I often take living in Southern California for granted. I live within 10 miles of the ocean, yet I rarely go. I live within an hour’s drive of the mountains, but I go there even less.

This Saturday, started out like most with errands to run and chores to be done. After breakfast, Dave and I went to the bookstore to look for a Father’s Day gift. I was making lunch for his dad on Sunday.

After we left the bookstore, Dave asked me where else we needed to go. I suggested the grocery store to get items for the lunch. “No,” he said. “Let’s go somewhere fun.” He suggested driving to Laguna Beach and going to our favorite taco stand, Taco Loco. It sounded perfect. I put aside the dirty floors and piles of laundry waiting for us. It could be done later; a day of frivolity was needed.

It was a beautiful day, sunny but not too hot. Both the sky and the ocean were a gorgeous blue. This can be rare here as often the sky has a hazy brown hue from all the pollution.

We found parking and walked to Taco Loco. Taco Loco is a small taco stand on Pacific Coast Highway just south of Laguna’s Main Beach. The food here is a lesson in simplicity and good taste. We ordered the Blackened Mushroom and Tofu tacos. Sliced mushrooms and small squares of firm seasoned tofu are grilled and blackened. Warm blue corn tortillas are the vehicles for the filling and topped with a fresh salsa with large chunks of avocado and a sprinkle of fresh cilantro.

After lunch we walked down to the beach and stepped in the calm surf. It’s literally been years since our toes touched the water. We walked up the beach and through Wyland Galleries. Both Dave and I used to work for Wyland more than a decade ago. The gallery and residence next to his first Whaling Wall mural were just being remodeled when I left eleven years ago. We walked around the small beach town reminiscing about working down there.

It was a fun day. It was a micro-vacation that was sorely needed. Sometimes you need to put responsibilities aside and just have fun.

The afternoon at the beach was followed up by a nice nap at home before we went out to dinner and to an art reception with some friends. Oh, and the dirty laundry and floors got cleaned the next day.

Like many home cooks, I collect an over abundance of recipes, either in the form of cookbooks, magazine articles, Web sites, and food blogs. One problem I have with cookbooks is that they’re hard to keep clean and keep open to the correct page.

The first time I make a recipe, I use the cookbook. If the recipe is a big success and I know I’m going to make it again, I prefer to have an electronic version so I can add any tweaks, weight measurements, or notes. Having an electronic version also allows me to print it again if someone wants the recipe or if I lose it. Not that I’m disorganized at all.

I’ve tried different methods of printing recipes, including index cards. The method I like best is to print the recipes on regular letter-sized paper and store them in sheet protectors in a 3-ring binder. When I’m using the recipe, I can remove the one I need and stand it in a handy little item, called a “Page Up”

The Page Up has a footprint of about 2″ x 2 1/2″. It has a Muppet-like smile into which you insert a piece of paper. Originally, they were meant for offices, to hold documents that needed typing. They even have a line for cooks, called Cuisine. The Page Up base is clear and filled with dried corn, lentils, green beans, rice or mustard seeds.

Look for the Page Up at an office supply store, or you can find them online at Amazon.com.

I have two at home. One I nabbed from my husband’s desk. He’s a dear and gave it up willingly. He’s willing to help with anything that keeps him well fed.

I feel very fortunate that I’m not allergic to peanuts. I really love nuts of all types, although technically peanuts are legumes and not nuts. Who doesn’t love the combination of chocolate with peanut butter? After all, they’re “Two great tastes that taste great together.”

My best friend requested a chocolate cake with peanut butter frosting for her birthday last month. I have already found a perfect recipe for chocolate cake and started searching for one for peanut butter frosting. I have found that I prefer ones without a lot of sugar. 1 cup of confectioner’s sugar seems to work well. I found an easy recipe that is quite tasty. It called for 2 cups of sugar, but I cut back as I don’t like things too sweet. This frosting goes very well with the Mocha Double-chocolate cake recipe.

