Tax Return Temptation

I should just buy it, shouldn't I?

That way, it will quit whispering to me in that provocative voice ("pssst....you need me, baby") every time I go into Macy's (which, let's face it, isn't that often. But that type of whispering is potent and it sticks with a girl).

Maybe this week, I will actually try it on as opposed to simply fondling it as I need to go to the land of retail once more to exchange soccer shorts for the little people.

I'm suddenly feeling a fake sense of "loose with the purse" because we, along with millions of other Americans, are getting a tax incentive check. In fact, we probably already got our check. But ours is a "don't ask, don't tell" household as far as money is concerned. I should just assume we're still on the can't-squeeze-blood-out-of-a-rock budget, but the Mister seemed quite "loose with the purse" this weekend and was mighty quick to agree to visit el Restaurante on Friday...and Saturday...and we ALMOST went today, Sunday. (but I saved the day with pancetta-wrapped chicken with sage, a handmade cheese/garlic bread and tossed greens with balsamic dressing). Whew! Good save, no?

Don't worry, we are not fooled by the tax incentive money. We are good little consumers who do our homework. We know this is merely a loan on our next year's tax refund. In fact. we WERE flexing our anit-establishment muscles which caused us to pinky-swear to use this fake money ONLY to square up some debts caused from putting the little people in a decent, yet ridiculously-priced preschool (don't ask me, it seemed like a good idea at the time). So all that tax-incentive money is going towards bills.

But dang, warm pink clothing is just such a lovely thought.

Why Flourless?

You need to bake these cookies because the are very tasty. This is adapted from a recipe at Epicurious, in case you're curious.

1 cup creamy peanut butter
1 cup milk chocolate chips
1 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vanilla

Heat oven to 350. Stir the brown sugar and the baking soda together until well blended. Add the pb, egg and vanilla and blend on medium with a hand mixer until all ingredients are incorporated. Stir in the chocolate chips with a wooden spoon (this takes a bit of muscle). Drop by teaspoons onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake 10 - 11 minutes. Cool on sheet for 5 minutes before removing to rack. Makes 24.

I was given this recipe by a friend who absolutely raved about these cookies. She went on and on and on about them. I'm not normally one who experiments with baking so I was hesitant to try them because they are flourless. That just seemed weird to me. Flour seems pretty important to cookies, doesn't it? Like chocolate milk without the chocolate. Anyhow, I threw caution to the wind (yes, I am such the risk-taker) and tried them. They are amazing! The texture is wonderful and they have a very intense flavor. So this is pretty much all I bake now.

It's worth it to use a good brand of brown sugar in this recipe because it's one of the main ingredients. And for some reason, this recipe does not double well. I'm not sure why, it's very mysterious. Must be something flour-related.

If you bake these, let me know what you think and if you have any other flourless recipes, do tell!

They are so fast!

Roadtrip!

Spring fever gave us all that "get outta town" feeling, so we went to Richmond for a couple of days. We spent one of the days at Maymont, a 100 acre park right in the city. Besides beautiful grounds with amazing gardens, there was a nature center showcasing the Potomac River.



This picture shows river otters in action. The swim so fast, they look like a blurry torpedo in all my pictures. There were two windows where you could see into their outdoor habitat and this little guy kept running back and forth between them trying to keep up with the swimming otters. It made me tired just to watch.