Sunshine is delicious, rain is refreshing, wind braces us up, snow is exhilarating; there is really no such thing as bad weather, only different kinds of good weather. ~John Ruskin
The trouble with weather forecasting is that it's right too often for us to ignore it and wrong too often for us to rely on it. ~Patrick Young
To be interested in the changing seasons is a happier state of mind than to be hopelessly in love with spring. ~George Santayana
What dreadful hot weather we have! It keeps me in a continual state of inelegance. ~Jane Austin
Thursday, September 8, 2011
True Grit Cookies
A departure from the political complaints! I'd like to share one of my favorite recipes. I've tweaked this one over the years and this is pretty much my favorite way to make these cookies now.
True Grit Cookies
1/2 cup butter, at room temperature
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Grated zest of two lemons and two oranges
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup yellow cornmeal
1 teaspoon baking powder
Beat butter and sugar until creamy. Beat in egg, vanilla, and zest. Add flour, cornmeal, and baking powder until completely blended. Shape into long rolls directly on shetts of waxed paper. Chill for 20 minutes and then reroll to even them out. You are going to be eventually slicing these into cookies so you want to make them look good! Chill for another hour in the refrigerator. They can also be made a day or two ahead of time and kept in the refrigerator until used.
Unwrap dough. Using a sharp knife, cut into 1/4 inche slices. Place about an inch or so apart on greased baking sheets. Bake at 325-degrees until pale gold, about ten to 15 minutes.
These are interesting cookies as they aren't overly sweet and the cornmeal gives them an interesting texture.
True Grit Cookies
1/2 cup butter, at room temperature
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Grated zest of two lemons and two oranges
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup yellow cornmeal
1 teaspoon baking powder
Beat butter and sugar until creamy. Beat in egg, vanilla, and zest. Add flour, cornmeal, and baking powder until completely blended. Shape into long rolls directly on shetts of waxed paper. Chill for 20 minutes and then reroll to even them out. You are going to be eventually slicing these into cookies so you want to make them look good! Chill for another hour in the refrigerator. They can also be made a day or two ahead of time and kept in the refrigerator until used.
Unwrap dough. Using a sharp knife, cut into 1/4 inche slices. Place about an inch or so apart on greased baking sheets. Bake at 325-degrees until pale gold, about ten to 15 minutes.
These are interesting cookies as they aren't overly sweet and the cornmeal gives them an interesting texture.
How is that going to work . . .?
Rumor has it that the president is going to present a proposal to stimulate the job market to the tune of $400 billion. How does that work? I know from past reports, he isn't into making drastic but necessary cuts in pork barrel spending so where is all that money going to come from this time? Everyone is already taxed out, born and unborn, to the tune of around $47,000. Not only can I not come up with that amount, ever, I don't think I would like to increase it.
Bookkeeping classes should be a requirement for our politicians. There is a plus column and there is a negative column. When the negative column exceeds the plus column, you stop spending. Printing money is not an option as there will be nothing but paper behind the money. Tax increases will not help. Every time our taxes go up, we cut back on our spending which means we are pretty much back to square one. Politics is very confusing to me. Politicians are 'ordinary citizens' until they get elected to office and then they forget how it is to be ordinary citizens with limited incomes. When they decide we need to tighten our belts, the we doesn't include them.
Anyway, the big speech is this evening. In fact, it is probably starting about now. The main event opposite the president's speech is football. I hate football. I think I'll watch the game.
Bookkeeping classes should be a requirement for our politicians. There is a plus column and there is a negative column. When the negative column exceeds the plus column, you stop spending. Printing money is not an option as there will be nothing but paper behind the money. Tax increases will not help. Every time our taxes go up, we cut back on our spending which means we are pretty much back to square one. Politics is very confusing to me. Politicians are 'ordinary citizens' until they get elected to office and then they forget how it is to be ordinary citizens with limited incomes. When they decide we need to tighten our belts, the we doesn't include them.
Anyway, the big speech is this evening. In fact, it is probably starting about now. The main event opposite the president's speech is football. I hate football. I think I'll watch the game.
A new way to burn calories . . .
I read an article that said that the Weight Watchers program was one of the best ways to lose weight. After seeing that it would cost almost $18 a month (and I still have to eat something!), I cruised around the Internet to see if there were options as in free options. I found one that looked promising with lots of ways to monitor your intake, plan your meals, etc. I logged and and decided to see where I stood on calorie intake for the day. One click and I was presented with a pre-determined menu for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I would certainly lose weight following it because I don't/won't eat most of the suggestions. I spent 15 minutes on the page until I found where you could plug in your own food choices for the day. Another ten minutes and I got my breakfast into the system. It wouldn't let me get into the lunch one. Seeing the time go by and the laundry pile up, I decided to actually make my lunch rather than argue about a proposed lunch with a web site.
