I bought the DVD as a reward (Got it brand new at a super bargain on Ebay! Yay!), not exactly sure what the occasion would be. I've been saving it, thinking I'd watch it when I finished revisions on my second novel manuscript. Then I found out the first pages and synopsis of my second manuscript won first place in the inspirational category of the NTRWA Great Expectations Contest! Fun! Now I have a "real" reason to celebrate. :D
North & South is one film I'm very much looking forward to watching again. I've seen it twice, but it's been a few years. I'm also wanting to watch the Scarlet Pimpernel again--the one starring Anthony Andrews, of course. Someday I'll get around to reading that novel.
Another fun surprise:
Do you know what this is? |
This beautiful piece winked at me from one of 25 or so crowded cubicles. The hearts. The subtle, tulip-like thistle. The round shape. I got SO excited! Y'all, I'd been PRAYING I'd find one of these for under $10 bucks. I know, maybe that's a silly prayer, but I can tell you God was listening!
I flipped the mold over, and the price sticker said $20. Bummer. No, wait! Red ink slashed the old price and a new one was written out to the side. $10. Well, all right. I was shooting for under ten, but I guessed a flat ten would work. Right before I left that booth, a big yellow sign flapped at me from one of the shelves, "All items in this booth 40% off."
Y'all, I liked to have slung a fit right there in that flea market cubicle. I got that shortbread mold for 6 measly bucks!!! Do you ever feel like God is just pampering you? (On an almost-totally-unrelated note, I had also been craving kettle corn for a couple weeks, and, on the way home from Branson, we stopped to see some old friends, who happened to give us several bags of HOMEMADE [with sea salt and coconut oil] kettle corn. Talk about spoiled slap rotten!)
I've only ever made shortbread in a flat, rectangle pan, then cut into "fingers" or strips, but I'm eager to try this pan. The design will be so beautiful! For your enjoyment, here is a recipe for the best shortbread I've ever tasted. I modified the recipe from www.eatwell101.com:
Easy Scottish Shortbread Cookies
Ingredients:
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon of salted butter (125g or 4 1/2 oz.)
A bit more than 1 cup (110g) flour
1/3 cup (55g) cornstarch
5 tbsp (60g) soft brown sugar (plus a tablespoon to finalize)
1/2 teaspoon of salt
Instructions:
Contrary to many shortbread cookies recipes, we will use a cake pan to shape these sticks.
1. Whisk the sugar, salt and butter at room temperature until it gets a smooth and creamy texture, add the cornstarch and beat until absorbed.
2. Add the flour and knead by hand until you get a ball of dough. Don’t overdo it, because the best shortbread cookies offer a raw crumbly texture. By over-kneading, you can make the grain way too thin and tight.
3. Place a sheet of waxed paper in the bottom of a rectangular cake pan. Pack the dough into lined pan well with a glass and prick the dough with a fork, then cut sticks.
4. Bake for about 20 min at 300°f (150°c), the dough should be very lightly browned on the edges.
5. Remove the pan, sprinkle with extra brown sugar, let stand a few minutes. Cut cookies along the lines you made before baking. Us quick, fluttery motions to cut--these cookies are VERY light and crumbly, and shape can be destroyed with a heavy hand. Let cool and enjoy. These easy shortbread cookies will retain several days in a tin--if they last that long!
Tell me:
Have any of you used shortbread molds? Will I have to adjust the baking time for cooking in a stoneware mold vs. a metal pan?
What is your favorite homemade treat of the moment?
Is there an old movie you love and could watch over and over?
If you were shopping at a flea market today, what would you be hunting?