Giant Sugar Cookies

This is a fantastic recipe I got from Everyday Food magazine, a great source for recipes and available at your local library. Well, my local library. It's also a great little giftie, put one or two in a cellophane bag and tie it with a ribbon.
I use a muffin scoop to make the big cookies and a single batch makes about twelve. You can use a regular cookie scoop, just cook them for around ten minutes.

Giant Sugar Cookies
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking soda
8 tbsp (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 1/2 cups sugar, plus more for sprinkling
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup sour cream
Beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy,, 2-4 minutes. Add egg and vanilla; beat well to combine. Add half the flour with the baking powder, salt, and baking soda, followed by the sour cream, then remaining flour. Mix just until smooth. Drop mounds of dough, about 3 tablespoons, 3 to 4 inches apart onto baking sheets; sprinkle with sugar. Bake at 350 until edges of cookies are just firm and tops are barely beginning to brown, 15 to 20 minutes. Transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool.

Shoe Shopping

In the media, shoe shopping is portrayed as a highly desirable activity, filled with wonder and delight. True, it is better than clothes shopping, but only because shoes don't usually make my feet look fat.
Of course, no one has yet made a documentary of shoe shopping with Madeleine and Malcolm to shatter the popular positive image that shoe shopping maintains. It's not all their fault; I've never been a fan of shoe salespeople. I've encountered a good one now and again, but in general they fall into one of two categories: overly helpful, or impossible to find. We had the former today, and Madeleine was so annoyed that she composed this poem in the car on the way home.

There was an annoying sales clerk
Whose helpful manner just made her a jerk.
Her guidance I couldn't refuse
As she insisted on finding me shoes.
No matter how hard I did pray
She simply would not go away.
She must have committed a crime
She talked for such a long time.
After she left (for she had to breathe)
My hatred of shoe shopping inside of me seethed.
I dreamt that she had been lynched
Then sadly awoke when pinched.

Recipe of the Week

This is my favorite blueberry pie recipe. I've been eating it for years, and now that I've finally learned to make pie crust (after years of failure) I can make it without having my mommy around to help me. I'll include the crust recipe as well; it's from the Crisco can, but I think it's the higher fat Canadian version.

Blueberry Pie

4 cups blueberries
3/4 cup sugar
3 tbsp flour (4 if frozen)
dash of salt
optional: ½ tsp cinnamon (I put it in)
Fill pie shell, sprinkle with 1-2 tsp lemon juice, dot with 1 tbsp butter. Add top crust. Bake at 400 F for 35-40 minutes.

Pie Crust (makes 1 double-crust pie)

2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 tsp salt
1 cup Crisco shortening
4 tbsp ice water
Combine flour, salt, and shortening with pastry cutter. Add ice water. I like to chill it in the fridge for an hour or two before I roll it out, and I roll it between sheets of waxed paper.

Recipe of the Week

As I sit here eating my lunch of leftovers, I've been inspired as to what my next Recipe of the Week should be. Plus, I told Shauna I'd give her the recipe. It's a great summer salad and it's easy to fool your kids into thinking the spinach is lettuce.

Spinach & Rice Salad

1 cup uncooked rice
½ cup bottled Italian salad dressing
1 tbsp soy sauce
½ tsp sugar
2 cups fresh spinach, cut into thin strips
½ cup sliced celery
½ cup sliced green onions
1/3 cup crumbled crisp bacon

Cook rice according to package directions. Transfer to bowl. Cool slightly. Combine dressing, soy sauce and sugar. Stir into warm rice. Cover and chill. Fold in remaining ingredients before serving. Makes 6 to 8 servings.

Recipe of the Week

Okay, so I've decided that I need to add a new element to my blog, something of interest, something that will actually encourage me to get on and post now and then. So here's the beginning of "The Recipe of the Week." I made Banana Bars this week and every time I give some away the recipients say they love them. They might be making up these favorable comments just to be polite, I can't be sure, but here's the recipe for anyone who wants it.
Oh, and this may or may not be posted weekly. Just being realistic.

Banana Bars

1 stick margarine
2 cups sugar
2 eggs
3 ripe bananas
1 ½ tsp vanilla
½ tsp salt
1 tsp soda
2 ¼ cups flour
2/3 container sour cream (about 11 ounces)
Bake at 350 for 20-30 minutes in a jelly roll pan.
Top with cream cheese frosting – 1 stick butter, 8 oz cream cheese, 1 tsp vanilla and 2 cups icing sugar

Totally Fab Hotel

I really loved our hotel in Waikiki, it was an Embassy Suites and since they were out of one bedroom suites, they gave us a two bedroom. Meaning also two bathroom. I've decided that a bathroom with two sinks just doesn't cut it, I want my own bathroom at home now too.
We had a fantastic view, both from our room (Diamond Head in the background) and from the balconies at either end of the hall. Unfortunately, due to my paralyzing fear of heights, I couldn't actually go onto the balcony, and had to leave the room when Jeff did. I was sure he was going over.

Married to a Chicken

An actual conversation I just had with Madeleine. It was a result of her reading her vocab sentences to me; her goal is always to make her teacher laugh.

Madeleine: Is the Easter Bunny a boy or a girl?
Me: A boy.
Madeleine: He must be married to a chicken.