I don’t mean to get political, but I just think it’s fantastic that cookies were actually effective in getting a terrorist to talk! The story reminded me of my chocolate chip cookie post. Maybe I should donate my baking services to the CIA.

“The most successful interrogation of an Al-Qaeda operative by U.S. officials required no sleep deprivation, no slapping or “walling” and no waterboarding. All it took to soften up Abu Jandal, who had been closer to Osama bin Laden than any other terrorist ever captured, was a handful of sugar-free cookies.” — “After Waterboarding: How to Make Terrorists Talk” by Bobby Ghosh in the June 8, 2009 issue of TIME magazine.

Read the full article here.

In Toronto:

I’ve always been amazed by the state of most flyerboxes. More often that not, they are empty. Some haven’t been filled in years. Yet, there they are: everywhere in the city- at every intersection. Taking up valuable sidewalk space. Some are supposed to offer free news and culture print publications that make revenue from ads, some are supposed to offer free junk-mail type publications, with the expectation that someone will stop and take one completely beyond me. A rare few are supposed to offer a free publication of a certain political or religious leaning- probably bankrolled by whatever church or group can finance the publication of that message. For whatever reason, a great many of them offer nothing but an empty box.

Enter the concept of guerrilla gardening.

I’m so in love with this concept, as executed by Posterchild. There’s something almost post-apocalpytic about these images…with nature finding its way back into a dead environment of concrete and metal.

Fantastic idea. Impactful. Creative. What untouched potential exists in your city?

Millionaire’s Shortbread really is the shortbread of millionaires. This bar is so rich its ridiculous. I tried to eat two bars in one night, and I didn’t feel very good. There is nothing in any of the three layers that is good for you. Layer 1: sugar, butter and flour. Layer 2: sweetened condensed milk. Layer 3: chocolate, butter and light corn syrup. Eat two of these in one sitting at your own peril. This recipe made so much shortbread, and it was so rich that we didn’t think we could finish it all before it went bad so I took some to work, and it was devoured by the Old Navy shipment team. Please, don’t misunderstand me, this shortbread is incredible. It’s just too rich to eat a lot of at once.

you can tell its homemade because of all the fingerprints

The recipe, however, is misleading. I’ve carmelized sweetened condensed milk before (best way to make caramel at home), and this recipe says it only take an hour and half. Liars! In reality it takes 4-5 hours. I gave up after 4 hours because it was getting late into the night, but I can tell this batch would have been a million times better if I had waited one more hour. This recipe is a long one, with shortbread having to bake and caramel having to chill, but thankfully the rest of it is pretty easy. My advice: spread this recipe over two days or designate an empty rainy Saturday to the creation of this dessert.

P.S. I feel like Bill Gates is kind of an old reference to all things rich/wealthy. Isn’t there a new disgustingly rich person that we’re using in all references to wealth? there’s more to this article. keep reading…

Happy hump-day, everyone! I, for one, am an exhausted little blogger. But writing this post was worth perking up for: as it is about some tres-fab blown glass.*

Oh, they SO had me at hello.

I don’t even know where to start! Is it very wrong to salivate over glass?? This drool-worthy artistry and photos are the work of Caleb Simeon. A quote from his website says: “Most glassblowers aren’t born artists. They’re born pyromaniacs.” Win. It’s a good start to a cute story of this husband and his wife who create these magnificent works. There are also some interesting and gorgeous photos here on the site that show some work behind the scenes. Very cool if you’re interested in the art of blowing glass.

I’ll leave you with one last photo. I probably shouldn’t actually buy one of these pieces right now for many reasons (no full-time job, no living abode to put said pieces in)….but, oh, it’s going to be hard not to! For now, I guess, I’ll just keep staring at their site while succumbing to a brutal case of the I-wants. Should be a fun evening.

*Title pun? Entirely intentional. I know, I’m a complete cheeseball. Hehehe…

Oh, Guacamole, you temptress you. Try as I might I could not stop from falling in love with you. I always thought you looked so gross that you could not possibly be tasty, but that was before I met homemade lovely you. My neighbor shared some of her homemade guacamole with us when everyone was out bbqing, and that was the end of me. Sadly, her recipe called for 8, count ‘em, 8 avocados and a food processor/blender. I am not making a batch of guacamole so big it takes me 8 avocados and sadly, our blender passed away last Thanksgiving when we tried to puree real pumpkin for real pumpkin pie. She has been missed. I was overjoyed to find this recipe in my Williams- Sonoma Bride and Groom Cookbook for guacamole that takes only 2 avocados and a potato masher, which I do own. This is the perfect portion for a small amount of people, no more than a dinner party of 8, but it can be consumed over a few days by one person if properly refrigerated. It could use some more salt or something, maybe I didn’t mash up the onion and jalapeno enough, but it’s good enough for me!

