I'm Back...with Oodles of Recipes!

Why do I fail so hard at blogging? Not sure how some people stay motivated with it, but I go through (extended!) periods where I don't feel like documenting everything I cook & bake, ha ha. A lot has changed in my life recently---I graduated, moved to a new house (with a huge garden space!), had to leave my much-loved, long-term job (because it was through the university where I graduated), & a bunch of other personal stuff.

I feel excited about blogging again, not only because I'm back to eating a mostly vegan diet (I say "mostly" because I still eat honey, plus use wool for knitting, & don't feel comfortable identifying as a vegan) & have been cooking/baking a lot, but because I want to keep track of crafty projects I'm working on, as well as documenting the gardening process over here. It's been SO LONG since I've been able to have an actual garden, rather than little containers full of puny tomaters & such. There's so much to learn & catch up on! Luckily, the Multnomah County Library system is so effing amazing, so I've put holds on a ton of organic gardening books; in fact, I need to pick up three of them today. <3


Because I have such amazing, supportive friends & family members that have been there for me during all this upheaval, I decided to thank a handful of them by cooking a feast the other night. I feel so fortunate that people are willing to have my back & go all "mama bear" for me (Coral, I'm talking about you!), plus they live close to me. Yay! The pictures of the food are pretty terrible, but I'm putting them on here anyway, mostly because I want to share the recipes I used. I didn't take pictures of my friends, since my sister & Saurabh were stuck in traffic, & got here a little late-ish, & also because I didn't want to stick my camera in their faces while they ate. Imagine that! :)

Without further ado, here's the feast, which included Rosemary Roasted Tofu w/Chipotle Mayo Dipping Sauce, Herb-Scalloped Potatoes, Roasted Beets & Sweets, Quinoa Pilaf, Fennel-Orange Salad, Chips w/Guacamole, Salsa & Hummus (Roasted Red Pepper & Regular), then Gingersnaps for dessert:


Recipe time! I made a shitload of everything, so you might want to halve the recipes if you don't want leftovers for life....

This tofu is from Bryant Terry, the author of Vegan Soul Kitchen. It's so simple, but people loved it! The texture is simultaneously crispy, chewy, & soft. While we were waiting for Smels & Saurabh to get here, I whipped up some Chipotle Mayo, in case people were in need of a little saucy oomph. I just stirred a little lemon juice & a couple minced chipotles into a good amount of Vegenaise. Voila!


Rosemary Roasted Tofu

• 2 pounds extra-firm tofu, cubed
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 tablespoons minced fresh rosemary
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika
• 1 teaspoon salt
  

Preheat oven to 450*F. Toss all the ingredients together in a large bowl, then put them in a single layer on a parchment-lined sheet pan. Roast them for 20-25 minutes, turning them over halfway through the baking time.

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These taters are mostly from Veganomicon, but I made them a little differently, based on my fave scalloped potatoes recipe.


Herb-Scalloped Potatoes

• 4 pounds potatoes, peeled (if desired) & thinly sliced
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 6 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 tablespoons flour
• 3 tablespoons nutritional yeast
• 1 1/2 cups veggie broth
• 1-2 cups almond milk
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 1 teaspoon dried dill
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika

Preheat the oven to 400*F & oil a 9X13-inch Pyrex dish. Layer the potatoes somewhat loosely & artistically in the Pyrex (you want the sauciness to be able to permeate & seep into the potatoes as they bake, so don't cram them in too tightly).

In a large saucepan, saute the garlic in the olive oil over medium-low heat till fragrant. Add the flour & nutritional yeast, then whisk in the broth & almond milk. Add the herbs & keep whisking occasionally until thickened. Gently pour the sauce over & into the potatoes---it helps to give the Pyrex a gentle back-&-forth shake to allow the sauce to get in thurrrr.

Cover loosely with foil & bake for 40-ish minutes. Uncover & bake 15-20 more minutes. Mine didn't brown, because the oven was so jam-packed, so I broiled them for a couple minutes towards the end.

