ok, ok - recipes

Potato Chip Oatmeal Cookies Excuse me while I go make a cup of tea and get a few of these to eat while I write this recipe for you... they are that good!...ok, I'm back with 3 cookies in hand. The original recipe is from Maida Heatter's Brand New Cookbook (which it isn't) of Great Cookies (which some of them aren't) where she calls them Key Largo Oatmeal Cookies. I have never been a big fan of oatmeal cookies - they are fine, but not my favorites. However - THESE!!! Here is my adaptation of her recipe 4 oz salted potato chips, crushed put a bunch of chips in a plastic bag and squeeze them to crush them a bit - but they should be coarse, not fine. They should fill 2 cups when they're crushed (of course, I cheated and added more). 1-1/2 cups walnut pieces 2 cups sifted unbleached flour (I used whole wheat) 1 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 tsp salt 8 oz. (2 sticks) unsalted butter 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 to 1-3/4 packed cups brown sugar** ** The recipe calls for 1-3/4 cups light brown sugar. I cut it almost in half and used 1 cup because I don't like very sweet stuff. I also used dark brown because that's what I had. Suit yourself anywhere in between. 2 large eggs 2 cups old fashioned (not instant) oatmeal 1 cup raisins 1 cup dried pitted sour cherries (I used dried cranberries but you could use cut up dried apricots, dates, or whatever. I like the tart things best, though) 1. With electric mixer in large mixing bowl, beat butter till soft. 2. Add vanilla and sugar and beat till mixed. 3. Add eggs and beat till mixed 4. Add sifted dry ingredients and beat on low only till incorporated. 5. Add oatmeal and beat to mix. (if using food processor, move contents to a large mixing bowl to continue) 6. With wooden spoon or sturdy spatula, stir in the dried fruits and nuts. 7. Finally, stir in the potato chips. The chips should still be visible. Line cookie sheets w/ parchment, put a tablespoons of dough on the sheet, about 1" apart: press down to flatten. Bake at 350 for 18-20 min or till lightly browned all over. Maida Heatter uses 1/4 cup of dough for each cookie but I'd rather use a tablespoon and get twice as many cookies out of the deal. You will be glad you made smaller ones and more of them! Happy eating. Mushroom Barley Soup there are a zillion recipes, some of which you can find on the Internet. I grew up with a grandmother and a mother who were good cooks and Nanny never used a recipe. Both cooked by instinct, taste and experience nothing written, nothing measured exactly--adding unspecified amounts and giving this kind of advice:"if it needs salt, add more"; if it is too sweet, next time, add less," "cook until it's done", etc. While nothing was ever the same twice, it was always delicious. Actually, in my family, this was called Bean and Barley soup and the only mushrooms in it were dried Polish mushrooms, which gave it a wonderful,smoky flavor. I never saw a live mushroom in my bean and barley soup. My mother and grandmother made it in the pressure cooker because it cooks in 20 min, and they always included a soup bone (beef marrow bone). I use the pressure cooker, but if I don't have a bone I make it without. If I have fresh mushrooms, I'll throw some in - but if not, I don't care. The dried ones are the ones that count. Here's my "recipe" - give or take. If you are the type of cook who needs measurements, skip this and go to the cookie recipe. 6 cups water - Put into pressure cooker or pot and add: a few cut up celery stalks, including leaves a few cut up carrots 5 or 6 dried Polish mushrooms a couple big onions or a few small ones, cut up about 1 cup pearl barley about 1/2 cup dry lima beans (more if you want, or none if you don't want) a bay leaf 3-4 cloves of garlic, sliced salt & pepper OPTIONAL a parsnip if you have one a couple pieces celery root if you have any sliced fresh mushrooms a beef bone If you have about 3 hours, you can cook all of this on low. If not, cook under pressure for 20 min, adjust salt and add a handful of fresh dill. Soup should be thick. If it isn't, add more..but by next day you'll probably have to add water. (see what I mean?) If you look on the Internet for a recipe, ignore all that add tomatoes or green peppers (no self-respecting Jewish grandmother would add those!) and skip any that tell you to sauté the onions and carrots, etc. before you add the other stuff. Too much trouble - just throw everything in at once! Enjoy! R.

cookies and UFOs (long)

