If brains were lard...

The night I got back home from DC, the local news coverage featured a place called Walkerville.

Okayyy? And?

Well, you might have noticed that my adopted hometown of Madison, WI, has been cropping up in the news pretty frequently these past many months.



Yeahhh. Remember now?

Our lovely gov'nor has been keeping quite busy, trying make himself as unpopular as possible among his constituents.



So, we -- by which I mean those of us who either were adversely affected by or disagree with Gov. Scott Walker's actions (or both) -- are hoping he'll be recalled from office... which apparently can't even be brought to a vote until he's been in office for at least a year.

I know. He hasn't even been in office for a year and he's already done this much damage. Terrifying, isn't it? The guy must have set some sort of a record.



So, Walkerville. It's a village of protesters against Gov. Scott Walker, literally camping out on the Capitol Square, because the state police is guarding the entrances to the Capitol. Our tax money is being put to real good use, guys. Anyway, I'm not sure exactly what prompted this timing, but it must have been suffocating in those tents because of the heat those couple of days.

In addition to the tents, there were also several musicians performing to keep the protesters entertained, and witty signs to amuse the walkers-by (heh).



Do you have enough brains to grease a skillet?

Oh, don't worry, these cookies don't contain brains. Just some (relatively) harmless butter. :)




Lemon Cloud Tea Cookies
Adapted from Joy the Baker.

These cookies are... fluffy. I can't think of a better word to describe how airy and light -- with just the right touch of crispy -- they are. And that little zing of lemon at the end of the bite? Perfection.



1 1/2 c. flour
3/4 c. corn starch
4 tsp. baking powder
a pinch of salt
1/2 c. (1 stick) unsalted butter
1 c. powdered sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. lemon extract
1 Tbsp. lemon zest

In a large bowl, sift together then flour, corn starch, baking powder, and salt.

In a separate large bowl, cream the butter and sugar. Whisk in the eggs, one at a time, then stir in the vanilla, lemon extract, and zest. Gradually add the flour mixture, mixing into a soft dough.

Wrap dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for ~1 hr.

Preheat oven to 325ºF. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper.

Tear off bits of refrigerated dough and roll into 1" balls. Place on prepared cookie sheet and flatten slightly. Note that the dough will puff up, rather than spreading very much, so the balls can be placed fairly close together, about an inch apart. Bake 20 min. Let cool on cookie sheet for 5 min. before transferring to wire racks to cool completely.