Stress Addict: Green Tea-Peppermint Popsicles & Raspberry-Yogurt Popsicles

-Better than cocaine, right? Plus, it's a natural high.-

I’m addicted to stress.

I only recently figured this out. I was looking in my mailbox freaking out over why a new kindle hadn’t arrived yet. Did the mail lose it? I needed it soon! What if it doesn’t show? It’s hot outside, so what if the heat breaks it? The roads are bumpy and so it could shake apart. I’ll open a box of shattered glass and plastic! How do I even use it when it gets here? It seems so complicated! But?! Oh no!? AUUUGH!

Oh God, I think I’m gonna die…

-I am Anxiety Man. Able to leap to the worst conclusion in a single bound. (I hope I didn't stain the tablecloth for this photo.)-

My friend, Janelle, who was on the phone with me as my poor little heart ran so fast you would think I overdosed it with ecstacy and Pixy Stix, finally brought me back to earth. “Garrett. Stop. Why are you stressing this? It’s not solving anything and nothing can be done right now. Just stop." Her voice was so firm and each word given so much importance and stacatto she sounded like a female version of Allen Rickman.

I paused a moment, more because my heart skipped a few beats and caused me stroke out for a bit than because of what she said, but I thought about it.

Why was I? It was in the mail. There was nothing to be done except wait.

I realized then that I wanted to stress out about this. The adrenaline would flood my body. A neurotic electrical storm would rip through every memory and thought to find any shred – any damnable hope – of a solution. Muscle cells would fire like pistons raging against whatever dilemma was at hand. Stress, for me, was my power. Fuel for destroying my enemies be they human, situational, or, apparently, the United States Postal Service.

You see, in my experience stress brings about solutions.

The saying goes that you shouldn’t sweat the small stuff. The people who say this, usually have a gross excess of time and money, or a sugar daddy. When you sweat the small stuff it’s because the small stuff usually has a solution. Something can be done to remedy the problem at hand.

-Like have a panic attack. I hear mint calms those down.-

For example, when your flight gets cancelled you go into overdrive. You run like a greyhound after a mechanical bunny to the next information booth. You fight everyone else at the airport. They are your enemies; competition for a limited number of seats on the next flight out. They must be destroyed. You plead, yell, cajole, seduce, bribe the poor kiosk lady for the shittiest, leftover seat. Simultaneously, you’re on the phone with a booking agent looking for a backup to that as you e-mail a competing airline for an opening just in case. In the end you might get a flight out and still get home in time to watch a new episode of True Blood.

Sweating the small stuff gets things done. It gets results.

Many of you might not call something like missing a plane small stuff. My belief is anything not world ending is small stuff.

My house burned down? Screw it. I’m going to Mexico. Nothing to be done about it. (This is an example my own personal world ending.)

A meteor careening towards Earth? The end of the world is inevitable and no Bruce Willis on a shuttle with an atom bomb to save us all? Screw it. I’m spending my time at a drug induced orgy and having unprotected sex with strangers. Not like I have to really worry about the long term consequences, right?

Coconut & Herbal Mint Cupcakes with Honey and Coconut Cream Cheese Frosting

I'm taking a few days away from the blog to recuperate a bit after a chaotic week of work and school which left me a little sick. I'll be reposting some of my favorite restin' and relaxin' recipes and posts up for the next few days should you be in the same boat as me. ~Garrett

This cupcake certainly raised some eyebrows. I based it off this recipe after the idea of translating it into a cupcake wandered into my head. I've never had a cake that was so fragrant with the taste of herbal mint. It's refreshing; think a Eucalyptus sauna for your mouth. It leaves you feeling so "Ahhhhhhhhh..." The cake is unlike anything I've ever really tasted before; sweetened by honey and coconut milk the cake tastes light - an herbal infused pastry.

I actively went out of my way at work to make people try and taste them so I could get feedback, all of which was very positive. People described them as earthy and organic. Light and refreshing. Unique and relaxing. The perfect dessert after a spicy Thai meal, a hypothesis we tested and afterward declared successful.

The mint is the star ingredient. Be sure to use your favorite variety of fresh mint, peppermint or spearmint being choice options if you or someone you knows grows it. Cool and refreshing, and the coconut imbues it with a bit of a relaxed exoticism. The honey comes in at the end and sweetens the whole deal.

It's a simple recipe I based off of my previous coconut cupcake recipe. This cupcake could be served at parties, but I encourage you to eat one by your quiet lonesome with a good book in a shady spot outside.

Coconut Milk Cupcakes
Makes 16-20 cupcakes / 350 F oven

What You'll Need...
3/4 cup of unsalted butter, room temperature
1 heaping cup of sugar
2 teaspoons of honey
3 eggs, room temperature
1 cup of canned coconut milk
1/4 teaspoon of vanilla extract
2 1/4 cups of flour
1 teaspoon of kosher salt
1 teaspoon of baking powder
1/2 - 3/4 cup of sweetened dessicated coconut
1/2 cup of fresh mint leaves

What You'll Do...
1) Simmer the coconut milk with the mint until bubbles form around the side. Take off the heat and let sit for 2-4 hours, the longer the better. Strain out the mint leaves and measure out one cup of the coconut milk. (Reheat the rest as tea for yourself, yum!)

2) Preheat the oven to 350 F. Cream the butter until light and fluffy. Add sugar and cream till light and fluffy again, scraping down the sides halfway through to ensure even mixing. Add the honey and mix throughly.

