Buttermilk fried chicken is serious business. I’ve had the good stuff growing up in Georgia and in several cafeterias in Nashville, Tennessee, and some of my favorite local variety is featured at Highland Kitchen in Somerville, Massachusetts. They only serve it on Monday nights, but it’s worth the early week drop in.

Of course, there are a thousand recipes for good buttermilk fried chicken and I’d have a hard time trying to compete or comment on who’s recipe is tops. I did, however, set out on a mission to conquer a great recipe, because I see a picnic on a country hillside in my future, and I really do love the Pioneer Woman‘s version, well-seasoned and crunchy, the sort of crunchy that falls apart onto your salad, making for deliciously salty croutons.

There are two tricks I learned from restaurant style fried chicken that you have to try the next time you tackle fried chicken. First, 24 hours before you plan to make the chicken, soak the chicken in a salt and water brine (I omitted the sugar and spices from the brine to keep it easy, but you don’t have to). Keep it in the brine for 12 hours. This step is key and while it may seem a bit over the top, it just requires a bit of planning. But I know I always know when I plan to make fried chicken because it’s not necessarily a quick preparation so if you’re planning anyway, might as well do the soak.

Next, once the 12 hours are up, rinse and dry off all the brine from the chicken and place it in a new bath, a buttermilk bath. Soak it in the buttermilk for 12 hours or so. Once those 12 hours are up, remove the chicken from the buttermilk and let it set on the counter for 30-60 minutes to bring it all to room temperature.

After those two easy and pretty mindless steps, follow your favorite buttermilk fried chicken recipe. In the Pioneer Woman recipe, she forks in a little buttermilk into the spiced up flour mixture, making it so big pieces of breading stick to the chicken and crunch up. The more breading on your chicken, the more likely it’ll break off into tiny pieces in your mouth, on your plate and all over your side salad, making it way better.

Buttermilk Fried Chicken

Adapted from The Pioneer Woman Cookbook: Recipes from an Accidental Country Girl

Ingredients

• 2 cut-up fryer chickens
• 1 quart plus 1/4 cup buttermilk
• 4 cups all-purpose flour
• 3 tablespoons seasoned salt (like Lawry’s)
• 2 teaspoons black pepper
• 2 teaspoons dried thyme
• 2 teaspoons paprika
• 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• canola or vegetable oil for frying

In a large bowl (or 2 freezer bags) add the chicken with 1 quart buttermilk. Refrigerate for 12 hours, or up to 24 hours. When ready to fry, remove chicken from bowl and let sit on counter for 30-60 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350F. Stir together the flour, seasoned salt, pepper, thyme, paprika and cayenne in a very large bowl. Pour the 1/4 cup of buttermilk into the flour and use a fork to mix until little lumps throughout.

Heat 1 1/2 inches of oil in a deep skillet or dutch oven over medium high heat to 365F. Working in batches, thoroughly coat each buttermilk-soaked chicken piece with the breading, pressing to adhere the breading. Add the chicken to the oil 3-4 pieces at a time. Cover pan and fry 5-7 minutes, checking to make sure chicken isn’t getting too brown. Turn, cover and cook additional 3-5 minutes more. Monitor temperature of oil to make sure chicken doesn’t burn. Keep in mind chicken will finish cooking in oven.

Place chicken on baking sheet and continue frying rest of chicken. When done, bake the chicken for 10-15 minutes, until chicken cooked through.

Eat Boutique is an online magazine + market for food enthusiasts to celebrate the best pure, local + comforting handmade foods. We call it: food that hugs you back. Looking for the perfect gift? Eat Boutique sells a handmade gift box filled with handmade sweet and savory treats. Send an Eat Boutique gift box now.

One of my favorite photographers and an Eat Boutique contributor, Jill Chen, comes out from behind the camera to share the steps in making this beautiful recipe, courtesy of blogger/author/friend, Georgia Pellegrini. Thanks, Jill and Georgia! -Maggie

I woke up a few days ago to a front lawn full of yellow dandelions. It wasn’t planned on my part, but after reading Georgia Pellegrini’s post on making dandelion wine, I was inspired to act quickly… stalking my neighborhood for fresh untouched patches of the dreaded yellow weed.

Pick from young plants and newly opened blooms, away from sprayed areas or where dogs frequent.

I found it helpful to first spread buds out on the table for any ants or bugs to escape. Rinse well, trimming green ends off (optional).

The recipe calls for the whole buds which can be bitter, or you can pick the petals off. I ended up using a knife after my thumbs started getting sore.

