Whew, we started off last week with a Monday morning trip to the ER and all of a sudden it's a week and half later. It goes like that around here sometimes. I try to surrender to the chaos. It feels good to be in the middle of next week.
Hallucinations. Ever had one? Me? Nope. At least not that they're telling me about.
Spoiler Alert: If you have not watched Black Swan, as I hadn't 24 hours ago, and it really bugs you when you know anything at all about a movie, then skip on down to the yummy eating part below. I don't usually mind a spoiler...and really, for Country Strong, I would have greatly appreciated one. Even though I saw the ending coming. I kept holding out hope. Ugh.
I have, however, had courtside seats while somebody else hallucinated, and I can assure you, that person's hallucination is very real to them. And pretty freaky for the guy sitting next to them. So this morning, I had about 47 THOUSAND loads of laundry to do and I finally popped in the Black Swan DVD that Netflix is probably about to thank me for keeping it and charging me $60 because that's how long I've had it.
Why the delay? Partly because I knew it was dark. Partly because I'm not a huge Natalie Portman fan. Partly because school started a month ago too early, and I've been busy signing school forms and buying endless school supplies. Partly because my husband had no desire to watch it with me. And it was on Blu Ray so I had to watch in the living room, when the prims were otherwise occupied. Partly because I'm not eagerly awaiting anything else from Netlix. It's an extensive list.
But this morning I ran out of reasons, and was completely, utterly, mesmerized. The layers with Swan Lake, the ballet, the descent into madness, the wondering if something was indeed real or a hallucination, and yeah, they leave you hanging on a couple. Which usually I detest, but not this time. Nat deserved her Oscar, and you should watch this film, even if she kind of bugs you too.
Then you should, because you purchased ANOTHER ho-hum watermelon and it's Mexico hot and humid outside, make this Watermelon Granita. It's from Pioneer Woman, and if you haven't yet checked out her blog/website, and all her recipes, you should. We've pretty much liked all of them we've tried. And we've tried a LOT of them. But back to the Watermelon Granita,
You need about 8 cups cubed watermelon (that's about 1/2 a largish one), 2 whole limes-juiced, and 1/3 cup sugar. Put half of each ingredient in your blender and blend until smooth (it really can make something besides smoothies and margaritas). Pour into a 9 x 13 dish. Do the other half - we don't want it to feel left out. Put it in the freezer and go watch Black Swan for 2 or 3 hours. Scrape the top, frozen layer with a fork. Keep doing this until it's all frozen and is pretty much a dry slushy.
Sneak off to your bedroom, with the whole dish and a spoon and eat all of it while you watch Nat dance into crazy town one more time. Or share it with your family. I'm not sure how it's going to go down here.
XOXO
~S
Showing posts with label dessert. Show all posts
Showing posts with label dessert. Show all posts
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
Lists and chocolate chip cookies. They go together.
I'm totally a list maker. Once a long time ago, before I retired to be a full time mom, a friend I worked with was listening to the radio. They were talking about personality types, and how that is reflected in the lists they make or don't make. Some of us, apparently, are a bit obsessive about the whole thing. They will add things they've already done to a To Do List just so they can cross it off. That's me. I absolutely do that! Before that, I thought it was just me. When life gets busy...I think in lists. This is today's...
1. I didn't vote in last week's election. It was a conscious decision. With a super excusable reason - I was taking my child to an ER 70 miles away at the behest of our pediatrician.
2. If I had been able to vote (and please know that I stopped at our polling place and nobody cared to let me skip the line despite the fact that I was on the way to the hospital with my kid), I would not have voted for a particular incumbent city council member. Why? Because he lives around the corner from me and each and every morning on our walk, my faithful beagle chose his yard to do his business in, as soon as Mr. Incumbent Council Member put his little campaign sign up in his yard. I took that as a sign. Charlie hasn't steered me wrong yet.
3. My 13 year old son is on the edge of a growth spurt and is eating us out of house and home. He's about to be taller than his 6' dad.
