Category Archives: With Becky

On the semantics of “get-away” and “vacation”

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Becky and I were gifted a get-away. I like these times which are relaxing to both of us. It takes a bit of effort to leave the office behind. This could be because I like work so much or because I am a creature of habit.

Hugh's Office

there are just so many cool things to be done in the office

Looking back, the one thing that I think I am going to enjoy the most about this get away was sitting down with Becky and listening to her tell me what a vacation looks like to her. We came up with two lists, one from each of us describing what a vacation was. I think it was good because it helps us each to know what the other is looking for.

Becky's Vacation

Becky's Vacation

Hugh's Vacation

Hugh's Vacation

Looking over the list, it is clear to see that there are some different colors which come to mind to each of us when we think of vacation.

    Hugh:

  • Grey
  • White
  • Green

I was thinking more inlines with mountains.

Biking in Montana

Biking in Montana

    Becky:

  • Blue

I am sure that she had more of something like below in mind.

Yacht in the Indian Ocean

Yacht in the Indian Ocean

What is interesting is that we both said something about Photography and we both said something about Water. (In all fairness it was over 100ºF in Texas when we made this list.)

But I wonder if we might enjoy a trip to the US Northwest or a trip to the Seychelles.

Becky also said that at a get-away we still cook, but on vacation someone else does the cooking.

Girl Scout Samoas

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Girl Scout Samoas are my second favorite Girl Scout Cookie (GSC). But the price is outrageous and they use High Fructose Corn Syrup. I think I would rather eat a brownie. So I though it time that Becky and I figure out a recipe we like. So, here are a few we’ll try when we get back to the States:

Recipe: Girl Scout Samoa Cookies (Copycat)

Ingredients

  1. 6 tablespoons butter
  2. 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  3. 1/2 cup light corn syrup
  4. 1/2 cup sweetened condensed milk
  5. 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
  6. 4 cups toasted coconut
  7. 1 cup chocolate chips

Instructions

  1. Place each shortbread cookie in cup of a greased muffin tin.
  2. In 2-quart saucepan over medium-low heat, combine butter, sugar and corn syrup.
  3. Heat to a full boil, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon.
  4. Boil 3 minutes, stirring constantly.
  5. Slowly pour in sweetened condensed milk, stirring constantly.
  6. Continue cooking over low heat until candy thermometer reaches 220-228ºF degrees.
  7. Remove from heat.
  8. Stir in vanilla.
  9. Beat until creamy.
  10. Immediately stir in toasted coconut and mix well.
  11. Spoon mixture by teaspoonfuls over shortbread cookies.
  12. Cool completely.
  13. Remove cooled cookies from muffin tin onto waxed paper.
  14. Melt chocolate chips and drizzle thinly in stripes over cookies and let chocolate harden at room temperature.
  15. Store in airtight container.

Quick Notes

24 -30 shortbread cookies (I used Lauryn Clark’s copycat recipe for the Girl Scout shortbread cookies, just cut them out so that they look right.)

Variations

Substitutions: 1/2 cup sugar + 2 tbsp water = 1/2 cup light corn syrup; 1/2 cup honey = 1/2 cup light corn syrup

Meal type: dessert

Culinary tradition: USA (General)

Recipe: Girl Scout Samoa Cookies

Ingredients

  1. 6 tblsp butter shopping list
  2. 1/2 cup sugar shopping list
  3. 1/2 cup Karo light corn syrup shopping list
  4. 1/2 of a 14 ounce can Eagle Brand sweetened condensed milk shopping list
  5. 1/2 tsp vanilla extract shopping list
  6. 4 cups toasted coconut shopping list
  7. 1 cup semi-sweet or milk chocolate chips

Instructions

  1. In a 2 quart saucepan over medium-low heat, combine butter, sugar and corn syrup.
  2. Heat to a full boil, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon. Boil for 3 minutes, stirring constantly.
  3. Slowly pour in Eagle Brand milk, stirring constantly. Continue cooking over low heat until candy thermometer reaches 220-228 degrees.
  4. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla. Beat until creamy. Immediately stir in toasted coconut and mix well.
  5. Spoon by tablespoonfuls into circular mounds onto buttered wax paper. Flatten slightly. With the end of a wooden spoon, poke a small round hole into the center of each cookie.
  6. Cool completely.
  7. Melt the chocolate chips and drizzle thinly in stripes over cookies. Let chocolate harden at room temperature. Store in a airtight container.
  8. To toast coconut: Spread coconut on a baking sheet and toast in a preheated 350 degree oven, stirring occasionally until lightly browned, 5 to 6 minutes.