I made cupcakes for a birthday at my husband’s office this week. I frosted half the cupcakes with peanut butter frosting and half with chocolate. I topped the peanut butter ones with shaved chocolate and the chocolate ones with chopped, toasted almonds.

Peanut Butter Frosting

INGREDIENTS

• 1/2 cup butter, softened to room temperature
• 1 cup creamy peanut butter
• 3 tablespoons milk, or as needed
• 1 cup confectioners’ sugar (4 oz)

DIRECTIONS

Place the butter and peanut butter into a medium bowl, and beat with an electric mixer. Gradually mix in the sugar, and when it starts to get thick, incorporate milk one tablespoon at a time until all of the sugar is mixed in and the frosting is thick and spreadable. Beat for at least 3 minutes or until fluffy.

Searching for the perfect chocolate chip cookie seems to be a culinary “Holy Grail”. I’m not sure if such a thing even exists, since it is really a matter of preference. I’ve tried many recipes over the years, starting with the quintessential “Toll House Recipe”.

A few years ago, I came across my favorite recipe in a 1980’s version of Better Homes & Gardens cookbook. That recipe has proven to be a reliable standard that people always love. I’m not sure why it’s so good. It may be the half butter - half shortening that gives the cookies a moist, yet buttery taste and texture. It may be the salt and baking soda that offset the sweetness with a little savory. It may be the extra vanilla that rounds out the flavor. I’m not really sure, but I often get asked for the recipe and people clamor for the cookies when I make them.

I have found that freezing the dough in individual portions helps create a better consistency when baking. When baked soon after mixing, they are great tasting, but sometimes spread too much. When I make the dough ahead of time, I can freeze individual cookie balls and then bake from frozen. It takes longer to bake, but that is the only downside. One of the benefits is that you can bake as many as you want, leaving some in the freezer for when a cookie craving hits.

I also love the convenience of using a scoop or disher to make perfect little dough balls. I am a gadget geek, but this is one of my favorites. In fact, I currently have four in varying sizes. Parchment paper is also a must in my kitchen. I used to buy the rolls until I found I could buy half sheets that fit my Vollrath cookie sheets perfectly. I bought both the parchment sheets and cookie sheets at Surfas Online, a restaurant supply store in Los Angeles.

The recipe in the current Better Homes & Gardens Cookbook differs slightly, so I’ll post the “retro” version here. Enjoy!

Chocolate Chip Cookies

• 2 1/2 cups (12.5 oz) of all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon of salt
• 1/2 cup of unsalted butter (1 stick) softened to room temperature
• 1/2 cup of vegetable shortening
• 1 cup (7 oz) of brown sugar
• 1/2 cup (3.5 oz) of granulated sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons of vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs
• 2 cups of semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.

In a medium sized bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda and salt and set aside. Cream together butter and shortening with an electric mixer until well combined. Add brown sugar and granulated sugar and mix until creamy. Add eggs and vanilla and mix until well combined. Stir in flour mixture until well combined. Fold in chocolate chips.

Drop by spoonfuls onto cookie sheets and bake for 8-10 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on baking racks.

Freeze Now, Bake Later

You can also make the cookie dough ahead of time and freeze in individual portions. I like to use a cookie scoop to make nice round cookies. It also speeds things up quite a bit if you bake often.

Scoop out dough onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper or wax paper.
Put cookies in the freezer for at least 15 minutes.

When they are frozen, you can put the frozen cookie dough balls in a zip lock bag and keep in the freezer until you are ready to bake. You can bake as many as you want and save the rest for later.

You will need to adjust the baking time when baking frozen cookie dough. I find that 14 minutes works well in my oven, but check ahead of time. Keep the temperature to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. If you bake two sheets of cookies at once, swap out the cookie sheets front to back and top to bottom halfway through. They will bake more evenly that way.

Update: June 4, 2007

This cake has proven to be very popular at my work. I have made it as birthday cake four times. I’ve also made it twice as cupcakes. Once I made a peanut-butter butter cream frosting for the center. That was very good. My husband has asked me to make it with all peanut butter frosting sometime. This last time, I chopped the almonds up a little to help them stay on when cutting. This worked very well.

