Dec. 6, 2006 Cookie Exchange, BFS #8
Most people  LOVE cookies and the holidays are just a perfect time of year to share our family favorite cookie recipes.
The assignment this week is to post your recipe and any family history behind the recipe.
First, let me say I don't bake very much, not because I don't like to bake. I love to cook and bake, but mostly because I cannot control myself. If I bake a batch of cookies, I will give each of my children one or two cookies and then I will eat all the rest! So, if it isn't in the house, I can't be tempted by it.
Although I didn't feel prepared, I wanted to do this assignment because we generally like to bake sugar cookies during the Christmas season. So, I chose a recipe from the magazine, Everyday Food, for Cinnamon Sugar Cookies. My three older kids helped make the cookies. I took a few pictures of the process, but they were blurry. I'm not sure if it was my camera or if I was doing something wrong. Hmmmf (I just discovered that the auto focus feature was turned off). Anyway, here is one picture, a bit blurry, but you can't help but enjoy the expression on my son't face:
Anyway, we tripled the batch and put one third aside for rolling out and cutting with cookie cutters. The other two thirds we divided into three separate bowls, dyed each bowl a different color and then rolled them out and created a pinwheel log, which we cut and made one pan of cookies each evening or afternoon throughout the weekend. Conclusion: the rolled out plain cookies were much better than the dyed ones, but the dyed ones were definitely easier to deal with.
This past week I've been thinking that, growing up, my mother didn't make cookies very often, but one kind of cookie she did make was a chocolate oatmeal no-bake cookie that I really liked. Last summer, I got a hankering for these, found a recipe on Food Network .com, and made them. They were served after church for refreshments and I had many people talk about how they used to eat these when they were a kid. If you are interested, here is a link to the recipe, Chocolate Peanut-Butter No Bake Cookies.
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After my last post, I was looking forward to spending some time on Monday visiting my friend's blogs. We had gotten off schedule the previous week due to the Thanksgiving holiday and, although I had managed to create a couple posts, I hadn't had time to visit anyone.
Well, the snow subsided over Sunday night, but Monday morning it started snowing in earnest. At 10:35 a.m. Monday morning the power went off. I was glad I had gotten the house warmed up because it was cold outside. Monday wasn't too bad. The snow was bright and made the house brighter than normal. Our freestanding gas stove seemed to be keeping the temperature up in the lower part of the house and we had water for the first half of the day until the well's holding tank went dry. The kids played outside building a snowman and forts, running in the snow and rolling down the septic mound. I took the babies outside. Jaguar loved the snow, but Kinkajou wanted me to carry her. Monday evening sitting by the fire, we sang Christmas carols and songs that I sang in college when I was in the Navigators. This was really fun.
Tuesday morning came and went with no power. We had to get out. The house was colder. The kids, less interested in snow, were wrestling and playing wildly. As I pulled onto the main road past our street, I found the problem: downed power lines and no one working on them in sight. We drove to a shopping center a half-hour drive away. I didn't need much, just something to do. Not wanting to go home, I finally drove to a McDonald's with a large play area and let the kids play for an hour. After dinner out (I did not want to cook in the dark), we came home to a very cold house (the temperature outside had dropped to about 13 degrees and the stove was not keeping up). More Christmas carols and we camped out in the living room.
Wednesday morning, still no power. The electric company said it would be restored by noon. By now it seems that we will be living like this forever. I work on math with Zebra, but neither of us are in a good mood. At noon, our Awana president calls to cancel Awana for that evening and when she hears we have no power she invites us over to play for the afternoon and she also offers me a shower. We eat lunch and just as though it never had left, the lights came back on. Time to run that dishwasher before going to our friends.
Thursday and Friday were spent catching up with the house and e-mails (I had 81 yesterday).
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Nov. 26, 2006 Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow! Nov. 22, 2006 Thanksgiving Traditions, BFS #7
Early Wednesday morning I awakened to silence and darkness. Ugh...the power is out! Next thing I remember is hearing the wind try to tear up our house. Ugh...a wind storm! Here in the Pacific Northwest, we don't get snowstorms, or tornados, or hurricanes. We get rain and windstorms (and an occasional earthquake--but that's another story).
The things that we have to worry about with windstorms are trees falling on power lines, across roads, and on our house. We have been lucky in the past few years to only lose power once or twice per year and for not very long. The problem with loss of power used to be no heat and it was typically in the middle of winter. I remember when my first son was a baby or a toddler, we had a very inefficient wood stove and I would spend all my time trying to get a fire going and watch the temperature in the house slowing increase to about 55 degrees. Burrr... A few years ago we replaced the wood stove with a free standing gas stove. The stove has no electric components, so works all the time. The other problem with power outages has been no water. Our community well wouldn't pump water during an outage. Recently our community dug a new well and installed a large storage tank.
