Beans, Icebox Cookies, Science

Last week, I broke my No Weeknight Drinking rule for reasons I probably don’t have to explain, but as of Sunday, I’m back to my old routine — my FaceTime wine date last night was postponed — and it reminded me about how much better I sleep when I haven’t had a cocktail or a glass of Chardonnay. When I wake up in the middle of the night these days, it’s impossible to shut my brain off. And it feels good to at least attempt to adhere to old rules. (Fast forward to tonight’s instagram story where I’ll be pounding martinis.) Anyway, yesterday wasn’t a huge cooking day — we made cheeseburgers with Impossible meat for dinner with an rice-wine-vinegar and soy-sauce-y slaw, and afterwards, started that insane documentary Tiger King on Netflix. (Abby: “What even is this?”) Here is today’s Pantry, Project, Purpose…

Pantry: All The Beans

In “Burning Questions,” my cooking column for Cup of Jo, I answered the question on many a cook’s mind, i.e. “What do I make with all the beans I panic-bought?” Head over there for a few ideas, including what to do with these crispy-spicy garbanzos above.

Project: Mexican Chocolate Icebox Cookies

As you might have guessed by the name, these cookies require some chill time in the freezer, at least six hours. (Unless you decide to mix in the dough into vanilla ice cream, which I’m 100% OK with.) But that might be a nice way to structure your day. Make the dough in the morning, slice and bake the dough in time for dessert after dinner. Note: These were also in my first book, Dinner: A Love Story, and were adapted from a classic Maida Heatter recipe.

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 
3/4 cup cocoa powder
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1⁄4 teaspoon cayenne
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
12 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 1/2  teaspoons vanilla extract
1 egg

Sift together the flour, cocoa powder, cinnamon, cayenne, salt, and pepper in a medium bowl.

In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar. Beat in the vanilla and egg.

Using your mixer, gradually add the dry mixture to the butter mixture until dough is uniform in color and no unmixed flour remains. Using lightly floured hands, divide the dough into two pieces and shape each half into a log (about 8 inches long). Wrap tightly in wax paper or plastic wrap and freeze inside two tall drinking glasses on their sides (so cookie dough doesn’t flatten on one side) for at least six hours and up to 6 weeks.

When ready to use, preheat the oven to 375°F. Slice the frozen dough in rounds (about 1/4-inch thick), place in baking sheets, and bake for 8 to 10 minutes. The cookies are ready when they feel a bit firm at the edges. Monitor them closely because the cookie’s dark color makes it hard to detect when they’re burning. Store in an airtight container when cool.

Serve with vanilla ice cream if you have it.

Purpose: Follow the Scientists

I know I’m not alone when I say that one of the most enraging things has been watching our President lie to a scared and vulnerable public every single day of this crisis. (I don’t know a lot, but I know this is not ending by Easter.) I know it can be hard to listen to the people who are telling it straight, but it’s crucial. My college roommate Ingrid Katz is a doctor and faculty director at Harvard’s Global Health Institute, and here are a few of the people she recommends following on Twitter if you want to follow the experts:

Marc Lipsitch, Eric Topol, Peter Hotez, Preeti Malani, Sue Desmond-Hellman, Laurie Garrett, Johns Hopkins School of Public Health Harvard Global Health institute.

Stay safe, stay home.

The goal of the Project, Pantry, Purpose series to keep us sane, distracted, and connected. Please continue to comment below with suggestions for recipes, projects (for kids and adults), good deeds, donation ideas, stories, movies, games, puzzles. Or just tell me how you’re doing, what you’re up to, and how DALS can help you or people in your community. You can also email me directly at [email protected].