Cookie Baking Season Begins; No License Required.

With the holiday season in full swing, it's that time of year for cookie baking in the Cokenour home.  Making up to, at least, 16 dozen, they’re usually placed on holiday themed plates, wrapped in colored plastic wrap and distributed out for pure enjoyment.  Surprisingly, some folks voice negative opinions on this little holiday tradition of mine, “Why are you wasting time, money and groceries?  They don’t appreciate you or your cookies!”  That may well be, but I do it mainly to follow the true meaning of the holiday spirit, and that is what matters most.  It’s the giving and seeing the smiles on faces that matters; the not caring if there is a price tag attached, or which big name store it all came from.  Many folks understand where I’m coming from on this, we grew up during the age of “giving, sharing, togetherness, homemade is from the heart”.

Now to flip the coin from happiness to sadness, since the holiday season is also known as the saddest time for many.  Death and grieving for the loss of loved ones, loneliness, broken and abusive home lives; it all exists, not just in large cities, but in the smallest of burbs.  The suicide rate increases as a person sees no way out of his/her situation.  Sadness is emotional pain associated with, or characterized by feelings of disadvantage, loss, despair, helplessness and sorrow. Clinical Depression is a mood disorder in which feelings of sadness, loss, anger, or frustration interfere with everyday life for weeks or longer. Here are the typical definitions for sadness and depression; while sadness can grow into depression, it is usually more easily dealt with.  Currently I'm in an extremely sad place, but my cooking, photography and writing help ease the pain...I can deal.  For others though, the pain of their sadness is so intense, they need a professional; no matter what, help them get the help they need.  National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org/ or call 1-800-273-8255.

Swinging back to a lighter note, when it comes to females mostly, there is the saying, "Chocolate cures everything" which is basically true.  I'm not going to get scientific here, but the gist of it is that chocolate stimulates the endocrine gland to emit hormones that make one happy.  It won't cure depression, but when it comes to stress and sadness, it helps to calm you down enough for a better assessment of a personal situation.  Another thing you can do is be active, even if it is the simplest of tasks, or even trying out a new recipe; it gets your mind off of your sadness, even if just for a little while.   What better way to deal with sadness then to combine a chocolate chip cookie recipe with baking in the kitchen?  You're up, moving about, concentrating on a task and you'll end up with a delicious snack that will lead you to your happy place.

This recipe will give you about 2 and 1/2 to 3 dozen cookies depending on how large you make them.  I usually make balls of dough about 1 and 1/2 inches in diameter and get about 2 and 1/2 dozen; less cookies, but larger cookies...less does equal more!  The cookies are soft and chewy; if not kept in an airtight container, they will get dry and crumble easily.  I also use Ghirardelli 60% Cacao Bittersweet Chocolate Chips; much larger than those morsels, more chocolate flavor and when they're all melty, you feel no pain, just pleasure.  The recipe is similar to the original Toll House recipe, but you all know I simply cannot do “as is”.  Bake up a little happiness today!

Chocolate (Ghirardelli) Chip Cookies

Ingredients:

2 and 1/4 cups flour

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1 cup unsalted butter; softened, but not melted

1/2 cup white sugar

1 cup light brown sugar

1 tsp. salt

3 tsp. pure vanilla extract

2 large eggs, beaten

1 and 1/2 cups Ghirardelli 60% Cacao Bittersweet Chocolate Chips

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350F; I recommend using AirBake baking sheets instead of regular nonstick, or ones that need to be sprayed.  Whether it is cookies or biscuits, no sticking and cleanup is with a damp, clean cloth.

Whisk the flour and baking soda into a large bowl, set aside.  In another large bowl, cream together the butter, white and brown sugars until smooth.  Add the salt, vanilla extract and eggs; on medium speed for one minute.  Continue to beat while gradually adding the flour mixture; scrape the sides occasionally.  When well combined, stir the chips in with a heavy duty spoon being careful not to break them.

Create balls of dough from 1 inch to 1 and 1/2 inches in diameter; place on the baking sheets 2 inches apart.  Bake cookies for about 10 minutes; edges will be browned, but still slightly soft in the center.  Let the cookies rest for about 2 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack for complete cooling.  When completely cooled, place in an airtight container.

Makes 2 and 1/2 to 3 dozen cookies.

Mary Cokenour

Sad? Eat a Cookie. Depressed? Get Help.

Sadness is emotional pain associated with, or characterized by feelings of disadvantage, loss, despair, helplessness and sorrow. Clinical Depressionis a mood disorder in which feelings of sadness, loss, anger, or frustration interfere with everyday life for weeks or longer. Here are the typical definitions for sadness and depression; while sadness can grow into depression, it is usually more easily dealt with.   Why am I writing about this on a food blog?  Currently I'm in an extremely sad place, but my cooking, photography and writing help ease the pain...I can deal.  For others though, the pain of their sadness is so intense, they need a professional; no matter what, help them get the help they need. 

Now when it comes to females mostly, there is the saying, "Chocolate cures everything" which is basically true.  I'm not going to get scientific here, but the gist of it is that chocolate stimulates your endocrine gland to emit hormones that make you happy.  It won't cure depression, but when it comes to stress and sadness, it helps to calm you down enough to allow you to assess your situations better.  Another thing you can do is be active, even if it is the simplest of tasks, or even trying out a new recipe; it gets your mind off of your sadness, even if just for a little while.  So what better way to deal with sadness  then to combine a chocolate chip cookie recipe with baking in the kitchen.  You're up, moving about, concentrating on a task and you'll end up with a delicious snack that will be lead you to your happy place.

