K's Favorite Gingersnaps

Yesterday I was thinking of my brother K & hoping great things for him on his job interview. These are his favorite cookies & a recipe we made often when I was growing up. They are best right from the freezer. The chewy centers when slightly frozen are amazing! 

This recipe can be found in the recipe book that almost burned my apartment down. At first I could not find the recipe book when I wanted to make these cookies. Where could it be? I use this recipe book for all my favorites. I searched high and low; until finally I found it in my bedside table. Haha! Great bedtime reading I guess. 

Okay y'all are waiting for directions right?

Cream 3/4 cup margarine, 1 cup sugar, and 1 egg.

Add in 1/2 cup molasses. 

Note: This time I warmed the molasses for 30 seconds in the microwave to have it pour easier.

Mix in the dry ingredients: 2 1/2 cups of flour, 2 teaspoons ginger, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, 2 teaspoons baking soda, 1/2 a teaspoon of salt, 

It is best if you refrigerate the dough here before rolling into balls. 

Note: If you do NOT wish to refrigerate the dough, the dough will be super soft. You may add up to an extra 1/2 a cup of flour. Rolling in sugar will also help to add structure. 

Roll the dough into balls, and then into sugar and place on parchment paper on a cookie sheet.

Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 10-12 minutes. 

(Note: I did not refrigerate mine for this post, warmed the molasses, added an extra 1/2 cup of flour and baked for 10 minutes. I imagine if you did not warm the molasses you might not need the extra flour, or if you refrigerated the dough you would likely need to bake for 12 minutes. )

Yield: 2 1/2 dozen cookies of the best goodness possible! 

Mmm yum I cannot wait for these to cool and eat!

Raisin Molasses Oatmeal Cookies Recipe & Baking Playlist

Remember those juicy raisins I was hankering for in the grocery store? On Monday I put together a recipe for soft, chewy, oatmeal, raisin, molasses cookies. This is my own recipe. I know, I amaze myself sometimes. These my friends are amazing!

You need to mix some up and have two or three cookies. Playing in the background, of course, will be this baking cookies playlist I made on Spotify.

Raisin Molasses Oatmeal Cookies

1/2 cup White Sugar

1/2 cup Brown Sugar

1/4 cup Molasses 

3/4 cup Butter or Margarine 

1 egg 

 1 1/2 cups Flour

1 teaspoon Baking Soda 

1/2 teaspoon Salt

1/2 teaspoon Ginger

1/2 teaspoon Cloves

1 teaspoon Cinnamon 

1 1/2 cup Quick Rolled Oats  

1 cup Raisins 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line two baking pans with parchment paper.

Cream sugars, butter (or margarine), molasses and egg in the mixer. (I find Molasses hard to pour...I was going for 1/4 cup but might have gotten 1/2 cup) Measure in dry ingredients. Mix. Stir in quick rolled oats & raisins.

Form balls and arrange on baking sheet. Press fork in centre. If you find dough sticky wet your hands slightly before.

Bake @350 degrees Fahrenheit for 12 minutes.

Makes 2 dozen cookies.

Yesterday's prompt for blog-tember was to make a playlist. I of course was up way too late the night before watching a movie with L then up at 4 am with J and then up with the sun again. Since it was Ls day off we pulled together a diaper bag and wisked J into her carseat & picked up breakfast sandwich & coffees & we were off to the big city for a full day of shopping. When I got home, re-heated lentil soup that I had made the day before & made dinner, played with J and put her to bed I listened to a pile of music and composed this playlist. I had wanted to post it yesterday but the day got the best of me. So now I'm a day behind in the blog-tember challenge but I will catch up in time.

Baking Cookies Playlist 

(Click on Baking Cookies Playlist above to be taken to Spotify to hear the full playlist for free.)

I hope you enjoy!

The Great Zucchini Throwdown

So you somehow were given a great, huge zucchini by a distant relative through marriage. For a week now you've eyed that zucchini in the fridge until now. You've decided this will be the week of the zucchini. For one whole week you will come up with ideas to use that zucchini. And because I've already mastered this quest I will provide you some inspiration...but remember in a throwdown...you also can take up the challenge and best me with your kitchen, knife wielding skills.