I’ve had great success using Ghirardelli unsweetened cocoa powder and semi-sweet chocolate. Trader Joe’s carries the semi-sweet chocolate in chunks that is quite a cost savings. I got the cocoa powder at Whole Foods.

A few years ago, I used to make Lemon Bars (or squares) quite often. I had a really good recipe that was tart but sweet. The only thing I didn’t like was how sticky they were when eating. It was easier to eat them with a fork than with your hands, which shouldn’t be the case for bar cookies.

I found a new recipe in the King Arthur Flour Cookie Companion that seemed like it was worth a try. The amount of lemon juice and lemon zest foretold a lemony, tart taste. I had tried the Cook’s Illustrated version before, but had not been impressed.

One of my favorite people at work, Montie, is leaving to go pursue a dream to work in the entertainment industry. His one request before he left was that I make Lemon Bars again. I decided to try the King Arthur recipe, although it is always dangerous to try a recipe out for the first time on a crowd.

We had a going away party for him that was well attended. As I descended the stairs to go to the conference room, I could hear the gathered voices rising into the roar of a crowd.

I carried the lemon squares on a tray as eager hands reached for a treat. I could see Montie fighting his way towards the lemon squares shouting, “Out of my way!” so he could grab one of his favorite desserts.

The King Arthur Lemon Squares were a hit. One friend commented that she usually doesn’t like Lemon Bars because they taste too “eggy”. This recipe does call for four eggs, but is not eggy in the least. All you can taste is delicious lemon curd atop a shortbread crust. Heaven if you like lemon.

I forgot to take a photo of the lemon bars as I was exhausted last night when making them. They were so good that I’ll make them again soon and publish a photo.

Lemon Squares

Crust

• 1 1/2 cups (6 1/4 ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup (1 ounce) confectioner’s sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon of salt
• 1/4 cup (1 stick, 4 ounces) unsalted butter

Topping

• 4 large eggs
• 1 1/4 cups (8 3/4 ounces) granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup (4 ounces) freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1/4 cup (1 ounce) unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons grated lemon zest
• Confectioner’s Sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 9 x 9 inch, 11 x 7 inch or similar sized pan.

To make crust: In a medium sized bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, and salt. Using a pastry blender, your fingers, or a mixer, cut in the butter, mixing to form course crumbs. Press the crumbs in the prepared pan. Bake the crust for 20 minutes or until it’s light brown.

To make the topping: In a medium sized bowl, beat together the eggs, granulated sugar, and the lemon juice until smooth. Stir in the flour, salt and lemon zest.

Pour the topping over the hot crust, return the pan to the oven and continue baking for about 25 minutes or until the top appears to be set. Remove from the oven and cool in the pan. Cut and sprinkle with confectioners sugar just before serving.

Nutrition Information: (1 square, 58g): 183 cal, 7 g fat, 3 g protein, 10 g complex carbohydrates, 17 g sugar, 70 mg cholesterol, 117 mg sodium, 44 mg potassium, 82 RE vitamin A, 4 mg vitamin C, 1 mg iron, 10 mg calcium, 36 mg phosphorus.

Some Tips

• Use fresh lemons instead of bottled lemon juice.
• Lemon Squeezers work really well to get most of the juice out of a lemon.
• Roll the lemons on the counter or microwave for a few seconds to break down the cell walls making juicing easier.
• Use a Microplane Zester to grate the zest before you cut and juice the lemons. A great deal of the lemon flavor comes from the zest.
• While preparing the rest of the topping, let the zest soak in the lemon juice. This will enhance the lemon flavor.
• Consider coating the pan with two intersecting layers of aluminum foil creating a sling and greasing or spraying with baking spray. This will allow you to remove the bars in one piece and cut them on a cutting board instead of the pan. It’s easier and saves your pan from scratches.