So, here I am faced with a day without power and the wind blowing and not only do I have a warm stove to heat up our downstairs, but I actually have water (and hot water to boot!). The only thing I don't have is light! So, believe me, I had no right to complain. We went through the morning doing school, the kids taking breaks to play with flashlights, of course. But, I couldn't shake the depressed feeling that darkness brings.
In the afternoon doing school, I kept sneaking glances at my computer just wishing I could check my e-mail or blog or something (I typically do this after school each day before dinner). Since I couldn't use my computer, I decided to make a big pot of chicken soup for dinner (we have a gas cooking stove) as I was afraid the chicken would spoil in the refrigerator. While it was cooking, I sat in front of our free standing stove with a camping lantern and catalogs thinking about Christmas gifts (mostly educational stuff). By this time apparently the gravity fed water system had run down and we had no water at all.
I was dreading the darkness coming and having to use the camping lanterns and flashlights, but it wasn't so bad. I cleaned the chicken off the bones and chopped carrots by lantern light. Actually it amazed me how easy dinner was to make. My husband came home to a wonderful bowl of chicken soup and buttered bread. After dinner we found all the candles in the house and lit them all, took turns listening to the radio on the walkman, and the kids danced and sang a few songs.
The kids went to bed and so did we. I don't know exactly why lack of power caused so much anxiety in me. Is it that we rely so heavily on electricity? Was I missing my computer? Was it my concern over our fish who seemed to be struggling with the lack of oxygen in their water? I awoke at 11:30 and prayed that God would bring back the power and, to my relief, shortly thereafter power was restored. Aahh...a sigh of relief. Thank You Lord!!
A hundred years ago most people didn't have electricity, or indoor plumbing for that matter. We are so blessed and spoiled!! I need to be thankful for everything we do have and be thankful when we are without, as well.
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Nov. 6, 2006 What Started as Today's Highlights and then Digressed
Today I laughed when my 2 1/2 year old son went to the battery drawer to look for a battery for a remote control. I didn't know he even knew about those things. Of course, he didn't have a clue as to what to do with the battery.
It's amazing what the littlest kids will pick up. I was surprised this evening doing an alphabet puzzle with my little twins that they put several pieces right in and even made some of the sounds (or at least I think they did).
I have a counter in the kitchen that has always been a catch-all for various paperwork, toys, pens, you-name-it. Over the weekend I finally got it cleared off and now I am guarding it like a mother bear guards her cubs. Imagine the peace I felt today when I was able to spread out the kids math pages on said counter and hole punch and file them in their notebooks. It was so much nicer than the table because I am constantly interrupted and it is easier to walk away than to have to get up and down from a chair. So, I am hoping that I can continue to guard this area and keep the clutter from descending and taking over like kudzu vines take over a forest (this analogy is for you, Lady Mother).
OK. Now I'm off on a tangent! Speaking of kudzu. I thought I would entertain y'all with a graphic and when I googled "kudzu," I found the most amazing picture and website that explains all about kudzu. Here's the picture from the website: http://www.yahoolavista.com/kudzu/
Did you know kudzu can grow up to a foot per day and, if not cut back, will cover everything in its path? It is not native to the United States but was brought here from Japan and China. Last summer, I was watching a cooking show on the Food Network called "Feasting on Asfault" with Alton Brown who stopped on his road trip to point out kudzu and pick some for his dinner salad. Yep, apparently it is edible. Anyway, if you are not familiar with kudzu. Check out that website. There are a lot more pictures where the above came from. Also there is a link to a website for a family that makes baskets, paper and other things out of kudzu.
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Oct. 31, 2006 We Made It! (Follow Up on Pumpkin Recipe) Oct. 30, 2006 Eye Doctor Report
Last Friday, we took Gazelle and Ibis to the eye specialist for a check up. Gazelle has a lazy eye and is far sighted (she had eye surgery when she was 3 to correct a turned in eye) and Ibis has eyes that are slightly shaky and he is near sighted. The last time we went to the eye doctor, he said that both their eyes were very stable and he was pleased with their progress.
Friday, however, was another story (only four months later). Ibis' overall vision had decreased somewhat significantly. Gazelle's vision in her lazy eye had also decreased. So, now we have to start patching Gazelle's good eye 5 to 6 hours per day in hopes of increasing the vision in her lazy eye. They both have to go back in two months to see the eye doctor.
