Sunday Randomness #330: Desired Result vs. Unintended Consequences: Bird Feeder Edition

The pigeons swooped in at the rendezvous location.  The agile lead birds pushed and pulled at the red-capped feeders while the troops devoured the spilled feed down to the bare dirt, pecking and clawing over every scrap of seed and grain.  In a matter of seconds (that may have extended to a couple of minutes), it was all over-the still swinging empty bird feeders a silent testament to the quick teamwork of the flock. Not a single grey-feathered marauder remained to attest to the disappearance of the provender which was gone in a minute fraction of a day.



For a great local source for bird feeding supplies, check out Backyard Birds.  https://www.facebook.com/backyardbirdsslc/?rf=111503272245330

Author #178 : Mr. Eggers shares a colorful story of the iconic Golden Gate Bridge

This Bridge Will Not Be Gray by Dave Eggers and illustrated by Tucker Nichols tells the story of the construction of the Golden Gate Bridge back in the 1930's and how it got and kept the beautiful "International Orange" color that it still sports to this day.  Dave Eggers also wrote the book The Circle which was made into a movie in 2017 starring Tom Hanks and Emma Watson.  He also has another wonderful children's book called Her Right Foot that talks about some of the history of the Statue of Liberty.

A cookie for Christmas-White Chocolate Peppermint Cookies

White Chocolate Peppermint Cookies
(Thanks to PreppyKitchen.com for the original recipe.)

1 1/4 c. all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1 pinch baking powder
1 pinch salt (unless using salted butter then omit salt)

Whisk dry ingredients together.

1/2 cup unsalted butter at room temp.  (I did cut the butter down to about 6 TBSP instead of 8 and used salted butter)
1/2 cup sugar plus 1 TBSP.

Cream together sugar and butter.

1/2 tsp. vanilla
1 egg at room temp.
1/4 tsp. peppermint oil

Add egg and flavorings to butter mixture and mix well, scraping down sides of bowl and mixing again.   Add flour mixture slowly, scraping down bowl.

Gently stir in:

3/4 cup white chocolate chips
1/2 cup crushed candy canes

Crush more candy canes to get about a 1/2 cup crushed candy and place in small shallow bowl.  Form dough into golf ball size balls and dip top of balls into crushed candy canes.  Place on parchment lined baking sheet and chill for 8-10 minutes.  Then bake in 350 F oven for 6-9 minutes or until lightly browned underneath and cookies are flattened and set.  Let cool on baking sheet and use a different baking sheet for the final batch.  This is a small recipe and only made about 21 cookies.

Author #177 : Ed Vere and the kitten Max

Max at Night is only one of the cute books written and illustrated by Ed Vere.  His wide-eyed kitten wants to know where the moon has gone since he can't find it one evening.  Read more about Ed Vere and his books at http://www.edvere.com/ .

Pink Cherry cloud-like cookies with small dark chocolate kisses

  Cherry Chocolate Kiss Cookies (adapted from Plattertalk.com, Thanks!)

1 cup butter, softened ( I usually cut down the butter but used the full amount for this recipe)
1 1/4 cup powdered sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
 2 TBSP maraschino cherry juice
1 tsp almond extract
1 tsp vanilla extract
6 drops red food coloring (optional but I put it in to get the light pink color)
2 1/4 to 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
scant 1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 to 3/4 cup coarsely chopped maraschino cherries
1 12 oz bag of large semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Cream butter, powdered sugar, and salt.  Blend in cherry juice, extracts, and food coloring.  Stir in baking soda and flour.  Then gently add chopped cherries.  Shape into 1 inch balls and place on parchment lined cookie sheet- 1 inch apart. The dough should hold together.  Add a splash of milk if needed.  It shouldn't be crumbly but it also shouldn't be sticky.   It was a bit like soft play-doh.  The video on plattertalk was very useful to see the consistency.  Bake 8-10 minutes or until bottoms are just light brown (you'll have to use a spatula to carefully check the bottom of a few cookies-I recommend baking a small first batch and then more as you work out the timing)  Immediately press 2 or 3 chips onto the top of each cookie.  Let sit on baking sheet for 2-5 minutes then move to cooling rack.

Sunday Randomness #274 : Maternal bonding at the mall over dead skin

Hedgehog and I tried out the FishKiss Fish Spa.  Now with a satellite location at Fashion Place Mall in Murray.   It was fun and informative. They brought the idea to Utah after visiting Thailand. They clean your feet thoroughly and dry them before you put them in the tank and then they clean your feet after your tank time.  The fish are fed a variety of foods and not just dead skin.  The employees were well informed about their service and the fish. The fish nibbles felt like little finger plucking-just a touch ticklish at first and then just a soothing little nibble massage.  It was a bit unusual to be the center of attention for complete strangers as they stopped to watch and ask questions as we got our fishy treatment.

http://fishkissco.com/  and
https://www.facebook.com/pg/FishKiss-Fish-Spa-146394846051564/reviews/?ref=page_internal