PEEPS

Um, about that diet.  Let me say in my own defense that before trying to lose 10 pounds, I completely forgot that one of my favorite foods would soon be in season.  Yup, as you have probably guessed, I am completely hooked on … Peeps.  Those crazy chicks began showing up right after I started dieting, and what a harvest!  They’re ubiquitous, abundant, and best of all, cheep.  (I’m very sorry, that just slipped out).

I know that a lot of people consider chocolate bunnies the quintessential Easter treat, but I really have to disagree. 

First of all, be assured that I am a BIG fan of chocolate – dark, not milk,- milk chocolate is for sissies.  In fact, if chocolate were illegal, I would be writing this blog from a jail cell.  And, I will admit to a certain visceral pleasure in biting off the ears of a good quality, preferably Godiva, bunny.  But the Grand Pooh-Ba of Easter candy is Peeps.  Chocolate bunnies and hearts, jellybeans and candy bars can be savored all year.  But, Peeps are a spring crop, like peas, that are gone in a blink, not to be seen again until the next blooming of the daffodils.

I think, however, that Peeps are losing respect due to the proliferation of imported Chilean grown knockoffs.  Genuine, native grown Peeps are not pink chicks or purple rabbits.  They are yellow – they are chicks – that’s all they are!

Also, because homemaking skills aren’t being passed on as in the past, people have forgotten that Peeps, like avocados, must be ripened after purchase.  You have to unwrap them, and, keeping them from the reach of children and dogs, leave them to harden for a month or more until ready to eat.  I start chicking, - oops checking, -  after three weeks, but usually find they still have a little chew dead center.  Peeps are truly ripe when you can snap their little heads off with your teeth, and to me that is a way bigger rush than nibbling a bunny ear.

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Easter Babka Bread

This recipe was adapted from my Grandmother’s Babka Bread recipe.  She modified it to be her most used recipe for any sweet treat.  She would leave out the orange zest and candied peel except for Christmas and Easter Babka.  For everyday Babka it was just dark raisins, but for the holidays, always sultanas.

1-1/2 cups milk, scalded

1/4 cup butter, softened

1/2 cup sour cream

1/2 cup sugar

2 teaspoons kosher salt

2 eggs, lightly beaten

2 teaspoons orange zest

2 teaspoons vanilla

6-1/2 to 7-1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

2 packets instant dissolving dry yeast (4-1/2 teaspoons)

1/3 to 1 cup sultanas (golden raisins) or currants (or combo)

1/2 cup candied orange or lemon peel

* * * * *

Shortening

2 egg yolks beaten with 2 Tablespoons water

* * * * *

In a large bowl combine scalded milk, butter, sour cream, sugar and salt.  Stir to combine.  When cooled to lukewarm, add the lightly beaten eggs, orange zest and vanilla and stir well.

Add 3 cups flour and sprinkle yeast over flour.  Stir to blend in.  Add remaining flour, one cup at a time, until the dough comes cleanly away from the sides of the bowl.  Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and scrape out the bowl.  Lightly oil the bowl and set aside.

Knead the dough, using only enough flour to keep the dough from sticking to your hands and the board.  The dough should be soft and pliable but not sticky.  When dough is smooth and elastic, knead in the sultanas and candied orange peel.

Place the dough into the oiled bowl, turn to oil all surfaces and cover with plastic wrap and a clean towel.  Let rise in a warm place for about 45 minutes, or until doubled.

Preheat the oven to 375º F.

Grease two 8 or 9-inch round baking pans.

Punch down the dough and divide in half and lightly shape each piece into a ball.  Loosely cover with plastic wrap and let rest 15 minutes.  Form into rounds.  Place shapes into greased baking pans, loosely cover with plastic wrap and a clean towel and let rise until doubled.

Brush tops with an egg wash and bake at 375º for 30 – 40 minutes or until an internal temperature of 200º F.

Remove from baking pans and place on a rack to cool.