1. I started the week off with a simple technique of adding to my hash browns. Mmm delicious.

2. I also decided to be ambitious and make dill zucchini muffins. These I think could be improved by adding bacon bits but they were also tasty. Here is a link if you'd like to make your own. I adapted mine a bit because I'm on a kefir kick so I used kefir in place of buttermilk. You can do that - adapt recipes- it's more fun that way.

 

3. I then recalled the famous zucchini chocolate cake that my mom used to make and hunted down a recipe. I will not share it here because it was it did not live up to the hype of moist decadent chocolate. It was rather dry. So if you have your own zucchini chocolate cake recipe do not be shy, do share as I will acquire yet another zucchini in your honor and test it on this blog. And eat it with great joy.

 

4. I have a penchant for Quiche. I absolutely love quiche and zucchini found its way into my quiche this week. 

 

5. Now for the finale. The best hummus recipe adaptation I made this week. The most flavorful, and one that I will make again. Hummus!!! You guys this is the best hummus recipe ever! Zucchini you did great.

Now if you clicked on the link for this Green Goddess Hummus you may be thinking like me whhhhaa! I have no idea what tahini is or tarragon and you may like me wander all over the grocery store and even ask a few grocery staff for assistance only to learn the grocery store does not stock these two items. This is where you need to be creative & Google on the go or use your creative brain...I learned that tahini & tarragon both belong to the sunflower seed family...so I adapted the recipe and instead put in half a cup of sunflower seeds & two tablespoons of olive oil.. Also as L was assisting me he Ukranian adapted the recipe and instead of one garlic clove two found there way in. Finally you will notice the recipe does not include zucchini--what? I thought this was a zucchini throwdown. Exactly!! Add in one cup of grated zucchini. Delicious!! 

Ok. So that's a wrap. Zucchini five ways. Tell me about your favorite zucchini recipes and if when you cut into a zucchini you have a plan. Because six cups of grated zucchini! Whoa!

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Summer Storms & Crockpot Chili

 

 

Lately we've been having some incredible summer storms on the prairies. This photo of a shelf cloud is from a neighbor down the street. "A shelf cloud is a low, horizontal wedge-shaped cloud, associated with a thunderstorm gust front (or occasionally with a cold front, even in the absence of thunderstorms). A rising cloud motion often can be seen in the leading part of the shelf cloud, while the underside often appears turbulent, boiling, and wind-torn." (Source: accuweather.com) Shelf clouds are often mistaken for tornados. 

After the other nights storm that woke us up and left me rather groggy in the morning it was rather chilly in the morning. It felt like a day for having chili even though I suspected it wouldn't be long before the sun broke through the morning mist. Chili is really easy to make and really you rarely need a recipe- onions, celery, peppers, chili powder, cumin, coriander, tomatoes, beans, (& my dad always added a few tablespoons of brown sugar to his too)... Hot summer days are perfect for crockpot meals. I found this recipe for crockpot chili & cornbread. Instead of adding beef broth I substituted beer. I thought it gave the chili a fabulous flavour profile. It's a mild chili, L commented this chili needed more heat, so if you make it and want more heat I'd recommend some hot peppers. I also added a large can of brown beans because when I was growing up that was how my dad made his chili. Another quick summer trick I have is to fry up onions, red & orange peppers earlier in the week and have these in the refrigerator -then they can be added to recipes throughout the week. Its less tears that way for me- I cut an onion and I might as well have attended a funeral. 

The Shape of Me

Monday we had our ultrasound for babykins. I was eager to find out if the baby was a girl or boy, but alas! the little one was quite content to keep it a secret. The ultrasound technician had me move onto one side and then the next to wake him/her, suggested we go for a walk and come back and finally sighed and asked if we had any juice or candy in our pockets. The baby wouldn't have any of it and stayed curled in a ball sleeping with the occasional stretch of an arm. I should have taken my cousin Penny's advice and had a sweet cold drink prior.

