That ain’t no stock photo

Just a note on my header picture — those cookies are very real and very delicioso!  They are pumpkin cookies with butterscotch and chocolate chips.  The result is a spongy scone cookie that taste like heaven.  I think I doubled this particular batch and made just under 100 cookies!  From the words of Seinfeld, “They’re real and they’re fantastic!”

Hold the mayo!

I loathe mayo! It’s not good for you and looks disgusting and smells horrible if left in the heat, so why eat it?

But first things first. A BBQ was in order for this Memorial Day weekend, which means lots of good eats. If I wanted to indulge properly, I knew I had to get a good workout in and the warm sunny weather prompted me to head to the Stanford Dish. The “Dish” as we call it is just West of Stanford nestled in the beginnings of the foothills. The 2 large satellite dishes give it its name. While it’s only a 3.5 mile loop, it’s got some pretty steep hills and doing intervals (running/walking) make for a nice cardio option.
After making a sweaty stop at Starbucks for a grande iced 2-pump vanilla latte, I headed home to bake!  I have been making “cake cookies” for several years, but applying a different recipe than the one below.  I decided to try out Julie’s recipe and used funfetti cake mix for sumthin’ fun   Here are some pics of the tasty creation!

Mmmmm, cookie drops!

Funfetti cake cookies and a mimosa

There are 4 simple ingredients: 1 box cake mix, 1/4 cup water, 1/4 cup oil, and 1 egg.  Tada!  My recipe is slightly different and is 1 box  cake mix, 1/3 cup oil, and 2 eggs, which results in a chewier and doughier cookie, but both taste great!

Next, no mayo coleslaw!  My Grandma (Dad’s Mom) used to make the best coleslaw. I’m pretty sure she even used mayo but made it in such a way that you didn’t notice.  I wanted to recreate her coleslaw but sans mayo and with a bit of a kick.  In my ‘slaw went

20 oz chopped slaw (plus or minus — feel free to use the prepackaged tri-color slaw like me
1/3 cup chopped cilantro
1 bell pepper diced (any color … I used green)
1 red onion diced (green onions work nicely as well)
1/4 cup sunflower seeds
Mix the above together in a big bowl and set aside. In a small bowl, add the following
1/4 cup EVOO
1/4 cup white wine vinegar (balsamic is just as tasty)
1 tbsp white cane sugar (I usually do closer to 2/3 tbsp sugar)
salt
pepper
and…
Siracha
Stir well and keep dippin’ your pinky to taste test this ‘sauce.’ Too sweet? Add more vinegar. Too tangy? Add more EVOO. You like it hot like me? Add more Siracha! Love this stuff. The hotter the better   Douse your slaw mixture with this sauce and then just let it marinate until you are ready to eat it. This is one of those salads that taste better as days go on!

The 'slaw

Then you know what time it was?  RED MONSTER time.  You’ve heard of the ubiquitous green monster, so what’s this red guy?  It’s a Bloody Mary..hehehe Come on, it’s a holiday!

Mary the Red Monster

Pre-dinner snacking included copious amounts of chips and salsa and also some yummy crunchy pickles (wish these were homemade too!).   The grill was fired up in the meantime and on went Caribbean-jerk chicken breasts and chicken lime patties.  They were served on Orowheat bun ‘thins’ with diced white onions.  Oh onions, how do I love thee!

Dessert meant cookies of course.  I only had 2, but the hubby managed to eat many, many more.