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For a printer friendly copy of the Easter Babka Bread recipe visit our web site (www.stoneturtlebaking.com/webdocs/recipes).

A Little Whine With My Cheese

Would whoever lost 10 pounds over the holidays please come pick them up?  I found them between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Eve, and they’re starting to get in my way.

Every year it’s the same old same old.  I make serious and fervent vows not to gain pounds over the holidays – then I do.  I make even more seriously serious vows to lose them – then I don’t.  Even if I manage to lose most of it, I still hang on to a couple of pounds and bring them with me, like an uninvited guest, to next years holiday festivities.  Lets see…. two or three pounds multiplied by 20 years equals…Holy Buttcheeks, Batman!

I’m only five feet tall (and shrinking as we speak).  An extra 10 pounds looks like 20 and an extra 20 pounds looks like - never mind!  I know from sad experience that the high protein-low carb, low-carb-high protein, cabbage soup, grapefruit and all the other “miracle diets” don’t work for me.  And, I really do understand the concept of calories in – calories out.  However, my life revolves around food.  I love teaching about it, writing about it, preparing it and eating it with equal fervor.  Kidding myself into believing I’m going to forego most of my favorites is just wishful thinking. 

But, since I’m already collecting Social Security and I’m diabetic, it’s time to get on a diet pony that I can actually ride.  So, in honor of the new year, I’ve devised a radical weight loss program.  I call it “The Public Humiliation Diet”.  It’s the first week of January now and my birthday is in the first week of April.  I’ll confess my current weight at the end of my blog and report my weight loss on my birthday.  If I don’t lose at least 10 pounds, you get to say Na Na  NaNaNa.  I’ve also asked Mike if he would be willing to join my in this very public venture and share his weight with you.  He said “Fat Chance!”  What do you suppose he meant by that? 

P.S. I have resolved that this is the year I purge a lot of “stuff” out of the house,
and one of the things that has to go is the package of lady fingers that I purchased in early August and have been reporting on for months.  The lady fingers are still fine, although a little less springy than a couple of weeks ago, and it’s clear that they, along with a few cockroaches, will still be around after the apocalypse, so I’m, sadly, letting them go to the big dumpster in the sky.  Farewell, ladyfingers.  I’ll miss you!

My current weight is 145 pounds. 

The next recipe is a dish we serve for lunch at class at the Stone Turtle Baking and Cooking School and has been requested by hoards and hoards of people.  O.K., two.  Anyway, it’s really yummy and it’s also vegetarian and low fat.  Enjoy.

                                            Moroccan Vegetable Stew

1 medium onion, peeled and chopped

1 large leek, white and light green parts, cleaned and chopped

2 ribs celery, 1/2-inch slice

1 fennel bulb, cored and medium chopped

2 Tablespoons vegetable oil, preferably olive oil

2 quarts vegetable broth, homemade or packaged

3 carrots, 1/2-inch slice

1 cup turnip or parsnip, 1/2-inch cube

1 28 ounce can chopped or diced tomatoes with juice

2 medium potatoes, 1/2-inch cube

1 or 2 zucchini, halved lengthwise, seeds removed, 1/2-inch slice

1/2 cup chopped dried apricots or golden raisins

1 Tablespoon fresh chopped rosemary

2 Tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

1 teaspoon dried or 1 Tablespoon fresh thyme

1 Tablespoon Ras El Hanout *^{See note 1 below}

1 heaping teaspoon dry Harissa or 1 teaspoon paste Harissa *^{See note 1 below}

Salt and pepper to taste
Roux to suit *^{See note 2 below}

In a large pot, over medium heat, sweat onion, leek, celery and fennel in the oil until soft, but not browned.  Add vegetable broth and simmer for 5 or 10 minutes.  Add carrots, turnip or parsnip, tomatoes and potatoes.  Simmer until veggies are just tender, about 10 or 15 minutes.  Add zucchini, raisins or apricots, herbs and spices and cook until zucchini is just tender, 5 or 10 minutes.  Add salt and pepper to taste and thicken to desired consistency with roux.

