Daily Archives: October 6, 2010

[49] Maple Syrup Cookies

The Complete Book of Cookies, edited by Deborah Grey

These were “emergency cookies”. As in, I needed cookies or something, fast!

I recently had the opportunity to take free piano lessons within my apartment complex. Well, they don’t cost money, but the exchange was in conversation, as my new teacher is still learning English. I had my first lesson Monday, and when she found out I didn’t have a piano, she loaned me a keyboard to practice on. She and her husband came down late Monday evening to drop it off and chat a bit, and I wanted to be able to have little snacks on hand.

These fit the bill nicely because they only have five ingredients (all of which I had on hand and none of which are typical allergens), and the directions are short and simple.… Continue reading →

[48] Mashed Potatoes

How to Cook Everything, Revised Edition by Mark Bittman

What is roast chicken without some sort of delicious Solanaceae accompaniment? It is nothing. NOTHING, I say!

Furthermore, woe betide you if you pick the wrong member of the Solanaceae family. I mean, aside from some members being highly toxic, some having psychoactive effects (some doing both…), many would just be weird. I mean, I suppose I could imagine some folks feeling an urge to smoke after a good roast chicken, but that’s really Solanaceae after the roast chicken, not with.

So, we’ve narrowed down our Solanaceae choices to, “consumables”. I’m going to go a bit further and narrow it to “edibles”. Hell, let’s go a step further and narrow it to “major food crops”. So, we’re lookin’ at eggplants, tomatoes, and potatoes. Any one of those things is delicious, I have to admit.… Continue reading →