Fun in the Spring Sun

We had a beautiful, and long awaited, spring day! The temperature rose into the 60's and after some yard work and lunch, I took the kids to the middle school to ride bikes. Here they are...

Winning Recipe

Dipped Gingersnaps
2 cups sugar
1 ½ cups vegetable oil
2 eggs
½ cup molasses
4 cups all-purpose flour
1 Tbsp. ground ginger
4 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. ground cinnamon
Turbinado sugar for rolling dough in

Preheat oven to 350˚F.

In a mixing bowl, combine the sugar and oil; mix well. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir in molasses.
Combine dry ingredients; gradually add to creamed mixture and mix well. Shape into ¾” balls and roll in additional sugar.
Place 2-inches apart on ungreased baking sheets. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until cookie springs back when touched lightly. Remove from baking sheets to cool.

These cookies are delicious just plain but if you want to jazz them up, try them dipped!

For Dipped cookies:
2 pkgs. (12 oz. each) vanilla baking chips
¼ cup shortening

Melt chips with shortening in a small saucepan over low heat. Dip the cookies halfway; shake off excess. Place on waxed paper-lined baking sheets to harden.

Yield: 10 – 11 dozen.

These cookies freeze well. I have never frozen dipped cookies but you can freeze plain cookies and dip once thawed. Enjoy!

Results are in...

Well, I have to say, this opportunity was a wonderful experience. My first baking contest! (Huge Smile). Tasting and voting took place Thursday afternoon, March 12 from 1-3:30 pm. Results were just announced this morning! However, before I announce the winner, I’d like to share the experience.

First, I was instructed to checkout “chef whites” (yahoo, feeling official now) and then report to the Food Lab at noon. Once in the lab, I was given my paper chef’s hat (I took this home for the kids to fight over), shown the kitchen stations and the locations of various ingredients. So I chose a “kitchen” to work in. After looking through drawers and shelves for my utensils and needed baking equipment, I started making my cookies. That did not take long. See my entry was an easy recipe, great flavor. I spend the most time forming my cookies. At home, this time is good talk time with our children.

There were 4 finalist and the entries were Penizotto biscotti, Chocolate Covered Cherry cookies, Apricot, White Chocolate and Walnut scones and Dipped gingersnaps. Tough competition!

The smells in the lab were mouth-watering. I used a huge oven, it must have been 5 feet wide and it held 5 cookie sheets. Cut the baking-time considerably. (I am thinking I need an oven like this in my renovated kitchen.) Once my cookies cooled, I dipped them in white chocolate and put them on the larger cookie trays for storage. Did that give my entry away ~I made the Dipped gingersnaps! I was slightly confused as the Apricot, white chocolate and walnut scones were not scones. To me scones are triangular in shape. The baker of these, made little mounds of dough and baked them. Funny but they tasted good. I just love apricots. The Penizotto biscotti smelled wonderful when they were being mixed up. That contestant had a lot of prep work to make those. I voted for the biscotti. Hey, I already know my cookies are great – that is why the recipe made it into our “Tested & Approved” cookbook at home.

I am already working on next years’ entry. I am hunting for an unusual, tasty cookie. I might even create my own cookie. Time will tell. Until then, congratulations to the winner! Oh, that was me.

I'll post the recipe soon. These cookies are fun to make with children. They will have a ball rolling the dough into little balls. And they freeze well!

Baking - Out of my Zone

I’ll be baking tomorrow but not in my kitchen. Not with my equipment. I entered a cookie contest at a local university weeks ago. I was notified that I am one of four finalists. We bake tomorrow in the food lab. Thursday the “public” can participate in tasting and voting.

Am I nervous? Only about baking in their lab. With their equipment. And I won’t have my two assistants with me. I know the recipe is good. Otherwise, it would not have been a keeper! One highlight about this experience is I get to checkout “chef’s whites” – consisting of a chef jacket and pants. Hats will be available in the food lab.

Just a little excitement in my life! I’ll pretend I am a chef for a day! Better say, “a chef for an afternoon”. Stay tuned…I’ll let you know what the results are.

