I think I’d like to write a book about how to make friends, entitled How to Make Friends, the almost fairytale.

Chapter One

Once upon a time there was a lonely girl who had but one friend… her snaggle-toothed mother.  One day, in the kitchen, she stumbled upon a rare and delicious combination.  A combination never before discovered in the land of Lonleyia.  Warm, soft, salty dough met with… hot dogs.

It was as though rainbows, unicorns, and friendly hobbits had descended upon this special girl.  People came from far and wide to sample her new found delicacy and friendships blossomed abound.  It was like Springtime.  Springtime of friendships.

Even the girl’s snaggle-toothed mother made a friend or two.

Never again was the lonely girl lonely (or hungry)…

The end.

Yea… my next book only has one chapter, one recipe, and about 34 words.  No biggie.

So!  You have two options here.  You can re-read this story  and go take a nap OR (and I totally suggest this next option) you could make these pretzel dogs this weekend, serve them with spicy mustard and cold beer, and make (or solidify) friendships of your own.

Choose your own adventure.  No bigs.

Essentially, we’re wrapping soft dough around hot dogs.  It’s nothing more complicated than that.

If that doesn’t sound like the best thing to happen all week, I invite you to come back in two days from now.

Ps.  I love you.

Don’t be fooled by the twisty and golden brown nature of pretzels… they’re actually really simple to make.

It all starts with yeast, warm water, and flour.

At first the dough is shaggy shaggy.

With a little work of the dough hook, it will come together!

This is the luscious dough before rising.

It should feel light and soft.  This will be a tender dough.  It will be slightly sticky, but not sticky enough to actually stick to your hands.

It’s like a little dough pillow.

If your first instinct is to rest your head on the dough… you’re on the right track.

This is real life.

It’s juuust dough.  Back off, kitten!

Beautifully risen dough.

It’s like magic in a bowl.

My trick?

I leave dough to rise in an OFF gas oven, or on the back burner of my stovetop with the oven left on at 200 degrees F.

Cut the soft dough into 16 pieces (for 1/2 hot dogs) or 8 pieces (for big ol’ whole hot dogs).

So light and tender.

But don’t eat it yet!

Rolling the dough into ropes.

Channel your Play-Doh days.

Ropes get rolled 12-inches long for half dogs, and 24-inches for whole dogs.  It’s science… or not at all.

If this seems like SO MUCH FUN to you… I consider us friends.

Just make sure that the ends are sealed and pressed together.

The next step is boiling!

If the dogs aren’t sealed up tight they might unravel a bit… which is totally not the end of the world, ps.

Pretzels are boiled in a baking soda and water solution.

The baking soda changes the alkalinity of the outside of the pretzel.  Baking soda is what gives pretzels their distinctive chewy crunch and golden color.

Baking soda is what separates these pretzel dogs from bagel dogs… and these are most certainly NOT bagel dogs.

Although… if you’re interested in bagel pizza… I was too.

Serve these pretzel dogs to many.  You’ll need to share.  Don’t be like me and eat too many.  While you’re in the kitchen making awesome, you might also consider these Fried Pickles!

These pretzel dogs are so warn, tender, and utterly delicious.  I promise that these darlings will find you friends, lovers, and stalkers of the feline variety.

ps.  Leave Me Alone, Kitten!

This is total brain food.

If you think you know what I mean by that… think again.

This is the sort of dish that you can make seated at your kitchen counter, or at your the desk that you’ve cleared off, or sitting on the floor beside the coffee table.  This is the sort of dish that you sit, and make, and think with your brain… while you let your fingers do the working.

Taking the time to making these little pockets is the slightly more productive equivalent to standing in the kitchen with buttery crackers, peanut butter, and Lucky magazine.

Taking the time to make these little treats is also the equivalent to  listening to Van Morrison’s Veedon Fleece on repeat.  It’s just good for the brain.

If you don’t know… now ya know.

This is no time to celebrate fresh peas.  But! Frozen peas, brought to life with boiling water.  We’re good to go!

…I should tell you how many times a week I defrost peas and call them dinner.  It might make you worry about me.

Essentially, we making little ravioli pockets with pulverized peas.

We’ll mix the peas with lemon juice and zest, bread crumbs, garlic, shallots, parsley, and cheeeeeese!

This recipe is inspired by The Gourmet Cookbook…. my old standby.

The recipe combines pea ravioli with a lemon chicken broth… gorgeous!  Think about it… maybe this is your dinner style!

Here’s the thing that we need to talk about.

I made these ravioli pockets using pre-made wonton wrappers.  The kind of wrappers that are already perfectly portioned for fried wontons, boiled ravioli, or decadent Nutella pockets.

I know….  it seems like once you know how simple it is to make pasta… you’re not allowed to cheat with wonton squares.

But this is real life.  I don’t have a pasta roller.  And I have to desire to use a rolling pin and fight to make perfect little squares.

