On Wednesday I spent an hour and a half picking up trash on the streets I frequent on my morning walks. It’s supposed to be my time for reflection and peaceful meditation, but even with the meditation music plinking away in the background, I found myself cussing under my mask at all the a**holes who couldn’t be bothered to pick up their damned trash. (One advantage of wearing a mask is that no one realizes you’re cussing, and it can only be confirmed if you’re closer than six feet. Thus far, this is the only imaginable advantage of Covid 19.) OK, beside the fact that I’m baking more.
I don’t get how you can walk on a street everyday, or come enjoy a park, then leave your trash everywhere, so no one else gets to enjoy it. You have to be a really selfish jerk to do that.
Apparently there are quite a few really selfish jerks wandering around my Glendale neighborhood.
So I fired off a letter to the editor of the Glendale News Press. Problem is, the jerks who trash the streets and parks probably don’t read the paper, so my words will have been for nothing, but at least I got it off my chest.
And, I’ve been baking. I baked a batch of date, hazelnut, cinnamon biscotti with white chocolate cinnamon icing, that are delicious. I also baked brownies then ate three of them. Thank God I mailed the rest to family members having birthdays. I’m tempted to make chocolate ganache and smother the last two in it, but I’m trying to stretch what minimal willpower I have left. I think Corona Virus brings out the chocolaholic in me. Click on the word, brownie above for an older post on easy peezy brownies.
I’m doing a lot of research on finding an agent and getting my book published. It’s all very helpful because it takes my mind off all the screaming self-doubt.
And I won a whopping 15 bucks on a scratcher the other day! In my entire lifetime of playing the lottery, I think I’ve won a total of 80 bucks. Clearly, I play for the fantasy of winning, not actual winnings. I think the reality of winning might do me in, like it did in Waking Ned Devine, (a fabulous Irish movie from 1998).
I’m also waiting for the knock on my door from HGTV telling me I’ve won the smart home in Pittsburgh. It’s a lot like waiting for Mr. Right to materialize on my doorstep with flowers and See’s Candy. Neither is likely, but it’s fun to fantasize about. It’s becoming clear why old people become obsessed with Publisher’s Clearing House. What else do they have to think about?
And I found a new Netflix TV show that’s captured me, in spite of, or possibly because of its dark comedy, called Dead To Me. It stars Christina Applegate, who I haven’t seen since she was a kid, and Linda Cardellini. I just can’t stop watching it, so I try to limit myself to one or two episodes per night. If you have a darkly humorous side, it could be for you. The acting is fabulous and I love the writing, but if you’re squeamish about f-bombs, it might not be your cup of tea.
OK, now please tell me what you’re doing because I clearly need to live vicariously through you since my life has the excitement of snails crawling. In the meantime, here’s that biscotti recipe. These are really good!
Date, Hazelnut, Cinnamon Biscotti
In a large mixer, beat the sugar and softened butter until fluffy. Add the vanilla and eggs. Then add the dates, and the nuts. Stir just to combine.
Then combine the flour, baking powder and salt. Slowly add the flour, salt baking powder mixture to the date nut, egg, butter, sugar mixture. Mix until the dough holds together.
Separate the dough into two equal pieces. Roll each piece into a long log and put it on a cookie sheet. (Preferably one without edges - it's easier to cut the biscotti on those.) Then flatten each log into a rectangle about five inches wide and 1/2 to 3/4 inch high. Mix together the egg yolk, 1/4 tsp sugar and the 1/2 tsp. water, and brush the top of each flattened log with that mixture.
Bake at 350 for 20 minutes. Then remove from oven, run a spatula under the rectangles to loosen them from the baking sheet. Then cut each rectangle in to one inch pieces width-wise. Take each biscotto and turn it on its side. Then reduce the heat to 325 and return the pan to the oven for 15 minutes.
When the biscotti have cooled, heat the white chocolate chips at half power for 1 minute intervals until they melt. The more you stir them, the easier they melt. Once melted, add the cinnamon to the white chocolate and stir to combine. Then drizzle that white chocolate on each biscotti, or cover one whole side with it. Let them cool, so the white chocolate dries, then store in a cool, dry place.