Note 1:

Ras El Hanout and Harissa are key Moroccan spices.  We get ours on-line from

Zamouri Spices.  They are a great on-line site for fresh spices from around the world, particularly North African and Middle Eastern spices.  We use their Ras el Hanout and Harissa (both dry and paste) extensively.  It’s also a source for Nigella seed (Charnushka on Russian Black Bread).

We understand that there’s a new spice company in Maine - Gryffon Ridge Spice Merchants.  They are from Dresden, Maine and have a space at the Brunswick Winter Market on 14 Maine Street (the Fort Andross Mill complex).  We hope to visit them soon.

Note 2:

Roux

1 pound butter

1 pound unbleached all-purpose flour (about 3-1/2 cups)

In a wide, flat-bottomed pot or frying pan, slowly melt the butter.  Do not brown.  Slowly add the flour, stirring until smooth and lump free.  Stir constantly until its a light tan color and smells a little nutty.  Spread on a rimmed cookie sheet to about 1/4 inch thick.  (It doesn’t have to go all the way to the edge).  Refrigerate until solid, then cut into pieces about 2 inches by 2 inches.  Put in a plastic bag in your fridge.  It will keep for months and can be used to thicken soups, stews, gravy and sauces.  

A printer friendly version of this recipe can be found on our web site at http://www.stoneturtlebaking.com/webdocs/Moroccan_Veg_Stew.pdf.

MERRY CHRISTMAS

It’s 8A.M. Christmas morning.  Everyone wakes up in a happy mood, gathers around the kitchen table for a leisurely breakfast, then, while carols play softly in he background, gifts are exchanged, opened slowly and admired by one and all.  HA!

Unless you’re Martha Stewart, you are probably explaining to a heartbroken three year old why Santa forgot to leave a present for her kitty, trying to find an emergency vet for your dog, Bubba, who thought the Christmas ornaments looked delicious (we still refer to that Christmas as the year of the festive poop), or frantically trying to thaw a twenty pound frozen turkey in the bathtub.  Kids, big and small, are shouting and tearing into presents, the tree has an ominous tilt and no one can find Aunt Tilley’s gift (or Aunt Tilley for that matter).

Now, our kids are grown, their kids are grown and getting everyone together at the same time on Christmas is impossible.  A quiet, civilized Christmas breakfast ain’t gonna happen.  So here’s how we keep the troops fed and keep our sanity (everything is relative!).

We don’t have a staff, ala Martha, so we do one main breakfast dish that keeps O.K. on a warming tray.  The rest of the food is buffet style and can be left out for a couple of hours without killing anyone.  We do a huge fruit salad, slice up some ham and put out Mike’s famous cinnamon buns.  We feed our bulldog, Roxanne, and give her a chew toy to keep her from mooching (No, this does not actually work).

We don’t do a huge Polish Christmas Eve dinner anymore, so we try to include a couple of things to reflect the family’s heritage, - perogi for Mike, and anything boiled or overcooked for me.  And, most important of all, we enjoy our kids and grandkids whenever they arrive for as long as they stay and when they leave, we take a nap.

So my best advice is – relax!  Do whatever makes for a calm and stress free Christmas for your family, even if that means instant cocoa and donut holes.  You can always cook up a spectacular feast for New Year’s Eve.

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SAUSAGE & EGG CASSEROLE

One of the real pleasures of visiting Blue Hill, Maine was staying with Flossie and Kendall when they ran a B&B.  At one extended family gathering Flossie served up what has become our favorite large gathering breakfast dish.

