Random picture found thanks to StumbleUpon. Doesn't it just make everything instantly better?
Tuesdays are my hell days. Class from 9:30am until 8pm. Lots of coffee, instant breakfast banana smoothies, and tupperware. While running around gets exaustings, I love that it gives me time to really listen to music. It also means that I'm constantly looking for perfect walking music. This past weekend I stumbled upon Matthew and the Atlas. I'd seen them mentioned on a music blog, but had never taken the time to just sit and listen to their stuff, which I'm finding out is fantastic!
"I Followed Fires"
Recently being called the next Mumford and Sons, London-based Matthew and the Atlas are starting to make waves over here in the US. Keep and eye out for this band, I won't be surprised if the radio starts playing their stuff within the next year.
Last Monday of January! I just recently discovered Noah and the Whale and am falling pretty hard for them. Their song L.I.F.E.G.O.E.S.O.N always puts me in such a good mood! Download this song and get your week off to a great start!
As much as I love dark chocolate, lemon-flavored desserts will always win. While biting into a chewy, fudgy brownie is no doubt comforting, I love the refreshing feeling of a smooth lemon curd combined with the slight crunch of a shortbread base that you get from a lemon bar. I can stop at one brownie, I have a much harder time not reaching for that second lemon bar.
Chewy Lemon Snowdrop Cookies. What isn't there to like? SophistaMom's lemon recipe sounded and looked far too good to resist, so while I was home and had my parents to try them out on, I was able to cross off another recipe from my "To Make" bookmark list.
The reason I call them No-So-Snowy cookies is they flattened out too much, so rolling them in powdered sugar was out of the question. Instead, I sprinkled powdered sugar over them -- definitely not as pretty as I was hoping for. Next time I think I'll roll the dough in sugar before baking, making them Icicle Chewy Lemon Cookies.
So how were they? I would tell you that I loved them, but coming from the girl who eats lemons raw, that wouldn't be saying much. Instead, I'll tell you that my dad, a confirmed chocolate-chip lover, liked these cookies so much that he even said he'd have a hard time choosing between these and a chocolate chip cookie -- that's saying something. He also kept walking back into the kitchen saying how good they were. So yes, I'd say success :)
Flavor-wise, my mom and I agreed that they taste like a cross between a lemon bar and a shortbread cookie. Texture-wise, when hot out of the oven, they have a perfectly chewy center and a crumb that just melts in your mouth.
Word of advice: these cookies are AWESOME straight out of the oven. However, I brought a bunch back to college with me and they weren't as good. The lemon flavor was still there, but the middle was more tough than chewy and the cookie lost that melt-in-your-mouth effect.I highly recommend that you make the cookie dough, but only bake how many you are going to eat that night and save the rest of the dough in the freezer.
1 3/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
pinch of salt
8 tablespoons unsalted butter
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup agave nectar
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 tablespoons lemon juice
Powdered sugar for coating or extra sugar if making Icicle cookies
What to Do:
1. Preheat oven to 325 and cover baking sheet with parchment paper
2. Combine flour and salt in small bowl
3. Cream butter, sugar, and agave together in mixing bowl until smooth (about 2 minutes), scraping down the sides periodically
4. In small bowl, combine lemon juice and baking soda. Make sure the bowl is not too shallow because the mix will start to foam!
5. With the mixer on low, add in the flour and lemon juice to the creamed mixture
6. Turn the mixer off, and stir the dough a couple times by hand just to get the ingredients fully mixed
7. Roll into balls and place on baking sheet. Bake for 8-12 minutes.
For Snow Cookies:
After baking, roll hot cookies in powdered sugar
For Icicle Cookies:
Before baking, roll each dough ball in sugar, then place on baking sheet
As you can probably tell from my Death Cab for Cutie post, I'm a music person...also a concert person. Now what's making me smile this monday is the fact that I'm going to two this week! What's even better is that one of them is for free! I'm going to two shows at the Paradise- so stoked.
Tomorrow night I will be seeing Naked and Famous with my roommate..for free! Someone I know won tickets and didn't know who the band was..so he gave them to me. Score. Thanks Joey!
Friday I will be seeing We Were Promised Jetpacks with my boyfriend. We saw them open for Jimmy Eat World last fall and they were awesome!
And for my food mention of the day we have a list of The Twenty Healthiest Foods Under $1. Let's save some money so we can buy more concert tickets!
