The Biscotti I Always Make

I just baked 3 batches of biscotti. Two are chocolate chip almond and one, of my own invention, is dark chocolate orange pecan. Whether I tweak (wouldn't it be funny if I made a typo and wrote "twerk"?) it or not, I have been using the same basic biscotti recipe since 2008.

The paper itself is stained and stiffened by flour and egg. Decorated with math computations and the phone number of someone who called on Baking Day, I look at this piece of time-worn paper and think, "I can't believe I printed this in color?"
I have probably baked about 120 batches. I bring them to dinner parties and reading groups. I pack them in suitcases and send them by mail. I bring them to Starbucks to accompany my grande non-fat latte because mine are better than theirs. If you and I are friends, there is a good chance that you will taste my home-baked biscotti. In the event, however, that we do not cross paths in that way, you now have the recipe. :)

For those of you who can't read through crumpled print:
RECIPE
3/4 cup blanched whole almonds, toasted and chopped coarsely (I use slivered almonds usually)
2/3 cup granulated white sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 3/4 cup all purpose flour
4 ozs semisweet or other chocolate (yeah, whatever! I just dump a bunch it till it looks like enough)
PROCEDURE:
Preheat oven to 350. Toast almonds if not already lightly browned.
Line baking sheet with parchment

Using electric mixer or hand mixer:
Beat sugar and eggs on high about 5 minutes (wow, I never do it for that long!) so that when you raise beaters the batter falls like slow ribbons.
Beat in vanilla.

In separate bowl, whisk together flour, bp, and salt. Add to egg mixture and beat until combined.
Fold in chips and nuts.

Transfer dough to parchment lined sheet. Form into a log about 12"L x 3-4" W. Dampen hands if dough is too sticky. Bake for 25 minutes or until firm to the touch. Remove from oven and let cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes.

Put log on cutting board and get our serrated knife. Cut log into slices. Cut on diagonal making slices 1/2 - 3/4" thick. (I like them on thin side). Put back into oven for 6-10 minutes on one side. Then take out and flip over. Bake another 6 minutes or so. Better to bake on the side of caution. You want both sides toasty not burnt! The thicker your cut, the more time each side gets. Let cool on rack.
Eat, dunk, give away.

NOTE: If you google Joy of Baking and get to this Chocolate Almond recipe, the measurements have changed. I like the old recipe much better.

WHEN YOUR POWER POINT HAS NO POWER, WHAT'S THE POINT?

Dry weather conditions at approximately 1:30 p.m.

Today my daughter and I took the time to check out UCF, Florida's largest state university.The tour was scheduled for 2 p.m. It rains a lot during the summer, and afternoons are prime time for thunderstorms. Note to self: Do not plan a Florida college walking tour on a summer afternoon.

The rain started at about 2:20. An admissions counselor finished his general welcome and in walked five tour-leading students -- Edmund, Nick, and three girls. The students told us that we were unable to go on the actual tour because of the storm and would instead go on a virtual tour. The lights were dimmed  and the power point began. The students, thankfully, had a lot of personality which they integrated into the uninspired presentation, which included slide after slide of lackluster photos dotted with bullet points. They did a great job considering what they had to work with.

I understand that the frequent lightning strikes and hard rain made it impossible to go out. And I realize the weather is beyond anyone's control. But the substitute tour was an embarrassment! For such a well-respected institution that offers among its many majors, digital media, journalism, advertising, marketing, and hospitality management, and is located in Orlando, a city famous for its animated imagination... come on...step up Plan B! 

To the people that run the admissions and marketing departments of UCF, I recommend re-imagining the power point, updating your photography (I know some excellent photographers if you need names), adding some spirit with lively video and spiffy graphics. And then souvenir logo ponchos (like at FAU) would be awesome, just in case of a light drizzle.

(P.S. Because we arrived over an hour early, we did walk a bit of the campus, eat at the Student Union, and sit by the Reflecting Pool. Thank goodness we saw some of it in the flesh, otherwise I would have felt like the trip was a complete waste.)

It Takes a Village to Get a Date

Some of the group and I in panorama

This past weekend I met a guy on the Jersey shore. He did not rescue me from the undertow, nor did I meet him in line at the grocery store or at a club. Rather, this sandy union was a fix-up, initiated by my best friend ("Do you know anyone good for my friend Jane?") and then played out in front of a spirited group of highly curious, mostly married friends and neighbors who took an immediate interest in my social life.

Though the group says New Guy's celeb lookalike is a combo of  Dermot Mulroney, Pierce Brosnan and Matthew Modine, I'm using Clooney as his stand-in.

New Guy is good looking. New Guy seems to have his shit together and seems to be unattached at the moment. New Guy and I logged a total of about 3 weekend hours together, and yet members of the group were already referring to him (jokingly but incessantly) as "my boyfriend" and "future husband." There was an active discussion about "us" and the late afternoon flow of fruity cocktails only exacerbated the discussion in which I barely participated, but followed amusingly like a tennis match.

Over the course of a long weekend, this group cheered the relationship on and created opportunities for us to meet. We were a pet project of sorts. At times it felt awkward, but it was generally kind. In the company of the group, we met at a bar. We tossed a football on the beach while the group looked on. Someone sent him my number. "Do you want to take a walk on the beach tomorrow?" he later texted. The next day we took a long walk away from the group.

After the beach stroll, I wave to my favorite spies.

