Weeklies#2: Brrrrrrring back spring.

It has been a slow, strange week around here. Everyone in our house is getting over a cold, and the weather has been freezing and unwelcoming.What the heck happened to spring? It's like winter said "I'm not done with you people yet. Tee Hee!". Luckily Old Man Winter didn't freeze up my creative juices. Uhm...somehow that sounds kinda gross, even though I didn't mean it to.

Thing I made: Growing up, my mom had a copy of The Betty Crocker Cooky Book. I always loved looking at the technicolor pictures and awesome little line drawing illustrations. Last year, she gave me a copy she'd found at an antique store. I have lofty aspirations to make every cookie in this book from start to finish but I need to think about where I'd offload the results. I don't think our waistlines could handle it without some help. Anyhow, I wanted to try something new, so I made Jam Squares. They were quick and super tasty, great with a cup of tea. Here is a link to the original recipe. For Jam Squares, just replace the date filling with your favorite jam (about 1 1/2 cups).


Best food I ate: Yesterday it decided to snow in my city. Snow is not a common occurence here, and especially this time of year. Couple that with everyone in our house being sick, and you've got the perfect reason to make Chicken and Dumplings. I used the Everyday Food recipe. We didn't have frozen peas, and weren't willing to freeze ourselves to go out and get some so we added celery and finely chopped broccoli instead. It was an awesome meal, I'd highly recommend this recipe.

Best thing I saw on TV: I recorded the movie musical Easter Parade last week. How much do I love Fred Astaire? This scene was my favorite. I love the colors, the use of props and of course the dancing! Even though Fred is dancing in order to steal a bunny away from this little kid, it still makes me feel happy.



Can't live without: Gross as it may sound, my Neti Pot. If you've never used one I highly recommend it. I especially love the rhino horn, the monster truck of neti pots.

Music: Wow, here's 5 new-to-me songs. The first one, "Again and again", has been stuck in my head all week. Now it's going to be stuck in yours! I just heard The Heavy for the first time this week. I want the whole album. I love everything about "Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa" by Vampire Weekend, the name of the song and how it sounds like a cross between Paul Simon and the Talking Heads. "The Headphone Song" is rockin. I love the synthesizer, makes me wanna dance around. With my headphones on. I like "Jodi" too, by The Dodos. I went to grade school with a Jodi, who always had to make sure her knee socks were folded as to be the exact same height, this song probably isn't about her. (Player has been moved to next weeklies installment)

Feeling happy about: Posting here more often!