More on the wedding theme.

At my college, we have a lot of weddings.  It just happens.  It's a small school where everybody knows everybody, and every spring brings a plethora of cute little invitations in our mailboxes, heralding the coming nuptuals of summer.

One of my best friends, Kelsey, met her fiance when she was a student here two years ago, and in twelve days they're going to tie the knot at a lovely little park down the road.  As she's living in the dorm with me until the big day, I'm necessarily involved with some of the planning and preparation, and I'm loving it!  I mentioned before that we're making cake balls.....that will be happening sometime in the next week or so, and I'll be sure to get pictures of the process as well as the finished product.  Meanwhile, I've been thinking about my bridal shower gift to her, and ultimately decided on a tea-themed gift basket - because Kelsey really loves tea, and honestly, who doesn't like getting a basket full of yummy tea and sweets?  Here's what I'm planning to put into it:

*A package of looseleaf MarketSpice Cinnamon-Orange tea.  MarketSpice is a Seattle institution, part of the world-famous Pike Place Market - a little shop that is wall-to-wall tea, and Cinnamon-Orange is their signature flavor.  Check out their website here. 
*A package of looseleaf blackberry tea, also from MarketSpice.
*A little jar of honey.
*A boxed scone mix and a jar of blackberry jam.
*Homemade shortbread cookies.  I would really like to try the idea I read about on Sprinkle Bakes, of infusing the blackberry tea into the butter and then making shortbread with the flavor-infused butter, but I'm not sure that will be feasible as I don't want to open to package before I give it to her.  So I think we'll stick with a basic, traditional Scottish recipe this time around.  Sometimes simple is better, right?

I'll take some pictures to post as soon as I have everything together!  The only thing I'm still uncertain about is how to package it all.  I can easily go to the thrift store and find a suitable basket, but I'd kind of like to do something different, if only I can find the right something.  Any ideas?

As a side note, I'm really excited to make shortbread for the first time!  I had shortbread in Scotland when I was backpacking last summer, and from the first taste I was hooked.  It quickly became a staple for long bus rides, and it's something I've missed ever since returning to America.  I've wanted to make it several times through the last few months, but for one reason and another it hasn't happened yet.  I'm happy to have an excuse to make it at last, and who knows, I may have to try a test batch before I make the real thing for Kelsey's gift basket.....

Hello Everyone!
Still not much in the way of cooking to report, except that me and a small group of girlfriends from my dorm had a mini retreat this weekend!  We went out to a nice Italian restaurant for dinner Friday night, watched a bunch of movies and ate a bunch of junk food, and then slept until 10:30, which we all probably needed because finals are this week.  Yesterday morning we cooked up a lovely brunch, with pancakes, eggs, bacon and sausage, and.......mint chocolate chip ice cream (don't tell my mother).  But the very best part of the meal - the part I would keep if everything else had to go - was the orange juice.  Here at my little school we don't get much in the way of real juice unless we buy it ourselves, which basically means we don't get real juice.  So our advisor bought a beautiful carton of this stuff:

which made us all very happy.  I sipped that glass like it was a fine wine.  Those few minutes of heaven in my mouth should be enough to see me through these last few weeks of kitchenlessness, until I get to make something really incredible.



And speaking of really incredible, the cupcakes for my friend's wedding have morphed into cake pops, which makes me so happy!  I've never made cake pops, but I love them and am excited for this chance to give them a shot.  Now I just need to find a recipe.....



(P.S.  My daddy is coming to pick me up in 19 days!  Emerald City here I come!)

Time for a Makeover!

I decided that, if I'm going to theme my blog on the Wizard of Oz, it should probably start looking like the Wizard of Oz - so here we are, mid-way through Makeover Stage!  The difficult thing about a blog makeover for me is that I know absolutely nothing about html code.  Thankfully Blogger gives you an awful lot of ways to cheat, so I'm fiddling with this and fiddling with that.  Hopefully all will soon be fiddled to my satisfaction.  Meanwhile, bear with me.

And I'm sorry there's nothing food-related to share right now.  Countdown is now 32 days until Dorothy gets back to the Emerald City and has her own kitchen again!  However, a dear friend of mine is getting married soon and there's Rumors of Cupcakes floating around the dorm, so stay tuned.......

Empty Tomb Cookies and how to conquer Mt. Everest in egg form

Hello World! Are you ready for your three-day weekend? I certainly am! In another hour or so I will be free from all school and work duties....except of course the pile of homework that's currently giving me a reproachful look. But Easter is here and I'm ready for it.

I have always loved Easter, since I was a child. Back then I think it was the candy, but it is also deeply ingrained in me as a time of new life. Flowers begin blooming (where I grew up there was a certain bluff where you could stand and look out across an entire valley of daffodil fields), the sun makes its first appearance in months, birds sing constantly and baby animals are born. We lived in the country and there was a certain spot on the side of our long gravel driveway where a trillium came up every year and reminded me of the Trinity. More important than anything else, Easter is the time to celebrate the new life that comes through the resurrected Messiah, Jesus! As I've gotten to know him more, Easter has become more and more exciting.

This year I'm not making any delicious Easter recipes (or if I do, they'll be belated and end up being late May Day foods), but I have a memory of one very special treat which I'd like to share with you. They go by several different names, but I call them Empty Tomb Cookies because it's the simplest and most self-explanatory name for them. We didn't make these every year in my family; as well as I can remember we only made them once. But I couldn't have been any older than seven at the time, and I still remember them very clearly. It all goes to show how awesome my Mom was.