Accountability

The thought is that if you are held accountable for your actions you may behave differently. If you have someone to answer to, is it more likely that you'll actually do what you say?

I'm testing this theory.

I've told a few people that I'm going to try going to the gym in the mornings. One person asked me "Why?" and another told me that it was a great idea but he didn't think I could hack it. My goal by making this public was that I'd have people to answer to, people who would want to know if I did what I said I would. Instead I got non-believers, which gave me another goal of proving them wrong.

So far I'm batting 1000. Granted, it's only been one day. We'll see how it goes. More to come.

Long Time No Blog

I can't say I've been busy (at work at least) but rather I guess I've been preoccupied and boring at the same time, which is why I've let the blog that no one reads slide.

But, I'm back and wanted to share a recipe that I made last night.

Blueberries were on sale this week and Fine Cooking had a great looking recipe so I gave it a try. They're pretty tasty and weren't too difficult.

If you make them, let me know what you think.

Blueberry Streusel Bars with Lemon-Cream Filling

Ingredients
1 cup unsalted butter, softened; more for the pan

3 cups all-purpose flour

1-1/2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats (not quick oats)

1-1/3 cups packed light brown sugar

1 tsp. table salt

1 tsp. baking powder

1 large egg, separated

14-oz. can sweetened condensed milk

1/2 cup fresh lemon juice

2 tsp. grated lemon zest

2-1/2 cups room-temperature blueberries, washed and drained on paper towels

Directions
Position a rack in the center of the oven and heat the oven to 350°F. Line a 9x13-inch metal baking pan with foil, leaving a 1-inch overhang on the ends. Lightly butter the bottom and sides of the foil.

In a large bowl, combine the flour, oats, sugar, salt, and baking powder. Using your fingers, blend the butter completely into the flour mixture. Transfer 2 cups of crumb mixture to another bowl and reserve for the topping. Blend the egg white into the remaining crumbs and then press the mixture into the bottom of the pan to form a level crust. You can tamp it with the bottom of a measuring cup to even it out. Bake the crust until it starts to form a dry top, 10 to 12 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, whisk the condensed milk, lemon juice, lemon zest, and egg yolk. Let this mixture stand for 5 minutes; it will begin to thicken.

Sprinkle the blueberries evenly over the hot crust and then drop spoonfuls of the lemon mixture over the blueberries. Spread gently with a spatula to distribute a little more evenly, but take care not to crush the berries; it’s fine if the lemon mixture isn’t perfectly even. Bake until the lemon mixture just begins to form a shiny skin, 7 to 8 minutes.

Sprinkle the reserved topping over the lemon-blueberry layer, pressing the streusel between your fingers into small lumps as you sprinkle. Bake until the filling is bubbling at the edges and the topping is brown, 25 to 30 minutes.

Let the bars cool in the pan on a rack until just warm, about an hour. Carefully lift them out of the pan using the foil overhang and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Remove the foil and cut into 24 bars when cool. The bars may be stored at room temperature for a few hours but otherwise should be kept in the refrigerator.

Back

I'm about to finish up my first post-vacation work week and I feel like it's been the week that lasted forever.

I'm sure I'm not alone in this feeling, but I HATE HATE HATE coming back from a vacation. Sunday night I was disgusted with the thought of having to return. Not good.

Complaining about the present aside, the vacation was great. We had a minor issue with check-in but otherwise everything was smooth as satin.

The weather wasn't perfect but I'll take cloudy in the Caribbean over sunny and at work any day.

We ate, drank, relaxed, swam, sunned ourselves, bowled, played pool, ate, ate and ate. It was relaxing and the company was great. Have I mentioned that I'm not enjoying being back?