Our Downtown Date

Thursday was a play day. We ditched the office and went downtown. We had several objectives in mind when we started out. We wanted to get a copy of Bud's Patriarchal blessing, we wanted to wander around Temple Square and take pictures, we wanted to relax in the hot tub at S.L. Sports Complex, we wanted to have a nice dinner out, and we wanted to go to the movie. As we got onto the freeway, I told Bud that I forgot to bring a change of underclothing for after the hot tub. He then asked if I had the camera. Oops. No, I'd forgotten that as well. At least I had both of my purse cameras with me, however, I found out soon enough that one had a dead battery. Still, we pressed forward. We parked and this was the first thing that caught my eye.
Tulips are my favorite.
We walked past the Church Office Building. I told Bud I'd never been inside, so he immediately took me inside! The nice lady asked if we wanted to go on a tour.
This mural takes up an entire wall. The original is painted by Harry Anderson, in case you need to know that for a test later.
This is a statue by Avard T. Fairbanks, showing a young couple burying their child on the trek west.
We went up to the observation deck looking North and East. A cool part about the deck is that even though the viewing area is covered with plexiglass, there are a few strategic spots that have a circular cut-out for your camera's lens.

From here I can see where we used to live, which was in the other half of Bud's downtown office called the Aztec. It's that building, riiiiight there. See it?

The Conference Center as seen from the other observation deck looking north and west.

I'm sure that when the temple was built, the people building it never thought there would be a building taller than it was.
While we were in the C.O.B. (yes, that's what they called it!), they solicited us. They even gave us papers to fill out, should we be so inclined as to volunteer for the next three years to work there. We politely said we'd "be in touch."

The next stop was across the street to the Church Library where we quickly picked up a copy of Bud's patriarchal blessing. If I'm going to "work" anywhere, I'd rather it was at the library than the C.O.B.

Here's a random bride and groom. I believe they were doing their pictures pre-wedding, because there was not a hoard of people hanging around them. I guess they could have all run off to lunch though.

This is an interactive touch-screen board to tell you where you are and help you figure out where you want to go. From this view, that guy almost resembles my firstborn child.

No trip to the temple is complete without few flower shots.

I liked these a lot.

And it is even less complete without a few temple shots. Here are three of my favorites.

This made me think the lion was allergic to the flowers and about to sneeze. I know, it's my own weirdness.
A few more flower shots on the way back to the car (by the way, we stopped at the Distribution Center and bought a single set of a certain change of clothing for my post hot tub experience). All things were good to go now!

Wouldn't it be nice if I could make my yard as nice as this?
Next stop was dinner at Market Street Grill on 13th East. The last time we were there we ran into Senator Orrin Hatch. This time we ran into her...the lady holding on to the handrail.
She was finishing her conversation with the other lady whom she had dined with, and I interrupted them (she probably hates that) and I said, "Sister Dew, can I just give you a hug?" She very politely gave me a small hug (probably while thinking "you should have asked MAY, not CAN"). She thanked me for saying hello. I mentioned that the last time we were there that Bud ran into Orrin, his long-time friend, and she said "Well, then he (meaning Bud) got the better deal." She was extremely polite and very kind.

I promptly went to my car, and felt like a big dork for all the things I didn't say that I should have said and for the things I said that I shouldn't have said. I'd better practice in my head for next time because it seems every time we go here, we see someone cool. I watched her walk to her car. She went towards a shiny silver sports car, walked around it and got in a Lexus SUV, (moss-green in color). Her car is probably more expensive than that little sports car! CEO's have to have class, you know.

After dinner was the hot tub and then the movie. We hit the dollar movie in Sugarhouse, and watched The Adjustment Bureau with Matt Damon. Very interesting concept- that movie played some games with my head! The next time I misplace my keys only to find them sitting "right there" a few moments later will make me wonder about things I never wondered about before.

Tips And Tricks

Yes, it is Cinco de Mayo. No, I'm not celebrating it, although I have seen some mighty tasty stuff out there that looks delish (except for the stuff with cilantro), and what do you do for Cinco de Mayo except eat or get drunk? Or both? Besides, the people of Mexico don't even celebrate Cinco de Mayo. They celebrate Septiembre dieciseis. That's their Fourth of July! :)
So let's talk about something else!