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This is one of my favorite dishes to make! It's super simple & doesn't require a lot of work, but everything just meshes together so beautifully.


Roasted Beets & Sweets

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 6 beets, peeled & cut into chunks
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 medium sweet potatoes, peeled & cut into chunks (or a mix of sweets & yams)
• 1 large sweet onion, cut into chunks
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 teaspoon sugar
  

Preheat oven to 400*F. In a bowl, toss together the beets & 1 tablespoon of olive oil, so they get coated. Place them on a heavy baking sheet in a single layer, & bake for 15 minutes.

While they're roasting, toss together (in that same old bowl) the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil, the sweet potatoes, onion, garlic powder, salt, pepper, & sugar.

After the 15 minutes have passed, get out another heavy baking sheet & plop half the par-cooked beets onto that. Divide the sweet potato mixture between the two beet-y sheets, then toss the beets & sweets together. Put both sheets back into the oven & roast for 45 more minutes, flipping them a couple times. You probably want to rotate the baking sheets as well, so you have even browning on both pans.

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This is a nice alternative to rice pilaf, & can be made with whatever fresh herbs you have kicking around. I've made some changes to the recipe, but it's based on this one.


Quinoa Pilaf

• 3 1/2 cups veggie broth
• 2 cups quinoa
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
  
• 1/2 cup minced celery
• 1/2 cup minced carrot
• 1 cup minced onion
• 6 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
  
• 2 teaspoons fresh thyme
• salt & pepper to taste

Bring the broth to a boil in a large saucepan. Add the quinoa, cover, & simmer on low for 15 minutes. Remove from the heat, but set it aside to finish absorbing all the broth. In a big old cast iron pan, saute the garlic, celery, carrot, & onion in the olive oil over medium heat. When the veggies are softened & a little browned, stir in the cooked quinoa & fresh herbs, fluffing it all together. Season to taste.

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I found this recipe when I was cooking dinner for a veggie-loving, gluten-free friend. It's so light, refreshing, & simple!


Fennel-Orange Salad

• 2 large fennel bulbs, thinly sliced (you can mince some of the fronds & toss them in too)
  
• 4 medium oranges, peeled & segmented (or an equivalent amount of Satsumas, which I prefer!)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• salt & pepper to taste
• 1/4 cup dried cranberries

Gently toss everything together & serve!

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The hummus was just a basic recipe, with extra cumin added. To half of it, I blended in some roasted red peppers as well---pretty & tasty! The guacamole consisted of a couple avocados, mashed w/some salsa, cumin, salt, lemon juice, & Franks Red Hot Sauce.

The chewy Ginger Cookies were especially for Ryan, who's not the biggest sweets-eater, but I guess he loves these particular cookies that I make every year for Christmas. Here's the recipe, if you wanna give 'em a go. I made this latest batch with butter, so I wouldn't be tempted to eat them all, yikes!

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Last, but not least, I wanted to share some balls with you! I made a trio of balls to send to my friend Laurel, who is studying in Laramie, Wyoming. They were part of a late birthday care package. If you don't eat honey, I'm sure that you could substitute agave nectar, maple syrup &/or brown rice syrup.

The balls in the back right of the photo were date-based, & included the super-food chia. I mainly followed this recipe, but I substituted chia for the flax, & rolled them in coconut. Next time, I'd probably double the spices because they're very subtle. Orange zest would also be good!

Spiced Chia Date Balls

• 1 cup whole almonds
• 1/2 cup ground chia seeds
• 1/2 cup pitted dates
• 1/2 cup raisins
• 1/4 cup dried apricots
• 1/4 cup unsweetened coconut
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1-2 tablespoons water (if necessary)
• extra unsweetened coconut for rolling

Pulse together the almonds, chia, dates, raisins, apricots, coconut, cinnamon, nutmeg & ginger in a food processor, adding a little water if necessary. You want the "dough" to be sticky enough to hold together, but not wet. Once it comes together, form it into 1-inch balls & then roll them in the extra coconut.

