Love...

Happy Valentines Day! I still don't get much time using our computer because Jim continues to be a computer hog. I strongly suggested we get a laptop with some of our tax return money so I can stay connected to the world while he is locked in the den doing homework and regular work stuff. He only grunted at me. I'll take it for a yes. I've already started shopping...
On Valentine's Day when we were little, my mom always made us a huge heart-shaped sugar cookie and served it to us after dinner. We each got one that was decorated and had our name on it. I loved getting that cookie. I continued that tradition when my girls growing up. Now I send them holiday boxes, but don't add any cookies because I just know they will be stale and broken by the time they get there. I do, on the other hand, make the cookies for Jim and I because I still love having a pretty decorated cookie for Valentine's Day.
Valentine's Day is all about love and there is so much I love. My family and friends, of course. I also love cookies, chocolate, raised donuts with chocolate icing, and roses with a scent. Actually I love all flowers, especially if they have a scent. I love the color green, books, lace and things that are sparkly. I love candles and prime rib and things that are miniature. I love warm summer days, the black lace dress I bought for Christmas and laughing hard. I love pina coladas, mashed potatoes and gravy and staying in nice hotels. I love vacationing in Cabo San Lucas, getting mani/pedi's and going to happy hour with friends. I love going to the beach, cute shoes and cookbooks.
Oh cookbooks... how I adore you! I read them like novels and have about 120 at last count. It's hard to describe how I feel when I get a new cookbook. It's like it's full of endless new possibilities and the excitement of trying new things. Do the things I make look like the picture in the cookbook? Sometimes not so much, but I love giving it try anyway. It's not a huge collection, but I have an emotional attachment to each and every one of those books. There are pieces of paper stuck in them as a reminder to try recipes, notes in margins about what to change next time and some are so well loved they are stained from food splashes and sticky fingers. I don't think I could name just one book as my favorite - I know which one has my favorite Snickerdoodle recipe, which one has my favorite beef stroganoff recipe, which one has the best general information and which one is for anything special or complicated. I have started giving my girls cookbooks for gifts and almost always give one to my friend, Lorie, for her birthday and Christmas because I know she loves them as much as I do.

My cookbook collection.

I hope on this Valentine's Day you are able to enjoy whatever it is you love. My cookie is a sugar cookie recipe that has been in my family since I can remember. It has simply always been in the recipe box. We use them every Christmas and anytime we are making cookies with shapes - Easter, Halloween, etc. They are called Edna's Sugar Cookies. I don't have the foggiest idea who Edna was, but the cookies are basic and crispy and yummy. I frosted them with a basic butter cream frosting but I also added a couple of drops of almond extract for just a little something extra. They aren't heart-shaped because I let Kellie take my heart cookie cutters back to school with her.  Happy Day of Love!

EDNA'S SUGAR COOKIES

1/2 Cup Shortening
1 Cup Sugar
1 Egg
2 T Milk
1 Tsp Vanilla
2 Cups Flour
1/2 Tsp Salt
2 Tsp Baking Powder

Mix wet ingredients, add dry ingredients and mix well. Chill for one hour. Roll out to 1/2 inch and bake for 10 min at 400 degrees.

BUTTER CREAM FROSTING

3 Cups Powdered Sugar
1/3 Cup Butter, softened
1 Tsp Vanilla
A couple drops of almond extract (optional)
Appx 2 T Milk

Mix powdered sugar and butter until smooth. Stir in vanilla and milk. Beat until smooth and spreadable.

