Classic oatmeal cookies for AJ and Erika

AJ and Erika, these cookies are for you -- I will eat them in your name! I baked them over the weekend and unlike the ones I made for you over the holidays, these didn't soften overnight. They are as crisp and crunchy as can be. Perhaps because Hong Kong is much less humid than Manila?

Recipe: Classic oatmeal cookies from Joy of Cooking

New Year chocolate carrot cake

Temperatures dropped below 10 C in Hong Kong in the past couple of days. People were walking around in serious-looking coats and jackets, the hotpot restaurants were full, and it was even more difficult to get out of bed. After living here for more than seven years I thought I'd adapted pretty well to the cooler months. But still, January is a bit of a pain. The skies are often gray, the weather damp and the tempo of the workplace is perceptibly slower--like everyone's just waiting for the Lunar New Year to kick in, and with it another holiday!

The weekend passed in a blur. With less than four months to go before I leave my current job, there was a lot to think about involving my lease, travel plans, storage for my things, etc.

So I decided to cook while sorting things out in my head. Two dozen raisin oatmeal cookies, a dozen miniature carrot muffins, and a chocolate carrot loaf were the result. They were all delicious, and yours truly is gaining totally unnecessary pounds!

The muffins and cookies followed basic recipes from Joy of Cooking; the loaf was adapted from a chocolate and parsnip loaf recipe from Liz Franklin's Quick Breads. The original recipe and called for 3 eggs, canola oil, a half cup of chocolate chips, and grated parsnip. I reduced the eggs to 2 and replaced the chocolate chips with cocoa powder. I also used carrots since I didn't have parsnips, and corn oil as I don't use canola.

The result was a moist, not too sweet, beautifully textured and cocoa-ey loaf with just the right density and fewer calories. I love the way the brilliant strands of carrot show up in the finished loaf. Yum!