A pause in the morning to reflect and smile . . .

"Give a man a fish, and he'll eat for a day. Give a fish a man, and he'll eat for weeks!"
-- Takayuki Ikkaku, Arisa Hosaka and Toshihiro Kawabata

"A girl phoned me the other day and said "Come on over, there's nobody home." I went over. Nobody was home."
-- Rodney Dangerfield

"Human beings, who are almost unique in having the ability to learn from the experience of others, are also remarkable for their apparent disinclination to do so."
-- Douglas Adams

"Old age is not so bad when you consider the alternatives."
-- Maurice Chevalier

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

Looking to Holy Week - Reflections on Holy Thursday

O God, from Whom Judas received the punishment of his guilt, and the thief the reward of his confession, grant us the effect of Thy clemency: that as our Lord Jesus Christ in His passion gave to each a different recompense according to his merits, so may He deliver us from our old sins and grant us the grace of His resurrection.

Roman Missal, Collect for Holy Thursday and Good Friday. (Gleasian, 5th to 7th centur)

Forget About it Pot Roast . . .

Monday always seems to have a slow start after the weekend. Sometimes, our creativity is definitely lagging yet the spouse and offspring still expect dinner come the evening. Here is an easy way to get through the day yet look like the efficient mother/wife! I've probably posted this in some form or the other before but, hey, there might be one of you who needs a helping hand today!

FORGET ABOUT IT POT ROAST
(all you need to worry about it is the salad!)

1 beef roast, weight depending on size of crock pot)
1 cup sliced mushrooms
1 packet dried onion soup mix
1 cup red wine or 1/2 cup wine and 1/2 cup bullion

Mix the liquids together and pour over the meat. Set crock pot on low and you should have a tender beef meal by evening. Serve with garlic bread, buttered noodles, or rice.

Somehow, it is comforting to have the main dish cooking away on it's own while you pursue more important things like quilting, reading . . . okay, cleaning house and laundry!