Almost as good as ironing: 24 hours of baking and mindless sewing. the cookies. I baked half of them last night and since I had eaten almost all of these little morsels by today, I baked the other half of the dough which was, as per instructions, sitting in the fridge till I felt like baking again. While others bake Christmas cookies, in the spirit of Chanukah I got out my little six-pointed cookie cutter and went to work. Like much of what I make, these came out somewhat lopsided and random. But these don't have to be juried in, so I'm not concerned. They actually look more like sheriff's badges than Chanukah cookies but they taste wonderful and are easy enough for a child to make. The round ones were cut with a Yahrtzeit glass, which was not only my grandmother's cookie cutter, it was her measuring cup (6 oz liquid or 3/4 cup flour or sugar) and the glass from which she and grandpa drank their tea. "Yahrtzeit" means "a year's time" and it is customary to light a candle each year on the eve of the anniversary of a close relative's death (usually a spouse, parent, child, grandparent, or sibling). The candle burns for 24 hours. Because the candle comes in a glass, you can imagine that we acquired quite a few of them over the years; we used them as drinking glasses when I was growing up. I use them now as orange juice glasses. But just for the heck of it, I used one to cut out a few cookies tonight -- a nod to my Nanny. Her cookies, I am sorry to say, were never this good. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Brown Sugar Shortbread 1 cup soft butter 1/2 cup brown sugar (recipe calls for light, I always use dark) 2-1/2 c. sifted flour (I used white whole wheat flour) Beat butter & sugar till fluffy, stir in flour till smooth. Divide dough in half and refrigerate till ready to roll out. Roll out first half of dough on floured surface till thin, cut w/ cookie cutter. Bake 15-20 min at 300 (or 325) or till light golden. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- the UFO This afternoon, I was in the studio, determined make this into something I could bear to look at. All that sweetness!! Since I needed to sew, I moved my machine to a table near where I was cutting and ironing and all of a sudden, I was comfortable sewing there, as well as at home. Duh. I got quite a bit accomplished and then brought it home to work on after I baked tonight. The first challenge was how to minimize the pink without ripping it out. I stuck the block on the wall and auditioned a few colors as antidotes. Better, but not good. This is what I brought home with me today and tonight I cut it into pieces. That was the easy part. Now comes the work. I am in the process of therapy-sewing some strips together and fishing around for some scraps so I can create some new things to combine with the PINK. You already know my process.This piece has a long way to go and will probably end up looking completely different, but in the meantime, it is keeping me occupied. Anybody want to join me?

I baked after dinner tonight. I think this recipe (and a similar picture) find their way to my blog every year or two. Can't help it. They are so quick and easy and delicious that I have to post the recipe periodically. I think I got it from a Good Housekeeping in the 1960's (which is when I was reading that magazine) and have never seen as good a recipe again. They are basically shortbread. I've been baking so much this week that I'm running out of butter. I only use sweet, unsalted butter for baking-- and a food processor, which is not in the original recipe. Cookie Crescents Into the food processor, throw: 3/4 c. unsalted butter (1-1/2 sticks) 1 cup flour 1/2 c. cornstarch 1/2 c. confectioner's sugar As soon as dough comes together, stop. Take about 1 tsp of dough (or less), roll between your hands, make into crescent and flatten. ( I get about 6 doz). Line cookie sheets with parchment (or not) Bake at 300 degrees for 15-20 min or till slightly brown at edges. Yum yum. You can dust them in confectioner's sugar but I find that too sweet. Working backwards...I didn't do any fiber work tonight because I spent much of the evening on the phone with my friend Laura, who is mourning the loss of her mother and her brother-in-law within 12 hours of one another. Today, I was in the studio before lunch putting together the piece that has been sitting on my wall for a couple of weeks. Things never go together exactly as they have been arranged on the wall - or the way you think they should. And sometimes, you'll surprise yourself by making a change at the last minute that works better than you would have imagined - or that you hadn't thought of till AHA! "Aha" is sometimes very subtle and this is not the final version. Some of the pieces are lightly Misty-Fused together at the edge,others are just pinned to the wall. Normally I stitch, but today I thought I would fuse edges because I can move the pieces around and eventually, straighten them out. Of course, when your printing is askew it always looks lopsided, even if the fabric pieces are straight. Or especially if they are straight. One thing I discovered: it is much more physically exhausting to print than to put together a quilt. My afternoon felt very leisurely and la-di-da as I carried fabrics from the wall to the cutting mat to the ironing table and back to the wall. I was relaxed. My feet did not hurt. And when I left at 4:something, I even had the energy to stop at Whole Foods and pick up an item or two, make a quiche for dinner and bake after dinner. Maybe I should stop printing and just make art from what I already have. The weather has been pretty nice - breezy and not humid. But I've been running the A/C in the studio because we have a southern exposure and it is SUNNY. Tonight I actually put the air on in the house because it is turning humid. And we did not take our usual postprandial stroll. Here is Marty, just before we took our walk last night. And here is the beautiful pool in our development that we used to go to when we first moved here but haven't been to in a while. Nonetheless, we walk past it every evening (not tonight) and it is very nice to look at. I think this post has been somewhat out of sequence and disorganized but that's the way my life is these days - LOL. I finally got my car washed today but it needs another run-through because of the sticky goo from the damn tree next to my driveway. I am parking across the street for the rest of the summer. One more thing just flew through my head but it's just as well it vanished because this post is too long, anyway.

