Meredith Carson... Across the Pond and Back Again...

The night before school started I decided we needed one last creative hurrah at our house before the drudgery of homework and the dread of early morning alarm clocks set in.  Over the summer my two oldest girls and I had become obsessed with the show Sweet Genius on the Food Network.  This show is hosted by the creepy, quirky, and wonderful Chef Ron Ben-Israel.  The premise of the show: accomplished cake/sugar/candy artists are presented with strange mandatory ingredients (like caviar or fruit roll-ups) that must be used in the creation of a dessert that fits into a particular category such as candy, chocolate, or cake.  Contestants are also supplied with an "inspiration" (like disco or puppies) that must be represented in their final, delicious product. On September 2, 2013 we had a Sweet Genius inspired competition in our kitchen.  My kids, who are novice bakers, were allowed to use recipes as references.  They didn't have a ...

I do not advertise over the Internet when I am planning a trip just in case my stalker is reading this blog or checking my facebook status.  But now that I am back, I can tell you that we had a lovely long weekend away in North Carolina visiting family and my BFF's new baby Claire.  It is indeed a very special thing when someone you love has a baby.  All of us thought little Claire was rather fabulous... Emma loved her. Sophie did too. I had a difficult time sharing her. Lili liked Claire, of course, but she was even more smitten with this Coconut Macaroon; And George had tons of fun playing Pac Man with Claire's Dad. Imagine four days in Greensboro with five Carsons in one hotel room.  It hardly gets much better.  Every night was like a slumber party with our toddler wide eyed and bushy tailed until eleven o'clock.  Everyone had their toenails painted an exotic color (including Dad), and we also experimented with temporary body tattoos.  The love...

Before living in the UK, I had never had a "chocolate apple," but one autumn day while wandering the Tesco looking for something comforting to remind me of home, I came across a Chocolate Apple Kit.  It basically contained a few lollipop sticks, a large pot of milk chocolate buttons, and some festive Halloween sprinkles.  I was, of course, ON IT, using the contents but making my own rules.  I prefer to melt chocolate on the stove top in a double boiler rather than in the microwave.  My double boiler is homemade: a metal bowl that fits neatly over a small pan full of simmering water.  Easy peasy. The apples are stabbed with lolly sticks and then dipped or rolled in the melted chocolate.  It is fabulously festive to add colorful sprinkles but not entirely necessary.  The apples then need to go into the fridge for at least an hour.  (I do love a cold apple.) When I was living abroad, I longed for all of the seasonal decor and candy and crap that is...

The planets and the stars were aligned last week and when I was home in North Carolina for a quick, dizzying visit, so was my childhood friend Kirk "Twinkletoes" Sprinkles.  I don't have enough friends who randomly burst into song at the grocery store, and I didn't realize how much I missed the fun that he and I used to have.  It was as though no time had passed when we saw each other again after many years... except for the fact that I now have three children, lots of stretch marks and a few wrinkles. This is what happened when I remembered that my digital camera has a video function.  I am only sorry that we ran out of memory space before the climactic conclusion of our song... for the children. Of course I also spent lots of time visiting with family and introducing everyone to the newest little Carson... Mimi and her grand-girls In my grandparents' front yard in Jamestown In bed, eating cookies... just like old times.  Thank You for Being a Friend! As...