La vie est bonne, mangez les bon-bons.

Okay, so the French up there is probably a monstrosity, and I really ought to go check on the rules for using articles before I post this, to avoid embarrassment, but I felt like doing a title in French, and I don't feel like finding a textbook (or using the google), so that's how it's going to be.

Apologies, francophones of the internet.

Today is Saturday, and I go back to Temple on Monday. I'm kind of excited for that (shhh! Don't tell my mother!), but at the same time, I'm trying to cook things in the interim because not having a kitchen really kinda sucks a lot. Beaucoup suckage.

Anyway, yesterday, I made and ate Nutella chocolate cookies, with both dark and white chocolate chips. They were good, although it was super-hard to figure out when they were done. Very rich, as well. I used this recipe from The Kitchen is my Playground, which was good, although I will add that you should take the cookies out of the oven right when the edges are no longer "wet." Mine were still fabulous, but they were a little more "done" than I would have liked. The cookie dough, however, was delectable :)

These are not Nutella chocolate chip cookies, but apple cider caramels. Keep reading, beloved reader.

Today, I made and am waiting to eat apple cider caramels from Not so Humble Pie. By apple cider, I mean American apple cider -- the kind that's basically unfiltered apple juice not from concentrate, which you can warm up with mulling spices and be transported into an October-y heaven with every sip/breath. It didn't take as long as I expected, only about an hour and a half, and it was fairly easy. My only worry is that my candy may have crystallized, and I really hope it didn't. We'll see, once it's finished setting, though I can say that they did smell phenomenal! I got a bit impatient and took the pan with the cooling caramels from the kitchen table and put it into the snow. The recipe is here, and I really recommend perusing Mrs. Humble's blog. It's fun to look through the archives, and if you're at all interested in the science aspect of food, she has many articles about food science. For instance, I didn't realize that the reason that you check a candy's temperature to decide if it's done is because the boiling point rises as the syrup becomes more and more concentrated, leading to higher ratios of sugar to water/fat. The higher boiling temperature, the harder the candy will be when it's finished.

I hope your day was as delicious as mine was!

Au revoir!

Contentment

This morning I woke up at six o'clock so that I could make an over-easy egg for my little brother before school. He agreed with me that eggs with runny yolks were infinitely better than scrambled eggs. It was the first time in his life that he'd ever sat down and eaten an egg, and he did enjoy it. He started wrestling a while ago, and he really enjoys it, and he recently decided that he wants to eat more protein so that he can "get built." Since we're vegetarian, that means quinoa, tofu, eggs, or... drop the vegetarianism. We've promised to amp up the quinoa consumption, and we already eat tofu in everything (although he claims to not like it -- silly child!), and we've tried meat consumption. It makes all three of us sick and none of us like it, so oops, gave it our best shot ;) Since he's purportedly hated eggs his whole life, I convinced him that maybe eggs taste and feel different when they're cooked in different ways, and that he should try a variety of kinds, since protein is now such a priority for him.

The big sister is rarely wrong.

After he went off to school, I retreated back to my couch-bed to listen to some music (but not sleep. We all know that if you go back to sleep after waking up in the morning, the whole day will be exhausting and groggy) and watch as the sky got gradually lighter and lighter until I could see the difference between the lake and the grass. The morning started off cloudy and grey, which beautiful while the light was still pinkish because the rising sun managed to soak everything with a cool pink glow. At this point the clouds have mostly cleared out, though, which is even nicer for someone used to the perpetual grey skies of the mohawk valley.

Once the sun was risen, I did some yoga. I found a website that has 20 minute yoga classes (there are videos and simple audio) for free. I downloaded a bunch, and this morning I did a morning flow routine. The slower pace was in line with the rest of my morning, and the emphasis on backbends has made me feel invigorated and alive this morning.

(You may wish to keep in mind that yesterday I did not get out of bed until one.)

I'm really enjoying my lazy but fulfilling morning today, and I am content.

Happy Monday.