Any time is a good time for pickles, but now is a great time. There has been so much baking, heavy, rich, and time consuming foods in the past month that I think everyone could use themselves a good helping of veggies and maybe a little brightness, like a good pickled green bean. Freshy, crisp, and clean. A jar of happy green goodness. (Don%u2019t you describe jars of pickles just like that, a happy green jar of goodness?)

Around there parts, it%u2019s kind of a holiday tradition with the mr to get a jar or two of pickled beans. I don%u2019t know exactly how it started, but they are something that he has been getting every year. So this year instead of buying him a jar, I just made them. And let me tell you, it is a heck of a lot cheaper to make your own then it is to buy them, plus I think mine taste better if I do say so myself. These pickles are of the refrigerator kind so there is no processing or stress of bad seals. Nope, these pickles take all of 15 minutes to make, a day to pickle up nice and good in the fridge, and that is that. Ready to go, ready to eat. A small task, nothing fancy, nothing a small child could not handle (um.. well I would not let a small child near boiling water so nix that but a medium to large child, yeah sure.)

Pickled green beans. You know you want them so go and make them.

To the pickled beans!

The stuff. Fresh green beans, white vinegar, salt, peppercorns, garlic, dill and a dried cayenne pepper. The dill and cayenne pepper are optional and you can use any spices you want, but these are good ones to try.%u2026 Next batch I am going to do fresh turmeric and ginger, see how that comes out.

The hardest and not hard at all part. Blanch the beans. Basically just toss the beans into a boiling pot of water for 2ish minutes then scoop them out into a bowl of ice water. Easy peasy.

Jar preparation. I figured I would do two flavors, a spicy cayenne and a dill. (Cayenne for me, dill for the mr) Both jars get a chunked up glove of garlic and some slightly smashed up peppercorns. The hot pepper goes into one and the dill into the other.

Then make the brine. Just boil the vinegar with salt. Nothing fancy.

You got the jars ready and the brine made so now you just pack the two jars with the blanched beans. You might need to snip a few in order to fit, but I just eat those ends anyway so I am doing myself favor here.

Then you pour equal amounts of the brine into the jars then top off the the jars with ice water. Place a lid on those suckers and give them a good shake and into the fridge they go. 24 hours give or take and that is that.

And now you got pickled green beans. The question is weather you eat a few at a time or if one jar constitutes a vegetable serving and you eat the whole jar at once.

I say eat the whole jar. Not like it took very long to make right? So maybe you just a few extra jars.

Have a lovely weekend.

-C

maks 2 pint jars

• 1 pound green beans

• 2 cups water vinegar

• 1 1/2 – 2 cups cold water

• 2 teaspoons salt

• 1 teaspoon whole or slightly crushed peppercorn

• 2 big cloves garlic

• A tablespoon dried dill and a dried cayenne pepper (optional)

Rinse green beans. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and grab a large bowl and fill with cold water and a few ice cubs. Place half the green beans in the boil water and let cook for about 2 minutes. Scoop them out and place into the bowl of ice water. Repeat for the second half of beans.

Place the vinegar and salt in a small pot (or use the pot you used to boil water) and bring to a boil. Set aside

Grab 2 pint jars making sure the are nice and clean. Peel and cut the garlic into a few pieces and place into the bottoms of the jars. Add the dill to one and cayenne to the other (or whatever spices you do or don%u2019t want to use) Give each jar some of the peppercorns then start packing the balanced beans into the jars. Try to make them all straight so you can fit in as may as you can, and if the bean is to long, just cut to fit (eat the ends) Once both jars are packed pour equal amounts of the vinegar brine to the jars. Top off each jar with cold ice water. Place a lid on the jars, give it a good shake and place jars into the fridge for 24 hours. After the wait, pop the lid and eat.

Pickled beans will last about a month in the fridge but really, if you have them for more then a week, that is just a shock.

Note about lids. I use plastic lids when dealing with anything acidic. The metal lids will work but will rust after a while and sometimes leaves metallic taste. If you only have metal lids, use a piece of wax paper in between the kid and jar.

