Royal Icing for Flooding Sugar Cookies

This is the second time I've tried this recipe. The lemon mixed with sugar tastes great. This recipe is a little runny to apply, but dries firm. Flooding the cookies takes practice. It's a fine art to know how much icing to use so it doesn't drip down the sides. We always have drips because I let my preschooler decorate them. This time we experimented with using more than one colour on each cookie. I love how this icing dries firm so you can stack the cookies on top of each other, but is still soft enough to eat easily.

Ingredients:

1 lb confectioner's sugar
1 tbsp lemon juice
1/3 cup water
food colouring

Directions:

1. Whisk together sugar, lemon juice and water in a bowl.
2. Divide icing into several bowls and add one drop of food colouring at a time until desired colour is reached.
3. For decorating cookies, draw an outline first and fill in the area. Too much icing will drip off the sides.
4. Set the cookies aside to dry. They will be firm to the touch, and stackable.
   

Inspiration: Kuhn Rikon Cookie and Cupcake Decorating Set

Three Bean Salad

Beans, beans, beans! I love beans. Especially beans tossed together in a slightly sweet, slightly acidic, slightly spicy marinated sauce. This is my official go to recipe for bean salad. It goes well with everything and is completely nutritious.

And you can make lots of substitutions successfully. I've used different beans, oils, onions, and vinegars based on what I had in the house. Apple cider vinegar is a really nice substitute, for example. The only thing you can't do well is use French-cut green beans. I've bought the wrong kind of green beans a few times.

This salad can been eaten right away, because we have, but it always tastes better when it has a chance to sit and the flavours meld. Marinating at least overnight is best.

Ingredients:

1 can kidney beans
1 can chick peas
1 can green beans
1/3 cup olive oil
1/3 balsamic vinegar
1 small red onion
1/4 red pepper, diced
1 celery stick, diced
1 garlic clove, chopped
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp basil
1-2 tbsp sugar
1-2 shakes red pepper flakes


Directions:

1. Add all ingredients to a large bowl with a lid.
2. Stir with a big spoon.
3. Refrigerate for the day, or overnight for best results.

Inspiration: An internet search, but I don't remember where