Happiness is a Warm Cookie

Look closely at the photo----------->

Someone was trying to quietly raid the homemade cookies.

This picture made me smile as I looked through some old photos of my childhood home here two years after Dad passed at age 102, and my brother and stepbrother passed as well.  This was taken in the house I grew up in shortly before I got married 10 years ago.. On the wall was a platter that my Uncle the Boeing engineer brought back from a business trip to Iran back in the late '50s or '60s.   He had told my Dad that it was a serving plate, covered with olives and all sorts of tidbits and they gave him the platter as a gift.  I went to snap a photo and only after enlarging it, did I see someone in the kitchen pilfering a cookie.

As is often the case, when I went to visit,  Dad only had packaged cookies from the store, made out of special Keebler Kevlar, so I usually made a batch when I popped in for a visit, and cousin L. always brought a big bag up when she visited.

On the trip the photo was taken, Dad was a little low on chips, sugar, and real butter. so for this recipe I added in some sour cream for moistness, and a hint of cardamom and orange zest to accent the reduced dark chocolate.  It made a soft, almost cake-like cookie that Dad raved about.

2 cups flour
1 and 1/2  tsp vanilla
1 tsp baking soda
pinch of sea salt
1/2 tsp cardamom
1 tsp. orange zest (the finely grated outer peel of an orange)
1/2 cup butter, gently melted so it's mostly liquid but not real hot
1 cup white sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup sour cream (not "lite")
1 cup dark chocolate chips.

Preheat oven to 375 F.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper (or grease it well, even if non stick).

In a large bowl, with a hand mixer, cream together the melted butter, sugar and vanilla until smooth. Beat in eggs and sour cream until well blended.

Sift together flour, baking soda, salt, and cardamom, stir into the butter mixture. Mix in the orange zest and dark chocolate chips.

Drop dough by heaping tablespoons 3 inches apart on cookie sheets. Bake 13 to 15 minutes, until lightly golden brown. These will be soft, lightly colored cookies so do NOT overbake. Let cool on wire rack

That trip, Dad didn't get a fancy platter, but after his late afternoon snack of cookies, he did get a small martini and both remotes so he was a happy man.

Good memories. 

Room Service Please

After 45 mph winds, 57 degrees, and a couple severe thunderstorms yesterday we settled in for the night, just Lorelei and I, as my husband was out of town on a business trip. Lorelei, usually napping in her crate after dinner, came into the den where I was on the computer, nudging me repeatedly. She already had her snack (4:00), dinner (6:00), and her non-fat Greek yogurt treat (7:00 after she goes out to potty) - what did she want? Something was wrong. I went into the living room- her crate bedding was ALL bunched up, the bottom of the crate uncovered. Waiting patiently while I crawled inside, not fun on the knees, and adjusted the bedding, a thrift store washable quilt, an ortho pad, and her pillow & favorite stuffies; her tail WAGGED as I finished. As I stood up - she wagged once, then promptly went to her OTHER dog bed and fell asleep. She was probably mad that housekeeping didn't leave a mint on her pillow.

Attention Burglars -

Dear Burglars - 

Forget the alarm system that will alert the police, We have a large fluffy dog that sheds furiously and you are wearing dark clothing.

The Residents

Dog Days of Winter

The food lady is out - must stay vigilant.

I knew if I waited. . .

Enjoy it Larelei - the 8 inches of doom and gloom forecast turned out to be about 3 inches total

Time for breakfast Dad!

Mom;s Scottish Pancakes (known as dropped scones) Syrup on Dad's and Jam on Mom's.

Lorelei Lab says - Round and Yellow is Good!

 Woke to the first real snow of the season. A good day for aebleskiver (Danish Pancakes). I don't make them often but since my husband shoveled our walkways and the elderly neighbors', I wanted to surprise him. This is the first time I've made them with sourdough and they turned out better than I had hoped for. But first, a ride in the doggie elevator out to the back yard for some playtime.

If you can find a cast iron aebleskiver pan, get one.

.

Sourdough Aebleskiver (low sodium and regular instructions provided)
In large bowl blend
1 cup milk, replacing 1 teaspoon of milk with apple cider vinegar or lemon juice and let set at room temperature 5 minutes.
1 cup active sourdough starter (mine today was made with whole wheat pastry flour from Bob's Red Mill)
2 eggs (beaten before adding)
1/4 cup sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 stick unsalted butter melted and cooled for a couple of minutes before adding.

