Miracle in a Bottle

Since I have no new recipe to post, I decided to share with you one of my all time favorite beauty products. Mr. Surly and I love REN skincare products, and this is by far our favorite one.

I used to get glycolic peels at the salon every other week, this was back before I was sick. Once I got sick and was unable to go regularly, I started a search for good glycolic peel that I could do at home. I went straight to my local Sephora for recommendations. I have sensitive skin, so I needed a sample size of the product to try before buying, and Sephora is generous with their samples. They recommended the REN glycolic mask. It was love after first application. I cannot describe what this does to my skin. It makes it as soft as a baby's bottom. Also, it helps reduce fine lines and wrinkles. And most importantly, it doesn't irritate my sensitive skin.

I loved this product so much, that I now have Mr. Surly using it once a week. I wonder if he cares that I shared that with you. I guess it doesn't matter, he doesn't read my blog anyway. So it can be our secret. We've been using this mask for about a year and a half.

After taking a hot shower (to open up my pores) I apply this to my face and neck and leave it on for 15 minutes (they recommend 10 min, but I'm a rebel). It tingles and sometimes burns a bit, but not that bad. Wash it off and don't worry about how red your face looks, it will fade fast. Just enjoy the wonderful, youthful, baby soft skin.

It's a little pricey--$55, but it lasts a long time. I think ours lasts about 4 months, and that's with 2 people using it regularly.

So, either run to your local Sephora store, or you can order it online from REN. You can thank me later.


Please feel free to share your favorite skincare products in the comments section.



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Note: Not a paid advertisement. I buy and use this product and love it so much I had to share it with others

Oatmeal Date Bars

I was excited when I saw these date bars while reading Corrine's blog, Indulge, awhile ago. It’s hard to find approved desserts on my restrictive, low oxalate diet, and I absolutely love dates. Browsing the ingredient list I deemed these to be low oxalate as long as I left out the lemon zest.

I did make a few tweaks. I added cinnamon, nutmeg, and ½ tsp vanilla to the date paste. I sprinkled a bit more cinnamon in the flour/oat combo. And I had to leave out the lemon zest. :(

These bars turned out to be really yummy, a bit on the sweet side. Next time, I will decrease the amount to sugar to ¾ c, decrease the flour to 1 c and up the oats to 2 c, because I love oats, but that’s just me. Also, I'd love to add some finely chopped walnuts or almonds to these. Once I'm off the low oxalate diet, I want to try the recipe with these tweaks and ,of course, add in the lemon zest.

I’m so glad I didn’t halve this recipe because these are not going to last long at all. These perfectly compliment my morning cappuccino. Thanks, Corrine, for sharing the recipe; I can't stop eating these!

Click here for the recipe on Indulge.

Mint Julep

I admit, I enjoy watching the Kentucky Derby. I just hate the 2 hours of fluff pieces that leads up to it. Last year I attempted to make mint juleps. I don’t know which recipe I used, I just remember it involved a simple syrup and tasted horrible. I couldn’t even drink it. So this year I studied up. I’ve actually been to Churchill Downs and was lucky enough to have one their delicious mint juleps. We went with a guy who owned a horse, so he was able to explain the “strategy” of betting to us. I followed his advice and won $8; I was pretty happy with that. Anyway, back to the juleps, I found three different recipes to try. I made and tried them all (not all at once) and I’m here to give my verdict.

First, let’s talk about bourbon. Since Churchill Downs is in Kentucky, a Derby mint julep obviously needs a Kentucky Bourbon. Mr. Surly brought home Knob Creek, before we discovered that Woodford Reserved is the type of bourbon used at Churchill Downs. Ooops. Regardless, I continued on with my experiment.

I didn’t know what a “julep” cup is, nor how many ounces are in it. First, I tried pint glasses--too big. Then, I moved down to 12 oz glasses, still too large. Finally I used my stemless wine glasses (not sure how many oz) but they worked out great.

Lemon Macadamia Cupcakes with Lemon Buttercream

All right, I’ve finally put aside the post-wedding things, for the time being, and got back in the kitchen to make something. It has been really crazy taking care of all the paperwork, combining things, etc. I’m keeping my last name, so at least that gets me out of more forms.

These cupcakes are not low oxalate-friendly because they contain macadamia nuts. But I felt like cheating because the recipe sounded so delicious.

I never thought I would find a cupcake refreshing, but that’s exactly what I told (the now official) Mr. Surly as I tried my cupcake. Very lemony. And I love the chunks of crunch macadamia nuts to contrast with the soft texture of the cupcake.
I found the buttercream a bit too sweet, so I'm glad i didn't ice my cupcakes too thick.

My beloved loved them as well.



I left the zest out of both the cupcakes and icing, since on my low oxalate diet, lemon juice is allowed, but not lemon zest. But feel free to add ½ Tbl lemon zest to the cupcake batter and 1 tsp lemon zest to the frosting. I’m sure they would taste even better that way.

On a side note, I can’t believe tomorrow is the Kentucky Derby! I have a friend who lives in Louisville, so I have been to Churchill Downs and have had their authentic Mint Julep. I ended up winning $8 that day, so I was happy. So that is my mission before the derby tomorrow. To make the perfect Mint Julep. I have 3 versions, and I’ll share them with you next week.

M.I.A.

Sorry about the lack of posts recently. I haven't had time to make anything, nor read any of my favorite blogs. Mr. Surly and I spontaneously got married on Good Friday, so things have been crazy busy here. We have forms to fill out, paperwork to file, combining our assets; lots of things we weren't prepared for yet. It's a lot to do, which is just made harder with my illness.

Hopefully, this week I can get back into my normal routine. I've got some lemon macadamia cupcakes I've been dying to make for months at the top of my list.