Cranberry-Oatmeal Cookie Bars

I have already discussed my theory that using Cooking Light for the desserts only kind of defeats the purpose. But I'm going to share the good recipes with you anyway. No picture this time. The note says that these aren't "too sweet" but they were plenty sweet enough for me.

Crust: 1 c flour (I used whole-wheat)
1 c oats
1/2 c packed brown sugar
1/4 t salt
1/4 t baking soda
1/4 t cinnamon
6 T butter, melted
3 T orange juice.

1. Combine dry crust ingredients in a medium bowl, stirring well with a whisk. Drizzle butter and juice over flour mixture, stir until moistened. Mixture will be crumbly.

2. Set aside 1/2 c oat mixture (I set a side a little more because I love crumbly toppings!). Press the remaining oat mixture into the bottom of a greased 11x7" baking dish.

3. For the filling, combine:
1 1/3 c dried cranberries (or dried cherries, substituting lemon for all things orange)
3/4 c sour cream
1/2 c sugar (I think I would try using less next time.)
2 T flour
1 t vanilla
1/2 t grated orange rind
1 large egg white, beaten.

Stir well and spread cranberry mixture over prepared crust. Sprinkle reserved mixture over filling.

4. Bake at 325 for 40 minutes or until edges are golden (Mine were golden enough to be irresistible at 35 minutes). Cool completely in pan on a wire rack.

If you cut the bars into 24 pieces, then it's worthy of cooking light. I wanted to make mine into about 4 pieces, because, there's a part of me, I don't know how dominant that part might be, that wanted these pieces. I was unconditionally and irrevocably in love with these chewy bars. Desserts are my own personal brand of - yes, I have been re-reading Twilight, why do you ask?

I'm also writing a fun story about Cinderella from the evil stepmother's point of view. I like turning situations around and looking at them through others' eyes. I've been trying to do it with reading the Bible too, taking perspectives that I don't normally take. It's quite hard to step out of the "i'm-so-perfect" mindset, but I'm trying. Something (someone) tells me it'll be worth it.

Introducing Cori Lyons!

New music artist I found. Describes herself as "light and folk-y" (just the way I like them, right, Ingrid and Alison Sudol?) Enjoy the video. And not the cookies - because they're almost gone.



Chocolate Coconut Oatmeal Cookies

I've always disliked when people replace "love" with heart. Until it became a necessity.

Picture-ful blog entry for your entertainment! (Solely yours - not mine. Not one bit.)

We have about 21 inches of snow on the back porch. Here I am trying to make a snow angel but my arms are kind of stuck. I'm daydreaming about everything I can do with snow. What are some reasons I like snow? It's gorgeous, it's angelic, and when you run in it, people think you're hard-core. First up - a snow turtle. Snow man wasn't going to work out. Apparently, you need something called "skills" for that. And I know I can make apple-peanut butter-marshmallow smiles, but snow sculptures are on a different playing field. Mainly because there's no edible incentive afterward.

I've always thought that if the tortoise and the hair raced again, this guy would lose. Well, this turtle definitely would, because head is an ice block. While I was working on all my projects (more to come!), Mom set about making an abstract piece of art. See below.

At one point, she asked, "Do you need anything? A shovel? Icycle?"
Julie: "Artistic talent?"
But, as you can verify below -

I am an excellent swiss cheese sculpturer. I think there's also a Mayan god that I was sculpting joweled-hunchback man (oh, excuse me - a man with large jowels and a hunchback) and he definitely wants to break into the cheese round. Don't worry: he's got company.

It's the ancient hippopotamus god, Mohawk-opotamus! (The mohawk actually is on purpose!) He's also here for some cheese. There is an icicle in the middle of it, like a toothpick, that isn't in the frame.

My crowning glory (crown and glory? What is that phrase?) is this man. I use the word man loosely. He's presiding over the cheese distribution with a miniature-icicle-organ to use at his discretion. This stern figure has arms wrapping behind his back, ears, and a teeny bit of a jawline! Also, an Elvis hairdo. And if you could see over the deck to the backyard, you'd see the heads of about six men who just weren't shaped for the job. (Yay, puns!)

The title of my post I begrudgingly bring up here. "I love love love love snow!!!!!!!" is too long. Really, if we remember that I'm now a photographer and not wearing gloves, "I love snow" is long. So, for the first time in my life - at least since seventh grade, when I heart'd just about any boy who made me giggle:

I know life could be better... but I sure don't know how!

Today was a great day, and I didn't even document everything that was wonderful. Not pictured: hot fudge lava cake from Cap City Diner. God's amazing grace and His love that goes exceedingly, abundantly above all we could ask or imagine (or often feel.) Friends. 

What you do see is: 

Glorious snow! Columbus almost has the record depth recorded in a long time (which, sorry, is still nothing compared to Grand Rapids.) Above: spelling out hi Exclamation Mark in the parking lot, with my pink rain (er, snow) boot as the dot. The snow is up high enough and my real snow boots have lost their comfortable and waterproofed layer for me to giddily prance and Charleston through the snow in my slush-proof, drift-proof pink boots. Thank you, Target, for making these six years ago and selling them for cheap because they weren't cool yet.