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The balls on the front right were cashew-y, & inspired by this recipe.


Cashew Butter Energy Balls

• 1 cup cashew butter
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 1/2 cup quick oats (or pulse some regular oats in your food processor)
• 1/2 cup chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup raisins
  
• pinch salt

Mix everything together, then roll into 1-inch balls. Mine didn't turn out sticky enough to necessitate coconut, but the original recipe calls for it. Maybe play it by ear...

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The last balls (on the left) were peanut butter chocolate balls, based on these ones.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Energy Balls

• 3/4 cup peanut butter
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1/4 cup quick oats (or pulse some regular oats in your food processor)
• 1/4 cup chocolate chips
• 1/4 cup dark cocoa powder
  
• pinch salt
• unsweetened coconut for rolling

Mix everything but the coconut together. Form into 1-inch balls, then roll in the coconut.

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BALLZ!

Strawberry Mania!

I haven't felt very bloggy, as I have been up to my ears in strawberries, ha ha! My sister & our friend, Cristy, went to Sauvie Island Farms last weekend & picked soooooo many berries. I got 24 pounds of them. :/ Somebody stop me! Here's what I did with most of them, besides eating them plain...


First off, lots of Strawberry-Honey Jam. I used Pomona's Universal Pectin, which is awesome because you don't need to use much, if any sweetener, depending on the fruit; in fact, it gels with calcium, rather than sugar. I've been avoiding white sugar, for the most part, & used 1/2 cup honey to sweeten each batch (per 4 cups mashed strawberries). The resulting jam is just right & won't give the recipients diabeetus.

There are 29 jars of this stuff---some pints, some half-pints, & some teensy-tiny ones. I can't wait to mix it into yogurt & slather it on toast throughout the year!


I also made some pseudo-ice cream. Since I don't have an ice cream maker, I just whipped some heavy cream, then folded in some strawberry puree before freezing. It's a little crystallized, but I wasn't feeling fancy enough to care. :)


If you're in a similarly non-fancy mood, here's how I made it:

Rustic Strawberry-Honey Ice Cream & Sauce

• 1/2 pint heavy cream
• 2 cups strawberry puree
• 3/4 cup honey (more or less, to taste)
• 1/4-1/2 teaspoon arrowroot starch
  

Whip the cream until stiff peaks form, being careful not to over-whip, or you'll have butter (which isn't that shabby, actually). Fold about half of the strawberry-honey mixture into the cream. It will be somewhat runny, just so you know. Freeze until firm, about 6 hours or so.

Meanwhile, make the sauce by whisking the arrowroot into the remaining syrup. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. Simmer for about a minute, then pour into a jar to cool.

Drizzle the ruby syrup over your ice cream & eat it while basking in the sun!

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I also whipped up a couple treats for a dinner at Coral's house. Of course I forgot to take pictures of them until after I wrapped them up. By the time I realized it, I was running late & just wanted to head over, so sorry!


Luckily, I had set aside a cookie for Ethan, so I have a better shot of that. I made cookie sandwiches, filled with a little homemade peach jam. Mmmmmmm...


Brown Butter Shortbread adapted from My Madison Bistro

• 3/4 cup butter
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 1/3 cups white whole wheat flour

Preheat the oven to 325*F. Brown the butter by melting it over medium heat, stirring it frequently until brown & fragrant, about 4-8 minutes. Chill it in the freezer until solid again.

Cream the butter, brown sugar & vanilla. Add the flour & mix until combined. Roll out to 1/4-inch thickness. Pop into the freezer for a bit until it's firmed up.

Cut into desired shapes & place on a cookie sheet. Bake until golden on the edges, 15-20 minutes, depending on how large you made them.

