Despite the fact I am not at home nor in my kitchen, that hasn’t dissuaded me from cooking or exercise. My exercise is a little less extreme and stringent away from home soil but it’s getting done. I still expect to have gained a pound or two when I get home though.

Sure didn’t stop me from making cookies Wednesday afternoon, in any case.

I took these out of a Southern Living cookbook my mom had in her kitchen. I was in the mood to bake but wasn’t sure what I wanted to do. I thought about doing a cake, or maybe emailing Jake and asking her for her red velvet cupcake recipe, but in the end I went with cookies, solely because I am slightly lazy. These were almost ridiculously easy but a must if you’re a peanut butter fan. It’s Friday now and what cookies are left are still soft and chewy. Tops in my book as I count myself as a chewy cookie girl rather than a crunchy one.

I also made my mom some homemade granola (which there is no picture of) for her breakfast. I showed her how easy it can be and how once she gets it down, she can modify it as she likes. If you want to know the truth, the granola I made in her kitchen turned out loads better than the kind I’ve been making in mine. I suspect it has a lot to do with her large wide flat oven; I’m sure the LSC will look cute and insulted but seriously: Mom’s newer oven kicks our oven’s ass. It heats evenly, gets hot quickly, and even though she doesn’t have an oven thermometer in hers, I’d still bet dollars to doughnuts that hers is consistent. Still, I make do with mine. I just have to make adjustments. I’ve been doing just fine with it, haven’t I?

Last night I made them pizza for dinner. Fairly standard stuff: pizza dough from the store, this week’s meatballs, red onions, roasted garlic and goat cheese. Of course, the pizza dough was not up to snuff for me but it did in a pinch. I suppose in hindsight that if I were taking that much time to cook this week, it wouldn’t have killed me to whip up a batch of dough.

I used that biscuit recipe again and will now proclaim: I have found my foolproof go-to biscuit recipe. I omitted the chives because my mom isn’t a huge fan. While patting them out, my stepdad accused me of fattening them up. I merely smiled and replied, “Who, me?” If cooking for people you love means you fatten them up, then yes, I am guilty.

Besides, he made sausage gravy to go with those biscuits anyway.

Easy Peanut Butter Cookies

from Southern Living Homestyle Cooking (Oxmoor House, 2002)

1 (14 oz.) can sweetened condensed milk

3/4 cup creamy peanut butter

2 cups biscuit mix (I used Bisquick)

1 tsp. vanilla extract

granulated sugar

66 milk chocolate kisses, unwrapped (optional) (I didn’t use them)

Combine condensed milk and peanut butter in a large mixing bowl. Beat at medium speed with an electric mixer until blended. Add biscuit mix and vanilla; beat well.

Shape mixture into 1-inch balls; roll in sugar. Place 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheets. Dip a fork in sugar, flatten cookies in crisscross design. Bake at 375 for 6 to 7 minutes (10, if you are doing larger cookies like I did). After removing from oven, immediately press a chocolate kiss in center of each cookie, if desired. Remove cookies to wire racks to cool completely.