Teeth

Posted by Eva comments (0)
I'm pretty normal when it comes to oral hygiene I think. Brush twice or thrice a day, forget to floss until just before the dentist's appointment, that sort of thing. Every once in awhile though, I like to take it up a notch and give my teeh that oh so lovely fresh-from-the-dentist-without-the-mildly-traumatizing-bill feeling.

The trick?

Baking soda. Simple enough, yes? Take a wet toothbrush, sprinkle some baking soda on it, and if you really want a good clean, a bit of salt works wonders, then go to town and scrub away. It tastes a bit gross the first time, but it's not so bad really. I do this once a month or so when that fuzzy-sweater feeling on my teeth just won't go away.


 

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Cooking for Dummies Books Were Written for Women like ME.

Posted by Eva comments (0)
No, that is not an exaggeration. If a recipe can be misunderstood, I'll misunderstand it. If a simple error can flub the whole thing, I'll manage it. I have, in times past, attempted to make cookies with no flour in them, broiled a cake, cooked pasta to varying degrees of mush or chewiness, and have even accidentally served semi-raw foodstuffs to dinner guests. The list? Goes on.

On the plus side, all I have to do is share one or two of these stories and suddenly I'm the most popular woman in the room. With the other women, anyway. Who doesn't love to hang out with someone who makes them feel intellectually superior, right?

That said, you can be assured that any recipe I post here is fairly simple to make. I don't want to go on and on each time about how easy it was and how if I can do it then YOU certainly can. Let's just call that assumed, okay?

I'll start with . . .


White Chocolate Raspberry Blondies

Ingredients:

· 6 ounces good quality white chocolate, coarsely chopped

· 1 cup all-purpose flour

· 1/4 teaspoon salt

· 1/2 cup sugar

· 1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened

· 2 large eggs

· 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

· 1/2 teaspoon almond extract

· 2/3 cup white chocolate chips

· 1 cup fresh raspberry or frozen unsweetened raspberries, not defrosted

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Butter 8-inch non-stick square baking pan. Stir 6 ounces white chocolate in large metal bowl set over saucepan of simmering water until melted and smooth, or use a microwave. Set aside to cool slightly.1. 2

Stir flour and salt in small bowl to blend. Set aside. Using electric mixer beat sugar and butter in large bowl to blend. Mix in eggs, vanilla and almond extract. Mix in melted white chocolate. Stir in flour mixture just until blended - do not overmix. Stir in white chocolate chips. Gently stir in raspberries just until distributed evenly. Transfer batter to prepared pan, spreading evenly.2. 3

Bake until top is golden and tester inserted into center comes out with moist crumbs attached, about 40 minutes if using fresh raspberries or 45 minutes if using frozen raspberries. Cool in pan.3. 4

Cut into 16 squares. Transfer to platter and serve.

Eva's Notes: Whatever you do, don't put these in an airtight container shortly after they're done cooling. This causes certain portions of the blondies to melt into goo. Trust me on this. Also, chopping up chocolate BEFORE melting it in the microwave is a huge flash of inspiration for me, having tried to melt it in the large chunks it comes in MANY times previously, with often disastrous results.

 

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