Throwing away our future?

http://www.lifenews.com/2013/10/17/six-tremendous-people-with-down-syndrome-what-if-they-were-aborted/

What a sad world this would be for many people if the parents of these children had opted for an 'easy way out' and aborted these young people.

Update on our guest kittens . . .

 Well, the kittens are still with us and enjoying life in a roomy kennel to keep them safe and our house in order!

Oscar, the black kitten, is the smaller of the two and very lively. He meows if he doesn't get picked up and cuddled

Mittens, the gray kitten, is shyer but has put the responsibility of watching over Oscar as her ministry in life. She is slightly bigger and seldom sleeps if Oscar is sleeping. She tends to watch over him and make sure he is okay.

We are looking for a home for the two and hope someone will adopt both of them as they seem pretty bonded. No scratching from them. When they want your attention, they always use 'soft' paws. Oscar will definitely have golden yellow eyes. Right now, it is hard to say with Mittens but there is some green there.

Kittens . . . again!

 Well, we had a few months of no kittens. We were so happy when we found homes for Dunder and Mifflin. They were never our kittens to begin with yet we couldn't let them stay out in the heat and starve.

Yesterday, the same little boys that brought us Dunder and Mifflin, had another two kittens in hand. They were about the same age as the last boarders and even cuter. It was cold at night and, again, we couldn't let them be bumped around by three energetic little boys and then left to fend for themselves at night. They are residing in a kennel in our garage.

The first few days are always misleading as they are still getting their bearings. One of them is already pretty comfortable and pushing the limits of his confinement. The little boys who so 'kindly' inflicted them upon us sternly informed us that they had already given the kittens names. The gray one, we were told, is Mittens. Mittens is completely gray - no white paws. I didn't question the decision. The black kitten was christened Oscar.

Given the timeline between the births of the last two kittens we had and these and the fact that they look very much like Dunder and Mifflin, I'm thinking some family has a mother cat that they haven't bothered to have spayed. To make matters worse, it seems they feel free to abandon the babies in our neighborhood. Sad commentary on people today. If they can't be kind to a tiny, helpless kitten, you have to wonder about their consideration of people.

Off to post the fact that we, again, have free kittens!

Gluten-Free Peanut Butter Cookies

It has been a very cool, overcast day so what better time to bake some cookies. I've been trying to organize my Christmas baking since we are gluten-free and what better way than to test actual cookies. Hey, a good excuse is a great excuse to make, bake, and eat a warm cookie from the oven.

Gluten-Free Peanut Butter Cookies

1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed, dark brown sugar
1/2 cup peanut butter - crunch or smooth, your choice
1/2 cup shortening
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 large egg
1 cup your favorite all-purpose gluten-free flour. I like the version sold by nuts.com.
1 teaspoon xanthan gum
1 teaspoon baking soda
Pinch of salt
2 teaspoons finely grated orange zest

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Line two to three baking sheets with parchment paper. The cookies actually seem to bake more evenly this way.

Combine all the ingredients in a mixing bowl and blend until just mixed and the dough is holding together. Depending on what size you want, shape the dough into balls or use a cookie scoop. With a wet fork, press a crisscross on the top of each cookie pressing down to spread out the dough a bit. They do spread a bit in the baking.

Bake for 8-12 minutes depending on the size you made. The edges should be nicely browned and the tops golden. Cool on the baking sheet for few minutes before removing to a cooling rack.

*If you are being festive, you can drizzle a chocolate or orange icing over the cookies. You can always sandwich them together in twos with melted chocolate. Mix some peanut butter, powdered sugar and a touch of vanilla for another sandwich cookie filler.

How many are in on this?

Bundt Cake - Gluten-Free Style!

Since we've gone gluten-free for the benefit of my husband's health, I'm always looking for ways to either adapt my own recipes or find ones that serve my purposes in the kitchen. This recipe just showed up on my Facebook account. I reviewed it and it doesn't ask for anything exotic and it seems that it could end up being my go-to recipe. I think you could easily add some nuts or coconut to the batter as well as just enjoy it as the recipe is written. I haven't tried it, yet, but plans are being processed in my mind and I foresee it appearing at our dinner table in the near future.

Enticed to bake yet? The recipe is here --> http://www.thebakingbeauties.com/2013/10/gluten-free-vanilla-bundt-cake.html

Jubilee Jumbles Memories . . .

Cold, rainy weather seems to bring on the memories of the past for me. I guess the fact that I spend more time in the house has me looking inward! Anyway, the best way to warm up a house and bring some by gone days back to life is to bake something with nostalgic fragrance. And, since rain is in the forecast, perhaps I'll have a reason to warm up the house this way!

I was looking for a particular recipe,  and was thrilled and surprised to fine another one I had forgotten about but dearly loved as a child. They were relatively simple, plain cookies but they always disappear first from the Christmas cookie platter.

Jubilee Jumbles (from Betty Crocker's New Picture Cookbook, 1961)

1/2 cup soft shortening
1 1/2 cups brown sugar, packed
2 eggs
1 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup chopped nuts

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Mix shortening, sugar, and eggs thoroughly. Stir in sour cream and vanilla. Blend flour, soda, and salt: stir in. Mix in the chopped nuts. Drop by rounded tablespoonful of dough about 2" apart onto a greased baking sheet. Vegetable oil spray works great. Bake about 10 minutes our until cookie is firm to the touch and lightly golden. Spread cooked cookies with Browned Butter Glaze. Makes about 4 dozen 2 1/2" cookies.

Browned Butter Glaze

Melt /12 cup butter until golden brown. Blend in 2 cups sifted confectioners' sugar and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract. Stir in 2-4 tablespoons hot water until icing spreads smoothly. Before the icing hardens, you can to the cookies with tiny, chocolate chips, more chopped nuts, a whole almond, sugar sprinkles, etc.

You can substitute the nuts in the cookie recipe for chocolate chips, white chocolate chips, raisins, chopped dates, coconut, or add cinnamon, ginger, and cloves to the original recipe for a spicer cookie.