your goose is probably only half-baked at this point

So there's this awesome fan theory  out there that Darth Vader/Anakin Skywalker isn't actually Luke's father, that Obi-wan Kenobi was actually his father, and it makes watching the prequels ... well, still a really bad idea, but it makes the orig-trig all kinds of fascinating to rewatch. I mean, they're already fun to rewatch  mostly because Mark Hamill's in them  but this adds an undercurrent of flavor. A hint of darkness, you might say. Much like the espresso in these cookies. By now, you've probably encountered cookies made using boxed cake mix , which is just the loveliest of easy cookie recipes out there, and this one is very similar to it, save that it uses espresso powder and butter and kind of accidentally gives you chewy Oreos you can make at home whenever you want . And that's just plain exciting. So join me in making these cookies, and together we will rule the galaxy as ... fat and sugar and oh god someone save me from these cookies they

I was in the grocery buying the stuff I needed to make Thanksgiving dinner and I happened upon a display of Milano cookies, which are one of my partner's favorite cookies. And, since I'd left him outside to mind the bikes while I battled the other shoppers who were all in my way begone the lot of you , I figured it'd be a nice treat to buy him some of the flavors he'd not yet gotten to try. Among the flavors available were mocha and lemon, both of which I purchased. We've not yet cracked into the mocha, as of the writing of this post, but we got into the lemon cookies as soon as we got home and lord preserve me they were stupid good. I mean, lemon and chocolate? Not what I usually think of, or thought of, but now ... Mmph. The following night, we fell asleep on the sofa together until 3:30 am, and because we showered when we woke up, I was all kinds of awake and feisty, so I made the lemon curd used as frosting for this dish. By the time we went to bed (like

Thanksgiving can be a tricky time for vegetarians. All the side-dishes we traditionally prepare at Thanksgiving complement the turkey, so if you're not eating any turkey, you usually get the sense that you're missing out. Well no more! These mushrooms are so good, oh my goodness. They're buttery, for all that there's no butter involved, have just the right amount of heat in them from the garlic, and if they were any easier, they'd probably be a Skywalker. I like them because I can roast them along with my  Mos Eisley Roasted Vegetables and the chicken breast I make for my partner, which means that the entire Thanksgiving dinner, aside from the dumplings and dessert, is in the oven roasting along merrily together all at once while I drink wine make the dumplings and set the table. And drink wine, because dear god is wine nice with a meal celebrating the good things in life. Kiss Me Anyway Garlic Roasted Mushrooms Ingredients - 1/4 lb sliced portobello

It's all fun and games until someone gets their arm chopped off. Mos Eisley Roasted Vegetables Ingredients 1/2 lb (15, yes I counted) frozen Brussels sprouts 1 large carrot 1 large or 2 small parsnips 2 tsp olive oil 1/4 tsp coarse salt Gratuitous black pepper Instructions - Preheat oven to 425*F. - In a small mixing bowl, microwave the Brussels sprouts for a minute or two. - Cut the carrot into 1" pieces, halving the pieces where the carrot's thick (so you only have cylinders that are no bigger around than a marker, maybe). - Do the same for the parsnip. - Halve each of the Brussels sprouts, once they're out of the microwave. - Dump all of the veggies into the mixing bowl with the oil, salt, and pepper. - Toss with a rubber spatula until everything's all even-coated 'n stuff. - Arrange on a silpat on a baking sheet, turning the Brussels sprouts so that they're cut-side up. - Bake 40-50 minutes or until the Brussels sprouts are ro