Wonton wrappers!!  You can find them in most groceries, in the refrigerated section.

Let’s just go with it.

Pea pesto is easily brought together in a food processor.  The toughest part about this step is, um… actually having a food processor.

I have this blender and mini food processor combo.  It has made me happy.  Boom.

Two edges of the ravioli square are moistened with water, using your finger.  Then the edges are formed into a triangle and pressed together.  Give it a good press.

Oh… also.. my watch calls it 11:07.  Fyi.

After the pocket is well sealed, bring together the two far corners.  We’re going to glue them together…

With just a dab of water… the corners get pressed together.

These little ravioli cook up in boiling, salted water in about 2 minutes.  Top with spicy tomato sauce and you’re good for dinner!

A few helpful notes:

-  Ravioli will begin to stick together if filled and left to sit atop one another.  Lay them flat, separated by parchment paper, and refrigerate.

-  Ravioli can be spread in a single layer and frozen.  To enjoy, place in boiling water until they float and are warmed through.

-  Don’t have a fancy food processor?  I totally get it!  These ravioli can be made with store bought pesto… no problem!  Spruce pesto up with whole peas, chicken pieces, or bacon bits (not store-bought!)… use your imagination.  Enjoy the project!

-  Kids can help!  I think they can, at least.  Cats can not help.  That much has been determined.

-  Ravioli can also be filled with sweet treats.  I’m thinking Nutella.  If filled with chocolate hazelnut spread… consider pan frying until crisp.  Boiled Nutella would be weird.

-  Relax and enjoy making these.  Don’t worry about the fancy food processor or pasta roller that you might not have.  Cooking is all about making what you have work for you.  Let’s just chill and do.

My grandmother used to have a house dress, house hair, and house shoes.  She made no apologies for boiling her fresh vegetables half way to kingdom come.  She sat with her Bible at every spare moment.

I… well, I have a house sweater.  It’s big and grey with floppy sleeves and giant buttons.  It’s just a house sweater, unless of course I decide that it can handle a quick trip to the store or a quick meet with a friend.  It really should stay in the house, as beat up and unattractive as it is… but sometimes it’s just too warm and cozy to part with.  I don’t even want to talk about introducing the house sweater to someone that you’re dating.  That’s a whole other beast to tackle.

My grandmother would support my house sweater.  She’d nod in quiet understanding.  She’d also love that I have her Bible on my nightstand, and I read and reread all the bits she underlined in red pen.  This salad?  She would not understand.  It’s entirely too fresh and crisp and… unboiled.  I suppose that’s the difference between her Tennessee blood and my California living.

Blood oranges are here and I couldn’t be happier.  Every orange is different.  The red tinting can be subtle or totally bonkers.  Beauty fruit.  I’m so into it!

I combined sweet blood oranges with creamy avocado, salty feta cheese, and crunchy sunflower seeds.

Spinach too.  Fully of flavor and health.  On the real.

This is the sort of salad that you can eat and feel like you’re indulging in a good life.  Not like you’re on a diet.  Not like you’re depriving yourself of peanut butter cups.  This salad is a treat in itself… and totally justify peanut butter cups for dessert.

This salad was inspired by a really lovely book.  Tender by Nigel Slater.  It’s like an encyclopedia for vegetables with gorgeous, simple, indulgent recipes for each vegetable.  I love the photographs and recipe lay outs.  Very laid back and personal, but beautifully intentional.  The man knows has a gorgeous respect for food.

Thanks sister!  Major gift!

This recipe is in paragraph form… that means take it easy and enjoy the process.  Just go with it.  Don’t have feta cheese?  Try goat cheese crumbles.  No sunflower seeds?  Toasted walnuts would be lovely.  No blood oranges?  Grapefruit is the way to go!

Have you ever tried to peel dates?

Yea… me neither.  Except I totally tried.  It was hard. It was futile.

Did you know you’re not supposed to peel dates? You’re not.  All it takes is one text to a friend.. and you’ll know for sure.

Texting with sticky fingers. It’s just real.  No biggie.

I love this spread.  It’s bold.  It’s how I want to live my whole life:  sweet, spicy, tart, and good on everything.

Yea… that’s exactly how I want to live my life.  Most days.  Most days are tart days.

This spread is flavored with lemon zest, fresh grated ginger, earthy cumin, and spicy chili flakes.  There’s also a load of fresh lemon juice.  Just lovely.  It packs a punch.

You saw the closeup.  This is a less close up.

I just can’t resist.  He’s all fluff.

This spread gets cooked down and pureed.

This is the cooked down part of the process.

Maybe I ate a hearty amount of spread just like this?  So what.  Stop staring.

