Treats for appetites of every size
This weekend marks the first weekend of Lent for 2015, and, as I do every year, I gave up any and all sweets. A lot of people do this. But I don’t think that a lot of people have the level of dependency on sweets that I do. I legitimately had withdrawal headaches for two full days Wednesday and Thursday. So this is a big deal for me.
After being sick at the end of last week (which is actually the worst thing as a teacher – it makes you realize just how much energy you need on a daily basis), I made it up to Massachusetts for the weekend just in time to experience one of those blizzards I’d been hearing so much about. Down in New Jersey, this winter has been very much a story of “There’s a huge blizzard coming our way, everybody panic! Oh wait, it missed us, but it did hit Boston.” Up here, it’s a very different story.
I am really getting sick of winter. And I know I’m not the only one. I mean, when the weatherman describes the forecast for the day as “not as brutal”, you know it’s been a rough couple of months. Also, it’s not even good winter weather. If it’s going to be a snow day, for example, I better wake up to a beautiful white sparkly blanket covering the ground. Then I could at least go snowshoeing. This year, snow days have actually been nasty rain/ice/sleet/hail/snow days, which make even going to get a cup of coffee at Dunkin a pain.
Baking ingredients all have their own personality. Some of them are over-sensitive, hardening and becoming unusable at slightest hint of oxygen (I’m looking at you, brown sugar). Some of them have a way of hiding in your cabinet and only appearing after you’ve bought a replacement (that would be molasses, as discussed here, and, oddly, Karo syrup). And others fall into the general category of “You Will Only Ever Have To Buy This Once Because It Is A Magical Never Ending Container” (obviously, this is baking powder and baking soda).