Serves 8

2 cups herbed croutons or stuffing mix OR 6 slices fresh bread (crust removed) and 2 tsp Italian seasoning

2 TBSP butter, softened

1 lb bulk sausage (or more)

1 cup chopped mushrooms (optional) OR 2 cups diced onion & pepper mixture OR some of everything

2 TBSP butter

3 TBSP flour

2 1/2 cups half-and-half

1 tsp dry mustard

1 1/2 cups grated cheddar cheese or a mix of cheeses

8 eggs, beaten

1/2 cup grated cheese

Salt & pepper to taste

Grease a 10x14-inch baking dish with 1 TBSP butter.  Sprinkle crouton/bread over the bottom of the buttered baking dish.

Cook sausage, drain and sprinkle over the croutons/bread.

Sauté mushrooms (or onion/pepper mixture) using 1 TBSP butter and set aside.

Melt 2 TBSP butter, stir in flour until smooth.  Cook 10 minutes over low to medium-low heat; roux should be very pale.  Add half-and-half slowly; stir constantly until a smooth sauce is formed.  If sauce appears to have lumps, pour through a strainer.  Remove from heat and add dry mustard, salt and pepper to taste.  Stir in mushrooms (or onion/pepper mixture) and 1 1/2 cups of cheese.  Set aside to cool.

Beat eggs.  Mix into cooled sauce.  Pour over sausage and croutons/bread, sprinkle with 1/2 cup grated cheese.  Cover and refrigerate overnight if using dried croutons/stuffing mix or at least 1 hour if using fresh bread.

Pre-heat oven to 350º F.  If casserole was refrigerated overnight, bring casserole to room temperature for 1 hour before baking.

Bake, uncovered, for 45 minutes or until eggs are set.  Let stand 10 minutes before cutting.

* * * * *

VIENNESE WALNUT COOKIES

Sandy has been making these cookies for as long as we’ve had kids and one year Christmas was almost a disaster – we couldn’t find the recipe.  Finally, the day before Christmas it appeared and in the midst of wrapping presents we HAD to make these.

1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened

1/3 cup granulated sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon vanilla

1-1/4 cups sifted unbleached, all-purpose flour

1-1/3 cups ground walnuts (as fine as possible)

Butter Cream Frosting

Cream butter, sugar, salt and vanilla together.  Blend in flour and ground walnuts.  Form into a ball and refrigerate for about a half hour. 

Pre-heat oven to 350° F.

Divide dough in half and roll out to about 1/4-inch and cut with a small cookie or biscuit cutter - we use a small oval cutter (1 X 1-1/2-inches), think bite-size.

Bake on ungreased baking sheets at 350° F for 10 to 12 minutes, until lightly browned.  Cool on racks.

Put together impairs with butter cream frosting and decorate top with a swirl of frosting.

* * * * *

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

A printer friendly version of these recipes can be found on our web site at http://www.stoneturtlebaking.com/webdocs/recipes.htm.

WHAT A TURKEY

Ah, Thanksgiving is upon us.  It brings back so many memories of the holiday celebration when I was a kid…… Autumn leaves, pumpkins, football games and EEEK…….  Mom’s turkey!  I don’t want to disparage my mother’s culinary skills, but when I hear the term, “Mom’s home cooking,” a little shiver goes up my spine.  My mom, bless her, had many good qualities, not least of which was her wicked sense of humor, but pumpkin pie, turkey or anything that took place at or near a stove, had disaster written all over it.  Here’s the sad thing……. she had no clue that cooking wasn’t her biggest talent and went about making Thanksgiving dinner with a gusto and zeal that you just had to admire.  The results, however, not so much.

A turkey, according to Mom, needed to be cooked in a covered roasting pan for a very loooong time.  She would start the bird the evening before, cook it all night, then all morning, then……… well, you get the idea.

At dinner she would proudly exclaim over the fact that the turkey was so tender, “it’s falling off the bone”, while the family mournfully stared at a bare turkey carcass with bits of stringy meat piled around it.  The gravy went perfectly with the turkey.  One year, my sister Aggie got into big trouble when, in answer to Mom’s question, “Would you like some gravy?” answered, “Sure, I’ll have a lump!”