Not to much is going on here, just trying to enjoy the last bits of summer, while secretly saying to myself that I am ok for the hot weather to be gone, for summer to pitter out and let the cooler weather roll in.%u00a0%u00a0Bring on the sweaters, apples, and root veggies (and maybe a little more couch cuddling and a new tv show to sink my teeth into while knitting). %u00a0And I have already noticed a few trees giving away some colorful leave.%u00a0Foliage season…%u00a0%u00a0the best time of year (minus all the annoying leaf peepers) But before we get to ahead of ourselves, we have the other time of the year coming up.. Back to school!! I myself am not really effected by this,other then all the littles in my life are going back, which means less babysitting (happy!/Sad) %u00a0And let’s not mention all the back to school supplies I am drooling over. Trapper keepers, watercolors and cool new backpacks. %u00a0The kiddos are all getting ready with their new sneakers, crisp, empty notebooks,%u00a0%u00a0and a fancy new sweater. Me, I am just being jealous, hoping maybe one of them will give me one of their extra cool new pencils with the removable eraser. Maybe once everything ends up on clearance,%u00a0%u00a0I’ll buy myself a new composition notebook. You know,%u00a0%u00a0the ones where you can color all the white parts in with a bright pink neon marker. A customized badass notebook %u00a0Those are my favorite.

So besides all that, here are some eventful things from the my life this week in list form.

• got some husk cherries to make something special. and ate them all. Need to get more (more to eat, and more to make something with to share..maybe)
• Starting knitting the mr his annual new winter hat (going with a grey watch cap)
• Painted a ceiling gold
• scratched my face on a raspberry bush
• went to my family reunion,%u00a0came home and found 2 white hairs on the top of my head (no joke)
• Had two other awesome websites mention my recipes this week!!! (Food52 and feedfeed)
• made a few jars of pickles%u00a0
• Discovered Reading Rainbow is now on Netflix.(my childhood right there)

Yeah, that’s about sums it up.%u00a0

But here, have some internet stuff to check out.%u00a0

-I think I need this entire bed set%u00a0to be happy.

-And I want to%u00a0do this%u00a0to a set of sheet too!

-Totally into this house,%u00a0especially the toilet on the door.

Not sure if this is for real, but it’t pretty freaking funny.%u00a0Lady Gaga Threatening Legal Action Over Breast Milk Ice Cream Flavor ‘Royal Baby Gaga’

– I think I should get me some goats.%u00a0Goats May Be Unwelcome In Zimbabwe’s Capital, But D.C. Loves Them

-The Duo Coffee Steeper. This might be fantastic.. Someone buy one and let me know how it works.

–Soothing Spaces%u2026 I like

-Watch This Hilarious Parody of Artisanal Food Makers

-I love The Purl Bee.%u00a0%u00a0Another%u00a0project that I have to make.

And some photos from the week.

On my recent shop at the grocery store, I picked me up a bunch of my favorite King Arthur flour, like five 5lb bags because I know that I am probably going to go through it within the next few weeks. (all Christmas cookies) Plus it was on sale. And not just regular all purpose, all of the varieties were on sale, including the self rising flour, which I have never used before. I have been curious so I figured that sale flour meant that I should buy it and try it out. So buy it I did, and I am now a lover of self rising flour.

The first thing I did was look up simple recipes to use and found one on the King Arthur web site for never fail biscuits that were only 2 ingredients. (self rising flour and cream) Well that seems easy enough, except I don’t have cream, just soy milk on hand, and I really can’t help but wanting to add a little something extra to the mix. So I went with broccoli (in was in the fridge) and lemon. But other then that, still easy biscuits I have ever made.

These biscuits cook up so super fast and take almost not work at all to make.. they seem almost like magic. . Perfect for all of us who rush home before dinner and discover that there is no food in the house. But if you have self rising flour, a quick dump and mix and a little time in the oven, and you got yourself some biscuits thatare super fluffy on the inside, slightly crisp on the outside. The texture is what really surprised me, how tender and biscuit-y they turned out without having to cut in any fat. Amazing!

