Okay, so I had no idea what I was talking about.

Last week I wrote a post on how I felt guilty about killing a mosquito. When my dad, the all-time-tropical-diseases-expert-epidemiologist read this, he came running to inform me that I was wrong about how mosquitoes function and that they are actually a danger to humans and have killed THOUSANDS of people. I also got several comments explaining why I was wrong for feeling guilty.
So I had no idea what I was talking about.
Mosquitoes actually need blood to PRODUCE eggs which they will then lay in water, NOT to FEED their babies. Once they lay their eggs, they never return, they just continue  their blood-sucking adventures.  There are TONS of mosquito eggs in pond waters and lake waters.
Mosquitoes transmit very serious diseases, like Malaria, Dengue Fever, Yellow Fever, and much more.
Now that I know all of this, I feel much less guilty about killing that mosquito. I hate them more than ever. I guess my hatred for mosquitoes is what separates me from Jainism (Jainism is a Hindu religion where it is believed that no living being should be killed... jains go around with a brush in their hand to swipe away all insects from their passage that they might step on and kill otherwise).

Guilty of Murder

A few weeks ago, I was complaining about how disappointing and rainy this spring was. Now, summer is approaching, and the sun has finally caught up with the seasons. Which means I have something new to complain about! YAYYY!


Mosquitoes.
Hot weather brings mosquitoes. And I hate mosquitoes! I'm not going to lie to you here. When it comes to mosquitoes, I'm super whiny. I just can't get used to the idea that some little insect is making a microscopic hole in my skin through which he'll suck blood from MY body! It's just too horrifying.
And WHY, mosquito, WHY DO YOU DECIDE TO COME WHEN I FINALLY AM FALLING ASLEEP? WHY?!?!
It's definitely not like me to hate another creature, whether it's ugly, stinky, or annoying. I believe that no violence should be used against animals, that any creature with a brain deserves to keep living. I'll stand there yelling at somebody for ten minutes if I see them squish an ant.
Which is why I was quite surprised that I did what I did. What did I do? I killed a mosquito.
*head lowers in shame*
Now I know some of you kill all the mosquitoes you come upon and are thinking "this is what being vegetarian does to you, you see: she can't even kill a little mosquito. Oh, my God, she's such a freak!" but I just can't help feeling a little bit guilty. Have you thought about what it's like to be a mosquito? You're this tiny defenseless bug in a big, big world, and you need to feed your kids. So one night, you go on a mission to find the drop of blood which will nourish all of your kids. So you fly away, leaving your babies alone. Then you find a human. You approach, slowly, trying to make the least noise possible (that's not going very well) and you find a vein, let's say, on the shoulder of that person. You don't want to harm the person, you  just want a teeny tiny fraction of their blood. As discretely as possible, you lower down onto their skin. You're about to dive on in when you sense some sort of huge object hovering right over you. And then, it's all over. The worst has happened. The one thing you've always feared has taken place and now your babies are left to fend for themselves. And all you wanted was a small drop of blood.

In other words, it would pretty much suck having to live in fear like that all the time.
I am the person the mosquito targeted. I am the one who squished it. Did that little bug deserve to have it's life ended?
I am guilty of murder.

 

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chunk Cookies

So you think you have the best chocolate chip cookie recipe?
Well, sorry, but you're wrong. I hate to deny you the pride of thinking you make the best of best chocolate chip cookies, but the cookies I've produced  here in the kitchen are, like, the best, EVER.

 

Nuh-uh, there will be no arguing. These peanut butter chocolate chunkies are by far the chewiest, softest, most divine combination of milk chocolate and peanut butter you hope to come upon, period. the. end.

 

The recipe is from Averie Cooks. She's posted so many mouth-watering cookie recipes, I had a hard time choosing what I wanted to make!