After lunch (and it was healthy!), I looked around for a friendlier site. Found one but it was too simplified in some ways and lacking in others. All I wanted to do was plug in what I eat, get a calorie count, and find out how much I should or shouldn't have eaten. All this really worked up an appetite.
I decided the best thing would be to increase my exercise. I moved the ironing board another three inches away from my sewing machine so I'd have further to walk when I needed to iron a seam.
After lunch (and it was healthy!), I looked around for a friendlier site. Found one but it was too simplified in some ways and lacking in others. All I wanted to do was plug in what I eat, get a calorie count, and find out how much I should or shouldn't have eaten. All this really worked up an appetite.
I decided the best thing would be to increase my exercise. I moved the ironing board another three inches away from my sewing machine so I'd have further to walk when I needed to iron a seam.
Free patterns!
When I get tired of simple patchwork sewing for quilts, I like to incorporate some applique work into the mix. This site has a lot of full-sized, applique patterns on a variety of subject. I was looking for a good teacup pattern and ended up with a cupcake pattern I didn't even know I wanted. Thought I'd share for those of you looking to add to your store of ideas for today or in the future.
http://fatcatpatterns.com/
http://fatcatpatterns.com/
Sacrificial Baking . . .
With a deep sigh, I've realized that my fresh lemon source is depleted for a few months. The neighbor's overhanging branches are finished with their crop for the season and my lemon tree still sports hard, green lemons. I will have to bite the proverbial bullet and purchase a lemon or two from the store this week. In a fair world, there would be a third lemon tree type that would fill in the harvest blank!
I do have a source of 'fresh' lemon juice, however. I read, during the bountiful lemon time earlier this year, that you can wash and freeze whole lemons. When you need juice, let them defrost and then squeeze out the juice. The peel and zest is useless because of the time in the freezer but the juice is good. Also, you get a lot of juice as freezing seems to break the 'juice cells' and it give it more freely.
I actually baked an apple/pear crisp without benefit of lemon the other day. Soaking the fruit in some brandy and vanilla went a long way on compensating for the lack of lemon. I was pleased with myself for going ahead and making a dessert even if it wasn't 'perfect' in the way I wanted to make it. I'm learning to live out of the cupboard before payday and not be too annoyed about it!
Fortunately, the lemon and orange tree will be available for cooking/baking needs by Thanksgiving so I'm not complaining . . . too much.
A quiet week, next week. The bishop in our diocese has a meeting with all the priests at some comfortable location so there will be no morning Masses for three days. Also, if you need a priest, that could be tricky and complicated, too. We fondly refer to this annual event as 'the three days of darkness'. The bishop, however, does not!
My altarboy son is happy for almost a week of late mornings and time off from serving. By the time this all ends, we are always happy to get back into our morning Mass routine. It seems a peaceful way to face the rest of the day.
I do have a source of 'fresh' lemon juice, however. I read, during the bountiful lemon time earlier this year, that you can wash and freeze whole lemons. When you need juice, let them defrost and then squeeze out the juice. The peel and zest is useless because of the time in the freezer but the juice is good. Also, you get a lot of juice as freezing seems to break the 'juice cells' and it give it more freely.
I actually baked an apple/pear crisp without benefit of lemon the other day. Soaking the fruit in some brandy and vanilla went a long way on compensating for the lack of lemon. I was pleased with myself for going ahead and making a dessert even if it wasn't 'perfect' in the way I wanted to make it. I'm learning to live out of the cupboard before payday and not be too annoyed about it!
Fortunately, the lemon and orange tree will be available for cooking/baking needs by Thanksgiving so I'm not complaining . . . too much.
A quiet week, next week. The bishop in our diocese has a meeting with all the priests at some comfortable location so there will be no morning Masses for three days. Also, if you need a priest, that could be tricky and complicated, too. We fondly refer to this annual event as 'the three days of darkness'. The bishop, however, does not!
My altarboy son is happy for almost a week of late mornings and time off from serving. By the time this all ends, we are always happy to get back into our morning Mass routine. It seems a peaceful way to face the rest of the day.
Thought-provoking and fun quotations!
"First there is a time when we believe everything, then for a
little while we believe with discrimination, then we believe nothing whatever,
and then we believe everything again - and, moreover, give reasons why we
believe."
-- Georg Christoph Lichtenberg
-- Georg Christoph Lichtenberg
"Whenever people agree with me I always feel I must be wrong."
-- Oscar Wilde
-- Oscar Wilde
"A citizen of America will cross the ocean to fight for democracy,
but won't cross the street to vote in a national election."
-- Bill Vaughan
-- Bill Vaughan
"Just once, I wish we would encounter an alien menace that wasn't
immune to bullets."
-- Unknown
-- Unknown
Parenting isn't for sissies!
Parents forgive their children least readily for the faults they themselves
instilled in them.
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