This picture makes me think of the guacamole as The Blob slowing taking over the chips.

there’s more to this article. keep reading…

Thanks Ash for the sweet post. This may seem really self-absorbed, but I am posting about my anniversary. You only *fingers crossed* get one one year anniversary and so I think it deserves some blog recognition. My husband and I are far from perfect or having the perfect marriage, but we’re perfect for each other despite the fact that in this last year I have learned that we hardly like any of the same side dishes or tv shows (the battles for the remote can get intense). There is no one else in the world who I would rather spend each and every day with. Even though we were in a long distance relationship for two years, I hate leaving him overnight now. I hate it. Like another happily married friend of mine said, “My days are so much better with him so why would I leave him even for one.” He is my best friend, the one I want to always hang out with. Our senses of humor mesh perfectly, and if no one else thinks we’re funny, we probably won’t notice because we’re too busy laughing. Every day has been happy. Maybe not all day for every day, but every day there is joy in our life.

In one year we went from a dinky smoke filled one bedroom apartment (that I used to have nightmares of raising three kids in) to a two bedroom, two story townhouse and our first child–I mean, dog. We are teammates in life and we’re pretty great at it so far. So here’s to 49 more, baby, but after that I’m done. No more after 50.

Follow the link for my favorite wedding pictures and my list of ideal vendors from my wedding in Springfield, Missouri. there’s more to this article. keep reading…

…to wish a most happy one-year anniversary to our blogger Char and her husband John!

jewelry by sTuckintheCoop’s etsy

I got to be in their wedding a year ago, and can hardly believe how quickly the time has flown by. Congrats on an excellent first year of many changes and much excitement…and I know there are many more to come. Love you both!

Hi all! I’m back from a few relaxing days resulting from that fantastic thing called funemployment. Some new friends pointed me in the direction of this crazy find…if you haven’t seen it already, check out this awesome take on music videos for the tech-driven age we live in.

Yeah, it’s interactive! Each musician is independently operated, and you can turn them off, change their style, and mix and match the entire video. Brilliant, beautifully done, and so inventive. Good job, Cold War Kids. Can’t wait to see more stuff similar to this!

Some things in life are too lovely to keep to yourself.

This is my ultimate favorite summer lunch recipe, but the three people I’ve tried to feed it to either hated it or weren’t as enamored as I am. I should clarify: the person who hated it, hates all cold meat wraps and was unaware that’s what he was about to bite into so it wasn’t the recipe. Of course, the recipe feeds like four people, and I’m the only one in my house who likes them so I don’t eat them very much. When I do, its a treat.

This recipe takes me back to California. It’s probably the avocados. When I eat these chicken-avocado wraps with chipotle ranch dressing, I feel like I should be sitting on one of Southern California’s many boardwalks enjoying lunch with Ash. Instead I settled for my back patio and let Roskoe run around the backyard. It wasn’t too bad of a compromise. I had lots of bright red Cardinals fluttering about, my pup lolling in the shade and an incredible meal.

This recipe is one of those that lives for the perfect complimenting veggies, dressings and meat. I love it because you can use leftover chicken. I usually slow cook some chicken breasts for 4-5 hours and use all that chicken to make quiche, chicken noodle soup, chicken salad, and these amazing wraps.  If you can’t handle the chipotle salsa’s smoky hotness (I sure can’t) by itself, do not be intimidated by this recipe. The ranch takes it down just enough notches to where it still has a kick but not enough to do any damage. Soaking the onion in water is an incredible trick I never knew about until this recipe. By doing this, you’ll mellow out the onion flavor so your significant other will still want to kiss you after.

All gone! Mom would be proud.

Of course, now I’m left with an overflow of leftover avocado, tomato, onion, and lettuce. If these sound good to you, holla at me, and we’ll do lunch or dinner or an afternoon snack. Follow the link for more pictures and the recipe.

there’s more to this article. keep reading…