A "Vintage" Cookie Recipe

Scary

that

my

little collection of

recipes

that I started

in

1972

can be considered

"vintage"

but

it

can

(It appears

that

many

of

our

idiosyncrocies

begin

when

we are little

.....some are positive

and some not so)

Recipe collecting,

baking,

cooking

FOOD

began

early

...

in my

vintage

years

I remember

delivering

quick breads,

yeast breads

cakes

and

cookies

wrapped

in cellophane

and

tied up

in

pretty

ribbons

to

friends

and

neighbors

at

Christmastime

(my bike

was

my mode of

transportation)

carrot bread

pumpkin bread

apple cake

gingerbread

whole wheat bread

oatmeal bars

molasses crinkles

.............and so on

I still use

my silly little

Holly Hobby

book

with my

hand- written recipes

today

...

R E A L L Y!

a happy

cookie

recipe

for

YOU

today!

Molasses Crinkles

1 c. sugar

1/2 c. vegetable oil

1 egg

1/4 c. molasses

mix

...

2 c. flour

1 1/2 tsp cinnamon

1 1/2 tsp. ground ginger

1/2 tsp ground cloves

1/2 tsp. fresh ground nutmeg

1 1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

sift together

..

add the sugar mix to the flour mix

and

mix together

Roll about a TBS. of dough

into balls

roll

in sugar

Bake at 375 degrees

for 10-12 minutes

eat

a couple

or wrap

a few up,

hop

on your

bike

and

deliver

them

to

your favorite

peeps

When

you

own

a

bed and breakfast

you get

pretty

darn

good

at

b r e a k f a s t

...

making breakfast,

serving breakfast

eating breakfast

and

you

know

breakfast

doesn't

have

to really

be

in

the

morning

Brunch

Brupper

Brinner

it's

all

good

We

thought

Sunday Brunch

would be

the

perfect

grand

finale

to

the

long weekend

of

gratitude

and

eating.

Andrew

went

to

Petit

and

served

breakfast

and then he

came

over

to

EAT

breakfast

And

Annie's

BFF,

Toshi,

was

visiting

from

San Francisco

(she's a

first year law student - yikes!)

Toshi

is

vegan

vegan

is

a

challenge!

no

dairy,

no

meat,

no

butter

no

lox

(on the bagels)

hmmmmmm

Sweet Potato Hash

Sweet potatoes,

microwaved for 6 minutes,

peeled and cubed.

I sauteed them

in olive oil,

with

onions,

red peppers

green peppers,

garlic

and the secret ingredient

Smoked Spanish paprika

Annie

and Toshi

squeeeeezed

oranges

for

mimosas

not much

better

than

fresh orange juice

John

whipped

up

some scrambles

with fresh herbs

and chevre

(not for Toshi, though)

We had

bagels

with

Tofutti

(cream cheese, NOT!)

and

real cream cheese,

lox

and capers.

no guilt!

REALLY,

no guilt,

because

you can

spend

the

rest of the day

exercising,

hiking,

biking

or

not.

happy tummies had by all

.......

Thanksgiving Weekend

IMG_0071, originally uploaded by TTT with Toulouse.

I don't know if this little ditty fits the beginning of the thanksgiving holiday weekend, or the end.......
so much food, so many smiles and giggles, crazy dogs and SO MANY DISHES
it was a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend!

You bet I'm grateful....

Gratitude.

Isn't

that

a

perfect

word?

for me,

it

expresses

humility

and

awe

of

all the

good

around us

that

we are

blessed with

and

we

are

THANKFUL

for.

Thanksgiving

started

out

with

a

most

amazing

sunrise

It was a

chilly

morning

...

love it!

I

made

a

few dishes

the day before

the potatoes,

the butternut squash gratin,

bourbon pecan pie

and the

cranberry chutney

Thanksgiving day

was

all about

the

turkey,

dressing

killer pumpkin dessert

and the

Thanksgiving Day parade

(I don't really watch it,

or like it

but it was on the

TV

just because....)

Annie

decided

that

Huck and Phinn

needed

mohawks

We

had

Molly and Jenny and Maggie over

and Mary's brother

Peter

needed a

Turkey fix, too

We played

maybe

three

hours

of

CATCH-PHRASE

..way fun!

we ate

and ate

and

ate

...

I

am

grateful

Our Traditional Thanksgiving - not!

No pictures

for this blog

...nothing!

not

one

picture

of

one thing

...

nothing

to take pictures of

..........yet

I

grew up

with

traditions

you

could

predict

dinner menus

for

all

the holidays

Traditions

are

good,

albeit in my mind

just

a

bit

boring.

I like

to

try

new

things

...