Have you ever had a Crayola product misused by any sweet, adorable person in your home?

Have you ever found a crayon in the laundry just a tad later than you'd wished? Did you wonder how you were ever going to get that marker, crayon, pencil, or paint off the wall, out of the carpet, etc.? I was reading an older post over at OBB and found this website in the process. You will love it! Bookmark that baby so you never have to wonder how to get the melted crayon out of your new jeans.
Not only does it have cleaning tips, if you check out Crayola's regular site as well there are all kinds of nifty things to do, games to play, pages to color, and things to learn. Wander around, check it out, it's cool.

Another thing I learned over at OBB- two computer tricks (and you thought they were only about cooking!). Because I'm so nice, I'll share those tricks with you, but you probably already know them and I'm just opening myself up to ridicule because I was so uneducated. Here they are:
#1 You know when you want to click on a link but when you do, it takes you away from the page you are on and when you are done with that page you have to click the back button to get to where you used to be? Well, here's the solution. If your mouse has a roller ball, press the roller when you're on the link, and it will open a new page with the link rather than taking you away from the page you are on. It was enlightening for me. You probably already knew it.
#2 You are reading something and scrolling down (probably with the roller ball) and you get ready to scroll (rolling, rolling, rolling), but then you lose your place because you didn't follow with your eyes where you were and now you are lost. Well, instead of scrolling or rolling, just hit the space bar and it will be the same as using the page down button! Another enlightenment! The space bar is much easier to use than the page down button, at least it is for me. Just trying to keep us all in the know!

Better Butter

This was our Easter dinner. Ignore it all. Just look at the roll, and what's on it.
After having gone to Maddox just before Easter, and after having tasted their raspberry butter, I came home and made strawberry butter instead. It was just a cube (or do you say stick?) of butter and about 1/2 cup of strawberry jam, tossed in the mixer for about a minute until it was blended nicely. Bud loved it! He said it was better than Maddox's raspberry butter. Yay!

Okay, now look at this- again, ignoring the food.
This is what I threw together last night on our "clean-out-the-fridge" night, and because I was using plain ol' whack-em biscuits (open the can, whack it on the edge of the counter), I thought I'd better make it a little more special by fixing something better than just our normal non-butter spread. Guess where this recipe came from- no, don't even bother guessing. Of course it's OBB (Our Best Bites- really, if I have to write it out for you, you haven't been paying attention lately!). Their version of honey butter is better than any I've tasted elsewhere. The secret? Powdered sugar. Three ingredients- butter, honey and powdered sugar. I cut the recipe in half because there are only two people in my house.

Honey Butter

1/2 cup butter (1 stick)

1/3 cup liquid honey (as opposed to creamed)

1/3 cup plus 1 T. powdered sugar

If you have thought ahead, take your butter out of the refrigerator about 20 minutes before you need to make this. Otherwise, heat it in the microwave for 7 seconds. Put everything in the mixing bowl and beat it until it all comes together, about 45 seconds to 1 minute. Spread it on anything that resembles bread.

Berry Good!

Sunday was heavenly, in more ways than one. To begin with, I had no responsibilities at church, except that I took it upon my self to WD-40 the squeaky R.S. door. When we got home from church, and at an appropriate break-the-fast hour, my sister came bearing treats, still warm from her oven.
This recipe is from my new BFF's Kate and Sara from Our Best Bites. Cheryl has been cooking and baking her way through that book like crazy! You can get the recipe by clicking on the link. Click, only if you are prepared to be adored by all who taste this. They don't give you the recipe for the pound cake, however, and that's most of the goodness, so I'll give you that at the bottom of this post.
I don't know if it was because I hadn't eaten all day or if this was just that good, but it was soooo good that we ate more again later that night!
Not only did Cheryl bring over the shortcake, she also brought over these beauties! They were huge! I should have stuck something in the photo for proportion viewing.
I know you wish you could taste this right now.

Thanks for the treats, Sister! They were berry good!

