A Week in Pictures

Thank God for tinted moisturizer and waterproof mascara - we've cycled between 92 degree scortchers and monsoon quality storms this week, often seeing both more than once in the same day! Despite the unpredictable weather, the week is shooting by.


I carved out time to focus on the baby quilt I hunted down fabric for weeks ago already. It practically whipped itself off the sewing machine once I started! The blocks looked a little pattern-intensive by themselves, but put together they're adorable!




I also did some experimenting in the kitchen. This hideous jumble was supposed to be homemade Payday bars, an experiment for my sister who wanted to know if it was possible to make them with less sugar.

Although the recipe got rave reviews on taste despite its Quasi Modo appearance, I've concluded that you could get the equivalent taste combination with a fraction of the sugar (and half the cost) by simply incorporating the key elements into homemade granola bars. I'll post a follow-up when I nail down the necessary adjustments to my standard granola bar recipe.

My maple walnut cookies, on the other hand, were both delicious and lovely. I am especially pleased because these are one of those roll-chill-slice varieties that can be made ahead of time and frozen. When you can get ingredients on sale, you make and freeze a batch. When you need cookies in a hurry, you pull them out, slice and bake straight from frozen. I refer to such things as "homemade fast food" and am eternally thankful for them. (Ditto with hm ravioli, empanadas, pot pies, etc.)



My biggest frustration for the week was discovering that it's become impossible to buy crackers or any non-organic cereal! Once upon a time, both were cheap, healthy and portable food options we both enjoyed and appreciated. Now, they are so full of crap (hfcs) and neuro-toxins (tbhq anyone?) that I can't consider them safe to eat!

Some things I can't replicate at home (cherios) and others are just time consuming (ritz/saltines). Regardless, it strikes me as generally obscene that something as basic as a cracker has become so corrupted as to be inedible. If I weren't already up to my eyeballs in things to do, I'd organize a boycott!