Trail Mix Cookies

A while back Leslie gave me what Lucy and I have dubbed "The Magic Cookbook," because EVERY recipe you make from it is guaranteed to be super-successful (read as absolutely delicious.) We LOVE that cookbook. Well, for my Christmas Miss Lucy outdid herself when she located the new HEALTHY version of this cookbook. We were both so excited to have it....YIPPEE! There is even a recipe for the incredible Tarte Tatin that Leslie makes from the other book, with pears from her own trees. I've spent the last few days snowed in and reading every single recipe. So, why did I choose a cookie recipe as my first thing to try? There are tons of recipes for healthy grains, soups, and stir-fries, but I had to start with COOKIES after pigging out on sweets galore for the past two weeks. Well, they are delicious.

Trail Mix Cookies

1 cup (3 oz. if you weigh instead) old fashioned rolled oats

1/2 cup (2 3/4 oz.) whole wheat flour

1/4 cup (1 1/2 oz.) all purpose flour

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp baking soda

5 TBS unsalted butter, melted and cooled

1 large egg

2 tsp vanilla

1 cup (7 oz) packed brown sugar

1/2 cup dried cherries, cranberries, or raisins

1/2 cup unsalted sunflower or pumpkin seeds

1/4 cup peans, walnuts, or almonds, toasted and coarsely chopped

1/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper. Whisk oats, flours, salt, cinnamon, and baking soda together in a bowl.

2. In a large bowl, whisk melted butter, egg, and vanilla together. Stir in sugar until smooth, smearing any remaining clumps of sugar against side of bowl. Stir in the oat mixture until just combined, then stir in cherries, seeds, nuts, and chips.

3. Working with 1 heaping TBS of dough at a time, roll into balls and lay on parchment/pan, spaced 2 inches apart.

4. Bake one sheet at a time, until edges are set and beginning to brown but centers are still soft, puffy, and underdone, 12 to 16 minutes; rotate halfway through baking. NOTE: On my metal baking sheet with parchment, I baked for 8 minutes, rotated, and baked for 5 minutes more. On my Pampered Chef stone bar pan without parchment, I baked for 8 minutes, rotated, and baked for 8 minutes more.

5. Let cookies cool on baking sheet for 10 minutes, then serve warm or transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely. NOTE: You should have seen Lucy's face when I brought her a plate of two warm cookies and a glass of milk!

Because lower-fat cookies don't store well, I baked a little more than half the dough and shaped the rest into balls and froze them on a baking sheet, then transferred them to a zip-lock freezer bag labelled: "Trail Mix Cookies #10. Do not thaw. Bake 12-16 minutes at 350."

Don't you love having your own home-made cookie dough in the freezer?

A Most Beautiful Sight

Yeah, yeah, yeah, the scene outside my kitchen window is lovely after 16 inches of snow (I was pretty much awake from 2 to 4 a.m. due to the 50-mph winds---just like a noisy tropical storm in Houston, but with snow swirling like crazy for a total white-out, a little scary) but the beautiful sight I'm referring to is the remains of a bag of beautiful peppers I bought at Costco last week, spied when I opened the refrigerator to get my egg for breakfast. While I cooked and ate breakfast, I used my fridge, freezer, and pantry to make dinner----inspired by these beautiful peppers that need to be used before long.
I split the peppers in half lengthwise, clean out seeds and membrane, and throw into my microcoker with a bit of salt and a splash of water. The stem is left on just 'cuz it looks purty. If you don't cook the peppers a bit before you stuff them, they'll be too "toothy" and, to me, a quick steam in the microwave is by far the easiest way. Cover and microwave for around 2 minutes, just enough to soften them up a bit.
The perfect pepper stuffing is whatever you happen to have on hand. For me today, that meant leftover brown rice, a handful of frozen corn kernels right out of the freezer bag, a can of the ubiquitous Ro-tel that is ALWAYS in my pantry now that I can actually buy it in New Yawk, and a bit of shredded cheese.
Since we're a mostly meatless family (otherwise, I would have added ground beef or a bit of browned sausage to the filling) I toasted a few pine nuts in the skillet, to add more flavor and a bit of texture.
I used to stuff the whole pepper and stand them up, but I've found that a half-pepper makes the perfect balance of pepper and stuffing.
Dinner already made, waiting in the fridge or freezer for a warm-up...A Most Beautiful Sight.

