Recipe: Sour Cherry White Chocolate Chunk Cookies

This is the recipe I tried this last Sunday for my Sunday School class. I love the tangy flavor of the cherries and the crunch of all of the almonds. This is a soft. chewy cookie - be careful to keep the dough chilled in between batches or they will spread too far.

2 1/2 flour
1 t. baking soda
1/4 t. salt
1 cup unsalted butter
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 t. vanilla
3/4 cup dried cherries sliced
1/4 t. almond extract
1 cup slivered almonds toasted and coarsely chopped
6 oz. good white chocolate chopped

Beat butter, add sugars and beat until fluffy. Add eggs and then the sifted dry ingredients. Bake on a silpat at 350 for 11-13 minutes.

Max's Mighty Mind

Max came to me yesterday to inform me that he and his sister were having a "food alliteration contest". This was his entry: I could simply scoff sixty-six sticks of celery while simultaneously soulfully serenading my sappy sister Sophie's stern stares with song and seven soaps supreme and stupendously salubricating Stacey with a solution of solute and solvent.

I'm pretty sure that:
A. that does not make sense
B. some of those are not actual words
C. my kids make me laugh

Calvin's Life is a Comic

How funny is it that Calvin's favorite books to "read" are still Calvin and Hobbes? He still refers to Calvin as himself and to me as the mom. "Look what I did in this one Mom - you were mad!" Lately, he has started referring to Susie Derkins as Sophie.

Sophie Eats Bugs - Weak Stomach? Stop Now.

My delightful daughter is weird. Her love of all things bugs shows no sign of abating. In fact, her Christmas wish list includes things like a real microscope, a framed, preserved preying mantis and entomology textbooks.

Since no one around here is allowed to kill a bug (even a nasty fly), I did not know how she would react to a cricket lollipop. The lollipop was a gift from Susan who spotted this thing in some gift shop and immediately thought of Sophie. I thought that she might be upset that the cricket was dead and suspended in colored corn syrup. I was so wrong.

Sophie was thrilled. It may be because she had just read several books about people eating bugs in far off places around the world, but she thought this thing was the best gift she'd ever received. First she brought it to school and showed it to her entire class, then she showed the daycare kids and finally she started eating the thing. I thought several of the boys would lose their lunch when she had sucked down far enough that a little leg was poking free. I may have felt a bit of a dry heave myself when she chomped off the leg and ate it, but that's Sophie for you. She is fearless.


She did not end up eating the entire thing. I don't think it actually tasted very good. She said she could not eat the head because she could not be sure they had removed the brains first. So, she did what any normal eight year old girl would do . . . she cut off the head and kept it for her bug lab.

I love this child.


My favorite part? She wrote "eat cricket" on her school planner.

Recipe: Spiced Lemon Cake

I was worried that the tart would not turn out for book club, so I hedged my bets and made another cake as well. This is also in the October issue of Martha and may be my new favorite cake. The combination of lemon and cardamom is one of my favorite flavors. The texture of this cake is wonderful and it is the perfect light ending to a fall/winter meal.

• 1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for pan
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for pan
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 tablespoon finely grated lemon zest plus 6 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (from 2 lemons)
• 3/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Butter and flour an 8-inch round cake pan. Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
2. Beat butter, granulated sugar, zest, and cardamom with a mixer on medium-high speed until pale and fluffy. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in 3 tablespoons lemon juice. Reduce speed to medium-low; beat in flour mixture in 3 additions, alternating with sour cream, beginning and ending with flour. Pour batter into cake pan.
3. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 30 minutes. Turn out onto a wire rack. Let cool, top side up. Whisk confectioners' sugar with remaining 3 tablespoons lemon juice until smooth; pour over cooled cake.

I Didn't Do It

Evi impressed us all with her massive shiner on Friday - she's tough - and clumsy.

