make sure to go to my REAL blog.

Lately I have been making comments on other worthy bloggers' sites, but their accounts are set up so that I can only comment as a Google Blogger. I hosted this little blog for awhile, and then turned all my attention to SOPHISTIMOM. So if yer wonderin,' please stop by there. It's so much better than this one here.

It's about time!!

Okay, so it's been more than 13 months since my last post. I've been busy, and a bit of a perfectionist, so I needed to have an outlet where I can put my recipes. That's why I started sophistimom. That's where I'll put my stuffy posts. Here, I think I'll loosen up a bit, and put stuff about my life. With all this blogging, I don't know when I'll ever find time to write these amazing novels I'll finish someday, but I'll figure that out some other time.

England

When I got back from England, Stuart asked me why he hadn't been invited to go with me. I reminded of him of how sometimes during the week, I need to have "mommy time," but that this trip was Jaime Time, something I hadn't had for ages. Dan chimed in that it had been since April 22, 1999.

I must confess that at some points in our travels, I felt more at home than I do in New England. The whole experience seemed to be laced with tiny hints of deja vu, and even at certain points "joy" as C.S. Lewis defines it in his autobiography. So much reminded me of home: the wild vegetation, the abundance of trees, yet the rain and green were more. We were there the last week of July, and I could already feel hints of fall. It was perfect.


The whole exciting trip came about when my friend Julie and I both came up with the idea to go to England at the same time this last spring. Our books we are each writing are set in England, and we both felt it was time we saw for ourselves. Getting there was a story in itself, but now all that matters is that we went, surely thanks to Divine Intervention. Our husbands watched our kids, and we took off.



After attending the London Temple in Surrey, we headed to Leeds Castle. Though a highly frequented tourist attraction, it had beautiful sprawling grounds, a winding stream, and even a white peacock: perfectly fitting after reading the latest Harry Potter.


On Friday we saw Wilton House, a grand estate owned by the Earl of Pembroke. On the inside, we almost felt we were touring a museum instead of a home, as it was home to dozens of priceless paintings of artists like Rembrandt and Briegel.

Saturday was our day in Bath. Well, it was amazing. Like all the locals say, "You need at least a day in Bath." That's what we did, and afterwards, we were completely dead on our feet -- probably from walking on all that cobblestone.


I might mention that driving there was completely terrifying. I was fortunate enough to not be a driver on the rental agreement. Poor Julie. Not only do you drive on the left side, but the speed limit is at least 50 on back, narrow, winding roads. Plus people will tailgate if you're not going at least ten over. Insane.



Most of my book is set in Henley and Oxford, so we arrived there on Saturday night and went to church in the at the ward near the University. Julie recognized one of the ward members as her Shakepeare professor at BYU, so he and his wife invited us to their home for lunch. This was definitely the highlight of our trip. The Thomas's were intelligent, generous, and absolutely delightful. After lunch, they took us on a personal tour of Oxford University, highlighting all the spots of interest for a C.S. Lewis fan. We saw the Kilns, Magdalene College, and The Eagle and Child (the famous meeting place of the Inklings), as well as Lewis's burial place and parish. Paul and Sandy Thomas were excellent guides, and we could never thank them enough.

That night, we headed toward the city and left the next morning. I arrived home late Monday night, and I've been dreaming of England ever since.

Chocolate Chip Cookies: Freezer to Oven

When it comes to chocolate chips-- or any kind of chocolate, for that matter-- artificial vanilla is out of the question. Guittard and Ghiradelli
semi-sweet chocolate chips both have the real stuff. Of these two San Franciscan brands, however, I definitely prefer Guittard. It melts more smoothly than Ghiradelli and is much less chalky when eaten as a straight chip. I buy Guittard at Super Target and sometimes see it at a few other grocers, but it can be a bit tricky to find. If you can't, then I guess Ghiradelli is fine, too.

This dough makes about thirty large cookies, so I usually will bake a few immediately, and then scoop out the rest of the dough with a 2
tablespoon size scoop onto a cookie sheet and freeze them. Once they're
frozen, I put all the little scoops of dough in a freezer bag, and then
we can have fresh cookies anytime (or little scoops of heavenly frozen
cookie dough anytime, but don't tell anyone!). Since they're so big, I
like to give the frozen centers a chance to cook. This means no
preheating! I put the frozen dough on the cookie sheet about two inches
apart and place in a cold oven. I turn the heat to 375 and let them
cook for about 20 minutes. All ovens preheat differently, so you'll
want to keep an eye on them. The recipe that follows gives the normal,
non-frozen baking instructions.

