I recently wrote about treeplanting for SDTC and how it was the craziest summer job I ever tackled. And in addition to being a former planter and current actress and writer, it is a little known fact that I can cook. Really.

I love cooking and baking, and mostly do it as a hobby. (And yes it’s ironic, given that actresses are supposed to be a size zero and hide from food, I get it.) I like to watch ghetto cooking shows and give things french names and pretend I’m fancy, mostly for myself, my husband and my friend Adele. It’s fun and stress-free, but every summer I get a chance to make some money and utilize my culinary skills on a much bigger scale.  The afterword to my treeplanting saga is that I managed to snag a job cooking for a treeplanting camp, so I still get to enjoy the awesome forests, laid-back lifestyle and hefty paychecks without any of the hassle or trauma that is planting trees. It’s time to supplement my meager artist’s income and escape from the city to write, write, write. I cook in this ridiculous tent that makes me feel like I’m cooking in an Army camp in the 40s, making mass amounts of food for ravenous planters, and hanging out with my assiant cook (my husband Chris) all day.

And that brings us to the present, as I type this from said Kitchen Tent. We’ve been out in the forest for about two weeks now, and things are going well. There are a lot of rookie treeplanters in our camp this year, so that makes for a lot of learning, growing, cheerfulness and stupid, naive optimism. Here’s a quick rundown of how things are going so far.

Things That Are Not Going Well:

~ One of my industrial ovens is currently broken, so I’ve been cooking for 60 people with one oven. That’s the biggie. 
~ It is so cold here. Unless you have some sort of weird, sick, Winter fetish, don’t live outside in Northern BC in May. Just don’t do it. It hailed here yesterday…and then it snowed. 
~ I really miss Yoga. I’m sorry if that sounds too hipstery, but it’s true. It’s hard to do a Hatha Flow Class by yourself on frozen forest ground. 

Things That Are Going Well:

~ The Planters seem to be loving most of the food.
~ I’m on my budget, which keeps my bosses happy. 
~ I’ve had tons of time to write, blog and tweet, which is wonderful. 
~ I made the most amazing dessert I’ve ever had and the whole camp freaked out over it. 

So, the dessert is something dreams are made of for a cookie dough lover like myself: a chocolate cupcake with raw cookie dough in the middle. They look awesome, they taste awesome, they are, simply, awesome. This is a recipe I’ve been looking forward to trying for a long time, and they turned out so well. I used a recipe from tidymom.net, but made the cupcakes chocolate instead, and was thrilled with the results. You could also use a cake mix for the batter if you are pressed for time (or motivation). These are great little treats that are sure to dazzle dinner guests, co-workers or classmates. If you do make them, I’d love to hear how they turn out! Tweet me feedback and pictures at @kristylapointe! 

Until next time, it’s Kristy in the Kitchen (In The Woods), signing off. 

Kristy loves Chocolate, Cookie Dough, Cupcakes and eating healthy. She also acts, writes, sings, and has various other special skills according to her acting resume. You can follow her on twitter @kristylapointe, and enjoy the blog she co-writes at adeleandkristy.tumblr.com

~ Kristy LaPointe