The after party

Even after Saturday's wedding party our festivities continued well into the next week..















Here is a recipe for the Blueberry Chocolate Chip cookies below.

The variation I did was remove the nuts, and replace the hot water with 1/4 cup blueberry puree which is just fresh blueberries cooked down into a concentrated syrup with sugar and a bit of water. Then it's strained so the peels get left behind and as it cools it turns into a gelatinous mass (maybe from the pectin in the fruit)

Any sugar added into the blueberry puree should be removed from the recipe below so they're not overly sweet.

I mixed this puree with the baking soda and then added it into the cookie batter. The cookies came out blue-ish with a soft middle and crispy chewy edges, really quite good!
Watch them as they bake and don't make them too small or they will burn.
Everyone loved them!

Chocolate Chip cookie recipe

Yields 4 dozen cookies.

Ingredients

• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 teaspoons hot water
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
• 1 cup chopped walnuts

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. Cream together the butter, white sugar, and brown sugar until smooth. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in the vanilla. Dissolve baking soda in hot water. Add to batter along with salt. Stir in flour, chocolate chips, and nuts. Drop by large spoonfuls onto ungreased pans.
3. Bake for about 10 minutes in the preheated oven, or until edges are nicely browned.

Glimpses of Saturday's Wedding Party

Here are some glimpses of the party we attended on Saturday evening.

I loved the little touches from gorgeous fresh flowers to decor. The cupcake garden which was made by a friend of ours was quite a show stopper on the dessert table!

We all had a really amazing and fun time!

Cabbage rolls

Cabbage rolls, a photo by Adventuress Heart on Flickr.

Delicious cabbage rolls using leftover rice and that cabbage that has been in the fridge for a while.

If you have too much rice on hand this is the perfect recipe!

Mix cooked rice with fresh herbs (mint/parsley - pulsed in the processor with onion and garlic)
Add aromatics mix to tomato puree (or tomato paste + water) and mix well, I sneaked a little harissa (north african chili condiment mix into it) . Add salt/pepper to season and any spices you like (I add arabic 7 spice, gives it some warmth)

Mix the tomato mixture with the rice and begin stuffing/rolling your cabbage leaves (pre cut and boiled briefly in salt water to tenderize - can do this step ahead of time and drain then refrigerate for use)

Line your pot with the cabbage rolls, or your casserole. Add a bit of water to the bottom (not too much remember rice is cooked! ) and bake until it smells good.
Add more tomato sauce on top to cover and a layer or sauerkraut if that is your preference.

They taste better the next day!