I’ve been meaning to post pictures of the patio since it’s finally completed. As I stood out there the other day taking these, I just choked up, big time, that Dave didn’t get to see it. Although I suppose he probably has/does, if he/we can see down here on earth, once we get to heaven. I know he would have been pleased with it. We had agreed on what we were going to do, and the construction started the day Dave had his stroke. I could have stopped it easily enough, but I did want the patio re-done and know it will be an asset if/when I ever decide to sell the house. My home is still where I feel the most comfortable. It’s a safe haven. I love my home. I don’t much enjoy the headaches that go along with owning an old/big home, but so far it’s do-able.

Remember, I live on a hill, so that view is looking back into the side yard/patio, with the hill at the back. The garages are back around to the right with a big retaining wall that holds up the hill! The sitting area is down there on the right, nestled in next to the family room window and the north view is visible from there out to the left, on the far side of the fireplace. The gas log fireplace has a nice raised hearth. It’s all new furniture except for the table, which was newly powder-coated in a smooth stippled black and chocolate color. The cushions are not a Sunbrella fabric, but a new sun-resistant outdoor fabric. I find that they do get dirty very easily – am not sure I should have chosen such a light color, but they all have zippers so I can wash them if needed. All the cushions got wet in our rainstorm the other day – I had covered up everything with towels, thinking we’d just get a “shower,” as the weather experts predicted. No, it was a short deluge, so everything got wet. They’re all drying in a standing-up position at the moment.

There’s the real “view” although it was not a very clear day when I took these pictures. It was gearing up to rain, actually. The outdoor countertop you can see on the left – it continues on around the corner. The windows on the left are the kitchen. The bar-height table we already had, but it got newly powder coated also. Want a laugh? The umbrella you see there on the right is actually sitting – the marble base – in the jacuzzi. (Thanks to my cousin Gary who helped me get it in there this year.) Dave had figured out how to do it, with rope (“line” in sailing parlance) tied just so on the handle. We’d done this every year for several as it works like a charm – in the early summer months the sun beats in there and you can’t have a dinner meal without being blinded, so the umbrella gets put up and tilted so it makes it bearable! The big pool is out at the far left. My friend Bill (husband to JoAnn, and a couple in the evening bible study group that’s been going for 18 months or so) is going to help me get it out of there this week. He’s been SUCH a big help to me – he offered soon after Dave passed away – that if I needed anything done, he’d be happy to do it. And oh, gosh, has he ever! I am ever so blessed to have many, many friends.

There you can see the kitchen countertop a bit better. I have some drawer storage and 3 compartments underneath to store stuff. Note the ultra-cute outdoor chandelier. Found it online. IT was relatively inexpensive! But, it only cost me about $800 to have the electrician get a watertight plug mounted up there. Dave would have had a FIT about that expense, though he would have liked the finished product. Outdoor lighting (as in the chandelier) like that has little glass bowls that lock in place over the bulbs – to make it watertight. The BBQ is there in the background, with the gray cover on it. The door on the right is the dining room. A little hard to see. I also bought an outdoor table lamp that’s on a table in the seating area at the back. I haven’t taken the cellophane off of it because one of the glass bowls broke in transit and it just got plugged in out there. And now it’s time to take all that stuff into the garage – well, the cushions and the 2 outdoor fixtures anyway – until next spring.

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An age-old recipe of mine – the easiest French toast you’ll ever make, almost. You just have to have some of that King’s Hawaiian bread on hand, and a can of pineapple. Along with milk, eggs, butter and brown sugar. I sprinkled the top with cinnamon.

Years ago, 2007 to be exact, I wrote this up on my blog – during a time when I’d actually broken a bone in my foot and had to use crutches and/or a wheelchair. I wrote up some posts during that 12-week period but didn’t have pictures. I just wrote up the story and provided the recipe. I located some photo on the web that kinda-sorta looked like it. So, I’m giving you an updated post about it and oodles of pictures. I expect most readers don’t go back into the ancient writing here on this blog anyway. I never fixed this for Dave, my DH, because he was a diabetic, and this was just loaded with sugar. Is loaded with sugar. But oh-so-good.

Do grocery stores across America have King’s Hawaiian bread? I have no idea. It’s a very sweet, but super-tender eggy yeast bread, sweetened some with pineapple juice, so it is believed. There are any number of copycat recipes on the web if you’re interested – see this one if you want to try to make the bread from scratch. Otherwise, buy an eggy bread or Challah, and add more sugar to the recipe below. I used the mini sub rolls. Picture of the actual roll is at left. My grocery store only had hot dog buns and these.  Some markets have their sliders, or their regular loaf bread, or nice dinner rolls. King’s Hawaiian makes any number of different types of bread shapes. Glancing at the package I assumed (correctly) that one package of these sub rolls, placed cut side up would be just right for a 9×13 pan full of this french toast. And it fit perfectly, with just a tiny bit to spare.

The brown sugar, butter and pineapple gets heated up on the stovetop, just until the sugar melts. Then it goes into the Pyrex dish (no need to butter it). That’s the photo at right. Then you mix up the egg-milk mixture and dip the bread into that mixture and place them just so in the dish on top of all that pineapple. My recipe called for baking it immediately, and that’s what I’ve always done. But this time, I was taking it to a Sunday brunch, and would not have time to make it that morning, so I mixed it all up and left it in the refrigerator overnight. I still had some of the milk mixture left over, so once I got to our hostess’ house, that got poured in on top and after sitting out for about 45 minutes I baked it.

