A Dedication

As I write this, my sweet Nana is on her deathbed. What was once a lovely, vibrant and always dignified woman, is now a tiny, shrunken creature, almost not visible beneath her bedsheets. She can no longer eat or drink on her own, and her fate, and the manner in which she will achieve it, seems especially cruel considering the fact that she loved to eat good food, and cooked and served it with gusto.

She shared her passion for cooking with my mom, who in turn, shared it with me. Nana was always in the kitchen whipping up the latest cuisines for her many friends and dinner groups. Nana was the one who introduced me to fresh blueberries and real maple syrup on one of my many weekends spent with her (she is Canadian after all).

I have especially fond memories of Thanksgiving and Christmas, where Mom and Nana would bustle about together in the kitchen, taking turns chopping, stirring, peeling and tasting, creating the perfect holiday feasts again and again. Each year was better than the next, it seemed. Nana was the expert at gravy, and she taught me how to make it dark and rich--never too salty or too fatty, but perfectly smooth and glossy.

When I was 16, Nana gave me my first real cookbook for Christmas, The Fanny Farmer Cookbook by Marion Cunningham. In it, under the dedication it reads: Christmas 1991. To Alison- The happy cooker. Love, Nana.


Happy cooker, indeed! Cooking is for me, as it was for her and my mom, a creative outlet....something that makes me extraordinarily happy, especially when those with whom I share my cooking are appreciative. Though I have hundreds more cookbooks in my collection now, I still turn to this classic often, and it has all the tell-tale signs of a much-loved and much-used book as it's pages are splattered with all kinds of goo. I know Nana would appreciate it, and Marion Cunningham too.

I will always remember my Nana with fondness and will never forget her kindness, gentle touch, and extraordinary patience with her four grandchildren. It is unbearably difficult to watch someone you love struggle so in her final days and hours. I can only hope that at the end of this long and arduous journey, there is a feast waiting for her--a celebration rich with other loved ones she's lost along the way and yes, plenty of food...a leg of lamb perhaps, with some of her famous gravy and maybe some mint jelly on the side. And don't forget dessert!










Marion Cunningham's Perfect Peanut Butter Cookies
Printable Recipe

My kids and husband have eaten hundreds of these over the years. They are crunchy, peanut buttery, and have the traditional cross-hatch marks too. Dipped in milk they make the perfect after school (or late night) snack, and they travel well in a lunch bag. They are crisp on the edges and chock-full of nuts, with the slightest bit of give in the middle. Make sure to look for shortening that has no trans-fats.

Prep time: 10 minutes
Total time: 20 minutes
Yield: 4 dozen cookies

Ingredients:

1 cup shortening
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 large eggs, beaten
1 cup chunky peanut butter
2 cups AP flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking soda

Preparation:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and lightly coat cookie sheets with cooking spray.

2. In the bowl of a stand mixer (or use a large bowl with a hand mixer), beat together the shortening, vanilla extract, granulated sugar, and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs and stir until combined.

3. Mix in the peanut butter and beat until completely incorporated.

4. Place flour, salt and baking soda in a small bowl and whisk together. Slowly add flour mixture to the peanut butter mixture, beating after each addition, until evenly mixed.

5. Roll dough into walnut sized balls and place 2 inches apart on the prepared cookie sheets. Using a fork, make a cross-hatch design on the top, smooshing them so they are about 1/2 inch tall.

6. Bake for 8-10 minutes, or until lightly golden brown around the edges. Remove from oven and transfer to a rack until they are completely cooled. Store in an air-tight container.

Fail to Plan...

I need a plan. Things are always better with one, right? At least I will have a direction, a goal, an idea of what the heck is supposed to come next. Though I am referring to the bigger picture, a plan for my dinners the next few nights wouldn't hurt either. Take last night, for example. A plan would have helped me get something edible, if not delicious, on the table. But after driving up and down the freeway for two straight hours, dropping and dropping and retrieving and retrieving little boys from baseball practice, all I could do was pour myself a bottle of wine...I mean a glass (or two). The kids ate quesadillas with hunks of watermelon (again) and we ate, though I am deeply ashamed to admit it, Panda Express, which wasn't half bad (I must have been really hungry).