3) Add the eggs, one at a time, beating for 30 seconds each to ensure mixing. (Be sure to scrape down the sides and bottom every once in a while to get all the rogued butter escaping the mixer).

4) Combine the flour, salt, and baking powder in one bowl. In another add 1 cup of a well shaken can of coconut milk and a teaspoon of vanilla. Add 1/3 of the dry ingredients and mix, then add 1/2 of the wet ingredients. Continue alternating with the wet and dry mixtures, ending with the dry. Turn off the mixer once ingredients are just combined.

5) Fold in the coconut. Scoop into cupcake papers and bake for 18-22 minutes, rotating the pan after the first 15 to ensure even baking. Be sure to check with a toothpick to see if the cupcakes are done. If the toothpick comes out of the cupcake clean, then they're ready.


Coconut Cream Cheese Frosting
What You'll Need...
1/2 cup of butter (1 stick), room temperature
8 oz of Philly cream cheese (1 package), room temperature
1/2-1 cup of powdered
1/4 cup of sweetened dessicated coconut
honey

What You'll Do...
1) Cream the butter and cream cheese together, about 3 minutes. Scraped down the sides and bottom.
2) Slowly add the powdered sugar. Fold in the coconut.
3) Brush the cupcakes with a bit of cooled honey and let cool. This step is optional, but tasty. 4) Spread the frosting onto cooled cupcakes. Garnish with fresh mint or extra coconut if desired.

Chocolate Peppermint Drop-Cookies

Chocolate and peppermint are a classic combination, especially in cookie form as any Girl Scout or Keebler elf will let you know. Cool and refreshing, yet perfectly satisfying the coco-craving. This recipe is adapted from Jill Van Cleave’s book Big, Soft, Chewy Cookies, a classic bestseller that’s made for the cookie fanatic with zero extra time. The recipe is easy to throw together and requires little work for a nice amount of payoff. A simple chocolate drop cookie with a bit of peppermint extract is the perfect thing to nibble on while you put up the holiday decorations.

Chocolate Peppermint Drop-Cookies
Makes 18 cookies / 350 F

What You'll Need...
4 ounces of semisweet or bittersweet chocolate
1/2 cup of butter (one stick)
1 cup of lightly packed brown sugar
1 egg, room temperature
1/4 cup of whipping cream
1 teaspoon of mint extract
1 3/4 cup of flour
1/2 teaspoon of baking powder, plus an extra pinch
pinch of salt

What You'll Do...
1) Chop up the butter into small pieces. Melt the butter and the chocolate together in a bowl over simmering water.

2) Beat together the sugar and eggs until well combined. Add the cream and the mint extract and mix together well. Add the cooled chocolate/butter mixture.

3) Mix together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Add to the wet ingredient mixture. Mix until just combined.

4) Take a generous spoonful of the dough and plop it on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, about 9 per baking sheet (they get big). Bake in a preheated oven at 350 F for 12 minutes. Allow to cool for a few minutes on the sheet then transfer to a wire rack.

Here are some other great cookies to try out for the coming holidays!
Pumpkin Biscotti
Brandied Cranberry, White Chocolate Cookies
Vegan Oatmeal Raisin Cookies (Gluten Free)
Viennese Chocolate Sables
Espresso Cookies

Escape

Penelope and I decided to take a day off from the world yesterday. No spouses. No work. No thinking about school, duties, errands, tasks, promises, lies, ideals, hopes, failures, or commitments.

It was a day to relax. To sit back and stare at the sky. To enjoy oneself. To ponder the universe and all of it's types and patterns. To have a comforting simple meal, and a simple day out for pure purpose of a peaceful, entertaining night in good company.

The day before I graduated high school, I laid down on the grass and stared at the sky, and wondered what my future was going to be. I never would have guessed I would be where I am now, doing the things I am doing. I did the same yesterday. I guess I came full circle, though I didn't realize I was on any path to begin with. I guess I begin the gyrating tread once more.

We made a picnic lunch and went out the the Sacramento Shakespeare Festival to see The Comedy of Errors, which is by far one of the bard's best plays. Confusion, puns, and hilarity ensues amongst long lost and separated sets of twins and a town is thrown into turmoil. It's worth seeing, and even if you're someone who thinks "Shakespeare is too hard for me to understand!" trust me, seeing it on stage makes it very easy to understand when you have a face to put to a character name, and lines are being read with emotion. It's still going, so be sure to catch a viewing and bring a picnic lunch! You can find tickets here.

Penelope and I made a very simple and very satisfying picnic lunch. We used Tea's recipe for lentil salad (albeit a few alterations, it's a great base recipe that allows lots of room to personalize it,) made a simple fruit salad with some chopped mint and lemon juice - mint perks up a fruit salad like nothing else - and we tore apart a roast chicken and mixed it with some romaine lettuce. Throw in some water and kiwis and we were set. Next time we'll be sure to remember the wine as well.

It made for a perfect picnic to a perfect show on a perfect day.

Sometimes a day of escape is just what you need.

Simple Fruit Salad
serves 4-6

What You'll Need...
2 1/2 cups of fresh strawberries
2 nectarines or peaches
3 apricots or plums
2 cups of seedless grapes
2 tablespoons of chopped fresh mint
juice of 1 lemon

What You'll Do...
1) Wash and dice the fruit.

2) Combine the fruit, mint and lemon juice in a bowl and toss. Serve immediately or let sit in the fridge for a bit to let the mint permeate the fruit a bit.

Optional: If you want, assorted berries really work well in this recipe, as might a 1/2 teaspoon of grated ginger if you so wish.