Toasted Marshmallow Meringues

Meringues are largely underestimated. They are a light, fluffy, lower-cal cookie. They are relatively straightforward in composition: eggs, sugar, cream of tartar, flavor (optional). The only drawback is start-to-finish time. Once you spend about 20 minutes getting the meringues ready for the oven, it takes 1-2hrs to bake them. Still, if you are in a pinch for something sweet and easy, make some great cookies. Spend the baking time catching up on chores or washing your hair.

My first attempt at vanilla-flavored meringues turned out pretty darn well. They came out tasting like toasted marshmallows.

Toasted Marshmallow Meringues
4 egg whites at room temperature
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Parchment paper or silicone baking sheet

1. Preheat oven to 200 degrees F. Line a non-insulated baking sheet with parchment paper or silicone baking sheet. Set aside.

2. Transfer your egg whites in a mixing bowl. It may be easiest to tap the top side of the egg, pull out a hole's worth of shell, and let the white drip into a small dipping bowl. That way, no yolk gets into your bowl. (Even easier- use egg egg whites from a carton.) You can do one egg at a time this way, with no mistakes.

3. Beat eggs (with a whisk or electric mixer) until they are foamy.

4. Add cream of tartar. Beat the combination into soft peaks. (Peaks kinda look like soft waves.)

5. Add powdered sugar 1 tablespoon at a time while beating the mixture into stiff peaks.

6. Add vanilla and continue beating until it is all mixed in.

7. Transfer the mixture into an icing bag. Squeeze the batter into about 24 little teardrop shapes, about 1 inch apart.

8. Bake 1.5hrs-2hrs, depending on your oven. They are done when they are just golden brown. (Mine took 1.5hrs.) Turn baking sheet every 45 minutes to allow even baking. Bonus: Allow to cool in the oven with the door closed to make the cookies more crisp.

Sage Woodfire Grill

My personal music series started with Imogen Heap, moved into the hard-edged haze of 311, cleaned up for the last tour of Phantom of the Opera, mellowed out for Dave (Matthews Band), and came to a fabulous finale with Sugarland. I realize my music tastes are all over the map. I don't think anyone should limit themselves to one venue of expression.

Sugarland, back at home in Atlanta, played at the Verizon Wireless Amphitheater in Alpharetta. Verizon is a little different than the other concert venues in the city. For one, it's not in the sketchy part of town like the amphitheater formally known as Lakewood. (That place changes names more often than Cher changes wigs.) It's got great food, clean bathrooms, and an absolutely crisp, clear sound system. Although we were sitting by the trees on the lawn, it sounded as if we were at the edge of the stage.

Since Verizon is outside the city, I had to do a little searching to find a restaurant. My boyfriend and my two friends that came voted on my top 3. We were all coming from work (Thursday concert), so were ready to sacrifice the opening band for a classy meal at Sage. It wasn't until I looked up directions that I realized the following night I was meeting

another group of girlfriends at the Sage in Perimeter (the sister store).

My back to back Sage experiences were great. While the Perimeter location is bigger, both boast a modern tavern feel with a woodfire grill. Both nights the service was great, but Andrew, our waiter at Perimeter was informative, helpful, and there at all the right moments to make sure we felt spoiled. Thursday night we warmed up our taste buds with the rosemary shrimp skewers. They were incredible. For dinner on Thursday I ate the huge portion of goat stuffed chicken (wonderful), and sampled the NY Strip on Friday (perfect). The portions are substantially sized. When you go with your friends (because you should), order a bottle of wine. Or two.

What I've Been Eating Lately

I finally got my hands on a box of GF Bisquick and made some waffles. These were really the best GF waffles I've had yet, and the cheapest. Now I just have to convince my local Publix to start carry this and the cinnamon Chex cereal and all my breakfast dreams will come true. (Oh, and I hear General Mills is rocking out some GF Hamburger Helper, too.)

