7 Quick Takes Friday!

I’m so happy that Jen is back with us this week! If you haven’t done so yet, make sure you stop by Conversion Diary to congratulate her on the birth of little Pamela Scholastica!

Lately I’ve Noticed

St. Scholastica

a trend in naming among Catholic parents. We seem to be reaching back into the recesses of history and mining it for forgotten saint’s names. Scholastica is a good example. We used Bede for our little man. Our friend wants to name his child Polycarp, and Leo seems to be making a huge resurgence among Catholic parents.

I think this is an interesting trend. I’m a bit of a name etymology nerd, and I think it echoes the trend going on in the larger population of America. Old-fashioned names are making a comeback in a big way. We have a Charlotte; there are tons of Olivias and Emmas running around; Adelaide is coming back, my niece is named Evangeline, and Isabella is the new Ashley.

Personally

I much prefer this new trend to the silliness of the 90’s. Moxie Crimefighter, anyone? How about Moon Unit Zappa? Apple? Really?

And even in the private sector, things got a bit ridiculous. Shaniqua? T’Shaun? My mom went to school with two boys named Lemonjello and Orangejello. No joke. My name even fits the bill…Kayla, but spelled Calah. My whole life I’ve had to correct people who want to call me “Caaaalah” with a short a.

In the quest for new and different names, American parents went slightly nuts. Even this year, one of the most interesting additions was a sudden crop of “X’Zavier”s. How ludicrous is that!

I think the return to antique, elegant names is a lovely turn of events. I’m really happy that my kids are going to grow up among Evelyns and Maxs and Annabelles instead of the Chelseas and Brittany/Brittney/Brittanie/Britaneys that we grew up among.

Ahem

If your name happens to be Chelsea or Brittany, please don’t think I’m dumping on your name.

Okay, I kind of am. I just prefer names with a sense of history behind them. I feel like in the quest to be new and different, our society has made up so many names that names have lost all meaning. The Ogre and I are really big on finding the meaning behind names and keeping those in mind when choosing a name for your offspring.

And now, since I’m afraid I’ve offended someone, or a lot of someone’s, I’m going to change the subject.

Let’s Talk About Something Truly Offensive

Ever since I realized how terrible shortening is for you, I’ve banned it from my kitchen. I feel good about this decision. I prefer to use foods that have been around for a while, natural foods like butter.

However….however….

The Ogre’s favorite cookies are snickerdoodles. A few years ago, I went on a massive search for the best snickerdoodle recipe in the world. After spending hours making dough, rolling it into sticky balls, and tossing them in sugar and cinnamon, one recipe came out the clear winner.

The recipe is from The Best Recipe, my go-to cookbook for pretty much everything. Unfortunately, said recipe contains…you got it…shortening.

Gulp.

My Brilliant Solution

to this conundrum was to just not make cookies for a while. I made the occasional chocolate chip, and when Christmas rolled around I made my favorite molasses-spice, but those recipes are all-butter. The snickerdoodles I stayed away from.

But this weekend, I wanted to make them for the Ogre. He’s going to be away from us for a while, and I’d like to make him something special for his last weekend. I promised him drip beef, homemade oreos, and, of course, snickerdoodles.

After scouring the internet last night for an all-butter snickerdoodle recipe, I’ve come to the unfortunate conclusion that the editors of The Best Recipe are right. Snickerdoodles must be thick and light. They must not spread too much, or they will become thin and crispy. And the only way to prevent the spread is excessive flour, which I don’t want, or shortening.

So I’m making them. With shortening. And I’m going to feel properly guilty as I watch my little ones gulp down the trans-fat-laden sweets.

Then I’ll probably get over it and eat a few or ten myself. Because those cookies are dang good.

What Are Your Favorite Cookies?

I absolutely must get back on my no-sugar/no-grains diet next week, but I’m always on the lookout for new cookie recipes for those times when I fall off the wagon. They happen often. So what are your favorites?

And Now

since I’m writing these quick takes on my sister-in-law’s Mac, and since every time I blog on a Mac my blog completely freaks out and everything gets smushed together so I can’t read it or highlight anything or spell check, and the font keeps getting small then large then small, and since I generally just hate Macs, I’m going to sign off for the day. Yay for Friday, though! I hope you guys have a wonderful four-day weekend!

Since the 4th of July is one of my favorite holidays, I promise to be back this weekend to regale you with tales of the time my husband almost blew himself up with a firecracker, and the time we had a roman candle war and a rogue one lit the bushes on fire outside my cousin’s baby daughter’s window. And how my mom used to blow up spiders with firecrackers.

We’re classy like that.

Go see Jen for more quick takes! Have a great weekend, y’all!