There have been several days lately where the weather has teased my fair city into thinking that spring has made her anticipated arrival and the doldrums of winter are at an end.  I look around in cynical suspicion at the young hopefuls donning shorts and sporting sandals who soon will be disappointed by the 30 degree weather that will undoubtably greet them the following morning.  

Do not mistake me, I have enjoyed driving with the windows down and taking evening walks with Mr. Pedantic, but I choose to take these warmer days simply as pleasant oddities, rather than a permanent goodbye to frosty mornings and cozy afternoons.  I do not like beginning seasons before their time has truly come.  (Unless we are talking about Christmas and then you can count me among the October carol-listeners.)  Nonetheless, the handful of warmer days have lifted me out of my unproductive stupor and I am once again feeling inspired, motivated, and interested in eating something besides bacon and M&Ms.  Now that something may be nothing other than fried ravioli (ohmygoodness the best thing in the world - I'll be sharing the recipe soon), or this baked ziti that looks amazing right now, but it's still progress.  It would seem that the February funk is finally at an end.  Cue the celebratory trumpets. 

This week has been "find that allergen" week here at Norwyk Manor.  I've been waking up feeling as if I had a horrible case of poison ivy in my throat, wishing I could scratch my eyes and nose off my face permanently, and sneezing about 43 times in a row.  We just had our bedroom windows replaced about two weeks ago and I have still not been able to entirely eliminate the smell of whatever the contractor used to seal them.  Considering that my breathing incapabilities begin when I go to bed at night and are worst in the mornings, I've concluded that the mysterious window glue is my enemy.  So, I'm keeping the windows open, and thereby turning Norwyk Manor into a veritable igloo until the fumes are gone.  I'm also rubbing a lot of peppermint oil on the outside of my throat which strangely brings relief, though I am not entirely sure it is recommended.  It just feels soooo nice.  Gateway oil alert. 

Last weekend I tried Matcha for the first time ever.  I heated a combination of coconut cream and water, poured in several spoonfuls of cane sugar, and added that deceivingly pretty green powder.  I sat the cup down in front of Mr. Pedantic, who really tried to be gracious, but once I gave him leave to be honest we both agreed that the overall flavor was...GRASS.  Sweet, slightly coconut-flavored grass, but still grass.  I'm really, really not into it.  I'm going to give these cookies a try, but my hopes are not high.  I'm feeling like Matcha is just one of those things you either love or hate.  However, I have quite the supply of powder now so any and all tips/recipes are much appreciated.

On second thought, forget the Matcha, I think I would rather have this bread.  I read in the comments that someone added a bit of almond extract and now it's settled - I have to make it.  I love almond extract so much.  I have never quite gotten over Yankee Candle discontinuing the almond cookie candle - it was my favorite. 

How far will my obsession with making everything homemade go?  Well, I just saved these two recipes (Homemade Oreos and Homemade Goldfish) in the “to try” files so…yep.  Pretty far. 

I am so excited to try these cookies.  I’m a bit of a pistachio fanatic (I’m sure you haven’t noticed).  I want to surprise my gluten-free sister with a big plate of these sometime soon.  I prefer making her things that are naturally gluten-free because well… my experience with flour substitutes has been less than astounding. 

I’ve been listening to a whole lot of Doo-Wop music lately and binging heavily on Call the Midwife.  I am actually actively trying to find laundry to do, just so I can have an excuse to sit down and watch another episode while I fold the clothes very…slowly…  It is pathetic, but my crazy brain won’t let me actually relax unless I feel like I am still accomplishing something. 

Wishing you lots of guilt-free relaxing this weekend! Happy, happy Friday!

Sincerely, 

Pedantic Foodie