I had a doctors appointment on Friday. Good news the placenta is in a good position and cervix is closed. Also good news was I have only gained one pound since my last appointment. The ultrasound did not provide enough pictures of the baby (as the baby was uncooperative according to the doctor haha) so we are to have a follow up ultrasound in one months time. Hopefully the baby will be moving more then and we can find out if indeed baby is a boy or girl. 

I just discovered decaffeinated chai tea from Tetley at the grocery store! So exciting! I've been missing my chai tea lattes from Starbucks. My waist line I'm sure hasn't. 

I just made the most amazing Coconut, Oatmeal, Raisin Cookies from my Mennonite Treasury cookbook. I'll share the recipe below. I added two ingredients to the original recipe. Can you guess which ones? 

1 cup butter

1 1/2 cups brown sugar

1 egg

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 1/4 cups flour

1/2 tsp. soda

1 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. salt

1 cup fine coconut

1 1/4 cups rolled oats

1 cup raisins

Directions: Cream shortening with sugar, add egg and vanilla. Sift dry ingredients. Add rolled oats, coconut and raisins. Roll into balls. Bake for 10-12 minutes in 375 degrees F oven.

Gotta love the brevity of old school recipes. 

Evan's Cherry Jelly

Evan's Cherries are great for making jelly.  

I was delighted to discover this cherry when I moved to Southern Alberta. Apparently the tree grows well in Prairie climates and some internet searches say it may have come to Alberta from Alaska. It is named for Evans a horticulturalist and research scientist for Alberta Agriculture who cultivated the plant after a gardener invited him to take some of the tree's for the Alberta Tree Nursery. She had been growing cherry trees since 1923 in her orchard near Fort Saskatchewan. Luckily my inlaws have several trees ripe for picking in their condo complex. 

Evans Cherries are a bright red fruit. They tend toward a sour cherry. In the spring they have beautiful white blossoms and grow to a height of 12-14 feet.

This fruit box equalled 20 cups of pressed juice and made 32 jars of jelly. 

To Make Evan's Cherry Jelly:

Wash the fruit and remove all stems, leaves and other twigs.

Rig up your press. I found this one at a antique store for $20. Back in the day people used to make jelly. Pour about 2 cups of cherries in at a time. Press it down with a wooden spoon.

Four cups of cherries yields about 3 cups of juice. If your lucky your sidekick or L in my case will come to your assistance and offer to press all the cherries. He is really wonderful. 

Skim off the murky scum.

Prepare your jars. Wash with warm soapy water. Rinse. Heat up the kettle and pour boiling water over the tops to steralize. Dump out the excess water. I usually have two cookie sheets and transfer the jars between the two. 

Heat up the lids on the stove in a small pot to boiling. I'm not sure why but you do. I guess it helps with sealing later? In a big pot pour in 10 cups of cherry juice and 14 cups of sugar. Yipes!  I guess that is why you only have a teaspoon or two on your toast. Add in one package of cherry jello. My mom always did that I am not sure why. Just do it. Heat it to boiling. Be careful to not let it boil over the edge which I did on my second go around. It was a real mess. 

After it boils add in 4 pouches of liquid pectin and boil for 1 minute longer while stirring. There are 2 pouches of pectin in each box of Bernardin Liquid Pectin. You can buy the jars and pectin at Canadian Tire. 

Remove from heat and using a measuring cup pour into the ready jars. Fish out the lids from the boiling water and screw on the lids. Use a towel to help hold the jars while screwing on the lid.

Listen to the music of popping as the jars seal. 

Oh what fun!

Let's Read & A Tasty Mennonite Summer Borscht Recipe

When I was younger my brother and I could spend hours in grandma S. sunroom reading Archie comics emerging finally to eat a blackpepper ginger snap cookie. If anyone has a recipe for blackpepper gingersnaps please share as I am on the hunt for the perfect blackpepper gingersnap recipe.  I reminded grandma S. of these cookies the last time I saw her in the nursing home. She smiled when I told her and then said I must have had a good life. When we left she asked my mom to bring her two cookies the next time she came to visit. That made me smile.

