The Grandmaster LEGO Chronicler: Set Review: 7135 Takanuva ("Stars")

Nope, I don't have anything interesting to say, but ds#1 has another nice review up on his Bionicles blog, and I thought I'd mention it in case any readers of this blog also have LEGO/Bionicles-obsessed children:
The Grandmaster LEGO Chronicler: Set Review: 7135 Takanuva ("Stars")

"I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I needed to be." ~ Douglas Adams

C is for Cookie; that's good enough for me!

The boys needed cookies for an exchange at their teen holiday party, so I baked oatmeal chocolate chippers (bottom of photo) and, one of my favorites, Chocolate Almond Bites (top):

I know you are lusting after those cookies, even with my lousy photo, so here's the recipe:

Chocolate-Almond Bites

2 C all-purpose flour
1/2 C unsweetened cocoa
2 sticks unsalted butter at room temperature (2 sticks = 1 C = 1/2 lb)
1/2 C granulated sugar
1 t vanilla extract
1/4 t salt
1 C toasted almonds, finely chopped

1) Preheat oven to 350F.  Grease a baking sheet.  On to a sheet of wax paper, sift flour with cocoa.  In a large bowl, with electric mixer on high beat butter, sugar, vanilla, and salt until pale and creamy.  Beat in flour mixture, then almonds.

2) Shape heaping teaspoonfuls of dough into balls and arrange on baking sheet.  Bake 20 to 25 minutes, or until firm.  Cool briefly on the sheet before transferring to a rack.  Store in an airtight container for up to 5 days.

One thing I like about this recipe is that it's not very sweet; I don't have to half the sugar like I normally do for recipes.  I think this freezes reasonably well in case you want to make it a couple of weeks before you need them. 

Good as that cookie is, some of you are actually waiting for the following: stollen!

I'm following in my friends' footsteps and making stollen every year now. If you missed it previously, here's my tutorial from last year.

Hope you'll try making the cookie or stollen. :)

I am going to be taking a blogging break for a bit.  I've signed up for a writing class again this January/February, and that will eat up any spare minutes I have left in the day.  See you back here sometime mid to late February...unless I have some fabulous news I want to share.  LOL!

Wishing all my dear blogging friends a wonderful holiday season with your loved ones!

"I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I needed to be." ~ Douglas Adams

She was a good dog

The death of a pet is always hard, but it's even harder when it's an unexpected death. Our dog died suddenly yesterday morning, apparently due to massive internal bleeding. The vet thought it might have been a ruptured spleen, but would need an autopsy to find out. Since our dog hadn't birthed any puppies, we didn't need to know to protect any future generation, so we declined the autopsy so that we could have her intact to bury at home.

We are still reeling with shock, which amplifies the sadness.

Despite my occasional grumbles about her, our dog was exceptionally smart. English shepherds are bred for intelligence and bidability rather than for some superficial exterior trait, and she lived up mostly to their reputation. She was a great frisbee dog (I regret never having taped a footage of her catching frisbees) and could tackle an opossum fearlessly. She could also chase down rabbits and eat one in 3 bites. She was both a good guard dog and companion.

Heckuva way to end a year.

The dog at 8 weeks old when we first brought her home.

We'll miss you, Gali.

"I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I needed to be." ~ Douglas Adams

Chickens go in; apple pies come out

Those of you who have memorized Chicken Run by now will be cracking up over the title; the rest of you will have to go rent Chicken Run to watch! =)

No apple pies, alas, due to not having apples. But I was in the mood for pies. I wanted to make a pecan pie because we had a really poor one on Thanksgiving, and we had to get the memory of that one out of our palates' minds. So, I baked my usual "Honey Pecan Pie". Honey is a lovely sweetener whereas corn syrup just imparts too cloying a sweetness.

It is the easiest recipe too! I anticipate some of you will ask for it, so here it is:

Honey Pecan Pie

1 C honey
1/2 C (1 stick) melted butter
3 large eggs, lightly beaten

1/8 t salt
1 t vanilla extract
1.5 C chopped pecans
1 9" unbaked pie crust

Mix first 5 ingredients together, stir in pecans, and pour into pie crust. Bake at 350 for 30-40 minutes.

Easy, no?

I also made a sweet potato pie because we have a bunch of sweet potatoes in storage.

The pecan pie was delicious, as always. Will eat the sweet potato pie today! Mmmmm!

"I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I needed to be." ~ Douglas Adams

Craving carbs

Tis the season, and weather, to crank the oven up to 450 degrees F and bake some bread!

Mmmm...chewy, sour-doughy, and it tastes really yummy with the Vegemite we got at Jungle Jim's. :)

"I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I needed to be." ~ Douglas Adams