This recipe will give you about 2 and 1/2 to 3 dozen cookies depending on how large you make them.  I usually make a ball of dough about 1 and 1/2 inches in diameter and get the 2 and 1/2 dozen; less cookies, but larger cookies...less does equal more!  The cookies are soft and chewy, and if you do not keep them in an airtight container, they will get dry and crumble easily.  I also use Ghirardelli 60% Cacao Bittersweet Chocolate Chips; much larger than those morsels, more chocolate flavor and when they're all melty, you feel no pain, just pleasure.  The recipe is similar to the original Toll House recipe I posted with a couple of slight changes.

Chocolate (Ghirardelli) Chip Cookies

Ingredients:

2 and 1/4 cups flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 cup unsalted butter; softened, but not melted
1/2 cup white sugar
1 cup light brown sugar
1 tsp salt
3 tsp pure vanilla extract
2 large eggs, beaten
1 and 1/2 cups Ghirardelli 60% Cacao Bittersweet Chocolate Chips

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350F; I recommend using AirBake baking sheets instead of regular nonstick, or ones that need to be sprayed.  Whether it is cookies or biscuits, no sticking and clean up is with a damp, clean cloth.

Whisk the flour and baking soda into a large bowl, set aside.  In another large bowl, cream together the butter, white and brown sugars until smooth.  Add the salt, vanilla extract and eggs; on medium speed for one minute.  Continue to beat while gradually adding the flour mixture; scrape the sides occasionally.  When well combined, stir the chips in with a heavy duty spoon being careful not to break them.

Create balls of dough from 1 inch to 1 and 1/2 inches in diameter; place on the baking sheets 2 inches apart.  Bake cookies for about 10 minutes; edges will be browned, but still slightly soft in the center.  Let the cookies rest for about 2 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack for complete cooling.  When completely cooled, place in an airtight container.

Makes 2 and 1/2 to 3 dozen cookies.

Feeling sad?  Bake a batch of these and watch the sadness melt away as the chocolate chips melt in your mouth.  Here's to feeling better!

Mary Cokenour

Letting go can be so hard to do.

On July 29, 2010, my precious English Doberman, Bonnie, became very ill; we rushed her to the animal hospital at 2am in the morning. She had an illness we had never heard of, “Bloat”, which occurs in big chested dogs. The stomach can twist, causing necrosis, severe pain and eventually death. The vet operated on her, corrected the condition, but it was still a wait and see situation. We saw her on Saturday, she had been eating, and playing outside with the vet assistants, and the vet said she could come home on Monday morning.

Monday morning we received a call at 8am; Bonnie had passed away during the night. She was found sitting up in her cage, leaning against the wall, as if waiting for her morning meal. The vet, without doing an autopsy, felt that a blood clot had stopped her heart, so quickly that she didn’t even have time to fall down. My husband handled everything, for all I could do was scream and cry in agony. My baby Bon-Bon was gone, and I wanted to die too. But I had to get my act together, who would take care of Roy, and the other pets, if I was gone? I’m the rock of the family, and wasn’t allowed to crumble.

Since then, we have adopted a 5 year old female Doberman, named Jenna, and an adorable male Australian Shepherd mix, named Tippy (who just turned 8 months old). No, neither of them could ever replace my Bon-Bon; but the love they have brought to us makes it feel a bit better.

So why am I still feeling so sad? Of all the pets I have ever had, they have always been with family when they have passed on; whether they passed away, at home, while sleeping; or put to sleep at the vet’s due to illness; someone was always with them. Bonnie died alone, in a cold cage at the vet’s; she didn’t have any family members to hold her, tell her how much she was loved and that it would be ok, and relieve any fear she may have been feeling. That is what gets to me the most; Bonnie was alone; and with this writing, I’m hoping to come to closure with that.

I write this while watching the snow fall here in Monticello, and decide that tonight would be a good night for soup. Not only will it warm the body, but the soul; guess that will help ease the pain too. I love my Bon-Bon, always will, but now I’ve got to move it along

Meatball Soup

Ingredients:
2 Tbsp olive oil
3 medium onions, diced
6 cups beef broth
1 ½ cups cold water
4 medium potatoes, cut into ½ inch pieces
1 (8 oz) bag of baby carrots, cut in halves
2 lbs lean ground beef
1 lb ground turkey
1 tsp each dried savory (or sage if you cannot find savory), garlic powder, onion powder
1 ½ cups plain bread crumbs (dried, fine ground variety)
3 eggs, beaten
Grated cheese

Preparation:
Heat oil, on high, in a 6 qt stock pot; sauté onions till tender, about 3 minutes. Add beef broth and water; bring to a boil. Lower heat to medium; add in potatoes and carrots.

Preheat oven to 350F. In a large bowl, combine beef, turkey, seasoning, bread crumbs and eggs. Mix together thoroughly; form meatballs of about a 1 inch diameter; makes about 60 meatballs.

Place meatballs on baking sheet and bake for about 10 minutes; just to brown the meat, not cook all the way through. Dab each meatball on a paper towel to remove excess grease before putting into the stock pot. Cook for 30-40 minutes, or until vegetables are very tender.
When serving, sprinkle grated cheese on top of soup.

Makes 8-10 servings.

Mary Cokenour