Comfort Foods and Indulgences

This evening I heard a news reporter on television say Minnesotans are embracing the cold temperatures. Are you kidding me?

I’m a Minnesotan. Tuesday morning the thermometer here showed 35 degrees below zero. It doesn’t warm up much during the day. And tonight it’s expected to be 25 below. Do I embrace this? No. I deal with it.

When the temperature drops to way, way below zero I can hunker down in my home office and work in my flannel jammies with a big pot of hot dark coffee at my side. All seems quite normal until midday. My body begins to react to the frigid temps. The cravings begin. My brain sends a signal. It’s time to start eating if I want to stay warm. I want sugar. I want carbs. I need fat. And they're all so easy to get. A kitchen full of food is just steps away.

Like a mad woman, I dug through the freezer until I found a box of Thin Mints left from last year’s stash of Girl Scout cookies. I ripped open the two foil packages inside the box and before I knew it, I’d eaten all of those crispy little fat- and sugar-laden rounds.

Last night I made one of the most requested meals at my house, Sliders. However, I was in the mood for the whole burger and a milkshake experience.

I recently saw this recipe for Toasted Marshmallow Milkshakes and I knew I had to try it.  Let's not mention there was a bag of marshmallows burning a whole in my pantry. 

And honestly, I think this was the best milkshake I've ever had. It's very sweet but the flavor is incredible and authentically toasted marshmallow. The family could not believe I was serving dessert with dinner. Hey, it was one of those kind of nights.

Day 29 of 31 Days Of Pie is Lemon Meringue Pie from Kate McDermott, Art Of The Pie

I refused to let our 31 Days Of Pie go by without one Lemon Meringue. Of course, it’s not just any Lemon Meringue, but a Lemon Meringue from Kate McDermott’s grandmother Geeg. It’s a perfectly balanced pie which earned her the title The Queen Of Lemon Meringue. It’s certainly majestic and for me I’ll never need any other recipe for a lemon meringue. Thank you so much Kate for being you! And to Geeg, too!

Lemon Meringue Pie from Kate McDermott, Art Of The Pie

Ingredients
1 pre-baked single pie crust

For the Filling

Levi has been begging for brownies. I had to honor his wish. Upon walking up to my large bookcase that holds my vast collection of cook books, it was Ad Hoc at Home that jumped out at me. I turned to the back of the book and I instantly opened the page to the brownies.  I had no choice. Along with laundry, preparing my meals for the week, brownies had become part of my Sunday morning routine.

Brownies are effortless. One bowl, few ingredients, a pan of some sort, and a short baking time. Unlike cookies, where every seven minutes you have to rotate the sheets, scoop and drop your batter, brownies are the equivalent to a one pot dish.

I have made a lot of brownies in my day, but these are not only super moist, but light and fudgy all at the same time.  So, I say thank you to Levi for making me cook from this book that I don’t nearly use enough and for sharing your smile when you walked into the kitchen that morning, bed hair and all!