Category Archives: Baking

Adult children, Anxiety, Baking, Christmas, Humor, Joy

Christmas Cookies and Not Sweating the Small Stuff

4 Comments

As I write this, it’s 1 p.m. on Tuesday afternoon and I’m in the Christmas cookie zone, relaxing to instrumental Christmas music on my Google Nest.

But here’s where my head was the Sunday before last. Call it a little peek into my “Christmas brain”, if you will:

I need to start somewhere, so I’ll start with the cookie planning:

I would like to make:

  • Spritz
  • Cherry Almond cookies from last year
  • Santa’s whiskers
  • PB Truffles
  • Snickerdoodles
  • Chocolate covered pretzel rods

And maybe another kind of two. Oh, the cherry snowballs for sure! I’ve got six days designated on our calendar to get this done.

Then there’s the decorating. I am especially psyched for this endeavor.

But my beautiful daughter is on her way to pick me up for a spontaneous shopping trip and I’m still in my bathrobe. So I gotta split for now.

Same day, just p.m.

Today was great! I enjoyed eating a hearty lunch with my first-born at Barker’s in Hudson. We had fun shopping together. I love that she’s going as the rag doll from the Land of Misfit Toys from Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer, for a work photo shoot next week. But it was hard to find the “costume”. She is not worried about it though.

There’s an important difference between the two of us. Good on her. She’s not like me in this way. Had I, at her age, been given a directive to come up with such a costume for a work situation, well..I’d be freaking out. I’d probably still be out there, searching to no avail for all the right pieces to bring that damn dolly to life.

Because it would have mattered to me, then. I would have fretted about the impression I was giving my employer by coming up short on this task, as I would have convinced myself that without a doubt, every one of my co-workers Christmas photo-shoot costume was going to be EPIC.

And it would have been such a misplacement of my mental energy and my time.

I’m glad she’s not like I was. She doesn’t sweat the small stuff, which I have done at a high level of proficiency for the majority of my adult life.

Readers, don’t be surprised if you see more posts than usual from me this month. I’ve got Christmas on the brain and my hope is that unloading it in this space will be a jolly little treat to go with your egg nog.

Fa-la-la-la-la folks!

***Header image courtesy of https://wjbq.com/why-is-dolly-on-the-island-of-misfit-toys-whats-wrong-with-her/***

Baking, Comfort Food, Food, Halloween, Lifestyle, Middle aged belly fat, Recipes, Weight

Thursday Thoughts from a Good Cooker

7 Comments

I’ve got so many tabs open in my brain as I begin writing this blog post. Tabs about our Halloween costume options (crap, it’s less than a week away!). Tabs about upcoming plans and shopping for Christmas presents. Tabs about how to express what I want to say to a person I love and miss so much who has distanced themselves from me.

For this week’s blog post, however, I’d like to focus on hearth and home. Domesticity. Cool air and the rust, amber, and scarlet leaves falling outside while we remain cozy indoors inspires this in me.

Being indoors, cooking and baking, heck, even going through my raggedy-ass recipe binder is my jam right now. It comforts me and keeps my mind occupied.

I remember, years ago, while our oldest (probably 8 or 9 at the time) was enjoying whatever supper I had just put on the table, she said “Mom, you’re such a good cooker!” It warmed my heart and gave me the giggles. It remains a family joke, tossed around liberally when any of us makes something another deems delicious.

I do have a recipe to share with you here today, fellow foodies. I’ll put it at the end of this post.

First, though, I’m going to be real with you here. I’m overweight and conflicted about it. I go back and forth in my brain on a daily basis about it, frankly. On one hand, I’m not that overweight. 13 pounds, to be precise. Just 13 pounds. I keep a food diary to keep myself honest but it’d be dishonest of me to say that practice is the secret to any weight loss. At this point it’s more like a compulsion.

There’s plenty that I like about my body, my shape. I have the ability to dress myself in ways that camoflauge my mid-section, where my extra pounds tend to gather. I’m able to easily walk a couple of miles without needing to take any breaks. My extra weight does not hinder me from doing anything really.

On the other hand, I’ll catch a glimpse of myself in the mirror sometimes and cringe. Or a picture of myself. I’m sure at least some of you can relate.

But this is the time of the year when I start to dream of all the goodies I can bake. The hotdishes that bring to mind growing up in Minnesota and adulting in Wisconsin. Showing my love for others via tasty comfort food.

