Necessary Chocolate

Read for Fun 2009

Happy Father's Day and Happy Summer! Want to justify eating ice cream while you read? Need an excuse to walk through a bookstore? Hoping to discover a little something about a local landmark?

At my library, the kids start signing up for the summer reading program tomorrow. Since I don't think that I get to sign up (although I've never had the guts to ask), here's my Read for Fun program for 2009.

Like last year's chart, it's not intended to encourage reading lots of books. Instead, it marks the moments that we, as adults, can grab for reading. The five-minute summer vacations.

Want to play? Download the PDF file:

Download 2009 readforfun

Please leave a comment to let me know that you're playing. There will be a reward sometime in September.

Once again, the chart includes eight squares already filled in with goals, with corresponding pictures (courtesy of Dover's bookplates) on the sticker sheet. Feel free to change the goals as needed. My friend Julie's son helped me with some of the goals. He's ten or so, and had great ideas.

Choose eight of the other stickers to customize your plan. Two are blank, in case you think of a goal that I couldn't.

Have fun! Please share some of your favorite moments!

There's a badge over there in the sidebar - feel free to borrow if you want one. Since I add badges about once a year, let me know if there's a problem.

Summer plans #3: bridal shower cupcakes

A lovely woman at church, Ethel, is getting married in July, and there was a great big shower for her last night. Since I can now stay up late! and bake! I volunteered for cupcakes.

That cupcake up there is a chocolate-graham cracker cupcake with marshmallow frosting from Martha Stewart. It is an incredible recipe: layers of graham cracker and chocolate and cake. Plus, I used a kitchen torch for the first time ever! Chocolate and open flames. Who could ask for anything more?

The cute little peaks on top disappeared under the cupcakes picks and umbrellas, but at least I knew that they were there.

The recipe made 36 cupcakes, so it only took one more batch of coconut cupcakes with strawberry buttercream frosting to get 24 more.

I'd never tried freezing cupcakes before - I assumed they'd dry out. But Cook's Illustrated said it was okay, so they went into the freezer earlier this week and then unthawed on racks yesterday. They turned out great - moist and fresh. Make-ahead cupcakes are possible!

Now, for the summer plans

A number of people have asked what I'm doing with myself now that seminary is over. So, I thought that I'd share my summer list.

1. I do, in fact, have a full-time job. Mercifully, I haven't needed to travel much during seminary. I think we're about to make up for that.

2. Read for Fun! I'll be posting this summer's version on Sunday. Stay tuned!

2. My parent's 50th anniversary is this August, and I couldn't plan anything until class was over. In other words, last week. But I think we're on track, and there will be invitations soon.

3. 60 cupcakes for a wedding shower tonight. I volunteered to bring cake/cupcakes before I asked how many guests were coming.

4. Cook my way through the Improvisational Cook. It's great so far.

5. I want to sew, sew, sew. I want to clean out closets and drawers. I want to get rid of the extra books. Or maybe buy bookshelves?

6. Go to lots of performances.

7. Read a pile of books.

8. Sew a library book bag.

9. Sanitize the ice cream maker (it's been sitting in the garage for a while now). Make homemade ice cream.

10. Get ready for a friend's wedding open house at my place in August (the week after my parent's 50th anniversary party).

11. Get ready for the fall seminary class.

11. Try not to drive up to Vermont to buy a new peony. Or buy a new peony. Either choice is a good one.

It's going to be a great summer!

Pies

For one whole summer, my evenings are free! I can bake on weekdays! So I volunteered to make pies for an office birthday celebration today. I kind of wished that I had checked the schedule out a little more carefully; turns out we were giving a lecture last night, and I wouldn't be home until 8:30 or so.

But what the heck - I can stay up late! And make pies! And I did!

I tried out Cook's Country Buttermilk Chess pie twice; last night's version was too ugly to show in public, so I made another one this morning.

This is the prettier version that made it into the office. The ugly version stayed home, but it's so good that I might have to swallow pride and feed it to others before I eat it all.

Also on the menu was Dorie Greenspan's Chocolate Cream Tart, from her "Baking" book.

 

Sigh. So good. Worth every arm-aching moment of whipping the cream by hand (I left part of the mixer at home). Luckily, none of this pie was left home. One less temptation.

The last week of class

Thanks for your kind comments on Howard! His new owner loves him and calls him Junior.

I'm saving all of the other sewing for next week, because there's just a few days left of my early-morning religion class. We're counting down the days with different activities: yesterday, smoothies; today, Revelation in play-doh.

I can't believe that I threatened to take so much time on the Gospels so that we wouldn't have time for Revelation. The imagery, the theme. We're all eating it up.

My calf-headed beast. Please note that I was teaching the lesson today, so didn't have time to be a perfectionist. But he's endearing. For those of you who know my class - that's Sally's much more meticulous eagle-headed beast in the background.