Chocolate Chip Cookies

Since most of the people who read this blog find it from my facebook page, you probably already know that I moved! Hence the lack of posts, moving takes time and of course it also involved packing my baking pans. So. Many. Baking. Pans. And spices, lots of spices. It kind of felt like Toy Story when all the toys get a moving buddy so they don't get lost. Miraculously, nothing got lost or broken! At least I don't think I lost anything but I guess I wouldn't really know.

A real oven! It doesn't smell bad and it fits real pans!

At any rate, in honor of this big life change and move, the theme of this post is all about recycling. And nostalgia. Chocolate chip cookies are a staple of my childhood. Yes, I love oatmeal raisin cookies and I love making crazy things like Orange Gingerbread Cake but chocolate cookies have this safe childhood feeling about them. And they're easy to make. Unless you're me and your brain is fried from moving and you decide to half the recipe like a good girl which means you read the recipe too fast and you dig for spices and you pull out the wrong baking powder/soda container.

I halved the recipe but then I ate lots of cookie dough too, just for good measure.

So yeah, I accidentally added baking powder instead of baking soda, something I quickly realized (it may have been the other way around but you get the idea). And of course it looks the same as flour so it's unclear where it is in the mixture. Solution? Scoop off the top layer of flour/mystery ingredient. It seems to have worked because the cookies are delicious. And hopefully my roommate is now aware of things to come.

Om nom cookies!!!!

Now, as for recycling, I count this recipe as recycled because it's a classic. But if you find yourself doing some spring cleaning, here are some helpful hints on where to recycle stuff:

• Best Buy- they pretty much recycle everything electronic, and then some! They have a recycling kiosk in front where you can drop off household items like old batteries, plastic bags, CD's and the like. But you can also bring in cameras, mp3 players, cell phones, tv's, computers and probably anything else that they currently sell. So I recycled my batteries, old software, ancient TV's and camera with a broken screen. And grocery stores usually have a plastic bag recycling bin. The only downside is now I have VHS tapes and no VHS player...
• Verizon- you can take your old cell phones here too and sometimes you get a rebate. This did not happen for me because my phones were old and broken anyways. Plus, if your phone works, they donate it to a help line for women in dangerous/bad domestic situations so they have a way to call for help.
• Apple- I took my broken iPod to Apple to recycle and surprise! If you recycle your iPod, you get 10% off a new one. But only on the day you recycle it. Also, sad fact: my iPod was listed as 'vintage'.
• Goodwill- You can donate lots of stuff here. Basically anything. You get a tax deduction too but you'll have to estimate the value of what you've donated.
• Salvation Army- You can also donate stuff here or if you have furniture, you can call them to pick it up. Tax deduction apply here too. For the record, there are employment policies that I don't agree with here but sometimes it's the only way to help someone and/or not throw away perfectly good items. 

I hope to make more delicious foods soon and post more often but I also resolved to Instagram a lot and I checked my progress today--not going so well.

Get excited though, my office is rumored to have a St. Patrick's Day bake-off. Challenge accepted.