. . . two thumbs up . . .

. . . recipe successes

from over the weekend . . .

. . . first up ~

salted caramel butter bars . . .

. . . they're salty . . .

. . . they're caramel-y . . .

. . . they're buttery . . .

{and, yes, they're bars, too}

. . . a couple of mental notes

for next time . . .

. . . and there will be a next time . . .

. . . the recipe says

to coat a 9x13 pan

with non-stick cooking spray . . .

{why don't they just say pam?}

. . . but you might say to yourself:

"self: there is

one pound of butter

in this here dough ~

there's no way it's going to stick" . . .

. . . and then ~

you will not spray the pan . . .

. . . and you will be right . . .

. . . the dough just slides right out . . .

. . . the caramel filling,

on the other hand . . .

. . . will be stuck

to the sides of the pan like

super glue,

e6000,

gorilla glue,

epoxy,

liquid nails . . .

. . . take your pick . . .

. . . spray the pan . . .

. . . i'm just saying . . .

. . . also ~ next time i will salt

a little more . . .

. . . there's tons of sweet going on . . .

. . . next up ~ spring-ish potpourri

simmering concoction . . .

. . . you should make this . . .

. . . it smells a lot better

than the three packages of bacon

chris and i cooked last night . . .

. . . it's simple: slice a lemon {or 4} . . .

. . . snip a few sprigs of rosemary . . .

{i have tons. i'll share}

. . . pour in a little vanilla . . .

{go easy. the vanilla was a slightly overpowering on my first try}

. . . simmer on low . . .

. . . i would recommend

not leaving home

while the stove is on . . .

{public service announcement}

{it looks really fresh and pretty until you start to simmer it.

then it looks kinda like a brown slimy mess.

but it smells delish.}

. . . gotta run . . .

. . . wish me luck . . .

. . . i'm making these today . . .