Suffice it to say that my commitment to losing weight by eating healthier is waning as the temps decrease here in Minnesconsin.

Ok, folks, it’s time for the promised recipe. It’s a classic recipe for bars I’ve made numerous times over the years and it does have oatmeal in it, so it’s not entirely unhealthy. I just made a batch the other day and brought 75% of it to work (lest I gobble it all up myself in the kitchen late at night).

M ‘n M (or is it M and M?) bars:

Mix up the following and put 1/2 of it in a 9 by 11 inch baking pan:

2 Cups Quick Oats

1/2 Cup Flour

1 Cup Butter, slightly melted

1 tspn. Baking Soda

3/4 tspn. Salt

1 Cup Brown Sugar

Bake that at 375 degrees for 12 minutes.

While that’s baking, mix up the following:

1 can Sweetened Condensed Milk

1/3 Cup Peanut Butter

Pull the baking pan out of the oven after 12 minutes and pour that sticky goodness over the top.

Then take the other 1/2 of the oatmeal crumble mixture that’s left and mix in a cup of M&M’s (I use the Halloween colored ones because I’m fancy). Sprinkle that on top and then put it back in the oven for 18 minutes.

Enjoy and Happy Halloween!

Americana Music, Baking, Gratitude, Happiness, Lifestyle, Recipes, Simplicity

A Sweet Tuesday

4 Comments

The Tuesday before last, while Mr. None of the Above (my husband, AKA my “hubs”) was out of town for work, I had myself a lovely day.

My work schedule (it makes me so happy to type those words, you guys) is 9-4 Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. This means on Tuesdays and Thursdays, I am free to do as I please, especially when the Mr. is out of town.

I was so grateful for that day.

That Tuesday was the first day of the fall season here in Minnesconsin that felt like fall. It was overcast and about 60 degrees out.

A perfect day to do one of my very favorite things in the world: bake.

This past summer, I published a blog post about the rhubarb patch in my front yard. I found some great recipes for said rhubarb, which included a delectable and simple-to-make rhubarb sauce. In that post, I mentioned a recipe I found for orange bread. It was handwritten by my mom, bequethed to her by her father. Grandpa Frazer, it turns out, was quite the baker. I wrote about how I’d like to make that orange bread “one of these days” and pair it with the rhubarb sauce.

A slice of the finished product!

So, on that sweet Tuesday, while listening to some chill tunes on my Google nest, I did just that. Gosh, it was such an enjoyable experience. A simple pleasure. Very K.I.S.S. of me.

The bread, as well as the rhubarb sauce, was delectable. It was a beautiful pairing of sweet and tart.

Here’s the recipe:

Mix together 1 cup sugar, 1 tablespoon shortening. Add 1 egg. Add in 2 cups flour, 1 teaspoon baking soda, 1 teaspoon baking powder, and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Once that’s all mixed up, add 1/3 cup (and per my mom’s instructions, add water to make 1 cup-or just add 2/3 cup of water-ha ha!). Grate some orange peel and add it to the mix. Once it’s all nice and mixed up, put it into a greased and floured bread pan and bake for 1 hour at 350 degrees.

Now, for the rhubarb sauce:

There’s not much to it at all, as you don’t need to do much measuring.

Put 1 1/2 to 2 cups diced rhubarb, a little sugar, a little water, and a bit of orange or lemon juice. Cook it up on the stove, smooshing the fruit as it cooks (unless you like chunky fruit in your sauce). I added some sliced strawberries for a little extra sweetness, but it’s not necessary.

As I said earlier in this post, while baking that Tuesday (I made banana chocolate chip muffins that day too), I enjoyed listening to some chill tunes. Along with some of my favorites (The Avett Brothers and Dawes), I hummed and sang along to songs from the great Minnesota rock band, the Jayhawks.

Here’s one of their best songs, IMHO. Enjoy!

Baking, Community, Curiosity, Facebook, gardening, Google, Lifestyle

The Latest Question

11 Comments

Is rhubarb a fruit or a vegetable?

This is what my brain started to wonder about a couple of weeks ago.

The visual from my yard that prompted this initial question:

This is one bush? Or is it simply called a plant?

I’m proud to say that while I was tempted to say it’s a fruit (based on my association of rhubarb to sweet baked goods), just before I clicked enter when I put that question into Google search, I thought “no, it’s a vegetable”. I think it’s because it grows in the ground.

