As has been traditional for several years now, August is No Heat Month. Where all the makes are not baked. At all.
I will not turn on my oven in August for cookies.
The twist for the month was going to be cookies with unexpected ingredients.
To that end the first cookie was a no bake chocolate peanut butter cookie.
You have all had this cookie before. I have made it dozens of times before.
I went to the movies on Tuesday. My sister and I saw Hadestown and it was amazing! But we had leftover popcorn.
Hmm…
That got my cookie mind going.
What if I made no bakes, with some of the oatmeal replaced with movie theater popcorn?
There are a lot of cookie variables.
Will the “butter” on the popcorn skew the solidification?
How to mimic oatmeal but still keep the structural integrity of the popcorn?
Would the colors even gel?
I made them early because I have to be at the hospital at 1900 and I had no desire to go twice. I made them Wednesday night.
AND IT WORKED!
The cookies became solid quickly.
The butter on the popcorn and the popcorn itself definitely made their presence known.
I had decided to mash most of the popcorn to get it to a more similar size to the oatmeal and I am glad I did.
Last night it was very thunderstorm-y here. Lots of thunder and lightning and, at 0050, a very bright flash of lightning with an immediate CRACK!
And the internet went out. The lights stayed on. The air conditioner kept cooling. And it would be difficult to tell outside in the dark if the house had been struck or if there was structural damage.
At 0630 I walked the perimeter of the house, inspecting all the angles. There was no visible damage to the house.
I went inside and I noticed that the display on Stove #3 was black. Normally there is at least the time.
I frantically checked the fridge. Still cool, with lights.
I just as frantically checked the dishwasher. Ditto.
Microwave- lights and beeps.
Washer- lights and beeps.
Dryer- lights and beeps.
Garage freezer? Garage freezer? Nothing. Still cold inside. And the battery chargers on the same circuit next to the freezer, out at well. I quick ordered a replacement and made a plan to not open the freezer much, if at all. Luckily the goods in the freezer are things for long storage but won’t be damaged by not being kept at freezing temperatures- chocolate, bread, and flours. We’d lose some things sure, but not all.
Well, poop.
I spent the morning calling an electrician, calling the company who installed the stove and with whom I have a very detailed warranty, who then told me to call the manufacturer, the original Stove #3 manufacturer.
And then I thought about the office, which is above the garage. I hadn’t checked the computers. I went up to check the computers. They both turned on. But the cable modem was dark. The router was fine but the modem was dead.
That prompted another 90 minutes of phone calls. I just want to see if I could stop by the internet store to get a replacement modem. It still took 90 minutes in the maze, being hung up on several times, being transferred several times to get the answer of “sure, come in. It can be replaced.”
I spent an hour doing that.
Long story short- Oven # 3 is down. The burners still work so there’s that. But no baking will be done until after the technician comes on Monday and until it is fixed.
Perfect timing for No Heat August.
And I learned that when the electricians replaced the electrical panel in 2024 when the AC went out and had to be replaced, they added a GCFI outlet for the freezer/chargers.
I still might keep the ordered replacement freezer I have coming on Saturday.
Dispatches from the Evening Shift 