Besides snow, my day started out with homemade blueberry pancakes with lemon zest from a simple mix, like this one. Behind it is rice and black beans, to which I added nacho cheese - delectable. The only thing made from a box is that oddly-colored vanilla pudding: tastes normal (mostly) but it's a very funny shade of yellow. That is just one example of why I don't use mixes: when you mess up something from scratch, it's okay, everybody does it. When you mess up something from a box, people look at you funny. But at least I have never forgotten to add the brownie mix to the oil and eggs! (Side note: Yes, I am fully aware that sometimes I have cravings like a pregnant woman. Rice and nacho cheese? Electric pudding? Lava cake?)

Amazing thing that happened today - free tickets to Ingrid and Mat next month. That's right, free. Ingrid Michaelson and Mat Kearney are two of my very favorite people - I even refer to them on a first-name basis - and I was stoked to be holding these tickets... free of charge. I knew I came to OSU for a reason.

Other great things that you'll be hearing more about later - books I'm reading and my pending trip to Calvin to see the conference meet. Broken-Down House has talked about how true faith requires trust, not understanding - I'm working on that... Divine Nobodies is on my list of books to read this weekend, and Alf the Sky  - oops, that's Half the Sky is a book by Nicholas Kristof, a New York Times contributor, on "turning oppression into opportunity worldwide." Want to hear about current forms of slavery and sexual abuse? Want to know what we can do? Ask me, or read that book. Or read a recent article of his (shorter than the book and very informative and moving.)

The Future, by Wendell Berry

For God's sake, be done
with this jabber of "a better world."
What blasphemy! No "futuristic"
twit or child thereof ever
in embodied light will see
a better world than this, though they
foretell inevitably a worse.
Do something! Go cut the weeds
beside the oblivious road. Pick up
the cans and bottles, old tires,
and dead predictions. No future
can be stuffed into this presence
except by being dead. The day is
clear and bright, and overhead
the sun not yet half finished
with his daily praise.

Speaking of not being done with daily praise (I love that phrase, by the way) - I wish I had some pictures of the snow - maybe tomorrow I'll have some for you. If not, I hope to this weekend, because I'll be in Grand Rapids! Love snow!

Bugger! Has that song already been sung?

January 31, 10 p.m., eastern standard time.

From here on in, I type without a script.

As per my new resolutions, I have been making many changes in my life. The biggest is that I've randomly started using the word "bugger" instead of "oh, shoot." I don't know what it is (or why, seeing as I haven't watched Bridget Jones in over a year) but it's making me smile every time I say it. I also held an "informational meeting" for the community living project through my church, and there are a lot of people who think it's valuable and I learned that I need to pray more but that God is definitely "doing something." Things look like people will support this idea and I'm hopeful that we will be learning more about God and the world around us next year!

For the meeting, I made a dessert. I know what you're thinking: two bowls? If someone were to ask me "If you were to write a cookbook, what would it be called?" It would be something like "My Rough Guide to Cooking Anything in One Mixing Bowl with One Measuring Utensil." But this meeting called for something special: something a little s'more, if you will. And I will.

yumsters.

I couldn't find any way to make these s'more cupcakes by Bakerella in one bowl. (And those of you who know me really well know that my cookbook would actually probably have s'mores in the title, or at least in the dedication section.) I made cupcake batter and added crushed graham crackers to one half and chocolate to the other. The cupcakes were layered - above is the graham mixture on the bottom, plus half of a marshmallow (a.k.a. cupcake implosion device).

and then the chocolate plus some more (get it?) crushed grahams on top for the finale...

And magically, these worked, except for the occasional implosion, which was fixed with a marshmallow. They were a hit.
Beyond the cooking and community living realm, I have been visiting a good friend who has been in the hospital on campus and I've been floored every time I've visited with how much God has revealed to me through her and her family. She's supposed to be discharged tomorrow, so may I charge all of you to pray for her and her family as that happens?
Oh, bugger, I guess I'm in classes too. (Gets me every time. Aren't you smiling?) I'm learning about learning in Educational Psychology - need an idea for a paper topic soon, maybe stereotype threat and mathematics, if that counts as a topic?; my Adolescent Psychology is shaping up well - currently reading about peer influences on risky decisions; Covariance Structure Modeling is grand, as always, and I get to play with matrices. I finally feel like Joel in class - I don't have to listen close enough to be incessantly taking notes, so I take fun notes. No poems yet, because sometimes he asks me questions. I do have a note that says "Matrices everywhere!" in the same voice you'd say, "Babies everywhere!" And then I'm preparing for a service spring break trip to - Columbus, Ohio! (Womp womp.) I am really excited for it and I just met some of the participants last week, and they're amazing. So yay!

Has anyone else noticed Justin Bieber's new song (Love Me) sounds an awful lot like The Cardigans? As in, so close that I don't understand how it's not the same song?
And, as I was typing in the scrollover text, I realized that I want to know if he really means one less lonely (which could mean one less-lonely) girl or if he means "one fewer." Grammar kids? 'Tell me what I want to hear.' And yes, I do like him. Bugger.

Bachelorette parties

Calling All Bachelorettes!

Cynthia Buettner, Ph.D. at The Ohio State University is looking for current bachelorettes, recently married women, and their girlfriends who have participated in a bachelorette party in the past 12 months. The study consists of completing a 10-15 minute online survey related to bachelorette parties. All of your information is completely anonymous and confidential. Participants must be 18 and over to participate. 


The survey can be found here: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/osubachelorettestudy