Happiness = Friends - Part 1

I haven't written lately and that makes me sad. A couple of forces in the universe have been conspiring against me. First, Jim has gone back to school to finish his Bachelor's degree and hogs the computer. Second my job as a trusty dental assistant is taking up way too much of my leisure time, where I get to bake cookies and write in my blog and do crafts and fun stuff like that. This time of year I leave for work when it's dark and I get home when it's dark. When I finally get home all I want to do, after being on my feet for 10 hours, is to put on my jammies, eat some comfort food and go to bed. Good thing because Jim is hogging the computer.
Another quick note - my friend, Lorie's adorable son is helping me to make my blog a bit more user friendly and cuter (for lack of a better word). Michael Homnick is awesome to help me and we should be able to have a new and improved blog up soon.  :)
Tonight Jim is out having some fun so I get some uninterrupted computer time. Today is Friday, my day off from sucking spit. Almost every Friday I get together with two of my bestest friends for lunch. We dissect our weeks, whine, bitch, laugh, eat and solve some world problems and laugh some more. We leave our weekly lunch feeling better about life in general and ready to take on another week. Today was no exception. Lorie, Shari and I generally take a Friday before Christmas for a shopping/lunch day. Today was the day. The weather was freezing cold, but sunny and it was so festive being out and about with all the decorations. We went to one of favorite shopping areas just south of Portland. We ate some pasta, drank some wine, ate some chocolate, shopped, tried on clothes for us, bought a few things for others, tried on some more clothes for us, bought some clothes for us and went home. It was a delightful day.
Then, it hit me. One of the things in my life that makes me the most happy are my friends. I have been blessed to have woman friends my whole life. I attribute that to my mom, who always had friends she did stuff with. Having friends is crucial to my sanity. These wonderful people have helped me celebrate happy times and got me through some bad times.  So I am going to start a series honoring the friends in my life that have made me very happy.
The first real friends I had when I was little were Tina and Theresa - or Teeners and Tab. I was Nanners. They moved into a house that was three houses down from me when I was about 6 or so. We were all stair-stepped in age. Tina, Me, Theresa, Robbie (their brother), Marty (my brother) and Patty (their sister who we terrorized. Sorry Patty!). Later came Tracy (my sister) and Scotty (their brother).

First day of school, 1970.

Theresa, Patty, Robbie, Tina and Me (looking exceptionally stylish...). Not sure where my brother is...

Our parents socialized and went out on the weekends, our mom's did their canning together, our dad's helped each other with stuff, our brothers were inseparable and so were we. Our mom's took us school shopping together and then we spent hours trying on all our new dresses to figure out what one to wear on the first day of school. My mom made the jumper I'm wearing in the picture above and I slept in wire curlers for that "movie star hair".
 If I wasn't spending the night at their house on weekends, they were at my house. Our families had dinner together a lot, we celebrated birthdays and holidays together, and we went camping together in the summers. We went to summer camp together, we played everyday after school, we rode our bikes everywhere (once I learned how to ride the stupid bike - which is another traumatic story for another time), picked gallons of blackberries, walked countless times to 7-11 for candy and Slurpees, had colds, the flu and chicken pox together, made up dances and plays, played horses (I had to be the mommy horse and stay with Patty because I didn't run as fast as the rest of them. Whatever.), or statue tag, or red-light-green light. I could go on and on. Tina loved horses and drew them constantly and on everything. She was (and I'm assuming still is) a talented artist who drew me lots of pictures over the years - usually with a horse in it. When I ended up getting the chicken pox I had a severe case and was quarantined to my bedroom for weeks. The only way we could communicate was by throwing notes in and out of my bedroom window. Here is a note that Tina wrote me and threw in my window. It made me very happy, even though I ended up missing Tina's birthday party.:

 We had an idyllic neighborhood while growing up. There were woods to explore, a state "sand pit" where there were ginormous piles of gravel, dirt and sand to play in, bike trails (ours were called the monkey trails), and a lake nearby. We would play until either their dad whistled or my dad whistled and then we knew to hightail it back home for dinner. In the summer we all ran wild. We would leave in the morning after cartoons and breakfast, come home for lunch when we got hungry and then come home for dinner. It was awesome.

Tina, Theresa and Me - 1971

Making up dances in lovely outfits on a rainy day.

Tina, Patty, Theresa and Me - 1972

Before the school talent show. Were were martians. We were supposed to perform to Joy to the World by 3 Dog Night on the record player on 78 so they would sound really fast like martians and we were going to lipsynch. I forgot the Joy to the World record at home and we had to a song none of us really knew so it wasn't very good.  :(

Btw - Tina got strep throat and couldn't perform with us.

