Million Dollar Baby

This week I finally got around to making the latest Pillsbury Bake Off million dollar winning recipe, Double-Delight Peanut Butter Cookies. I made my own dough instead of buying the refrigerated kind. They were a little tedious to make, but a fun variation on a classic cookie. I liked the taste of the cinnamon sugar on the outside, and the surprise middle adds more peanut butter flavor. I almost hate to say this, the cookies kind of look like they have a tumor, though when I went to the Pillsbury website, the photo there kind of looked like it too. So maybe people won't notice it if they aren't looking for it. Anyway, it was a fun project for the morning that day.

Today we went to the local Forestry Association's meeting. We got to tour a chip mill, and then listened to lectures about carbon offsets (getting paid for growing trees) and the potential for local plants as medicinal ingredient sources. Both talks were interesting. It kind of sounded like the carbon offset program is too new and the details need to be worked out more. (Translation: too much paperwork for the monetary benefit, at least for now). Interesting concept though. It's not like people are going to stop growing trees, so the positive environmental aspect is still there. And I liked the point the speaker about the plants made, that in looking at local sources, perhaps we can not be so dependent on importing products, especially if someday those sources disappear due to whatever reason (environmental, political, etc.).

I'm collecting Yoplait pink lids for their Save Lids to Save Lives campaign. Our local Barry Manilow fan club is participating as a team, something we've done for many years. Here's a picture of Girl helping out. She loves licking the container clean. You can see her dual personality in the photo, one side of her whiskers is black, the other is white.