Makes 2 1/2 dozen

2 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter. (Please, no margarine!)
1 cup granulated or super-fine sugar
1/2 cups light brown sugar, firmly packed
2 large eggs
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract--the best you can afford. Use only 1 teaspoon if it's not that great.
2 cups chocolate chips (That's one bag, or whatever is left of the bag if you've been snacking)

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
2. Whisk the flour, salt, and baking soda in a medium bowl. Set aside.
3. With an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the
butter on high until smooth and light, about 2 minutes. Next add the
sugar and continue beating until light in color and fluffy. With the
speed on low, add eggs one at a time, and beat until smooth. Add the
vanilla and incorporate.
4. Turn off the mixer and scrape down sides of bowl. Turn the mixer to low and slowly add the dry ingredients. Mix until just incorporated.
5. Remove the bowl from the mixing stand and stir in the chocolate chips by hand with a rubber spatula.
6. Scoop out dough by 2 tablespoonfuls and place about 2 inches apart on a baking sheet. Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until golden brown on the
edges.
7. Remove from oven and let rest on the baking sheet for about 5 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack. Serve warm with
milk.

Vegan Burritos with Guacamole

I love these. I make a big batch and then freeze them individually. Whenever I want a healthy lunch or dinner, I just heat them up in a skillet with a little olive oil, and serve them with the guacamole. I never even miss the meat or cheese.


Vegan Burritos

Makes 12

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 small onion, diced
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 red bell pepper, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 teaspoon pepper
3/4 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander seed
1 14 oz. can black beans (drained)
1 14 oz. can refried beans
1 14 oz. can diced fire roasted tomatoes
1 1/2 cups cooked brown basmati rice
12 small whole wheat tortillas

1. In a large skillet, saute the onion with the salt over medium low heat for about five minutes, then add the pepper and cook for 10 minutes more. Add the garlic, and cook for 2 minutes.
2. Stir in all the spices, and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.
3. Incorporate the beans and tomatoes and allow to simmer until most of the liquid has evaporated, about 10-15 minutes. Turn off heat and allow to cool.
4. Spoon a little over a 1/2 cup of the bean mixture onto each tortilla along with about 2 tablespoons of rice. Fold into burritos and cover each tightly with plastic wrap. Freeze.
5. When ready to serve, place the burrito on a 1/2 teaspoon of olive oil in a skillet. Brown over medium heat. Reduce heat to low, cover, and let heat through, about 15 minutes. Serve with guacamole.


Guacamole

1 Hass Avacado, diced
2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
1 tablespoons diced tomato
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
juice of 1/2 lime
salt and pepper to taste

1. Mix together with a fork, mashing some of the pieces of avacado. Serve.

Golden Smoothies

This recipe was supposed to go right along with the muffins in a health-concious April issue of the magazine.

serves 4

To make this smoothy more of a complete breakfast, omit the sparkling cider and replace with 1/4 cup silken tofu, 1 banana, or 1/4 cup yogurt.

1 1/2 cups frozen peaches
1 1/2 cups fresh pineapple chunks (about one half)
1 mango (cut in chunks)
1 cup yellow juice such as pineapple, apple, or white grape
1 teaspoon freshly squeezed lime juice
1 cup of ice (or whatever your blender can handle)
1 cup sparkling cider

1. Blend fruit, fruit juices, and ice in a blender until smooth. Stir in sparkling cider. Serve.

Orange-Scented Carrot Cake Muffins

These muffins are a healthy start to any morning, yet decadent enough
to serve at an Easter brunch.

1 cup currants or raisins (optional)
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed orange juice
2 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour (available at health food stores)
1 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon allspice
2 eggs
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup light brown sugar
5 medium organic carrots, grated finely on a box grater (about 3 cups)
1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger root (a 1 inch piece)
zest of one orange
1/3 cup whole milk yogurt or soy yogurt
6 tablespoons vegetable oil
12 pieces of candied ginger

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line twelve standard muffin tins with
muffin liners.
2. Place currants in a bowl with orange juice and enough water to
cover. Set aside.
3. In a large bowl place flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt,
cinnamon, nutmeg and allspice. Stir with a whisk to incorporate.
4. In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs with the sugars until well beaten.
Add the carrots, ginger, orange zest, oil, and yogurt. Mix well.
5. Add the carrot mixture to the flour mixture. Fold just until no
patches of flour remain. Drop by 1/3 cups into muffin liners. Bake
for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into center muffin
comes out clean.
6. Cut each piece of candied ginger in half. Place on muffins.