It’s not uncommon for a question answered to lead to another question, which is what happened next.

Because of course, I have no idea what to do with it. I fancy myself a maven of the kitchen, but rhubarb is not something that has ever been in my repertoire. My vague recollection of rhubarb, as I don’t think Bonnie (my mom) grew it in her backyard garden, is that it’s not pleasant to eat raw. That must have been someone else’s garden. It tasted like sour celery. I do have memories, however, of enjoying it baked in cake or muffins.

So, I proceeded on a quest for “best practices” for all things rhubarb. My walking buddy/neighbor, who is far more knowledgeable than I of all things gardening, told me last week that I ought to be picking it within the next couple of weeks.

Time was of the essence, and because I think it’s more fun to crowd- source certain questions than it is to Google it out, I turned to Facebook.

I learned that cutting the stalks is a no-no. Doing so prevents it from growing back next year. I was told by many to not eat the leaves as they are poisonous (not like it would occur to me to eat them in the first place). Freezing the cut-up stalks was a common piece of advice, which I will be following. My Facebook friends were enthusiastic about strawberry rhubarb jam and pies too.

One response was via DM from a friend from our old neighborhood in La Crosse. She had just pulled her rhubarb stalks out of her garden and was in the process of cooking them down with water and sugar to make sauce when she happened upon my query on Facebook. She told me she freezes the sauce to pour over ice cream, yogurt, or cake in the winter months. She also shared that she makes a “mean” rhubarb gin and tequila. I’m not a gin fan, but that sure sounds like a creative use for this vegetable doesn’t it?

I also perused Bonnie’s recipe box and found a few different recipes for cake, muffins, and pie. I love seeing her handwriting on these cards. It conjures up her voice for me, which is bittersweet. Kind of like rhubarb, I suppose.

The surprise bonus for me was the anecdotal information Bonnie provided on some of the recipe cards. The “Mom” in the recipe referred to as “Mom’s Wonderful Rhubarb Cake” was Bonnie’s mom, my Grandma Pearl. I gathered this from Bonnie writing “just super good and mom doesn’t esp. like rhubarb”. Another recipe card I found among the rhubarb recipes in Bonnie’s recipe box was for orange bread. She noted at the top of the card “Dad’s”. That would be her dad, my Grandpa Fritz.

I’m thinking rhubarb sauce would be quite delicious drizzled on top of this orange bread. I’ll report back once I’ve tried making it.

Baking, Balance, Blogging, Christmas, Emotions, Holidays, Honesty, Humor, Lifestyle, Moods

How Are You Rolling These Days?

13 Comments

I ask this as a sincere question.

Like, I can take it. Be real.

Think of it as a “check in”.

I also ask this because I have a full blown complex about coming across on this blog as self-centered, self-involved and driven solely by self-interest. Like “me me me me me” obnoxiousness.

Please God tell me I am not alone in this.

However, I know the nature of a personal blog is that it is personal. Attached at the hip to who the blogger is as a person. Like, no one is paying me to write news articles here. I am not beholden to anyone other than myself (and you) in this space.

It’s really quite the conundrum, don’t you think?

Also, I am not in the right head space to finish and publish the post I most recently started about work and career and me (of course).

Because of Christmas. Because of Work. Because I have the crud (aka sinus and possible ear infection, and yes I should get my ass to the doctor’s office).

So, tell me, how are you feeling physically these days?

Aside from the crud, my shoulders are aching more than usual. Likely because of the physical activity my upper body has been up to, with all the Christmas cookie baking and packaging I’ve been doing. I am hop Blah .Blah. Blah.

I freaking love baking. Christmas cookies especially. My secret? I keep it simple. No high-falutin Martha Stewart shit going on behind the scenes over here.

Though someday, I think I’d enjoy simply trying some of Martha’s recipes or DIY tricks. Maybe when I have this kitchen to cook and bake in.

How’s your attitude?

Currently, I am waffling between “let’s get Christmas wrapped up, mmmkay?” and “Christmas is my favorite!” Depends on the day. I am very much looking forward to making some merry though. Especially this weekend when I’ll be dressed as an elf while working at my employer’s “Santa Shop”, where donated presents, food, and hygiene products are given out to low income families.

How are you feeling emotionally?

