Cream of Asparagus Soup

I have some terrible news people.  Yesterday morning was going so well, until I went to dry my hair.  My favorite (only), trusty hair dryer was working its magic until it decided it had enough.  With half wet hair, my hair dryer coughed, sputtered and exhaled one final hot breath, then died.  I tried shaking it, pushing buttons, turning it on and off.  Even the tried and true electronic fix of unplugging and pluggin back in did nothing. 

I am now mourning the loss of my hair dryer.  I am also looking all sorts of crazy.  I guess the one bright side of no longer owning a functioning hair dryer (I like to call it an art piece right now) is that I leave the house twenty minutes earlier in the morning.  WIN?

 

Fruit and Yogurt Jars

The heat of the summer is starting to hit most of the country and I’m very excited. I’m the type of person who will not put on shorts until it’s at least 80 outside. And that’s a humid 80. When I lived in Colorado, it routinely got up to 100 degrees during the summertime. However, you would still see me going to work in jeans. I know it sounds cliché, but it’s totally true! It’s not the heat, it’s the humidity, blah blah blah…

Well, I’m back on the coast and there’s definitely humidity here. Lots of it. I can see all the humidity hanging in the air when I open my blinds in the morning. My mornings have been going like this… Alarm goes off – I wake up, excited for a new day. I walk to the windows and open the blinds. My day turns to bad as I realize my hair is going to be crazy today. I’m going to look like Einstein, minus the snazzy mustache.

With all this heat and humidity, I have also been avoiding turning on my oven. Mostly because I’m too cheap to turn on my air conditioning. It was the exact opposite in the winter, when I baked a lot because I was too cheap to turn on my heat. What can I say, I’m a postdoc, we are a cheap bunch. So, instead of baking, I’ve been churning ice cream, making no-bake candies and tossing salads. Today I give you a light, refreshing snack. It’s full of vitamins and topped off with a bunch of protein-rich Greek yogurt. Enjoy some and stay cool!

Ohio Buckeyes

A Ted’s hot dog with a side of cheese. A stack of pancakes with a pile of crunchy hash browns. A Hershey bar and a jar of peanut butter. These are a few of my favorite things. What? You’ve never sat down with a chocolate bar and a jar of peanut butter? You should definitely give it a go. Chocolate and peanut butter is one of those quintessential combinations that so many people love. Well, most Americans. Seems like non-Americans can live their lives quite happily without a jar of peanut butter in the house.

I am a huge fan of the peanut butter and chocolate combo, so I’m not sure why it’s taken me this long to make this candy. If you are from Ohio, you know these candies as Buckeyes. They look just like the nut of the Ohio buckeye tree, just like horse chestnuts! (Seriously, have a look, it’s uncanny!) My roommate in grad school made something very similar to these and I loved them. In fact, I would sneak a few from the fridge when she wasn’t looking. They were so good! Why did I never make them myself?

So far in Candy Challenge 2011, I haven’t made something so simple and so delicious. The whole recipe took less than an hour (including chilling time) from start to finish. There is no boiling sugar, for once, there is no need for a candy thermometer and you don’t even need any fancy equipment. So get out your bowl, spoon and baking sheet.