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Black-Bottom Coconut Bars adapted from Martha Stewart

Base:

• 1/2 cup butter, melted
  
• 1/2 cup organic sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1/4 cup cocoa powder
• 1/4 cup white whole wheat flour
  

Topping

• 2 large eggs
• 3/4 cup organic sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup white whole wheat flour
• 3 cups unsweetened coconut (reserve 1/2 cup for garnish)
  

Preheat the oven to 375*F & butter a 9X9-inch pan; set aside.

Whisk together the butter, sugar & egg. In a small bowl, stir together the flour & cocoa, then stir into the wet ingredients. Spread into the prepared pan & bake for 10-15 minutes, just until it begins to pull away from the sides of the pan.

While that's baking, prepare the coconut topping. Whisk together the eggs, sugar & vanilla. Stir in the flour, then fold in 2 1/2 cup of coconut. Spread carefully over the baked base. It's pretty thick, so I just dolloped it on top, then carefully pressed it out. Sprinkle the top with the remaining 1/2 cup coconut. Bake for 25-30 minutes. Let cool before cutting into squares.

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On the crafty front, I've been in a crocheting mood, working on my granny square blanket & making a garland for my mom.

Here are all the little hearts, before weaving in the ends:


I made the small hearts from here, then made the garland according to here, except I only chained 4 on top of the hearts, rather than 6, since they were smaller. And here's the finished product:


Cute little hearts!

Southern Night & Several Recipes!

The other night, my sister & her friend, Megan, invited me to their cute new house for a Southern feast! My sister made delectably tender cornbread. Megan made baked beans (which, tragically, wouldn't soften up till way after dinner) & perfect peach cobbler. I went overboard, of course, & brought BBQ ribz, coleslaw, roasted asparagus, & iced tea!

Only shot I took of the initial feast:


Smels gave me her recipe for cornbread. It is so good! She doesn't know where the recipe came from, besides her greasy Post-it note. :)

Smels' Cornbread of Delight

• 1 cup flour
• 1 cup cornmeal
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 3 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 Ener-G egg replacer (or a large egg)
• 1 cup milk
• 1/3 cup melted butter or margarine

Preheat the oven to 400*F. Butter an 8X8- or 9X9-inch pan & set aside. In a medium bowl, mix together the dry ingredients. Add the remaining ingredients & mix until just combined. Pour into prepared pan & smooth out the batter. Bake for 20-25 minutes. Eat with butter & honey!

Once I got home, Ethan requested some more ribz, so I made another batch of them, plus more coleslaw!


WARNING: what follows is basically an excuse for eating a bunch of BBQ sauce...

BBQ Ribz adapted from VegFamily

• 2 tablespoons butter or margarine
• 3 tablespoons natural peanut butter
• 1/2 cup vital wheat gluten
• 7 tablespoons nutritional yeast
• 9 tablespoons whole wheat flour
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 2/3 cup cold water
• 1 bottle BBQ sauce

Preheat oven to 350*F. Oil a large cookie sheet & set aside. In a small saucepan, melt the butter & peanut butter; once you've stirred them together, remove from the heat.

In a medium bowl, combine the gluten, nutritional yeast, flour, paprika, salt, pepper, onion powder & garlic powder. Stir in the water. If the dough is super dry, you can add a teensy bit more water. Use your hands to form the dough into a 1/2-inch thick, vaguely rectangular, shape.

On a large cutting board, pour half the peanut butter mixture. Plop the rectangle of dough on this, then pour the remaining peanut butter mixture. Use your fingertips to poke the dough over & over, getting the peanut butter goodness into the whole thing. The rectangle will get bigger, but you shouldn't be poking holes into it, just go halfway through the dough.

Using a big knife, cut the nutty dough into strips that are about 1/2-inch wide. Carefully transfer them to the oiled cookie sheet. It's okay if some break or stretch out---those are the little taste-testers for the chef!

Bake the ribz for 10 minutes. Remove from the oven, turn them over, & spoon about half the BBQ sauce over them.

