Cookie bars are the savior of the modern woman

Another late night baking session ended succesfully. Actually, the baking didn't go all that late, it was the washing up that stretched on into the wee hours. When I grow up, my kitchen will have a dishwasher. Anyhow, thinking he had done something incredibly fantastic and best husband of the year worthy, my coworker's husband brought home a case of sweetened flaked coconut. What does one do with a case of coconut? HAVE A COCONUT BAKEOFF!!!(Said in Oprah voice for greater effect.) Yup. and 12 days into the bakeoff, everyone is um - you guessed it, pretty sick of coconut.

I made Samoas bars (like the Girl Scout cookies) from the Baking Bites blog. She's created a more traditional round cookie version (as well as recipes for thin mints & tagalongs), but I had no time to roll and fuss with cookie cutters. I'm happy that I chose the bar version, though It was a difficult decsion. Usually I'm all about aesthetics, unless it interferes with getting a reasonable amount sleep. I think trying to manipulate the sticky caramel-coconut mixture evenly around round cookies with their centers cut out at midnight would have been scream inducing.

The Not So Fun Sunday. . . Followed by the Mostly Fun Sunday

Last Sunday was just not veey much fun. I had an 8 hour class all day Saturday and Sunday. We got out a little early both days and as far as classes go, it was pretty fun, but school wouldn't be in my top 10 fun ways to spend a day off. I'm nerdy, but I'm not THAT nerdy! On the way on Saturday I saw a couple things that caught my fancy, and I found myself saying yet again, "why don't you carry your camera with you all the time?" On Sunday I packed the camera. Some of the sites had lost their charm, while I saw other things that I hadn't noticed before. Here are a couple:

This sunday was much more fun, in spite of paper anxiety produced by last Sunday. I went to dim sum for the very first time. (But hopefully not the last.) For someone who loves gummy/ ricey/ salty/ dumplingy things it was a revelation. I learned that the reason tea is served is to aid digestion - the tea cuts the grease in your belly. Umpteen dim sum delights and four pots of tea later I feel pretty good. I don't even need a nap. On the way home, we stopped at the (best) Chinese bakery and I bought a lotus paste mooncake. I had to take a picture before I took a tiny slab and stuck it in the freezer. They're so very pretty.

And the kitty thought it looked tasty too, note her paw on my wrist trying to steal my wedge.

After the bakery, we meandered through the Common to Charles St., and ended up at particularly excellent store called Good. Good is very very good. They stock some gorgeous yet totally unneccessary things as well as incredibly lovely and timelessly classy jewelry; they type I love because it looks like it belongs in museum cases, recently unearthed from webby tombs.

This Sunday would probably be totally fun if I didn't have to stop farting around RIGHT NOW and work on a paper. (Thus, the "mostly fun".)

Frost Heart