Throw all the dandelion petals into a large pot. Now add the juice and coarsely chopped rind of one whole lemon and orange.

Add water, and bring to a boil for a few minutes.

Remove from heat and cover, letting it steep on the counter for 24-48 hrs.

After the steeping stage, add the sugar and activated yeast (I used Champagne yeast). Give it a good stir.

I am lucky to live near a wine-making supply store where I purchased a 2 gallon glass carboy for fermenting, cap, champagne yeast and airlock. Suddenly, I’m dreaming about growing my own grapes and having a little “garage winery.”

Using a large funnel and colander, scoop the mixture into the jug, straining everything out. You need to create an airlock, so that the CO2 can escape as it ferments, but bad yeast doesn’t get in.

This is an airlock, which was a few dollars from the wine-making supply store. Vodka (alcohol, not water) is added to create the barrier. It will bubble and allow gas out, but nothing gets in. My jug is happily gurgling and bubbling away in the basement. I’m tempted to pick more dandelions to store in the freezer. Just in case this turns out amazing, I won’t have to wait till spring to make it again. It will be Christmas when we have our first tasting. I look forward to wearing flowers in my hair and sipping a little bit of sunshine.

For me, 2011 is about building offline communities. When the clock struck midnight on December 31 of last year, I made a pledge to  evolve all my online food conversations into real life meetings. It just seemed a bit ridiculous that I had all sorts of friends in the ether, sweet folks who have listened to my rants, my loves and my silliness (mostly silliness), whom I’ve never met in real life. I’ve met community members thousands of times via professional meet-ups and focus groups because – um, hello! – I’m a community manager by trade. But 2011 is my remedy to four years of talking and typing about food and rarely meeting a fellow food lover face to face.

After nearly three months of cocktails, dinners, and coffees with many of you, I can truly say, boy, you’re all such a lovely lot! Food enthusiasts may be opinionated and perhaps (secretly) a bit scrutinizing of the food put before them, myself included, but we really appreciate a meal made with love. In late January, I had such a meal at Bondir, a newish restaurant in Cambridge, Massachusetts brought to life by Jason Bond (formerly of Beacon Hill Bistro) and his very skilled and thoughtful team. On that night, Patrick, the restaurant’s manager, offered up the restaurant for Sunday lunch. I booked a February date and invited a hundred friends.

Despite a sudden limp winter storm, 16 people accepted the 16 spots available and drove from as far as Cape Ann and Rhode Island to enjoy a three-course lunch served family style, my favorite style. Rather than bore you with another hundred words describing the meal and all its glory. I wanted to, mainly, thank each person who attended. It was an honor to break bread and sip wine with you.

I’m especially grateful to: the friend who took a red eye from the west coast in order to make the lunch; his wife who picked him up and loaded him with coffee; the rocker who played for a sold out crowd until the wee hours the night before but still showed up; the friend who braved the cold with a cold to join in; the nutritionist who put up with all of our indulgent food chat for a few hours; the lady who loves cheese who parted with her out of town visitors to eat with us; the Rhode Island-based food and wine expert who made the long drive; the columnist (whom I hadn’t seen in a year) who forged past her French jet lag for the meal; the funniest tweeter I know and her beloved; the fisher woman who writes about food and works at that big university; the lady with the tiny urban kitchen whom I barely got a moment with (sadly!); the news producer whom I was finally able to chat with briefly; and the fascinating lady who left her big old house on the sea to meet up with us.

Say all that five times fast! Now, without further hold up, here are the photos from our fabulous lunch. Please know that this will not be the last lunch. It was such a fun day and I’d like to do it again soon. Want to join in? Let me know in the comments.

A bitterly cold February evening. Seven chatty food writers. A brand new pizza restaurant. Almost 10 wood-fired pizzas.

All that just starts to set the stage for a long-awaited dinner I attended with a few fun ladies. We gathered at Pizzeria Posto (Somerville, Massachusetts) to indulge in cheese, red sauce and some rapid-fire conversation, only paused long enough to take another bite of pie or big gulp of booze.

Each of us came to the dinner table with our own stories, personal and professional ties to the food world, and fairly hilarious takes on what’s going on in food these days. And the cool thing: our food writing had lead each of us down very interesting paths (and vice versa). One had just bought a bar (wow), one had recently taken the culinary school leap (wow) and yet another was a culinary school teacher who should probably be a comedienne (totally wow and totally funny).