Bake for 5-7 minutes. Turn them again, & spoon the remaining sauce over them. Bake for another 5-7 minutes. Let cool for a while, so you don't burn yourself. They're actually much tastier if you let them sit for a couple hours, or even overnight!


This coleslaw recipe is from my late Granny, who no doubt clipped this from The Oregonian. It's a copycat of the Kentucky Fried Chicken recipe, so there are copious amounts of sugar in it, of course. Feel free to cut back as much as you want, but realize you won't be eating all of the sugar, unless you drink the sauce from the bottom of the bowl. :)

Best Coleslaw Evarrr

• 1/2 head purple cabbage, shredded
• 1/2 head green cabbage, shredded
• 2 carrots, peeled & shredded
• 2 tablespoons minced onion
• 1/2 cup Vegenaise
• 1/2 cup sour cream (or vegan equivalent)
• 1/2 cup sugar (I know, I know!)
• 3 tablespoons vinegar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

Combine all the ingredients in the hugest bowl you can find. Refrigerate for at least an hour, stirring a couple more times. The veggies will let go of some moisture, & will wilt down into the saucy goodness.

I discovered that a delicious wrap could be made by laying down some greens, coleslaw & 3 ribz on a scrumptious wheaty tortilla. Perfect with hot sauce too!



The Saturday Farmer's Market had some scrumptious sugar snap peas, which are a perfect snack!


Oh, I also made the famous New York Times Chocolate Chip Cookies for my Feminist Biblical Interpretations class party! I'll admit that I don't follow the recipe to its utmost pretentiousness level, & they're still edible, ha ha.

Big ol' cookies, cooling in the windowsill...


Chocolate Chip Cookies w/Toffee & Pecans adapted from Jacques Torres

• 1 1/4 cups butter (I use salted, sue me!)
• 1 1/4 cups brown sugar
• 1 cup, plus 2 tablespoons white sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 2 large eggs
• 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
• 3/4-1 teaspoon kosher salt (use less, if using sea salt, or table salt)
• 12 ounces bittersweet chocolate chips
  
• 4 ounces toffee chunks
• 4 ounces chopped toasted pecans

Cream the butter, sugars & vanilla till light & fluffy. Add the eggs & beat for about a minute, scraping down the sides of the bowl a couple times.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda & salt. Either add the flour, half at a time, to the mixer, or just pour the creamed ingredients into the flour bowl & do it by hand. I prefer the latter, since I can make sure everything is combined evenly, with less of a risk of over-mixing.

Dump in the add-ins: chocolate, toffee & pecans. Work them in, stopping as soon as they're evenly distributed throughout the dough.

Cover the dough & let it rest for up to 36 hours in the fridge. I have made these immediately, & they're amazing. I think I let the last batch rest for about 12 hours...

When you're ready to bake them up, preheat the oven to 350*F. Portion out 1/4-cup balls of dough, placing about 6 of them to a cookie sheet. Bake for about 15 minutes. Makes about 2 dozen big-ass cookies.

***The original recipe calls for portioning the dough into 1/3-cup blobs, then baking for 18-20 minutes. They make 5-inch cookies though, so look out!

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On a sad note, Ethan's Mom's oldest brother passed away yesterday, so I made Cathy some lavender & orange bath salts. All you do is mix 1/4 teaspoon of essential oil with each cup of Epsom Salts. I usually don't tint mine when I make only one type, but I added a bit of food coloring this time, to delineate between the two scents. Put them into canning jars, or any other glass bottles you have floating around. Milk bottles look really cool too!


Lavender:


Orange:

Gardening & Baking Cookies

Ethan is going to visit his parents this weekend, while I suffer with gobs of homework, so I made some cookies for Cathy & David. These are vegan chocolate chip cookies, which are just a veganized version of the Toll House recipe. So good! I make these all the time at work.