Now, many years later, the turkey is perfect, the gravy lump free and my memories of Thanksgiving are viewed through the soft lens of time.  Somehow, magically, they seem as sweet as Mom’s apple pie.

So, here’s wishing all five of you that follow my blog a bountiful and blessed Thanksgiving day.  For a special treat, I’m leaving you with my mom’s secret technique for roasting turkey.  Just Kidding!

Instead, I’m sharing a new family tradition, … my son John’s recipe for his justifiably famous Thee Mushroom Cream Soup.  It’s awesome.  Enjoy.

P.S.  The package of ladyfingers that I bought in early August and left on my microwave oven are doing beautifully!  No mold, no signs of age, and still as soft as a baby’s bottom.  I don’t know about you, but that scares the living bejeebers out of me.

THREE MUSHROOM CREAM SOUP

Our son, John, has been making this soup for us since his days cooking at the Mystic Hilton in Mystic, CT


1 or 2 ounces dried porcini mushrooms
2 Tablespoons olive oil
1 leek, white and light green only, cleaned and thinly sliced
2 medium carrots, diced
2 ribs celery, sliced thin
2 or 3 garlic cloves, minced
1 bunch scallions - white and 1 or 2 inches of green, sliced
1 Tablespoon ginger, minced
8 ounces shitake mushrooms, stems removed and caps sliced
8 ounces crimini (baby bella) or button mushrooms, sliced
6 cups chicken broth
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
Pepper, to taste
Soy sauce, to taste

Soak porcini mushrooms in hot tap water (enough to cover mushrooms) for 10 to 15 minutes, strain through cheesecloth or paper towels and chop mushrooms.  Set aside mushroom liquid.

Heat olive oil in large pot over medium heat.  Add leek, carrots and celery and cook until softened, about 5 minutes.  Add garlic, scallions and ginger and cook an additional minute.  Add shitake and crimini mushrooms and cook until mushrooms give up their liquid and start to take on color, about 5 or 6 minutes.  Add porcini mushrooms and reserved mushroom liquid.

Add chicken broth and bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer for 20 to 30 minutes.  Add heavy cream and heat, but do not boil the soup.  Add soy sauce and pepper to taste.

NOT JULIA’S BEEF STEW

Speaking of Julia, (see previous blog, where I humbly confess my sins to the Patron Saint of home cooking), Mike and I went to see “Julie & Julia”, and I have to say that the poor actress, Amy Something, that played Julie had a tough slog.  The character of Julie came across as a whiney whiner and every time she was in a scene, I wanted to shout, “PLEASE GET OUT OF THIS MOVIE!”  But, Meryl Streep was a revelation.  It was such fun watching her channel Julia Child that I thought she was actually a better “Julia” than Julia.

Mike and I met Julia Child, (the real one, not Meryl) in the early nineties at a King Arthur Flour function and I have to admit that she scared me.  For one thing, she was huge!  I’m five feet nothin’ and she towered over me.  I felt like I was in kindergarten and she was the Principal.  She was eighty years old and still very much in command of any room she was in.  She also said whatever popped into her head.  Mike and I drove her to…well, I don’t actually remember to what…and she explained that anyone under eight or over eighty could say whatever they pleased!  So she did.  When Mike asked her why some points were so difficult to get across at a cooking demonstration, she stated that it was because “some people are abysmally stupid”.  Okey dokey then!

We are also the proud owners of a signed copy of “Mastering the Art of French Cooking”, a real gen-u-wine photo of Julia and Mike and a mug that I had made up with Mike and Julia’s picture and signed “Michael, thank you for all your help, love Julia” that is soooo fake.  [Michael – It was a lot of fun to flaunt and it used to drive some of my uptight, former co-workers crazy.  It was so worth it.]

When we got home from the movie, I immediately got out Julia’s cookbook to decide what to cook first and discovered I didn’t use her cookbook very often because ….I can hardly say this out loud….I don’t like it!  OMG, I feel like a French gendarme is going to arrest me for, oh, I don’t know, blasphemy or something, but I felt exhausted just reading the recipes.

