And Happy New Year.

I know I’m a bit late on this one. As we headed into the year-end holidays, I caught that nasty cold that was going around. That thing grabbed me, clung to me and kept me in its evil grip for a good three weeks. It sapped all the energy out of me. It wasn’t until yesterday, the official start of the Lunar New Year that I felt in the least bit normal again. And I’ve still got sniffles. Oy.

But here’s the thing: late or not, I don’t think it’s ever bad timing to wish you well and hope that the year’s off to a good start for you. And that you are well on your way to having a most wonderful 2012 and realizing your most beautiful dreams. 2012 is the Year of the Dragon. A most lucky creature in the Chinese Zodiac!

As you know – and especially if you have read my book (you have, haven’t you?) – then you know that my cookie decorating mania was very much inspired by the Chinese Zodiac, also known as the Eastern Zodiac. My first decorated cookie was a Sheep (I am a sheep). And with this Dragon, I have now completed ten, ten, animals of the 12-animal cycle.

Are you a Dragon? You are if you were born in 1940, 1952, 1964, 1976, 1988, 2000, 2012, then you a Dragon. The Dragon is a mystical, charismatic and powerful figure believed to have magical powers. Because of this, the Chinese believe that this is the most desirable character in the zodiac. (I beg to differ; I think being a Sheep is mighty fine, thank you very much).  Dragons are free-spirited, powerful, artistic, intuitive, dynamic and even lucky. You’re also extremely tenacious and when you set out to do something, you usually accomplish it. You’re most compatible with the Rat, Tiger, Rabbit, Snake, Sheep, Monkey, Rooster, and Pig. You probably won’t get along with the Ox, Dragon, Horse, and Dog.

Whatever sign you are, whichever year you were born, I wish you a most wonderful 2012.

This will be my last post for 2011. Every other year we go to Norway to celebrate Christmas with Wolf’s family, but we decided that this year we’d stay in Southern California. Wolf took Mimi to Norway in September to be a part of his mother’s 70th birthday bash, and when he returned told me he didn’t want to make the long trip again for a while especially with our very energetic two-year-old. At first I was a bit disappointed; I had been looking forward to going, but then images of us running after Mimi for hours on end as we made our way across the Atlantic aged me. We’ll go another time. Next year, probably.

So, as I always do when we’re home (here) for the holidays, I cook the food of a region or country I haven’t yet been to. This year it’s India. Madhur Jaffrey is my guide and I’m taking a few recipes from a few of her wonderful books. For me, Jaffrey is to Indian cooking what Julia Child was to French. She kind of takes the intimidation and the mystique out of it and makes you believe that you, too, can make something quite delicious.

This has been a challenging, magical and memorable year for me. Thank you for taking the time out of your busy lives to visit here. I’ll see you next year!

And oh. How can I forget? Very special thanks to all of you who have bought my book. I hope you’re enjoying it. xo, mari

First, a heartfelt Thank You to everyone who bought my book. Thank you so much. A lot more books sold than I had anticipated. Lulu is printing them now. They should be shipping to you at any moment. And I really hope you enjoy the coolest cookies on the planet. I really do.

A few weeks ago, I received a package from Germany. My dear friend Joff (not really his real name but kind of) was in Deutschland and found these charming little chocolates. He said he immediately thought of me. Mwah.

Look! A chef’s hat, a spatula, a knife, a big sauce pot and a pepper mill. All in chocolate. Really. What more could a cook want? What else does a cook need?

Have a most excellent weekend.

A few days ago, Wolf counted the number of pictures in our book, the coolest cookies on the planet. I feel silly because I can’t remember the number. But it was a lot more than I thought. Must be all the little shots in the tutorials sections that are boosting the count. Anyway.

I’m pleased to tell you that the coolest cookies on the planet is now available for purchase at Lulu.com. Yay! And if you buy it now, Lulu is offering a pretty awesome discount for all customers through December 14th. So please, go over there and check it out. Pretty please. There’s a nice little Preview available so you can get a closer look at the cover and some of the book’s pages.

I’m quite proud of this little gem. Perfect it ain’t. But like my cookies, it was made with some muscle and a whole lotta love. And that’s a lot, my friends.

Last Wednesday the Santa Ana (California) winds blew from the east knocking a lot of trees and power lines down. Wolf mentioned one report citing the winds racing through at 97 miles per hour. I’ve seen professional baseball pitchers hurl balls at that speed; so fast you don’t even see the ball. But at least someone – the batter, the umpire, and maybe a few eagle-eyed spectators – actually sees the ball.

The thing with these crazy winds is that you can’t see them. You just hear them and you feel them as they send trees crashing down onto cars and the street. I had such a hard time trying to fall asleep as those winds swirled around like an angry witch. You know that feeling when you’re driving really fast down a road and you hit a sudden drop and your stomachs sinks with the drop? Oh, I felt that numerous times last Wednesday night. And I was lying still.

The windstorm knocked our power out for a few days, and, needless to say, life without electricity ain’t no fun. I’m thankful that we did have heat and hot water, and we had plenty of candles and LED lights so that we could read at night like Abe Lincoln. Wolf constantly checked his iPhone for reports on when we might have our power back, and there were constant delays. Great, I thought, we might get power in a week? Two?

So, much to my surprise and delight, it felt like magic when, three days after we lost power, I turned a lamp switch early Sunday morning, and the light went on.

I once asked my husband why he thinks I veer toward things with odd ingredients or unusual combinations of ingredients. Without even looking my way he said, “Because you’re odd.” Probably true.

