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Last year The New York Times quizzed bakers galore in an attempt to discover and create the perfect chocolate chip cookie.

We learn that these esteemed panelists believe that recipe is important but that it isn’t everything, since that would be forgetting process, process, process!

Well, how about you guys? I’m new to this baking lark and the chocolate chip cookie is surely something I would like to become brilliant at.

So what is it? The Toll House recipe you made as a kid? Some super swanky recipe you learned at culinary school? A secret ingredient? Timing? The recipe handed down to you through generations?

Whatever it may be, leave a comment and tell me, what do you think makes the perfect chocolate chip cookie?

Let it be known…and then I’ll get baking!

After getting all over excited about the onset of Spring and the flavours that come with it, I’m having something of a comfort food revival.

This weekend it rained a lot, with no regard for the fact that I needed to fit in 10 miles of half marathon training. Charming.

And rain basically equals me needing to find something hot to conjure up in the kitchen whilst I ignore the outdoors.

Lentils with Kale and Bacon
adapted from For the Love of Cooking

Ingredients

Directions

1. Cook the bacon in a large dutch oven over medium heat. Once the bacon is cooked, remove and place on a paper towel.
2. Remove all but 1-2 teaspoons of bacon grease from the pan then add the onion, carrots, and celery and sauté for 2-3 minutes.
3. Add the garlic and cook stirring constantly for 1 minute.
4. Add the tomatoes, salt, freshly cracked pepper, cumin, and crushed red pepper; stir and cook for 2-3 minutes.
5. Add the chicken broth, and lentils; stir then cover and simmer for 1 hour.
6. Add the fresh chopped kale as well as the cooked bacon and simmer for 5 minutes then serve.
7. Serves 8-10. Enjoy with crusty baguette or a country loaf, and a glass of red wine too, if you like (you know I do).

Perfect healthy comfort food for a rainy day!

In order to turn this into a soup, I’d use 2 cups of lentils, rather than 3 or perhaps up the broth levels. This way it’s delicious as a main or side dish. I plan on boxing it up and having it for lunch all week. Yes.

Can you imagine a more decadent and satisfying way to make good on leftover/now stale crusty bread? I can’t. Seriously.

This is always my problem with buying a delicious loaf of bread for something or other. There’s always one really good use for it, then it’ll doubtless get used as a vessel for cheese, but I always end up wasting a bunch of it.

No more, friends, no more…

Vanilla Baked French Toast
adapted from Smitten Kitchen

• about 3/4 loaf day old bread (French or Italian loaves work well but Challah is best), cut in 1-inch slices
• 2 cups milk
• 2 eggs
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• dash salt
• 1-2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Directions

1. Generously grease a 9×13-inch baking dish with butter.
2. Arrange the bread in two tightly-packed layers in the pan. It’s super useful how loaves like French batard (what I used) or sourdough, tend to have smaller slices at each end, since these do an awesome job of filling any gaps.
3. Whisk the milk, eggs, sugar, salt and vanilla and pour over the bread. Sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar.
4. Wrap tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight. The bread will absorb all of the milk custard while you sleep.
5. Bake at 425F for 30 minutes, or until puffed and golden.
6. Cut into generous squares and serve with maple syrup, fresh fruit, powdered sugar or all of the above. Or if you’re me…bacon.

Serves 4-6 as main course.