Dark Chocolate Cookies with Sour Cherries

Generally speaking, if a recipe has cocoa powder in it, I pass it by. Let's face it, this stuff is bad news. No matter how careful I am, it tends to get everywhere. So, when my son requested the Dark Chocolate Cookies with Sour Cherries after I bought Martha Stewart's new Cookies recipe book, I wasn't so sure. They did have all the right ingredients though: bittersweet chocolate and tart dried cherries mixed into butter and sugar. How can you go wrong?

Since the kid has been putting in so many hours this week, I decided to give them a go this afternoon. A little surprise at the end of his shift.

Dark Dutch-process cocoa power! Not just regular, but dark!!! Careful, careful. The measuring went well. Nothing spilled yet. Butter and sugars blended. Eggs, vanilla. All right. Time for the flour and cocoa powder mixture. Gently into the mixer. Great. And then...

As my hand accidentally bumps the switch on the side of the mixer, the machine flies into speeds reserved only for egg whites and heavy cream, a mushroom cloud of flour and dark cocoa powder explodes from the bowl onto everything in its path. The horror!! Damn you Martha.

In the spirit of full disclosure, the clean up took almost as long as it took to bake off the whole batch of cookies, but they are delicious, and I've had two. Does Martha have a recipe for shortbread?

Happy Anniversary!

Cheers to twenty-four years of marriage. We've already talked about how we might celebrate the next one, but let's not overlook this one just because it isn't divisible by five. True, we are starting out the day in a mundane way by finishing hauling out some brush that we cut down over the weekend, but that's what it's all about. Life is not full of mountain-top experiences. It's really about hauling brush in the morning to earn a glass of champagne and a nice dinner in the evening. How philosophical.

French Garden Ideas

On the trip, I took some pictures that I hoped would inspire me in my own gardening at home. Of course, there are some things that just won't translate. I know I will never be able to grow hydrangeas like I saw in Biarritz--hillsides of them with blooms the size of basketballs. Sure, there are some that are hardy here in MN, but I see my neighbors pampering them they never look like these. This does reinforce my thinking that you should grow what wants to grow in your yard. Sure the French have hydrangeas and lavender (I've tried to grow that unsuccessfully as well), but I have lilacs.

This wisteria vine was taking over a structure on the site of the Chateau de Chenonceau. When I saw it, I couldn't wait to get home and see how much the one I planted this spring had grown. Mine isn't up to castle standards yet, but it's alive and sending out new shoots. This plant was my splurge when I purchased plants this season, and I'm interested to see how it does. I've heard it's a rapid grower, though not so easy to coax into a bloom. This one was beautiful and gives me something to shoot for in the coming seasons.

I was a little sad that I will not be able to duplicate some of the lovely window boxes I saw in the urban areas of France. Our house just isn't a window-box kind of house. It does show that you can garden anywhere.

In the category of "maybe someday" are the espaliered apple trees that made a 18-20" high fence around the potager garden at the same said castle. It was a cloudy day, so the picture isn't the greatest, but these apple trees were the perfect border around the prettiest herb and vegetable garden I've ever seen. This is gardening devotion.

Finally, for overall "ooh-ahh" I had to take a few pictures of the formal gardens around the castle. For the most part, there wasn't anything fussy or fancy growing in these gorgeous gardens, but what was there was well cared for and planted in the right combinations. A secret that works even my little suburban plot.

Home!

And it is good to be home. We had a great time in France, but Dorothy knew what she was talking about. There's nothing like sleeping in your own bed, using your own personal bathroom, and driving your own car.

Not one more thing could have been jammed into the two weeks we spent in beautiful France. Castles, cathedrals, museums, countryside, beaches--you name, we saw it. My only regret is that I didn't bring my pedometer to log the miles we trekked everyday. Thank goodness for sensible shoes!

In the end, we decided that we Americans could learn a thing or two from the French. They know how to slow down and enjoy life a little better than we do. Maybe it's all the great French wine!

Au revoir

This sounds silly, but I was going to be very disappointed if those huge buds on my peony plants didn't open before I left for France this week. And as if on cue, they started to open yesterday. I had to cut a few for the table. There won't be any perfume in Paris that will smell better than these blooms. Les fleurs sentent bon.

My bag is packed--as lightly as possible. My iPod is charged and full of movies. We're ready to go.

Watch a little movie yourself while I'm out.

Stranded

Ahhh, wool. It's the best. I just cast-on the Double Knit Mittens from The Knitter's Book of Yarn for a little summertime challenge. As much as I love multi-color knit objects, I have never been very happy with my own projects. (It's the reason I bought a knitting machine.) I thought this pattern would be a good way to try again since most of the time you are knitting with two strands of the same color. I figured my mistakes could be camouflaged, and if they weren't perfect, what the heck, they're mittens. Right?

So far so good. I've got the cuff knit on one and a few rows of the solid. I've experimented with different ways of holding two strands of yarn at once. One in each hand. Both in one hand split over two fingers. Throwing. Picking. I've decided that there's just no two-handed knitting for me. Being left-handed, I'm usually pretty flexible, but it's not going to happen. On the two color knitting, I ended up picking up each color, one at a time. (I know, lame.) On the single color, 1x1 stranding, I've worked out a way of holding both yarns in my left hand over the same finger and picking up the strand I need. We'll see.

Sideways Cardigan

This afternoon I got the buttons on my completed Sideways Cardigan, and I think I'll enjoy wearing it this summer--if it ever warms up around here. It's just enough to cover your shoulders on a chilly evening or in an over-air-conditioned restaurant.

After knitting two cotton sweaters in a row, I am reminded just how much I love wool. There's no forgiveness in cotton, either in the knitting or in my hands. I think I will need some wool between my fingers soon.