Fruit Pizza Cookie for Mother's Day

    Mother's Day is a simple affair in our family. Mom is a frail eighty-four with a hearing deficiency so celebrating takes the form of a rather quick visit by each of her children and perhaps some of the grand and great-grand children. Cards and gifts are presented, accompanied by happy conversation and a little sweet treat. This year, I chose to make a fruit pizza cookie. A sugar cookie crust (which could be made from bought refrigerated dough but I had time and much prefer from scratch) was prebaked the day before. A topping of cream cheese, powdered sugar and vanilla was spread over the crust and then garnished with an artful arrangement of strawberries, blueberries and kiwi. Almost too pretty to cut, the cookie was a cool, not-too-sweet treat on a warm day.

     Instead of store-bought novelty napkins, I printed up some paper napkin rings on the computer, which were easy to cut out and put together with a glue stick. White everyday napkins were rolled and slipped into the rings for a slightly festive look. Cookie slices were served on the napkins so plates were not even necessary

Brownie Buttons

     When Rissy calls on a Saturday asking to bake, we make a decision together whether to try something new or use a tried-and-true recipe. I had seen something similar to these cookies online and thought they were cute and simple. Instead of the pastel originals (I believe they were intended for a baby shower), we chose a brownie cookie. Rolling the dough and cutting out circles was uncomplicated, but easier still, and even fun, was creating the button 'holes'. We used a plastic straw to punch them out, and of course, the straw filled up with minuscule dots of dough which we either blew out the end (as a sort of ammunition - the dog loved it) or squeezed out for tasting. A drinking glass just a bit smaller than the cookie cutter formed a nice rim. Kitchen laughter and tasty treats equaled a delightful afternoon.

Borador and the Bunny

    The bunny was placed next to a sleeping Duncan and I hoped for a cute cuddly pose to enclose with an Easter greeting. But of course, he woke instantly and reached over to get the toy in his mouth (where everything and anything seems to end up during these baby dog days). I snapped a quick photo anyway and was surprised that the result was a rare moment  free of the usual puppy frenzy and full of beguiling innocence.

Old Family Tragedies

     In 1942, at only forty years of age, my maternal grandfather died. I wasn't born until the next decade so I  never knew much about Lawrence, except that he was a baker, that his marriage to my grandmother failed miserably and that he was an alcoholic. Even my mother, his only child, knew little about him; Lawrence was completely estranged from his family and lived in another state.

     However, genealogy research revealed a history of tragedies in Lawrence's immediate family of fivechildren. My sweet godmother was married to his youngest brother and when I inquired, she sent me a large folder of papers, documents and photographs. The newspaper clipping (c. 1927) shown here reports the death of another brother, Ted, who was five years younger than Lawrence. In the photo, Ted's stance is not just a brash young man - he appears insolent and possibly inebriated, which could explain the reason for the accident.

     Below is another article, this time recounting the death of Marie, an older sister. Apparently she was a working woman who had retired relatively young, was unmarried and lived alone. The palm trees indicate that this photograph was taken far from her native Michigan, perhaps on a vacation. Was this the happiest portrait found in her possessions?
     The untimely and adverse nature of the sibling's deaths lead one to the conclusion that the family shared some type of unfortunate or oppressive issues. Rebellion against life on the farm? First-generation Americans chagrined by immigrant parents? Or if it was a gene for weak personalities, the adage was borne out that only the strong survive...

Cute Chicks - Easter Cookies

     Using a basic sugar cookie recipe, these chicks were formed by rolling out the dough and cutting with an egg-shaped cutter. After baking, I iced them with a yellow lemon glaze and, after adding a little more confectioners sugar and red color to the remaining glaze, piped on the feet and beaks. The eyes were toothpick points of black frosting. Simple and quick little Easter surprises for neighbors, children and aunties.

Miss Molly and Friend

     Like most little girls, Rissy loves animals - be they plush playthings or alive and breathing. Here she has Miss Molly posed with a favorite pal from her toy menagerie, and the two are amazingly similar.

Asiago Bread

     A local bakery and deli boasts sandwiches made with a luscious Asiago bread. The sandwich filling was unmemorable but I couldn't forget that bread. While grocery shopping recently, a tempting wedge of Asiago cheese caught my eye and I was determined to try my hand at a custom loaf of bread. Of course, while assembling the ingredients, I had to photograph a still of the rustic cheese, an old wooden spoon and a smooth white egg because they looked so simple and beautiful against the cherrywood tabletop. The bread turned out beautiful too and was so tasty that I actually forgot to photograph it before it disappeared!