I am at home right now, and it just so happens that there are 7 unopened jars of peanut butter just sitting in the cupboard. So, in the spirit of experimentation, I am going to be playing around with peanut butter cookies (and maybe a few other things). But first, I decided to just make plain regular peanut butter cookies, just so that I know what I am dealing with, since I haven't done this in a while. I am told that this recipe used to be on peanut butter jars in the 1950's or so, but I just stole it from a friend.

Also, I have a few recipes in my drafts, awaiting to be posted, so be on the look out for them. They should be coming soon.

• 2 cups flour (maybe 2 and a half)
  
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
  
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
  
• 1 pinch of salt
  
• 2 sticks of butter
  
• 1 and a half cups of sugar*
  
• half of a jar of peanut butter
  
• 2 eggs
  
• vanilla extract (optional, but I like vanilla)
  

• large bowl
  
• medium bowl (optional)
  
• cookie sheet
  
• wooden spoon
  
• mixer (optional)
  
• parchment paper
  
• plastic wrap (optional)
  

This will make a ton of cookies. You can keep them in the fridge covered in plastic wrap for a few days, or freeze the dough and it will last a while. Just make sure to thaw it before using it.

• If you have brown sugar, feel free to use it. In that case, use 1 cup regular sugar and 1 cup brown sugar.
  
• Flour today doesn't really need to be sifted under regular conditions. If you are making this with homemade flour, or maybe somewhere in Eastern Europe (or if the flour has clumps in it), then you definitely need to sift it (unless you are making flaky pastries).
  
• I do the mixing by hand with a wooden spoon. In this case, add the sugar with the butter, it will help to break it up. Also, make sure you are using softened butter to make it easier on your hand.
  
• Once you have added about half the flour, feel free to mix it with your hands. If will become tough to do with wooden spoon, and even tougher with a hand-held mixer. If you have a standing mixer, keep using it.
  
• You can press down the dough with your hand if you don't care about the design and just want to get the peanut buttery goodness in your mouth as soon as possible.
  
• These cookies dry out easily, so keep them in an air tight container.
  

So it's way past midnight, you have that 20 page paper due tomorrow, and you are hungry. You can't very well right on an empty stomach, plus, you need to procrastinate a bit longer. You go the fridge, open it, and find a hodgepodge of things, none of which look like something to eat.

Well, arguably, not everyone will have all these things lying around, but this recipe is about procrastination. If you have a tortilla and cheese, you can have nachos.

For my previous recipe, I was at home, so I had a few more things that I would regularly have. For this one, all you need are the bare essentials; so let's get to it, shall we?

Like I said before, this recipe is all about improvisation, so you will see me saying a lot to just improvise with the ingredients. Add what you like (or what you have). This is roughly how I made them tonight, with a few suggestions for you. As with most things you will see here, measurements are not important. You can just eyeball everything.

• one flour tortilla (or a pita)
• cheese; cheddar works best, or use some chile con queso if you have it
• tomato sauce or salsa
• olive oil of vegetable oil
Optional:
• Spanish rice (I had some left over from earlier)
• refried beans
• some olives (I like them)
Just get creative here, use whatever you like. I usually chop up some cilantro or parsley, but I almost never have any.

• aluminum foil
• chef's knife*
• baking sheet
• cutting board (optional, but preferable

• You can use any knife for this recipe (scissors also work). However, get yourself a nice chef's knife, it will be the only knife you'll ever need. You can do everything with a chef's knife, it should become your best friend in the kitchen.

You definitely have not grown up baking if you do not get really excited at the sight of brown bananas. Every time I open the fridge to find these treasures, I think “It’s that time again.” You guessed it—if the title did not give it away already—it is time for banana bread.

Everyone has recipes for banana bread, so this is nothing ground breaking; this is just my take on it. This is a recipe I have developed over years of not having the right ingredients or supplies to make anything.

Most banana bread suffers the unfortunate fate of tasting like baking powder. This is something that is hard to get past, as a very specific ratio of baking soda to baking powder is required for banana bread to taste just right—and somehow, no one knows what that ratio is. Fortunately for me, baking powder has the shelf life of roughly six months, and I do not use it nearly enough to ever justify buying it. This recipe ends up being good in two ways: it makes good tasting banana bread without a hint of baking powder, because—and here is the kicker—there is no baking powder in it.

But enough talking, here it is:

• 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda (feel free to eyeball this)
• 1 teaspoon salt (feel free to eyeball this)
• ½ cup softened unsalted butter (1 stick)
• 1 ¼ cups sugar
• 2 eggs
• 3 or 4 brown bananas (although amount is subjective)
• ½ cup milk (or buttermilk if you’d like)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (feel free to eyeball this)

• Large bowl, medium bowl, and optional small bowl
• A mixer (hand-held is fine, not required but preferable)
• Solid measuring cups
• Liquid measuring cup
• Wooden spoon
• Folk or spoon, your choice
• Loaf baking pan (9 x 5)
• Serving plate (optional)
• Cooking spray and toothpick (you will need these every time you bake)

1. Roughly mix the flour, baking soda, and salt in the large bowl. (This bowl will eventually hold everything.)
2. Mix the softened butter* and sugar together in the medium bowl using a mixer* until you get a fluffy mixture. The sugar should get fully incorporated and you will get large lumps.
3. Add the eggs one at a time, and mix them in fully.
4. Mash the bananas. You can do this in the small bowl using a fork or spoon. *Definitely read the notes underneath for this. Add the bananas to the sugar and butter mixture.
5. Add the milk and vanilla and mix fully.
6. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients. Fold the mixture over with the wooden spoon until everything is incorporated.
7. Spray your pan* and pour the mixture in*. Fill it up to about 2/3 because it will rise.
8. Preheat the oven to 350 F. Bake for about an hour on the lower-middle rack. It will turn golden brown, and the edges should separate from the pan a little. Poke a toothpick through the middle, it should come out clean*.

• If your butter is coming straight out of the fridge, microwave it for about 20 to 30 seconds. This will make it soft. Do not melt the butter.
• If you do not have a mixer, use a fork. It will take longer, but works just fine.
• If you don’t have cooking spray, you can spread a little bit of vegetable oil or butter on the pan, and throw a bit of flour on it (that is all cooking spray is anyway).
• If you are not afraid of raw eggs, feel free to taste the extra mixture left on the bowl. It is delicious.
• A clean toothpick means that there is no liquid mixture on it. It may have a little banana, taste it if you are not sure.
• If you want to add nuts to this, you can. Walnuts work best. Spread the walnuts on a baking sheet, and bake them for about 5 to 10 minutes at 350 F. Chop them up using a chef’s knife, and add them in with the flour.