I served this spicy sweet spread on warm garlic naan. It was divine!  It was piled on.  It was double dipped.  It was alluringly spicy and irresistibly sweet.  This spread would also be incredible on a turkey sandwich, or as a thick sauce with roasted chicken or pork, and smashed potatoes.

Think big! Live big too!

I think maybe I can see into my future.  Well, I can see into my future if my future involves me being pregnant.

If I’m ever a pregnant Joy the Baker… oh sweet lordy… God help us all.

I’ll totally be one of those pickles and ice cream women.  I’ll also be a marshmallow and peanut butter woman.  …and maybe a pizza and taffy kind of lady.

It’s the future.  I can feel it.

I hope and pray that pregnant Joy the Baker is also still into kale and quinoa.

Thank goodness that’s all a long way away.

In the meantime… I’ll just turn pickles into fries and pretend the yogurt dipping sauce is actually vanilla bean ice cream.

This is what a typical pickle shoot looks like.  Totally normal.  Nothing to see here.

I should tell you now that this is a double battered, fried pickle situation.

First the cornichons are bathed in a beaten egg with mustard and hot sauce.

mmm hmm.

A dusting of seasoned flour… then back to the egg bath!

The extra egg bath makes the panko bread crumbs stick like glue.Well… delicious glue.

These darlings are ready for the fryer (and ready for a hot date with an ice cream cone).

Hot from the fryer!  These fried pickles are warm with a hint of spice.  They’re salty, crunchy, and unreasonably comforting.  It’s weird magic.

I paired these pickle fries with a super simple cumin yogurt dip.  Cumin, yogurt, Dijon mustard, salt and pepper.  I dunno… why not fake your way into some health with yogurt dip for your fried indulgence.  mm hmm.  Divine.

I know we’re supposed to be eating cranberries and slice and bake sugar cookies… but I just couldn’t help myself with these fries.

If you’re feeling the spirit, you might consider this Honey Cranberry Cornmeal Quick Bread.

If you’re feeling more pickled, you might consider this amazing Potato Chip and Pickle Sandwich.

Let’s be people that host parties.

Let’s not just have people over… let’s host parties.

Let’s be people that look effortlessly elegant all night… even if this just means wearing the perfect pair of flattering jeans.

Let’s be people who always have perfect lipstick. Let’s be people who wear comfortable and stylish heels all night. Let’s be people who rock the most appropriate obscure playlist.

Let’s be people who start the game of Pictionary.

Let’s be people who send guests home with full bellies and warm cookies.

It all starts with a perfect cheese plate! And it’s totally not even hard! Come on… Play along!

The Perfect Cheese Plate!

These are just suggestions.  It’s totally a create-your-own-adventure situation:

You’ll need a clean board, a piece of parchment paper, or a large brown paper bag, cut open and crinkled.

4 to five cheeses.

Try an aged cheddar like Hook’s 12 year cheddar. Pair cheddar cheeses with sweet cherry or blackberry jam. The sweet fruit and sharp cheddar combination is stellar.

Try a French cheese like Abondance. Semi-hard, raw cow’s milk, almost Swiss like cheese with salty pickles and crisp crackers. Straight classy!

Try a a creamy goat cheese like (mmmm!) Truffle Goat Cheese. Let the truffle take center stage. Simple crackers and a sprinkling of black pepper are totally major. This is a popular cheese. It will be gone in a flash. Be warned!

Try a stinky and bold blue cheese. This cheese is made from raw cows milk… Making it even more crazy tangy… It’s also aged in grape leaves. This strong, blue-veined cheese pairs really well raw honey. The sweetness eases the aggressive nature of the cheese.

These are two VERY simple recipes.  Feel free to just eyeball it all.  Keep it simple.

Dear Success,

I got you.

I’ve got a jar of Sharpie markers on my desk, a frozen coffee cake in my freezer just waiting to be baked, a handful of people tell me they love me, and there’s spinach in my bowl.  See?  I’ve got you, Success.  We’re totally roommates… and I’m totally not letting you move out, ever.

It’s Friday!  Double Success!

Love,

Joy

Look around.  I bet you live with success too!  …sometimes success is as simple as a jar of markers on your desk.

Enjoy your weekend!  I’m rooting for you.  Go do good things!

This recipe was inspired by Heidi’s Super Natural Every Day.  Do you have this book?  Lovely! … thank you Molly and Kelsey.

This book is full of whole grains, whole wheat, spices and health.  Just flipping through the book makes you feel strong.

Do you know how hard it was to not put melted butter in these quinoa cakes?

Like… really hard.

When quinoa is in my house, it’s all I eat…. from scrambled eggs to sauteed dinner.

It’s filling.  It’s delicious.  It’s major healthy.

This quinoa is a salty and bright combination of flavors.  I love green olives and lemon.  They’re super bright and complimentary to the earthy/base flavors of the quinoa.  Onion and garlic?  Easy.  Parsley and cheese?  Always.

