Non-resolution update

A review of the 2013 non-resolution list reveals 10 items left undone.  (Three of which start with the word 'organize' so there was little hope for them from the beginning.)  In addition I am 15 pounds lighter than I was 12 months ago.   Definitely a win.
Here, then, is what remains on the list:

4.  Paint the kitchen.

16.  Eat 5 fruits/vegetables a day.
17.  Call my Mom and Dad once a week.
18.  Organize my recipes.
19.  Organize my addresses.
20.  Organize the photos.  (Bwah ha ha)

36.  Rewatch Ann of Green Gables.
37.  Go ice fishing at night.
38.  Tie some flies.

53.  Make a treacle tart

Some issues with the list:
1.  Some things were hard to be successful--such as taking my vitamin everyday.  I crossed this off because I took my vitamin almost everyday and I did it the whole year.
2.  Some things I did better at because they were on the list--such as calling my parents and eating more vegetables, even though I did not do it as often as I intended to.
3.  There is a flaw in the plan to list the number of things in relation to your age.  55 things in 2014?  I think not.
4.  What to do with the things still on the list?  Leave them there and add to them?  Leave just them on the list?  Not sure.

Going to give it some time and thought as to whether I will redo this for 2014, but am glad I did it in 2013.

An Even Dozen or Ten

Kolachki?  Kolacky?  Kolachy?  Kolace?  Kolachi?  Kolache?  Kolachke??  Truth is I'm not sure what these cookies are called.   Growing up we called them hunky cookies, which I realize now was more than likely an ethnic slur rather than a description of the nutty filling.   But my extensive search of the internets did not make things any clearer.  These are some version of an Eastern European wedding or tea cake.  Czeck?  Slovak?  Hungarian?  Or as Oscar the Polish caterer might describe them:  It's a delightful pastry with a thin flakey crust...wrapped around nuts. (not to be confused with a fried hoosecheekie) 
Recipe I used:  My Aunt Louise's.  Because I wanted them to taste like her's.  I called my Mom who called my Aunt Louise (who doesn't see well)  who read the recipe to my Mom who read it to me.  There was only a list of ingredients with a very few vague directions.  (What could possibly go wrong?)

I supplemented the recipe by reading every internet entry of everyone's Slovak Grandma's recipes.  Thus my use of my pastry cutter to cut in the shortening like pie dough.

Warm milk, dry yeast, eggs,vanilla...Cover and let the dough rise.  The recipe did say 3 hours or overnight.  (And that was the most precise information the recipe offered.)  I went with 3 hours.  Which gave me enough time to make the nut filling.

Which called for a can of sweetened condensed milk.  None of the recipes online contained this ingredient.  Which is why I needed Aunt Louise's recipe.

Born, as I was, in the days when breastfeeding was out of style and aggressive marketing of commercial baby formula had not begun, I think this wonderful liquid is the reason for my propensity towards obesity and my pre-diabetic condition.  I could drink this straight from the can.

"Cook until thickened"  Seriously?  This seemed plenty thick to me and no one else's Polish Grandma was cooking her filling, but I cooked it.

And, believe me, it thickened.  While it cooled and the dough rose, I still had time to paint my toenails.

And show you the rest of my Christmas gifts.  When we were kids, we left our Christmas gifts in the living room until after New Year's Day.  And all of our aunts and uncles and cousins would come to visit, and we would serve them cookies and show them our 'pile' of gifts.  We would also go to visit their houses to see their stuff and eat their cookies.  So in honor of the year of the cookie and the aunts who made them, here is the final installment of 'What I Got for Christmas".
The good thing about baking cookies after Christmas is that you get to use some of your Christmas gifts. (What?  You didn't know Santa shopped from the clearance cart?That's real vanilla, just like I asked Santa for.)



At this point I called my mom again.  Because at this point it occurred to me that although I have eaten plenty of these cookies, I have never even seen them made, let alone made them myself.  My mom, likewise, had never made these, but she was able to give me a little direction and a lot of encouragement.  

Roll.

Cut into squares.  These are about two inch squares.  One online Hungarian grandma cut her's into four inch squares.  Those would be some honking big cookies.  (Honky cookies?)

Apply filling.

Roll 'em up.  See my Christmas silpat?   Made in France.  Once again as close as I am getting to Paris this year.  But Ooo La La...such wonderful European pastries right in my kitchen.

After I baked the first tray, I decided to roll the cookies in sugar before I baked them.  Because I kind of remembered them having that sugary outside.  

 I filled a few with apricot jam like on the internet recipes, but because I made enough nut filling for the whole batch (and cause I never had a Polish Grandma), I only made a few apricot ones.  

How these turned out:  Amazingly like I remember them.  They were definitely better the next day.  (When I wasn't so sick of taste testing at every step.)

Who will eat them: (Any one and every one--I made the full recipe which made about 10 doz. cookies.)

Not the STP (Wheat flour)

Not the Goob (Nuts)

Me

The STP's accountability partner and his family

Friends who Just Dance with me.

People welcoming in the New Year with me.

