People, I love holiday cookies, is that so wrong? The neighbors came over on Monday when we all had the day off school, and it was the Best Cooky Swap Ever.

Grinch Cookies (add a red M&M to signify “his heart grew three sizes that day”)

Sugar Cookies

Snickerdoodles

Soft Gingersnaps

Gub-Gub Brownies

Bisquick Chocolate Chip Cookies

i will have more, but that’s all for now…

xoxox sweet sweet sweetness,

Wacky Momminess

Two thousand and eighty-five posts, that’s insane. Who writes that much? I mean, granted, I’ve been at this since… (stopping to look up dates) Valentine’s Day, 2005, which is, uh, I can’t add that high, it’s late at night.

EIGHT YEARS this coming October. I mean February. And sure, that’s a lot of (hours, days, months) years, but don’t you think 2,085 posts is a little over-the-top? Discuss amongst yourselves. Here’s another of Steve’s lovely pictures. Man, he has a good eye. Thank God. I barely know how to use the camera on my phone. My little techie students were jumping around in front of their computers. “We’re taking pictures of ourselves!” Sure you are, kids, please sit down. Turns out they really were — webcams installed on the fronts of all the computers. Yes, I’m a trained professional.

(Photo by Steve Rawley)

Recipes…

Here are the menus for the weekend, and here are two fast recipes for you. No, don’t serve them together, obviously.

Onion Gravy, from Babs (for Shepherd’s Pie, smashed potatoes, or any other dishes)

1 medium onion
2 1/2 cups broth
4 tablespoons white flour
1/2 stick butter

Carmelize onions in about 1/4 of the butter. Add flour and rest of butter, stir in, make a roux.

Whisk in broth a little at a time. Bring to boil, then simmer until thick. Done! Bon appetit!

Haystacks (No-bake cookies, from Shawnee TX at Food.com)

Ingredients

2 cups sugar
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup butter or 1/2 cup margarine
1/2 cup cocoa
1 dash salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
3 cups rolled oats
1 cup flaked coconut

Directions

In a medium saucepan, combine sugar, milk, butter, cocoa (I tend to go a little heavy on the cocoa) and salt.
Heat to boiling, stirring frequently.
When it has reached a rolling boil, cook for 5 minutes, stirring constantly.
Remove pan from heat and mix in vanilla, oats and coconut.
Drop by spoonfuls onto wax paper.
Work quickly!
Let cool.
Alternate/optional additions, add any one with coconut: 1/2-3/4 cup mini marshmallows or 1/2 cup walnuts.

You know what line I love, there? Work quickly! I need the encouragement, thanks, hon. Really good recipe, but of course I can never leave well enough alone and had to sub half milk chocolate chips and half white chocolate chips for the cocoa. (I stirred them in after I took it off the heat.) Also left out the coconut because 1) we didn’t have any and 2) I thought the guys in my family didn’t like coconut. Turns out they do! So we’ll go that route next time…

Happy weekend! Hope you’re having fun, whatever you’re doing.

xo

wm

(Photo by Steve Rawley)

My daughter and I go to church; my husband and son go to nature church. Whatever works for you. Getting excited for Thanksgiving, and Steve’s birthday is this week, too. No turkey for us; the kids requested macaroni and cheese. No, not mine. The kind from a box. It’s a holiday, they can have whatever they want. Steve and I will make Shepherd’s Pie (with root vegetables and vegetarian gravy, with spuds on top), stuffing, squash and Pumpkin Mousse with ice cream. For his birthday, his request is always Vegetarian Meatloaf and Polenta. I’ll make a Pear Crisp with ice cream for dessert.

Giving thanks… for food. Shelter. Family. Love. And our three cuddly cats.

Wednesday, November 14, 2012
Saturday, November 17, 2012

Tell us about the best meal you ever cooked.

Probably this one.

from my girl Liz:

My Thai Coconut Soup (Tom Ka Gha) turned out amazing! (Thanks Election Stress!) Started with this recipe.

But this is how I make it: Start w/ veg stock (homemade or 2 cans veg or chicken broth in water). Begin heating in a large stock pot on stove less than half full of liquid. Add 1 onion/chopped, 8-10 cloves garlic/chopped, 4-6″ ginger in thin slices and 2 stalks lemongrass (pounded w/ knife handle and sliced into 2 in” pcs). Cook a little on med heat. Add 1-3 jalipenos/sliced, 3 bell peppers cut into chunks, 4 zucchini in 1/2″ slices. Let that cook a little. Add 2 chicken breasts (or tofu) cut into 1+” chunks. Add 1-2 pkgs button mushrooms. Add 1-2 tbsp green curry paste and turmeric sprinkled in. Cook until chicken is done. Add 2 cans coconut milk, 1-2 bunches cilantro/chopped & 1-2 bunches thai basil or reg basil/chopped. Then add squeezed lime juice (1-2 limes). Add salt to taste. Serve right out of the pot or over brown jasmine rice. Yum!

