Temple Day/Caramel Cashews

Washington DC Temple















Last Saturday, our ward had a temple day where we pulled weeds around the temple grounds, we ate dinner together and then did sessions in the temple.















Treagan and Diana pulling weeds on the grounds. Treagan is a friend from college that is out here visiting his brother. I love when Aggies reunite!















Caramel Cashew Fancies...
My favorite ice cream as a student at Utah State University was Caramel Cashew Aggie Ice Cream. I found a recipe for Caramel Cashew Cookies and for old times sake, I decided to give it a whirl. In a previous post I explained that I make one kind of cookie only (Chocolate, PB, Oatmeal cookies..yum) and so making something new was quite a stretch. Anyway, they were delicious and I highly recommend you try these at home!!

Caramel Cashew Cookies
salted cashews-both ground into a butter and chopped- give these cookies deep flavor. Soft caramel candies are melted and drizzled over the tops of the baked cookies for an embellishment.














Yields about 3 dozen cookies

1 2/3 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 cups roasted salted cashews
2 Tablespoon + 1 teaspoon canola oil
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, room temperature
3/4 cup packed lt. brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
24 soft caramel candy cubes (7 oz.)
1/4 cup heavy cream

1. Preheat oven to 350*F. Sift flour and salt. Chop 1 cup cashews; set aside. Process remaining 1 1/2 cups cashews in a food processor until finely chopped. Pour in oil; process until creamy, about 2 minutes.
2. Put cashew mixture, butter, and sugars in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on medium speed until pale and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Mix in egg and vanilla. Reduce speed to low; gradually mix in flour mixture and reserved chopped cashews.
3. Drop dough onto baking sheets lined with parchment paper. Bake 6 minutes; gently flatten cookies. Bake until bottoms are golden, 6-7 minutes more. Let cool on wire racks.
4. Melt caramels with cream in a saucepan over low heat, stirring. Let cool. Using a spoon, drizzle caramel over cookies; let set. Cookies can be stored in airtight containers at room temperature in single layers up to 3 days.

July 4th in Washington D.C.

Hiking by Great Falls, VA.












Getting soaked on the mall waiting for the fireworks.

Some pics from NYC

Our 0.025 star shady, SHADY hotel!














Waltzing through Central Park











Doesn't the Empire State Bldg. look like an Astro Pop?



















The view of Manhattan as we walked across the Brooklyn Bridge.














Brooklyn Bridge














The famous Magnolia Bakery on Bleeker Street.



















Eating our Magnolia treats.














I started taking pictures of doors for no good reason. Which one do you like?




















































Some other random shots:

Independence Weekend!

Turns out that the July 4th Fireworks in D.C. are just like any others. It was pouring rain all day long but we huddled together under umbrellas to stay dry(as we sat on soaking wet blankets and had water fights). Oh, what a night!











After the fireworks I hopped on a bus with Kami, Shule and Wayne to NYC. Wayne and I went to 2 Broadways (Hairspry and Jersey Boys) while Kami and Shule were at the Yankee/Red Sox game. DON'T buy Broadway tickets online because it's a rip off, most box offices have discounts/raffles the day of.
In Hairspray, George Wendt (from Cheers) plays the role of Edna Turnblad and what a comedian. This show was basically the same as the movie and my favorite Broadway so far!














I didn't know who the Four Seasons were until I went to Jersey Boys but I recognized most of their songs. There was some adult language in the show, but overall it was superb. Here's some great youtube video links if you care to watch.. My favorite song was probably 'Walk Like A Man'. I left wishing I had a gangster Jersey boy of my own..

Jersey Boys Youtube #1
Jersey Boys Youtube #2













After Hairspray, we went to dinner at the Stardust Diner. The waiters/waitresses are all performers on Broadway that wait tables while they are auditioning for shows, etc. My favorite waiter reminded me of ace ventura because he had a ginormous mouth and hopped around on the tables and was the biggest goof. This is the greatest place, I strongly recommend that you eat here if you're in the neighborhood.











I love frozen yogurt and I heard that Pinkberry is the bomb. Pinkberry's menu consists of Original, Green Tea and Coffee flavored frozen yogurt desserts. This is a wonderfully tangy, not-too-sweet, creamy white cloud of perfect frozen yogurt deliciousness.

Sunday morning we walked over the Brooklyn Bridge and this offered a great view of Manhattan and Brooklyn. The Brooklyn Bridge, one of the oldest suspension bridges in the U.S., stretches 5,989 feet (1825 m) over the East River connecting the New York City boroughs of Manhattan and Brooklyn. On completion, it was the largest suspension bridge in the world and the first steel-wire suspension bridge.















We also stopped along Bleeker Street for some famous Magnolia Banana Pudding and Cupcakes (which were beautiful but I didn't like them at all). The magnolia bakery in NYC is known for its famous dessert treats, including its cupcakes and old-fashioned Depression era icebox cakes. It stays open unusually late for a bakery, and typically there is a line to get in as late as 11:30 p.m. on Friday and Saturday nights.










I don't like doing all the touristy stuff in NYC (times square makes me want to crawl into a dark cave), but I really like Greenwich Village and the other neighborhoods downtown.