343/365 - Mellowcreme Pumpkins

This crop (mysteriously*) sprang up on my bedside table. I took it as a sign that I should nibble them while reading a little in the last Lucia novel. ;o)

*In this case, "mysteriously" means I put them there myself, drawing from the large bag I found in the Hallowe'en candy aisle while grocery shopping. (Obviously.)

336/365 - Molly Wants Some Pound Cake

Molly put in a request for a slice of pound cake. (Pretty please?)

267/365 - Crispbread

I still maintain that it doesn't have a whole lot of flavor on its own, but I do occasionally eat crispbread, these days. (It's better eaten with a flavorful soup or stew, I think-- more suitable as a substitute for crackers than bread.) It's a good way to fit a little extra fiber into your diet, and it doesn't always taste like cardboard. ;o) It's kind of interesting to look at, too.

237/365 - On the Cob

Pretty tasty, too!

We discovered that Trixie loves eating bits of corn left on the cob. Molly tries to just take the whole cob, but Trixie seems to understand that she's supposed to nibble the leftovers while we hold it for her. (Spoiled dog.)

188/365 - Blondies

Before and after (baking). 

They look kind of gross "before", don't they. . . ?

I'm afraid I've gotten kind of addicted to these things.  They're so easy to whip up when you get a craving and don't have anything else sweet to nibble on. . . However, my last batch wasn't quite as scrumptious as the previous ones, so maybe that left a bad taste in my mouth and will make it easier to resist making more.  ;o)

182/365 - Abstract in Amber

Any guesses what it is?

. . . It's tea in a reeded (opposite of fluted), rectangular glass pitcher.

After I made the tea, I noticed how the afternoon light lit it up so nicely, so I went for the camera.

Liquids illuminated by light-- another of those little things we hardly see because we're so busy with our lives.

164/365 - Swedish Meatballs

Donald made some Swedish meatballs using a variation on a recipe from Ingela.

Yum!

158/365 - Fruity Pasta

Enjoying three treats at once: a warm, cozy bed, an engaging book (Miss Mapp by E.F. Benson), and some of the yummiest candy ever (Haribo's Fruity Pasta).

155/365 - Miniature (Fake) Gingerbread

First miniatures I've done in quite a while. . .

They're not perfect, but fortunately that's one of the benefits of doing mini food. Real food is only rarely perfect, so imperfect minis still look fairly realistic.

As for size. . . I think these are roughly an inch (maybe 1.25 inches) tall.

137/365 - Making Semlor

We froze some extra buns from Mardi Gras, so now we get to enjoy them again. Donald mixed up the almond filling and I whipped the cream (by hand, for the first time ever, as far as I can remember). 

125/365 - Semlor

As part of the Swedish tradition, Donald made semlor this Shrove Tuesday (a.k.a. Mardi Gras or Fat Tuesday).

They're a sweet bun with almond cream filling, topped with whipped cream and a sprinkling of powdered sugar-- very rich.

According to some sources, a Swedish king died of digestion problems (back in 1771) after eating a very luxurious meal consisting in part of a semla in a bowl of milk (his favorite dessert). (Maybe that's why I felt so awful last night. . . ;o))

They're very tasty, but definitely not the healthiest of snacks. No wonder it was the last hurrah before Lent!

124/365 - Valentine Candy

. . . a gift from my sweetheart . . . :o)

(I get chocolate; he gets gummi-type candies. We know each other so well. . . (g))

112/365 - Ahlgrens Bilar

This morning, I was putting away Donald's candy from Sweden (from the Christmas care package) and thought it would make a good photo of the day. Someone knows what he likes. ;o)

111/365 - Nerds

(This is what happens when you think that you took more-- and better and more interesting-- photos than you actually did, so that when the 2/3-hour final-season premiere of LOST you were watching goes off, you think about Project 365, figure that you must have something worth posting for the day, shrug, and go brush your teeth. Oops... So, poorly lit snaps of candy and candy boxes it is!)

