Project 365

"Chocolate chip cookie important to me… It mean whole lot to me… Om nom nom nom."
—Cookie Monster

TIME:  9:33 PM
PLACE: Kitchen
SUBJECT:  Toll House semi-sweet morsels

Yes, that is a FOUR POUND BAG of chocolate chips.
(God bless Costco)
What do you do with such a giant bag?



You try to make a dent in it by baking cookies at 9:30 on a Sunday evening.

“There's something wrong with a mother who washes out a measuring cup with soap and water after she's only measured water in it.”

Erma Bombeck (U.S. humorist, 1927-1996)

TIME:  11:45 PM
PLACE:  Kitchen
SUBJECT:  Magnetic measuring spoons

I just purchased these today.  They are measuring spoons from the Martha Stewart collection at Macys.  They have magnetic strips so they stack neatly and will stay together in the drawer.  They are also two sided; one end has rounded spoons and the other end has narrower ones to fit into spice jars.  Sadly, this little purchase is making me ridiculously happy. I really need a life.

“You cursed brat! Look what you've done! I'm melting! melting! Oh, what a world! What a world! Who would have thought a good little girl like you could destroy my beautiful wickedness? Oooooh, look out! I'm going! Oooooh! Ooooooh!”

Wicked Witch of the West. The Wizard of Oz. Metro-Golden-Mayer. 1939.

TIME:  5:41 PM
PLACE:  The stovetop
SUBECT:  Onion slice

It’s a well known little known-fact that I (and the children) enjoy grilled onions on my burgers.  And since that’s what I like and I’m chief cook and bottle washer, when I make hamburgers, I always slice up a Vidalia onion and grill them along with the burgers in the cast iron skillet.  This onion slice doesn't look too happy to be in the frying pan.  That’s ok…soon after this shot, I was compassionate and put him out of his misery and into my belly.  Yum. 

“Once you get a spice in your home, you have it forever. Women never throw out spices. The Egyptians were buried with their spices. I know which one I'm taking with me when I go.”

Erma Bombeck (U.S. humorist, 1927-1996)

TIME:  8:00 PM
PLACE:  Dad’s kitchen
SUBJECT:  Spices

I made a chicken pot pie for supper.  The kids and I took it over to Dad’s house to share with him and to begin cooking for Thanksgiving tomorrow.  After we ate, I started making the stuffing.  My recipe called for poultry seasoning and I forgot to bring mine, so I asked Dad if he had any.  He didn’t, but he did have this lemon extract, nutmeg and Fruit Fresh in his pantry.  I’ll bet if you combine their ages it would turn out to be close to the number of the birthday Dad will be celebrating this coming May.  He can’t throw them out now…they’re practically vintage.

Dale Doback: Dad, we're men. That means a few things - we like to s*** with the door open, we talk about <redacted>, we go on riverboat gambling trips, and we make our own beef jerky. That's what we do, and now that is all wrecked.

Reilly, John C., perf. Step Brothers. Dir. Adam McKay. 2008. Columbia Pictures.

TIME:  6:21 PM
PLACE:  Kitchen
SUBJECT:  Beef jerky in the dehydrator

HandsomeHusband helped out a friend on Saturday and they gave him a gift card to Sears.  He sent me to the mall last night with the gift card and a mission – to buy a food dehydrator.  I’m not one to turn down a shopping trip (especially one with free money!), so I gladly did as he asked.  He thinly sliced a round steak this morning, marinated it for a few hours and placed it in the dehydrator.  It still needs a couple more hours of drying time.  MonkeyBoy is just salivating with anticipation.  I think we are going to have place the jerky under lock and key, otherwise MB will eat it all tonight.

 
Willy Wonka: Invention, my dear friends, is 93% perspiration, 6% electricity, 4% evaporation, and 2% butterscotch ripple.

Stuart, Mel. Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory. Perf. Gene Wilder. David L. Wolper Productions. 1971.

TIME:  8:08 PM
PLACE:  Kitchen
SUBJECT:  Butterscotch morsel package & mixing bowl

The kids wanted me to make cookies this evening.  I told them that the only way I would do it would be if they cleaned off the supper table.  MonkeyBoy got right on it and promptly slopped a whole bunch of bacon drippings - we had BLTs for dinner - on the floor from the microwave bacon cooker while trying to clear the counter.  *Sigh*  God love him, he was trying.  I directed him on how to clean up the mess and helped with spraying degreaser on the affected area while he sopped it up with paper towels.  Soon all was well with the world.  Then I made butterscotch oatmeal cookies. 
And ate three of them.

 
“Cast iron is so superior for cooking utensils to our modern aluminum that I not only cannot grieve for the pioneer hardship of cooking in iron over the hearth, but shall retire if necessary to the back yard with my two Dutch ovens, turning over all my aluminum cookers for airplanes with a secret delight.”

Majorie Kinnan Rawlings, 'Cross Creek' (1942)

TIME:  4:13 PM
PLACE:  Girl Scout Camp
SUBJECT:  Cooking pots

StellaDella’s Daisy troop had an overnight camp-out this weekend.  DramaQueen went with us as well.  We left today at 11am and plan on returning tomorrow at noon.  Another mom started the campfire and she and I oversaw the cooking of the chicken legs in cast iron pots.  The girls covered the legs with BBQ sauce and cola and we took them out and set them in the fire.  In about an hour they were done.  They tasted pretty good, SD had two of them for supper.  We also hiked, played outside games and made some crafts.  We are sleeping inside “lodges” that have bathrooms and a small kitchen – for that I am eternally grateful.