These biscuits can be turned into any number of dinner options (the mr had buttered biscuits with lentils) and any left overs can be serves up for breakfast.%u00a0 I wish I had know beforethat self rising flour was so great! It’s kinda like have a box of bisquick on hand, but way way better. I think that I am going to have to go back to the store and stock up on this too… I have a feeling that mr is going to be eating all sort of fun flavored biscuits for dinner in the next few weeks.

Oh,%u00a0 the mr says I have to warn you, . If you don’t like broccoli, you will not like these biscuits. But for those who are broccoli people, these will make your day!

The stuff. Some slightly stemmed chopped up broccoli, a lemon, soy milk, ans some self rising flour.

%u00a0The soy milkgoes into the bowl with the broccoli and gets blendedup with a hand or (or use a regular blender). And you don’t want to make it completely smooth, some chunks are good.

Dump the broccoli soy mixure into the flour and then the zest of the lemon. Add in a tiny pinch of salt.

A quick mix until everything is just incorporated.

And the dough gets plopped onto a baking sheet. Brush the tops with a little lemon juice or water (or a mixture of both) right before they go into the oven… then stick them in the oven.

And after about 20 or so minutes, the biscuits have risen , the tops starting to brown, and the smell from the oven is happy. So you should pull them out of the oven now.

And let cool, just enough to handle, then grab a biscuit, split n half, and smear something buttery on it.

-C

Makes 12

Adapted from King Arthur’s Never Fail Biscuits

• 1 1/2 cups self rising flour(King Arthur flour)
• 1 cup soy milk
• 1 lemon
• 1 cup slightly stemmed broccoli *
• salt to taste
• Any additional flavors you want (garlic powder, pepper, some sumac.. whatever)

Note. Slightly steamed broccoli.. Just toss chopped broccoli into a pot with enough water to cover the bottom of the pot. Stick a lid on it, and place on heat until the broccoli is slightly tender and the water is evaporated, or about 4-5 minutes. Just make sure you don’t over cook it and turn it to mush.

Preheat oven to 450.

Dump flour into a big bowl. With a hand or regular blender, blend together the soy milk and broccoli. Dump the wet mixture into the flour. Add in the zest of the lemon and mix until everything is just incorporated. With a spoon or a scooper , scoop out 12 similar size blobs and drop onto a baking sheet. Brush the tops of the biscuits with water or lemon juice and sprinkle with a tiny pinch ofsalt. Place in oven and bake for about 20 minutes or until the biscuits are starting to brown and look done.

Remove from oven and eat as soon as they are cool enough to handle. Eat as is or smear on some buttery something or another.

IF you like potatoes and guacamole (probably%u00a0even if you think you don’t like potatoes or guacamole)%u00a0then%u00a0oh boy, do I have a treat for you.%u00a0

Guacamole Potato%u00a0Salad.. Only the best potatoes salad you will ever put in your mouth. %u00a0

I tried to make this a few weeks back and ended up not getting to my potatoes in time to use, so I had to put the salad on hold. But this weekend I was ready. The grill was prepped, the corn was husked, and the poatoes were boiled. Then it happened, I made the best potato salad ever. It changed the way I feel about potato salad. (I have never really been a huge fan)%u00a0Sure, I love potatoes, but in the past I have experiences to many%u00a0overly dressed, really heavy, and overall,%u00a0some pretty crappy paotao salads. This salad, well it is%u00a0the exact opposite.%u00a0This salad is all summer. Bright and light, so full of flavor, but not overly heavy and gross. I mean, its potatoes covered in guacamole%u2026 How can that not be amazing.%u00a0I am now a potato salad fan (for life!).%u00a0

So my suggestion for you. Have a cook out, invite your friends, grill up some veggies or whatever%u00a0and make a humongous batch (you will need a humongous batch) of this potato salad. Sit back and watch (while you are eating) and see peoples faces light up with joy and happiness. You will be number one. The hostess%u00a0with thte mostest. People will fall at your feet%u2026%u00a0

or not. (But probably)

So here, take a look, and make.. Your day, week,%u00a0life will be better for this.