Sour Cream Pound Cake

1 1/2 cups flour
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/8 tsp salt
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
3 eggs, room temperature
2 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup sour cream

Preheat oven to 350°F. In a small bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
In a mixing bowl, beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about a minute. Continue beating, adding the eggs one at a time. Add vanilla and sour cream. Slowly add the flour mixture while beating, just until combined.
Pour batter into a greased 8-inch or 9-inch loaf pan. Bake 50-60 minutes or until a toothpick or skewer tests clean. Cool for 10 minutes, then remove loaf from pan.

Technology Fast Sunday

I went to Women's Conference last Thursday, specifically to hear my blogging friend, Leigh Anne Wilkes from Your Homebased Mom speak. Go ahead, click over there. You'll see someone you recognize on that post!
I took my new little purse camera and didn't have it on the right setting, therefore, my pictures are blurry. Eek!

And from this angle you can see my nice double-chin thing going on. Great. Nurse Heidi took this picture. I was a little slow on the connection though, because I didn't figure out she was "thee" Nurse Heidi until the following day. Nurse Heidi is a fellow food blogger on a blog that I could contribute to because I'm a team member, but it seems no one posts on that blog except Nurse Heidi.
Anyway, Leigh Anne talked about different aspects of blogging and the online world, and I have decided to do one thing she does, which is keep the computer turned off on Sunday. It also includes not using my phone as a substitute to check emails or blogs or anything else computer-related. And now that I'm no longer the R.S. President, I think that's an acceptable goal. So if you need to get a hold of me on any given Sunday, you'll have to do it the old-fashioned way and call me, or even more old-fashioned, stop by! We'll sit on the porch and watch the snow melt.

Enjoy your day!

What A Cookie Was "Mint" To Be

This recipe starts by using cookies to make cookies. Kind of a silly idea, right? Why not just eat the cookies you have to begin with? Because you take something basic and turn it into something divine.

This first photo shows the consistency you want from the dough. The original recipe is found over at Picky Palate, but my finished cookie is quite different from Jenny's.
Here they are just out of the oven, waiting to cool and become extra delicious.
My friend's sister lives in the same town as my daughter, so she offered to take something home with her to give to Karen. I thought these would fit the bill, so I wrapped them back to back.
I put them in a rinsed out can of pears from which the lid had been removed with one of those safety can openers. That way I could put the lid back on it.
I made a little label for the can, and hot glued everything back together.
There you have a can of cookies.
And here you have total bliss. If you love chocolate and mint, you need these in your life. Now.
I asked my sister what number she would give them. She did not hesitate to give them a 10. Same from my friends, Biff and Katye. Michele, what do you give them? Be honest!

Here's my version of the recipe:

Chocolate Mint Cookies

1 stick of butter, softened

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/3 cup brown sugar

1 large egg

2 tsp vanilla extract (I use the Mexican variety)

4 tsp sour cream

1 cup minus 1 T all-purpose flour (or 5 1/2 oz by weight- that's for Samuel's benefit. He likes to weigh things, which is understandably less complicated)

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp kosher salt

3/4 cup milk chocolate chips

1/2 cup cocoa powder

8 mint Oreo cookies, finely ground (use a food processor or blender)

Andes mint chips

Cream the butter and sugars together. Add the egg and vanilla, then the sour cream. Jenny's recipe didn't call for sour cream, but her recipe was too dry for my SLC altitude, so I added the sour cream and it made it a perfect consistency.

In the food processor with a metal blade, add the mint Oreos and process until they are quite finely ground then add the cocoa powder, flour, salt and baking soda and process for 2-3 seconds, just to stir everything together.

Add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture and mix together until combined. Stir in chocolate chips. If your dough is still a little dry, add another little bit of sour cream, but you should be good to go at this point.

Using a large disher (also known as a cookie scoop- it says 18/8 on mine which is about golf ball size) scoop dough onto Silpat or parchment-lined cookie sheet.

Bake at 350° for 9 minutes. Remove from oven and cool.

Pour 1/2 cup of Andes mint chips into a microwaveable-safe bowl. Cook on high for about 35-40 seconds. Remove and stir until the chips have melted, adding a few more seconds of heat if necessary. Frost cookies with the melted chocolate, then sprinkle with additional Andes chips.

Makes about 18 large cookies.