Ideally, when serving it, you’ll use a spatula and scrape up a lot of the pineapple and you can serve it upside down – or right side up. No matter, other than the plain top isn’t all that exciting. Hence I sprinkled the top with a tiny bit of cinnamon. Not in the recipe . . . but I did it anyway. If  you have a crew of hungry kids, this won’t serve but about 4-5 people, but as part of a brunch, with other foods, this will serve 6-8 for sure.

What’s GOOD: how easy it is to make. Overnight chill? Fine. No time to chill? Fine too. Feeds a crowd of people providing you have other food available (fruit, smoothies, bacon, sausage). Doesn’t even need anything on top of it – no syrup or sauce or anything. You could serve it with maple syrup, but I almost think that would be sugar overkill! Kids adore this, I guarantee it.

What’s NOT: only that nothing in this is good for you – maybe just the milk and canned pineapple. It’s sweet, lubricated with butter and egg. But gosh, it’s ever so good!

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So, I wasn’t home for Halloween. I drove to San Diego to spend a few days with daughter Sara and her family. Got stuck in a gosh-awful traffic jam that had the northbound freeway completely closed down for over 12 hours. I was already en route southbound when I heard about it on the radio and within about 5 minutes my side of the freeway was creeping along at about 5-10 mph for about 15 miles. Two lanes were closed on my side because the big-rig that jackknifed not only went over on its side, but it hit the center divider (thank goodness for that as it might have kept going across 4 more lanes!) and sent debris into 2 lanes of the southbound lanes. . . .  . photo at left is my friend Cherrie’s coffeepot – she doesn’t use it – it’s just for decoration.

The traffic jam, though not fun to go through, didn’t seriously affect my drive other than delaying it by about 45 minutes – I had dinner with my friend Linda. We went to a favorite restaurant, Blue Ribbon Pizzeria that I’ve written up here on my blog long time ago. It’s in Encinitas. Every time we go there we order the same thing – the Signature (white) Pizza (fresh ricotta, lemon zest, basil, oil) – and we ask for their home made fennel sausage on it as well. Then we order the BLT Salad with the buttermilk dressing. So good. My friend, Linda, recently had heart valve replacement surgery, and I was so glad to see her up and around and looking great. She can’t drive yet, so she was happy to get out of the house.

Later in the evening I drove to Poway to stay with Sara and family. On Friday (yesterday) we drove to Point Loma to show Sabrina (granddaughter) my alma mater (the campus itself). It’s now a college called Point Loma Nazarene University, but when I went there in the 1960s, it was California Western University. Anyway, the campus has grown a lot, but the basics are still there. The dorm I lived in is still there, so I pointed out to Sabrina where my room was the 3 years I was there (I graduated from college in 3 years, by taking 20-22 units per semester and going to summer school, double sessions). We drove past the buildings where I attended most of my classes. We drove down to the beach (well, within about 600 feet of the cliffs there) too. Sabrina and her mom walked the “mall,” the long path that wanders through the middle of the campus. It’s not a huge school.

We had lunch at Dave’s/my yacht club where Dave’s sailboat is still sitting, waiting for the right people to buy it. Sara and I just couldn’t walk out to the slips, the docks, to see the boat – too emotionally tough for both of us – from the clubhouse we couldn’t see it. Probably a good thing. I would have broken down in tears, I know.

Returning to Poway after lunch, Sara needed to make chili for a group of friends who were coming over for dinner that evening, and between us we made these sugar cookies. Sara told me she’s been making these for years and years and years. I must admit, I’m not much of a sugar cookie fan. To me, they’re just blah. Sugar, flour, baking powder, shortening and salt. Maybe some vanilla. Kids love them – maybe because they’re bland, but also because they’re a blank page upon which to decorate. I’m not even much of a fan of sprinkles, but gosh, nearly every kid I’ve known loves them.

BUT, these sugar cookies are a bit different than most – these contain egg and milk, so they produce a more tender cookie. Sara had mixed up the dough the night before, so she rolled out each section (4), cut them out using a pumpkin-shaped cookie cutter, and I (from a bar stool so I could rest my foot) decorated them with – you guessed it – sprinkles.

Do watch the baking time – as you’ll read in the recipe, if you roll the dough thinly, you’ll end up with thinner/crisper cookies. I prefer them that way, but if you want softer cookies, merely roll the dough thicker and bake them longer, but don’t over-bake them. You’ll need to use a bit of trial and error. When you take them out of the oven they’re still soft, but within a few minutes they’ll firm-up. They really should be cooled on a rack, but just be gentle with them as you use a spatula to get them off the cookie sheet. They take 8-10 minutes, or more depending on the thickness or the size cookie you cut.

What’s GOOD: well, they’re sugar cookies. If you’re a fan, you’ll love them. I liked them a lot, considering that sugar cookies aren’t something I ever make, or order, or even take from a plate of cookies if they’re offered. But these – they’re good. Tender yet crisp. You can color them for whatever season you’re in and cut any kind of shape.

What’s NOT: nary a thing. Easy to make. Easy to bake. Easy to decorate if you’re into that. Do start the night before if possible as the dough does need to chill.