Us girls went through every "first" known to girls growing up together. Primarily because our moms told each other EVERYTHING, which was then passed down to us. Tina was oldest by a year and "became a woman" first and got the sex talk first. She promptly shared it with me and Theresa, even though she was forbidden to talk about it. We picked that bit of information apart for weeks trying to figure out how everything worked. I had some pretty interesting questions for my mom when she decided I was due for the talk. Then we had to compare all that information for weeks still trying to figure it all out. We went through all the other firsts, too: boobs and bras, makeup, shaving legs, good and bad haircuts, the good the bad and the ugly of deodorant and perfume, good and bad fashion decisions and, most importantly, boys.

One of the things kids in my hometown of Federal Way, Washington did in Junior High in the 70's was go skating at the Federal Way Roller Rink. We saved our milk money all week, choking down those PB & J's dry just so we could be social and skate on Friday night. The big wish each week was to have the boy we liked ask us to slow skate because you got to hold hands with them.
One fateful and rainy Friday night I took a break from skating and went looking for the girls in the snack area. Keep in mind you are still on skates even in the snack area and the restroom (very tricky). I noticed Tina talking to some boys and ended up tripping and landing in the lap of the most gorgeous boy I had ever seen. Ahhh. Brett. He went to our Jr. High and was in my grade but I had never seen him before. We talked and started noticing each other at school all the next week. Tina liked his friend, Chris, and Theresa ended up with his friend, John. The following Friday the boys were there again. Yay! We hung out with them all night and I even got a slow skate with Brett. Heavy sigh! Tina said we had time and go for a walk with these cute boys before it was time to go home. I was very smitten, so we were naughty and we left. It was everything our parents told us never to do and it was so exciting. We held hands with our cute boys in the rain and all of us ended up getting our first kisses at the same time. It was very romantic. Were we ever in trouble, though, because as we walked back toward the rink in the romantic rain holding hands with cute boys, their dad was sitting in the car waiting for us. Apparently making out in the romantic rain with cute boys takes a little more time than anticipated and were were very late. Ooops. I was grounded but I was too over the moon to care. Brett was my first boyfriend and remains a friend.
The boys used to come over to our houses all the time on their little Yamaha mini bikes that sounded like lawnmowers. Good times.  :)

Tina, Me (on my 12th birthday) and Theresa - 1973
Yes, the cake is chocolate.   :)

I was devastated when they moved to a different town right before high school. I honestly did not know how I was going to survive high school without them. The day they moved away was awful. I had other wonderful friends and survived high school, but I missed them terribly. We are friends on Facebook now and have seen each other occasionally throughout the years, which I love. We seem to be able to pick up where we left off and I still love them alot.

Nanners and Teeners a few years ago.

The cookie I chose today have ingredients that go together like best friends - peanut butter and chocolate (a theme with my recipes I've noticed). I modified the recipe I got from Baked Perfection and they are so yummy! I made them in my mini-muffin pan and had to do it in batches, but they are worth the extra work. You can also make them traditional sized, if you want. They are so sweet and rich and delish and I think that they are best bite-sized.

PEANUT BUTTER CUP BROWNIES

1 box of your favorite brownie mix.

1/2 cup peanut butter chips

1/3 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

3/4 cup creamy peanut butter

1 to 2 tsp (more or less) of powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Spray or grease mini-muffin cups.

Prepare brownie mix as directed. Spoon batter evenly into muffin cups (about 1 heaping teaspoon). Bake for 13-15 minutes or until the top is set and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out a little wet. After brownies are out of the oven, wait for the centers to fall. This should happen while cooling. If it doesn't happen (and it didn't happen to me), push the centers down with the back of a teaspoon while the brownies are still warm to make a hole for the peanut butter.

Place peanut butter in a microwave safe bowl and microwave on high for 40-45 seconds and stir. While still warm, stir in some powdered sugar to taste. Start with a little and taste each time you mix some in until you get to the sweetness level you like. You don't have to sweeten at all but I felt the pb was a little overpowering just plain. I used about 1-1/2 teaspoons or so. While brownies are still warm spoon about half a teaspoon of pb into the center of each brownie. Top with semi-sweet chips and peanut butter chips. Cool completely in pan. If you can. I couldn't. They are really good warm.  :)  Enjoy.

My Garden and Life Updates...

