vanilla until combined.

4. Gradually add the flour until the mixture is combined.

5. Then mix Nutella. Finally add in the chocolate chips.

6. Use ice cream scoop and drop on baking sheets and bake for 8-10 minutes.

it’s also hotter.
and more humid. yuck.

but…i will miss my beach front condo.

yes, how cool is it to have lunch on your balcony and have a view like that?

but it sucks not having anyone to share it with. totally miss boyrobot!

a few times i went downstairs where there was a cool bridge that led directly to the beach

i like how the beaches here aren’t crowded like in LA

and i also like the hard sand. it’s so annoying to walk in the sand back home since sand gets everywhere. here it’s more packed and people actually ride their bikes ON the beach and are pushing baby strollers ON the beach. weird, huh?

but again, it’s lonely walking on the beach by yourself. can’t wait to go home to see boyrobot!

but it was so, so good. it’s about a sad, lonely man who dies and goes to heaven. he finds out that in heaven, you meet the 5 people who had the most affect on your life and through their stories he discovers the meaning of his own life.

it just reminds me that for every person out there, everyone has a story to tell. and for every person that thinks their life is insignificant, they have no idea how their life and actions are affecting someone else. basically, we are all connected somehow, someway. i loved the message of this book.

my blue cruiser looks so skinny here!

the other day i rode my bike to a new sno cone place that opened up down the street that was voted the best dessert in orange county. i foresee myself coming here a lot this summer.

i asked them what their most popular flavor was: tropical treat

orange and pineapple ice with fresh strawberries and ice cream. we also added condensed milk because we’re asian like that. and yes, it was as good as it looks and sounds.

their menu sounds amazing though: red velvet, reese’s buttercup, green tea & raspberries, peanut butter & jelly…i’m all about those weird and quirky flavors

service is a little slow but they grind that ice on the spot. besides, they have this fun wall hook game that you can play while you wait.

sno on the go
6840 Edinger Ave
Huntington Beach, CA 92647

(thanks mike for the photo!)

so happy with how they turned out. so festive, pretty, and EASY!

and i also made honey bbq ribs….which i don’t have a picture of (yes amy, i do suck at taking pics! ) but were tasty and went pretty fast.

i thought for sure there was a reason it was on the oc’s top 100 dishes to try. i was actually excited to try this dish that i had never seen or heard of. to see what the brits had done to make this a beloved snack.

unfortunately there was nothing magical about these beans.

i could have just as easily opened a can of heinz beans (the exact ones they use in fact), popped some bread in the toaster, and poured the beans over the toast. these were in fact just that. beans on toast.

to say i was disappointed was an understatement. boyrobot just laughed at me and at this ridiculous #100 eats list that i was making him join me on.

but. i will forge on. i will eat every dish. they can’t all be beans on toast, right?

ps. we also had the clam chowder which was slightly better but also not that great. a little too pasty/gloopy for me.

and the prime rib sandwich which i have no pictures of but was absolutely DELISH. now that should have been on the list!

The Olde Ship
1120 W. 17th St.
Santa Ana, CA
(714) 550-6700

wow, it’s not often that i am impressed with vietnamese food considering i am vietnamese myself but if you are a fan of baked/grilled rice, this is the place to go. each morsel of rice was perfectly crisp. crunch crunch.

i ordered mine with the hainam chicken which was just ok. but definitely the real star is the rice. i will have to go back to try the rice with other dishes.

Luc Dinh Ky
9812 Bolsa Ave. #100
Westminster
(714) 839-6813

we decided to try #92 – lamb with pickled cabbage at mas’ islamic

mas’ islamic is an islamic chinese restaurant. i was really excited to try this place because i have always been curious about islamic chinese food. it sounds weird, but supposedly there is a big population of muslims living in china and this is where the food originated from. the menu consists of mostly the same thing as a regular chinese restaurant but with some differences like lamb dishes and the following sesame bread:

we had no idea it was going to be this big! but it was pretty tasty. crispy on the outside and soft and warm on the inside. it went great with the lamb. the lamb dish itself was pretty good but be prepared for some sourness because of the pickled cabbage. definitely not something i would normally order but i’m glad this list is making me try stuff i wouldn’t normally try!

and i’m glad i was introduced to this restaurant. apparently, it’s one of the most famous and highly rated islamic chinese restaurants around and i definitely would love to go back to try other dishes!

mas’ islamic restaurant
601 e. orangethorpe ave.
anaheim, ca
(714) 446-955