4. While I was out this afternoon, somebody used up all the flour...but there were no baked goods in the kitchen to show for it. There were however a couple dozen chocolate chip cookies stowed away in my daughter's room. She says she didn't know if we could all eat them since we don't know if she's contagious. Really she didn't want to share with the above mentioned 13 year old who would have wolfed them down in the space of an hour. I'll be making her reservation at the local teen girl eating disorder clinic tomorrow morning. Kidding! But I do know now that she is capable of cleaning the kitchen to spotless perfection when necessary...
5. We actually still don't know what's ailing her.
6. We got a Bass Pro Shop mailer today. I can't wait to read it after dinner. I love Bass Pro Shop.
7. And country music. (That's Bill's fault BTW.)
8. My mother is rolling in her grave over numbers 6 and 7 right now.
9. Sometimes the perfect time to feed my family dinner is 7:30pm.
10 This is the chocolate chip cookie recipe from the missing flour....and it is straight out of Trisha Yearwood's cookbook Georgia Cooking in an Oklahoma Kitchen.
2/3 cup (1 1/3 sticks) butter, room temperature
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup dark brown sugar, packed (don't use the light brown, trust me on this)
1 large egg, room temperature (I'm pretty sure I don't plan ahead this far)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract (we've already had the discussion - only use the REAL stuff)
1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup (16 oz. package) semisweet chocolate chips
Place the oven rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
Using the electric mixer (I use my Kitchen-Aid but I'm sure a hand held would work too), beat the butter, sugars, egg and vanilla together until smooth.
Sift the flour, baking soda and salt together and, with the beater running, slowly add to the butter mixture. Stir in the chocolate chips. (Okay, I NEVER sift anything. It gives me a headache. I just get out my whisk and whisk all of it in a bowl until I think it looks fluffier. Precise right?)
Drop the batter by teaspoonfuls about 2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes, or until lightly browned. Carefully remove the cookies to a wire rack to cool. Store in an airtight container. (I make big teaspoon drops because I like 'em chewy in the middle!)
I just found this recipe about a month ago, maybe 2, and I can't tell you how many countless batches I've made. It is hands down my favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe. Second ONLY to my chocolate chip cookie bars.
11. You knew there had to be an 11 right? A nice and tidy 10 is so not me. We all laughed so hard at dinner tonight that I was sure milk was coming out of somebody's nose. Life is good.
Make cookies,
~S
1. I didn't vote in last week's election. It was a conscious decision. With a super excusable reason - I was taking my child to an ER 70 miles away at the behest of our pediatrician.
2. If I had been able to vote (and please know that I stopped at our polling place and nobody cared to let me skip the line despite the fact that I was on the way to the hospital with my kid), I would not have voted for a particular incumbent city council member. Why? Because he lives around the corner from me and each and every morning on our walk, my faithful beagle chose his yard to do his business in, as soon as Mr. Incumbent Council Member put his little campaign sign up in his yard. I took that as a sign. Charlie hasn't steered me wrong yet.
3. My 13 year old son is on the edge of a growth spurt and is eating us out of house and home. He's about to be taller than his 6' dad.
4. While I was out this afternoon, somebody used up all the flour...but there were no baked goods in the kitchen to show for it. There were however a couple dozen chocolate chip cookies stowed away in my daughter's room. She says she didn't know if we could all eat them since we don't know if she's contagious. Really she didn't want to share with the above mentioned 13 year old who would have wolfed them down in the space of an hour. I'll be making her reservation at the local teen girl eating disorder clinic tomorrow morning. Kidding! But I do know now that she is capable of cleaning the kitchen to spotless perfection when necessary...
5. We actually still don't know what's ailing her.
6. We got a Bass Pro Shop mailer today. I can't wait to read it after dinner. I love Bass Pro Shop.
7. And country music. (That's Bill's fault BTW.)
8. My mother is rolling in her grave over numbers 6 and 7 right now.
9. Sometimes the perfect time to feed my family dinner is 7:30pm.
10 This is the chocolate chip cookie recipe from the missing flour....and it is straight out of Trisha Yearwood's cookbook Georgia Cooking in an Oklahoma Kitchen.