The stuff; Potatoes, avocados, mini onions, and tomatoes. Pickled Jalape%u00f1os (with juice) garlic, and the juice from a%u00a0lemon And lastly,a%u00a0big bunch of cilantro, and salt.%u00a0

First things first,%u00a0boil the potatoes. Stick in a pot of cold water with a palmful of salt. Bring to a boil then turn down to a medium heat and stick a lid on the pot. Cook until fork%u00a0pierces easily through %u00a0then strain from water and let cool. When%u00a0cooled, but still slightly warm, dice them up into mouth sized pieced. Place potatoes back into pot and drizzle a few glugs of the pickled jalape%u00f1o juice over them. Place in fridge to complete cool.

While the potatoes are cooling down, mix up the quad dressing.%u00a0In a large bowl, take the avoado fruit and mash and%u00a0smoosh %u00a0until relatively smooth and mix in minced garlic , lemon juice,%u00a0and a sprinkle of salt.%u00a0

Dice up the onion, jalape%u00f1os, tomatoes and add to the mashed avocado and mix that%u00a0all up%u2026and try not to eat it all before the potatoes get in.

add in lots of chopped up cilantro

Nothing compares..%u00a0

Have a great day and get to planning you next cookout!

Later!

-C

• 3 lb. of potatoes of a small waxy variety (like red%u00a0or new potatoes)
• 1 1/2- 2 whole avocados
• 2 small Roma tomatoes or q large
• 2 mini onions with greens or 1 regular white onion
• handful (or more) of pickled jalape%u00f1os and the juice
• juice of 1 lemon
• a bunch of fresh cilantro%u00a0
• 3 cloves garlic
• salt and pepper

Wash potatoes and stick in a big pot with cold water and a good palmful of salt.%u00a0%u00a0Bring to a boil then turn heat downy to a a medium heat, stick a lid on it%u00a0%u00a0and cook potatoes until a fork can pierce through.%u00a0%u00a0Strain from water and let cool enough to handle. Once cooled, cut potatoes into mouth sized pieces, place back into bowl, and drizzle with a few teaspoons of pickled jalape%u00f1o juice. Stick the potatoes in the fridge and let completely cool.%u00a0

While those are getting cold, make the guacamole dressing. In a big bowl, place the avocados (pits and rind removed of course) and smash and smoosh until a smooth constancy. Add in a pinch of salt, mince the garlic and toss that in, %u00a0and add%u00a0the juice of the lemon. Now dice up the garlic, onion, tomatoes and jalapenos and gentile fold it all in to the avocado mash.

Once the potatoes are cool, roughly chop the cilantro and%u00a0%u00a0add %u00a0that and the potatoes into the guacamole and mix around until everthig is all coated. Top with some more cilantro.

Eat as a side, a meal, a snack, or dessert

a fork pierced nicely but a large wooden spoon works too.

Lasts for 3-4 days in the fridge.

The house next door to us is for sale and in the backyard of the house is a whole lot of blackberry bushes. The mr and I have been hopping the fence over there like ninjas and filling large bowls of berries and sneaking back home to eat our weight in those blackberries. (Ok, not entirely true. We are not good enough ninjas to jump the fence so we have been walking through the fence gate. Plus we checked with the current owner, she told us to pick all we wanted to. We are not asshole ninjas stealing fruit)

So many berries. I check every few days and they just keep on coming and I am not one to let perfectly good berries (or any food) go to waste, so I just keep picking. I froze some , ate so so many, and then I was going to make a straight up pie but decided to do pie bars instead because one, I couldn’t find my pie plate (I think Shannon has it) and two, these are just a bit less formal, like pie can sometime be. Plus easier to share because they are cut into little squares and hold there shape really well. And lets be honest, I didn’t want to have to roll out pie dough if I didn’t have to.