The first time I saw this recipe at the French blog Papilles & Pupilles, I was intrigued. Zucchini bread: not so interesting. But mixed with lemon and pineapple. Oh, yum. What on earth could that taste like? Anne mentioned that she found the original recipe on an American blog, Tessa’s Kitchen, which made everything super easy for me since Tessa’s recipe is not only in English (my French has gotten so rusty!) but the ingredients are also in American units. So the likelihood that I’d mess this up was minimal. I have nothing against metric units; it’s just that the mere idea of having to accurately convert the measurements from metric to American drives me batty. Silly, I know. Anyway.

I’ve been quite ill for the past two weeks with a cold that just won’t go away, a cold that makes my head feel like it’s constantly in a fog. I’m slogging through the last of it now, with only occasional coughing.  You know, the whole time I was illin’, I thought of one thing I really wanted to do once I was healthy again: baking.

It’s good to be back in the kitchen! Thanks, Anne and Tessa for this recipe.

And to those of you in the U.S., have a nice Thanksgiving.

Lemon Pineapple Zucchini Bread

3 c. all purpose flour
1 1/4 c. sugar
4 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
4 eggs
2/3 c. canola oil
1 8 oz. can of crushed pineapple, drained well. (I found fresh pineapple at my local store. Chopped it up in with a super sharp kitchen knife. Perfect).
2 c. zucchini grated
1 Tbls. lemon zest

Directions:

*I recommend having your zucchini grated, your pineapple crushed and your lemon zested BEFORE you start. Just makes the combining of all ingredients easier. Grate the zucchini with the grating blade on a food processor because it’ll take you ages if you do this by hand.  And I sure hope you have a super sharp microplane zester because dull ones are no fun.

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.  Grab two 4″ X 8″ baking pans and grease well.
2. In a medium-sized bowl mix the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Mix well.
3. In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs, oil, pineapple, zucchini and lemon zest.
4. Add wet ingredients to the dry ingredients.  Mix until moistened.  Do not over mix. This will look like a thick cake batter, and that is okay, it’s supposed to be that way.
5. Add the mixture to the two baking pans and bake for 1 hour.
6. Cool on wire racks then remove loaves from pans.  Makes two fabulous loaves.

]]> http://www.mischiefmaricookies.com/blog/lemon-zucchini-pineapple-bread/feed/ 5 http://www.mischiefmaricookies.com/blog/book-update-the-coolest-cookies-on-the-planet-almost-here/ http://www.mischiefmaricookies.com/blog/book-update-the-coolest-cookies-on-the-planet-almost-here/#comments Mon, 21 Nov 2011 21:31:42 +0000 mischief mari http://www.mischiefmaricookies.com/blog/?p=2569

The Cover.

We are squealing with excitement. A few days ago, we received a proof of the book. My heart was pounding. And I felt a tad dizzy. We’ve worked so long on this project. It was hard to imagine what it would feel like in our hands.

So how did it feel? In a word: great.

We had some problems with one printer/publisher and had to switch to another one very quickly. Long story short: we got two proofs, one from the first publisher that was awful. And this one that just amazed us.

I’ve sent a tiny little preview to friends who have signed up to receive email from me. If you’d like a preview of the book before its release, then please, opt-in for that mailing. You can click on The. List. to your right there in the sidebar. Or feel free to click on this link and follow the instructions.

If all goes well – and why wouldn’t it? – this little book will be ready for purchase from early December. That’s right around the corner, friends.

Pink Haired Skull, inspired by Days of the Dead, 3x5 ins, chocolate, royal icing and sanding sugar.

Halloween’s already a memory. But the party’s just getting started in many parts of Latin America. Welcome to El Dia de los Muertas (Day of the Dead).

I discovered this interesting, colorful and raucous celebration several years ago through a Mexican friend who erects Day of the Dead altars every year in her home as well as in schools. Colorful paper cutouts frame her altar while photos, mementos, marigolds, traditional breads and dancing skeletons cover every last inch of the structure. Oh and there’s always tequila and other foods that the deceased loved. Some may find this way of remembering the dead odd; I find it quite lovely. If you believe that the spirits of the deceased come back every year, why not enjoy their company? And make their return a joyous occasion?

Depending on the nation, the Day of the Dead is celebrated differently. I’m only familiar with how it is celebrated in Mexico, where the indigenous peoples believed that death was merely a passage into a new life. They buried their loved ones with many personal items they thought they’d need in the next life and in some cases, pets were sacrificed so that they could accompany their now deceased masters. Once a year, for two days, the spirits of the dead return and are welcomed with their favorite foods and drink.

The photo above is from my upcoming book. If you’re interested in seeing a preview and obtaining a little discount toward the purchase of this charming little masterpiece, please get on The. List. It’s a most extraordinary email newsletter that will give exclusive information to subscribers about the book and other marvelous things. Please click on The. List. to the right. Your information will not be shared with anyone! A preview is coming very soon.

Look up this year. There are witches and goblins in the trees.

This sign will be outside our door with candy. Of course.

Happy Halloween.

Pretty to look at. Yummy to eat.

This past Wednesday, Wolf and I celebrated our ten-year anniversary. I believe some life sentences are quite nice.

Our neighbors babysat Mimi as a gift, so we went to the Edendale Grill in Silverlake (the hip, trendy neighborhood here in Los Angeles). I had their signature meatloaf – yes, meatloaf! – and we shared a bottle of French Malbec. Yum!

Our neighbors also gave us a box of macarons (I know, in the U.S. we call them macaroons but macarons sounds so…je ne sais quoi, oui?). These were gone in a flash. Just like those ten years. Where have they gone?

Happy Weekend, y’all.

The Box the macarons came in. Yes!