I am back in Florida now; New Guy is up north. The group is no longer in sight, but has done its part, and made the introduction. New Guy and I can handle it from here.








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Mommy, Will You Tickle Me?

I am on deadline. The kids go back to school tomorrow after a two week break. It has been hard to find uninterrupted focus during this school vacation. But I have just tucked them in, and I am determined to refocus. It is 10:30 PM and I am looking forward to a few more hours of solid writing time. I begin to work and then sense footsteps. 

"Mommy, will you tickle  me?" 

I am slightly irked by the fact that I will have to postpone my work. I am also irked that somewhere in the last few years, in a house with two parents, I have been deigned the tuck-in parent night after night and the only one who can apparently quell her restlessness.

"Go back to bed. I'll be in soon." 

I tidy up a paragraph and make up my mind to change my attitude. I choose to be a loving, rather than annoyed parent. I know that the loving energy I provide will be so much better for both of us.

I go to her bedroom. She is so beautiful there in the dark, cocooned in her blanket, the light from outside accenting her cheeks and delicate nose. She offers me her back. Then, she turns over. She likes her stomach tickled. She also likes it when I put my hand over her heart and just rest it there. The weight of my palm seems to ease her.

Every now and again she opens her eyes and just looks up at me quietly. Lovingly. The sassy daytime back-talker who thinks she knows everything is under my evening spell and I can feel her disarmed devotion. She seems so young and innocent to me right now.

My hand wanders up to her hair. She covers my hand with hers and pulls it to her cheek for a moment. She lets it go and I continue. All of a sudden she shudders out of her initial sleep. She opens her eyes wide, looks at me, then closes them. I continue to smooth back her hair slowly, methodically until I hear breathing that tells me she is fully relaxed and that my job is done.

I don't want to leave her now. I don't want to go back to work. I just want to curl up beside her. That would be the ultimate bliss. But I can't go there. Not tonight.

The Tale of Two Sams

I have written about the Two Sams before. 

It is not that I am older and starting to repeat myself, 

but rather this story is becoming part of my personal holiday heritage. 

Here's how it goes....

Sam fake reads in a 2002 Country Living "Holidays" shoot

When I worked at Country Living magazine, I would sometimes stick a cute child in my stories. Naturally, I'd stick my own kids in, when appropriate and holiday time just seemed right. Dylan and Sammi have both been in the magazine over the years.

In 2002 Sammi was featured in a "Red & White Christmas" story. She sat in a big Ralph Lauren wing chair, dressed in white with cute red jester-like booties. She was fake reading "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer" and being a really great model. (she was not always the best behaved!).

Unbeknownst to me, this photograph touched someone else in a very meaningful way.

(Cut to 2004)

Mary's painting included stylistic differences. She darkened the hair, changed the book, and color of the chair.

I go to scout a house in Boca. Mary lives there; I have never met her before. I walk inside her home and notice a large painting over the mantle. It reminds me of the photograph of Sammi. I don't blurt anything out, but ask Mary a few questions and discover that the painting in her living room was indeed inspired by the photo of Sammi. It reminded Mary of her daughter when she was little. There is a dramatic pause before I tell her that the photo was of my own daughter. We both get the chills and hug. We share a unique connection.

So why do I tell this story during the holidays? 

1.  It is rather serendipitous...bordering on magical (at least for me).
2.  It is heartwarming, something that ties two people together for life (OK, that sounds quite dramatic, but I think it's true.)
3.  As Mary painted she was filled with gratitude for the inspiration.
4.  As Mary painted she was joyful, in the flow, and thinking of others.
5.  I believe that all the good energy that goes into creating art is healing and therefore good for the planet.
6.  I like that her name is Mary. Just sounds so perfect for a holiday tale.


Oh, and this time of year is a really good time to call someone up -- someone you have not been in touch with for a while -- and let them know you are thinking of them!

Happy holidays... happy and healthy days ahead, peace, love, and inspiration!

MOBILE MOBILE

I thought it would be a good idea to take my fascination with past and present factory built housing -- travel trailers, mobile home parks, manufactured housing, modular homes -- and move it to one central blog. MOBIMANUMODU.BLOGSPOT.COM is that place.

Miss Blogworthy will continue to feature random stories of value, heart, and soul.

Thank you for reading my blogs. 

XO Jane  

 

iPhone Battery Life: Some tips

I thought I would pass on some information that I recently gathered via 3 phone calls to AppleCare. I was having serious quick battery draining issues on my phone as in it was fully charged at 2 a.m. and was totally drained by 6:30 a.m. with no apps running but the basics. An in-store appointment at the Genius Bar did not help. It took 3 calls to Apple Care to finally find the problem.

If you are having quick battery draining issues, and don't have AppleCare, here are some things to do. Start by going into your settings. From there:

1. Under NOTIFICATIONS: set to "Manually"; limit # of things IN NOTIFICATION CENTER, I only have "phone, messages, and calendar" in there now. All my other apps are NOT IN NOTIFICATION CENTER.

2. Turn off BLUETOOTH whenever you are not using one, otherwise battery is always looking for it.

3. Under PRIVACY > LOCATION SERVICES, limit what you have running. I am only running Maps and Weather apps with that. I don't necessarily want FB and Twitter to keep tabs on me.

In addition to futzing with my settings, I also restored my phone via iTunes. But this did not seem to help it as much as changing the settings did.