Look people.. its over.

Regarding what this blog really is, and a recipe to make up for your loss.

I'm sorry I have ruthlessly deserted you, dear blog, and know that
though it probably WILL happen again, I will do my best to make this
humble blog a place to divulge my behind-the-scenes-self to the internet,
and those who choose to read it. I hope I may benefit someone in some
way.

For today, I contribute a delightful recipe which I found utterly wonderful,
and could be a great addition for a July 4rth picnic. Please excuse my messy
house - I had not the time to clean it. Sorry.

Blueberry Lemon Bars - A recipe from the paper

For the crust:
1 c. butter, softened
1 c. powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 c. flour

For the filling:
1/2 c. granulated sugar
3 tbsp. flour
Juice and zest of 1 lemon
1/8 tsp. salt
3 eggs
2 c. fresh or frozen unsweetened blueberries


























When juicing and zesting the lemon, what worked for
me was to juice first, by cutting the lemon in half and
then pummeling the poor thing till it was only a haggard
remnant of its previous juicy self. After finishing giving
its other half similar treatment, you should have about
2-3 tbsp. of juice.

















To zest, I used a cheese grater - it took a long time though, and
I'm sure there is a better way. By the end of the tedious process,
I'd say I had about little more than a tbsp of zest.


Now. Finally starting the recipe... We'll start with the crust.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
Coat a 8 or 9 inch square pan/baking dish with cooking spray.
In a 'medium' bowl (this is just what the recipe says...) use an electric mixer on low
( far left)
to beat together the butter, powdered sugar and vanilla until light and fluffy. Looks a bit like marshmallows in there...

Then add the 2 cups of flour (left) and beat just until the mixture forms small crumbs.










Press about two-thirds of the crumb mixture evenly over the bottom of the prepared baking dish. Set the remaining mixture aside. Be careful not to use more than two-thirds!





Bake the prepared baking dish for 12-15 minutes, or until lightly browned. Then reduce the oven temp. to 350 degrees.











While your bars are cooking, prepare the filling. In another medium bowl, mix the granulated sugar (this is regular, sugar, by the way), 3 tbsp. flour, lemon zest and salt. Add the eggs and lemon juice, and then mix/whisk until smooth.

When your bars come out, spread the 2 cups of blueberries in an even layer over the crust, and then pour the filling over the blueberries - last, sprinkle the reserved crumb mixture evenly over the top.



Then set your delicacy in the oven - now comes the wait.







Bake for 30-40 minutes, or until the crumb topping is golden, and filling puffed. I found about 34 minutes did the trick, but various ovens may alter results.
When you remove the finished product from the oven. There is one last thing you must do before you set it down to cool.

Smell. Deeply. And very much enjoy that smell...

Anyway, wait for it to cool for maybe 10-15 minutes before serving - the recipe says transfer it to a wire rack, but I'm not sure how that's possible, so I skipped this part and it worked fine. Finally, you may cut into squares and dig in!

(Left) Waiting for it to cool

(Left) Ready to serve!

At Grandma's House Once More

We arrived here at Grandma Inwards house late last night, around
eleven o' clock.

I was getting bored on the car trip up, reading the Newsweek and listening
to my iPod, until Megan decided that she needed the working headphones,
and so I had to sit in silence.

But arrive we did, even if the journey was long, and now here I am!
Leah is leaning over my head and needs to blow her nose - AHEM,
and Nicole is sleeping on the opposite couch, while The Christmas
Story Fa-ra-ra-ra-ra's! in the kitchen.

Pretty great.

Shopping

Hey folks!

Today was going to be a boring day... no one was home, except for
me of course. I called, like, everyone, and either they were quite
busy, not home, or avoiding me. Anyway, my boredom ate me alive,
and I drooped around the house, grieving the loss of a perfectly lovely
day.

But then....

Dad came home!

I was moping dramatically in our big green chair, and he asked me
about my sadness. I explained that no one was home... and that I
didn't have everyone who I needed's number.

So enters our hero....
the PHONE BOOK!







This wonderful book full of people that you know, and numbers
that you don't, recently became my best friend. I didn't even
know real people existed in these prehistoric old volumes!

Anyway, my lovely friend Carley was found in this phone book,
and the two of us spent the most delightful day at the mall, especially
the part where she sort-of-treated to Chipotle. Mmmmm....

Here are some lovely pictures to recap the experience.

Brita Says Hello

My little sister Brita, who is standing right next to me, says hello.
Well, Brita, you are now on the internet.

Andy and Melody!

Well, track is finally over. I had my last meet today, so
that is very good, I know, I know! I have some wonderful pictures of me that my dad took while I was running. If you look close at the second picture, as I am closing in on my first lap, starting the second, you can see that my hands are, well, playing piano.
The 800 tires me out, so to keep my mind off the fact that I am about to pass about from zero breath, I practiced my piano. (-:

So this whole weekend has been a whirlwind of exciting happiness... but also definite proof
that time goes by way too fast when you're having a good time.

You see. My aunt and uncle from England, who my family has not seen for 9 years, finally came
back to visit! (They couldn't come before, or they would've.)
Andy and Melody are some of the nicest people you will ever meet, very friendly, humorous and
caring about others. And they both the coolest accents... Melody has a Chinese accent, and Andy has a... a... sort of English accent, sort of not. Anyway, it is pretty wonderful.

We hung out last weekend, and this one, and had an excellent time at Como Park, Trader Joe's, and the MOA amusement park, where me, dad, and Andy went on the rather wonderful ride
that plummets straight down at the beginning... I discovered that my feet can sweat on that ride.
Here are some pictures to recap the wonderful memories... as Dr. Seuss once said, "Do not be sad it is over... Be glad it has happened."

<--Aunt Harriet, Uncle Chris
Just sitting around talking









<--Melody, Andy, Mom, Dad
<-The girls reading, Andy and Melody

Little Obsession

Lately, I've had a slight obsession with Les Miserables,
the soundtrack and book. I'm reading the enormous book
right now, and know almost all the songs by heart.

It's SO good. The book is about Jean Valjean, Cosette, Fantine,
Marius, Eponine... and more. Set during the French Revolution,
it involves love and trauma... I'm not very far, but the songs
kind of explain it. Someone correct if I'm getting this wrong.. (-:

Anyway, I love the song On my Own, a Little Fall of Rain,
Castle on a Cloud... sigh.