I Have Finally Achieved Greatness (Chocolate Chip Saga, Pt. IV)

And by greatness, I mean that I have baked the perfect chocolate chip cookies.

That other post, from way back when, where I claimed to have created a definitively good recipe?

Not even close.

No, this batch that I made on Friday for a birthday get-together on Saturday was perfection. The texture, the flavor, the chocolate to cookie ratio--it was all as I remembered from my past. It was all that I could have hoped for. I am on cloud nine. And I must give props to this guy, a great blogger whose chocolate chip cookie post completely enlightened me as to the nature of cookie-baking and the question of texture. I took the original Wakefield recipe he posted and combined it with my old recipe to see what would happen. All I can say is, it was a damn lucky guess.

So, without further ado, I give you my new and improved recipe:

2 1/2 cups flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. salt

1 3/4 sticks butter

1/2 cup white sugar

1 cup brown sugar (shipped from America, yeah!)

2 eggs

1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract (also shipped from America)

most of a bag of bittersweet chocolate chips (yes, I also had someone send me these from the U.S.)

Mix dry ingredients (flour, salt, baking soda) together in one bowl. In another, cream butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Add the eggs and the vanilla and beat until well-incorporated and fluffier, if that's possible. Stir in the chocolate chips.

Now comes the important part: take the batter, and STICK IT IN THE FRIDGE for AT LEAST ONE HOUR. You can also stick it in the freezer for a little bit to speed up the process.

When you have yourself a big bowl of cold batter, take it out of the fridge, take a tablespoon, and start spooning out cookie-sized portions. Roll each portion into a ball (work quickly, though, so the batter doesn't get too warm), and place on an ungreased cookie sheet, or on a cookie sheet covered in parchment paper (this is actually what I did--really reduces mess and cleaning time). You can also use an ice-cream scoop.

Bake for 9-11 minutes (or until beginning to turn golden brown) at 365˚F or (190˚C).

They're so good. Seriously.

I'm a little unsure of what to do with myself right now, mostly because I have such a finite amount of time left in my city--time in which I have to cram in so many goodbyes, so many "I-won't-forget-you-please-talk-to-me-on-the-internets," and, I feel, tie up so many loose ends. It's a weird, bittersweet feeling. I spend evenings with my friends and know that I will not see them again for at least a year--maybe longer.

My city never seemed so beautiful to me before, especially in the early evening, when the sun's light is rich and mellow and the air seems thick with promise. Everyone is laughing, having drinks on the sidewalk, wearing chic sunglasses and basking in the midsummer loveliness. How much will I miss this place, when I am gone? I can't imagine calling another town home, but somehow I know I will; and at this very time next year, I may even be sad to leave, to come back here. This place, this city, will not be my home after I leave. It will be a place to come back to, but my home will be nowhere, less clearly defined than it has ever been before. I will have to make my own home again, and it will not be easy.

But I am so excited. There is so much promise, so much life to be lived, waiting for me in another city a continent away. I am prepared for the difficulties of life in another culture, of homesickness for Americana, of being unsure of my place and my role in things. I am prepared for these things, and yet, I find that--after all--I am a little scared. But it is more of a giddiness, a feeling of release mixed with trepidation. It is hard to explain.

And I find (in this pensive mood I seem to have lapsed into) that I love so many people. I have always thought of my circle as being small, comprised of a few people who matter the most to me. But now I realize that there are so many people I care about here. I care about everyone I have ever met, befriended and been changed by. I am thankful for them all, even the ones who are no longer my friends, whom I have traded unkind words with, even people who I barely know anymore. They have shaped me, made me who I am today, and I am stronger for it. Oddly, I catch myself reminiscing about the good times I've had with people who I haven't seen or been friends with in years. This is what uprooting myself engenders. Fond memories and an overwhelming sense of peace. With myself, with the people around me, with my situation.

Maybe I'll use this last week here to tell everybody I know how cool they are, how full they've made my life. That would be fun.

Oh my god.

My mouth thinks it has died and gone to heaven.

Basically, a family friend from Chicago who makes amazing deep-dish pizza invited me over for dinner before I go to Germany. Hooooly shitttt. So good. I try not to swear excessively in the blogosphere, because it sounds stupid later (i.e., when I reread my blog posts out of boredom). But, there is no other way for me to convey the deliciousness of this pizza. Words, profanities even, cannot express how good it was. I wish I'd had my camera and taken pictures, although it's dark and rainy here right now, so they wouldn't have come out well at all. Anyway, it was a simple pizza--mozzarella, tomato sauce (with copious amounts of garlic, of course), Italian sausage, olives, onion, basil. My favorite toppings. Home-made crust! I could go on and on about that crust. Sweet Jesus, that pizza was good.

And for dessert, there was ice cream from a certain locally-owned ice cream shop. That I happen to work at. Ahem.

It's the little things like this evening I spent with friends and family, eating good food and having good conversation, that I will miss the most when I am away. I can't wait for this next chapter in my life, but at the same time, I'm reminded a little every day how much I care about everyone here, and how lucky I am that life right where I am makes me this happy.

Here are some things that are making me happy this week:

*There is deep dish pizza in the fridge for lunch before work tomorrow.

*Orange blossom honey

*Economy pack of Twining's Earl Grey Tea

*Honey-nut Cheerios (Good breakfast cereal can make my day, actually.)

*I've seen so many of the people I love, but who I am never able to visit, in the past few days.

*Ice cream!

*Fresh vegetables from a friend's garden

*The premier of the next movie installment in a certain over-hyped franchise involving a boy wizard, which I may be going to with coworkers

Is anything not making me happy? Honestly, the list is very short:

*Packing. Ugh. My life=boxes.

*Mt. Eerie is playing at a local music fest. AND I'M GOING TO MISS IT. A sad turn of events (but I'll be in Europe...!).

More at some point in the future. Right now, pizza-bliss/work-induced weariness are lulling me into a sleepy daze. Oh, July.

joyeux jour de st. valentin!

...And though I have no "valentine" this year, life is still good!

I treated myself to some good music today:

Here's to chocolate, happiness, Beck and Phil Elvrum.