Vegan Toll House Cookies

• 2 1/4 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup margarine, softened
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• egg replacer for 2 eggs (I use Ener-G)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 cups chocolate chips
• 1 cup nuts, optional
  

Preheat oven to 375*F. In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, & salt; set aside. In a stand mixer, cream together the margarine, sugars, egg replacers, & vanilla; beat till light & fluffy, scraping down the side of the bowl a couple times. Add the flour mixture to the mixing bowl; mix until combined. Stir in the chocolate chips & nuts. Place 2-tablespoons-sized balls of dough on a cookie sheet, spacing them a couple inches apart. Bake for 8-10 minutes, letting them cool on the sheets before removing.

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I had to get a few pictures of the garden. It's so sunny today & everything is growing like mad!

Here's some of the mint, hanging with its gnome guardian:


Begonia & Salvia flowers:


Violets:


Enjoy the day, wherever you are!

Globalization Project...

For my Globalization class, we were assigned small groups & were asked to visually depict the Development Project. Our group (Matt, Travis & moi) made a stop-motion animation of the Green Revolution. We tried to contrast two farmers, one of whom accepts HYV seeds, while the other remains traditional. The short, thick, HYV wheat demands more water and chemical fertilizers, while the natural variety is more resistant to pests, weeds & flooding.

We had to take over 500 pictures, & I guess I didn't let the camera auto-focus each time, so there are some blurry parts. It's pretty cool for first-timers though! Our class enjoyed it. :)

This is what we came up with...



This weekend, I don't have any major projects looming over me, so I hope to have a crafty night with the ladies! I've gotten my dress pattern, so I just need to pick which fabric I'll use & get going. Fun!

Oh, I found these cute Spring cookie cutters @ Goodwill the other day. I love the mushroom one sooooooo much!


We also found a mug rack...finally! Ethan gets annoyed with all my mugs. Whatever, dewd.

Whoa, it's Been a Month!

Like everyone else, I was super busy over the holidays, so blogging wasn't high on my list of priorities. I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to spend time with friends & family before getting sucked back into the Winter term of school.

Sean came out for a few days, so we headed to Mt. Tabor, our usual funtimes place!


Here's Smels & Mom's new-ishly adopted cat, Motley, who is finally getting brave enough to come downstairs from his lair.


Here's our cute Momma, who is known to shield her face with an alien vag when she sees a camera. Just kidding, she was actually repairing this alien figurine that she got for my stepbrother.


I wanted to share some of the recipes I made for gift-giving, since they were pretty delish!

Here are most of the plates I made for peeps. Instead of buying new ones, I got them at Goodwill. Much better to re-use ones that are already floating around the world, I say! There were Strawberry Jelly Dot Cookies, Chewy Gingerbread Trees, Chokeballs (Mexican Wedding Cookies), English Toffee & Honey Caramels. SO. MUCH. SUGAR.


Here's what the finished product looked like. I used these cute, printable labels & a little ribbon for flair.


Rows upon rows of honey caramels! I couldn't believe how long it took to wrap them all, but luckily I was watching Law & Order: Criminal Intent, w/my main man, Vincent D'Onofrio.


I found the recipe here. The only things I did differently were to substitute honey for the corn syrup &, since I didn't have fleur de sel, I used kosher salt instead; despite panicked warnings on the internetz against using honey for candy-making, it worked perfectly, so yeah.

Honey Caramels

• 1 cup heavy cream
• 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into pieces
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1/4 cup water

Butter a square baking pan & line the bottom w/parchment, buttering that as well; set aside. In a small saucepan, bring the cream, butter & salt to a bowl; set aside.

In a heavy-bottomed, medium saucepan, boil the sugar, honey & water, stirring until sugar is dissolved (try not to splash the sugar up on the sides of the pan!). Boil, without stirring until mixture is a light golden color, gently swirling the pan occasionally.