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If you’re one of those people who likes to give just ONE, really nice Christmas gift to someone special, please do consider this. The ThermoWorks Splash-Proof Super-Fast Thermapen Instant Read Thermometer, Perfect for Barbecue, Home and Professional Cooking. Disregard the long name, that’s just how amazon markets, with just such long info-bulging product titles. . . . photo from King Arthur Flour. These little gadgets are pricey, I know – about $96 on amazon – but I’m telling you true – you will not regret it if you can afford to buy one. Presumably it will last you for decades. This tool is one of my favorite tools in my cooking arsenal.

Last weekend I was visiting my son’s home and he and his wife, Karen, were busy preparing a lovely dinner. I dutifully sat on a bar stool resting my foot. I’d made a green salad here at home and took along a jar of homemade salad dressing that’s been in my frig for about a month. Making the salad took little time standing on my ailing foot, and once there Karen mixed it up at the last minute.

They were making grilled pork chops, on the indoor (stovetop) grill. Did I mention that they bought a quarter of a Berkshire pig during the summer? From my/Dave’s friend Fay who still helps 4H clubs with raising farm animals near where we live. Powell & Karen are very enamored with the Berkshire meat now and have already requested another one, perhaps a half a pig next time (next summer this will have to be).

The pork chops weren’t very thick, which makes for a bit more tricky and risky cooking time. Powell scoured in a nearby drawer for the meat thermometer and extracted just the wire. No base unit. He went outside, thinking it was in a drawer out by the barbecue. No. Karen finally found it and they gently probed the meat to test the temp. We had a brief discussion about what the temp should be. Their thermometer was telling them it was a lower temp (not done), and as the minutes went by, and the chops got browner and browner, they decided to disregard the probe’s results and serve the pork. Good thing, as the chops were likely past the ideal temp. But they were delicious anyway. Likely the meat probe was faulty.

But it got me to thinking about one of my favorite kitchen tools, the Thermapen. I’ve mentioned it here many times, mostly when my DH was barbecuing and I’d give him instructions about grilling a roast, or chicken, or whatever. I gave it to him as a Christmas gift, I think. Or maybe not – I might have bought it for myself, knowing to ask him to get it for me wouldn’t happen – he’d never have gone to the trouble to look it up online (I have no idea where to buy it in a brick and mortar store). My recollection is that he looked at it and said “huh?” I told him to “trust me.” That was marriage code for the two of us – mostly it was code I said to him, not the other way around, that I knew from which I speak. And sure enough, that little doo-dad became one of his favorite things. I use it for meat, of course, but I also use it to test warmed-up leftovers in the toaster oven, or quick breads, or yeast bread. Even cakes too. The Thermapen is a treasured item in the pockets of many top line chefs. Sous chefs too.

Last year I gave one as a gift to my friend Cherrie, for Christmas. She likely wouldn’t have purchased one at the price they are – I have mentioned, haven’t I, that this tool is expensive? On amazon they’re $96. That’s a heck of a price for a thermometer, I know. There are so many other brands out there at 1/5 the price, or 1/3 the price. But they can’t work as well as the Thermapen. Some months ago Cherrie told me that her husband, Bud, has basically confiscated the Thermapen and it lives out by their barbecue. He kinda-sorta thinks it belong to him now, ever since he began using it last Spring. So Cherrie knows, when she needs it, she has to walk out near the ‘que to find it. They both love it and have thanked me numerous times for it.

So, I’m going to buy one for Powell & Karen for Christmas. Or maybe just for Powell since I’ll bet it’ll live out in their new outdoor kitchen drawers. (Yes, I know, I still need to take photos of my new outdoor kitchen – before I take it all down for the winter.)

So what’s unique about this thermometer? Well, for one, it’s one of those instant-read ones. It does take about 3-4 seconds for the temp to settle in and reach temp, but that’s about as instant as you can get, but it is very legible on the big screen. Another nice thing is that when you fold the probe against the base, it turns off automatically. Press in? Off. So much better than most of the others that require you to press a itty-bitty tiny button to shut it off. Or, what if you forget and leave it on. One of my older probes has a boxy base and it’s not easy replacing the batteries in it. Hated that one. It was cheap. No wonder.

The Thermapen can fit in a shirt pocket or a pants pocket – just don’t forget it there and send it through the washing machine – that’d likely finish it off. It’s big enough you’re not likely to forget it’s there. You can’t drop the unit in water – that’s a no-no, but when it is time to clean it, open the probe and just rinse and/or wipe off with a soapy sponge. Fold back the probe and into the drawer it goes. Mine is now about 4 years old, I think, and the battery is still going strong.

Update on me: my doctor says my foot is better. She pressed and probed with her thumb in my heel/foot and I didn’t jump off the table in pain, so now I’m doing daily exercises (several). She also gave me another cortisone shot, and that has helped also. You can have 3 in a year. My funky bright tennis shoe is all I wear on that foot. They’re Brooks brand. Brooks Women’s Glycerin 11 Running Shoes, Color: Aqrs/DrsdnBlu/Blk/Slv/ShckOrng. That’s a link on amazon for the shoe in case you’re interested. I was going to take a photo of my electric blue shoe, just to give you all a laugh, but I’m too lazy. My doctor glanced at the shoe sitting on the floor next to the exam table and said – wow, you have the very best athletic shoes out there – good for you. I go to a shoe store that specializes in comfortable shoes, called Comfort Shoe Loft, on El Toro Rd in Lake Forest, CA, in case anyone wants to know. The owner there is the one who sold me these shoes telling me that for plantar fasciitis, this was the best shoe out there. (And I have a very high, firm arch support in it as well.) It’s nice to have the doctor confirm that claim. Anyway, I still have months to go before my heel is well, but the doctor gave me some suggestions – space out my outings over the course of the day – don’t do a marathon of errands. That’s do-able. Do the exercises several times a day and finish with rolling my foot over a frozen water or juice bottle to help chill-out any inflammation caused by the exercises. Also do-able. Also to take an anti-inflammatory if I wake up and my foot is squawking at me more than usual – but take just one, just one day. Okay. Do-able. She also told me – when I asked – to NOT push through the pain. She said that could reverse all the healing I have done. She said in this case when my foot squawks, it IS telling me something – that I need to go home and rest. It’s been 3 1/2 months of this – I know well how to do that part. Not that I’m happy about it, however.