So, in order to exhibit my vast inferiority to Julia and forever ruin my reputation as a great cook, - O.K., I don’t actually have a reputation as a great cook – I now present my pathetic version of Boeuf Bourguignon.  I call it, um, beef stew.


Michael says:
After seeing the movie and looking at “Mastering the Art of French Cooking” I feel the urge to make Julia's version of Boeuf Bourguignon.  I know that it's silly but it fits into my compulsive nature.  On one of these (too soon to come) Maine winter days I'm doing it - especially if we have some fresh bread to go along with it,

* * * * *

Not Julia's Beef Stew

I use Chuck for the stewing meat.  Chuck is perfect – he’s tasty – just a little tough.  But, with patience and a little heat, he goes all soft and tender.

2 lb. Chuck, cubed

1/2 cup unbleached all purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt (or 2 teaspoons Kosher salt)

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

2 Tablespoons olive oil

1 medium onion, chopped

1 cup carrot, chopped

1/2 cup leeks, chopped

1/2 cup fennel, chopped – optional but yummy

1/2 cup chopped celery

1 bay leaf

4 or 5 cups beef or chicken stock

1 teaspoon dried herbs, whatever you like (or 1 Tablespoon fresh)

1 cup wine, beer –whatever you’re having

3 o 4 carrots, peeled and sliced

3 or 4 small potatoes, peeled and cubed

1 parsnip or turnip, optional

1 Tablespoon parsley, finely chopped

Mix flour, salt and pepper together and put on a plate or in a shaker.  Dredge Chuck in flour mix – don’t worry, he likes it.  Brown Chuck on all sides in olive oil – don’t crowd or Chuck gets all gray and wet.  Remove meat and add a leetle more oil if needed and cook chopped onion, carrots, leeks, celery and fennel, if using, until somewhat softened, about 5 minutes.  Add liquids and herbs and bring to a simmer.  Cover and simmer for 1 to 1-1/2 hours.  Add sliced carrots, potato, etc., re-cover and simmer an additional 30 minutes until veggies are tender.  Top with chopped parsley and serve.

Note:  I have huge burners on my stove and it’s hard to maintain a simmer, so I usually bring my stew to a simmer, cover it and put it in the oven at 350º F for the same cooking time.

* * * * *

For a printer friendly copy of our Beef Stew go to our web site at http://www.stoneturtlebaking.com/webdocs/recipes.htm .

ADIEU TO LA PÊCHE

                                                  

Wow, Autumn is upon us, and it’s almost time to bid farewell to my outside shower and local peaches.  I’m sad L.  To me, peaches exemplify summer.  They look like summer.  They taste like sunshine and they feel like……ick, ick, oh yikes, they feel like tennis balls!  Only you have to eat them!  Put that fuzzy stuff in your mouth and I CAN’T DO IT!  I can’t even watch someone else do it.  It gives me the willies.

But I do love them.  I just need a designated peach picker, holder, carrier, peeler guy to defuzz them.  That would be Mike.

Peaches, which are believed to have originated in Persia, actually migrated to that area of the world from China.  Thank you China… you rock.  Alas, like all beauty queens, the peach was only valued for its looks, - its beautiful blossoms, - rather than its small, sour, ornamental fruit.  But, when it made its way to the Middle East, it thrived in the warmer, sunnier climate.  Sort of like Mike in the summer, but without the tan.

Although most commercial peaches are grown in California, Georgia and New Joisey, really good, sweet, juicy peachy peaches, like everything else grown locally are best.  Unfortunately, they are also fuzzier.  How fair is that?

Peaches, yellow or white, come in either cling – that pit ain’t coming out no matter how much you swear at it – and freestone which has, well, a free stone that is easy to remove.  I can’t tell them apart, so I always ask my farmer which type they are.  You are buying your peaches from a local farmer, right?

