Me and My Loonie!

Loonie! Remember this? What did you name her, I never found out!? Mmm, those cookies were so good and the gifts were so wonderful!

Valentine Cards are DONE!!

The Valentine cards are finally done!! The three cup cards are for the girls and the red felt heart is for the Big Guy!! I really liked how they all turned out! I was so worried I wouldn't be able to come up any fun new designs but again, I surprised myself!

Ranting......

So, it started snowing about 2 1/2 hours ago and I have an inch on the deck, cars and most unfortunately...my DirecTv Satellite dish! My favorite channel, FoodNetwork, went out and I tried everything I knew to get a signal again. I finally went outside to look at the dish and yes, there is snow on it BUT this is not the first time there has been snow on it but it is the first problem I've ever had! Of course, the big guy is out of town and I don't dare try to climb the pitch of the roof to brush the dang thing off! Grrrrrrrrrr......

Guess I'll just have to start a new book!!!

Homemade PIZZA!!

Mmm, nothing better than some of those Almond Bars (see previous post) and a cup of Fair Trade Organic Jasmine Tea with stevia! I am sooo addicted to my Jasmine tea! My guilty pleasure, since I drink 3 cups a day! Yikes! Hey, it's a green tea, supposed to so good for me (:

My latest fav is the Whole Wheat Pizza with Arugula from the Jan/Feb 2009 issue of Everyday Foods magazine! Soo nummy! The only thing I do different is that I brush the rolled out dough with olive oil then I top with thinly sliced red onions before I top with the tomatoes. It adds such a nice taste! And instead of pecorino cheese I shave a fresh chunk of Parmesan with a vegetable peeler and top with that!

I really love the whole wheat dough recipe too! It reminds me of foccacia. I also toss the arugula with 2 T. olive oil and 1 T. balsamic vinegar before I top the pizza with it. What a taste sensation!

Almond Bars

Almond Bars

Crust:

1 ¼ c. flour

¼ c. sugar

dash salt

½ c. butter, cold

Filling:

3 Tbl. soft butter

½ c. sugar

1 egg

½ tsp. almond extract

½ c. blanched almonds, ground

1 Tbl. flour

Glaze:

3 Tbl. butter

¼ c. sugar

½ c. blanched almonds, sliced

1 Tbl. flour

2 tsp. milk

½ tsp. almond extract

Crust: Cut butter into dry ingredients. Pat into 9 x 13 pan.

Filling: In processor, grind almonds with flour. Cream butter and sugar till fluffy, add egg and extract. Stir in almond/flour mixture. Pour over crust. On Lowest Rack : Bake 350 degrees till golden - 25 minutes.

Glaze: Stir all topping ingredients in small saucepan and heat over low till blended. Spread over hot cookies and broil 6 inches from heat till glaze is golden, about 3 minutes.

Cool in pan on rack. Cut into bars.

48 bars

Mmm, I have made these cookies two times this week already! Oink! They are a bit tricky, spreading the filling over the uncooked crust so patience and a light hand must prevail! Enjoy!

Lily's Esty!!

We worked all day and finally got Lily's Esty shop "Craftylass" up and running!! Wow, it was alot of work! Taking pictures, editing, describing, uploading (remember I am still on dial-up!)..... The guys enjoyed the big game and all the nummys I prepared to munch on! We missed not having Buddy with us though! BUDDY I love you!

Anyway, take a peek at the shop!