We'll now return to our regularly scheduled programming. . .

There's just no good way to start a blog post after a six month hiatus (I guess this is a start). I'm just going to let that first sentence be satisfactory and provide short description of the past few months, in no particular order, so we can get back to munching on here.

• I graduated with a B.A. in Environmental Studies from the University of Michigan! (I also happen to be on the lookout for a job with an environment-food-sustainability-people kind of focus. ;))

A cold, rainy Ann Arbor morning with lifelong bestie, Abby!

• Visited my older sister in DC with my younger sister and our friend whose name is also Madeline. 

• Met Jenna of Eat, Live, Run in Ann Arbor. . .twice. First at a meet-up she organized and then the following day when she wandered into my workplace. 
• Speaking of workplace, I now know significantly more about cheese, wine and the like since the last time we talked.
• I had cereal for dinner tonight, again. I promise breakfast and lunch have been better.  

The Great Food Blogger Cookie Swap

Alternate Titles: The Day I Ate Seven Cookies, or The Week Cookies Became a Diet Staple.

Over the past few weeks I have been participating in The Great Food Blogger Cookie Swap. The swap, organized by two bloggers, resulted in over 600 people shipping cookies in and out of the U.S. Each participant sent out a dozen cookies to three other bloggers and received three dozen cookies in return.

Last Sunday evening I baked Martha Stewart's Mexican Hot Chocolate Cookies to send to my matches in Ohio, Tennessee, and Connecticut. I had a little local inspiration. One of the food carts that popped up in Ann Arbor this year makes the most delicious vegan (although you would never know its vegan) Mexican Hot Chocolate Cookies. My cookies weren't as spicy as my inspiration's were, but they had subtle kick. Here's the recipe I used,  only slightly adapted from Martha's version.

Mexican Hot Chocolate Cookies

from Martha Stewart

• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 teaspoons cream of tartar
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
• 1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 3/4 cups sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon of cayenne pepper, additional for dusting if desired

Mix flour, cocoa powder, cream of tartar, baking soda, salt and cayenne pepper, set aside. Cream together butter and 1 1/2 cups of sugar until smooth, then add eggs. Once mixed gradually add the flour mixture until fully incorporated. Preheat oven to 400F. In a small bowl mix remaining sugar, cinnamon and cayenne if desired, roll tablespoons of dough in this mixture before putting on a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Bake cookies for 8-10 minutes in the oven, rotating the baking sheet halfway through. 


. . .and if you're participating in the cookie swap, package up your cookies and send!

After baking and sending my cookies, the exciting part came - receiving cookies. Ironically, the same day I sent my cookies I received two dozen cookies. Salty Sweet Cookies from Kiss My Whisk and Oatmeal Chocolate Chip MAGIC Cookies from Ma Vie en Rose. Both cookies were delicious, and both bloggers were nice enough to send along recipe cards. I can't wait to eat both of these again. Later in the week, I received my final shipment of cookies (as if I hadn't eaten enough already) from Girly Obsessions. These lovely gals sent along Barcelona Cookies, which are dark chocolate wafers with almonds and fleur de sel.

The cookie swap was really fun and something to look forward to amidst that wanting-to-fall-over-from-finals-frustration-and-exhaustion feeling. If your a blogger interested in participating next year, sign up here to receive notifications next year on the swap.

Penne with Pumpkin Cream Sauce

What is Madeline eating for dinner tonight? Leftovers. What is she eating for dinner tomorrow night? Leftovers. And the next night? Leftovers! (I know, I know, this thought crosses your mind every night.) Ribollita from 101 Cookbooks + Penne with Pumpkin Cream Sauce = Two recipes in two days designed for families of 4-6. It's truly a blessing in disguise though, this is a crazy week at school. 

Last night I made the penne pasta dish and invited my friend Caroline over for dinner. I found the recipe for this dish on Classico's website after receiving their new Light Creamy Alfredo to try as part of the Foodbuzz Tastemaker's Program. The thought of pumpkin and alfredo was intriguing to me and I was pleasantly surprised by the finished product. The combination of light alfredo and pumpkin produced a thick looking, light sauce. I actually preferred the light alfredo to other alfredos I've tried which I usually feel just sit in my stomach. I would definitely make this again for a quick, crowd pleasing meal.

Since making this I've noticed a few bloggers making pumpkin mac and cheese. This also sounds delicious but I think I will wait until my shelf of in the refrigerator is visible again. 

Penne with Pumpkin Cream Sauce and roasted carrots and parsnips.

Hope you are having a great week!

