Scones: When Elephant Ears Go Wrong

I recently had a carnival night with my roommates and FHE sisters. Basically, we ate carnival food, hung out, and played Curses (click here to see our review on Curses). We had a grand ol' time. We had originally planned on making elephant ears, but we filled ourselves up on corndogs and peanutbutter carmel corn. Delicious. We did, however, attempt elephant ears the next day with a recipe I found on http://www.recipezaar.com/ (Danielle's called for powdered milk, which we did not have). The funny thing about this recipe is that it calls for eggs, but it never tells you when to add them in the instructions, so I forgot about them. They turned out more like scones, but were heavenly nonetheless. So much so, that we made them again a few days later. Here is the recipe as we made it:

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups milk

4 cups flour

1/2 cup sugar

Oil (for frying)

1 tsp. salt

2 (1/4 ounce) packages yeast

6 Tbs butter/margerine

1 tsp cinnamon and 1/4 cup Sugar (combined)

Directions:
In small pan combine milk, sugar, salt and shortening. Heat only enough to melt butter. Do not boil. Remove from heat, and let cool to a temperature that won't kill the yeast. In a large bowl, combine cooled mixture with yeast; stir to dissolve yeast. Stir in flour 2 cups at a time, beating by hand until smooth. Place dough in a large greased bowl. Cover with a damp cloth and let rise in a warm place until doubled. Gently stretch out dough into flat circles of whatever size you wish them to be. Note: even though you flatten the dough, it will puff up a lot. Fry in oil until brown on bottom, then flip and brown other side. Drain on paper towels, and roll in cinnamon and sugar while still hot.

Elephant Ears

Once upon a time, Megan and I took part in the Strawberry Festival festivities in Marysville, WA. Together we shared the goodness of a well crafted Elephant Ear. Apparently they go by other names, but all the cool kids from Washington call them elephant ears; therefore, that's what they are really called :)

I have a recipe for said elephant ears. What it fails to mention is that you should smother each ear in cinnamon and sugar (preferably the powdered kind)! Here be yon recipe:

Ingredients:

2 cup Flour
1/2 cup Powdered Milk
1 tbsp Baking Soda
3/4 tsp Salt
2 tbsp Shortening
3/4 cup Warm Water
Hot Oil

Directions:

Mix all ingredients to form a ball of dough. Knead about 3-5 minutes by hand. Separate into egg size balls. With rolling pin, roll balls out flat on floured surface to about 1/8 inch. Fry in hot oil till lightly browned on both sides. Makes 12.

Speak: a well crafted story on a sensitive subject

Speak

By Laurie Halse Anderson
c. 1999

pp. 240

-- Awards: National Book Award, Michael L. Printz Honor Book, SCBWI Golden Kite Award

-- Summary: As Melinda Sordino enters her first year of high school, she carries a burden that no one knows about. Everyone knows her as the girl who called the cops at the biggest party over the summer, but no one knows what really happened. Melinda was raped, and she can’t tell anyone. Sometimes it’s better not to say anything at all. Speak is the story of a ninth grade girl struggling to cope with what has happened with her, and learning to be herself as she was before.

-- My Thoughts: Very well written. I first read this book in the seventh grade. Back then, it, as I like to say, “scarred me for life.” To put simply, I was not ready for the subject material. However, I personally decided that I should read it again before I made a final judgment as I thought I may have been too sensitive for the book the first time I read it. I love the way Anderson wrote the book. It is wonderfully crafted and it sucks you in from the beginning. I also felt that the rape scene wasn’t too graphic, which is one of my main concerns from a novel with such subject matter. However, it still made me a little uncomfortable more because I had an understanding/connection with the character this time around. There were a couple other times in the book where it felt a little dark or awkward but it fits in with the situation that Melinda is in. Overall, I think it would be a great book especially for girls who have been in similar situations. I feel that Anderson's approach is one of the best ways of going about writing a book on this subject. If you are sensitive to such subject matter, this probably isn't the book for you. I still don't know if I can put it on my shelf because of those few moments that made me a little uncomfortable. But I cannot deny that it is wonderfully written and those few awkwards moments may actually be an example of how well Anderson pulls this off.

