Let it snow...

So kids, I've brought some corn for popping... and in fact, I've popped it, seasoned it, and packed it up!

Lately I've been thinking about how, even though I'm pretty good at packing healthy lunches for school, I almost never include snacks. Therefore, once the lunch is gone and I get hungry again, I'm stuck buying little things for myself that have an insane unit price. I hate that. So, one day, I decided that I was going to buy popcorn from the Co-op and have some fun with it.

As it turns out, experimenting with different popcorn flavors is quite addicting.

The first few batches were pretty average... butter or olive oil with some spices: chili powder, garlic, oregano/basil, cinnamon/nutmeg, etc... then I started experimenting with sweet-and-savory combos (my favorite thing ever). For a new favorite, I popped the corn, made some homemade caramel sauce, and added some chopped pecans.

OMG. Delicious. Now, I'm definitely not saying that my love for cheesecake is waning... but every once in a while, a girl needs to branch out a bit, and try something new. This is one of my ways of branching.

(By the way, speaking of branching... vegan Boysenberry-Green Tea cheesecake and gluten-free Velvet cake! Yummy!)

Irony...

So tomorrow is Groundhog Day, and Mr. Phil is going to be telling us (in theory, anyway) how much winter we have left...

... and at the same time, we in the Northeast (and, I've heard, just about everywhere else too) will be getting walloped what Mr. Weatherman is calling the most epic snowstorm yet this winter.

Perfect day to curl up at home with some tea and cookies and laugh at superstition.

Cookies I recommend:

• Molasses Cookies - excellent with Celestial Seasonings' Gingerbread Spice tea... if it's still available. If not, pretty much any chai will do quite nicely.
• Lemon-Rosemary Slices - go beautifully with Earl Grey, green tea with lemon, or a tangy rooibos.
• Snowballs - not only for the incredibly appropriate name, but also because they'll go with just about any tea... though a deep, flavorful black tea blend is best.
• Atonement Cookies - nice to add just a little kick to that hot chocolate... mmmmm.

Oh well, anyhoo... enjoy the snow, everybody! School's off, so I'll be taking orders all day. ;-)