Day Three Hundred and Forty Five
ARG! Only 100 pages read yesterday. Getting down to the wire makes every poor reading day mean that much more. I don’t have much time for recovery.
I’m in The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco and so far, so great. I hope the sheer pleasure of it keeps up. It was a best-seller back in it’s heyday but I’ll forgive it that flaw if it continues to be so much fun to read. I wish I was more of a Medevialist because the jacket claims that it gives a window onto the medevial mind. That is something I wish to know more of and a claim I wish to able to substantiate.
Baking starts in earnest today. On the to do list are Shortbread Cookies, Caramel Heavenlies and Gingerbread Cookies. Shortbread is the easiest in the world and slightly scary if you’re the calorie-counting type. If you hadn’t picked up on it before, I am not.
For Shortbread Cookies: cream one cup of softened butter with 1/4 cup sugar. Gradually add 2 cups of flour. Mold to desired shape (chilling the dough helps) and bake on an ungreased cookie sheet 13-15 minutes. Let stand for 2 minutes before removing to cooling racks. You can vary these anyway you like; I press raw sugar into the edges or mix in mini chocolate chips or mini M&Ms. If you like nuts (my hubby does not) then add one cup of chopped pecans. So yummy and so versatile. Butter is a testimony to the birth of Christ so don’t begrudge it!