This book has also been turned into a movie starring Kirsten Stewart (you may know her better as Bella Swan from "Twilight")

No Bake Cookies with Peanut Butter

I love me some good no bake cookies. But you know what I love even more? No bake cookies WITH peanut butter! Yum yum!!


Recipe:

2 cups sugar
1/4 cup cocoa
1/2 cup milk
1/4 lb margarine (or 1 cube butter)
1 tsp vanilla
Pinch of salt
1/2 cup peanut butter
3 1/2 cup outmeal

Directions:

Mix sugar, cocoa, milk, and margarine in saucepan. Cook until it starts to boil. Cool for a minute. Add vanilla, salt, peanut butter, and oatmeal. Stir well. Drop by spooful onto wax paper and let set.

IMPORTANT NOTE!!
So when I made these I was very impatiant and therefore didn't let the first mixture cool like I should have. Apparently that messes with things and the cookies will not completely set. They still taste good but it's more goop than cookie... So don't be impatient. And if you don't like peanut butter, no bake cookies without peanut butter are yummy too!!!

The Breakfast Club

This is one of my favorite scenes in The Breakfast Club. Sorry the quality isn't the greatest:


Yes, this movie is almost pointless and somewhat slow at parts. Let's face it; not a whole lot happens in detention. But this movie is all about finding ways to entertain yourself in an otherwise boring situation and making friends in the process. It also takes some time to delve into the adolescent psyche to discuss what makes people who they are. All the characters are necessary to make The Breakfast Club the 80's classic that it is, but without Johnny Bender, this movie would be a dud. Because of him, I can watch this movie over and over again. Follow this link for a classic Bender moment. Embedding wasn't allowed on this one, but clicking is well worth your time. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y8qb9TRqZsM

My Girl Has Happy Feet

My roommate, Melissa, loves the movie, Happy Feet, and brought it back from Utah one weekend, hoping that I would watch it with her. I had remembered seeing Happy Feet previews a long time ago and seemed to remember it looking potentially cute and maybe even funny, so we sprawled out in her room to watch the movie. Forgive me for not conforming to P.C. standards, but this movie was gay. We didn't even finish it. Basically, it's a bunch of singing and dancing penguins. I don't know what I was expecting.


I think I would have liked this movie if I were six; however, I am nearly four times six, and I couldn't make it through.

Melissa was kind enough to turn it off so we could watch My Girl instead--a movie I hadn't seen since I was six, ironically enough--and it turns out I still enjoy it. If you haven't seen it, you really should take the time. It was filmed back when Macaulay Culkin was still a cute little boy. The main character is eleven-year-old Vada, who is being raised by her father (Dan Aykroyd) in a funeral home. Besides this unusual living situation, she feels responsible for the death of her mother, who died shortly after Vada was born, so it's no wonder that she always thinks she is dying of something. Her best friend, Thomas J. (Macaulay Culkin), says this is Vada's way of dealing with her fear of death. Jamie Lee Curtis is also a prominent character as the love interest of Vada's father. This movie is both funny and sad, and I love it.

Just Shoot Her With a Silver Bullet Already!!

Blood and Chocolate

By Annette Curtis Klause

Genre: Supernatural
c. 1997

pp. 264

-- Summary: Vivian Gandillon has a secret; she and her family are werewolves. When she begins to fall for Aiden, a human boy, she puts her secret and her whole pack in danger. Things get even worse for the pack when mangled bodies begin to show up around town. Can Vivian find a way to stay with Aiden and protect her pack even if she is behind the mysterious killings?

-- My Thoughts: To be perfectly honest, I didn't like this book at all. I felt there was only one scene which was well written. The character develpmont was weak and the characters were on more than one occasion unbelievable. I wasn’t convinced of Vivian’s feelings toward Aiden or vice versa. Also, the character of Gabriel, who is basically the head of the werewolf pack, was confusing. I thought I had him figured out but then at the very end, he seemed a lot kinder and capable of love than he did through the rest of the book where he was a jerk through and through. The idea wasn't bad (as you can see with the success of a book like Twilight), but I only found a few portions of the book engaging. There is also some sexual content that isn't explicit, but I didn't feel it was necessary. In this case it was just another turn off. The book has also been adapted as a movie, which I hear at least has a better ending. I'm a little curious to see it, but I'm afraid I will enjoy it just about as much as I enjoyed the book. Perhaps I will make another post in the future letting you know how that went :)