3/4 cup butter
1 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
1 egg
1/4 cup molasses
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp cloves
1 rounding tsp ginger
Cream butter and sugar; beat in egg and molasses, and stir in remaining ingredients. Chill (the most important step, for at least a couple hours). Ross in 1-inch balls, dip in granulated sugar and bake at 350 degrees for 12-15 minutes.
8 oz thick-cut bacon
8 oz arugula (I used a mix of salad greens and spinach)
1 large Granny Smith apple, peeled and diced
1/2 cup toasted walnuts, coarsely chopped
1/2 dried cranberries
6 oz blue cheese, crumbled
For the dressing (I only used about 1/3 of the dressing on the salad but it was good left over on other salads)
3 T apple cider vinegar
1 tsp grated orange zest
2 T orange juice
2 1/2 tsp Dijon mustard
2 T maple syrup
Kosher salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 – 2/3 cup olive oil
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place a baking rack on a sheet pan and lay the bacon slices on the rack. Roast the bacon for about 20 minutes, until nicely browned. Allow to cool.
In a large bowl, toss together the arugula or salad mix, apple, walnuts, cranberries and blue cheese.
For the dressing, whisk together the vinegar, orange zest, orange juice, mustard, maple syrup, 1/2 tsp salt, and teh pepper in a bowl. Slowly whisk in the olive oil.
Chop the bacon in large pieces and add it to the salad. Toss the salad with just enough dressing to moisten. Serve immediately.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
Place the edamame, corn, scallion, garlic, olive oil, salt and pepper into a 13 by 9 metal pan and stir to combine. Place on the middle rack of the oven and roast for 10 to 15 minutes, just until the edamame begins to brown. Remove from the oven and place in the refrigerator until completely cool, approximately 30 minutes.
Add the tomato, basil and vinegar to the edamame mixture and toss to combine. Taste and adjust seasoning, as desired. Serve chilled or at room temperature.
This past weekend was the one month anniversary of our move to St. Louis, and we are now beginning to feel settled in our new house. Several rooms have been painted (Amelia’s is purple as promised) and we only have a couple boxes still packed–and they may stay that way for a while. We have also planted a small garden and readied our guest bedroom for visitors! Anne and Brian came down on moving day after having Amelia and Will with them for over a week and helped us unload the Penske truck, unpack boxes and complete many other tedious tasks.
Dave started work on July 1st and is getting used to being a clinical pathology resident. His hours can be long but he is home every night and usually gets to have breakfast with us in the morning.
Amelia and Will are definitely adjusting to our new location. Amelia has been the most vocal of her likes and dislikes of St. Louis. My favorite comments from her are about the weather: she told me one day that it was “just wicked hot here!”–and she’s right! She does enjoy playing in the pool and the sprinkler, despite the heat, and she has made some new friends (but still misses her old ones). Will also enjoys the pool, especially when he goes down the slide into it head first. The hot weather and pool/sprinkler activities usually means that he is down to just his diaper by early afternoon at the latest.
On most days the kids and I usually get go out for a morning adventure, often a mini one, and then stay indoors and cool in the afternoon. We’ve found several great parks with water features for kids (or adults) to play in, story time at our local library and I joined a group through the university that has activities for us almost every week. I’ve told several people that I feel like I’m in the moms dating scene trying to make friends on the playground. Wish me luck!
We all miss our family and friends back on the West coast. Come visit anytime and please stay in touch. xoxoxoxo