Despite coming from different places, many of us got a little sad thinking about Boston’s Restaurant Week. In some ways, it’s still a great way for food lovers to sample high end cuisine at affordable prices. It’s also a way to fill seats during a time when people don’t typically eat out. But some restaurateurs have to compromise quality and vision in order to meet price requirements and consumer expectations. It works for some, it sucks for others.

Personally, I’m always looking for my next favorite neighborhood joint (long live the B-side!) and make sure to show the love to my favorite boutique restaurants year-round, so they can keep doing what they do best: deliver delicious food in a warm setting. In turn, they aim to never compromise on flavor, ingredients or service. So for those not interested in Boston’s Restaurant Week, I asked these great ladies: Which single restaurant would you encourage others to visit instead and why? I’m so grateful that they shared some of their favorites, and wanted to share the food love with you.

Erin Nichols, Erin Cooks, XoXo Erin and Yummery, recommends: Garden at the Cellar (Cambridge, MA)

“Garden at the Cellar offers diners a warm and inviting experience complete with gentle lighting, cozy tables, and peekaboo glimpses into the bustling kitchen where you’ll always find the staff hard at work creating a meal that each patron will find irresistible at first bite. Try the crispy Chicken and Thyme Croquettes and the tangy Roasted Beet Salad to start – I promise you won’t be disappointed, and regardless of what your entree might be, I’m absolutely ordering you to tack on a side of the to-die-for Rosemary Truffle Fries. I’m completely addicted to those golden uniform slivers of carb heaven!”

J.J. Adams, Palate-to-Pen and My Life with Bartender, recommends: Green Street (Cambridge, MA) or Central Kitchen (Cambridge, MA)

“Personally, I don’t dine out much. When I do venture out, I head to either Green Street or Central Kitchen in Central Square. Green Street is owned by a friend of ours. The wine list sates my need for a good glass of vino and the drafts impress my mister. I usually select something from their comfort eats: chips and dip, double patty burger, mac and cheese, etc. Central Kitchen is my spot for moules marinière and steak frites. I usually sit at the bar so I may solicit wine suggestions from the bartender. Both rooms are dimly lit and comfy.”

Shelby Larsson, Lady Gouda and Eat Boutique, recommends: Citizen Public House (Boston, MA)

“The newest venture from the folks behind Franklin Cafe, Citizen Public House is a comfortable, yet unique neighborhood restaurant. While they (rightfully) get attention for their great selection of whiskey, craft beer and wine, the menu is what keeps me coming back. Pay attention to their nightly specials for creative and tasty dishes. When you arrive, try to secure what I call “the money seat” – a snug bench at the end of the expansive bar, which is a cross between my two favorite ways to dine: booth seating and bar dining. Or grab 11 of your closest friends, give the restaurant a heads up, and you can have your own personal pig roast – not your typical Restaurant Week fare at all.”

Adrienne Bruno, Hungry Bruno, recommends: Silvertone Bar & Grill (Boston, MA)

“It’s not as ‘fancy’ as some of the places on the Restaurant Week list, but Silvertone downtown on Bromfield Street is reliably good as an after work or late night spot for when standard bar food just won’t do. Not that they don’t have a good bar, because they do (the bartenders are great, actually) but the real appeal is in the macaroni and cheese. And the steak tips. And the meatloaf. And the calamari. And… I’ll stop now.”

Pam Aghababian, Cave Cibum, recommends: Neptune Oyster (Boston, MA)

“Three words: Hot. Lobster. Roll. As the winter drags on, a little reminder of summer is important. Neptune’s hot lobster roll calls to mind warm evenings by the beach, enjoying fresh-from-the-water seafood. Imagine a mess-free steamed lobster, already dipped in butter, and served with a pile of fries, and you’ve got one of the best lobster rolls in the city, no bib required.”

Maggie Battista, Eat Boutique, recommends: Highland Kitchen (Somerville, MA)

“When my week’s been just too full of too much and I’m dreaming about – more like, begging for – my weekend cocktail, I always see myself at Highland Kitchen. I imagine the warm, no-attitude welcome. I remember the cocktail menu that’s not too cool to respect tradition and smart enough to change it up frequently. I see myself snug at the corner table with a big pile of Buffalo Brussels Sprouts and an ever-changing Pig and Pickle Plate, their take on a charcuterie platter, filled with crisp pork belly, some spreadable innards and some refreshing pickled fruit. And get this: when I finally get to Highland on the weekend, it always lives up to the hype in my head.”

Now you tell us: Which single restaurant would you encourage others to visit instead and why, in Boston and beyond?