What I Got For Christmas 2

Gifts numbers 2 and 3:  A new TV and Just Dance 4.  I was wearing gift number 4--my new cowgirl boots when I out-danced the STP to Wild, Wild West.

What I Got For Christmas

In the spirit of Christmases past, I am going to show you what I got for Christmas.  If you want, you can pretend you are visiting in my living room.  I'll pretend to serve you a hot beverage and a cookie.

Gift number one:  The ice bucket.  (A gift from my favorite youngest daughter.)

I played with it on Christmas afternoon.

I will also be using it on Taco Thursday.  And I will be using the red paper straws as well.  Make your plans to attend now.  

Just the Three of Us

The whole family (including the SLD) gathered in one bed waiting for BOO time.

Lighting the advent wreath.

Opening gifts.

Sweet rolls and hot chocolate.

Oranges in stockings.

Beating the STP at Just Dance wearing our new cowboy boots.

Bubble bath.

Ham sandwich and cranberry jello salad.

FaceTime with the girls.

Painting my toenails.

White Christmas.

Nap.

Read.

Duck Dynasty--Season One

Happy, happy, happy.

Purity Plate

How a microbiologist says Merry Christmas:

Or why I shouldn't be left alone in the micro lab.

Real Simple Fail--Not What to Wear

The December issue of Real Simple had an article titled 'Never Wear The Wrong Thing Again' which promised to tell me what to wear to every December function.  Which still left me asking the the STP what would be appropriate apparel for cutting up a pig party.  (I choose an Eddie Bauer flannel with jeans and snow boots.)  I took two plates of thumbprint cookies to keep the experienced pig cutters from ridiculing my choice of dress.  I think I did alright on that one (no thanks to RS).  
Then later in the month of December I was left wondering what to wear to a children's Christmas program at the Mennonite school.  I choose a pair of dress slacks.  Not sure if that was appropriate or not. Seemed to me that there was simply no way I was blending in at that one.

It Makes a Village--Cookie #11

Gingerbread Village--The December issue of BetterHomes and Gardens may have been the inspiration for my cookie baking this year.  Certainly this article/photo caught my attention. Determined to try this.  Because I have jars.






This was actually easier than I anticipated.










Roll and cut.

Bake.  10 minutes.  Remove from oven.  Return to oven and bake 10 minutes more.
(Note to self:  Next time read to the end of the baking instructions.)

Sprinkle and rub with powdered sugar.

Arrange in your big jar--like a cookie snowglobe for your kitchen counter.

I only made half a recipe, which was plenty to fill my jar and have a dozen little gingerbread people left over.  Especially since I didn't bake them correctly, and I don't know how edible they will be. Still and all, glad I did this.  (Wished the BGITW had been here.)

Have you noticed that the cookie pictures keep getting closer and closer as the season progresses?  That's because the rest of the house, including the counter, is getting messier and messier and it is getting harder and harder to edit out the mess.  Just saying.  I have one more cookie recipe, which will make an even dozen, and is somehow essential to finish off this year of the cookie.  I can always clean in January, right?

While I Was in the Kitchen...

Crazy Crunch--caramel covered popcorn.  With nuts.

Why I made it--saw the recipe in my recipe box.  Brought home a bag of leftover popcorn from movie night at AWANA.

Recipe I used--the one in the recipe box.  This is not a Christmas recipe.  It is a summer recipe.  It tastes like camping.  Or a picnic at Lakemont Park.  It invokes memories of riding the Scrambler with Uncle Bob.  Which, before you understood centrifugal force and the disadvantage of the outside position, was a crazy crunch experience of its own.

I only made a half a batch.  Drizzled half of it with chocolate. And gave half of that away.

How it turned out:  Wicked awesome.  The perfect blend of sweet, buttery, crunchy, stick your teeth together goodness.
Sorry if you didn't get any.  Remind me next summer and I will make some more.

Snickerdoodles

Snickerdoodles--Rich cinnamon sugar cookies, ideally soft in the middle, crispy on the outsides.  Probably German in origin.

Why I made them--Celebrating my German heritage. Tastes like Christmas at Grandma Weinzierl's house.  Makes the house smell good.  Needed a recipe that made a bunch.  Had some Cream of Tartar.

Recipe I used:  My Mom's.  And I doubled it.

Not much to say about these, except that they turned out great.  I followed the recipe exactly--no substitutions. 

They puffed up so nice.  With just the right amount of cracks.

Who ate them:

Me

The Goob.

Not the STP--sorry -- wheat flour

People at the Dodge City Bank open house

A couple of the Goob's teachers

I still have a half dozen of these in the freezer.  They are good if you breath into them to thaw them, and eat them while they are still on the cold side.

Ja, sehr lecker!

(Hopefully that means Yeah, very yummy!  Despite my German heritage, the only words I really know in German are for cottage cheese and dog turd.  I never said it was a rich German heritage.)