Usually, when I bake something, I take at least double the prep time it calls for, but these REALLY took only the eight minutes it says you need! Maybe it's the absence of flour?
Averie says that natural peanut butter doesn't work as well in these cookies as industrial peanut butter does like Jif, but I used the PB I always eat, which is 100% peanut... and they came out perfectly!
They call for just one egg, but my eggs were small so I used two.

 

Ingredients:

• 1 cup creamy peanut butter (averie recommends Jif)
• 1 cup of light brown sugar, packed
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tbsp vanilla extract
• 1 large egg or two small eggs
• 6 ounces (170 grams ) of baker's chocolate (I used milk chocolate but I'm sure dark would taste great also), chopped

Directions (copied and pasted directly from her recipe!):

To the mixing bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine peanut butter, brown sugar, egg, vanilla, and beat on medium-high speed until well-combined and the sugar is fully incorporated and is mixture is no longer gritty or granular, about 3 minutes. Stop to scrape down the bowl as necessary. (Note regarding peanut butter - although natural peanut butter or homemade peanut butter may work, I recommend using store bought peanut butter like Jif, Skippy, Peter Pan or similar so that cookies bake up thicker and spread less. Using natural or homemade peanut butter tends to result in thinner and flatter cookies that are prone to spreading while baking)

Add the baking soda and beat to incorporate. Add the chocolate and beat to just incorporate; don't overmix or the nice chocolate chunks will break down. Transfer dough to airtight container and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, and up to 5 days, before baking.

Preheat oven to 350F, line 2 baking sheets with Silpat Non-Stick Baking Mats, parchment, or spray with cooking spray; set aside. Using a 2-inch cookie scoop (about 2 tablespoons of dough or about 1.60 to 1.75 ounces by weight), form dough mounds and place on prepared baking sheet, spaced 2 inches apart (8 to 10 per tray). If chocolate is falling out of dough since there is an abundance, roll ball between palms to encourage it to stay in the dough. Slightly flatten the mounds before baking so they don't stay too domed and puffed while baking, just don't over-flatten.

Bake for 8 to10 minutes, until edges are set and tops are barely set, even if slightly underbaked in the center. Watch them very closely after 7 minutes and I recommend not baking longer than ten minutes. Cookies firm up as they cool, and baking too long will result in cookies that become too crisp and hard (The cookies shown in the photos were baked for 8 minutes, with trays rotated at the 4-minute mark, and have chewy edges with pillowy soft centers). Allow cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 5 to 10 minutes before removing and transferring to a rack to finish cooling. Store cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week, or in the freezer for up to 3 months. Alternatively, unbaked cookie dough can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days, so consider baking only as many cookies as desired and save the remaining dough to be baked in the future when desired.

Enjoy!

Olive's new style, bloglovin', and a special shout out

First off I'm gonna start my post with pictures of Olive, my female kitty, wearing her new accessory.

Ever since we adopted her and Gaspy, she's been going around collar-less, because the few times we tried (with great difficulty) putting one on her, it drove her crazy and she couldn't stop rolling around on the floor, madly batting at her neck. It was quite funny, actually. It looked like she was on drugs. But she definitely wasn't enjoying it.

Yesterday, though, my brother casually slipped it around her neck and she didn't seem to mind a bit! So we left her like that, and ever since then we can hear just where she is in the apartment, because the collar has a little bell that rings wherever she goes. No more sneaking around, Olive!

Just look at her! She is so cute! She's taken on a whole different appearance in my eyes.

 

On to the next subject.

For months now I've wanted to write a post about bloglovin', but every time I tried sitting down to write it I started writing about something else.

It's been a while that the sad and depressing news has been out that google friend connect is going to disappear after July 1st, but I've refused to face the fact and start building a community of readers on bloglovin' until recently. At first I couldn't believe GFC was leaving. What a loss of time and effort! I know I don't have that many followers, but nonetheless I've worked SO HARD to get them. And at last I started feeling that I have a base of followers worth writing for!