Good question. Hard to answer actually don’t you think? I push those emotions of mine down during times of extreme stress. So much so that I can’t properly answer this question. Once I start seeing the light at the end of this Christmas tunnel I have faith that my body will relax and those emotions will come to the surface. I’ll sit down on my couch with Radar, sip some wine, and let it go.

All of the above and more is why I’ve determined that I’m going to choose one word to focus on in the New Year: “Balance”.

I was totally going to end this post with the loveliest Christmas music video I could find on YouTube.

Instead, I’m going to share two of my newest favorite songs; both of them stick in my head as I go about my day and lift me up. Maybe they’ll do the same for you.

I have been a fan of this dude for about 8 years or so. Can’t wait to see him at Red Rocks (or anywhere else) someday.

Doesn’t this just make you yearn for a tropical vacation this spring????
Adventure, Baking, Christmas, Humor, Planning, political humor, Travel

How I’m Rolling Right now: the DC version

6 Comments

Ok, let me start with the obvious. I’m going to be in Washington, DC soon.

I am serving in the role of Hubs’ “plus one”. He has to be there for work. I am tagging along and will have the luxury of unsupervised time in our nation’s capital.

I am one lucky broad.

As I write this, I’m in the midst of what is best described as the “Holiday Gauntlet”. Hubs and I are going to be tremendously busy with wrapping Christmas presents, decorating the house, and baking cookies to send to friends and family far and wide, until we get on that airplane. The point is to wrap it all up before we go.

Thus begins the annual Christmas cookie baking and packaging extravaganza!

This means the time I have to create an itinerary for myself while in DC is a bit limited.

There are certainly some “must do’s” swirling in my head.

Here are but a few:

Visit the Newseum

Get myself a Snickerdoodle McFlurry from McDonald’s

Have dinner at Mrs. K’s Toll House

Visit the museum of American History

Visit the National Portrait Gallery

Shopping

Seeing a classic holiday movie at the AFI theater near the hotel we are staying at (Choices are “Holiday Affair” and “Miracle on 34th Street” neither of which I’ve actually seen). I am very open to your opinions on this btw.

I recognize that the above list is pretty random and maybe even a little tame. There’s a reason for that, beyond having the better part of 3 days to myself while I’m there. I’m using my guiding macronym here: Keep It Simple Sister. Because I rather like the idea of going at my own pace when I’m on my own in DC. Ensuring I’ve enough time to write. And sleep. And catch up on my reading. And use the earbuds I’ve had forever and a day and never used so I can listen to podcasts I downloaded on my cell phone.

My intention here is to ensure I’ve not overplanned myself so much that I don’t take notice of my surroundings. It’s DC, after all. For all I know I could be riding the Metro and end up sitting next to Bernie Sanders. Or Nancy Pelosi. Or the notorious RBG. Note to self: ponder what you might say and/or questions you might ask if this type of opportunity presents itself. One never knows, right? Maybe I’ll be sitting innocently in a coffee shop and overhear a private conversation between 3 Republican senators about how much they want to impeach Trump but they don’t have the guts. I could find myself being a fly on the wall who pulls out her handy dandy chromebook and captures the experience for this blog. Or better yet, the woman who appeals to their better angels and convinces them to do the right thing. Ha!

Or perhaps I accidentally become swallowed up in a swarm of protesters protesting against the Bullshitter-in-Chief. Now that would be an interesting blog piece, right?

So clearly I must keep my wits about me just in case.

I found my old metro cards from previous times I’ve been in DC, so I’m ready to do some exploring!

Baking, Christmas, family, Fun, Holidays, Humor, Joy

Let the merriment begin

3 Comments

 

Now that Christmas is a mere few days away, and the major tasks of purchasing gifts, sending out our Christmas cards, wrapping the gifts, and sending them on their way to their hopefully delighted recipients is over, I’ve got myself a minute to reflect. To share my thoughts and feelings about this crazy and magical time of year and why I love it so. 

Baking Christmas cookies and related treats is one of the few traditions I have maintained over the years. Mind you, I am no Martha Stewart (unlike an old co-worker who brought snowflake cookies to our holiday potluck that were decorated so exquisitely it felt wrong to consume them not like I didn’t anyway). I focus on simple cookies. Actually, several of them are the “no bake” kind. I think that’s a wise choice as I make a fricking ton of them. I send these Christmas treats in holiday themed tins purchased at the Dollar Store or my local thrift store to friends and family from northern Minnesota to Missouri. I shan’t ever end this tradition as at this point our loved ones expect them each and every year. I kind of set myself up for that.