The photos appear courtesy of the following photographers: (1) Dan4th Nicholas, (2) William Selman, (3) artsnsociety, (4) Lauren K, and (5) Jeremy Brooks.

This giveaway has now closed and three winners were chosen. Everyone’s stories were wonderful, and we chose these three winners: Stephanie R., Michael and Jill.

Growing up in northern New Jersey with an Italian Father and a Honduran Mother, I definitely got to experience the best of two food worlds, and then some. On Sunday morning, I’d visit Honduras with one plate piled with black beans, pan-fried sweet plantains, and orange-tinted rice. By dinner time, I’d travel to Naples for homespun dishes all served on cheap china that clicked and clacked as we nudged ricotta raviolis, three-meat meatballs and anise cookies across the table.

This mishmash of food cultures taught me not stress too much about mixing different foods from different countries or even different continents. And as I watched both of my grandmothers go through tedious steps to remember the food from their homeland, Margaret and Zoila – two of my biggest food heroes – infused a deep respect for tradition in me. They always made food from scratch. Perhaps that’s why I started Eat Boutique, to remember their handmade food as I recognize the handmade food of others.

Fast forward to 2010 and a virtual meeting with Georgia Pellegrini. She made things from scratch. I made things from scratch. She was deeply vested in her roots. I was too. She loves her grandma’s recipes and I am consistently trying to recreate the recipes of both of mine. I kind of fell for her (hard) on our first tweet. (You will too after this giveaway…)

Georgia is all about handmade food, and has featured some pretty stellar recipes lately. I have to try her Duck Confit soon. As I made bunches of pates this past holiday season, her easy Liver Mousse has not escaped my gaze. And if you’re so inclined, you should spread that mousse all over little toasted bits of her Homemade English Muffins. (She’s done Thomas proud!)

Last year, Georgia released her first book, Food Heroes, that captures the stories and, well, the legends behind 16 food artisans. The book sits on my beside table and I read a chapter a month, taking it all in slowly, wishing to make it last forever. We’re totally honored, elated and grateful that Georgia has decided to give away not one, not two, but three books to Eat Boutique readers. You’re so lucky!

To win one of these wonderful books, your task is très easy. Leave a comment at the end of this post telling us about your food hero! We want to know who it is, their recipe you may treasure, and the impact they made or make on your life today. Your food hero may be the lunch lady from your elementary school or perhaps a big celebrity chef – either is totally cool. We’ll reward three of you with one of Georgia’s books.

So go ahead and leave a comment on your food hero fast. Super fast… because we’re choosing three winners by next Wednesday, February 9, 2011. Do it now, before we stick these guys on you! In all seriousness, these guys are wonderful and you’ll read all about them when you win the book! So what are you waiting for…?!

All of these lovely photos appear courtesy of Georgia Pellegrini.

This giveaway has now closed and three winners were chosen.

The moment the Thanksgiving dinner starts, I’m so not there. Seriously, once those delicious dishes are served, Thanksgiving becomes so five minutes ago and I’m all about Christmas. As I pass the turkey, I’m designing the holiday decor in my head. In fact, the moment I toss back my signature Thanksgiving cocktail – this year’s was a homemade infused cherry bourbon with bubbles and a smoked sugar rim – I’m thinking about holiday liquors and homemade baileys.

Yes, I know. I have a problem.

Now that Thanksgiving is really over, I’m bookmarking some fabulously festive recipes across the food blogger community. Here are a few recipes from across the inter-webs that look especially wonderful right now. Thanks to all the wonderful food bloggers who dream up these plates and inspire my holiday wanderlust, even while the turkey is still warm.

French Onion Soup Stuffed Mushrooms – I always serve stuffed mushrooms at the holidays. Sometimes they’re stuffed with ground pork or beef, sometimes I opt to use soy meat for my veggie friends. From now on, forget soy. It’s all about onions. Onion soup, to be exact.

Blood Orange Caramels – Where have these caramels been all my life? I’ve eaten the best, as far as I’m concerned, in Paris… but these could become a new favorite.

Florentine Bars – Chocolate and almond and orange in one bite-size morsel? I say yes. Thanks, Jane!

Beautiful Cake with Whole Pears – My like-minded Twitter friend Yvette styled up these gorgeous dishes for a Dutch magazine. I can totally see that loaf cake, baked with whole pears right in the center, on my holiday buffet.

Homemade Baileys – Okay, okay, this is my recipe. But if you’re going to make the Baileys Milkshake pictured above, you need the recipe to make this decadent, totally evil, totally good stuff.