Plankton:  …Remember: Ravioli, ravioli, give me the formuoli.

"Imitation Krabs." SpongeBob SquarePants. Season 2, Episode 24b. December 28, 2000.

TIME:  9:13 PM
PLACE:  Kitchen
SUBJECT:  Ravioli rolling pin & recipe

At our family reunion in October, we talked about getting together in February to make the family recipe for ravioli.  Making ravioli in our family is usually a huge undertaking as the recipe makes approximately 5,000 at a time.  Tonight, we met at a local restaurant for a “Ravioli Planning Meeting.”   I handed out copies of the recipe, which was handwritten by my late Aunt Phyllis, my dad’s older sister.  We decided who was purchasing which ingredients and the date, time and place of the ravioli-fest.  Mark your calendars for Saturday, February 27th, 8am at the same place where the reunion was held.  It’s on.

"Run, run, as fast as you can!
You can't catch me!
I'm the Gingerbread Man!"

The Gingerbread Man, A classic folk tale

TIME:  9:01 PM
PLACE:  Kitchen
SUBJECT:  StellaDella

Today I realized that we hadn’t baked any Christmas cookies yet.  And Christmas is only 3 days away. – yikes.  So I made up some gingerbread dough and had “help” making cookies.  I wish I had more patience when it comes to making cut-out cookies with the kids.  It frustrates me when they don’t maximize the cookie cutter placement on the rolled dough.  Then, I get annoyed with myself for being so anal about something that in the scheme of things, is truly not important.  It’s a vicious circle.  So tonight, I changed my tactic.  I cut out 3/4 of the cookies, then let SD go to town on the remainder while I cleaned up the kitchen.  This worked out well, she was happy and my frustration level was almost non-existent.  Everyone was a winner!

 
For each new morning with its light,
For rest and shelter of the night,
For health and food, for love and friends,
For everything Thy goodness sends.

Ralph Waldo Emerson (American Poet, Lecturer and Essayist, 1803-1882)

TIME:  8:02 PM
PLACE:  The kitchen
SUBJECT:  Turkey cookies

Well, I hope that a Happy Thanksgiving was enjoyed by all those in the States today.  We will be celebrating the with the “Family” on Saturday so we just had a small quiet dinner at Sujomi household.  HH made a ham, garlic mashed potatoes and a wilted slaw (all very tasty – especially because I didn’t have to cook!) and I made pumpkin pie for dessert.  Heck, I even got out the wedding china. 

I made these cookies last night and the kids helped ice them this evening.  These will be coming with us on Saturday to Dad’s house.  A funny thing about these cookies, they are called “Sour Cream Sugar Cookies”.  My dad hates sour cream.  He even jokes that he doesn’t like anyone who likes sour cream, but these are his favorite cookies!  He prefers them un-iced and I made sure that I have a container of those just for him.  If you like a not-too-sweet cookie, then you should enjoy these.  

Sour Cream Sugar Cookies
In a medium bowl, sift together:  
3-1/4 cups of flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt

Then, in a mixer combine:
1/2 cup butter (softened)
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Beat for 2 minutes, then blend in 1/2 cup sour cream.  Change your attachment to a dough hook and slowly add the flour mixture.

Roll and cut out with cookie cutters.

Bake at 425 degrees for 10-12 minutes.
Cool on wire rack.
Ice as desired.

 
Last night I dreamt I ate a ten pound marshmallow. When I woke up the pillow was gone.

Thomas Frederick "Tommy" Cooper (British, Prop comedian and Magician, 1921–1984)

TIME:  10:59 PM
PLACE:  The kitchen
SUBJECT:  Rice Krispie Treats

I purchased marshmallows and Rice Krispies on yesterday to make Rice Krispie treats.  I had the bag of marshmallows on the kitchen counter and it drew MonkeyBoy and StellaDella to it like a magnet.  Those two could suck down the whole bag before you knew it was even opened.  There were originally 6 cups of miniature marshmallows in the bag…when I measured it late this evening to make the treats, we were down to four.  I needed to make them before all the marshmallows disappeared.   So after the family went to bed, that is just what I did.  Of course I had to sample one to make sure that they turned out OK.  It was hard to tell with just one sample, so I had to have another.  They tasted fine, although I am tempted to eat another, just to be sure.  ;)

“Life is better than death, I believe, if only because it is less boring, and because it has fresh peaches in it.”

Alice Malsenior Walker (American author, feminist, most famous for the critically acclaimed novel The Color Purple b1944) 

TIME:  8:16 PM
PLACE:  Kitchen counter
SUBJECT:  Peach crisp with ice cream

The kids and HandsomeHusband went to the 1:15pm baseball game – St Louis Cardinals vs.. the Houston Astros.  It was Build-a-Bear day at the old ballpark.  They each received a Cardinals stuffed puppy, then when the game was over, they stood in line for about an hour and a half, so they could go down onto the field and “Run the Bases”.  HH took them out to eat after and they did not make it home until a little before 8PM.  Sweet “FREEDOM!”  (said in my best Mel Gibson, Braveheart impersonation).  I didn’t know what to do with myself.  I ended up going to the bookstore for a little while – then came home and just enjoyed the peace and quiet.  I did make the peach crisp with the peaches we picked last Tuesday.  It was quite delicious served warm from the oven and with some vanilla ice cream.