P.S.  I have a confession to make – so here goes.  Bless me, Julia, for I have sinned… I wanted ladyfingers for a quickie Tiramisu and I BOUGHT SOME!

At a local supermarket!  I’m so ashamed.  But, I didn’t use them.  I couldn’t bring myself to open the package, so I put it on top of my microwave oven and forgot about them until today, five weeks later.  THEY ARE FINE.  Soft.  No mold.  Pristine.  Holy Crap!  The ingredient list goes on, and on and ooooonnnnn, and they only things I recognize are eggs, flour and sugar.  So, as an ongoing experiment, I put them back and will report the date of their demise. 

* * * * *

PEACH SALSA

2 ripe peaches

1/4 cup diced red or sweet onion

1/4 cup diced bell pepper, any color

1 small chili, - jalapeno or whatever

Juice of 1 lime

1 Tablespoon finely chopped mint, cilantro or parsley

Peel (Mike’s job), pit and cube peaches.  Add peppers, lime juice and chopped herb.  Mix thoroughly and refrigerate until chilled.  Great over grilled fish, chicken or pork.  You’re welcome!

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For a printer friendly copy of our Peach Salsa go to our web site at http://www.stoneturtlebaking.com/webdocs/recipes.htm .

HOW I FOUND OUT I WAS OLD

A few months ago, my Grandson, R.J., excitedly told me that he was starting Kindergarten……no, wait,…he said college, but that’s not possible, he’s only five!

 

But, then, why is he driving, and why am I looking up at him?  I smiled and said, YES!  Good for you!  But, I gotta tell you, my chest tightened and I felt a lump in my throat.  My little Grandson is gone, and there is a tall, hairy college man in his place, off to Johnson & Wales this weekend to become a chef.

My son, John, R.J.’s Dad, has been a cook and kitchen manager at Captain’s Galley in Old Orchard Beach for over twelve years.  I guess watching his Dad work fourteen hour days, ruin his back and fill in as dishwasher when the “help” doesn’t show up proved irresistible!

But, cooking is a calling, like the ministry, except with more bad words, and if you are supposed to be a cook, sooner or later, the Muse will whisper in your ear and a kitchen will find you.

Last summer, when Mike and I were baking for a local Farmers’ Market, R.J. biked over from his house to lend us a hand with our set-up.  He looked around at our wares and asked, “what isn’t here,…what don’t you sell?”  The answer was cookies.  Our table was cookie free and an entrepreneur was born.  The following week R.J. came over to our school and baked twelve dozen cookies, and on Saturday, he put a nice lump of cookie dough in his pocket.  He was a big draw every week and usually sold out in three hours, but I’m still wondering if his success was due to his cookies or his pink mohawk!

We’re proud of you R.J.  Godspeed.

* * * * *

R.J.’s AWESOME EVERYTHING COOKIES

1 1/4 cups unbleached all purpose flour

3/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt

11/4 cups rolled oats, not quick cooking

1 cup walnuts, chopped

1/2 cup craisins

1/2 cup golden raisins

3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips or chopped chocolate

1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, softened

1 1/2 cups light brown sugar

1 large egg

1 Tablespoon grated fresh orange zest (shhh…this is the secret ingredient!)

1 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat oven to 375° F.

Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a small bowl.  Beat together butter and brown sugar until creamy.  Add the egg, orange zest and vanilla.  Gradually mix in flour mixture.  Stir in rolled oats, walnuts, craisins, raisins and the chocolate chips or chunks and mix until evenly incorporated.  Drop by rounded tablespoons, about 2 to 3 inches apart, onto parchment covered cookie sheets. 

Bake 10 to 13 minutes, depending on how chewy or crisp you like your cookies.

(R.J. kept his chewy).  Cool completely on racks before wrapping.

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For a printer friendly copy of R.J.’s AWESOME EVERYTHING COOKIES please visit our web site at http://www.stoneturtlebaking.com/webdocs/recipes.htm .