Nerds are tiny bits of fruit-flavored candy-- something I remember eating as a kid. This is actually two photos-- one of part of the back of their current box design and one of the "Nerds" themselves. (Why they're called "Nerds", I haven't a clue.)

When I snapped the top part, I assumed it was the same as the last box of Wonka candy I bought, and I was sure it specifically encouraged kids to read Roald Dahl's books. (He's the man who wrote about Willy Wonka's marvelous chocolate factory, among other things. The line of Wonka candies are based on his fictional creations.) I thought that would at least give me something to write here, since it's not every day that a candy box promotes reading. Sadly, this box doesn't seem to have the same design as the other, so I'm stuck just telling you about it. (You're welcome. ;o))

110/365 - Fixing Supper

"Fixing" supper (aka cooking or making supper) is something that happens on a regular basis around here, since we both like to eat an evening meal. (I've never understood how a healthy person could willingly skip any meal. It's not natural. (g))

96/365 - Can Hardly Wait

I bought a bag of Dinner Rounds at a Wal-Mart I rarely visit. Technically, they're meant to be dog food, but they're the perfect size to use as special treats (and they're really too soft and luxurious to seem proper for regular meals).

Most local stores have stopped stocking them.  In fact, I think this was the first I'd bought since we got Trixie.  She ate her first Round cautiously, as she does with most new food.  Molly, on the other hand, just wondered why she hadn't gotten any of them for so long.  ;o)

93/365 - Kicking the Coke Can

(Note: I'm late uploading about three days of photos, but for what it's worth, I did take each on the day it's assigned to. . .)

I'm making an effort to stop drinking so much cola (or coke, soda, soft drink-- depending on where you grew up). It's one of those things that I turn to for a pick-me-up (and because they just taste so good). Unfortunately, I don't need those extra calories (and whatever else is in my favorite drinks).

Once you're out of the habit, it's not something you miss that often (though I have to be careful about letting the habit sneak back up on me, as it's done in the past). I've cut coke out of my life before-- stopped drinking them except for special occasions and the occasional eating out. I think I had a day of headache, back then, when I weaned myself off the ol' sugar water-- a common symptom of caffeine withdrawal. I'm not sure why, but this time there was just a twinge of headache-- no worse than what I'd had the day or two before, when I was still getting my one or two cans a day. Just lucky this time, maybe.

72/365 - The Christmas Feast

I didn't know which photo to choose to represent yesterday (Christmas), but this one seemed apt. (It is, after all, a day of feasting.) We had a fun and festive day visiting with my mother's side of the family (and then later on, coming here to exchange gifts with my immediate family). The rest of our Christmas Day photos are on the photostream (at Flickr). One of these days (soon), I'm also going to upload more photos from the early Christmas we celebrated with my father's side of the family.

I hope your Christmas was merry and bright!

70/365 - Christmas Baking

Donald baked a small batch of Lucia katter ("Lucia cats"-- saffron-flavored buns) last night. They're a traditional Christmastime treat in Sweden, and now they're one of our Christmas traditions, too.

I forgot to take any photos of the finished product, but I'll try to do that before they're all gone. We sampled them, and they were just as good as they usually are. :o)

67/365 - Divinity

Granny sent some sweet treats home with us, yesterday evening, and I thought this one-- called "divinity"-- was worth photographing, primarily because I will always associate this homemade candy with holiday get-togethers at my paternal grandparents' house.

Divinity is a very sweet, light, nut-laden confection. I've always thought of it as a Southern goody, but apparently it may not be peculiar to this region.

I don't know Granny's recipe (& so ought to ask, one of these days), but there are of course many to choose from online. On one such recipe web page, I found a Google ad for "diabetes recipes". Way to take the joy out of Christmas sweets, Google! (g) ...But the stuff is almost pure sugar. Definitely not an everyday snack.