Thank you, Liz! Miss you!

(Photo by Steve Rawley)

(Anything in ital is notes from me. And yes, it was all Trisha Yearwood, all the time, this weekend. I came across an old issue of Redbook mag, and every recipe in it sounded good. wm)

Stuffed Peppers (from Trisha Yearwood’s uncle)

6 large red or green bell peppers (I used half red, half yellow)

2½ cups long-grain white rice (or rice of your choice) (I used brown rice that I cooked with vegetable broth and some butter)

2 lbs lean ground beef (left this out, of course. sometimes I sub crumbled up garden burgers or meatballs, though.)

½ medium-size sweet onion, diced

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

1 14.5-oz can diced tomatoes, with their juices

1 10-oz can Rotel diced tomatoes and green chiles

16 oz sharp cheddar cheese, grated (about 4 cups) (I subbed Parmesan cuz I was too lazy to grate cheese, and for some reason we have several containers of open Parm in the fridge)

½ tsp pepper

1 tsp salt

1. Preheat the oven to 400°F.

2. Cut the bell peppers in half, top to bottom. Remove the seeds and the ribs. Set aside. In a medium saucepan, cook the rice according to package directions. In a medium skillet, brown the ground beef, onion, and garlic. Drain the meat. In a medium saucepan, bring the tomatoes to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from the heat. In a large bowl, combine the ground beef, rice, tomatoes, pepper, and salt and mix until blended.

3. In a 9×13×2-inch pan, place the bell peppers skin side down. Evenly divide the beef mixture among the pepper halves. Cover the pan with aluminum foil and bake for 40 minutes. Remove the foil and sprinkle the cheese on the top. Return the pan to the oven, uncovered, for about 5 minutes, until the cheese melts.

Note from Gwen: Before using, wilt the pepper halves in boiling water for about 5 minutes. This will reduce the cooking time from 40 minutes to 15. Serves 6.

Crunchy Slaw (from Trisha Yearwood’s sister)

1 head green cabbage, finely chopped

8 green onions, finely chopped

½ cup sliced almonds

½ cup sesame seeds

¼ cup (½ stick) butter

2 3-oz packages ramen noodles, flavor packets discarded

Dressing

2 Tbsp sugar

½ cup vegetable oil

3 Tbsp red wine vinegar

1 tsp salt

½ tsp pepper

1. Mix the cabbage and green onions in a large bowl. In a small saucepan over medium heat, brown the almonds and sesame seeds in the butter.

2. Combine the dressing ingredients in a small bowl and stir well. Just before serving, add the sesame seeds, almonds, and crushed raw ramen noodles to the cabbage and green onions. Pour the dressing, a little at a time, over the salad mix, then toss. Serves 10 to 12.

(For this one, I couldn’t find the almond bark, so I had to sub white chocolate buttons. It turned out great. In fact, it turned out so well, we had enough to share with the neighbors, and the rest we gobbled up. Steve calls this a “will u plz never make this again” recipe.)

Crockpot Candy (from Trisha Yearwood’s auntie)

2 lbs (36 oz) salted dry-roasted peanuts

4 oz (4 squares) German’s sweet chocolate

1 12-oz package semisweet chocolate chips (about 2 cups)

2½ lbs white almond bark

1. Put the peanuts in the bottom of a 4-quart slow-cooker. Layer the chocolate over the peanuts, beginning with the sweet chocolate, followed by the chocolate chips, and then the almond bark. Set the temperature on low and cook for 3 hours. Do not stir the mixture.

2. After 3 hours, stir the mixture with a wooden spoon until smooth. Drop the candy into cupcake pan liners, using about 2 tablespoons per liner. Allow the candy to cool completely before removing the cupcake liners. Makes 30 to 40 pieces.

(Photo by Steve Rawley)

(Recipes!)

Man, what a good weekend. We saw Bag & Baggage’s production of “Of Mice and Men” in Hillsboro on Saturday. Went canoing on the Tualatin River Saturday and Sunday afternoons. Heard Greg Brown and Bo Ramsey play at the Aladdin Theater in Portland on Friday. Every time I go hear some live music I ask myself, Why do we never go hear live music anymore? Then I balance the checkbook and it’s zeroed out again and I think, Oh yeah. That.

We caught a Bag & Baggage show last season… Dangerous Liaisons… so good. And I’m not just saying that cuz our friend was in it. We can’t afford season tickets to the Blazers (or the Winter Hawks), the opera (or the symphony), but occasionally we can pull off buying a ticket or four. Usually it’s one or two. But the season tickets were really reasonable for Bag & Baggage, so we went for it. Saw this crazy version of Titus Andronicus that they did this summer… Kabuki Titus. One of the most inspired and craziest shows I’ve ever seen.

It kind of freaked me out.

That’s not a bad thing.