Oh, and I thought I should mention a disclaimer – when you click on an amazon link in my posts, it takes you to amazon through a different portal (called amazon associates), but if you should buy a Thermapen, I earn a few cents. Most months I never even reach their minimum threshold, so it’s been rare that I ever “make” anything from amazon sales. But it might keep my website up for awhile longer . . .obviously these links are a marketing tool well used by bloggers. I wouldn’t do this unless I recommended the product as I am with the Thermapen and my athletic shoes.

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If you’re not already a subscriber to Cook’s Illustrated, you should be. I know I’ve touted the magazine before, but I’m doing it again. Chris Kimball is the founder, editor and visionary of the group of food publishing and TV shows. He was 29 when he started Cook’s Magazine (which eventually morphed to Cook’s Illustrated, I think). Many years ago, after I’d already been a loyal subscriber for many years, I went to a cooking class that he gave at our local Sur la Table store. I suppose he was introducing a new cookbook, or something. I don’t remember. But he talked about his roots, and about his love affair with Southwestern Vermont. He must have a house or apartment near Boston (to go to during the work week), because that’s where the Cook’s Illustrated headquarters are located, but his down-home kind of life style just tickles my fancy. I wouldn’t want to work a farm, but maybe I’d like the serenity of waking up to the complete quiet of a farm, hearing the honey bees or the birds before I heard a car horn engine zooming up or down my hill. Something about that lifestyle appeals to me sometimes.

Anyway, the latest issue that popped into my mailbox contained so many handy hints, I felt that a few of them might be worthy of a post.

Cleaning up sticky bread dough or batter – you know how your sponge or scrubber gets grungy with that stuff, trying to clean it out with lots of water, etc. Really icky. Grab a piece of aluminum foil, loosely scrunch it up and rub it all over in the bowl, turning it over to pick up more. It will gather up most of that stuff. Toss the foil in the recycle bin.

A cleaner, better pastry edge in a tart – use your pounder (picture of mine at right). Use it up against the edges – gently, really gently, pressing down and against the side. You might need to keep it floured so it doesn’t stick (that would be my thought). They caution about being gentle with it so you don’t make the dough too thin.

Chopping nuts more cleanly – wow, this is a stunner. I chop walnuts every week or so because I sprinkle them on my morning yogurt. I always use a gigantic butcher knife and the nuts fling and fly all over. Use a serrated blade. Haven’t tried it yet. They say that the scalloped serrated blade edge grabs each nut and holds it better. Somebody makes one with an offset handle – that would be nice, but if you could see the contents of my knife drawer you would likely say no way does she need one more knife! With a regular serrated edged knife (like my long bread knife) I’d just have to be extra careful to hold the handle over the edge of my cutting board – otherwise you would have difficulty getting the knife to slice through the nuts without rapping your knuckle with every chop.

Sprinkling streusel – why didn’t I think of this one? You know how, when you’re trying to sprinkle streusel or topping on cupcakes or muffins and the streusel goes all over everywhere? Cut out the bottom of a 6-ounce yogurt container and hold that cylinder over the muffin batter and drop the streusel down through the tube. It will stay put with little or no spray!

Whipping Cream – To Go – what an ingenious idea! Put the cream and a bit of powdered sugar in a Mason or Ball jar. Cap it and keep it chilled. When you’re ready to serve, shake the cream for about 4 minutes and you’ll have perfect whipped cream. One little jar, little clean-up and you’re done. They do say, however, that it won’t be as fluffy as usual because it can’t incorporate as much air as if you’d done it in a bowl. But hey, that’s a minor issue, I think, if you’re at a picnic or someone else’s home.

Garlic powder – who knew? You need to “bloom” garlic powder before it can reach its effectiveness. Dissolve the garlic powder is just a tetch of water (like 1/2 tsp garlic powder to 1/2 tsp water). Let it sit briefly, then add it to a pan with a tablespoon of butter and cook it just a little. Then continue with your dish. The taste testers were quite amazed at the increased flavor (they tested it in mashed potatoes).

Dutch process cocoa vs. regular cocoa – the tests they did said the chemistry of both worked fine, but there were definitely flavor differences. Regular cocoa tended to create a drier crumb. The Dutch process had a more chocolaty flavor (more like dark chocolate) and it is much darker in color too. They didn’t say this, but I’m supposing it’s more like the difference between milk chocolate (the regular cocoa) and dark chocolate (the Dutch processed).