Such a good way to use up and share an excess of berries. Now off you go to make some pie crumble bars while I go play with the kittens (I’ll tell you all about the kittens tomorrow….)

The stuff. Flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. A little soy milk and coconut oil, a lemon, and arrowroot powder. And of course lots of blackberries.

The flour, salt, baking soda, and sugar get mixed in a big bowl then the coconut oil get mixed in into a crumble.%u00a0 Now in goes the soy milk to get it all a little wet.

A little more then half the mixture gets patted down into a greases and lined pan

Berries, sugar, arrowroot powder, lemon juice and lemon zest go into a bowl. Give it a mix.

Dump and distribute all over recently patted down dough..

And crumble the rest of the crumble all over the top.

Now into the oven it go.

All cooked and cooling while you put away the clean dishes (or anything that will distract you for at least a half hour while they cool.)

And when they have cooled enough to cut, it’s time for you to eat.

And yes, these are totally perfect for dessert and breakfast.

-C

makes 16 squares

For the crust

• 2 1/2 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2/3 cup coconut oil melted then cooled to soft
• 2/3 cup cane sugar
• 4 tablespoons soy milk

For the berry filling

• 3 cups fresh blackberries
• 3 tablespoons arrowroot powder
• 1/3 cup cane sugar
• zest and juice of a lemon

Preheat oven to 375

Mix the flour, sugar, salt, and baking powder together in a large bowl. Add in coconut oil and incorporate with a fork or pastry cutter until the dough looks crumbly, add in soy milk and mix in with for again just til until incorporated. (think pie dough-like)%u00a0 Don’t worry if some of the dough seems dry, it’s fine.

Grease and line a 9×9 pan. Dump a little more then half of the dough mixture in and pat down to cover bottom of pan. Try to make sure it’s all an even thickness.

In a separate bowl, toss together the berries, sugar, arrowroot powder, lemon zest and juice of that lemon. Dump the mixture into pan and evenly distribute over dough. Take the remaining dough and crumble all over the top then just stick it into the hot oven.

Bake for about 50 minutes or until the crumble on top is a nice golden brown.

Remove and let cool completely before cutting.

Cut then eat.

Store squares in fridge, some even say they taste better cold.

This past Saturday Nick and I had to let Only go. One of the hardest days of our lives. It was kidney failure that progressed so fast, we barely saw it coming. Needless to say, we have been kind of a wreck ever since.

13 years old, not terrible old for a cat, but he was still an old man. We adopted him from the humane society when he was a tiny baby kitten. We went to explore the options, to see if we really even wanted a cat that could be a animal sibling to Washer. We were only suppose to look, that’s it. I remember very clearly going into the cat room and playing with like 20 cats and kittens and Only (they were calling him sergeant pepper then) was the most crazy, energetic,lovable cat there was. It was instant love and the next day he was ours. We brought him home in a carrier and the very first thing he did when we let him out into his new home was to scratch a deep gash into Washers nose (he had a scar for the rest of his life). It was fitting. Only owned Washer. He would sneak attack his tail and bite at his face while they played all the time. It was the funniest shit to watch. a 75 lb dog getting his ass kicked by a 10 lb cat. Those were some of the best time ever. After we lost Washer, it was just the three of us.

When not inside being lazy, sitting in front of the window, or hiding behinding the couch, he was outside, where he was the happiest. He loved sitting on the neighbors porch sunbathing or in hiding in the bushes in the back yard. He didn’t stray to far, he liked to be close to home. He really was most happy being outside so we let him outside all summer but made him come inside for meals, and we made him come inside for the winter months. (Which I think he was ok with. I mean, he got to lay around on heated floors. Who wouldn’t like that?)

