Ugs. The family is going out for one of the few things that I cannot really have post transplant. Sushi. This sucks.

I'm back in CT after two days of doctor appointments in Boston. They wanted to check out my heart, since my heart rate had been a bit irregular right after my surgery. The good news is that my heart is doing just fine.

Then last night we went to Evoo, one of my favorite restaurants. I'd wanted my mom to go for a while, as I thought she'd really like it. And she did. I had the Chinese Box, my favorite thing on the menu, and as always it was quite yummy.

Then today was my regular appointment at the transplant clinic. Everything looks to be doing okay. And the best news is they gave me the okay to drive. So I believe I'll be taking a short drive tomorrow :). So happy!

Today I made ribs using my friend Ellen's favorite recipe. Overall I'd say they came out quite good. I think I have some experimenting to do with the spice rub, but the ribs themselves came out nice and tender.

It felt nice to be cooking. I also did corn on the cob on the grill, which I think is one of my favorite ways to have it. Just soak it in water for a while in water and put it right on the grill. Don't bother shucking it until you are ready to eat it.

McDonalds is starting a new ad compaign urging people to get some exercise.

McDonald's Says It's Time to Exercise

MCDONALD'S has a suggestion for Americans, who are becoming obese in alarming numbers: get some exercise. The company, under fire from those who say its food plays a role in the nation's obesity problem, introduced a marketing campaign yesterday promoting physical activity as part of a balanced life. The theme: "It's what I eat and what I do ... I'm lovin' it." The campaign includes commercials that largely dispense with traditions like showing the product, the restaurants or people eating food. One spot even tells viewers, "Maybe you should spend less time with your TV." [NYTimes]

When my parents went to New Mexico on vacation last year they discovered elk. It is one of my mom's favorite meats now. After their trip they ordered some elk and last night I got to try some of it. I have to say it was quite good. The taste was mild. I wouldn't have guessed that it wasn't beef.

From what I understand that in comparison with other meats it is actually not that bad for you at all. Especially when you look at things like fat content. I hope mom gets some more soon.

This is probably my favorite cookie recipe ever. They are just so addicting once you start eating them.

Chocolate Crackles

(Moist, Fudgy Type Cookies)

• 4 squares unsweetened chocolate
• 1/2 cup salad oil
• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 4 eggs, unbeaten
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 2 cups sifted flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• (1/2 cup walnuts optional, we've never made it with them)
• 1 cup powdered sugar

Melt chocolate in top of double boiler. Remove from water and let chocolate cool some. Blend in oil and sugar and add eggs one at a time and beat well after each addition. Add vanilla. Sift together flour, baking powder and salt. Stir into chocolate mixture. Add nuts (ew) and mix thoroughly. Chill soft dough for several hours or overnight. Shape into small balls and roll in powdered sugar. bake on greased baking sheet at 350 degrees for 10 minutes. The powdered sugar coating will crack apart, giving an interesting effect. Makes 6 dozen small cookies.

Today we're making gingerbread houses. It's a tradition that my mom has some friends over and they make them every year. I'm most likely going to be working on one, but for the moment have been busy taking pictures of the houses as they are constructed and decorated. I'll be posting to Flickr once they are done.

So I've seen anime with giant robots, anime about baseball, anime about playing Go, and anime about tennis (to name a few). But I never thought I'd see one about baking bread. Yakitate!! Japan is about Kazuma and his quest to make a national bread for Japan. He figures that since many other countries have types of bread they are known for, Japan needs one too. He's also blessed with 'Solar Hands', which are abnormally warm and help make the bread rise faster after kneading.

This show is just too much fun. They've compensated for bread not being the most exciting topic by making it insanely over the top. The main character's bread seems to be so good that it makes the people tasting it hallucinate. For instance, when tasting a bread he made with goats milk butter one character hallucinated flying through space to the constellation Capricorn. But mixed in with all the over the top antics are little bits of information about baking bread (I think most of it is fairly accurate).

Now here's a chance for anime to break a bit more into the mainstream. It could be on FoodTV. It was be a perfect match! And finally a show I can share with my mom (who used to teach a bread baking class).

I just got done making Cheddar Cheese Scones and they are so good. The recipe has cubes of cheese in it, and it gets all melty and they're really yummy. I'll post the recipe up here when I get around to typing it in (It was in the most recent Gourmet I believe too).

Updated: Here's a picture of one of them.

Seen over on Gizmodo. A yo-yo ice cream maker.

I personally think that after 10 minutes of using that to mix your ice cream your arm would be pretty tired. I guess it might be good to keep kids busy for a bit.