I'm proud of Gazelle. She has accepted the patch again without much complaint. I think she is having a little difficulty adjusting to reading and small focus work, but I am hoping that it will become easier in time. I'm so glad that she doesn't have to go to school and endure teasing from her peers. This is something I struggled with as a child and I am glad she is at home where she can be supported.
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Oct. 25, 2006 Pumkin Recipe, Blogger Friend School Assignment #4
ASSIGNMENT: In honor of the season, I thought we all could do something fun this week! I'd like everyone to share something to do with a pumpkin or pumpkin related. This can be a recipe, decorating idea, or if you are really creative "show" us on your blog :)
I found the following recipe at Taste of Home. I haven't tried it yet, but I really like the idea of tart cranberries combined with sweet pumkin. I am going to try to find time this weekend to make it and if I do, I will document and post it in another entry. Here goes:
Cranberry Pumpkin Bread
3 3/4 C. All Purpose Flour
3 C. Sugar
4 t Pumpkin Pie Spice
2 t Baking Soda
1 t Salt
4 Eggs
1 15 oz. can Solid Pack Pumpkin
1/2 C. Vegetable Oil
2 C. Fresh or Frozen Cranberries (thawed, if frozen)
1 C. Chopped Walnuts
Preheat oven to 350 Degrees. Grease two 9" x 5" x 3" loaf pans.
In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, spice, baking soda and salt. In a separate bowl, beat eggs, pumpkin and oil. Stir into the dry ingredients just until moistened. Fold in cranberries and walnuts. Pour into prepared pans and bake 70 to 80 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes and then remove from pans and cool completely on wire racks.
BONUS RECIPE: Cranberry Pecan Pie
I have another holiday type recipe from Taste of Home that I have made for the past two years. It is always a hit everywhere I bring it (in fact, my good friend, Leesa C. always takes the entire remains home with her and it takes me months to get my pie plate back). I am only going to give the filling ingredients and directions as I usually use a purchase pie crust. The entire recipe does include pie crust directions. Here goes:
3 Eggs
1 C. Corn Syrup
2/3 C. Sugar
1/4 C. melted Butter
1 t. Vanilla extract
2 C. Fresh Cranberries
1 C. Chopped Pecans (I think I may have added more pecans)
Combine the eggs, corn syrup, sugar, butter and vanilla until blended. Stir in cranberries and pecans. Pour into prepared crust. Bake at 425 degrees for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 350 degrees; bake 35 to 40 minutes longer or until filling is almost set. Cool completely on wire rack. Cover and refrigerate overnight before slicing.
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Oct. 20, 2006 Nine Years Ago Today
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Nine Years Ago Today I gave birth to my first son, Zebra (Okay, I really didn't name him Zebra, but in case you didn't read my previous post, I decided to give my kids animal names in lieu of using their initials). I was ten days late and READY to have that baby! Where did the years go? 
This morning we went to see Cinderella at our local children's theater. It was their first showing, a dress rehearsal, if you will. It was fun and well done and included audience participation. Kinkajou and Jaguar (my 2 1/2 year old twins) were a bit of a challenge during the play. Not too difficult until the end when they both decided they wanted to sit by themselves on my lap. Next, we went to the library where I picked up a book for Ibus and Gazelle to read next week and a book on Web Design for me. Then we went to the drug store to pick up a long awaited birthday gift for Ibus that was on hold (long story since his birthday was in August). Finally, we went to the grocery store to get ice cream for Zebra's birthday party. After doing all that, I realized why I'm glad that my kids aren't enrolled in the alternative homeschool program that they were in last year. It is exhausting running around with the toddlers. This evening we had a few friends over for a birthday party for Zebra. They had pizza and cake and ice cream and a great time. Kinkajou wanted that cake at dinner. She kept saying, "Birthday Cake" over and over. After dinner (before cake) I heard her in the kitchen saying it again. I went into the kitchen and found her licking her hand and there were little finger marks in the cake!
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Graphic Credits
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)). I made an earl grey tea and spice cranberry sauce recipe that I found in the November issue of Sunset magazine (Note: I don't have a subscription, but there is a little thrift store at the dump here and my husband likes to buy magazines for a quarter. 
Imagine finding current magazines for 25 cents!) and I made my now famous cranberry pecan pie. My family really isn't fond of pecan pie. Everyone knows I really make the pie for my friend, Leesa, who will allow one slice for everyone and then take the pie and pie plate home with her for her own consumption. I can only hope to get my pie plate back someday.
The year before I think it was balloon chasing. There was a time in my life when I would have dreaded being around a bunch of noisy kids, but now I hardly hear the noise.