Motherhood Joys

I take comfort in the little things in life that make living special. I have been blessed to share my time on earth with a wonderful man. He is very thoughtful, kind, honest and loving. We have been blessed with two children. These three special people give me so much each and every day. I love them so very much! I truly cherish their little acts of kindness or closeness, such as:

Recently our son started offering to dry dishes. He is five. It is a joy to stand next to each other and talk. We talk and laugh. He shows me how dry he gets the dishes and I have to touch them. He demonstrates his drying techniques for drying various items. Dish time could not get any better than this!

Our daughter has started vacuuming. She doesn’t just vacuum. She has to put her apron on from a past Halloween costume before she begins. She does a good job. She takes her time and vacuums slowly. And then she dusts. I hate to dust so I gladly let her roam the house dusting. She is my real Cinderalla – beautiful and smiling as she works and assists me.

Another job or two that our son helps with is our fireplace. He will carry the wood upstairs to fill the holder. He tells me how strong he is and shows me how much wood he has carried. I am aware of the numerous trips as I watch him go up and down the stairs. The next day, he cleans the fireplace. He tells me how he does it, slowly to avoid dust and he looks for red coals. Red coals mean the wood is still hot and he has to be very careful. He certainly has listened to his fathers’ instructions. And I have to admit, he is the most handsome chimney sweep!

Years ago I started setting our table with tablecloths, our nice dishes and glasses. The table setting most likely occurred because of a holiday or our anniversary. Since then, it is very common for me to come home and find the table set “fancy”. They work hard to set the table and love surprising me. What a way to end a day, good or bad, at the office.

I’m anticipating summer “joys”. Time spent outside in the yard, fishing in one of our two ponds. Farming our piglets. Conversations. Walks and hikes and bike rides. Wild flowers sitting in a jar on the table for dinner. Excited shouts because they found a frog, salamander or snake. The first time they realize the hummingbirds are back. Together time. Precious family time.

There is nothing like motherhood and the joys that it brings to one’s life! Thank you Lord for blessing me.

Comfortable in Her "Self"

This school year has held some wonderful surprises. Surprises for us from our daughter. Unaware as we watch, she is just living, growing, developing and maturing. This past fall she came home and informed us that she wanted to audition for a part in the chorus play. I was thrilled and surprised. Surprised because at times I see her question herself and she is shy. She has doubts about her abilities. She is intelligent. She is a friendly, caring individual. Would she be able to stand up in front of people to audition? Ok, I think that is great! Audition. Give it your best shot and we will see what role you get. She auditioned. Not once, but twice. The turnout for this was tremendous. She did not get a speaking role, but a role none the less. She was going to be a bee in The Share Bears production. Why would this surprise me? Well, she can’t dance in front of her family members, especially her father, and she wants to get a part that she’ll have to perform in front of a hundred people. I am glad that our daughter is comfortable enough to get up in front of people - to share herself.

This year, she started attending religious education at a new church we are attending (our church closed). She sat right up front. Within minutes, she was raising her hand, answering questions. She did not raise her hand timidly. She held it up. Straight up in the air. You could not miss it. How is that for confidence? Then when the children broke apart to go to their individual study groups, I could hear her answering questions, volunteering to read and just fitting it. I smiled. I wondered if I would have been able to handle this situation the same way? I was very proud of her. Change doesn’t seem to hinder her ways. She adapts. She adjusts. She participates and gives it 100%.

She has teaching capabilities. She often helps teach her younger brother. She has a quick mind. When the topic is not clear to him or he seems confused, she poses questions to him that he can answer and thus, understand the topic. She is patient, thorough and detail-oriented. She willingly beats herself up to be perfect. A flaw we are working to deal with. She hears us exclaim often, “We cannot be perfect. It is okay to make mistakes. The important lesson is to learn from your mistake and carry on.”

She can keep pursuing her goals. We’ll support her. She can keep surprising us. I realize we must be pretty good parents. She knows we love her. She is building her confidence. She is responsible. She is thoughtful and kind. She definitely is a people-person. She does the best she can in whatever she does. That is all we ask. We are supportive. We want her to try. We want her to be successful. Yes, she’ll fail. But we’ll be there to pick her up, to brush her off and set her back on her feed.