Load of pickled carrots, now on to holiday butter cookies

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I have had the nicest morning. It's cold and drizzly out, the perfect reason to stay inside and cook! I needed to make 11 jars of pickled gingered carrots for two orders so put up an even dozen. Now I've got 1¼ pounds of butter coming to room temp as I'm moving on to holiday butter cookies. Yee-ha! The kids and I had an impromptu dance party last night with a champagne cocktail for moi (prosecco, Luxardo sour cherries, splash of bitters, lemon peel!) and kidtails for them: sparkling apple cider and maraschino cherries. We told T he simply must come home from work and join us and in the meantime, danced to Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree. I will tell you, peeps, a cocktail can really make the end of a day with kiddos a bit easier and more fun. Heh! The shrimp creole was lovely and heck yeah! on the roasted romanesco broccoli with a lemony-caper vinaigrette I whisked together at the last moment. Delish! I was, shortly after dinner finished, seized with the desire for some brown butter brownies, and as usual, these rendered us speechless with delight.

This afternoon, the kids and I have a movie date on the pull-out couch in the basement: Home Alone (they've never seen it but will love it, particularly since they booby-trapped my mother-in-law's basement last Sunday) and popcorn.

 

Oil in the Arctic? "Sure" says Shell.

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Did y'all see this article out of Grist last week? Shell Alaska's VP said spills would happen but he didn't think they'd be large enough to be of much concern. Try telling that to the animals who'll be coated and drown, the people whose land will be despoiled. That's like a man telling a woman he didn't think she'd be challenged much by having natural childbirth alone in a dark room: someone who doesn't really know what he's talking about making a condescending prediction because the outcome doesn't really matter to him. Ok, it's not the best analogy, but the kids are playing dinosaur and the kissing plant, and no I don't really know what's behind this game but they're laughing to beat sixty so I don't much care, and in this context, that sad analogy is what came to me first. Grr. The shrimp creole is done and is fab. And I'm going to roast some romanesco broccoli and serve it with some good lemony dressing as our side.