Reheating Leftover Turkey – this is a great strategy . . . assuming you have either whole legs or breasts left over, leave them that way (bone in) to re-heat them. Wrap the turkey in heavy duty foil and pre-heat the oven to 275° F. If you have a big breast piece, cut it in half crosswise before re-heating. Bake until the internal temp of the turkey reaches 130°F,  about 35-45 minutes. Remove from foil and brown the pieces in a lightly oiled pan (to crisp the skin). If you’re re-heating turkey breast slices, stack them up so they’re about the thickness of the whole breast. This slow-heating technique works just for that reason, it heats the meat slowly so it doesn’t lose too much moisture.

Insulated Food Carriers – I have some great insulating bowls with tight lids that I use to take salads or other such things when I need to cart them somewhere. But to carry a lasagna or a big casserole of some kind, no. They tested a variety of such big food carriers (including Pyrex’s). Their biggest concern was the drop in temp and they wanted it to stay hot, above 140°, for at least 2 hours. The only winner was Rachael Ray Expandable Lasagna Lugger, Purple. There are other colors available – they’re all about $27. I just ordered 4 for Christmas presents. The only down side, they said, was this one was a little harder to clean. The carrier expands up if needed from the photo there (kind of like expandable luggage).

I only provided you with a few of the tips in this issue. There were also numerous articles about cooking (like making a top sirloin roast, chocolate crinkle cookies, a French apple tart, salt and pepper shrimp, crispy pork belly and how to make a hot chocolate mix you’ll love). My DH loved top sirloin – he loved the beefy flavor in it better than in a New York, ribeye or a tenderloin for instance. But to me a top sirloin is too tough. Not my top pick for grilling. But this particular recipe is for making a juicy roast with it. I’ll have to invite someone over to try the technique. I need to get back into the kitchen in order to do that. One of these days maybe.

About Me: My 2nd cataract surgery was last week. It went fine and I can SEE so much better. Oh my goodness, I’m a happy camper. I’m out of the boot and trying to walk some. I don’t know whether my foot is better or not as it still hurts. It’s better in the mornings, but the more I walk on it the more it hurts that day. But then the next morning it’s improved some. Have an appointment with the doctor this week.

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So, picture a deliciously tender pumpkin cake with lots of those pumpkin pie spices in it. Then add some mini-chocolate chips, and then add a cream cheese frosting. Oh my.

The recipe comes from a blog that’s no longer being updated, Culinary in the Desert, but I saved this recipe in 2005, when it was posted, because in the fall I’m all over pumpkin anything. Our evenings are starting to cool down (although we’re told we’re having another heat wave here in SoCal later this week) and I almost wanted a sweater to wear this morning.

As I mentioned last week, the 2 young neighbor girls came over to cook with me, so I had them make this cake. They could hardly keep their hands out of the baked cake pan, they wanted some so badly. But it had to cool and the frosting needed to be made, spread and then “set,” before we could slice and serve. But oh gosh these are delicious. SO tender. There’s nothing unusual about the recipe – it uses oil, not butter. I always use Libby’s pumpkin because I think theirs is the best out there. I had mini chocolate chips, and there weren’t all that many in the cake. The frosting is a usual kind of cream cheese and butter with some minced walnuts added. I cut these in little bars, about 3 inches long by 1 inch. They’re still definitely a CAKE, not a cookie in case you are confused by the use of the word “bar.” The smaller size makes for easy eating with your hands rather than a knife and fork. I tasted one bar and kept 6-8 more. The rest of them went home with my neighbor girls, Juliette and Felicity.

What’s GOOD: because I love pumpkin, that definitely hits the mark. I loved the few mini choc chips in the cake too. And well, what’s there not to like about a cream cheese frosting? If you wanted to cut down the calories, make about 1/3 less frosting. I had plenty – maybe just a tad too much, but hey, I ate it and liked it just fine. You probably could make it with light cream cheese also.

What’s NOT: there wasn’t anything about these that I didn’t like. Nothing!

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Oh my goodness are these ever good. I clipped the recipe out of a recent Food & Wine magazine, thinking well, maybe sometime I’d make them. They may have to become part of my annual Christmas cookie menu. We’ll see.

I have new neighbors. We share a driveway, and so the residents in these two homes need to – for sure – be neighborly. My house actually has an easement on their property so I have ingress and egress (isn’t that the legal language?). They moved in about 10 days ago but I’d actually met them several weeks before because their realtor, Celine, is a friend of mine, and she brought the whole family to my house to see the difference in my view vs. the view next door. We talked about the driveway – I can imagine some people would have concerns.

Anyway, they’ve moved in now and are settling in. They’re a much younger family with two daughters, 9 and 11. The Mom and I have been texting frequently as she’s had lots and lots of questions about numerous things regarding our adjoining properties. She’s not a cook. Well, let’s rephrase that – she cooks – but only because she needs to feed her family. And because I’ve been kind of stuck in my house the last 12 days healing my foot, she asked if I’d like some company – she would send her two girls over to do something with me – to entertain me. She suggested they could teach me French (Mom is French Canadian and the girls go to a French school). Or I could give them an art lesson. Or, perhaps I’d like to teach them how to make cookies. Imagine your surprise? – I chose the last option. The Mom bought stuff for us, and we made two things, these cookies you see and also a pumpkin chocolate chip cake with a cream cheese frosting, which I’ll post in a few days.

