Experiments in the Kitchen . . .

 I was watching a favorite cooking show the other night. One of the chefs made a 'papusa' which turns out to be a tortilla made out of instant corn masa flour. Only instead of individual tortillas to fill, scoop, or gobble down with butter, they are filled and fried.

The recipe for the tortilla was easy: the instant corn masa flour and enough water to form a workable but not stiff dough. In order to enhance the plain corn taste a bit, I used chicken broth instead of the water and added salt, pepper, and cumin to the dough. The filling was salsa, browned ground beef, rice, and some Feta cheese. Yeah, I know, I got my ethnic groups mixed up here but it tasted good.

I thought it would be difficult to roll the dough out into reasonably nice circles, however, the trick was to place the ball of dough between two sheets of waxed paper and gently press down evenly and an amost-perfect tortilla appeared. I put in the filling, some Mexican cheese, and topped and sealed it with another freshly-pressed tortilla and fried them in a bit of oil and butter until golden brown.

I'm thinking that for a meatless Friday meal, I could use just a cheese filling.

I found the instant corn masa flour in the baking section of my grocery store.

Wisdoms with a Smile . . .

"I have lost friends, some by death... others through sheer inability to cross the street."
-- Virginia Woolf

"We do not know what we want and yet we are responsible for what we are - that is the fact."
-- Jean-Paul Sartre

"He has all the virtues I dislike and none of the vices I admire."
-- Sir Winston Churchill

"Anybody can win unless there happens to be a second entry."
-- George Ade

The Many Faces of Chocolate Chip Cookies

The Many Faces of Chocolate Chip Cookies
1 cup butter, softened
1 cup firmly packed, dark brown sugar
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
1 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 ½ cups semisweet chocolate chips
1 ½ cup milk chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Whip the butter and sugars until creamy. Beat in the eggs, and vanilla until well-blended. Add flour and baking soda until well-mixed. Stir in chocolate chips.

Drop by rounded tablespoons onto ungreased baking sheets, about two inches apart. Bake for eight to ten minutes or until edges are golden brown. Don’t over bake! Makes about 4 dozen cookies. Especially good, hot and gooey out of the oven!

This ia the most basic of Chocolate Chip Cookies. The recipe is great and you will have a good outcome and please your family, however, you can keep your kitchen production varied and creative and still have the ease of the above recipe.

These are some of the ways I recreate basic Chocolate Chip Cookies . . . with no complaints to date!

1.  Add 1/2 cup chopped nuts to the stated recipe. Walnuts come to mind, first, but peanuts take it to a new level.

2.  Add 1/2 cup diced dates, some freshly grated orange zest, and 1/2 cup toasted and chopped pecans to the recipe.

3.  Use all white chocolate chips, 1/2 cup chopped walnuts, and 1/2 cup diced fruitcake fruit.

4.  Use all white chocolate chips, 1/2 cup chopped nuts, and 1/2 cup diced orange slice candy.

5.  Add 1/2 cup diced spiced gum drops to the batter.

6.  Stick to the basic recipe and add 1/2 cup of toffee bits.

7.  Same recipe with the addition of crushed peppermint candy.

8.  Use all peanut butter chips and press some salted, crushed peanuts into the top of each cookie before baking.

9.  Add 1/2 cup dried cranberries to the mix - chocolate and cranberries taste good together.

10. Use all butterscotch chips instead of the chocolate chips or half butterscotch and half white chocolate chips.

Holy Thursday is close at hand . . .

At the supper with the twelve

Thou, O Christ, was seated;

And has prophesied Thy death

Soon to be completed;

And hast pointed Judas out

By the morsel meted:

And unto Gethsemane,

After, hadst retreated.

Hymn from Sarum Missal (Tz. J. Neale) 12th Century