 

Wonderful, Wonderful

The Formerly-Known-as-Christmas Parade was last weekend.  Remember in 2010 we had a float.  And in 2011 we had a float.  Last year, we did not have a float.  I don't remember why. I guess the Spirit didn't move me. (More likely, I could not be moved.) But I do remember that the best float was the entry from the local saloon.  And God Himself, in His ever so gentle way, convicted me on the side of the very cold Main Street of Dodge City that we had missed a chance. A chance to participate.  To celebrate.  To tell the story.
So this year, I was on top of things.  On Friday the 13th I had the STP drop off our entry form.

What, the entry was due yesterday and the parade is tomorrow?  No problem.  I have an idea.

And a TV, some rabbit ears, and aluminum foil.

And I had 20 cents worth of silver icicles and a doily.

But more than that I had a family.

Who not only agreed to ride the float in their pajamas, they showed up early on Saturday to help put it together.  They had ideas of their own.  They had one of the biggest doses of unbridled enthusiasm I have encountered in my entire float history.

And Saturday night, I was watching from the side of the street as the parade went by.  And the saloon was well represented (a winner in the small business category).   But my Jesus was represented as well.  My Jesus Who sends angels to earth.  My Jesus Who knows the value of every individual.   My Jesus Who puts families back together.  My Jesus Who came that we might have life and have it to the full.  A wonderful life.

There you have it.  The first place float in the large business (?) category. 

And my favorite Wonderful Life quote:     "This old thing?  Why I only wear it when I don't care how I look."

Cookie, Cookie Number Nine

Because the macaroons were a hit, I did try the apricot variation.  Unfortunately, the dried apricots look a lot like bacon when they are baked.  Which made them even more appealing to the both the Goob and the STP.  I chocolate dipped the bottoms of 2 dozen of these and donated them to the youth group for a fundraiser to be served at the Dodge City Bank Christmas open house.

Cuppa Tea Cookies

Tea Cookies--A traditional Welsh tea-time treat.  A raisin cookie with a spice taste.  Read that these can be eaten slathered with butter and served with tea.  Don't know how my dad never did that.  Slathering with butter has always been his MO.

Why I made these:  Feeling nostalgic.  My great grandma used to make these.  My dad loved these.  My mother learned to make these for my dad.  I think she found the recipe in the newspaper.  When my Grandpap visited, he would slip a few of these in his coat pocket on the way out the door.

Recipe I used:  My Mom's.  These can also be called Raisin Griddle Cakes even though she often made them with currants.  I looked for currants, but there were none to be found in Dodge City.  I substituted Pamela's gluten-free mix for the dry ingredients so the STP could eat them.

Roll them out.  Cut them round.  I have a round cookie cutter, but I used the top of a plastic tupperware cup.  Cause that's how it's done.

These cookies are not actually baked.  They are fried on a griddle.

When they get puffy they are ready to be turned over.

These gluten free cookies make the STP happy.  He has been eating them all week with his tea.  The Goob has not tried them.  They are certainly edible, but they are not the real thing.  They make me sad, because they remind me of my dad.  And I wish things were the same as they used to be.

Who will eat these:  Just the STP and me.  And you if you want to come over and have a cup of tea with us.   

Worth Noting--Cookies 7.5

I invited myself over to my friend Pam's house to bake cookies.
I can't really count these as my cookies.  Even though I helped roll them in powdered sugar.


 Mostly I just hung out and talked and laughed with my friend Pam.

And I decided that if I ever do another 'Year of the Cookie'  I will have a Christmas apron and a Christmas tablecloth to put the cookies on.  And photograph them.

Perfection Cookie #7

The Italian Pizzelle-- They are also known as Italian wafer cookies and there are various ways which to spell pizzelle such as "piazelle," "piazella," "pizzele" and "pizelle." The name comes from the Italian word "pizze" for round and flat.  In some parts of Italy, the irons would be made with family crests on them which would be passed down to each generation.

Why I made them:  A family tradition.  My Mom made these, but I think they may have originated in the family with my Aunt Rosemarie.  Who may have been Italian.  As far as I know, none of our irons has a family crest or have been passed down generation to generation.

The recipe I used:  This one that I saw and pinned on Pinterest.  Because it made a small batch.

The iron I used:  This one that has been in my cupboard for. ev. er. 

 The glitch was that I could not find the electrical cord.   So I had to postpone mixing and baking until the thrift store opened.  The STP scored two cords for a quarter, and then we were in business.

The dough seemed a little stiff to me, but since it has been for ev er since I have actually made these, I decided to trust the recipe instead of my memory.

The unfortunate thing about baking these is that you can only bake two at a time.  Good news--it only takes a little over a minute to bake them.

Also unfortunately, the first ones will stick to the iron.  You will have to scrape them out with a fork.  Clean the hot iron plates and try again.  At this point you will doubt the recipe, the ingredients, the process and your sanity.  Press on, my friend.  You can do this.
You can pass the time by making the dog dance for the broken messy pieces you scraped out.  The SLD was such a fan of the pizzelle that she stayed with me through the entire baking process.  Good dog.

Success.  I made mine small so they would fit in the little bags I bought for cookies.

Who ate them:  
The Goob.
Me
The Ladies at the the thrift shop who helped the STP find a cord.
Two teachers at the high school
One co-worker