It’s funny, not a lot of people knew Only. He was scared of the kids and hid from anyone that came into the house. He didn’t like other cats and the only dog he ever could be around was Washer. He was pretty much exactly like us, a recluse that ran away from everyone. He only really spent time with us, and honestly, more Nick. He loved Nick more then anyone. Those two, they spent a lot of time sitting around together. He would crawl into Nicks lap whenever he was in the house. It was just where he wanted to be. Those two, they always made me smile.

There is so much, so many good memories. But I think what I am going to miss most is the unexpected love. I would be sitting out on the porch reading or doing something out in the back yard and all of a sudden, there he was, just wanting to say hi and to get some love. He had a nack for knowing when I wanted company and would just show up. He really was the best cat.

Ah fuck, I miss him so much.

So yeah, we are feeling pretty sad and shitty over here. The house feels so empty and so quite. We know that it’s going to take some time, that it is still fresh, but I still can’t wrap my head around it. I keep thinking he is outside and will come home to check in (and eat) anytime. But he won’t and we need to get used to this being our new normal.

Only. The one and only.

RIP kitty. Thank you for your life. Love you.

You have weeks that are great, some that are kind of crappy, and some that just seem like a waste of a week of life. Last week felt like one of those wasted weeks.Yeah I might be being a little dramatic but man, it just sucked. It started out with an unpleasantness (we will leave it at that) that consumed our every day. Nothing that I wanted or needed to get done was done, my house was turned upside down, I was tired, cranky, and feeling gross and it was cold and snowy. Just no good.

Ok, I am done complaining now.

And it’s Sunday, the start of a new week. Spring is kinda in the air, the days are longer, birds out chirping away.%u00a0 I have a new book that I have been waiting to read, a respectable, but doable list of things to do and a positive attitude towards life.%u00a0 Bad week over.

See what I saw on the internet.

–Scientists Lobbying To Restore Pluto As A Planet. As it should be.

-I bet people will want to watch it now. So weird. The Reality Show No One Was Watching

-This DIY Swing is pretty cool. Could see one or two on the porch.

–11 New Cloud Types Named%u2014First in 30 Years. And here I am trying to learn the old ones.

-Like these photos. Abstract Aerial Photographs of Southern Africa

–Cheetos Made an Easter Clothing Line That Helps You Avoid Cheetos Fingers

I don’t need any toys, but these are pretty cool. Animaze: Multifunctional Furniture that Encourages Kids to Play

–9 INCREDIBLE COUNTRIES WHERE YOU CAN LIVE FOR UNDER $1,000 A MONTH. Food for thought.

-%u00a0 I gave up TV, then qualified for Olympic marathon trials and got my PhD The things can do instead of sitting on your ass. And the last tine. Hahaha, that is what everyone says.

– Why Millennial Pink Refuses to Go Away. And these Pink Homes

A few picture taken from the week

I had me a little over the weekend and we had so much fun. We had a dance party, sang Christmas songs, made paper trees, and made cookies. It was a much more of a fun day then I had planned ans expected. (Christmas themed fun day.. uh, yeah!)

But the thing was I wasn’t planning on making cookies. Wait scratch that, I was planning on cookies on Friday and asked her mom what kind of cookie we should make.%u00a0 And by Saturday, I had decided that I had way to much crap to do and didn’t have time to make cookies. The little was going to spend the day with me doing errands and maybe a little work stuff.%u00a0 But that morning, when dropped off at 730 am, the first thing she said to me was “we are making gingerbread cookies today” in the most tiny little sleepy voice.%u00a0 Not a “are we gong to?”, she was saying it as a fact. (her mother must have told her) So yeah, after that, I had to make the cookies. (I am not a monster) And because I now had to make cookies, I just said screw it to everything else I was going to do. I figured I might as well just roll with it and dance to jingle bell rock all day long.

About the cookies. These gingerbread cookies are everything I think a gingerbread should be. Sweet and spicy, dense and crisp, (but not hard) There is a slight snap, but not a tooth breaking snap and as you eat it, the middle of the cookie gets a little softer. They are the best paired with coffee or tea. Words that I have heard describe these cookies are; “fantastic” Oh my God” and “Fucking Amazing”. So I am pretty sure that these are a winning cookie.