Meal type: dessert

Culinary tradition: USA (General)

Recipe: Caramel de-Lites

Summary: Homemade Girl Scout Cookies: Samoas

Ingredients

    Cookies

  1. 1 cup butter, soft
  2. 1/2 cup sugar
  3. 2 cups all purpose flour
  4. 1/4 tsp baking powder
  5. 1/2 tsp salt
  6. 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
  7. up to 2 tbsp milk

    8. Topping

  8. 3 cups shredded coconut (sweetened or unsweetened)
  9. 12-oz good-quality chewy caramels
  10. 1/4 tsp salt
  11. 3 tbsp milk
  12. 8 oz. dark or semisweet chocolate (chocolate chips are ok)

Instructions

    Cookies

  1. Preheat oven to 350F.
  2. In a large mixing bowl, cream together butter and sugar. Mix in flour, baking powder and salt at a low speed, followed by the vanilla and milk, adding in the milk as needed to make the dough come together without being sticky (it’s possible you might not need to add milk at all). The dough should come together into a soft, not-too-sticky ball. Add in a bit of extra flour if your dough is very sticky.
  3. Roll the dough (working in two or three batches) out between pieces of wax paper to about 1/4-inch thickness (or slightly less) and use a 1 1/2-inch cookie cutter to make rounds. Place on a parchment lined baking sheet and use a knife, or the end of a wide straw, to cut a smaller center hole. Repeat with remaining dough. Alternatively, use scant tablespoons of dough and press into an even layer in a mini donut pan to form the rounds.
  4. Bake cookies for 10-12 minutes, until bottoms are lightly browned and cookies are set. If using a mini donut pan, bake for only about 10 minutes, until edges are light gold.
  5. Cool for a few minutes on the baking sheet then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

    6. Topping

  6. Preheat oven to 300. Spread coconut evenly on a parchment-lined baking sheet (preferably one with sides) and toast 20 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes, until coconut is golden. Cool on baking sheet, stirring occasionally. Set aside.
  7. Unwrap the caramels and place in a large microwave-safe bowl with milk and salt. Cook on high for 3-4 minutes, stopping to stir a few times to help the caramel melt. When smooth, fold in toasted coconut with a spatula.
  8. Using the spatula or a small offset spatula, spread topping on cooled cookies, using about 2-3 tsp per cookie. Reheat caramel for a few seconds in the microwave if it gets too firm to work with.
  9. While topping sets up, melt chocolate in a small bowl. Heat on high in the microwave in 45 second intervals, stirring thoroughly to prevent scorching. Dip the base of each cookie into the chocolate and place on a clean piece of parchment paper. Transfer all remaining chocolate (or melt a bit of additional chocolate, if necessary) into a piping bag or a ziplock bag with the corner snipped off and drizzle finished cookies with chocolate.
  10. Let chocolate set completely before storing in an airtight container.

Quick Notes

Makes about 3 1/2-4 dozen cookies.

Variations

Samoas Bars

Meal type: dessert

Culinary tradition: USA (General)

Skyping in for Jon’s Wedding

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My brother, Jon set the date for his wedding the day after Becky and I set the date for our return to México. Unfortunately they were both set for the same day. So Becky and I Skype'd in and watched the wedding from the Houston Airport.
Hugh and Becky at Houston AirPort

Hugh and Becky at Houston AirPort

Jon waiting for the Bride.

Jon waiting for the Bride.

Blocking the Camera.

Blocking the Camera.

Windsurfing in FL

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So I have been wanting to try windsurfing for some time.
So we are going to try it while we are here in FL.
http://www.nbwindsurfing.com/rentals/index.html

map to windsurfing location

map to windsurfing location

We did look at the competition, http://www.watersportswest.com/

SCUBA was another option:

As it turned out we didn’t do either of these… Sad.

Becky and I outside our hotel in St. Petersburg FL.

Becky and I outside our hotel in St. Petersburg FL.