Eggs and a splash of water are the binder for the quinoa.  I like to think of these as mini veggie patties.

Warm quinoa patties, packed with flavor, served over seasoned spinach… with extra cheese.  Duh.

This meal is a lovely lunch, a dreamy dinner… and the quinoa can even be served up at breakfast.  Every meal, people!  Every meal!

The best part about this recipe is that you can make up the quinoa mixture and fry up to order.  The uncooked quinoa mixture will last in the fridge for a few days.  That’s fresh food for days!  I’m way into it!

Uh-huh.

It’s onion ring time.

Were you the little girl that would put a small onion ring on her ring finger and pretend that she was married?

Yea… me neither.  That’s weird.

… And I definitely didn’t do that today, as a grown-ass lady.  That would be even more odd.

Except I totally did.  Yea.  So what.

Onion rings can be baked.  Onion rings can be fried.  Onion rings are always delicious.  Especially when eaten off your finger.

I love to smash barbecue flavor into my homemade onion rings.  Smash!

With chili powder, paprika, garlic powder, and hot sauce, we can totally simulate barbecue flavor.

Fried up or baked crisp, onion rings just work.  They make you prettier and more popular.  Totally true.

I dipped the baked rings in a mixture of sour cream and barbecue sauce.  I now want to dip everything in sour cream and barbecue sauce.  Whatever.

Fried Barbecue Buttermilk Onion Rings will make you a hero!  You’ll need a fry thermometer and a good amount of oil.  They’re hot and crisp and totally worth the frying effort.

Baked onion rings are infused with flavor and coated in panko.  They’re crisp and crunchy, and strangely reminiscent of coconut baked shrimp.  I dunno.  They really are delicious, and don’t require a ton of oil.  Super easy, simple, and yumtown!

These were my Sunday morning breakfast….

because I’m weird.

because I was hungry.

because I couldn’t really wrap my brain around walking to the grocery store in the rain.

because all I wanted was potato goodness.

because I love the color of turmeric and curry.

because spicy is nice.

because curry totally does not go with coffee but I made it work anyway.

Crispy, baked fries are spiced with curry and red pepper flakes.  Spicy.  Salty.  Yummy.  I used egg white as a binder because I like the way it makes the spices stick to the potato.  If you want to make these more of a vegan treat, you an simply toss the potatoes in olive oil and sprinkle the spice on top.  You know?

For the dipping sauce, I combined thick Greek yogurt with cumin, olive oil and salt.  Simple and delicious.  Healthy, too.. that’s just crazy.

Baked Curry Sweet Potato Fries with Yogurt Dipping Sauce

Makes 1 potatoes worth of fries.  This recipe is easily multiplied

Print this Recipe!

1 plump sweet potato/yam/orange-fleshed potato, peeled

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 large egg white

1/2 teaspoon curry powder

1/4 teaspoon ground cumin

1/4 teaspoon turmeric

1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste

Yogurt Sauce:

1/3 cup Greet yogurt

1/4 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon olive oil

salt to taste

Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 400 degrees F.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.

Peel sweet potato and slice off the top  and bottom points of the potato.  With potato positioned north to south, use a large knife to slice potato into 1/3-inch potato planks.  Stack planks in two piles, and slice, north to south, into 1/3-inch sticks.  Fries!

Place potato sticks onto prepared baking sheet and toss with olive oil.  Set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk egg white until foamy and frothy.  Add curry powder, cumin, turmeric, and crushed red pepper flakes and whisk to incorporate.  Pour the egg white mixture over the potato sticks and gentle toss to coat the potatoes.

Place in the oven and bake to desired doneness and crispiness, my fries took about 40 minutes.  While the fries bake, stir together yogurt, cumin, olive oil and salt.  Place in a small serving dish.

Remove fries from the oven and serve immediately with dipping sauce.

Onions Rings make me want to drink Vanilla Milk Shakes.

Vanilla Milk Shakes make me want to eat Cheeseburgers.

Cheeseburgers make me want to eat French Fries.

French Fries make me want to drink a Coke.

Lord have mercy.  What have I gotten myself into?

Have you ever made onion rings before?

Nothing but trouble.

I coated these in barbecue and hot sauce then drowned the whole mix in buttermilk.

Do you have one of these fry thermometers?

Don’t think they’re only for fancy kitchen cooking.  This piece of metal is the key to french fries, doughnuts and onion rings… and it’s fourteen bucks.

Do this.

Dredged.

And fried.

If you’re wondering if you should feel guilty about this… not just yet.

But now?

Dipped in a barbecue sour cream dip with chives…  yes.  Feel guilty.  I do.

Ps.  This is a picture of a kitten on a bed.

More specifically it’s a picture of my kitten on my bed.

Yes, I’m showing off.  The kitten.  Not the bed.

Pps.  Call your Dad.  I have to call mine… you should call yours too.