Inspite of a fairly dismal summer in the Pacific Northwest, my garden actually turned out pretty good. It's the middle of October and I'm still picking tomatoes. Considering I didn't think I would get any tomatoes, this makes me happy.

Part of my garden early in the season.

A tomato in the Fall.  Yum!

I also planted spinach, swiss chard, lettuce, beets, onions, peppers, zucchini, lemon cucumbers, pickling cucumbers, green beans, raspberries and strawberries.  From one pickling cucumer start I made 16 quarts of pickles and I also was able to put up 8 quarts of pickled beans. This makes me even more excited for Thanksgiving because that is when the pickles should be ready. I hope they turned out because then we will have enough pickles to last us until we hit the nursing home.

For me going out and puttering in my garden is ridiculously calming. I love the smell of the dirt and the feel of conquest when I pull out those nasty weeds, especially the big stubborn ones. My happiness is complete when I walk out to my garden with my Ipod up nice and loud, get my hands dirty and pick some veggies for dinner. The mean old dental office ceasts to exist. I would love to have more time to spend out there but I am content to take what I get.

Here are some pictures from my garden. I call this series "Garden - The Early Days".  (That was sarcasm, btw, because I'm not a photographer and I don't have any "series", but I've always wanted to say that.)   :)

We recently adopted two baby kitties - Ellie Mae and Maisie. We went to adopt Ellie Mae so Kel could take her to college but she had a little sister and I could not leave without that sweet little face. Kellie couldn't bear to separate them so now they are six month old, both are living with me and Jim and they are naughty. They like to climb up everything, eat the dog's food (which gives them horrible gas), sharpen their little claws on everything and jump on us at 3 a.m. Susie-the-Naughty-Dog is still not amused by the additions, but they make her life much more interesting.  They do make us laugh alot, when they aren't getting in trouble.

Maisie - how could I pass up that face?!

Ellie Mae

We also moved Kellie back up to college and into her apartment. Her bedroom is the size of a Wheat Thin but we got everything crammed in there and it turned out really cute. She is happy, she likes her classes, she has tons of friends and her roommates are all adorable. :)  I miss having her home but she is happy and we talk all the time.

The dresser I refinished for Kellie.

The cookie I made today does not tie anything together. They are just frickin delicious. I discovered this cookie in a coffee shop close to my office and have been obsessed with finding the recipe. I found the recipe on Creative Kitchens. These aren't exactly like the one in the coffee shop, but they are close enough. These cookies are also gluten free, if you use gluten-free chocolate chips. I don't cook gluten-free but I thought it was worth mentioning. These cookies are crunchy and gooey and light and rich and amazing. They are PERFECT with coffee and fabulous with anything else.

FLOURLESS CHOCOLATE BROWNIE COOKIES

3 cups powdered sugar

2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (I used Ghiradelli)

1/4 tsp salt

3 large egg whites, at room temperature

1 Tablespoon pure vanilla extract

2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In large bowl whisk together powdered sugar, cocoa powder and salt. Whisk in egg whites and vanilla until just moistened. Stir in chocolate chips.

Spoon the thick sticky batter onto cookie sheet in small mounds. Chill for 5 minutes or so  to keep them from spreading when they bake.

Bake for 14 minutes or until tops are glossy and lightly cracked.

NOTES: I would highly suggest using parchment paper while baking. These guys really wanted to stick to my stone baking sheet and nothing has ever stuck to my stone baking sheet. I also wouldn't chill for much longer than 5 minutes because they won't spread out at all if you do. Enjoy!!

Happy Birthday, Kellie Nae!

Twenty years ago today my baby, Kellie Lynae (aka: Kells, Kellners, Nae, Kellie Nae, Monkey #2) was born. I had to be induced because Kell was perfectly comfortable having me carry her around and never wanted to leave. During the induction Jim and I sat on my bed eating popscicles and watched the Anita Hill/Clarence Thomas hearings (very entertaining). Finally all the drugs kicked in and it was time to push. But Kell had other ideas. Like I said, she was happy in there and she was a big baby. Next thing I know the doctor came in dressed in his scrubs and said he was either going to break her collarbone and pull her out or I was going in immediately for a c-section.
Since nobody will ever intentionally hurt or break the bones of my children under my watch, I was quickly pushed down the hall into the OR. It was really cool - kinda like being on TV when my gurney crashed through the double doors. About 5 minutes later Kell was born. I had to look around the room to make sure there wasn't someone else giving birth and they mixed up the babies because she came out with thick, long black hair that stuck up in the air, olive skin and was screaming like crazy. She looked a bit like a monkey. A screaming monkey. I fell in love immediately.