A Very Cherry New York Christmas

We bought these beautiful cherries on the street in Chinatown last night, after dinner at Joe's Shanghai.
Lucy realized at dinner that she was wearing a lot of pink, for her.
We wish you all were here with us....

...but we would have had to wait even longer for a table.

A visit to "The Tree" at Rockefeller Plaza on the way to see an excellent play at Lincoln Center (with Stockard Channing, Stacy Keach, and Linda Lavin---Lucy didn't even come close to falling asleep!) all made for a very New York Christmas.

The Time Warner Building, Bank of America Tower, and of course the swanky stores on Madison and 5th are all decorated beautifully. And although most of the theatres were dark for Christmas, there were still tons of people in a very cold Times Square at 11 pm---what's that about?

Today we're snuggling in---Lucy with her iPad and me with two new cookbooks I can't wait to devour and tell you more about---amidst two-day blizzard warnings, with the snow slated to start at noon and add 30- to 40- mile winds this evening.

Tonight is supposed to be Lucy's "Red Carpet" affair in Manhattan but it looks like Mother Nature may have other plans for all those 16-year-olds. Happy Boxing Day!

A Happy Christmas

MaMere--we did good!

Merry Christmas from The Family

My lazy-day Christmas Eve project is to figure out how to share a favorite Christmas carol, before I get too deep in the 'nog. This is for "The Family," including YOU---click and have a ho-ho listen!

Melissa's Holiday Eating Tips

Eating Tips for The Holidays

1. Avoid carrot sticks. Anyone who puts carrots on a holiday buffet table knows nothing of the Christmas spirit. In fact, if you see carrots, leave immediately. Go next door, where they're serving rum balls.

2. Drink as much eggnog as you can and quickly. You can't find it any other time of year but now. So drink up! Who cares that it has 10,000 calories in every sip? It's not as if you're going to turn into an "eggnog-alcoholic" or something. It's a treat. Enjoy it!!!! Have one for me. Have two. It's later than you think. It's Christmas!

3. If something comes with gravy, use it. That's the whole point of gravy. Gravy does not stand-alone. Pour it on. Make a volcano out of your mashed potatoes. Fill it with gravy. Eat the volcano. Repeat.

4. As for mashed potatoes, always ask if they're made with skim milk or whole milk. If it's skim, pass. Why bother? It's like buying a sports car with an automatic transmission.

5. Do not have a snack before going to a party in an effort to control your eating. The whole point of going to a Christmas party is to eat other people's food for free. Lots of it. Hello???

6. Under no circumstances should you exercise between now and New Year's. You can do that in January when you have nothing else to do. This is the time for long naps, which you'll need after circling the buffet table while carrying a 10-pound plate of food and that vat of eggnog.

7. If you come across something really good at a buffet table, like frosted Christmas cookies in the shape and size of Santa, position yourself near them and don't budge. Have as many as you can before becoming the center of attention. They're like a beautiful pair of shoes. If you leave them behind, you're never going to see them again.

8. Same for pies. Apple, pumpkin and mincemeat - have a slice of each. Or, if you don't like mincemeat, have two apples and one pumpkin. Always have three. When else do you get to have more than one dessert?
Labor Day?

9. Did someone mention fruitcake? Granted, it's loaded with the mandatory celebratory calories, but avoid it at all cost. I mean, have some standards.

10. One final tip: If you don't feel terrible when you leave the party or get up from the table, you haven't been paying attention. Reread tips: Start over, but hurry, January is just around the corner.

Remember this motto to live by:
"Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well
preserved body. But rather to skid in sideways, chocolate in one hand, wine in the other, body thoroughly used up, totally worn out and screaming "WOO-HOO what a ride!"

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

Wake up, morning glory

Somehow she doesn't look quite ready for her 9 am mani/pedi. Trust me, it will be a different story tomorrow morning....Lucy is the notorioiusly early riser on Christmas morning. I used to have to send her back to bed when she would come running in to physically lift my eyelids up before 5 am. The teenage sleep years have helped that situation a bit, as I think last year it was closer to 7:30 am. OK, off for some pre-Christmas pampering for us. May your day be merry and bright!