BIG Flat Oatmeal Cookies

     It's February...it's winter...but the weather is hardly cooperating. The sky has been the same shade of gray for about six days, with rain falling a good bit of that time, and the temperature is holding in the boring forties. Housework is finished but I did notice the cookie jar is empty. Since Christmas (and all the requisite special cookies), we've cut way back on sweet eating so the only baking I've done recently is a loaf of French Bread. Therefore I decided it would be appropriate to make a batch of "ordinary' oatmeal cookies (oats are nutritious, right?) Pop doesn't care for soft cookies - he likes big flat ones with crispy edges and chewy middles, so I obliged him with these beauties and even drizzled a glaze over them for good measure. I thought we would ration them to one a day, but I'm pretty sure a couple went missing mid afternoon!

Winter Visitors - Juncos and White-Throated Sparrows

     Several days of sub-zero temps kept us in the house (except for a dog walk around the block). To combat seasonal depression, we keep the drapes drawn wide open on the sliding back door and let the sun shine in. We also keep the bird feeders full because the winter visitors are quite entertaining. 

     It is amazing that the tiny little legs and bodies of these juncos don't freeze! I know it has to do with altered blood flow but these happy guys are always moving too - darting and flitting at top speed!

     Some new faces joined the group this year - a family of white-throated sparrows. Their faces have a disgruntled appearance, something like Grumpy Cat.

Homemade Raviolis (with help from a muffin tin)

     Ever the adventurous cook, I had to add something new to my repertoire. Although I have made simple noodles (some call them Amish noodles) from scratch for soup, I never had the time or even the inclination to try raviolis. Pinterest struck again on a cold snowy weekend after Christmas, when I saw a pin about using mini muffin tins as a form. So I made the filling of ground beef, onion, spinach, garlic and egg and then made the dough. After rolling it out extremely thin, which was the tedious part of the process, I placed half on the muffin tin and pushed down slightly with a melon scoop to make round depressions. Then I brushed around each indentation with water to help the top layer of dough adhere, and spooned in the filling . I don't have a ravioli cutter or pastry wheel so I just used a sharp knife to cut the squares and then crimped the edges with the tines of a dinner fork. They went into the freezer after a parboil, for a quick dinner during the work week.

  

     The funny part of this story is that I was still at work when Pop decided to cook dinner and pulled out the bag of raviolis. He phoned me to find out how to prepare them and I explained, "just drop them in boiling water for a few minutes and then keep them warm in a pan of marinara sauce until I get home." He phoned me a few minutes later and asked, "but how do you get them crispy?"

     Hated to burst his bubble with the fact that these were not the fried variety, but he was happy enough after eating more than one cheese-topped helping!

Santa to the Point

     This group of Santas graces the top of a shelving unit in my dining room. They share a distinctive feature: a conical shape and pointy hat! Of course, that is what led me to place them in a proximate area. However they are constructed quite differently. The green pair are soft-sculptures - printed fabric that was cut and stitched together, then stuffed with polyester. They are special to me because my grandmother made them several decades ago. The red trio are treasured because a dear sister-in-law gifted them to me, also many years past. They are wooden; and can be pulled apart and nested for storage. I love the unusual but analagous shapes - pinnacles overseeing the dinner table!

The Original Cookie & Noodle Maker

     Today I graduated...from my ancient cookie press. As I placed it in a box destined for a charity pickup, I almost felt a nostalgic sadness. Although only used once a year, it has been a part of my Christmas traditions for four decades, and I watched my mother use one for years before that. I remember being frustrated as a novice baker, the first time I used the metal press and the dough would stick to the template, so I'd push out more dough and then end up with an unrecognizable blob. Took awhile to master the trick of expressing just the right amount of dough, and having it just the right temperature and consistency. 

     But eventually I got it right and began enjoying the process, and the tasty beautiful cookies. Now with my new plastic "gun" it's easier than ever (although I still sometimes end up with a blob!) and the triple dents in my oldest cookie sheets will stop multiplying. (Oh and I never actually tried making noodles with that old press either.)

1949 Christmas Tree

     'Tis the season for Christmas trees and everybody has a unique way of choosing and decorating their own. Trends and fads dictate some people's style, ease and speed of assembly may influence others, and some, like me, seek to recreate the magic of our childhood.

     This tree was my parent's, in their first tiny home in Grand Rapids, Michigan. It was several years before I was born but it is a fascinating glimpse into the traditions of a long ago decade.

     With Dad and her own mother in the Christmas Day picture below, Mom was pregnant with their first child (who would be born eleven days later). While not particularly creative, Mom did love holidays and she was influenced by an aunt whom she adored (and lived with for most all of her own childhood - Aunt had home full of family, extended family and sometimes even friends; she was frugal and hard-working but had a manner of quiet refinement.)

     Anyway, this tall balsam, which would be considered skimpy by today's standards, really does have a gorgeous shape and is adorned with just a few ornaments and a sprinkling of tinsel. I love it - and the joy and holiday spirit that is so evident in the young family's happy smiles .

November's Crescent Moon

     A full moon is fun to photograph but I've never really tried to capture a crescent moon. Last week  when a beautiful waning phase presented itself in a clear sky just before sunrise, I took a few shots but didn't have a chance to look at them until today. Only one was decent - not good -just decent. I did, however, like the dark branches that frame the foreground and the very faint outline of the moon's sphere. One more chapter in my moon photo quest...