Kellie - age 2

Kellie has always had a mind of her own and has no problem sharing her opinions. She was also the funniest child I had ever been around. If she made one of us mad she would kick on the charm and start one of her acts, like how she could walk like a boy or just flash her adorable grin.  I recently went through some family vacation photos from when we drove down to the California border, cut across to Hwy 101 on the coast and spent a week driving up the coast of Oregon. She was about 3. I took pictures at each beach we stopped at and there was a picture of Kellie off to the side pouting about something at each beach. It makes me laugh now, then not so much. Did I mention she was stubborn, too?
She started reading at 4 and reading extensively by the time she started Kindergarten. She has always had tons of friends and is incredibly compassionate, especially about animals. Kellie was, and continues to be, a collector of stuff. When she was at her Grandparent's house during spring break when she was in 2nd grade, I decided to excavate her room. I found 3 shoe boxes full of rocks under her bed. Included in these boxes of rocks were also things like chunks of asphalt and concrete. When I asked her why she had the boxes of rocks she looked at me like I was crazy and told because they were pretty. She did let me get rid of them - eventually.
My sweet girl has always been a fashionista. Months would go by when all she would wear were dresses and her Jellies. Then once we were stocked up on dresses she would only wear stretch pants and tennis shoes. This went on for years. She is still cutting edge with her fashion and pulls if off perfectly, unless she is only wearing sweats that week.  :)

Kellie - last year at college

She has always been a picky eater, too. Actually, it is pretty much just meat she doesn't like. She could (and still can) find the smallest speck of hamburger in any dish and set it aside. She says it is a texture thing. She still is not a big fan of meat. Her favorite thing in the world is peanut butter. I think that is how the girl survived her childhood (and her first year of college).  I chose a cookie with peanut butter for her below.
Another funny thing - everyone told me to relax because she wouldn't take her beloved blanket to college. Yep, everyone was wrong. It wasn't the blanket she had as a little girl, because it disintegrated (farewell, NeeNee) but she did take one to college. I really wasn't too surprised. 
I am very proud of my girl. She is still smart and funny. She has always been involved at school, from elementary school to college. In high school there was ASB, cheerleading and was very proud to run the Mr. Columbia River pagaent when she was a senior. This pagaent is a beauty pagaent spoof with senior boys. They had to apply to participate, were chosen and then spent the year fundraising for our local children's hospital. The boy that raised the most money was crowned Mr. Columbia River. The year she ran it over $70,000 was raised. She did an amazing job. She also was top 5 on the Homecoming Court. It was a great year for her.

Kellie in the black and white dress.

Homecoming Court

She is now a sophomore in college with plans of being an elementary school teacher. College has been very good for her and she loves it. I love having her home because we have so much fun together and I miss her when she is gone, but I'm glad she loves college. She told me all the time when she was little that she was going to live next door to me her whole life. I can only say I would be lucky if that were to happen.
Here is your birthday cookie, Kel!  It is gooey, buttery and rich with all the flavors you love - peanut butter and chocolate. 

FUDGY PEANUT BUTTER AND CHOCOLATE BLONDIES

1/2 cup peanut butter
1/3 cup butter, softened
2/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
2 eggs
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup chocolate chips
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray 9x9 pan with cooking spray. Mix butter and peanut butter until well blended. Blend in sugars, eggs and vanilla until fluffy. Combine flour, baking powder and salt. Add to mixture and mix well. Fold in chocolate chips. (I add some more chocolate chips to the top, too). Bake 30-35 minutes.