The upcoming season is going to be good, so I’m looking forward to it. There’s a new exhibit up of Greek and Roman art, at the Portland Art Museum. It’s on loan from the British museum and is supposed to be quite good. The kids get in for free, so I’m psyched to go to that one, too. I love taking them to stuff that I never really took part in as a kid (other than the occasional school field trip).

What’s new in your world, artwise or otherwise?

Have a great week!

xo

wm

(Photo by Steve Rawley)

One of the beauties from our garden.

Spaghetti Pie

Ingredients:
leftover cooked spaghetti
butter
flour
milk
cheese
marinara (recipe)
more cheese
parmesan

The recipes I found online all call for eggs, meat and cottage cheese, and we didn’t have any of that in the house. Also we don’t eat meat, fish or chicken, so we never have that in the house, anyway. The recipes sound good, like some kind of spaghetti lasagna?, but weren’t really what I had in mind.

I took a deep casserole dish and put the noodles in it. First, I turned the oven on 350, cuz it takes forever to preheat. Next, I made a white sauce with butter, flour and milk, and added grated mozzarella. I stirred that into the noodles, then ladled on a layer of the marinara Steve made over the weekend. (So many fantastic tomatoes this year. The plants are loaded and everything is ripening nicely.) Next, I sprinkled more grated cheese and some parmesan on top. Baked it for a long time (45 minutes, I think) until the cheese was oozy and bubbly on top.

We let it set for 15 minutes and then ate it up. Bon appetit, babies!

And… here’s Steve’s recipe for Pico de Gallo. I (heart) tomato season.

Grilled zucchini:
* zucchini sliced lengthwise
* salt
* black pepper
* paprika
* garlic powder
* Parmesan or Asiago cheese, or both combined; string cheese also works

Chimichurri:
* Olive oil
* Balsamic vinegar
* Crushed fresh garlic
* Salt
* Black pepper
* Cilantro

Grill the seasoned zucchini slices without the cheese.
Brush chimichurri on them
Flip ‘em over and continue until they are darkened (to taste)
Add cheese on top and grill until melted

Bon appetit, babies!

Broiled Fruit Shakes

Stay with me here. I know it sounds weird, but this is a chilled drink I tried a couple of weeks ago at that crazy New Seasons Market, and it is quite good. It tastes like a Fruit Crisp milkshake.

3 tablespoons brown sugar
3 tablespoons orange juice
1 1/2 teaspoons honey
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ginger
2 cups coarse-chopped fruit (nectarines, plums, apples or whatever you would like)
2 cups ice cream or frozen yogurt (your choice of flavor)

Preheat broiler to high. Combine first five ingredients in a bowl and whisk. Add fruit; toss to coat. Spread the fruit in a single layer on a jelly roll pan lined with foil. Broil 5 minutes or until bubbly. Allow fruit mixture to cool. In a blender, mix 2 cups of ice cream or yogurt with a few scoops of the fruit mixture. Blend until smooth and enjoy.

Lottie’s Peanut Butter Pie
(This one is in Grandma’s handwriting, on a “Here’s What’s Cookin’” card that’s decorated with pictures of lemons. I’m writing it exactly as I found it. Lottie and her husband Darrell were dear friends to my grandparents for years – they met when they were young married couples, before their children were born.)

1 – 8 oz. cream cheese
1 cup crunchy p. butter
½ cup sugar
1 – 12 oz. Cool Whip

Blend in blender.

Pour into crust.

Choc. cookie crust,
Plain crust,
Graham cracker crust

Bon appetit, babies!

OK, back to writing now. Did I already mention that I was done with my Late, Dear Granny’s cookbook and memoir, and then I came across three more of her cookbooks?

Yes, I did.

Found the cookbooks, that is. As for already telling you this, who can remember?

My point is: They all had her handwritten recipes inside, and well. What is a girl to do? Of course I have to type them all up. Those of you who knew my Granny (i’m looking at you, Cuz 7), know that it was just her style, wasn’t it? To say, Wait, wait, looky here. No, looky. This is what you need/should do/want to take home with you. Do it!

That Nike motto, Just do it!? I think she invented that for them.

At first, I was a little stressed out. Because no offense but I am ready to be shut of this project. I have turned into my Granny’s Girl Friday. I can’t even find my desk anymore it’s so covered with scraps of paper, books and photos. But then I realized… it’s my Grandma.

OK. Back to work, and I’ll let you know when it’s done so you can buy a copy. (PS, I think I’m going to call it, “How Are You, Sugar?” You like that?) (PSS, If you still haven’t purchased a copy of my novel, well, what’s stopping you? lol.) I’m hoping today and tomorrow will be it for typing/writing. My mom is allegedly going over the photos and figuring out captions. Then Steve will do lay-out for it and we’ll be ready to roll it out.

I’ve loved working on this project, but I don’t want it to be the only project I do for the rest of my life, y’know? Besides, as my wise daughter put it: “Think how good it will feel to say, ‘Ah, my book is done!’” Only in this case, it will be “Ah, her book is done!”

xo

wm