I finally got around to fixing the Brownie Recipe I had posted a year or two ago. I kept meaning to do it and forgetting. But then my mom said that my sister had looked it up here and I suddenly paniced. Since if you followed the previous directions you'd have sugar and eggs left over, and I'm guessing that would taste pretty bad.

Pepsi has a new version for the holidays: Holiday Spice Pepsi. You too can enjoy pepsi with the taste of cinnamon and ginger while you sip your holiday pepsi.

Here's a recipe for some Cider Sorbet that my mom makes. It's really good.

Cider Sorbet

• 4 cups cider
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 cup orange juice
• 1 cup lemon juice
• 1/4 cup dark rum (Myers is what she uses)

Simmer cider with sugar for five minutes. Add remaining ingredients. Process in an ice-cream maker until slushy and firm, then place in containers and freeze. This can also be made by freezing in a shallow container until mushy, then processing in a blender or food processor until smooth and put into containers for freezing.

Ingredients can also be adjusted to taste.

Since I haven't been posting much in the last few days, here's a recipe that my mom made the other day that kicked ass. I think she got it from the New York Times originally.

Updated 11/1: Just found it posted again to the NYTimes web site with corrections (thanks to ellen).

Bolzano Apple Cake

Time: 1 1/4 Hours

• 1 stick butter (4 ounces), plus more for greasing pan
• 1/2 cup flour, plus more for pan
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 vanilla bean
• 1 1/4 lbs Granny Smith apples (3 to 4 small to medium)
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 cup milk at room temperature
• Powdered sugar

1. Heat oven to 375 Degrees. Line 8-inch square pan with foil, then smear with think layer of butter. Dust with flour; turn pan over, and tap lightly to remove excess flour.
2. Melt butter in a small saucepan. Set aside. Beat together eggs and half of sugar in a bowl. Continue to beat while slowly adding remaining sugar until thick; it should form a ribbon when dropped from spoon.
3. Split vanilla bean in two lengthwise. Scrape seeds into the egg-sugar batter and add pod to melted butter.
4. Peel, quarter and core apples, then trim ends and slice thinly.
5. Remove vanilla pod from butter and stir butter into sugar-egg batter. Combine 1/2 cup flower and baking powerder, then stir it into batter alternately with milk. Stir in apples, coating every piece with batter. Pour batter into pan, using fingers to pat top evenly.
6. Bake for 25 minutes, then rotate the pan; bake for about 25 m minutes more, until cake pulls away from pan and is brown on top; a thin bladed knife inserted into the center will come out clean when it is done. Cool 30 minutes, then cut lengthwise and sprinkle slices with powdered sugar.

Yield: 6 to 8 services

From over on Popgadget, a soft serve ice cream maker from Kitchen Aid. From the KitchenAid web page for it:

This pro-style dessert maker is both fun and convenient bringing professional results into the home. Featuring a built-in batch freezing system, the PRO LINEâ„¢ Series Frozen Dessert Maker will produce a variety of drinks and desserts in about 30 minutes

Even drug abusers know that cheese rocks:

Drug abusers target cheese

ST. JOHN'S  —  Police in St. John's say drug abusers trying to pay for their habits has led to a thriving black market for cheese.

The Royal Newfoundland Constabulary says stealing and reselling food from supermarkets and other stores to support addictions is becoming quite common.

Earlier this week, they say a man threatened to stab people with a hypodermic needle in the parking lot of a supermarket.

Staff Sgt. June Layden says he was holding a number of blocks of cheese when police arrested him "Right now we believe it was between 12 and 16 blocks, quite a quantity of cheese," she says.

Patrick Corrigan, 26, is charged with theft and assault in connection with the incident.

Layden says cheese theft is a growing problem in this province — and that the people stealing it need quick money to buy drugs like OxyContin.

"From speaking with a number of people yesterday including some employees at some of our larger supermarkets ... they are finding people are coming in and stealing it by blocks," she says. [read more] [via lonita.links.log]

One of my favorite cookies ever. I can easily eat almost a whole batch in one sitting if I'm not careful.

Peanut Blossoms

• 1/2 cup butter
• 1/3 cup peanut butter (chunky is okay if you want)
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 3/4 cup flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• Chocolate Kisses

Cream together butter, peanut butter, and sugars. Add egg and vanilla. Blend in mixed dry ingredients gradually. Shape dough into small balls and roll in sugar. Place on greased baking sheets and bake at 375 degrees for 8 minutes. Remove from oven and press on Kisses. Return to oven for 2-5 minutes more baking. (Watch to make sure the kisses don't melt or burn).

Alton Brown in his Speedo TSB2000.