I sat here at my computer in the kitchen, which is right by my baking center area. And I became the instructor – mostly from a seated position. They did all the work including most of the cleaning up. The girls don’t know too much about cooking, although the older one, Felicity, makes numerous breakfast things for the whole family. She makes eggs in various ways and omelets and French toast. But baking? No. I needed to give them lessons in how to use (and be careful of) a stand mixer. How to measure dry and wet things. How to scoop and scrape flour measurements. How to use a plastic spatula, spreading batter, all about scooping cookie dough (and yes, they ate their fair share of dough) and how to bake and turn the sheet half way through. Felicity, the 11-year old, did that part and was duly fearful of the hot oven. I taught her how to do the pulling out and turning. Felicity learned how to chop nuts using a rocking motion with a big butcher knife and the flat of her other hand holding down the blade. She did well. Both girls did a great job and we had so much fun!

Most of the cookies went home with them, but I have about a dozen. So now, about the cookies. They’re an easy cookie to make – the batter/dough is a bit on the dry side, but they are light and crispy when baked. The Nutella – oh gosh – what a great addition to an oatmeal cookie.  (You know what it is, right? A mixture of chocolate and hazelnuts?) The only unusual thing (other than using a full 13-ounce jar of Nutella) is that the cookie uses shortening. I buy the non-hydrogenated stuff and have been on the same small container for about 3-4 years, I think. I almost never use the stuff. It does create a different texture in cookies – a more neutral flavor, I think, and it acts differently in a chemical way, I believe.

Felicity and Juliette used my cookie scoop, placing about 12 cookies on each sheet pan lined with parchment paper. The girls made larger cookies than I might have, but it probably “makes no never-mind” in the flavor. Really large ones would take more baking time, I’m sure. They spread a little bit, so do leave 2 inches of space between the cookies.

What’s GOOD: oh, the flavor of the Nutella. It’s wonderful. And certainly a whole lot easier (and more tasty) than using expensive hazelnuts themselves. Loved the combination of the Nutella and oatmeal. Crispy (which I prefer anyway) and a bit chewy. Warm, they almost have a chewy fudgy quality, but once they cool they’re definitely a cookie. A keeper of a recipe.

What’s NOT: maybe finding Nutella? I think my major grocery stores carry it. Trader Joe’s also makes their own version. I am not a connoisseur of Nutella so I don’t know if TJ’s is as good or not. Also the use of shortening might mean a trip to the grocery store. I was lucky, I had Josee, the girl’s Mom to fetch the grocery list of stuff for me! Hooray!

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Files: MasterCook 5+ and MasterCook 14 (click on link to open recipe in MC)

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You may have said to yourself, “I’m tired of reading stories about World War II.” I have friends who have stated that flatly, meaning they’re done with them. They’ll be missing a really good tale, a sweet tale, and one that’s certainly way out of the usual norm of a novel about that war.

This story isn’t about the warfare. Without giving away the story, let’s just start with a young girl, in her early teens, who is blind. She lives with her father in Paris, and then the war comes to their lives. The father works at a museum, and the powers-that-be decide to try to hide most of the treasures, the biggest, most valuable treasures. A particular diamond, a huge diamond with an interesting story in and of itself, has so much value that a gemologist is asked to make a replica of the diamond from glass. A total of 3 replicas are made and 4 people are asked to care for the 4 “diamonds”. None knows which one has the real diamond, but they’re asked to keep each one safe.

Eventually, when the Germans begin nosing around trying to locate the missing diamond, the father and daughter flee to St. Malo, a small town a few miles from Mont St. Michel, that gorgeous beehive of a town built on top of a rock on the coast of Brittany. They move into a home of relatives there.

Meanwhile, there’s a young German boy who is very bright. He’s recruited to join Hitler’s army. His skill is with radios. He’s not exactly a zealot – in fact he’s not – he’s a gentle boy – but as with so many young people back then, you did what you were told. Eventually his skill was noticed by others and he gains a reputation for locating resistance fighters (in hiding) who send short radio transmissions to the Allies. Systematically he and his helpers find and take out many such transmitters and the people who use them.

There’s one more little tidbit I must tell you . . . the dear father of the young girl is good with small things, models and such. He had built a small replica of the neighborhood where they lived in Paris so his blind daughter could find her way to the bakery or other places. Each little model home, although many stories high, was built as a separate piece and they’d be lined up side by side. From studying the models, and with her father’s help, she learned to walk alone, with her cane, past 4 storm drains, left at the third cross street, or whatever, to find her way. When they moved to St. Malo, her father began building a new replica of that village. Mostly they stayed in hiding, as most people did. Her uncle, who was also good with radios, began helping the resistance.

Her father, of course, has the diamond. Or he has one of the diamonds. The young blind girl is resourceful. Very bright too. Knows the little model of her village. Reads Braille, what few books that were available back then. You can tell from what I’ve said that there’s a little collision of events, the boy who is hunting for radio resistance fighters, a German colonel who is hunting for the diamonds, and the one little house in St. Malo. Do read this book: All the Light We Cannot See: A Novel by Anthony Doerr. Worth reading. It’s a love story too. Trust me.

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I can’t believe that I bought yet another cookbook. Geez. I’m hardly cooking these days, but when I read about it online my fingers were just pulled mysteriously to that one-click method on amazon. I pay for amazon prime, so it’s free shipping in 2 days (yes, I know I still pay for it, but I buy a lot of stuff from amazon). Pressed one button and 2 days later it was on my doorstep.