2/3 cup (1 1/3 sticks) butter, room temperature
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup dark brown sugar, packed (don't use the light brown, trust me on this)
1 large egg, room temperature (I'm pretty sure I don't plan ahead this far)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract (we've already had the discussion - only use the REAL stuff)
1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup (16 oz. package) semisweet chocolate chips
Place the oven rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
Using the electric mixer (I use my Kitchen-Aid but I'm sure a hand held would work too), beat the butter, sugars, egg and vanilla together until smooth.
Sift the flour, baking soda and salt together and, with the beater running, slowly add to the butter mixture. Stir in the chocolate chips. (Okay, I NEVER sift anything. It gives me a headache. I just get out my whisk and whisk all of it in a bowl until I think it looks fluffier. Precise right?)
Drop the batter by teaspoonfuls about 2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes, or until lightly browned. Carefully remove the cookies to a wire rack to cool. Store in an airtight container. (I make big teaspoon drops because I like 'em chewy in the middle!)
I just found this recipe about a month ago, maybe 2, and I can't tell you how many countless batches I've made. It is hands down my favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe. Second ONLY to my chocolate chip cookie bars.
11. You knew there had to be an 11 right? A nice and tidy 10 is so not me. We all laughed so hard at dinner tonight that I was sure milk was coming out of somebody's nose. Life is good.
Make cookies,
~S
Monday, October 25, 2010
cookie bars with a dash of paranoia
So today, I let 2 strange men into my home. It helped that they had been scheduled. That they were expected. Wearing uniforms and carrying a clipboard. That they were bringing a replacement TV for the piece of junk Samsung was passing off as a TV a year and a half ago. But still. I detest having people in my house for deliveries, repairs or installations. Cleaning, well, my tolerance shoots way up for that category.
First off, they are always MEN who are delivering, installing and repairing. Not once in the 25 years that I've been in charge of getting stuff done has it been a woman. Second, these things always have to occur during the week which means Bill is generally at work. What educated, savvy woman flings open her door to complete strange men types? Thirdly, they always expect me to know lots of things I don't. Like where was the last cable run? Where is your water main? Will it be okay to drill a hole through the wall? Fourth, they have occasionally been...condescending...like the water heater delivery/installation dude who wanted to just go ahead and flood my garage because he didn't want to wait for the thing to drain properly (and slowly) through a hose out into the gutter. He actually rolled his eyes when I said...'Uh, no? Let me call someone and see if that's okay.' Unable to get Bill on the phone, I was able to get my trusty brother-in-law on the phone who then chewed the guy a new one for me. Gotta love family. And finally, what if they're really casing the joint? Looking to see how to best get in later to murder us all in our sleep??? I'm just sayin'. A little paranoid. I think it's all those Ellery Queen Mystery shows my dad let me watch when I was little. Timothy Hutton's dad sure was handsome though. And I do go through my whole house afterwards making sure they didn't leave a window unlocked for later. Welcome to my little corner of insanity. It's cozy here. And why I told Evan to look Very Big while they were here.
AND, because Judy and I both feel guilty about throwing our recyclables into the trash...here's my blue ribbon winning Chocolate Chip Cookie Bar recipe. If there is someone who is just not letting you off the hook...make 'em some of these. It might help smooth things over.
I bake these in a 15" x 9 3/4"ish black jellyroll pan. It's one my grandma gave me one day, so I have no idea where it came from. I mention this only because some people swear the pan must be what makes these awesome. I'm not so sure because I've baked them in other pans too, you just have to sort of adjust your cooking time if the size is different.
You'll need:
2 1/4 cups flour (Don't just scoop it out with your measuring cup, that packs it in and then your cookies will be dough heavy. I'm all about less dough and MORE CHOCOLATE. Kind of fluff up your floor and then spoon it into the measuring cup with a big serving spoon like I do.)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened (Use regular, salted butter. Don't even think about margarine. It won't taste as good.)
