Wednesday, March 19, 2008

Addiction


Everyone has addictions, whether they want to admit it or not.

Right?

Mine are actually quite simple. Though some of them have been known to keep me away from this site - by the time I realize I had intended to post, the addiction has locked me in its tight-fisted grip on my hair, preventing me from reaching my wireless keyboard (I can't type for shit on a laptop keyboard, you know).

Addiction Number One.

This is a biggie that controls many of my non-working hours. I do this in the morning. I do it at night. On certain days, I do it all day long. HIDDEN OBJECT COMPUTER GAMES.

Oh, God. The secret is out. I bow my head in shame.

Addiction Number Two.

Reading - I love to read. I was one of those kids that started reading early and never looked back. I read the entire C.S. Lewis Lion, Witch & The Wardrobe series in third grade - over and over and over. I still have those somewhere. I should look for them.

I remember being yelled at by a parental figure more than once because I was curled up with a book on a beautiful day instead of being outside - which says a lot because I grew up with a pool 20 feet out my back door.

The true addiction here? Romance novels. While I love to read anything...history, geography, fiction, true crime...give me a romance any day of the week. But it's got to be a modern romance; historicals bore me with all the Lords and Viscounts and all that court crap.

Addiction Number Three.

Food magazines, no matter how cheesy (such as the Kraft Food and Family that arrives in the mail), sit in piles in our third bedroom until I make the time and then gather the motivation to flip through each one a second time (or ninetieth time) to rip out what I want to keep for The Vault. I figure there's about 6 months worth stacked up in there now.

Addiction Number Four.

Smoking. All right, I admit it. I fell off the wagon in October due to Haunted Barn stress during the week of opening. I was on and off until the middle of November when I finally gave up. I tried several times since then to quit again but can't stick. I have the nicotine inhaler and have used it a few times; I have managed to get down to 5 or 6 cigarettes a day now. I am hoping that cutting back slowly instead of just quitting like I did the last time will help me kick the habit forever.

Addiction Number Five.


Cherries have been my favorite fruit since childhood. My mother used to make cherry pie filling from fresh cherries and freeze it; when looking for a snack, I would often open the freezer door and search frantically for one of those clear bags with the nummies in it.

Addiction Number Six.

Can one call herself a "foodie" (I am not really sure if I even like that term or if I consider myself one!) if she is never without a bag of Cool Ranch Doritos? Thank god they're gluten free because that's one of the few carryovers from my gluten days.

Addiction Number Seven.

I rarely eat them out of hand, but I sure do love to bake with almonds. Or stir them into my cream of rice. Or eat them in granola.

Addiction Number Eight.


Oh my. I am rarely without a Glad container full of Jelly Belly jelly beans, regardless of the time of year. I am packing them in right now, between sentences.

Addiction Number Nine.

The smell of baking bread often drives me to make some, even though I really don't need another loaf hanging around. I try to not eat much of it because - well - carbs. I eat too many of those as it is, thanks to Addictions Six and Eight.

Addiction Number Ten.

Sweets with cherries and almonds together. The Vault has a lot of cherry recipes just hanging out, waiting to be tried for the first time here at Just Not Dinner. Many of them were ripped out of a pile of magazines that had accumulated around the house. Some came from family and friends. Not sure how to categorize the rest of them.

I have been eyeballing this Vault recipe for a while now. I finally decided to make it last night because I had decided it was time to feed Addiction Number Ten. Naturally, I couldn't wait to hack into it very long; I drizzled the glaze on before the pan's contents had completely cooled and started in with a knife.

I was a little worried because when I ate the first piece, it was almost too-almond-y for me. But I had a piece with my lunch today and it settled in quite nicely.

I cut the original recipe in half and used a smaller pan than the halved recipe would have required because I wanted the bars to be thick.

Cherry Bars

Adapted from The Vault


1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1/2 + 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
1/8 + 1/4 tsp almond extract
2/3 cup brown rice flour
1/3 cup tapioca flour
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/4 cup coconut flour
1 1/2 tsp xanthan gum
1/2 tsp salt
1 21-oz can cherry pie filling or make your own
1/4 cup slivered almonds
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 to 1 1/2 tbsp milk

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9"x9" square baking pan and set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, cream together the butter and sugar. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add in 1/2 tsp vanilla extract and 1/8 tsp almond extract.

Combine the brown rice flour, tapioca flour, cornstarch, coconut flour, xanthan gum, and salt in a separate bowl. Add to the creamed mixture and mix until combined.

Spread 2/3 of the batter in the bottom of the prepared pan. Very sticky, just to warn you! Spread the pie filling over the top of the batter. Sprinkle the almonds. Drop the remaining 1/3 of the batter by teaspoonfuls over the pie filling and almonds.

Bake for 30 to 40 minutes (depending on how thick your bottom layer is) or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack while preparing the glaze.

To make the glaze, combine the powdered sugar, remaining vanilla and almond extracts, and milk; whisk until smooth. Drizzle over the cooled bars.

So now that I have aired my dirty laundry, what are your addictions?

5 comments:

Kathy G said...

You are making me so gosh darn hungry, I can't stand it! Put a bag of M&M's in my hand (instead of jelly beans or Doritos) and I'm a happy camper!

: )

Lynn Barry said...

YOU CRACK ME UP...
I have just about kicked all my addictions...so I guess my addiction is to being at the computer, obssessively checking e-mail and certain sites, and obsessing about my food intolerances, oh yeah and watching the soap Y&R...HUGS

Anonymous said...

Just so you are not alone, I will name a couple.

1. I am addicted to beef jerky!
I tried to stop eating it but ever since I bought myself a dehydrator I can't stop!!

2. Web design... I can't keep focused on the computer until I look at every new design posted for the day (on a certain website).

3. Back rubs.. Ask my girlfriend, she can tell you I whine about 20 times a day for one. Works about 000001% of the time.

4. Puppies. I am constantly looking at puppies online (about to adopt one) and visiting pet stores to see what new breeds I can discover, although I will only adopt which is hard to find what I want.

5. Motorcycles. My true passion is riding, tinkering, even looking at motorcycles.

6. Did I say beef jerky yet?

Sheri said...

Kathy, I am nearly as bad with the M&Ms LOL

Lynn,Y&R used to be my soap but I lost track when I left college. You should catch me up sometime.

Richard, there's a reason I haven't bought a dehydrator yet LOL I used to love that "sweet and hot" beef jerky.

Jennifer said...

my addictions, hmm.

gum. I panick a little when I run out.

I think that's pretty much it... wow.