Pour the cream into the caramel, being careful not to get splashed by the sputtering brew. Stick your candy thermometer on the side of the pan (don't let it touch the bottom though!) & simmer, stirring frequently, until mixture reaches 248*F.

Pour caramel delight into your prepared pan & let sit at room temp. until completely cooled. Once cool, cut into 64 pieces & wrap in 4-inch squares of wax paper. Be careful when you twist the sides, or you'll tear the paper. It gets easier as you go, especially if you watch Criminal Intent!

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Another recipe that I make EVERY year is my Gran's Jelly Dot Cookies. The original recipe was from a Nucoa margarine package, hee hee.

Jelly Dot Cookies

• 1 cup butter, melted
• 1 1/2 cups brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 3 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 cups finely chopped walnuts, for rolling
• 1 cup jelly or jam of your choice (strawberry & raspberry are faves here)
  

Preheat oven to 350*F. Beat butter, sugar, eggs, & vanilla until smooth & slightly thick. Combine dry ingredients in a separate bowl, then add them to the first mixture, stirring until thoroughly mixed. If dough is too soft, chill it until it is workable. Form the dough into 1-inch balls, then roll them in the chopped nuts. Place them on a cookie sheet, about 1 1/2 inches apart. Bake for 10 minutes. Remove from oven & use your thumb (you may have to wait if you don’t have “asbestos fingers”) to make a dent in the center of each cookie. Then fill the dent with jam or jelly. Place back into the oven for 3-5 minutes, or until lightly browned, then devour these addictive beasts!

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Chokeballs

• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1/2 cup powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 1/4 cups flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup finely chopped nuts (walnuts or pecans are tasty)
• powdered sugar for rolling
  

Preheat oven to 350*F. Cream the butter, powdered sugar & vanilla until light. Add the flour & salt & stir until combined, then stir in the nuts. Roll mixture into 1-inch balls. Place on a cookie sheet (don't worry, they won't spread much at all) & bake for 15-20 minutes. Remove from oven & roll in the powdered sugar. Let cool, then re-roll them. Sometimes I give them a third roll, if I'm feeling saucy.

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These next cookies were a first for me, but they were very good! I got several compliments on them, so I plan on making them again next year. The only thing I would change would be to add more salt to them. I made the dough a little differently too...

Chewy Gingerbread Cookies

• 12 tablespoons butter
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 3/4 cup molasses
• 2 tablespoons milk
  
• 3 cups flour
• 1 tablespoon cinnamon
• 1 tablespoon ground ginger
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
  
• 1/2 teaspoon cloves
• 1/2 teaspoon salt (1 would double this next time)

Cream the butter, brown sugar & molasses until creamy. Add the milk & try to blend until it emulsifies as much as possible. In a medium bowl, combine the remaining ingredients & whisk them or sift them until they're blended. Slowly add them to the creamed mixture, stirring just until combined. Dough will be pretty sticky. If it's too sticky, chill it before rolling. If it's workable, roll it out, with a teensy bit of flour, until it's 1/2-inch thick. Wrap & chill for a couple hours or overnight.

Preheat oven to 350*F. Use cookie cutters to cut desired shapes & quickly put them on a cookie sheet (an inch & a half apart); bake for 8-12 minutes, rotating sheets halfway through. They are done when a gentle finger pressed into the center barely retains a fingerprint. One sheet of mine was a bit underbaked, so I put them back in for a couple minutes, which worked just fine. If you cook them too long, they won't be chewy, but they'll still taste good!

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English Toffee

• 1 cup butter
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons water
• 6-8 ounces dark or milk chocolate for spreading (amounts depend on taste)
  
• about 2 cups finely chopped nuts for sprinkling

Line a sheet pan with parchment & set aside. In a heavy-bottomed saucepan, melt the butter; add sugars & water. Stir, over medium heat, until it reaches a boil. Turn heat to somewhere between medium-low & medium. Don't stir very often, or you could summon the dreaded ~crystals~.

