Cooking Single in the City

One of the things I enjoy most about traveling to towns and places I've formerly lived, is visiting with old friends. New friends are wonderful, but there's nothing like the old! Though this trip is mostly to gather all of my belongings to transport back to Cali, more importantly, it's to say hello or good-bye to old friends. That being the case, despite all the tasks unchecked in my Franklin Covey Planner, I've managed to squeeze in time (home-time mostly since I don't have a car) to catch up and visit with some old friends--Thursday night was no exception. My old roomie , A.J., had me stay at her place a couple of nights, where we had Ellen, the leader of my old book club, The Tulsa Chick Lit Meet-Up, over for dessert. So Ellen is the kinda of girl who can eat pretty much whatever she'd like because she is a runner (as it should be for those who exercise), so I thought to make a quick little treat--Strawberries, Bananas and dipping chocolate, one treat clearly

But of course! So yes it's true....I've been touring the States. By touring I do mean visiting, celebrating and babysitting family in Madison, WI, Minneapolis, MN and now I'm officially in Tulsa, OK, where I'll be heading off for California once I gather the rest of my belongings, get my dog, Luke and sadly say my good-byes to friends and family here. Blogging has been a little difficult (to say the least), not to mention cooking. I've yet to post pix from my baking experience with my three-year-old nephew because the USB cord to upload the pix is in my room back in California. Yes, smart move, indeed. Because we had such a great time baking his sugar cookies, I thought I'd look around Tulsa to see what cooking classes they offer for the youngens in this very quaint and cozy city. My sis, now a Tulsa local (but an "East-Los" native), pointed me to The Savory Chef. If I can convince my girlfriends to have dinner here tomorrow night rather than go out

Okay so maybe not in yours, but in a garden...for those of you who enjoy watching the Food Network as much as I do, their Barefoot Contessa , Ina Agrden , will be doing a book-signing at William Sonoma tomorrow (the 14 th ) in Santa Monica at noon. Although I realize this narrows the RSVP's to a bare minimum, but for those of you in the area needing to switch up your lunch plans, what a great way to do it...don't forget to visit their clearance section! Address:Williams- Sonoma , Santa Monica 1600 Montana Ave., Santa Monica CA (310) 586-1018 Until next time, look for some fun singles cooking classes or cooking meet-up's in your area (I belong to a fabulous group!!!) and email us about 'em! Bon Appetit ! ~Cyndi, 39 Madison, WI

So now I'm in Madison visiting family for my niece's 1st birthday, and my nephew's 3rd. The nice thing about visiting my sisters who are BOTH married, is that my meals are covered--for the most part. Now, why I'd planned on contributing a few fun dishes to the mix, I realized I didn't pack my usb cable to transfer pix from my camera for posting. :( Until I can get ahold of one, I thought I'd share some cooking classes being offered...just for singles! Rumor has it that I, too, will be holding some singles cooking parties around town..until confirmed, we'll let it sit as a rumor. :) For now, Parties that Cook offers fun classes for singles. If you happen to go, let me know how they work out for ya! I may have to fly to San Fran or Chicago to join in the fun! Chicago : Cooking Crush - Cooking Class & Wine Tasting for Singles. Thursday, November 20 , 2008 @ Just Grapes 6:30 – 8:30 pm. Join us for the launch of Chicago’s Cooking Crush party, a wine tasting

Tonight's post is short and sweet...kinda like the Brie-Dip I concocted at Brynn's late last night. As you know, Trader Joe's is where I shop for groceries. Sometimes I like to visit merely to walk down the aisle, checking out sauces, syrups, jellies and other spreads. What I came across last week was Mango Chutney. Now I know I like the stuff because I've had it on a dish at a restaurant, but prior to eating there, I hadn't even heard of it (I was still in my early twenties at the time), and since then I've only eaten it one other time. That being said, while I was contemplating on which pesto sauce I should get, and thinking if I really needed another strawberry jam, I "stumbled" on the Chutney, remebering I had seen some on previous visits. Now I couldn't honestly tell you what it consists of, but by the end of the evening, I will know what it is exactly and how to make it. This time, I happened to buy it, along with some Brie and peppered-Poppy