And sure, we could have made gingerbread people, but really, why make little weird shaped people when you can make a squirrel and a mouse. (step outside of the gingerbread box and make all kinds of shapes!) And although I love me a good neon colored sprinkle situation, I really got into using more natural looking things to decorate. But again, the shape and decor of your cookie is all up to you.%u00a0

Note.. Awesome cookie cutters came from IKEA.

The stuff. We have flour, baking soda and powder,and some salt. For the spices we are using ginger (or course) cinnamon, and cracked pepper (for a little extra kick). Also have a bowl with brown sugar, molasses, oil, a splash of vanilla and two chia seed “eggs”.

Whisk (or sift) together the flour with all the spices, the baking soda and powder and the salt.

And mix together the oil, chia eggs and vanilla with the molasses and brown sugar.

Look at that cutie… doing all the work.

Mix the dry into the wet like so.

Mix as much as you can with a wooden spoon and when you the spoon stops working, use your hands and form the dough into a large disk.%u00a0 Wrap it in wax paper (or plastic) and stick it in the fridge for a little while to rest ans evenly distribute all the moisture.

When you are ready for cookies, remove the dough from the fridge ans let it warm up for a few minutes. then take it and roll it out to about 1/2 inch.%u00a0 And pretty sure you know how to use a cookie cutter so cut some cookies.

A baking sheet of pre -baked creatures going into the oven.

After about 8-10 minutes, the cookies are a little poofy, a little more golden brown, and a lot of super good smelling lovely.

Now if you want, decorate your cookies! (you don’t HAVE to, but you should)
%u00a0I used white chocolate chips, tiny chocolate chips, dried cranberries and chopped almonds. And for the glaze, just powdered sugar and lemon juice. But use whatever you want.

And my favorite, the porcupine ! (I totally made this one)

-Happy Tuesday!

-C

Makes about 2 dozen (depending in your cookie cutter sizes)

• 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 2 heaping teaspoons ground ginger
• 1 heaping teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon fresh cracked pepper (optional)
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 2 chia or flax eggs (2 tablespoons ground chia or flax seeds with 6 tablespoons warm water)
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup molasses
• 1/2 cup neutral flavored oil (like veggie or canola)
• splash of vanilla extract
• Things to decorate with like chopped almonds, raisins, frosting, chocolate chips.. whatever you want

Grab yourself a big bowl and add in the sugar, molasses, oil, vanilla, and the chia eggs. Mix until combined. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour with the all the spices, baking soda and powder, and the salt.%u00a0 Dump dry into wet and mix with a wooden spoon until a dough form. When yu can no longer mix with spoon, use your hands and knead the dough into a large disk.%u00a0 Wrap in wax paper or plastic, ans stick in the fridge for at least and hour, or up to 3 days.

When you are ready to make the cookies, remove dough from fridge and let it sit and warm up a little bit so it;s not so stiff and much easier to roll out.

Preheat oven to 350

Working in one big batch or cutting dough half, roll the dough until it’s about 1/2 inch thick. Take your cookie cutters of your preferred shape and cut as many out as you can. Place cookies onto a baking sheet and bake between 8-11 minutes or until the cookies have slightly rising and the cookies are just starting to brown. .

Note… Using a cookie cutter with small intricate pieces, the edges might get a little crisper then the middle faster. So just keep your eye out for those.

Remove from sheet and place on a cooling rack.

And decorate, using whatever you want and as much as you want.

This past week my dad has been in town to spend some time with the family. Besides going about my normal life,%u00a0%u00a0every day I have been with at least one, if not a bunch of my siblings and or father (Aaaaaaahhhhh!!!).%u00a0Spending as much time as I have with them%u00a0this week has made me realize how much I love them, and how%u00a0crazy they are. %u00a0I am%u00a0happy to have spent all this time with everybody,%u00a0but am very much excited to have a day to myself, because%u00a0again, they are all f%u00a0ing crazy.%u00a0

But today is not a reclusive day.