Saturday Morning @ the A2 Farmer's Market

Is there anything better then a cool, crisp fall morning at the Farmer's Market? I'm doubtful, but I suppose a cool, crisp fall morning at the market with family and friends would have been even better. There wasn't a cloud in the sky this morning when I walked over to the market, walking on the sunny side of the street of course. On my list was kale for soup I hope to make today or tomorrow, apples, and the rest subject to market finds. I ended up walking away with kale, acorn squash, salad greens, sage, apples, roasted chestnuts and an Algerian pastry, for a total of $16. I am so lucky to live so close to a great market. I plan to take full advantage the rest of the year, since I have no idea where I will be ending up after this (school) year.

As silly as it sounds, I attribute some of my favorite new things at the market to the the Ann Arbor Farmer's Market Twitter account. I would have never learned about Al Meida, a producer of the most delicious Algerian Pastries (my personal favorites are Caak, picture below, and the Kaab el Gahzal). 

And I certainly wouldn't have given a second look, or even looked for the vendor roasting chestnuts at the market today had it not popped up on Twitter. Two dollars for a generous portion of roasted chestnuts seemed like quite a deal. There gone now, sad, but they'll be back at the market on December 10th. 

Silly I know, but it is kind of cool how social media makes it way into seemingly non-technological sectors. I find myself reading about things and connecting with people that I otherwise would not have. I, without a doubt, waste to much time on Facebook and Twitter but it turns out to be an effective waste time. :) Or at least that is what I'll keep telling myself...

The Great Food Blogger Cookie Swap

Not too much blog worthy cooking going on the past few days. Food getting me through the days has included turkey sandwiches, roasted and raw veggies, apples, pears, bagels (lots of bagels), Halloween candy, Chinese food and other random unhealthy things. I'm hoping to simultaneously shift my (as of late) unhealthy eating habits and gets lots of other stuff done this week. But on to something really exciting. . .

The Great Food Blogger Cookie Swap! I learned about the swap on Twitter as follower of Lindsay of Love & Olive Oil (who is one of the organizers of the swap). About 500 food bloggers have signed up to participate so far. The way it works is I will be given three names and addresses to send cookies to (and three different bloggers will receive my information as well). I'll send cookies to them by a certain date and receive cookies from other bloggers as well. I will be blogging about the swap in early December - so watch for the post!

If you are a food blogger interested in participating, sign up here by November 15th.

All I have left to do is test a few cookies recipes. I'm sure my roommates won't mind. 

Fall Flavored Iced Coffee

As the east coast gets a generous dusting of snow and here in the Mitten I'm averaging two long sleeves shirts several hours a day, today is probably one of the last socially acceptable days to post about iced coffee. Just in time for cold temperatures, I may have found the best method for making iced coffee at home (well, the New York Times found it and shared).

Mix a 1 1/2 cups of water with 1/3 of a cup of coffee grounds. Stir together grounds and water, and let them sit together at room temperature for 12 hours or overnight. After sitting, pour the mixture through a coffee filter, fine mesh strainer, etc. You will be left with a coffee concentrate. To enjoy as iced coffee, use a 1:1 ratio of coffee concentrate:water (obviously adding ice, milk as desired). This recipe should make two large glasses of iced coffee.

Look Mom, no condensation! Special thanks to Tervis and Foodbuzz for the opportunity to try out their tumblers. 

Perhaps, equally as exciting as the new iced coffee method was the coffee grounds I used. I received two pounds of flavored coffee - Caramel Pecan Bark and Pumpkin Spice - from Godiva as part of the Foodbuzz Tastemakers Program. I don't buy flavored coffee often but I liked the subtle flavors in these coffees when hot, nothing too overwhelming. When I prepared the Caramel Pecan Bark as iced coffee the caramel flavor stood out much more which was a pleasant surprise, very smooth. Side note, these coffees both get an A+ for smell. I noticed Godiva has a $2 off coupon for coffee on their website as well for all you clippers.

I think I've found my cool weather coffee experiment - Cappuccino in a French Press!

P.S. You can now receive Munching in the Mitten in your inbox. Subscribe over on the left under "RECEIVE NEW POSTS IN YOUR INBOX." ;)

Butternut Squash & Cranberry Maple Millet

I've had the recipe for Butternut Squash & Cranberry Maple Millet on my brain ever since I saw it on Daily Garnish last Friday.

Last night when I should have been writing a paper for Urban Planning and figuring out my vermicompost research project, I was cooking instead. Getting that recipe off my mind. I did the other stuff eventually too. Sort of. But if not last night, when? I'll be writing papers the rest of the week, and before you know it will be time to go home for Fall Break. Plus, now I have leftovers.

The recipe couldn't be easier. Roast butternut squash, cook millet, make dressing and stir together. Maple, squash, and cranberries - tastes like fall.