Still Pinteresting

I'm still pretty hooked on Pinterest as a recipe resource, and have found a few good things to go into regular rotation. Aside from the crockpot porridge debacle, I haven't done too badly so far. 

Chocolate cake. You're supposed to bake this in two pans and then sandwich together with chocolate cream, but I don't have two pans the same size (one's gone missing and damned if I know what happened to it), so I just made two smaller cakes and froze one. I just iced it with a mix of icing sugar, cocoa and a smidge of water, and it came out beautifully. It also kept really well for days - it never dried out even after four days. In short, it was a pretty damn amazing cake, and I will definitely make it again next time I have reason to bake a chocolate cake. I didn't have any buttermilk so I just did the plain milk/vinegar trick and it worked fine. 

Stuffed zucchini. These were nice, but nothing really exciting - let's face it, anything with melted cheese on top of it is going to be good. I'd make them again but I wouldn't stuff them the same way - it was a bit of a palaver. Next time I'll cut the zucchinis length-ways and make stuffed 'boats'. Also, that will give more surface area for melted cheese! 

Ham and zucchini quinoa cups. I loved these - they were really easy to make and they were nice cold in mid-week lunch boxes. I will definitely make them again, and maybe experiment with different vegetables, as it would be a good way to use up bits and pieces. 

Chocolate chip cookies. Pretty much every chocolate chip cookie recipe on Pinterest claims to be the best, and this one is no exception. Interestingly, you're supposed to leave the dough in the fridge for 24-36 hours before baking. I was curious to see if it would make any difference, so I baked several cookies as soon as I'd mixed it all together, then put the rest of the dough in the fridge as instructed. The ones I made first were okay - nice enough, but nothing at all special or particularly delicious. I was not impressed and thought that I wouldn't bother with them again. However, the ones I made the following day were a different story. After the dough had been left for a day it made the most amazing, chewy cookies that were to die for. I don't understand science so I have no clue what could have made such a difference to the same mix, but I think the claim of being 'the best' is not unfounded. Sidenote: this made a massive amount of cookies (83). Next time I make them I will either halve the recipe or freeze half the dough for another time. 

Cheese and spinach rolls. So easy, and totally delicious. It's just fresh ricotta, feta and spinach mixed together and spread over puff pastry. We had them hot for dinner with a salad and then cold the following day for lunch, and we both agreed that they were better cold. These are definitely going to be a regular lunch staple. Love them!