I fixed one of Glutino's personal pizzas in a box a few nights ago. When I was a kid my Mom loved fixing frozen pizzas. I used to hate them. They tasted like watery cardboard. This time, I chose the spinach and feta GF version. Wow, was it ever great. It made up for all of the gross frozen pizzas I've eaten in my lifetime.

Pirate Booty. Aged cheddar. Not so fattening. Delicious and crunchy, like popcorn. (Could type better if I wasn't eating some right. now.) Arrrrrrrr!

Water. I have blisters across the top of my back from sun poisoning and I don't know what to do about them. Let me know if you've got any ideas, besides walking around naked inside.

While sitting by the pool (the day I acquired Sun poisoning), us girls sipped margaritas. I promise the tequila did not keep me from putting on sunscreen. I did reapply my spf 30, multiple times. Apparently I am white enough that spf 45 and I will be tighter friends this summer. Anyway, the margaritas were a delightful way to beat the heat. We made them with Stirrings Margarita Mix. I've heard their mojito mix is also quite tasty.

For breakfast at work, I've taken to eating a Chobani yogurt with a lactaid. They are sooooooo good. I throw a little flax seed in for fiber. If you've never tried Greek style yogurt, your life is incomplete. A few of my coworkers have gotten hooked. The texture is just perfect, and they come in fun flavors like pineapple and pomegranate.

Once I've eaten something, I recycle. I revamped my pantry floor with labeled bags, so it takes less time when I go to the recycling place. Usually I have to sort the types of plastics and glasses, but this way it should be much easier.

World Cup Rules!

With all the controversy regarding the deafening drone of the vuvuzela, it may be better that we've been enjoying World Cup soccer from our living room. Apparently the horn that makes the droning sound we hear on our tv's can lead to permanent hearing loss and the spread of cold and flu. Well then.

To celebrate the US VS England game, we had friends over for sports and socializing. What is a good theme for a soccer party? Balls. Like soccer balls. To take the theme to the next level, we also labeled our plates with silly names. Nick also invented a drinking game for our event based on soccer play, cards, and goals. Our menu included:
* cheddar cheese ball + crackers
* goat cheese balls + crackers (aka "goat balls")
* meatballs (aka Nick's "shweaty balls")
* popcorn balls (regular via a Martha Stewart recipe and chocolate via Paula Deane's recipe, aka "sticky balls")
* cherries (for balance of power)
Of course, our friends were inspired by such an amazing theme. We had additions of a soccer ball shaped cake, rootbeer cupcakes, guac (pit dropped in) + chips, mangu, grapes, peanut butter/pretzel/chocolate balls, and sausage balls. I had never had a sausage ball before, but discovered that I love them. Kristy made two versions. The gluten-containing version, and a GF batch made with Bisquick. Thankfully, Kristy left me her recipe.


Kristy's Sausage Balls
3 cups GF Bisquick
4 cups cheddar cheese
1 lb sausage
1/4 teaspoon pepper
EVOO

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Prep a baking sheet with a thin coat of olive oil.

2. Mix all ingredients together. The mixture will be crumbly.

3. Form the mixture into balls and place the balls onto the baking sheet.

4. Bake the balls for 20 minutes. Serve warm and enjoy!

Cookies, Ice Cream and Rum Balls

My afternoon turned into culinary experimentation yesterday. With a *free* day of no work and no pre-scheduled errands, I had a large window to create a few tasty tidbits for upcoming events. I started with pre-cut cookies in a box to bring to a dinner and charades party at a friend's house. That turned into needing ice cream to make ice cream cookie sandwiches. Once I ate some lunch and finished those two projects, I moved onto rum balls for our soccer-watching get together this weekend. When all was said and done, I was tired.

ICE CREAM
When my sister gave me the ice cream maker for my birthday/Christmas gift, she also gave me the Ben & Jerry's recipe book. I made Jerry's Chocolate to pair with the cookies. Aside from lots of dairy (not so friendly for me), it involves melting chocolate over a (make shift) double boiler before titrating in the remaining ingredients. It's a little time consuming, but melting chocolate slowly can be quite the enjoyable contemplative activity. Once the ingredients are put together, it has to cool in the fridge, leaving a bit of time to: a) bake the cookies and b) eat some lunch. Once it's cool, it's time to throw it in the ice cream maker.

CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES
Dad brought me the cookies in a box to try a while back. French Meadow's idea behind the box was that you can make them one by one and have a hot cookie whenever you want one. It's genius. I decided to make the whole box since I was planning on feeding more than one person. They would have been perfect. When I took them out, they needed like 2 more minutes. And then I forgot about them for about 5. Oh well. The bottoms are a bit dark, but the rest of their GF, CF, SF cookiness is great- crumbly, not too sugary.

RUM BALLS
Our theme for World Cup soccer watching (US VS England) is balls. Yes, balls. Meatballs, cheese balls, popcorn balls, and rum balls will all be included. I can count the times I have eaten rum balls on about two fingers. I really didn't know what I was getting into. I used Martha Stewart's recipe. It involved making a brownie (I subbed regular flour for GF flour), then letting it cool. The cooled brownie is crumbed into a mixing bowl and rum is added. What should happen, per the recipe, is a giant ball should form. No clumping happened for me. Clumpage is essential for forming the balls. I added Karo syrup and a little more rum until the crumbs clumped. Whallah! Balls. We'll see how good they are when they get served cold on Saturday.

Saturday in Sandy Springs

After all the traveling I've done lately, I was thrilled to be home for an uninterrupted weekend. I slept in yesterday, made easier by the cloud cover. We cleaned house before scurrying out the door to the Farmer's Market and Lowe's. Then we took an epic nap before dinner out with friends. And this morning? We've slept in again.

Nick found the Sandy Springs Farmer's Market online someway somehow. When I pictured the market, held in the Goodwill/former Target parking lot, I imagined it to be more like the Dekalb Farmer's Market. My vision consisted of a place filled with tons of produce and a few secondary items like flowers, baked goods, jams/preserves, etc. What it really consisted of was a small amount of produce, dairy farmers with milks/yogurts/cheeses, salsa and preserve makers, plant vendors, live music, pastas, baked goods (wish Sally's had been there!), honey, a dog biscuits, a soap maker, and a few other things. It was on the small side, but we had fun. Nick sampled a few things and bought a bag of this year's first peach crop. I took home a roma tomato plant for the upside down tomato plant holder and handmade pepper chevre for this afternoon's lunch with Mom. Next weekend, we'll probably check it out again, and get some more fresh things. Now that we live so far from an indoor farmer's market, this is a true treat.

Check it out at
http://www.sandyspringsfarmersmarket.com/

As for my apartment gardening, I'll keep you posted on how my upside down tomatoes grow. I've heard good things. Since I'm not really a major green thumb, we'll see how this all goes.

Back from ASW

Last weekend I was the inpatient nurse for the sports weekend hosted by Shepherd Center in Alabama called Adventure Skills Workshop (ASW). Participants with physical disabilities come to this workshop to do various activities from jet skiing to scuba diving to confidence ropes courses. Shepherd brings inpatients and invites outpatients and community members to this annual event. Each year it is exciting and fun for campers and staff.

For me, part of the excitement was spending time with former patients. In my cabin, I had a few inpatients and a few recent people in Shepherd's day program. I've known some of them for a year, and some for just a few days. It's inspiring to see my adolescents "all grown up" and able to be so independent. They, in turn, are inspirations for the newcomers to the Shepherd community and to ASW.
After 2 nights and 3 days of 24hr nursing, I was very exhausted. Leave it to my darling boyfriend to have dinner on the stove when I stumbled in. He told me there would be chicken, veggies, and a surprise. The surprise was:

Rice Pasta & Cheddar!

It was the Trader Joe's version of Kraft mac & cheese. Boy was it nice. It is for sure about as close to the blue box as it gets. So go get you some and enjoy it!