In another bowl mix:
180 grams unbleached flour (roughly 1 ½ cups)
3/4 teaspoon reduced sodium Himalayan Pink Salt
1 Tablespoon Hain Sodium Free Baking powder (or 2 tsp regular b.p.)
3/4 teaspoon EnerG Sodium Free Baking Soda Replacement (or ½ tsp regular baking soda) Blend wet and dry ingredients just until mixed, (may be some small lumps).  Heat the Aebleskiver pan until hot (about 10-12 minutes - a drop of water on it should sizzle) and give it a quick spray with non-stick spray (I use an organic Olive Oil one) or brush with a pastry brush with melted butter. Then using a teaspoon, fill the depression to no more than 1/8 inch below the rim.  As soon as the Aebleskivers begin to bubble around the edges, use a wooden skewer, knitting needle, or sharp edge of a knife to flip them over half way, letting the batter slide around to fill in the bottom of the cup. Continue cooking, turning the Aebleskiver again to let the batter fill in the remainder of the sphere and continuing to turn until golden brown all the way around and cooked through.

NOTE: plan on totally murdering two or three before you get it right, have small bucket handy to remove the remains. 

As far as temp, my 80-year-old gas stove has two settings, not warm enough and surface of the sun hot, so I have learned to just adjust between those settings.  For those of you with a modern stove, aim for medium heat, around 325 degrees.  Place in a clean town in a bowl and keep covered to remain warm as you cook the rest.  These freeze well. 

 Serve with powdered sugar, butter, and lingonberries. Or do what my Scandinavian Mom did and put a little piece of apple in the center as it cooks.

Makes about 3 and a half dozen with the pan I have; they freeze really well if placed in a sealed container after cooling completely.

Lorelei Lab says:  Round and yellow is good!

You're a Mean One Mr. Grinch. . .

 When Dad cuts a piece of homemade brownie and doesn't give you one. . . . (make sure you have your sound turned up)

Looking Back

Our wounds, we wear like temporary garments until they are forgotten, 

but our stories, we don them as forever.

The Book of Barkley

Favorite Foodables - Lasagna Buns

The "Porkinator" - Sausage Lasagna in a bun (easily cuts in half or doubles)

Lasagna ingredients (minus pasta) in a bun. This was a HUGE hit with my husband, though people will sort of look at it initially and go. . .

What???

But after they taste it. . .

You will need:

1/3 of a jar of store-bought pasta sauce (roughly 1 and 1/4 cups of sauce))
1/2 of a roll of Jimmy Deans SPICY breakfast sausage (sage flavor would also work)
1 heaping teaspoon chopped garlic (fill that puppy up)
4-5 slices (ahem) of chopped bacon

Mmmm. Bacon. (but you can substitute veggie "meat" easily in this recipe).

Cook meat and drain fat:

Stir into sauce and add:
1/2 tsp oregano
3 dashes of Jane's Krazy Mixed Up Salt (or your favorite mixed salt, I like Jane's as it's low sodium due to the addition of lots of herbs)

Simmer just until it's bubbling.

While the sauce heats up, in a bowl mix:
1 cup grated mozzarella
1 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese
1/4 cup Parmesan

Set aside about 1/2 cup of that mixture

To remaining shredded cheese add:
1 cup of ricotta cheese
1 teaspoon of egg (white and yolk mixed up and measured out, save rest for breakfast)
1/2 teaspoon dried parsley
a pinch of cayenne
Mix well.

Get 4-6 bratwurst rolls or other larger sized sturdy sandwich rolls and scoop out the middle third (save that for meatloaf later), leaving enough at the bottom so that it holds together, like a sub-shaped bread bowl.

Place a big spoonful of meat sauce inside, top with a couple spoonful's of the cheese mixture, leaving a little open space for the sauce to bubble up through. Place in a cooking pan or tray that you've lightly sprayed with non-stick spray.

Cook in preheated 350 F. oven, covered lightly with foil for 20 minutes.

Remove foil, sprinkle with cheese you set aside and bake another 4-6 minutes until cheese on top melts.

Smiles for the Coming New Year

Hoping all of you had a wonderful Holiday season and hoping you will all have a great New Year.

In Hot Water

 Lorelei loves playing in the snow, but she loves the hot water bottle on her arthritic hip for her nap afterward.  A few dollars well spent, it makes her really comfy after playtime.

That's the Problem with Thanksgiving

There's never enough stuffing.

Nuts!

That look you get when you sneak into the kitchen to eat the leftover Halloween candy you squirreled away only to find out your spouse ate it already.

Waffle Hunt

The waffle detection device in the house has just gone off.

 Is it the steam rising - or the smell of  dried wild blueberries in the sourdough  batter.?