So this morning, in between getting a filling re-filled (popcorn kernel incident) and walking my stinky, but adorable, shaggy dog, I will make a menu and grocery list, just like the organized and responsible housewife I'm supposed to be. If you like printable lists to help you stay on track, check here. Or if you are like me, maybe you just scratch a list out on the back of your kid's old homework page (reduce, reuse, recycle). Gotta do what works for you, right? Just make sure you have a chance to use that list before you recycle it...not that I'm speaking from experience or anything.

When all is said and done, here is what my menu plan for the weekend is shaping up to be.

Thursday: Grilled chicken and sesame noodle salad

Friday: Pizza of some sort, maybe on the grill if it's too hot to heat my oven

Saturday: Grilled sausages that my dad is bringing from a little butcher near his house in northern California, broccoli salad and pasta salad

Sunday: Fresh pasta with fresh f.m. veggies

Four day's worth of meals is about all I have in me. Plus, hopefully I will be inspired by my purchases at the farmers' market on Sunday morning...that is, if I can make it. My son has a baseball playoff game that starts at 8 a.m. which is highly disturbing to say the least. Drive-thru Starbucks here I come.

Tonight's sesame noodle salad is perfect for a hot evening. There is just the right amount of creamy peanut flavor to temper the heat of the chilis, and the fresh veggies keep it light and fresh. It will be perfect with our grilled chicken (that has a soy balsamic marinade...I'll share that another time).

Sesame Noodle Salad

serves 4

1 pound spaghetti, cooked according to package directions

1 head broccoli, separated into small florets

12 oz. sugar snaps, de-stringed and cut in half

5 scallions, cut diagonally

1/2 C peanut butter

1/4 C red wine or rice wine vinegar

1/4 C soy sauce

1 t sesame oil

1 t chili garlic paste

1 T freshly grated ginger

1 clove of garlic, minced or grated

1 T toasted sesame seeds

1/4 C hot water from pasta pot

Cook pasta according to directions on package. Meanwhile whisk peanut butter, vinegar, soy sauce, sesame oil, chili paste, ginger and garlic in a small bowl. Set aside.

When pasta is finished cooking, drain in a colander. Add broccoli to boiling pasta water and cook until crisp tender (about 1-2 minutes). Remove and set aside. Add snap peas and cook for one minute. Remove and set aside. Toss pasta with peanut sauce in a large bowl. Add veggies and toss well. Sprinkle top with sliced scallions and sesame seeds. If pasta seems very sticky, add up to 1/4 C of hot water from pasta pot. Toss again. Let cool to room temp and serve.

Peanut Butter and Chocolate Bliss

I was ogling the beautiful and delicious looking food on foodgawker.com the other day (by the way...one of MY recipes was just featured on that website!) and I saw a picture of the most incredible looking peanut butter and chocolate bars. And since I my opinion is that peanut butter and chocolate is pretty much the best type of sweet combination I could ever wish to eat, I was so very excited to try the recipe. It is not a baking kind of recipe, it is simply a mixing, pressing into a pan, and licking the spoon kind of recipe, which every cook should have in her arsenal of quick desserts, just in case an emergency should strike....like friends dropping by...or PMS.

They taste very much like the all-too-easy-to-devour peanut butter balls that my friend Beth and her mom make each Christmas. Containing mostly sugar, sugar and peanut butter, and of course, chocolate, these treats won't last long in my house. I think I will hide them from the kids in the freezer after tonight. I'll bet they would taste really good frozen....

Here is the link to the original recipe from the Homesteading Housewife. My recipe is much like hers with some slight modifications.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars

makes 12

1/2 C graham cracker crumbs (or oat cereal crumbs...I used Barbara's Shredded Oat Squares)

2 1/2 C powdered sugar

2 C crunchy peanut butter

1 t vanilla

1/2 C brown sugar

1 stick of butter, melted

Mix all the ingredients together in a bowl until smooth. Press into a greased and parchment lined 8x8 inch pan.

For topping: Melt half a bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips (1 C) with 2 T smooth peanut butter in the microwave for in 30 second increments stirring well between each one. (It usually takes about 1 1/2 minutes. Pour over the top of peanut butter mixture in pan and spread evenly. Refrigerate for 1 hour or until chocolate has hardened. Let sit at room temp for 15 minutes, then cut into 12 squares.