Lemon Bars & Doodle Days #4

It's springy today!

Warm and sunny, and the ground is a velvet emerald green carpet of sprouts.

We were so lucky to have had a weekend filled with rain, because it's created all sorts of spring magic out there.

I cooked so much this weekend (including Friday), whilst stuck in the house.

It was soooo cold and rainy.

A proper farewell to winter is what it was.

I broiled a small piece of skirt steak, which I had marinated for 2 days in worcestershire (wuus-ter-sher) sauce, sugar and salt.  For sides I made slightly smashed potatoes and spinach.  For the spinach, I first heated up some olive oil, popped in some craisins and slivered almonds, once browned, I threw in about 6 cups of well washed fresh spinach.  Salted at the end of cooking.  I also made some sauteed mushrooms, which I almost forgot about.

Soooo yumm.

Another day I made one of our fave regular dishes, baked chicken, plus some baked carrots and potatoes.

Matty ate lots of baked chicken which I made plain for him.

I am his personal chef these days.

I love it.

Anyhow, afterall of that cooking I wanted to make a fresh simple dessert for Mister Lovee.

One dessert I had never made before were lemon bars.

I was never interested in them much.

I think I tried some once and they were too eggy and tart.

So, I never tried them again.

HOWEVER…

I decided to look in my old Joy of Cooking cookbook, and found a recipe…

I used one extra tablespoon of lemon juice.

Plus, I used regular baking powder.

Can I just say?

They were pretty unreal.

I was gobsmacked at how good they were.

Not too tart, not too eggy, yet fresh and buttery, but light too.

I made them two days in a row because Mister Lovee was crazy about them.

Plus, I wanted to try more lemon in the second batch, which was awesome.

Like I said, they are not too tart, and the crust is beyond unreal.

Seriously.

Make these.

I highly recommend this recipe.

I even like them without the confectioner's sugar on top, better.

But, it does make them look pretty…

I never thought I would ever say that I LOVED any lemon bars.

Also, in the spirit of continuing to doodle…

While I was baking this weekend, I took the baking time as my special doodle time.

I have been using some colored pencils and highlighters for a little color.

And also, adding a little color digitally just for fun on the screen.

I am starting to find that if I don't doodle, I am more tense.

The doodling really is relaxing.

The best part is that it doesn't have to be good.

It isn't made to be judged.

It's all just for fun.

I totally botched the girls hand above – but I didn't try to fix it.

It's a doodle.

Good bad, it doesn't matter.

Here's a little doodle recipe from The Joy of Cooking…

I think I have too many art projects going at once.

I need to focus on one to finish, but I am besotted with little faces in paint.

And then I hear the clay cakes calling my name.

I never knew it would be so hard to be a full time artist.

I need a nanny.

A manager.

A schedule.

Did I really just say that?

Well, there comes a point where you need one.

Self ruling yourself is soooo hard.

Oh oh, also, while it was raining I popped some of my seeds in the ground.

I love taking advantage of rain days.

I planted seeds for…

Leeks, onions, carrots, 3 kinds of tomatoes, dill, basil and zinnias.

Sooo many zinnias.

I never plant them so early, bud I did my collected seeds on Saturday.

During my break time today, I'll plant my pumpkin seeds, and a few other things.

It's supposed to be 90'F here this weekend.

Wild.

Well, Off I run…

 

Love, V

 

 

ps:  How about a little Matty update?

He is eating again, but only things he really really likes.

And, he is not yet 100% himself, but he is still stable in the better space he went to after being so ill.

But the most curious thing?

Let me preface this by telling you about this little under table cave Matty has.

So, Matty was soooo terribly afraid of everything and everyone, including us, that when he first came to live with us, he would hide behind things.

It was quite an ordeal, and it took me a year to get him to trust me.

To go up and down stairs, etc.

He was traumatized from his early days, in a very disturbing way actually.

He is a very very very very very untrusting little guy.

(He loves me and Lovee and Miles only, and trusts me the most)

Because of it he can be real scary mean to strangers, as you know.

(he hugs and loves on me big time, which early on, I never thought would happen)

But I was/am patient with him, and early on, Mister Lovee built Matty a bedroom/cave/house under a tiny side table on the porch.

He gave it 3 sides, and a little doggie bed and towels for cushioning.

Matty LOVED his space, and it is still his special daily place, although it is not enclosed anymore.

It's small, fits a 37 pound Matty perfectly, and that's it.

But this weekend, I couldn't find both boys anywhere…

Until, I found them.

(Miles' bottom is on a stuffed play duck 🙂

I couldn't believe it.

For the first time ever, we found Miles wedged into Matty's bed, with Matty in there with him.

This went on all weekend…

Miles knows his little big brother isn't himself these days, and doesn't feel great.

Seems sometimes, there just is nothing more comforting than the love of your brother.

Melted my heart totally.

 🖤

 

pss:  Sorry I wasn't here yesterday.  I got so obsessed with those panormaic sugar eggs, I couldn't stop… Eeks!