Today is our annual%u00a0%u00a0Stem family reunion. We all get together, immediate and extended, at%u00a0my uncles%u00a0cabin, up in the sticks of Vermont and gossip, hike around, eat, %u00a0and try not to drive our 94 year old grams completely cray.%u00a0%u00a0It’s one of the highlights of my%u00a0summer.%u00a0

So now, before heading out, I am trying to figure out what exactly%u00a0I have for ingredients to%u00a0throw together some type of %u00a0peach situation%u2026 so I gots to get to that. And of course the coffee. I need the coffee, and lots of it.

Hope you folks are living up the end of summer!!!

Here is some internet fun stuff.

-This is so great%u00a0%u00a0I want to draw on my walls now

-The world we live in. %u00a0Could Sexting Help Your Relationship?

– I love these cabins, the%u00a0pictures are beautiful%u00a0

-Another place I could totally live in

– Why is the world so beautiful.%u00a0A theoretical physicist searches for the design behind nature%u2019s beauty.

–These or these I can’t decide%u00a0

-I love maps.%u00a0Lithuanian Artist Makes Incredibly Detailed Paper Cuts Of City Maps%u00a0

-Only in VT.%u00a0One Vermont Ballet Group Is Mixing Dance With Cows In ‘Farm To Ballet’%u00a0

And some pictures from the week

YEAH! We got our tree this past weekend and now there is even less room to move around. (It takes up approximately1/4 of our living space, but I don’t care. I love it!. We ventured south toth e rangers station, picked up our tree permit, and drove into the great mountains to find the smallest amount of (but still some) snow and the most perfect (so not even remotely close) tree growing snug, deep in the woods. We have been dong this for at least the past 5 years and every year, the trees we pick out get fatter and a little funnier. But they are always awesome and beautiful and make me the happiest! And now that we got our tree, I finally got to watch Elf. I say finally because me and the mr have a tradition where we string popcorn for the tree while watching it, so I usually wait until that night to watch it.(then I can watch it as much as I want after that)%u00a0 Along with the popcorn,%u00a0the mr suggested we do a paper chain (he is so smart) which came out so good and really classys up the tree.. I haven’t taken any pictures of the decorated tree, but I will be sure to take some and show you later.

Other then the tree, this week was a world wind. Birthday parties, family crazy, new house stuff.%u00a0 I powered through a couple of long nights and finished a quilt for one of the littles birthday. We have been going over to the new house almost everyday and doing a little this and a bit of that, on top of whatever else we do. Yup, another busy, fun and good, but very busy week. And now it’s finally Sunday and all I am hopping for is a few hours of couch sitting with my book, and coffee, and some snow. (I have given up a little on winter here. What the F… Its just not right!)%u00a0 And that’s what I hope for you today, well I hope you take some time to do you and relax a bit. Maybe not go shapping ALL DAY or even feed the kids left over popcorn,%u00a0%u00a0peanut butter sandwiches , and cookies for dinner tonight and just take some time to kick back. We all need it.

Oh, and to all of those celebrating.. Happy Hanukkah!

Internet things from the week to check.

-Just in case you need to know, here is a step by step to paper snowflakes%u00a0

-%u00a0Research says, having a dog as a kid is amazing for your mental health

–Super into this interior look

-Speaking of interiors…

%u00a0-survival food%u2026. not something I want to ever have to get down with

-$5 CHRISTMAS TREES AVAILABLE IN THE GREEN MOUNTAIN NATIONAL FOREST… This is what we do.

-Now I understand why some rugs cost like a million bucks..%u00a0Gorgeous Geometric Carpets Modernize An Ancient Weaving Technique

-The dutch, they know what they are doing.%u00a0The many treats of a Dutch pre-Christmas celebration.

–See a salt shaker in a menu? Think twice.%u00a0Sodium Warnings Hit New York City Menus