Years ago, when I started watching that years’ The Next Food Network Star, as they introduced Aarti Sequeira, I knew. I just KNEW she’d win. And she did. She has the most infectious smile, and cute way about her. (Did you know that she worked at CNN for a few years?) I’ve been a long time lover of Indian food, and she made it more approachable.  She adapted it to Western tastes. She played with flavors and spices. I faithfully watched her show, Aarti Paarti that was on for a couple of these things they call “seasons.” I mean what’s with this “season” of about 6 or 7, or maybe 8 shows. Not for me to reason why. When her show didn’t come back, well, let’s just say I was sad. But I’d been reading Aarti’s blog for several years, so I knew a bit about what was going on in her life. She never did explain, exactly, why her show didn’t return. I guess when you do get your network-star-show, they don’t renew it. I don’t know that any of the winners have a continuing actual cooking show. Correct me if I’m wrong. But then, we know that most everything on the Food Network is about showmanship and acting anyway. The food is less important.

So, Aarti is married to Bren (he’s in the acting/producing world in Hollywood) whom she met in her first days at Northwestern(journalism major). Aarti grew up in Dubai, although she’s 100% Indian and her family still lives in India. Aarti and Bren now have a baby daughter and while Aarti was pregnant she wrote her cookbook Aarti Paarti: An American Kitchen with an Indian Soul. And what a gem it is. I also love her because she’s an active Christian.

Ree Drummond (Pioneer Woman) wrote the forward to the book, and as I sat and read that last night, all I could say was that Ree absolutely loves the book. Ree doesn’t (I don’t think) cook Indian food. At least I don’t recall any recipes on her site or show that were Indian in nature. But she says she loves Indian food. However, I’ll tell you, as I began reading through the book (and so enjoying all the stories about Aarti, more details about her growing up, her sisters, her mum, her grandmother, her dad) she became so much more the fun girl next door. I just would love to have her as a friend. I can’t say that about very many food network people, but Aarti? Yes, indeed.

It would take me forever to write down all the recipes I’ve mentally flagged in the book already. I’ve read about 2/3 of the book so far, and I’m in love. Below are a few that rocked my boat and made me wish I could cook all of them today!

Of course, Indian spices feature prominently in nearly every recipe. How could they not. And many of those spices I do have in my kitchen. Maybe not so for everyone, but most are easy enough to find.

Good Girl Granola – the usual kinds of ingredients but with coconut oil added, along with cardamom and garam masala. Also cocoa nibs, cinnamon, maple syrup.

Ketchup Chutney – well, we know Indian cooking often features chutneys, and Aarti’s explanation about her home-made ketchup chutney just made my mouth water. And no, it uses no ready-made bottled ketchup.

Aarti’s “Real-Deal” Hummus – she’s very particular about her hummus. I’ve basically OD’d on hummus (the store bought stuff) in the last year. But her recipe makes me want some – it has a slightly different method of preparation (still using canned beans, though) and a few different ingredients as well. I’ll be making this. Soon.

Chewda – pronounced just like it sounds. It’s an Indian snack and contains cornflakes, rice crispy type cereal, nuts and seeds plus turmeric, curry leaves and golden raisins. Very different.

Lasagna Cupcakes – Aarti says she has a real problem with portion control when it comes to American lasagna, so she decided to make them in individual portions – using won ton skins in a muffin tin with the meat sauce inside, ricotta and topped with cheese. The only Indian thing in this is a little bit of mango chutney added to the ricotta filling.

I’m a sucker for dal (lentils). I gosh-darned love the stuff though I don’t make them very often just cuz they’re so high in carbs. They’re very good for us, you know, but still, they’re high in carbs. My daughter Sara came to visit me last Sunday night and at my request, she made a batch of the Moroccan Harira Chicken Soup that contains garbanzos and lentils. I can’t get enough of that stuff and now I have a bunch of bagged containers in the freezer. Aarti explains in the chapter on lentils and beans, that her Mum’s Everyday Dal was on the dinner table every single day, just as the title explains. Notice the link there –  I made this recipe in 2010 after she prepared it on her TV show.

French Onion Soup – who would think that onion soup could be adapted to be Indian. Why not?And indeed it can be adapted, and it sounds so scrumptious with cinnamon, cardamom and paneer (that’s a cheese that doesn’t melt) croutons. I cannot wait to make this one. Good for freezing for winter dinners.

Tomato Rasam (or Tomato Soup) – made Indian style. Can’t wait to try this one either. It uses pigeon peas (toor dal), cumin, curry leaves, tamarind paste and some yogurt and cilantro for a topping. Oh my that sounds so good. Another one I’ll make in quantity to freeze.

Indo-Chinese Chicken & Corn Soup – did you know that Indian people, in India, are crazy about Chinese food? Yup. So, combining things from an Indian cuisine and something from Chinese is a given. This one, even though it looks creamy, contains no cream, just canned creamed corn. What makes it unique is coriander, bay leaves, anise and fresh ginger.

Dill, Cilantro & Coconut Milk Fish Chowder – Aarti says that her husband has been a big inspiration for recipes – he’s from Maine and asked her to make chowder. So she did, but she used garam masala, ginger, garlic, cumin, turmeric and coconut milk to round it out. She used cod fillets.

Pregnancy Potatoes – reading this recipe had me laughing. Aarti had her fair share of morning sickness (or any-time-of-day sickness) and she said that when it came on, this was what she craved, among other things. It can be a side dish to a dinner, but for her it became a snack. They’re wedged potatoes baked with all kinds of Indian spices on them and could be served any time of day.