Cranberry-Amaretto Kiss – As a Massachusetts lady, I should be in love with cranberries. Frankly, the tartness is just too much for me sometimes. However, mixed with Amaretto, vodka and sugar… yes, please!

Easy Triple Chocolate Biscotti Recipe – I’m a biscotti fan. I’m a chocolate fan. Allen rediscovered a totally gorgeous Gourmet recipe. And he promises you won’t chip a tooth on these cookies.

Parsnips and Salami – Oh my goodness. This would be lovely next to a nice egg dish for a holiday brunch. There’s no recipe, but do we really need one?

Roasted Feta with Thyme and Honey – I’ll be serving this sweet and salty dish one evening next week. Wanna come? You bring the bubbles.

Broiled Mussels – I can see this dish disappearing on Christmas Eve, when I serve it among the other six fish dishes to celebrate the big holiday moment.

Warm Halloumi and Chicory with Pomegranate and Walnut – I miss London. I miss Ottolenghi. Thank goodness I can drool via Yotam’s cookbooks and keep up with his vegetarian recipes via his regular column. Another salty and sweet dish for the holiday cocktail party.

What are you dreaming about cooking this season? I need even more temptation, please, so post links with your comments below.

Happy Cooking!

I adore brussels sprouts. I adore Georgia Pellegrini. When Georgia posted on brussels sprouts recently, my objects of adoration collided and it felt as if our virtual bond was forever cemented. I love anyone who loves brussels sprouts and her photos are a tribute to this under-appreciated vegetable.

Georgia is a food fanatic, chef, writer and TV personality who hunts down artisan food experiences and profiles those food heroes on her blog and in her soon-to-be-released book, appropriately titled “Food Heroes.” Georgia and I are passionate about the same stuff – hand-crafted food, the slower, old-fashioned way of preserving culture through food. We both support keeping it local and authentic. And I have a feeling she’s as into independent, small Mom-n-Pop producers, chefs and restaurateurs as I am. I will watch her food journey very, very closely.

Getting back to the food… If you hate brussels sprouts, and I’d be so disappointed in you if you did, please dig into Georgia’s easy recipe. Here’s a snippet of her post:

“As you know, I like changing people’s minds. It makes me fuzzy inside. Most people don’t like brussel sprouts. It’s the black sheep of vegetables… “eeew brussel sprouts,” is the default way to use it in a sentence. But they really are lovely little things…”

Read the rest of Georgia’s post here. Thanks for the brussels sprouts inspiration, Georgia! (Oh, and by the way, all the photos here were taken by Georgia, not me.)

I am in love with Fall. It’s my very favorite season. Alas, in New England, Fall sort of whizzes by and Winter presents itself way too soon. I treasure every moderately cool moment. I also treasure finding new sites that inspire me to want to cook, nest, drink and discover new ways to celebrate the season. I’ve been blessed with finding so many new friends via Twitter this year and I wanted to celebrate some of their very fun sites, as well as give a nod to some of my oldies but goodies. I look forward to a beautiful Fall with you all!

Clare Barboza: I met Clare Barboza via Twitter last week and have so enjoyed clicking through both her blog and food photography site. She takes great photos and tells great stories.

Gourmet Worrier: I have too many great things to say about Nanette. She’s a wonderful photographer, a great story teller and puts so much of herself into her pieces. Oh, and I just love her savory baklava.

Eating out Loud: Allen producers some great material, and tempted me tonight with these fun Pumpkin Nut Bars. I’ll be using up some canned pumpkin this weekend.

Cookbook Catchall: These are some seriously lovely photographs!

Life’s Ambrosia: If you want to think light and fresh this Fall, check out Deseree’s site. She’s a newlywed; her husband helps to take the site’s photos. The recipes are totally refreshing.

Last Night’s Dinner: Jennifer makes some good-looking food, including this pretty Potato Leek Soup with Cheddar and Dill. She also cares about local and seasonal just as much as I do. She’s got a great series of comfort food recipes all shiny and new on her site.

The Kitchenist: I discovered The Kitchenist this Summer, along with Ele’s cookbook review blog and kitchen design blog. They’re fun and very well done. And I don’t know about you, but I must try these Spicy Corn Fritters soon.

My Polaroid Blog: Polaroid may have gone out of business, but you wouldn’t know it to look at Jen’s blog. She styles with ease and her photos make me feel… hugged. She also has the most fun web site ever.

