Soft Batch Brown Sugar Cookies

A couple of months ago I bought a jar of coconut oil at Trader Joe's. It was sitting out on an "impulse" display and I got suckered. It looked interesting. Plus, I'd be reading and hearing all sorts of bru-ha-ha about the miracle of coconut oil. I wasn't sure what I was going to use it for: to wash my hair, to try oil pulling, as a dietary supplement, cook with it, make a face scrub or bla bla bla. Apparently there are about a million different things that you can use coconut oil for and if you believe everything you read, it'll pretty much cure whatever ails you. WOW, this stuff is a miracle in a jar. I'm gunna save the world with this stuff, or at least my family. Look out, I'm armed with coconut oil, and not afraid to use it. . .

And then it sat, for about 6 months, in my pantry, unused. I didn't save the world, or my family. We're the same old family we were before I bought it. And, ya know, that's my life sometimes, lots of good intention and no time for follow through. Whatcha gunna do? 

Then, on Pinterest, I came across a beautiful picture of Soft Batch Dark Brown Sugar Coconut Oil Cookies. So I retrieved the coconut oil from the far corner of my pantry, dusted it off, checked the "best by" date (whew, just in time) and decided to try making these cookies. . .

Roasted Parmesan Potatoes

At heart, I'm a meat and 'taters kind of gal. What's "'taters" you ask? "Po-ta-toes, ya know, boil 'em, mash 'em, stick 'em in a stew." (extra points if you can name the movie quote.)*  I just like, er, love potatoes. In all their configurations: mashed, roasted, baked, boiled, hash browned, O'Brianed, tater totted, French fried, scalloped. And any variety, baby new, russet, fingerling, Yukon Gold. The list goes on and on. Whenever I discover a new way to make potatoes I'm game. Seriously, the more ways I have to serve potatoes, the more meals I can serve them at and still have variety. 

When I saw a recipe for Roasted Parmesan Potatoes on Pinterest, I couldn't try it fast enough. It looked super easy and super yummy so I gave it a whirl. . .

Nazook

A couple of weeks ago, I was perusing the bakery department at my local grocery store when I came across "Nazook". What the heck is "Nazook"? I'd never heard of it, but it looked good. Anytime the bakery department has some sort of rolled filled goodie, I can't resist. They looked a lot like Rugelach, which BTW, I love, so I assumed I'd like these as well. Did I buy them, no, of course not, I immediately ran home and Googled Nazook. Seriously, if store bought is good, home made HAS to be better. 

What I learned is that Nazook is a traditional Armenian pastry. A buttery yeast dough filled with more butter and sugar and sometimes almonds. Butter and sugar and almonds? I'm in! So I Googled a bit more, read a handful of recipes (because I don't have an Armenian Nana to show me how), watched a couple of videos and decided to give it a go. . .