The reason I told this anecdote was to segway into my graphic novel read. I wondered if Archie comics or Astrix and Obelix or Tintin books counted as graphic novels. These were favorites of mine when I was younger. I was not sure of the category graphic novels as I purused some of the titles on kobo books. Finally I settled on Relish by Lucy Knisley because I am a foodie and this was one about food, family and memories. If I was not on a self-proclaimed quest to finish this reading challenge I likely would not have encountered this read. I always enjoy a read with pictures.

 

I also finished All My Puny Sorrows by Miriam Toews. It is not at all about food. I enjoyed this novel. It has its moments of sacriligeous charm and complex characters with fabulous flaws. Miriam Toews is a cynical Mennonite and for this I enjoyed the occasional Mennonite references as I too have a Mennonite heritage. Albeit my Mennonite memories are much more charming and involve family, celebrations, gardening, and food. I loved this one passage, "Then we sang a hymn, "From Whom All Blessings Flow." Mennonites like to sing in tense situations. It's one option if you're not allowed to scream or go nuts emptying a magazine into a crowded plaza. I began to cry and couldn't stop no matter how I tried." My family also liked to sing "Praise God From Whom All Blessings Flow" but my memories of this hymn are often before dinner when there was a large crowd of family rather than in tense situations. 

All My Puny Sorrows is a rather sorrowful novel as it navigates the frail life of Elf or Elfrieda, a world renowned concert pianist, who is intent on committing suicide and is hospitalized for much of the novel. The story is told through the eyes of Yolandi her sister, whose own life would seemingly be in disarray, seems to be the pillar of strength in this novel.  The novel mines the personal tragedy in Toew's own life--the suicides of her father and her sister. The book is an incredible portrayal of what it is to be a sibling. 

So thinking about food, family and being Mennonite I decided it was time for a favorite Mennonite dish. Borscht and not just any borscht but Summer Borscht. Mmm it is really delicious. 

I thought I would share this delicious recipe with you also. I found a version on the blog Oh So Lovely that I tweaked a little alongside the Treasury of Mennonite Recipes. For instance in these versions there is reference to sorrel or burdock leaves. I have no idea what that is. I made this version with vegetables mainly sourced from Safeway. The sausage is from my favorite local butcher Premium Sausage. I am sure it would be much tastier if made from garden vegetables but alas! my garden is not yet producing.  Imagine new potatoes from the garden in this soup. Mmmm Also in my Treasury of Mennonite Recipes one version calls to add 2 cups of Buttermilk to the broth at the last rather than sour cream. I'm sure that would give it some tang! 

Mennonite Summer Borscht or Zumma Borscht 

Ingredients:

• 12 cups of water
• 1 ring of Mennonite farmers sausage (approx 372 grams)
• Tops of 3 large beets (2-4 cups)
• 1 bunch of green onions chopped
• 1 large yellow onion diced and fried
• 1/2-1 cup of fresh dill
• 2 cups of potatoes chopped (note in the picture above I only used 5 of the potatoes)
• 1 cup of carrots chopped
• 2 bay leaves
• salt & pepper
• sour cream (optional)

Directions:

Place the coil of farmers sausage in a pot with 10 cups of water and bring to a light boil. This will need to boil for an hour to form your broth for your soup and to cook the farmers sausage. Skim off any murky scum at the top. 

While the farmers sausage is lightly boiling start chopping vegetables.  If your slow like me and easily get distracted this could take an hour.

Fry the onions and set aside.

Remove the farmers sausage from the broth and slice. Skim off any lasting scum on the edges of the pot before adding the vegetables. Add two more cups of water, the bay leaves and season with salt and pepper.

Bring to a boil and cook until the potatoes are tender. (And then a little more for added goodness and so that the potatoes will be easy to break apart in your bowl.) When the potatoes are cooked return the farmers sausage to the pot.

 Enjoy!

Add a little dollop of sour cream to taste. Have a side salad or fresh buscuits, buns or even garlic bread like we had. Mmm delicious.

This is perfect for a rainy summer day. I hope you like it!

This soup yields approximately 6 large bowls of soup and depending on how large your bowls are could yield more.