Beet(root) Thoran – I can’t say that I buy fresh beets all that often. My darling DH adored them, preferably pickled right out of the can. But once I came into his life in 1981 I wouldn’t let him have those anymore (because they were so full of sugar). One year we raised beets and in order to get me to fix them he had to put on his painting clothes and I required him to wash, roast and then remove all the skin because he got purple juice everywhere. Then I made them in several ways. But anyway, Aarti’s recipe sounds so different – it’s grated raw beets cooked with Indian spices and served with toasted cashews. Sounds divine.

Coleslaw – I never expected to find a recipe for this in her cookbook, but it’s nothing like what you think. It does contain some mayo and yogurt and it uses lime juice, turmeric, garlic, cumin and mustard seeds as well. Also half of a celery root too.

Dal Bukhara – this is a main dish lentil in a curry sauce. The ingredient list is long, but my guess is it would be amazingly flavorful. The spices include coriander seeds, cumin seeds, fennel seeds, cinnamon, cloves, cardamom pods, chiles and paprika. Another one I want to make soon.

Well, so that’s just a smattering of recipes that appeal to me. And I’m not finished reading the book yet.

Update on me: My foot is still healing – the boot comes off next week, then we’ll see if the cumbersome thing (that feels like a small sack of cement and makes for ever-so difficult walking) on my foot has done any good. I am counting the hours until I get the 2nd cataract surgery done next week so I can SEE better! The last 9 days I have basically stayed home and rested my foot. And I mean rested. I’m going stir crazy, especially without my DH here to keep me company, go shopping or just entertain me. I have gone out of the house just a few times and have tried to walk very, very short distances (Trader Joe’s, the eye doctor’s office). That’s it for now.

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Roux – that ubiquitous mixture that forms some of the great flavor in gumbo. Photo, by the way, is from wikispaces.com. In  the October ‘14 issue of Saveur Magazine, a little photo illustrated the making of a roux in the oven. Yes, really.

The method is Alton Brown’s. Heat the oven to 350°F. In a large 8-quart Dutch oven or deep iron skillet, mix equal parts canola oil and all-purpose flour. Whisk it, cover it, put it in the oven for 1 1/2 to 2 hours until it’s deep brown. Move the pot from the oven to the stove top and make the gumbo from there.

Quicker Cooking of Beans – Had never heard this recommendation – soak dried beans overnight in water with one teaspoon of baking soda added per quart of water – and the beans will take much less time to cook, in nearly half the time. It has to do with the alkalinity (the soda) breaking down the cell walls of the bean. This was also in Saveur, but the info comes from Harold McGee’s book, On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen.

Removing Red Wine Stains from Linen or Cotton – In the same issue here’s a recommendation about removing red wine stains – forget the salt, seltzer or baking soda . . . this one says apply a high-enzyme liquid detergent or stain remover (look for the word enzyme on the label). Work that mixture into the stain with a brush, pour boiling water onto the stained area and allow it to soak for 30 minutes. The advice came from two women who have a laundry product line called The Laundress – www.thelaundress.com

Very little cooking is going on in my kitchen. I’m now getting around in an orthopedic boot (meaning my plantar fascia IS torn, not just stretched). Must wear it for 3 weeks, then graduate to good, solid athletic shoes with good arch support, doing exercises very gingerly at first. I’m off pain killers (a good thing) but only because the boot kind of rocks my foot forward so I don’t land on the heel (where the major pain is). The boot isn’t uncomfortable exactly. Just cumbersome. I can’t stand for more than a minute or two, then my heel starts to hurt. All that to say that I can’t begin to stand at my kitchen counter to prepare a meal. Forget it! So I’ve been eating out more than usual. Am eating some stuff from my freezer too.

I still can’t believe it’s been 6 months since my darling DH passed away. How can it possibly be 6 months ago. My cousin Gary is visiting me and I asked him, yesterday, to drag out of the closet two big storage boxes that say “Fall Décor” on them. In my dream last night I came home from somewhere and saw that Dave was putting out Christmas décor in the house (stuff he usually didn’t do anyway – he did outside stuff, not inside stuff). I was just going toward him to tell him no-no-no, honey, not yet,  wrong holiday, when I woke up. I wanted so badly to fall back into that dream and have a conversation with him, to hug him, to kiss him, but alas I couldn’t seem to do it.

My cousin has been so helpful – he’s visited because he had a family wedding to go to over the weekend. I had him work on a TV-cable-tuning-adapter-Tivo problem and he finally, after several hours, one trip to the cable store and multiple phone calls to both Tivo and Cox, to get it fixed for me. He’s moved some things around for me, and he’s very fun company.

I had my first cataract surgery 11 days ago. It was cinchy easy. You’re awake all through it, but it wasn’t scary. It didn’t hurt at all. You can’t actually “see” them do it. My vision out of that new lens is certainly better than it was – brighter colors and more clear – but I can’t wear my old glasses. I wore trifocals, had been for years, and this interim time between now and mid-October when I have the 2nd eye done, is really hard – eye strain and poor vision. A friend finally suggested I buy two pairs of readers, with different magnification and put them together in one glasses frame. I’ve done that. I can barely see close-up stuff through the new lens through the readers. The other eye, well, that one’s awful. Can’t see a thing. I can’t wait for the other surgery. Then I must wait another month before they’ll test my eyes and see whether I need to wear glasses or just readers. I suspect I’ll need glasses for mid and close range. I’m having an awful time reading the computer during this in between time. And music – it’s hard being in choir and barely being able to read the music. My Kindle has an adjustment for type size, so I am able to read that fairly well.

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