Brown Sugar Shortbread with Lemon Curd and Fig Jam

I've been reading a lot of food blogs lately, especially after my Epic Roasthouse dinner with all the Fabulous Foodies of FoodBuzz, which I still need to post about.  I found a blog of a foodie in Japan which has incredible recipes.  One of my coworkers was leaving to take a new job up in Chico and so I gave him a handful of recipes and told him to pick one for his “parting treat”.  He picked this one.

The cookies and the jam are both super easy to make.  In fact, I couldn’t believe just how easy it was!  For the wine in both the shortbread and the jam I used Geyser Peak Sauvignon Blanc.  They turned out quite nicely, so nicely in fact, that I made a batch Monday night and a batch Tuesday night. 

Here is the jam reducing on the stovetop.  It was such a gorgeous color.  I didn’t cut the figs into small enough pieces so I had to use my Pampered Chef Chopper in it to get it saucier.  It worked perfectly.  I could have used my immersion blender as well, but it was in the pantry and the chopper was right next to me.

Finished Fig Jam

   

Max, keeping an eye on the cookies while they bake.

I love candy

So here's my problem. I have always wanted to lose weight. Hence, the size six. I'm a 8/10 right now and although I KNOW that pounds/size aren't the most important indicator of my physical being, they still matter. Stupid food. Therein lies my problem. I love food. I love candy. I love broccoli. I love, love, love brussels sprouts. And steak. Oh heavenly filet mignon. And potatoes, delish! I could go on and on for days about food. It's what I think about a lot of the time. And wine, oh yum! Even a good bourbon, oh tastyness on my tongue! So even though I've been training for this marathon since August I have yet to lose any weight. I've been running 20+ miles a week and I still can't lose any weight! ARGH! Maybe I need to get a taste bud transplant. Or maybe I should start smoking, kill off some of those taste buds. I don't know what to do.


When my good friend Becquel got married I was able to lose 15 lbs. I ate chicken cooked on a George Foreman grill and salad practically every night for 2 months. And I looked fabulous in the sausage dress.




See! But let me tell you this. I do not want to eat stupid chicken every night for the rest of my life. I know what I need. I have to learn to control my portion sizes. But I usually don't even finish everything on my plate. And I eat a fraction of what Aaron eats. That's why I'm frustrated.

Excuse me while I go finish my glass of wine. It's delish!