Sips and Sweets: A Delicious Affair

Hello, ladies and g's. It's President's Day, and for the first time in four years, I'm not working on this fine February holiday. I had a very productive morning and early afternoon. I made hummus, kukus for this week's breakfast, and turkey "marinara," which is simmering in the crockpot. And now? Well, now I'm sitting on my sofa coming down from a five-day sugar high that began on Thursday during a Valentine's Day party at my office.

If I'm completely honest, I have to admit I've been riding the sugar train since the sweetened overkill of pre-holiday abundance. I used to be so good at declining dessert! Now I've been seeking out cookies and drinking hot chocolate so rich it hardens at room temperature.

And guess what? My jeans are tight--not my skinny jeans, which are ironically really stretchy, but my regular old-school jeans, which will hopefully stay out of style until I've kicked my sugar habit.

Unfortunately (or rather fortunately), my metabolism is speedy, which is probably why my body does not handle sugar well. Within a half hour of eating a cookie, cupcake, brownie or other sweet, I'm hangry. Hangry is a term I borrowed from Mrs. Craven to describe that dangerous combination of hungry and angry that comes from crashing blood sugar. I'll admit it. I have hanger management issues, even when I'm not indulging in dangerous liaisons with sweets. I always carry snackage to abate sudden onset, but sometimes I forget or lazily push the limits.

This past Saturday, I really went over the edge at HA's Fourth Annual Evening of Sips and Sweets--one of my favorite reasons to indulge. HA always presents a beautiful Valentine spread laden with creative bites and heart-shaped delights from cookies to ice-cubes holding frozen heart strawberries.  She also experiments with sweeteners, flours and oils, creating delightful new treats like pink velvet cupcakes made with beet syrup and coconut oil.

There were savory items to balance out the sweets, including a bacon-cheese heart that I made from a Paula Dean recipe, and HA's grilled goat cheese and pumpernickel paninis with beet soup.

It was a fabulous evening, but after eating a few leftover treats, I'm nearing the edge of hanger once again. There's only one thing that can be done now... catch up on Downton Abbey and eat hummus. Oh wait, I mean end my love affair with sugar. I think I'll save that for tomorrow...