I’m going to venture a little off topic today, but I feel compelled to tell the world (or at least the small community of people who read this blog) that I LOVE MY JOB!

Not only did FORTUNE recently name Erickson one of the top 100 companies to work for, but where else would I be able to start writing a cooking blog as part of my job just because I want to? Granted, I tailored the idea to target the audience of our newspaper, The Erickson Tribune, of which I’m an assistant editor. But still, it’s basically my dream job–the job I envisioned when I chose my major in college, the job I place on a pedestal–and I’m doing it right now.

The thought to write about this came to me because I saw a news story the other night about how many people in our country hate their jobs. I don’t remember the exact numbers, but I can tell you they were astounding. Sad, really. So to have a job that allows me to create my own goals, my own tasks, my own career path, means a whole heck of a lot.

Photo by Aaron Keeny

This blog is my little vacation every day. I hope you enjoy reading it as much I enjoy testing recipes, styling and taking food photos, and writing about it all. New recipes next week will include margarita cream pie, some sort of spring salad, and anything else I throw together next week. If you ever want me to convert one of your unhealthy recipes into a healthier and/or scaled down version, drop me a line. I’d be happy to test anything out.

For now, I’ll let you in on a little secret: I use the same base dough for my famous cranberry-macadamia nut cookies as I do for my “ultimate” chocolate chip cookies (find recipe here). Just substitute dried cranberries for the chips and chopped macadamia nuts for the walnuts. I’ve also experimented with adding a 1/3 cup of white chocolate. Try it if you want, but I’m not a fan.

Happy weekend! Cheers!