Instant Chocolate Cinnamon Cup Cakes

I've never been much of a chocolate person. This has always baffled my father who will always, always, choose the most chocolaty item on the menu. When presented with a dessert menu I typically pick something like creme brulee, fruit cobbler or pie. But sometimes you're stuck at home on the third rainy day in a row with nothing sweet in your house except half a pint of ice crystal infested ice cream and some frosted shredded wheat. When all you want is quick but warm, homemade, satisfying dessert this is what you should make.

Upland Brewing Co, Redux

Upland is (still) one of my favorite Bloomington restaurants. It's popular with locals and students, so it can get super busy, loud, and kind of uncomfortable. But the food is good and the beer is even better.

Spicy Garlic Green Bean Pickles

A few weeks ago I bought a bag of pre-trimmed, pre-washed, ready to cook/microwave/whatever bag of green beans. In February I made pot after pot of soup, so I figured I would use the beans for more soup. But then the weather shifted and we had a few weeks of warm sunny days, and suddenly soup didn't sound like such a great plan.

The beans were looking a little rough around the edges and nearing their expiration date before I finally took action. NYT linked me to a recipe on Food in Jars so of course I spent way too many hours surfing through the recipes there before I stumbled onto the page for Dilly Beans. In the recipe's comments Marisa writes about preparing the beans as refrigerator pickles, and I thought "I can do that!" Real canning isn't really something I have the patience/equipment/skillz to get into right now, but refrigerator pickles are definitely within my reach. You don't even need to heat the brine.