Improvise: Beautiful things happen when you are lacking

It's raining in the woods. A light mist and gray skies have brought a peaceful calm to the day. I've always been a lover of rain and have missed it this winter! I'm used to messy Downeast Maine winters where rain seems to frequent more than snow. Even though I've missed it, after my first winter in northern Maine I have come to appreciate the consistency of cold temperatures with very little to no mixes of precipitation.

Napping, snacking, snuggling, reading, baking, and EATING.....rainy days are made of these and they are a few of my favorite things! Jackson on the other hand, thinks of one thing and that is his play time outside. At 45 degrees, things are a little too warm for snow pants so we are thankful for his big cousin's hand-me-down rain suit. :)

Foodgawking is another favorite rainy day activity (or any day activity) of mine. If you've never been to foodgawker.com then you are MISSING OUT. Gorgeous professional pictures of every food you could ever imagine will take over your computer screen teasing you with each scroll of the mouse. They say to never go grocery shopping when you are hungry. I say the same about Foodgawker.  Never browse when you are hungry...it's just torture. If you're trying to be good...there is a "No Desserts" button. But honestly, don't click on it. You will miss out on some of the most mouth watering looking treats. So beautiful that sometimes it makes me want to cry. I believe that food is an art, and Foodgawker combines that art with the art of photography. In the words of Martha Stewart, "It's a really really good thing". :)

When the weather is yucky, I want to cook and bake and I want to eat. When I logged onto Foodgawker earlier today, I had every intention of focusing on a dinner plan. But out of no where.....BAM.....this picture of perfection caught my eye. A coconut shortbread cookie with a little crater of CARAMEL in the middle. Saints behold!!! The search for dinner was going to have to wait.

Now, in my baking opinion, more butter usually means that it will probably taste better. When I clicked on the picture and it took me to the recipe....the first thing line of ingredients read: 3 sticks of unsalted butter. Sold.

 

The recipe went smoothly until I ran out of caramel. I knew I was going to run out because I only had part of a bag. I could have made some more the homemade way...but I didn't feel like it. I started thinking about something else I could put in the crater of a coconut cookie. I felt like the father on the movie The Croods.....IIIIIII HAVE AN IDEAAAAA!!! Really it's not that much of a revelation. It's more of a given.....it pairs well with most everything....chocolate! Not just any chocolate....chocolate ganache....and not just chocolate ganache.....chocolate ganache with COCONUT RUM!!!
Perfection if I do say so myself.

 Similar to a Samoa....but homemade and ten times better.

 

 If dinner doesn't get made....at least we know we have these to fall back on!

Hop on over to The Sweets Life for the recipe. Enjoy!  

http://www.thesweetslife.com/2014/04/coconut-thumbprint-cookies-with-salted.html

Drip Drop: Winter is breaking in the North Woods

The woods came alive today with sun and warmth. Birds were noisier than they've been in months and their songs paired perfectly with the steady drips of melting snow.

With temperatures in the low 60's, I grabbed my lawn chair and sat in shorts and a t-shirt and soaked up every ounce of sunshine that I could. The dirty dishes, piles of laundry, and dog hair would have to wait.





Both boys played hard in the wet snow while Trigger laid down to cool off.

We came back to the woods yesterday after a visit Downeast. The Realty Road looked nothing like it did the day I left. For some reason I've never been mudding. That is, before yesterday. The boys giggled in the back seat, loving the pulling of the mud and the giant puddles that jumped up on their windows. It was pretty smooth riding once we reached Pratt Lake, where all other vehicle tracks ended and ours were the only ones going in the rest of the way.

Maybe winter is really on it's way out? A sign at the beginning of the Realty Road yesterday said it will now be closed from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Logging trucks will run primarily at night, taking advantage of every bit of hard road left.

I've had lots of people tell me that I should take the boys and stay Downeast for the spring thaw, because it will be much harder to get out once everything is melted, running, and flooding. I can't help but keep going back to the stubborn part of my brain that reminds me that not many people have been able to or ever will see a spring thaw at Clayton Lake. I will stay, simply because I can!

North Woods Plow "Truck"

I remember it well. The thrill that surged through me every time I heard the plow hit hard ground at the end of the driveway. Grinding and scraping, disturbing the neat layer of crushed rock as it pushed the snow.

 

Standing by the window with my little brother, we would watch and wait to see how tall those snow banks would grow. All the while, categorizing and placing them in neat columns for fort building, sliding, and jumping.

 

 As a kid, the scraping of that plow meant the possibility of so many things. The snooze button…time on the snowmobile…comfort food….naps…lounging….reading….and later, the gathering of friends. In my family, more times than not, snow storms mean parties with lots of good food, card games, and plenty of NOISE. When my husband married into the family he struggled with the whole idea. With people off the roads, power lines down, and visibility at it’s worst…this is the time that my family gets the urge to get out and socialize. Call us crazy…I’m not really sure why that is? It just is.

 

Up here in the North Woods, giant loaders come and clear our yard and  graders clear the road. It doesn’t get much more exciting for little boys. Plow, carry, lift, dump, and repeat. I am thankful for the opportunity for them to observe…it serves as a great babysitter while it lasts!