December 17, 2010

  • I woke up extra early this morning.


    artist unknown

    It's one of the things I'll miss about this place and living alone. I like getting up at 6 (sometimes before) and puttering around my living space; making coffee, making the bed. Oddly, it's the time of day I get the most done. I write or clean or finish projects. I organize and plan. This morning I wrapped gifts for the girls at work, painting their names across each package in bright red poster paint. Last night I had planned to leave the little boxes on their desks - no cards, no wrapping. But at 6 AM that just didn't seem good enough. 

    In the new place, the bedroom door shuts tight. I'll be able to get up early and leave C to his dreams. (It will be much better than it is now, having to skulk around like a thief.) But there is a wonderful freedom in unchecked mornings, the coffee maker spitting and gurgling, all the lights and the radio on. I remember being in high school hating the way mom was up at dawn, hating her cheerfulness at those absurd hours. My teenage brain wanted more sleep - and less cheerfulness in general. Now I can't imagine sleeping in. I try, sometimes; C likes to have a lazy morning and I don't want to be jerk. After about half an hour I'm fidgeting, full of unspent energy. If I'm in bed past 8:30 I feel like I've wasted half my day.

    Of course, I'm usually ready for a nap by noon...
    And anything that isn't done by 2 PM probably isn't gonna get that way.
    g.

     

    Rumballs

    BOIL (for five minutes)
    1/2 c water
    2 oz semi-sweet chocolate
    1 c sugar

    COOL (enough to handle comfortably) AND ADD
    3 c graham crumbs
    1/2 c walnuts
    1/2 c raisins
    1/4 c light rum

    HAVE READY
    about 1.5 c icing sugar and 1/2 c cocoa, mixed in a bowl 
    • Once everything is mixed, roll into balls about 1 to 1.5"
    • Coat in the sugar and cocoa mix 
    • When they are completely cool, pack into an airtight container and store in cool dry place. The longer in advance you can make these, the better they are (as with most recipes involving liquor).
    • The walnuts and raisins are suggestions for amounts. If you hate one or the other, just double the one you like, or make two kinds - whatever. The thing about dried fruit is that it tends to hold liquor really well. If you hate raisins, think about using dried cherries (for a Black Forest version) or chopped, dried apricots. 
    I always do better with these when I roll them still warm. The more the mixture cools, the crumblier it gets. If the mixture is too dry, add a touch more rum. The finished product is going to be quite dense so don't make them too big - THE BALLS - but don't worry about over-handling THE BALLS either. 

    Yes, yes. Compose yourself, people.


    rumballs as seen by Juergen Teller. ha.