Fall Happiness

I love the change from summer to fall. There is just something in the air that is so exciting and full of promise. I'm not looking forward to 9 months of rain, but you just can't get any better than a gorgeous fall day in the Pacific Northwest.
I am getting excited for casseroles and soups and stews and meatloaf and all the yummy comfort foods out there. I'm also getting the bug to start baking more (actually, a lot more) and, unfortunately, eating more. Thank goodness for our new treadmill.  :)
Lately I have been having to focus and pay attention really hard on the happiness around me.  We have been crazy busy, there has been stuff going on at work (not my favorite place anyway), packing Kellie up to move back to school (I love having her at home), I miss Katie, and just general melancholy seems to be following me, which is probably why I haven't written in my blog for awhile.
Recently we went to the lakeside cabin of Jim's childhood friend and his family for the weekend. I really like these people but I was thinking only of everything that "needed" to get done and everything on my list that "had" to get done and I just didn't want to go. But Jim needed some down time, I needed some down time and we both really needed to relax and just be. Thank you, Martinsons, for providing exactly what we needed. We visited, played games, ate way too much and simply relaxed.  It was nice coming home feeling better about everything in general. 

A foggy, chilly morning...

...turned into a gorgeous day at the lake.

I really don't have to look far to find happiness -
Kellie is leaving this week to fly to Texas to spend Labor Day weekend with Katie. This is the first time the girls are spending time together alone as adults. I love the relationship I have with my sister and I want that for them, too.
My Katie called me this morning with some good news about her job and the good news for me that she won't be deploying until October 2012.
My garden is in full production mode. I will write about it next time because just being in the middle of all the produce that I grew makes me giddy for some reason.
I am refinishing one of our old dressers for Kellie to take to school and the repetition of stripping the paint, sanding and varnishing is calming to me. Could the insanely strong chemicals have something to do with calmness? Perhaps. I do sleep extremely well after working on it.   :)
Fall, in general, makes me happy. I get that urge to go buy a new backpack and paper and crayons and markers and stuff.  I start looking longingly at my sweaters and boots. There is a little crispness in the air in the mornings that turn into warm and sunny afternoons and some over-achieving leaves are laying on the lawn.
Because I like tying things together, I think the perfect cookies for this time of year are Chewy Molasses Cookies. I got this recipe about 30 years ago from a lady I worked with in Seattle. Thanks, Nancy! These cookies scream Fall. They aren't my usual crispy cookies but make up for it with their moist goodness that are so full of flavor. These are dense and very chewy. My wish for today is for everyone to be able to take the time and sit back and enjoy the beginnings of Fall with a warm Chewy Molasses Cookie and a cold glass of milk or steaming cup of tea or coffee. Enjoy!

CHEWY MOLASSES COOKIES

1 cup shortening
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup white sugar
1 egg - well beaten
1 cup molasses
4 cups flour (the recipe says to sift - but I never have)
2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp lemon extract
Mix all ingredients well. Chill. Roll into balls and roll balls in sugar. Bake on ungreased cookie sheet at 350 degrees for 12-15 minutes. Store uncovered overnight then store as you would usually store cookies.
Note - take it easy with the lemon extract. Too much can make them taste like lemon Pledge. :(

Happy Birthday, Kayters!

This week my oldest daughter, Katie (aka - Katherine Ann, Kayters, Katie Bug, Monkey #1) is turning 23. This is a bittersweet for me. This will be the first time in 23 years I haven't seen her and hugged her and looked at that sweet face on her birthday. She lives in Texas so we can't just pop over and have some cake. I am focusing on things that make me happy and Katie is part of what makes me the happiest.
My Katie was born on sunny August day. She was bald, had big blue eyes and rosebud lips and was content to just be in the world. As she grew up she was mellow, potty trained herself at 16 months (I had no idea that this was such a big deal until I had my second daughter who thought potty training was stupid), she ate anything and everything, loved to sleep and had silky blonde curls to go with those crystal blue eyes and an ever-present smile and giggle. I continue to thank God for blessing us with her.