And then the news is out that I'm going to LOSE all these followers!

This is tragic, guys!

So if you have just a little mercy for me, could you take a few seconds to follow me on bloglovin'? It would make my day.

And if you don't already have a bloglovin' account, it's VERY SIMPLE to make one. It literally just takes one minute! And it's worth it. It makes reading through your favorite blogs very fast and easy!

And last but not least, I'd like to make a special shout out to my dear friend Matthew!

The 22nd of May was his birthday, and I failed to send him an email that same day... sorry again, Matt!

He has a YouTube channel where he posts funny videos, you can check them out here.

He's worked super hard on this channel, and his videos keep getting better and better! So if you would like to support another determined teen in succeeding in his project I'm sure he would be forever grateful to you for your subscription, likes, and comments!

Joyeux anniversaire, Mathieu!

The cause of my despair

I wanted to let you know that I am so, terribly mad. At YOU!

Yes, I'm furious! Why go and disappoint me like this, when I had so much faith in you? I can't believe you would do this to me, and all those around me... How DARE you run off with winter, leaving spring to be a grim and gray grievance! How dare you hide behind the clouds, giving the sky a monotonous coat?

No matter how scary the world is, you've GOT to face it! Show yourself! Stop being such a coward!

Bring the sunny rays of spring back! We're seriously missing out here!

Here I am, on this rainy patch of the earth, bundled up in a sweater, writing to you, when I should be out on the balcony sipping pink lemonade, and bathing in vitamin D!

So, Sun, please give my words some consideration...

Or I might just have to move permanently to the Canary Islands.

Sincerely,

Carmen

 

 

 

 

5 ingredient granola bars

Searching around on pinterest, I came upon this recipe for no-bake, healthy, five ingredient granola bars.
It caught my eye, it called my name. I had to make these.

What's not to love about an easy, delicious, healthy granola bar recipe?
And did I mention delicious?
All the good stuff is packed into these little bricks of heaven: dates, almonds, oats, peanut butter, and honey. And when I say good stuff, I mean good for your taste buds AND your health. These bars are filled with protein, healthy fats, fiber and much more! Only great things can come from eating these.

The prep time is supposed to be 10 minutes, but as it often happens to me when I try a new recipe, it took WAY longer than that. That's because I didn't have the good sense to read the recipe through before embarking on it! When the time came to add the oats to the almond-date mixture, I had to wait 15 minutes for them to toast before stirring them in (you don't HAVE to toast them, but it's recommended if you like the flavor. I think it was worth it.) Oh, well. Live and learn.
Also, I didn't have a good almond-chopping technique... that slowed down the process as well.
I used honey this time, but you can veganize this recipe by using maple or agave syrup (I had a hard time deciding whether I wanted to use honey or maple syrup... they both sounded so yummy! I'll try maple syrup when I make these again.)

My bars don't look as thin and rectangle as they do on Minimalist Baker (which is where the recipe is from) but hey, they're pretty dang awesome.

I have a feeling I'll be making these again and again, as they are the perfect snack to carry around if you need a boost of energy.

Irish Dancing

Is it nerdy that I have a sudden interest in Irish dancing? I was introduced to it during my vacation in Fuerteventura, in one of the night shows which was an interpretation of Riverdance. (If you've never heard of Riverdance, which I hadn't either, its a "theatrical show consisting of traditional Irish stepdancing, known for its rapid leg movements" according to Wikipedia)

The music enchanted me; It was magical. Look at the video below. The dancers look so light on their feet and like they're having so much fun! Isn't it amazing how fast they move?
 I feel like joining them on stage.

Not that I'm able to prance around like that.

Yet.

 

 

The good news is, I might be able to take classes. Believe it or not, the former leader of Riverdance teaches classes right outside of Lyon! Is it a sign that I must take Irish dancing classes? I mean, how fortunate is it that I am so close to one of the most successful Irish dancers in the world?
Quelle coïncidence!