Death Cab for Cutie was my first "favorite band". I first heard their song "Soul Meets Body" my freshman year of high school and wondered why I hadn't heard them before. I immediately fell in love. Luckily, they were touring with Franz Ferdinand, who I also loved, the following spring. My mom (also a big Franz fan) and I always go to concerts together, and we couldn't miss this. So in April 2006 I saw Death Cab For Cutie in concert for the first time and it was magical. That sounds like such a weird adjective to use, but it really was magical. Everything about it...their talent really shines through in person..Ben's beautiful voice, Nick's killer bass lines, Chris's ability to switch from guitar to back up vocals to everything else, and Jason's awesome drum beats. From that moment on I knew they were my favorite band.
Next time they went on tour I was super excited. I saw them again at the Boston Opera House in November 2008. Then they put out a new album "Narrow Stairs" and I knew that they would be touring again. Oh yes. I saw them at Agganis Arena in October 2009, and was lucky enough to sit in the 5th row! Words cannot even describe how amazing that was. Then things calmed down for a while, but when I heard they were putting out another new album, "Codes and Keys" I knew that meant another tour. This past summer, Death Cab for Cutie announced that they were coming to Boston...twice. Wait..what? Is this real life? I get to see them twice? DCfC played a show at the Paradise Rock Club in Boston, on June 5, 2011 then again at the Bank of America Pavilion on August 1, 2011. I could not have been happier.
A few of my friends were going to come to the show at the Paradise with me but no one could get tickets because it sold out so quickly..which meant I was going by myself. While I've always been a concert-goer I've never gone by myself. I was nervous but so excited that it didn't matter. It was seriously the best show I've been to. Absolutely incredible. And the door-man at the Paradise marked my hands with smily faces instead of x's (for being under 21)
Then I saw them on August 1 at the gorgeous Bank of America pavilion with my mom. Who snuck us into the third row for the encore by lying to the security guards and telling them it was my birthday. Have I mentioned that my mom rocks? Singing along with every song, dancing like crazy, and crying during the show..yup that was a good night.
I just found this and it's definitely going to be my jam for this weekend!
Two presentations and an exam this week. Two exams the following week. Don't forget work. At both jobs. Oh ya and go to class. And actually pay attention. Throw in a student counsel meeting and a club meeting here and there, and you get junior year. Every night my roommate and I come back to our cozy apartment and pass out in front of an episode of the Office or Grey's (such great season openers for both!). Junior year is the ultimate mental-stability test, and so far I'm passing. Yes it's crazy. My colorful Google Calendar is evidence of it. Yet somehow I'm completely in love with this year so far. About 80% of my happiness is due to that I'm finally doing work that I love and am passionate about. The other 10% is thanks to a bunch of randomness, which I've listed below. Hopefully some of these things can help keep you sane too!
The other 10%:
1. My Coffee Press
Greatest invention. No worries about burnt coffee or remembering to set the timer. You just simply pour in boiling water and a tablespoon or so of ground coffee beans, and you have a perfectly rich, full-bodied cup of coffee ready in 5 minutes. Coffee + Almond Milk + Dark Chocolate Syrup = My survival strategy for this semester.
2. Vera Bradley Mugs my roommate and I got at Good Will for 99 cents a piece
No cup of coffee or tea is complete without the perfect mug to drink it out of.
3. Veggie Galaxy and LifeAlive
Two AWESOME all-vegetarian restaurants in Central Square. It’s a very good thing I don’t go to MIT because all my money would be blown on vegan chocolate cakes; warm, flavorful bowls of nutritious amazingness, and make your own veggie burgers with the most amazing sun-dried tomato spread and bacon tempeh (sounds odd but trust me it’s delicious). Look for my reviews of both places complete with mouth-watering pictures soon!!
4. City and Colour’s Bring Me Your Love and Little Hell albums
Check out both of these albums. I’ve listened to at least one track everyday since August. New obsession.
5. Pearl Jam’s Just Breathe and Last Kiss
I started every day this week with either one of these songs. Pretty sure I had Last Kiss on repeat all day yesterday. Love Eddie Vedder.
Guiltless is a truly amazing blog by Elizabeth Jarrad and Stephanie Horton. The purpose of the blog is for people to share their stories about their relationships with food and what they love about themselves and their bodies. This blog is so wonderfully positive and the posts give you that glow inside that can only come from realizing how truly beautiful you are. PLEASE check them out!
7. My version of Peanut Butter Puffins
Yes you can go to the store and buy a big box of peanut butter puffins and they will be delicious. OR you can go my route and get not only the flavor of peanut butter, but the creamy texture as well. Pour a bowl of original puffins in a bowl then add a small amount of almond milk (I use the original flavor, the unsweetened just doesn’t do it for me). For the final touch, I add a small spoon-full of natural peanut butter.
8. My new “Floor” playlist
Every night before going to bed I put on this playlist and do yoga in the living room. Phil Collins, Sia,and Band of Horses are just a few of the essentials to wind down.