Me and Katie

My First Mother's Day, 1989

She always had sophisticated taste - even as a baby. My brother was a commercial fisherman and would come home with boxes of King Crab. We have videos of Katie as a toddler sitting on the counter with her uncle feeding her hunk after hunk of crab. The minute she swallowed her mouth would open like a baby bird waiting for more. We swear she ate more than any of us and she kept asking for more saying "more it is nummy!"  Her favorite fruit was kiwi and loved asparagus and her favorite dessert has always been a tie between ice cream and cheesecake. Let's just say the girl can put away some serious ice cream.  :)  

Katie's Senior Picture - 2006

She had the opportunity to travel to Vietnam for six weeks and then Trinidad and Tobago for four weeks while in college. I had to laugh when we looked at her pictures when she got home from these trips because many of them were of the foods she got to try and different meals they had. I guess I created a foodie - which makes me happy.
She loves to bake and cook now - but her friends and neighbors are the receipients of her goodies, instead of us. Even though she is from the Pacific Northwest, her heart is as big as Texas. She is always sending cookies and treats to friends overseas. She sees that as her way of letting them know she loves and supports them. You see, Katie is in the Army and many of her friends are deployed or stationed overseas right now.
Up until this point my family wasn't a military family so this is all new for us. She got involved in the ROTC program while in college and found she was really good fit in the Army. I would have lost a big bet if someone had told me my adorable, soft-spoken, skinny cheerleader would have not only joined the Army, but commissioned in as a 2nd Lt. I have always told her I would support anything she wanted to do, and this is no exception. She will be deploying, but not for a while. I am very proud of her and thrilled she enjoys what she is doing.

My Army Girl

After she graduated and commissioned, she went to her training in Virginia. She and her dad drove across the country so she would have her car for the four months she was there. I got to fly to Virgina and drive from Virginia to Texas with her in December. We got to find her an apartment, buy furniture and fun stuff at Ikea, get her apartment set up and explore the Ft. Hood area. It was so much fun. I am also glad she is so adaptable and loves Texas so much. I'm dying to get down there and eat some good Texas BBQ with her.
I could write about her all day. She is beautiful, funny, smart and kind. And I really miss her. So to honor the first of my little monkeys on her birthday I made Chocolate Chip Cheesecake Bars. I have made Katie a chocolate chip cheesecake for her birthday cake for years and years because that is what she asked for. I adapted the bar recipe from the Mrs. Fields Chocolate Chip Cheesecake recipe I have used forever. It is really creamy and delicious.

Katie's Birthday Chocolate Chip Cheesecake Bars

Preheat oven to 350.
1 Cup chocolate cookie crumbs (or see my hint below)
1-2 T melted butter
8 oz. Cream Cheese - softened
1/2 Cup White Sugar
1 Cup Sour Cream
2 Eggs
1 T Vanilla
1 Cup Chocolate Chips

Crust:
Hint: I was lazy and bought an already made chocolate cookie crust that was already formed in a pie pan, took the crumbs out and put them in a bowl, added a some melted butter and then pressed them in my pan.  If you don't want to do this then grind cookies into fine crumbs using a blender or food processor, add butter and press into bottom of pan. I used an 11"x7" pan but a 9"x9" would work fine, too. Refrigerate while preparing filling.
Filling:
Beat cream cheese until smooth in a large bowl using an electric mixer. Blend in sugar and sour cream. Add eggs and vanilla, mixing until smooth. 
Using a wooden spoon, stir in most of the chocolate chips. Pour filling into the crust-lined pan and smooth top. Sprinkle more chocolate chips on the top. Bake about 30 minutes. Turn oven off and leave bars in the oven for an hour to set. Remove from oven and chill in refrigerator until firm - 3 to 4 hours.
Unless you had a way to keep them cool, these wouldn't be the best bet for a picnic but they are perfect for about anything else. Especially for a special birthday girl named Katie.  :)

