In his Holy Thursday service, the priest at my church mentioned his affinity for parishoner-made cookies. And that reminded me, I haven't made cookies for Father since Christmas! And... it's just about time Father get a Spring helping of my baking efforts.
And in keeping with the breezy, light, sunny and bright days we've been having down here (all things Spring and delicate, birds singing, new leaves on the trees, you get the idea), I decided some pastel frosted sugar cookies, shaped like little daisies would really fit the bill. I don't think Father is as into aesthetics as he is to taste, but goodness knows I am!
Pictured above are the first batch of cookies with their blue and yellow petals. I'll post more pictures of the completed project (as in the cookies in their box with ribbon). The cookies are about the size of a quarter, so it would be easy to get carried away, eating about a dozen at a time. I made them with a regular sugar cookie recipe, then I rolled the dough between two floured sheets of wax paper. When I cut the dough into the flower shapes, I dipped the cookie cutter into flour between each cookie. That way the little goobers didn't get stuck in the cookie cutter but plopped right down on the baking sheet. They baked for about 5 minutes at 350 and I took them out before the sides got completely golden. After they cooled, I spread on the frosting (which I dyed with regular old food coloring) with a butter knife, carefully trying to shape each little petal. The finishing touch was a dab of frosting in the center. And well, that's about all there is to that...
What are you supposed to give a friend when that friend decides to become Catholic? My mom pretty much nabbed the "large book collection" gift category, and I'd already given him a rosary... And well, Catholic gifts are pretty much aimed at the blue-haired grannies set or 6-year-olds who are receiving first Holy Communion. And since my friend who became Catholic last Saturday was a 33-year-old guy's guy, the options were limited indeed.
In his Holy Thursday service, the priest at my church mentioned his affinity for parishoner-made cookies. And that reminded me, I haven't made cookies for Father since Christmas! And... it's just about time Father get a Spring helping of my baking efforts.
Yo! Readers.... Have you missed me? I realize I've been gone for a while (a creative hiatus, if you will), but I have tons of things in store for this week, including a guest posting with some really creative cupcake creations from the East Coast (not pictured above--instead, those are the ones I served on Easter. I'm a cheater though, they're from Society Catering on Greenville and not my own kitchen!). And with Calligraphy Class 2 starting next Monday, you can bet you'll see a bunch of scripting projects coming along really soon, too! And, one more thing... if you get bored because I'm slow to update, you can always visit my other, wackier blog, PDF'ed, which showcases some of the bizarre things that go on around my office.
A few people mentioned to me that my previous garden post didn't allow for a very comprehensive understanding of the "after" version of the garden. Well, you people tell me something and I'll deliver. Here's a new picture of the garden, allowing for a bit more scope. I had some wind issues with the astroturf. It's been ridiculously windy as of late on the North Texas plains (where the Big D sits) and my apartment is no exception. So I kept coming home to a bunched up roll of astroturf and fears of agitating my neighbors. And after many hardware discussions with my father about how to solve the issue (including one idea that involved modifying clothes hangers into some kind of tent-style spikes), he and I found garden stakes that fit the bill perfectly. I didn't take pictures of them, but they are basically 18" stakes with a round circle of wire at the top, supposedly to prop up your plants in the garden. For me, however, I used them to anchor the astroturf in place by hammering them in the dirt, leaving the round circle of wire to pen the green astroturf to the concrete driveway. So far, a few gusts have blown through and it's staying put. Fingers crossed... 
