Manic Mondays: the Downton Abbey version

When Your Soap Opera Character Dies

– with a Brittish accent

**SPOILER ALERT!**

I could pretend that I am a day late in my Manic Monday post because I have been unable to process the passing of my second favorite British soap opera character. That I have been weeping unendingly on my fainting couch, too weak to ring for meals, too despondent to allow visitors, to angry to speak with my husband. But that would only be partly true. Mostly, I have a ton of school work again this week {and it would be utter foolishness to be angry with the Officer -- he's been scrubbing all the dishes I've been too busy to get to}. So,I allowed myself 30 minutes to bang out this post as a reward, before carrying on with it all. But I supposed, after a death as shocking and important as this, it is best to keep busy.

I used to mock people who kept up with soap operas.  How pedestrian.  How gauche. How terribly middle class, darling.   

I apologize to everyone I’ve mentally berated over the years for watching such asinine drivel. Because, I’ll admit that I’ve been completely hooked on Downton Abbey for two and a half years now. I think it’s the accents.  And the costumes. And the abject lack of raunchy, debauched language or behavior, even when foreign diplomats are involved. Plus, just look at Highclere Castle.  And the grounds. And the accents. And the cars and tuxes and starched, white wimples.  And the stately, English-ness of it all.  Ah, BBC, you win again {Sherlock, or Call the Midwife, anyone?}.

Thus, I was greatly anticipating Sunday night’s finale. So much so that my dearest friend came to enjoy it with me; and we had our own, intimate Downton dinner. Amy was in charge of costumes. I have to say, she’s a genius!  Don’t we look 19^th century? 

Her genius really shines in all the little details.  She brought these gloves and earrings:

 

And added the brooch that matches the earrings, to just define the drop waist of my gown. In this close-up, you can see the velveteen fabric of the gown; which is similar to a coat worn in the finale by the Dowager Countess. 

 

I was in charge of the refreshments, partly because I'm as polished as a kitchen maid {Amy's more of a lady's maid -- if you force her regal personality into the service category} but mostly because I’m all Paleo now {for Lent – you can read more about that here}; thus our snacks weren’t exactly English – can you imagine Mrs. Patmore’s face?  But with an un-pictured tray of crudité, some mixed nuts, and mini paleo fudge bites*, we were quite full before the unfortunate ending. 

 

Finally, since wine or other cocktails were out of the question, we made No-Cal** refreshers and put them in fancy stemware.  Because everything tastes better out of the good glasses; just ask Carson. 

No-Cal Refresher:

·         Fill glass of choice with sparkling mineral water

·         Halve lemon {I used Mertons because they taste sweeter} and squeeze as much juice as you can into the water.

·         Halve 2 Key Limes, squeezing juice from all 4 sections into water

·         Add ice and stir.

If one were feeling particularly cavalier, taking after Sir Richard Carlise preference for cocktails before dinner, one could add a shot of silver tequila to the Refresher for a No-Cal Margarita.  Silver tequila is made with agave, thus it’s still considered a Paleo drink.  But be aware, this ain’t the sticky-sweet cantina drink you’re accustomed to.  It will take some getting used to; but once you’ve made the adjustment, I doubt you’ll go back.    

Well, darlings, I have to get back to my studies.  And we all have to try to cope with not only a 9 month wait for Season 4, but also TWO deaths in the family!  I hope you can find a way to muddle through somehow. 

 

 *for Mini paleo fudge bites, follow my paleo fudge recipe here.  But instead of making 10 large fudge rounds, pour the mixture into a lined, mini cupcake tray.  If you fill the cup ½ to ¾ full, you’ll end up with 24 bites for the same amount of mixture as 10 full-size rounds.

**No-Cal stands for Northern California.  And I yet again have my Brother- and Sister-in-law to thank for this awesome recipe.   

Manic Mondays -- When Fudge Goes Primal

I had to take last week off blogging; grad school is already devouring large chunks of my schedule.  Not that I’m complaining – I adore school, and if I had unlimited resources, I would be a perpetual student.  But it does mean that most nights I have to choose between finally sleeping and doing non-school things (like cleaning and blogging).    

However, I took the past two weekends to carve out a little time to revamp our family’s eating habits.  Well, at least make an attempt to start revamping anyway.  Since my most destructive eating habits rear their ugly heads when I’m stressed (read: studying), and because I’m tired of fighting perpetual fatigue, I’ve gone primal.  Or paleo, or ancestral – depends on who you’re reading. 

But with Valentine’s Day coming up, I couldn’t stand the thought of doing without chocolate.  So, after talking to my epically primal Brother- and Sister-in-law (these two are insane health nuts – I aspire to their awesomeness) I found this great recipe for primal fudge at Practical Paleo.  I tweaked it a teensy bit, and am in love with this treat.  So much so that I had to hide it in the back of the fridge – lest I eat them all before Thursday. 

The Firefly helped, and is now totally into Paleo.  At least the treats.  We’re still working the veggie side.  After a taste test, the kids were complimentary [I said it tastes like dark chocolate and reese peanut butter cups had a delicious baby]; but did admit that these little gems are “NOT Nana fudge.” 

No, dear ones, they certainly aren’t.  But they’ll do in a Paleo-pinch.    

 

Paleo Fudge:

1/2 cup coconut oil
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1/2 cup creamy almond butter
1/4 cup raw honey
2 tablespoons vanilla

1. Begin with melted coconut oil [yes, I attempted the boiling water bath most purist suggest; but eventually I got tired of waiting and exposed my pure oil to the radiation of the microwave.  Baby steps, people.]

2. Blend all ingredients together in a blender [if you have food processor, I’m sure this would be easier.   My poor blender almost burned out the motor because it’s so thick.  In the end I had to use the good ole fashioned wooden spoon, and then plastic spatula].

3. Pour into paper-lined muffin tin cups, filling half-inch full. This made 10, though they are very big!  I would even say fill to quarter-inch full and double the recipe.

4.  Chill for 30 minutes [I let mine sit overnight]. When firm taste the Paleo goodness! Store in a sealed container in the refrigerator.  Don’t worry, they won’t last long.