Ahhhh....Summer

So, last night Jim was freaking out saying, "we haven't done anything except for one hike this summer." I just looked at him and shook my head (I kinda rolled my eyes at him, too, but that will be our secret). The reason may be that our summer didn't actually reach the beautiful Pacific Northwest until this week, but it's more likely that I just haven't wanted to do anything. I have been working my *ss off at the dental office and I'm tired and sometimes a little snarky when I get home and I just want to enjoy some peace and quite with the family, dog and new baby kitties (more about the new babies later).
Jim feels this need to squeeze something into every minute of every sunny day. That is just too exhausting - you know, the worrying that we NEED to do something, figuring out what it is, then the planning and then hurrying to get there and doing it and then getting home and ready for the next day. We will probably make a day trip to the beach and maybe another hike or two but that's about it for me. Don't get me wrong - I love getting out and being social and enjoying the world, but I don't feel like I HAVE to anymore. It is so liberating. And I really like being home.
Home makes me happy. I love eating my cereal out on my little covered porch on summer mornings (sorry neighbors, about the funky hair and bathrobe) and having dinner out there, too. I love reading my book out there and just enjoying the quiet and the warmth. I love puttering in my veggie garden and messing with my roses. What more could a girl want?!
I try to get to our local farmer's market most weekends. Last weekend I bought a box of peaches there. Peaches make me happy. They taste like summer and they were amazing. We had them sliced with a little sugar and also in a cobbler and then I made jam. But the jam didn't set. My jam always sets. It is now peach syrup. I tried three different times adding pectin and following all the instructions to the letter. It is really delicious - but it's not jam. I guess I'll have to buy more peaches and try again and then figure out what to do with a surplus of peach syrup.  :)

My Peach Jam - well actually it's syrup now. 

So I just had lunch with my besties - Lorie and Shari - on a gorgeous summer Wednesday (my day off). Both of those things make me very happy. We sat outside on the bank of the might Columbia River and soaked up the sun and ate yummy food. I am really relaxed and mellow right now. I have a million chores to do but instead I decided to bake some cookies and blog. I was trying to figure out a cookie that would work with this blog because I'm freaky that way and like things to tie together. I thought about Lemon Bars, but I don't have any lemons right now. I thought about Key Lime Bars, because I actually have a boat load of limes (oops - I almost said butt load of limes but thought maybe that wouldn't be appropriate), but decided to go with the cookie that wouldn't leave my head instead. I have no idea why this cookie even entered my head because I usually save it for Christmas. Lately, it seems, there is really no accounting for the random thoughts that pop in my head. I decided to run with it this time.
This cookie is a classic and goes by many names; Russian Teacakes, Mexican Wedding Cookies, Snowballs, etc. I'm going to call them Snowballs that is what my BFF, Lorie, calls them and because it is summertime and the name makes me smile. I like to add chocolate to just about everything - ask Jim - it drives him crazy - and usually add mini chocolate chips to the dough. My friend, Lorie, adds chopped up M&M's and they are so delicious that way (at Christmastime she chops up the red and green ones and then puts one whole M&M on the top of the cookie after it is backed - it is so cute!). My mom calls them Russian Teacakes and adds chopped nuts - but I don't like nuts so it would be silly for me to add them. I have also added toasted coconut and that is yummy, too. I'm posting the original recipe I got from my Grandma and you can add whatever wonderful thing sounds good to you.

SNOWBALLS

1 Cup Butter, softened (use the real thing with this recipe)

1/2 Cup Powdered Sugar

1 tsp. Vanilla

2  1/4 Cups All-purpose Flour

1/4 tsp. Salt

A Little More Powdered Sugar

Optional add ins: 3/4 cup chopped nuts, 3/4 to 1 cup mini chocolate chips, 3/4 to 1 cup chopped M&M's, 3/4 cup toasted coconut, all of these together, or anything else that randomly pops in your head.  :)

Heat oven to 400 degrees.

Mix softened butter, powdered sugar and vanilla until well blended. Add flour, salt and add-in's until dough holds together and forms into a ball.

Shape dough into 1 inch balls (a small cookie scoop works well for this). Place about 1 inch apart on ungreased cookie sheet.

Bake 10-12 minutes. The cookies will be set, but not brown. Remove from cookie sheet and roll in powdered sugar. The cookies will be hot so let cool a little bit first. Cool on wire rack. Either roll in powdered sugar again or sprinkle with powdered sugar after the cookies are cooled.

These really are yummy any time of year - they are not too sweet and really buttery. They are amazing on a hot day with iced tea or on a cold day with warm tea. But most especially they are perfect for relaxing out on your porch while avoiding chores and enjoying a beautiful summer day.

I'm glad this cookie popped in my head. I love them. I didn't add the chocolate chips this time just to make Jim happy. Next time he won't be so lucky. And now I have to make those Key Lime Bars because that is the cookie stuck in my head now and, like I mentioned, I have a....bunch of limes to use up.  :)