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When you're still getting your feet wet in the kitchen (sometimes accidentally literally), anything that turns out edible is a win. My personal favorite edible-but-tasteless dish when I was learning how to cook in college was pasta + tomato sauce with a side of salad. I remember when even the idea of boiling pasta seemed like a big deal (what is al dente and how is that different than just cooked pasta?!). Then there was my eggs-for-dinner phase that spanned more weeks than I'm proud to admit. Needless to say I like to think those days are behind me, although I do feel like learning to make Pakistani dishes is like learning to cook all over again. But more on that later.


These peppermint chocolate truffles that I first saw on Cupcakes & Cashmere as a guest post by What's Gaby Cooking immediately caught my attention. Although hesitant about making a batch of 24+ truffles because H and I had just talked about eating healthier less than 24 hours ago, I decided to make them for my co-interns at our didactics lectures, and save a couple for H and I at home. These "truffles" or more appropriately "oreo balls" are ridiculously easy to make and require no baking. Just blend, roll into a ball, dip in chocolate, and refrigerate. They're the perfect treat to make if you're just getting into cooking, perfect for holiday parties, and perfect for if you want minimal effort + maximal deliciousness. 




Ingredients:
- 1 package of Double Stuf Oreos 
- 1 8 oz package of cream cheese (original recipe calls for room temperature, I used it cold)
- 1 11.5 oz bag of Nestle milk chocolate chips 
- 1/4 cup of crushed candy canes for topping (I used about 15 mini candy canes) or crushed peppermint candy
Yield: ~30 balls, depending on size

Instructions:
1. Add the entire package of Oreos to a blender/food processor and blend until no large chunks of cookie remain. I blended it to a pretty fine mix instead of pulsing. 
2. Add the entire packet of cream cheese to the blender/food processor with the Oreo mix and blend further until well-mixed. The original recipe called for room temperature, but a mix of impatience + being mildly afraid of letting a dairy product get to room temperature made me just stick the cream cheese in cold.
3. After blending the Oreos and cream cheese together, refrigerate the mix for about 30 minutes. This made the mix less sticky and more firm, which in turn made it easier to roll into a ball. The balls held their shapes better and it was a lot easier to dip them into chocolate.
4. While the mix is chilling in the fridge, prepare your melted chocolate.
5. Either in a blender/food processor or with a rolling pin, crush your candy canes.
6. Roll the mix into balls in the size of your liking and place on a baking pan lined with parchment paper. The smaller the balls, the more you will get quantity-wise.
7. Dip the Oreo balls into your melted chocolate and place back on the parchment paper
8. As you dip each ball and place it back on the paper, sprinkle some crushed candy cane on top. If you wait until your done dipping all of the balls, the chocolate will harden and your candy cane mix won't stick!

Serve immediately or refrigerate.

no-bake peppermint chocolate truffles

Thursday, December 15, 2016


I can't remember where the inspiration for this piece came from, but I knew I wanted to depict a misplaced animal in the midst of loud and busy Times Square in New York City. I intended for the piece to be full of juxtapositions- the giraffe out of it's element and running through NYC, as well as the detailed background + relatively simple giraffe almost-silhouette. I kept the giraffe simple to keep the focus on the background. Depicting the noise, traffic, and vibrant colors and lights of Times Square further intensified the chaos surrounding the animal. Leaving the animal undetailed and with no face almost makes it seem non-existent and engulfed by the city. 


Although at the time I created this piece my living situation was very much not analogous to this giraffe's plight (I was peacefully living with my parents in the suburbs), I think it still captures an anxious and overwhelming feeling we can all relate to. The first day of college, our first jobs, our first major failures and setbacks. We feel singled out, odd, alone, and different (in a bad way). Atleast that's how I imagine someone would interpret this piece. I mainly just wanted to take on the challenge of sketching out the heavy detail of the background with colored pencils.
The acrylic paint was added on after mounting the work (that was on cheap black construction paper!) onto sturdier, heavier cardstock. I didn't like the idea of leaving the side blank, and the blurry, messy acrylic paint only further adds to the organized chaos that is NYC.

giraffe in the city

Thursday, December 8, 2016

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