I was too busy cooking and baking to post yesterday and I am happy to have two days during which to recover from all the festivities (and accompanying gluttony). I baked two of these pecan pies - one to take with us to our hostess and the other to remain here. I barely had a sliver of the one we took with us and haven't had any of this one (although the other household member has already had two pieces, starting last night when we got home from a non-stop banquet - go figure). Pecan pie is my favorite but I am always disappointed when I order it in a restaurant. Mine is less sweet than all the others in the world and except for Ms. Parrot's pie, it is the best I have ever had. For me, akin to Proust's madeleine; one taste and it brings back memories. Ms. Parrot was a cook and baker who cooked for a doctor. She and her sister (each of whom seemed to be 100 years old in the 1950's and 60's) lived together in a house on Hartley Street, across the street from the parking lot behind my father's store. When Ms. Parrot asked my father whether she could pay to park her car in his lot at night the answer was "of course you can park but I will not accept any money." So, periodically, Ms. Parrot would come to the store bearing gifts of her baked goods, which daddy brought home to us. Brownies. And at Thanksgiving, always a pumpkin chiffon pie and a pecan pie. Her brownies were dark and buttery and not overly sweet. Not fans of pumpkin, we nevertheless loved her chiffon pie because it was light and not overly pumpkin-y. And the pecan pie was to die for, pure and simple. As a professional baker, she refused to divulge her recipes, but I was determined to find their equals and make them myself. I have never been able to duplicate the pumpkin chiffon pie and have given up trying. But I now make brownies that are taste like hers -- and I kept trying pecan pie recipes till I found one that puts me back sitting around the table in my mother' 1950's kitchen. And I see my father's face.

Irish Soda Bread

You can tell when I have nothing to say: I upload a picture of FOOD. Leave it to the New York Times to come up with yummy things to try. Irish Soda Bread, which I have always wanted to make because it is not too sweet. I saved this recipe from Thursday's Times: cut the sugar in half, used whole wheat flour, and didn't have caraway seeds so I used dill seeds. Haven't tasted it yet, but what could be bad? Ok - I did quilt a piece today, which now needs to have the edges finished. The baking was just a little break from all that sewing. Back to the quilt. Or maybe a cup of tea and a piece of you-know-what. I'll let you know whether it's worth making.

tea

I grew up in a house where we had tea and dessert (often, cookies) after dinner every night. Tea with lemon, no sugar. Coffee was for breakfast. Somewhere along the line, I stopped putting lemon in my tea - and I'm not sure why. I actually love it with lemon. Through my marriages, the tea kettle went on after dinner - and even now, I have a cup at my right hand as I type. Much as I love coffee, I am more likely to make a cup of tea in the afternoon. Tea = comfort. Baking also=comfort. Less so the eating than the process of baking. I have had the recipe for Pepper-Cumin Cookies sitting around since the beginning of time: obviously cut from the NY Times magazine. I had not baked in a while - and last night, apparently needing comfort --I baked a half-recipe of these cookies (just in case they were terrible). Love at first bite. Snow day today. Worked at home: did paperwork, made soup, and baked another batch of these cookies, which are as divine as I had hoped they would be. Half of them I will take to the studio to share. Perfect counterpoint to tea. Of course, they might not appeal to everybody - the flavor is a bit quirky --and you might not have a big jar of cumin seeds sitting around in your pantry, as I do, but these cookies are worth a trip to the Indian grocery store. Seeds, not ground cumin. You didn't ask, but here it is. Pepper-Cumin Cookies

2 c. flour (I used whole wheat)

6 T sugar

1 tsp kosher salt

2 tsp grated lemon zest

1 tsp black peppercorns, cracked

1 tsp cumin seeds, cracked

1 cup unsalted butter, softened slightly and cut into pieces

1 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350.