Andrea Wyner: I love Andrea’s photos. Whether travel photos or food photos, her images should be paintings because I want to swim in them and thread my fingers through all the colors. Oh, and if she needs someone to carry her bags on any of her trips, she knows who to call…

Simply Breakfast: There is an art to breakfast and Jennifer is an artist. However simple or everyday the dish, she elevates it to gorgeousness. Her photography site is inspiring too.

Pink of Perfection: Sarah’s site promises to be “a thrifty girl’s guide to the good life” and truly is! She kicked off Fall with a great list of 30 activities for the season. Will you do them all?

Ice Milk Aprons: Fall is about cooking and I want to wrap myself up in one of Ashley’s vintage-inspired aprons and cook up a storm this season. I love to read about her heirloom pursuits on her blog titled “preserves”.

Cowgirl Chef: I love the Cowgirl Chef and am hoping next time I’m in Paris, I get a guided tour! I met her through Twitter and let’s just say, she had me at… Nutella Bunuelos.

Georgia Pellegrini: Georgia is always on the hunt for local food (like me!) and her easy sage-filled beans make me think it’s time to go back to making my weekly Sunday potfuls.

Drinks Are On Me: Dale knows wine and knows exactly what to recommend whenever I’m stumped on a pairing. He’s also so handy when I need a pal to virtually toast over our yummy dishes. See you at Wine Riot, Dale!

Thank you, Heidi. Thank you for having a friend like Nikki. Thank you for visiting Nikki recently and discovering this beautiful recipe for her healthy cookies. Thank you for sharing it on your beautiful site, 101 Cookbooks, last week.

To make a long story short, I’m going through one of those phases. How can I describe it? Hmm.

Well, I just started exercising four times per week with a trainer who mocks me with her heavy weights and complaints about my hip strength. (I mean, who knew I had no hip strength?)

And after years learning about food, ingredients, and the details behind everything I put in my mouth, I’m actually starting to eat healthier, preferring a pile of gently-braised collards, kale and swiss chard over a pound of butter-soaked mashed potatoes. (No offense, potatoes. You’re yummy, but a pound of you soaked in butter does my body no good.)

On top of all that, I’ve become a huge fan of local foods and organic ingredients. My most complicated food dilemma involves deciding whether to eat the local ground cherries that I picked myself or the sweet, sexy, plump organic figs that someone flew in from California. Really, I struggle over these types of decisions daily, as I truly want to put my money where my mouth is, but when you’re invited to a luciously extravagant meal at the latest hip Boston restaurant, you can’t beat yourself up about how that sweet, raw fish is flown in from Japan, daily. I try not to cry over the environmental impact and the fact that our north shores have some of the best fish in the world. Alas, fresh Gloucester fish is not covered in foie gras and truffles and homemade potato chips and gently-braised garlic and sea urchin and… oh, never mind. You get my point.

So to make a long story long, I’m going through one of those phases where I worry about food and exercise and our environment on a daily basis. And when I worry, I crave sweet stuff. And when I crave sweet stuff, I usually want chocolate. Not super healthy dark chocolate, but super sugary milk chocolate. The stuff that puts weight on my oh-so-not-strong hips.

Heidi’s web site has become a beacon of hope for me in this troubling food world we live in. She reinterprets traditional comfort food into healthy, vegetarian, sometimes-vegan delights. I heart Heidi, and am not an ounce jealous that she gets to whip up foodie miracles as a full-time job. Not. Jealous. One. Bit.

So, thank you, Heidi. (I hope I get to say that in person some day, at some food festival or one of my trips out west, and perhaps interview her for this site someday.) These cookies, packed with healthy rolled oats, unsweetened coconut, almond meal, mushy bananas, coconut oil and some other fine stuff, is just the sort of thing I needed this morning when my cold is apt to get the better of me and compel me to feed it. (Feed a cold, right?)

I did opt to substitute the dark chocolate with organic milk chocolate chips. I did this just because I could. I had expensive Swiss dark chocolate in front of me, but reached for the milk chocolate instead. I figured a few chips won’t hurt, right, my fabulous, sweet, gorgeous trainer? These healthy cookies are delicious, moist and have just a touch of sweetness from the bananas. If I had kids who didn’t like healthy-tasting foods, I might add a spell of maple syrup to sweeten it up a bit more.

Oh, and one final note, don’t get discouraged when you can’t find unsweetened coconut in any mainstream supermarket. Mainstream supermarkets simply don’t care about sugar content; they care about putting good deals in front of customers and good deals often involve processed, unhealthy grossness. I ended up getting mine at Whole Foods. It was fairly affordable too, go figure.