But it’s all good. Baking cookies while listening to my favorite Christmas tunes puts me in the spirit. For several years, while still living in Wisconsin, I hosted a cookie baking party with 3 of my closest co-workers. The wine flowed, the kitchen was essentially destroyed, and much fun was had by all. Good times. 

IMG_0382
Christmas cookies, circa 2008 ish

Then there’s the music of this season. I’m not the type to turn on the Christmas music as soon as the Thanksgiving leftovers are stored in the fridge, but I do enjoy it quite a bit. I am a traditionalist, as I mostly prefer the classics, sung by the original artists. Though there are a few exceptions. Like this version of “Baby it’s Cold Outside” by “She and Him” (I will admit the video is not exactly what I expected).  I’m not going to get into the controversy over this particular song and how it is “rape-y” (I don’t exactly see it that way). I was delighted when I first saw the movie “Elf” and heard Zooey Deschanel’s pure and beautiful singing voice.  I was even more delighted when I discovered that there was a “She and Him” and that they had produced a sweet little cd covering classic Christmas tunes. I of course purchased this cd and enjoy listening to it every single Christmas since then. The only other two Christmas cd’s on repeat in our house this time of year are Michael Buble’s “Christmas” and the Carpenter’s “Christmas Portrait”.  The songs “All I want for Christmas” by Mariah Carey, “Feliz Navidad” by Jose Feliciano, and Bing Crosby’s “Mele Kalikimaka” always put a smile on my face when I hear them this time of year.

I’m excited that Hubs is working on “Mele Kalikimaka” on his yuke these days. With any luck, he and I will collaborate on this one and may even perform it via video for our daughter and grandson via videochat yet this season. Or next Christmas, at least.

The most arduous tasks for me during the Christmas season are 1) purchasing gifts, 2) wrapping said gifts (not my forte; thankfully Hubs has my back on this one), and 3) shipping all the packages to hither and yon. Yet, there’s such a great joy I feel inside when I find just the right gift for the right person. I don’t know that I’ll ever in my livelong life, however, create such excitement with my Christmas gift-giving as my sweet Hubs did for me one Christmas about 7 years ago. I could not have been more surprised. 

Here’s the story: we are at my sister and brother in law’s house way up in northern Minnesota, where we have spent many Christmases. We are in the middle of opening all of our gifts, a tad liquored up and sitting in the cozy family room by the beautiful Christmas tree. I open the shirt sized box, assuming it’s a new sweater or some other practical piece of clothing (which I was totally fine with). However, it’s a fancy black dress. I look at Hubs a bit quizzically, and assume in my head that this is a dress I’ll be wearing for a nice dinner out with him on New Year’s Eve. Wow, I’m thinking. So thoughtful and how fun is it that he’s planning to take me out on New Year’s (that doesn’t happen every year, you see). Then I see there’s a sheet of paper underneath. I open it up and it’s an ITINERARY. An itinerary, no less, for a New Year’s weekend in Chicago! An itinerary mapping out our Amtrak train ride, dinner reservations at a very chi-chi seafood place in downtown Chicago, a fancy hotel, and tickets to see “The Adams Family Musical”. I was, for once in my life, utterly speechless. I think I actually cried with joy. It ended up being the best New Year’s Eve (weekend) of our entire married life despite the massive hangover I foolishly gifted myself. 

Image
Our New Year’s Eve in Chicago circa 2011 ish

 

This year, I was given the opportunity to shop for a little girl. I haven’t had the opportunity to partake in this activity since my spawn were youngins. You see, instead of doing the “Secret Santa” thing at work (you know the one-where you rack your brain to figure out what to buy for that one person you don’t know as well as all the others), someone came up with the brilliant idea of doing “Secret Santa” for the offspring of our co-workers. I grabbed a “wish list” for the daughter of one of my co-workers, and proceeded to have a ball at Target finding things for this kiddo. I suspect she will be pleased that Santa stuffed her new shiny star-shaped purse with Snickers and a $10 bill. I know I would be!

I wish each and every one of you a blessed, joyful, fun-filled holiday season. May your stockings be full with all your favorite goodies, may your travels be safe, and may your hearts be full. 

turned on red and blue merry christmas neon sign
Photo by Jameel Hassan on Pexels.com