1. Put the first 6 ingredients into food processor and pulse to combine. Add butter & vanilla and pulse till mixture just forms a dough.

2. Place dough on work surface and shape into 1" balls. Put on parchment-lined baking sheets and flaten each cookie with palm of hand.

3. Bake till lightly browned, about 15 min. Remove and cool on rack. Makes about 3-4 doz.

bonne année à tous

Ce soir mon cousin Frédéric m'a téléphoné pour nous souhaiter bonne année. C'est mon petit cousin (alors, pas vraiment petit parce ce qu'il est plus grand que moi - mais c'est moi qui est plus âgé. Alors...France télécom offre un "deal" où on téléphone à n'importe où par l'internet et c'est compris-- donc, il me téléphone de temps en temps. (Ok - assez. Je continue en anglais.) Non sequitor to-die-for, no-brainer Cookie Crescent recipe NOTE: This will not do much for your waistline or your complexion, but it is worth it. makes about 4-5 doz, baked at 300 degrees 15-20 min. In food processor, mix: 3/4 c. butter (aarrgh -yum)= 1.5 sticks of the stuff 1/2 c. confectioner's sugar 1/2 c. cornstarch 1 c. flour (I used whole wheat flour to get fiber and make myself feel less guilty - and they are just as good!! In fact, better!) Take 1/2 tsp of dough, roll into log and shape into crescent. Flatten. Bake as above. I got about 5 doz out of this batch. I make 'em small because they are so addicitve I will eat 6 of them - no matter what size they are. Aarrgh. No fail. You can roll them in confect. sugar while warm, but I don't like 'em that sweet. I was seriously considering making this batch with salted pistachios either added in or crushed so I could roll the cookies in 'em. But lazy. So, instead, I am sitting here eating the cookies with a side of salted pistachios. So delicious. So decadent. Trust me, these are so easy your 6-7 year old kids or grandkids can make them.

If there are any left, I am taking them into NY to give to our friend Arthur, who loves any cookies. His favorites are my lemon squares but I didn't have time to make them today. This morning, I paid bills (my mother's and my own)and then this afternoon, went to the Short Hills Mall to buy a weekend house gift for Rosalie & Arthur, since we are staying at their East Side Manhattan pied à terre from Sat. to Monday. I'm bringing the NY Times listings with me so we can decide what we want to do tomorrow and Sunday during the day. Museums? Chelsea galleries? Ah - la vie de luxe! Dinner at a neighborhood French restaurant New Year's Eve and then we come home to a party down the street from us. I love this time of year! Last year on New Year's Eve (or maybe before dinner) we went to see Woody Allen's new movie -whatever it was - and I thought it was a delight!! Uh - SCOOP. Rent it if you haven't seen it!

So, where was I? After I bought the weekend house gift, I hightailed it over to Saks Fifth Ave. to treat myself to my 2007 makeover. After all, I have this wonderful haircut and color - and this crappy old makeup. What is THAT? Spent a king's ransom on my face but - oh, well - am I not I worth it? How you feel about yourself makes all the difference, even if it has no basis in reality.

Unfortunately, I have to wash my face tonight. Will take my camera to the City and try to take pictures to post when I get home. Aarrgh. My husband has the day off on Tuesday: the stock market is closed in memory of Gerald Ford. Nevertheless, I have to work after I get home from my root canal appointment.

Happy New Year to all - and to all, a good night. (I think wrong poem - but you get the idea

I promised

that I would post the biscotti recipe. Just be forewarned: in the interest of research, I tried one with my martini tonight. Trust me, it was NOT a good combination. You can do your own research with this recipe - and you can play around with it, as well. You can't expect me to have followed the recipe exactly, can you? With gracious thanks to Florence Fabricant of the NY Times, I give you the original with modifications of one of 3 fabulous biscotti recettes (the other 2 were Toasted Almond and Chocolate Hazelnut) that appeared in the paper on Sunday, Dec. 12, 1993. 1993???!!! How is that possible?

