Struffoli success! (and etc.)

Robin McKinley's rant about Thor (the new movie) was hilarious. I don't necessarily agree with everything she says—I thought the skies of Asgard were quite pretty, and there were some funny one-liners scattered throughout. (If you don't mind a dozen footnotes per paragraph, you can find her appalled rant here.)

(Robin McKinley is a young adult author. Very prestigious, famous, well-established. She's awesome.)

I've got my first of three exams tomorrow. I'm so sick of studying I could—not sure what, exactly, but I'd really rather it include about thirteen hours of sleep. That's always nice. Or maybe a train ride. I love train rides.

I need exams to end soon. I study, I get bored, I eat. I'm turning myself into a fatty. I made olive paste—which I had as a starter with bread to dip in it on Mykonos, Greece, and it was so tasty that I had to figure out how to make it myself—and there is zero nutritional value to it. Olive oil, olives, vinegar, and oregano. And a bit of black pepper. So basically I'm eating breadsticks dipped in oil and olives. And not doing anything beyond running up and down a few flights of stairs for laundry trips.

So what's been up?

Oh, yes. Remember that dessert I tried and spectacularly failed to make back at the end of January (thereby blowing up the kitchen)? Struffoli. Deep fried dough balls coated in honey icing. (The deep frying bit, as you might remember, is what I had difficulties with.)

Well. Consider that obstacle surmounted. Kitchen conquered. Go me.

AND THEY WERE SO TASTY. I'd pretty much forgotten why I'd wanted to try making them so much in the first place.

Deep frying. My conquered nemesis.

Icing made from honey and sugar. Yes, only honey and sugar. As I told a dubious onlooker, "Because clearly honey isn't sweet enough on its own, of course."

(It was worth it, though.)

The overall done deal. And no, the sprinkles weren't my idea (although I'm sure I would have thought of it eventually). They're supposed to have sprinkles on them.

They're also supposed to be shaped into a pyramid and left to cool for about two hours after the icing has been poured on, but there was no way that was happening. We dug in immediately, and it was sooooo worth it. Warm struffoli. Mm-mm-mmmm.