This week, I rekindled an old love: Quaker Rice Snacks. I know what you're thinking. Quaker Rice Snacks? But really, they're amazing. Especially the Caramel Corn ones. Back in college I was obsessed with the Peanut Butter flavored cakes, but today I confirmed it, they've been sadly discontinued. I had held out hope for years - "maybe they're just out of them, they must be popular!" I'd tell myself whenever they weren't with the other flavors. But no, I'll have to make do with Caramel Corn.
Everyday after lunch, I have a craving for something sweet and giving up chocolate for Lent has drastically limited my choices. Apparently, the company who stocks our cafeteria believes that the only sweet things in the world are chocolate. Today, propelled by my craving, I found myself standing in front of the vending machine in search of a non-chocolate sweet. While desperately trying to avoid the snickers bar, milano cookies, and oreos, my eyes landed upon the Caramel Corn Quaker Rice Snacks. Finally! Something sweet, that's not chocolate, that I would actually consider eating! AND it's healthy! I pretty much inhaled the 100 calorie bag and I want more. I'm back on the rice cake bandwagon! It looks like I have a new obsession to give up for Lent next year.
Giving up chocolate is not easy, especially for someone with a sweet tooth like me. Every week, some of my girlfriends and I get together to watch Grey's Anatomy. Whoever hosts that week makes goodies for everyone. Mine almost always include chocolate: chocolate-chip cookies, brownies, s'mores. This week, I hosted and needed to find something to make for the girls. My mind immediately went to brownies, until I realized I wouldn't be able to eat them. And let's be realistic, if I made brownies, I was eating them. I don't have THAT much will power. At the last minute, I thought of lemon bars. Perfect! Everyone loves them, they're easy to make, and they're not chocolate, so I could eat them! I found Paula Dean's recipe online and got started. You make the dough first, bake it for 20 minutes and while it's baking, make the filling. The filling goes on top of the dough, and you bake it for another 25 minutes. Let's just say Paula's oven must not be as hot as mine. The dough burned a little bit, on the bottom, but they were still tasty. I've learned my lesson. I will check on my creations periodically to make sure they're not burning. For my first time, they weren't bad! I'd like them to have more of a lemon flavor than they did, so next time I'm adding more lemon juice. (Note to self, buy a juicer).
On my nightstand:
I know I've been slacking in this part of my blog, but I haven't read anything that I could really tell you about. They're mostly manuscripts. I did read a manuscript though, that I can tell you about. It's called Kiss in the Dark, by Lauren Henderson. It comes out on 4/13/2010, which is still 6 weeks away, but it's the third in a series, so you can get started on the first two in the meantime. They are Kiss Me Kill Me and Kisses and Lies. They're all murder mysteries set in England. Scarlett Wakefield becomes the main suspect in a strange murder and must investigate to find out who the true murderer is. These books are fast paced and fun reads. Scarlett's voice is chatty and cute. You instantly want to be her friend. She can be a little frustrating at times, the way characters can be when they do something you KNOW they shouldn't do, but she's a strong heroine. I really enjoyed these books. There's also the added aspect of teen romance in each for those who enjoy chick lit. Highly recommended.
No comments:
Post a Comment