Rosemary Pine-Nut Biscotti

1) 1 cup pine nuts, toasted at 350 on a baking sheet 6-8 minutes & set aside. 2-3/4 c. flour, plus flour for work surface (I used whole wheat flour, but you might prefer unbleached white) 1/2 tsp baking soda 3/4 tsp baking powder pinch of salt 4 eggs, beaten lightly 1 cup sugar 1 tsp vanilla 2 tsp fresh rosemary leaves, coarsely chopped (you could probably use dried leaves) 1 tsp lemon zest 2) sift the dry ingredients and set aside (I don't bother sifting) 3) beat the eggs until blended. Remove 2 T and set aside. Beat sugar into remaining eggs till blended. Stir in vanilla, rosemary & lemon zest, then flour mixture to make a soft dough. (uh - I added the sugar to the dry ingredients by mistake, but it didn't seem to matter. I also added 1/4 c oil to the mixture, because the whole wheat flour makes a really dry mixture.) 4) Divide dough in half and on a well-floured surface, with floured hands, pat each into a 6" square. Scatter half the pine nuts on each square and press into the dough. 5) Roll dough into cylinders about 2" diameter and 15" long. Place on parchment lined baking sheet. Brush tops with reserved beaten egg. 6) Bake at 350 about 15 min or till golden and firm to the touch (in my lousy oven, this takes about 25 min). Take out and slice into 1/2" slices and lay on baking sheet. Return to oven for 10 min, take out, turn slices over, bake another 10 min till golden on each side. Cool completely before serving. Yield: supposedly about 60 biscotti, but I only got 44. Whatever. Enjoy! I am going back to the studio.

cookies

First things first. I finally put my baker's parchment to the use for which it was intended. The cookie monsters (9 of them) are coming tomorrow so I baked - what else? Chanukah cookies. These six-pointed stars are supposed to be Jewish stars but honestly, every time I look at them I think they are miniature sheriff's badges. Nevertheless, these are divine no matter what shape you bake them in. Here is the to-die-for recipe for Brown Sugar Shortbread. I am not exaggerating when I say these are the best cookies on the planet. 1 cup soft butter 1/2 cup brown sugar (I prefer dark brown, but if you have light brown, use it). 2-1/2 cups flour (I used whole wheat flour today and they are just as good) -Mix above ingredients together (I use food processor). - Refrigerate dough for an hour or so (or overnight, or for a week - whatever). - Roll out and cut with cookie cutters. (my grandmother used a glass.) -Sprinkle w/ cinnamon sugar (optional). - Bake at 300 degrees 15-20 min on ungreased baking sheet (I use parchment paper and I like edges to be brown, so sometimes it takes a little longer. Keep checking. Enjoy!

Friday in the kitchen

Where did the week go? I've been busy checking the sale of donated small quilts on www.artdoinggood.com and every time I've gotten there, the pieces I've wanted had been sold. Oh well, since this is an ongoing process to raise funds for the Red Cross Katrina efforts, I hope I will have the opp to acquire a piece of someone else's art. If you haven't been there: GO!!!! and look at the lovely artwork your fellow artists have made. Meantime, I am thrilled that both of my pieces sold so quickly and that money is going to a good place. I am tempted to stay up late making a couple of other pieces but I'm probably going to cash in early: I take my mother home from the hospital tomorrow and it will be a long day. I've been cooking for days so I can fill her fridge and freezer with homemade soup, artichoke chicken, and brisket. Then Meals on Wheels takes over. Tonight, our dinner on the deck was accompanied by margaritas and blue chips with homemade salsa verde. I bought tomatillos and made it myself with cilantro, onions, salt, cayenne, lime juice. Made the margaritas from scratch, too - no mix for me. Pretty soon, though, my supply of limes from Costco will run out and I'll have to make martinis and something seasonal: apple salsa? After dinner, I baked. When I bake, it is usually at night: it is an activity that comforts me and is especially necessary this week. I made my beloved mandel bread (Jewish biscotti) and I'll be lucky if they last through the weekend. I will take some to my mother, but the rest will be inhaled by the human vacuum cleaner to whom I am married. I have to hide a few for myself: I must admit I find them addictive because they are not too sweet. If I could, I would back a couple more batches to take to our hosts in London and Paris for the next two weeks but I think customs are a bit fussy about bringing in unpackaged food. We leave on Tuesday to visit friends and family for 2-1/2 weeks. I am not taking my laptop but will read my e-mail on my friend Marlene's computer. I swore I would keep this blog art-related but food and art are intertwined, are they not? Creativity knows no boundaries. I have never been known to follow a recipe exactly -- at least after the first time.