Stick your trusty candy thermometer on the side of the pan, careful to not let it touch the bottom. When the mixture reaches 300*F, it's ready. Pour it onto the parchment, WITHOUT SCRAPING THE PAN. There will be some candy left in there, but if you scrape the sides, you risk incorporating some sugar crystals into your toffee, which could cause the whole thing to crystallize. I know, it's a high stress situation, this toffee-making, but it's worth it. You can sort of lift & tilt the cookie sheet & allow the mixture to spread a bit, if you want it thinner.

Once it cools, melt some chocolate & spread it on the toffee. Sprinkle some chopped nuts on top of the chocolate, pressing them into it. Let the chocolate harden, then turn it over & repeat the process on the other side. When that side is hardened, break it into pieces & try not to eat it all!

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I didn't even have time to take pictures of all the projects I made, since I was down to the wire, but here are some cute, felted nesting bowls I made for Rod & Anna. I love the colors & want to make some for our house too!



Yesterday, Smels came over, so I could show her the Wii---yeah, I've wanted one since they came out, & I couldn't resist any longer! :) I made her some Jammers, which are her favorite treat from Grand Central. She said they were perfect, yay! I didn't cut the jammers into circles, because I didn't want to deal with scraps. It just seemed simpler to form the dough into a rectangle, then cut it into 12 squares.

Before baking:


Grand Central Bakery Jammers

• 4 cups flour
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 cup cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
• 1 1/4-1 1/2 cups cold buttermilk (I squeezed the juice of one lemon into a measuring cup, then topped it off with 2% milk)
  
• about 3/4 cup jam (I used peach-lavender & strawberry)

Preheat the oven to 350*F. Line a baking sheet w/parchment & set aside.

In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt & baking soda. Add the butter pieces & work it into the dry ingredients until teh mixture is mealy, with some quarter-sized pieces of butter remaining. Try not to let it get warm from your fingers; work quickly & pop it into the fridge if you think it's getting warm.

Pour 1 1/4 cups buttermilk onto the flour/butter mixture & work it in with your fingers. It's should be pretty dry, but hold together (sort of like a drier pie dough). If necessary, add more buttermilk, a tablespoon at a time.

Dump dough onto your counter. Pat it into a rectangle that's about 2 inches thick. Cut into 12 squares with a sharp knife. Carefully transfer the squares to your baking sheet (they're flaky & delicate at this point), spacing them about 1 1/2 inches apart.

Use your thumb to make an indentation into the jammers, & fill them with about 1 tablespoon of jam. Bake for 35-40 minutes, rotating the baking sheet halfway through. They're done when they reach a deep golden color.

Getting Back Into the Swing of Things

It's sort of difficult for me to transition from the quiet, nature-filled camping scene, back into the obnoxious (at least where we live, ha ha!) city environment. One cool thing was going to the Farmer's Market though. I got a rainbow bouquet of flowers, a bunch of fresh lavender, & an armful of phallic veggies: regular & yellow zucchini, plus a few cucumbers.

Pretty flowers:


I decided to make roasted zucchini, since roasting is super easy & always brings about great results. Here they are on an olive oiled sheet, after slicing into 3/4" rounds.


And here they are after being tossed with a mixture of olive oil, the juice of a lemon, a teensy bit of sugar (like 1/4 tsp.), & salt & pepper. Roast away in the hottest oven temp. possible, turning halfway through, for about 16-20 minutes. Try to hold out for the browning.


Can you see all those glorious browned bits? I wish I would have let them go longer, but I was too hungry, plus my pasta was ready to eat. The ones on the edge were the best.


At work, I made some cinnamon-raisin & cranberry-orange scones, along with a batch of orange-nutmeg cookies...


The recipe is from The Grand Central Baking Book, but I vegan-ized it for work.


I also found comfort in Mario. Ethan & I had a video game night & it was a blast. My old NES is still kickin'!


I feel better now...I'm outta here!