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup PACKED dark brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract (Again, use the real stuff. It's probably the difference between blue ribbon and honorable mention.)
2 large eggs
2 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips (I get mine in the huge bag at Sam's club so I have no idea if this translates handily into a smaller bag size from the grocery.)
Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.
Mix together the flour, baking soda and salt in a smallish bowl. Use a whisk to mix and sift the ingredients together.
In a different bowl (I use my Kitchen Aid mixer. I love that thing. Worth every cent it cost. Unlike the worthless TV...), beat together the butter, sugars and vanilla. Add the eggs and beat some more. Gradually beat in the flour. You can do all this by hand by the way, I have, and the cookies still rock. Stir in the chocolate chips.
Spread dough into a greased (I just use Pam) jelly roll pan. Bake for 15 minutes. They will be a nice golden/light brown all across. Cool, in pan, on a wire rack. Divide the pan up into however many servings you want and enjoy with some icy cold milk!
Love ya!
~S
First off, they are always MEN who are delivering, installing and repairing. Not once in the 25 years that I've been in charge of getting stuff done has it been a woman. Second, these things always have to occur during the week which means Bill is generally at work. What educated, savvy woman flings open her door to complete strange men types? Thirdly, they always expect me to know lots of things I don't. Like where was the last cable run? Where is your water main? Will it be okay to drill a hole through the wall? Fourth, they have occasionally been...condescending...like the water heater delivery/installation dude who wanted to just go ahead and flood my garage because he didn't want to wait for the thing to drain properly (and slowly) through a hose out into the gutter. He actually rolled his eyes when I said...'Uh, no? Let me call someone and see if that's okay.' Unable to get Bill on the phone, I was able to get my trusty brother-in-law on the phone who then chewed the guy a new one for me. Gotta love family. And finally, what if they're really casing the joint? Looking to see how to best get in later to murder us all in our sleep??? I'm just sayin'. A little paranoid. I think it's all those Ellery Queen Mystery shows my dad let me watch when I was little. Timothy Hutton's dad sure was handsome though. And I do go through my whole house afterwards making sure they didn't leave a window unlocked for later. Welcome to my little corner of insanity. It's cozy here. And why I told Evan to look Very Big while they were here.
AND, because Judy and I both feel guilty about throwing our recyclables into the trash...here's my blue ribbon winning Chocolate Chip Cookie Bar recipe. If there is someone who is just not letting you off the hook...make 'em some of these. It might help smooth things over.
I bake these in a 15" x 9 3/4"ish black jellyroll pan. It's one my grandma gave me one day, so I have no idea where it came from. I mention this only because some people swear the pan must be what makes these awesome. I'm not so sure because I've baked them in other pans too, you just have to sort of adjust your cooking time if the size is different.
You'll need:
2 1/4 cups flour (Don't just scoop it out with your measuring cup, that packs it in and then your cookies will be dough heavy. I'm all about less dough and MORE CHOCOLATE. Kind of fluff up your floor and then spoon it into the measuring cup with a big serving spoon like I do.)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened (Use regular, salted butter. Don't even think about margarine. It won't taste as good.)
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup PACKED dark brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract (Again, use the real stuff. It's probably the difference between blue ribbon and honorable mention.)
2 large eggs
2 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips (I get mine in the huge bag at Sam's club so I have no idea if this translates handily into a smaller bag size from the grocery.)
Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.
Mix together the flour, baking soda and salt in a smallish bowl. Use a whisk to mix and sift the ingredients together.
In a different bowl (I use my Kitchen Aid mixer. I love that thing. Worth every cent it cost. Unlike the worthless TV...), beat together the butter, sugars and vanilla. Add the eggs and beat some more. Gradually beat in the flour. You can do all this by hand by the way, I have, and the cookies still rock. Stir in the chocolate chips.
Spread dough into a greased (I just use Pam) jelly roll pan. Bake for 15 minutes. They will be a nice golden/light brown all across. Cool, in pan, on a wire rack. Divide the pan up into however many servings you want and enjoy with some icy cold milk!
Love ya!
~S
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