Thanksgiving meant chicken and dumplings in my family every single year when I was growing up, and it was just the BEST part of the year, lemme tell you. Granted, I was that picky little kid who wouldn't eat dumplings until I was 7 or 8, but that doesn't mean much -- I refused to eat ANYTHING for the first near-decade of my life. I was surprised and pleased to learn when I was in my teens that the dumplings I had loved so much were my grandmother's own recipe, and delighted when I learned as an adult, living too far away to come home for Thanksgiving, that I could make dumplings myself. These are the ultimate comfort-food, and one of my favorite things about the autumn holidays. Thanksgiving Dumplings Ingredients 4 cups all-purpose flour (1 cup) 4 tsp salt (1 tsp) 4 tsp baking powder (1 tsp) 1/2 cup vegetable shortening (2 tbsp) 1 1/2 cup milk (3 oz) Extra flour for rolling 12 cups water (3 cups) 1 tbsp bouillon of your choosing (I use vegetable and it's

Henry David Thoreau once wrote the famous piece of advice: Simplify, simplify, simplify. He'd likely be patently horrified  by this recipe, I should think, because I took the idea of a two-ingredient cake (which involves mixing a can of pumpkin with a can of spice cake and baking it until it's done) and turned it into what amounts to carrot cake that lacks carrot but has a bajillion other ingredients in it instead. Whoops. The cake's super good, though! I made the first one with a spice cake, and it was all right, then I made the second one to the specifications you see here, only I'd had a really trying day at work and was exorcising my anxieties via baking, and there was definitely a glass of very potent wine involved somewhere along the line, and so at some point I discovered that not only is it TOTALLY possible to separate your thumbnail from the rest of your thumb by picking at the frilly butt-end of a granny smith apple, it really bloody hurts  because apple

I've been accidentally making quite a lot of vegan, gluten-free, soy-free, low-fat, low/no-cholesterol dishes lately, which is interesting because a) I'm not a vegan, b) I'm not even trying  to make dishes that fit any of the above categories, and c) all of these dishes are wicked  tasty, which is not something one generally associates with vegan-gluten-free-soy-free-low-fat-nice-to-your-cholesterol cooking. I mean, I guess there wouldn't be any vegans if vegan food tasted bad or boring or whatever, but still, considering how devastatingly deep my love of cheese and eggs goes, I've been pleasantly surprised to learn that my twin vices aren't actually needed in every dish I eat. That said, whenever I take this soup to work for lunch, I find that I heat it up and expect it to be boring. Like, every single day. Even though I ate it the day before and loved it. I still  expect to dislike it the following day. I suspect this means that I am a) biased, b) indoctri

I accidentally became a vegetarian back in May 2014, and where it's been one of the greatest accidents of my life (right up there with accidentally getting into a career in international education after accidentally getting into graduate school, which happened shortly after I accidentally married the partner I'd accidentally started dating in 2000), it hasn't been without its scant sacrifices, one of which being tatertot casserole , which was the very first dish I ever learnt to make and was one of my comfort foods before the whole no-meat thing happened. I am pleased to report that, much like meat being back on the menu for the Uruk-Hai in The Two Towers , tatertot casserole is now back on my meatless menu, and it is better than ever. I did not actually cry with the first bite of this version of the casserole, but it was a near thing. I have missed  this dish, so, so much. Related: How did I not know about mushrooms OR Star Wars until I was in my 30s? I mean, I've

Jabba is not invited. Neither are the stormtroopers. They were mean to Beru and Owen, and that's not permitted. Taco Tuesday on Tatooine (Dagobah edition) Ingredients Taco Seasoning 1/2 tsp onion salt 1 tsp chili powder Dash cayenne pepper (to taste) 1/4 tsp dried oregano 1/2 tsp garlic powder 1/2 tsp dried cumin Taco Filling 1 1/2 cups frozen spinach 4 eggs 1 tbsp olive oil 1ish cup shredded cheese And some sort of taco filling delivery mechanism - tortillas, hard shells, whatever you like Instructions - Combine all ingredients for the taco seasoning. If you don't feel like doing that and want to use a packet of seasoning instead, that's fine - the premade stuff's just way too salty for my tastes. - In a small mixing bowl, microwave the spinach for 2-3 minutes. - Add the eggs. - Add the taco seasoning. - Whisk with a fork until it's all nice and combined. - In a small frying pan, heat the olive oil