John and the kids

become

Guinea pigs

"Biological experimentation on

guinea pigs has been carried out since the 17th century. The animals were frequently used as a model organism in the 19th and 20th centuries, resulting in the epithet "guinea pig" for atest subject, but have since been largely replaced by other rodents such as mice and rats. They are still used in research, primarily as models for human medical conditions such as juvenile diabetes, tuberculosis, scurvy, and pregnancy complications."

and

the guests

at

Petit Soleil

often

get

to reap the benefits,

or not,

of my

experimentation

with recipes.

THUS SAID,

why

is

it

that

John and the kids

always ask for the same

foods for

Thanksgiving

Christmas

birthdays

and

other important

holidays?

...

I must ponder that question

This recipe is THE FAVE

for dinner

...it is

REALLY REALLY

the

B O M B!!

Butternut Squash Gratin

with Chevre and Hazelnuts

3 1/2 lbs butternut squash (about 2 medium, peeled, seeded and cut into 1" cubes

2 TBS. olive oil

Kosher salt and fresh ground pepper

3 cups sliced leeks (sliced and thoroughly rinsed clean)

1 1/2 tsp fresh sage

I large log fresh chevre

1 c. heavy whipping cream

1 cup hazelnuts, toasted, husked and roughly chopped

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Toss squash cubes with olive oil, salt and pepper. Spread out on large rimmed baking sheet and roast for about 35 minutes.

Melt butter in large skillet and saute leeks with the sage until tender - maybe 15 minutes.

Coat a 11 x 7" skilled with remaining butter and spread 1/2 of the leek mixture on the bottom. Top leeks with 1/2 of the roasted squash and 1/2 log of chevre (crumbled). Repeat the leek, squash and chevre layers (you can do this a day ahead - cover with plastic and chill)

When ready to bake, heat oven to 375 degrees. Pour cream evenly over gratin. Top with toasted chopped hazelnuts and bake until cream is bubbling and gratin is heated through - about 30-40 minutes.

There

you have it!

Yummy!!

Our

"Tradition"!

'I am thinking,

though,

of substituting

sweet potatoes

for

the

butternut squash

....

but

don't tell

the fam

A blessed Thanksgiving to all!

hanging with David Lobovitz

Blogs

are

WAY

too much

fun

and

if

you have

an addictive personality

watch out, baby!

I mean,

if you are in

a

style mode,

you can check out what

fashionistas

Judy and Jane Aldridge

are sporting

A mood

to

push furniture around?

or

to paint

a wall

a new color?

love

love

love

Greige

and

Design Sponge

and about

100

others

Lifestyle blogs?

love 'em

Coeur de la

Lola B's

and about

100

others

Art blogs! Love 'em!

Exercise and healthy living blogs?

don't love 'em, but

always looking

for a little help

And then

FOOD BLOGS

Yes!

Food blogs

are the

answer

to every

ache or pain

bad mood

happy mood

rainy day

sunny day

...well,

Food Blogs

are

simply

THE

ANSWER!

I follow too many...

The Active Foodie

101 cookbooks

Orangette

Urban Baker

and

about

500

others..

but my fave,

hmmmm

well,

TODAY

my fave is

David Lebovitz' blog!

It

changes

every day..

a new recipe

or

travel adventure,

new restaurant

or

anecdote

about

his life in Paris

..

it is

ALWAYS

a delightful read.

I often

copy his

recipes

and

try them.

ALWAYS

D- lish!!!

I copied

his

FRENCH APPLE CAKE

may

I suggest

you do the same?

ho la la

here it goes

4 large apples

( I used local Sea Canyon apples)

peeled, cored and cut into chunks set aside


3/4 c. whole wheat pastry flour (my change from his recipe)

3/4 tsp. baking powder

pinch salt mix together


3/4 c. sugar and 2 eggs whisk together until frothy and foamy

Add 3 TBS. rum (I used Stroh rum from Austria)

to the egg mixture and 1/2 tsp vanilla

melt 1/2 cup butter in microwave

Here goes:

Whisk 1/2 flour mixture into the egg mixture

and stir in 1/2 of the melted butter.

Stir in the

remaining flour and the rest of the butter.

Gently fold in the apple chunks until the are all incorporated.

Pour in a well buttered spring form pan

and bake about

50 - 60 minutes

I

sprinkled

a bit 'o sugar

and freshly grated nutmeg

over the top

just for fun

evidently,

that

makes the

cake

not so

French

(but the nutmeg makes the kitchen smell so heavenly)

If this confused

you

tremendously

here

is

the recipe

We will

be serving

in on

Thanksgiving morning

at

Petit Soleil

COME ON BY!

Warming and chiillin' by the fire

IMG_0042, originally uploaded by TTT with Toulouse.

Phinny and Huck are going to miss snuggling on Andrew's lap in the evenings