Oh, What a Wonderful Weekend.

Um, are you ready to see way too many pictures?  I AM!

Man oh man it's been a wonderful couple of days!

Really, it's been pretty great since we came back from our vacation.  Busy busy, but fantastic.

The only hiccup was that on Thursday night our heater tried to kill us when it switched from air conditioning to as-hot-as-it-could-possibly-go heat.  Seriously.  Hot.  Heat.  Pumping into our house for hours and hours before we figured out we'd have to cut it off at the power source if we didn't want to bake in our own home. (I might have screamed and cried.)  But it's fixed now and we're not dead and nothing in the house was scorched or otherwise ruined, so we're gee-tee-gee.

In other awesomepants awesome news.

My hydrangeas are blooming!  I didn't kill them after all.

Mitch went on a Mitch-venture.  (a.k.a., "His irresponsible parents forgot that they let him outside to roam the neighborhood.")

We went to see Toy Story 3 in Forsyth Park with our buds.  There were kids and babies and glo-bracelets.  And there was wine.  (Because we live in an awesome place that has no open container law.  And, yes, that is part of the reason we moved here.)

I made a delicious cake.  Make this cake.  Make it right now.

And I made another cake that seemed like it was going to be great at first, but ended up being, for a host of reasons, a little bit less successful.

 Mother F.

And we attended Opal's blue-themed birthday party.  And it was fun and delicious.  Like, really fun, and really delicious.

You still haven't made it?  What's wrong with you already?!

And there was Kan Jam, which is insanely fun.

And there were rasterbated pictures.  Sounds dirty.  It's not dirty.

And then there was a little more cake eating.

And there was beer drinking atop a Volvo.

And fancy flower arranging.

And scooting.

 And general adventuring.

And sister eating.

And mind-over-mattering. (Egg allergy be damned!)

I hope that you had as lovely couple of days.  What'd you do?  What'd you eat?



UPDATE:  Also, apparently Bin Laden is dead.  Shoot yeah!  I hated that guy.  Glad to be talking about him in the past tense.

Savannah Family Christmas

Cassie just wrote a post about the origins of our Savannah family, so if you're not sure who these people are or how this little family of vagabonds came to be, check it out. 

It was seeming like we weren't going to get to have our Savannah Family Christmas this year, so when Cassie called last week and asked it we would be up for an impromptu celebration, we were thrilled.  It was just one of those perfect visits, full of great food and laughter and just the right amount of chaos.

I just love these people. 

 Cassie got superhero capes for Iris and Opal.

 And then Iris decided that she would turn hers into a fabulous gown.

Mmmmmmm. . . 

 Big, crazy, delicious Mexican feast.

Big crazy happy family.

Strawberry Shortcake Cookies

I'm a huge strawberry shortcake fan (like, huge like fat and also huge like enthusiastic).  It's been one of my favorite desserts for as long as I can remember, and it's reminiscent of summer time and no school. 

As a child, I was also a big Strawberry Shortcake fan.  This one, the girl with the frumpy clothes who smelled like artificial strawberries.  I loved that smell.

Now, my mom always made her strawberry shortcake with Bisquick.  I've heard rumors of moms who used pound cake (which is also probably delicious). But, I'm partial to the Bisquick.  Something about the sweet and savory gets me every time.  (Mitch, too. You should see him go apeshit for yogurt-covered pretzels.)

The last two times I've been to Publix, quarts of strawberries have been on sale for $1.25 each.  Since I have trouble resisting a good sale, and since I love strawberries, and since I can convince myself that they'll be a healthy after-school snack (Yeah, right.  Not so healthy when I'm dipping them in cream cheese icing, now, are they?), I've been buying strawberries by the gallon.

To be completely honest, though, these haven't been the best strawberries of my life.  They're big and pretty, but not bursting with flavor. 

But I think I may have found a solution.  I was on my friend Martha's website and saw that she had an entire collection of recipes that used strawberries, and that's where I found these babies: strawberry shortcake cookies.  Oh, that Martha!

Strawberry Shortcake Cookies (Adapted from Martha Stewart's recipe)


Ingredients
Makes about 3 dozen
12 ounces strawberries, hulled and cut into 1/4-inch dice (2 cups)
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon coarse salt
3 ounces (6 tablespoons) cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
2/3 cup buttermilk
Sanding sugar, for sprinkling

Directions
1.Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Combine strawberries, lemon juice, and 2 tablespoons granulated sugar. Whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, and remaining 7 tablespoons granulated sugar in a large bowl. Cut in the butter with a pastry cutter, or rub in with your fingers, until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in cream until dough starts to come together, then stir in strawberry mixture.

2.Using a 1 1/2-inch ice cream scoop or a tablespoon, drop dough onto baking sheets lined with parchment, spacing evenly apart. Sprinkle with sanding sugar, and bake until golden brown, 24 to 25 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack, and let cool. Cookies are best served immediately, but can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 day.

These have a texture more like muffin tops than cookies, but they're crazy good.

Happy Hump Day!

Lime and Coconut Shortbread Bars

Today I was browsing this blog, which I really enjoyed.  Here's something I stole from her: lime and coconut shortbread bars. I made these today because I realized that I already had all of the ingredients, so I could avoid a dangerous trip to my local (read: ghetto) Kroger.

Here's the recipe, stolen from Andrea of Cooking Books who stole it from Tish Boyle's The Good Cookie:

1/4 cup macademia nuts

1 cup all-purpose flour, divided

1/2 cup cornstarch

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/4 cup plus 1/3 cup sweetened flaked coconut

Zest of one medium lime

1 1/2 sticks cold, unsalted butter, cut into cubes

3/4 teaspoon salt

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees, with rack in middle. Grease a 9" square baking pan and set aside.

2. Place the nuts and 1/2 cup of the flour in a food processor and grind until the nuts are finely chopped. This should take about 10 seconds of constant grinding.

3. Add the rest of the flour, the cornstarch, and sugar, 1/4 cup of the coconut, the zest, and the salt. Process for another 30 seconds, until blended.

4. Add the butter cubes, scattering them around the flour mixture. Give the mixture 6 or 7 one-second pulses, then process for a continuous 6 seconds. The mixture should have a powdery consistency. Process once more for about 10 seconds, until the mixture begins to clump together.

5. Turn the dough out into the pan, and press it to the bottom. Sprinkle the remaining coconut on top, and lightly press it into the shortbread so that it sticks.

6. Bake for around 50 minutes, until the edges reach a light brown. Cool the bars in the pan, on a cooling rack.

Mmmmmmmmmmmm. They're like eating a buttery mixed drink. And dogs love them, too. Next time I'll have to make them in the shape of dog bones, or cats.