Recipe: Peanut, Caramel and Chocolate Tart

I tried a new recipe for book club from the October issue of Martha. The recipe says this makes 10 servings, but no one could actually eat a slice that large - this tart is RICH. I would anticipate it to serve about 16-20. If you add up the calories in the recipe and divide by 10, each serving would have over 900 calories! Yikes! It tastes much like a snickers bar and needs to be popped in the freezer in between each step. I can't say I will be making this again soon - it is good, but just over the top.

Crust
1 box (9oz) chocolate wafer cookies, finely ground - I used oreos
1 tbsp. granulated sugar
Salt
1 stick unsalted butter, melted

For the Caramel Sauce
1¼ c. granulated sugar
¼ c. water
1 c. heavy cream
1/3 c. crème fraiche
1 c. roasted salted peanuts

For the Peanut Butter Mousse
8 oz. cream cheese, room temperature
½ c. confectioners’ sugar
salt
1¼ c. smooth peanut butter
½ tsp. pure vanilla extract
1 c. heavy cream

For the Chocolate Ganache
7 oz. semisweet chocolate (preferably 56% cacao), chopped
1 c. heavy cream

1. Preheat the oven to 350º. Make the chocolate crust: Combine cookie crumbs, granulated sugar and 1/4 tsp. salt in a bowl. Stir in butter. Press mixture into bottom and 2 1/2 in. up sides of a 9 in spring form pan. Bake until dry and firm, 8-10 min. Let cool.

2. Make the caramel sauce: Heat granulated sugar and water in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, washing down sides of pan with a wet pastry brush to prevent sugar crystals from forming., until medium amber, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat, and carefully add heavy cream (mixture will bubble and steam). Return to heat and bring to a boil, making sure caramel that seized up when cream was added melts. Transfer to a bowl, and stir in creme fraiche. Refrigerate until cool but still pourable, about 45 minutes. Fold in peanuts.

3. Meanwhile, make the peanut butter mousse: Beat cream cheese and confectioner’s sugar with a mixer on medium-high speed until pale and fluffy. Beat in 1/2 tsp. salt. Add peanut butter and vanilla, and beat until combined. Whisk heavy cream in a separate bowl until medium-stiff peaks form. Fold 1/3 of the whipped cream into peanut butter mixture. Fold in remaining whipped cream in 2 additions.

4. Assemble the tart: Pour caramel sauce into cooled chocolate crust. Gently spread peanut butter mouse over caramel in an even layer, making sure they don’t blend together. Refrigerate 30 minutes.

5. Make the chocolate ganache: Place chocolate in a small heat-proof bowl. Bring cream to a simmer in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Pour cream over chocolate and let stand for 1 minute. Whisk to combine.

6. Remove tart from refrigerator, and pour in ganache to cover surface. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

Make ahead: Caramel sauce can be refrigerated for up to 3 days. Reheat in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water before folding in peanuts.

Storage assembled tart can be refrigerated overnight - I suggest popping it into the freezer for the afternoon.

Medieval Fair at the Art Park

A few weeks ago, we ran over to the art park to see the Medieval Fair. I'm not sure which activity ended up being the kids favorite - it might have been a tie between shooting the crossbow and watching the sword fights. It was a perfect fall day and we were able to listen to viking stories, see lace being made, win hand stamped coins, watch cheese being stirred over an open fire, try on armor, learn how to make a comb from bone and listen to music (all for free!).

Please Stay a While Longer

The weather has been gorgeous. Crisp, sunny fall days that are gone too fast. We skipped nap time yesterday to enjoy the weather at the zoo. If you have not been there lately go! The crowds are gone and the animals are out enjoying the sun as well. We spent a half an hour just watching the grizzly bears swim and eat whole honeydew melon that the zoo keepers were throwing into their pool.

Please stay awhile fall - we love you.

At the Orchard

We visited a new orchard in White Bear Lake on Saturday and met up with two families from our ward. We managed to go on a tractor ride and played outside in the gorgeous fall weather. We waited in a long line for hot apple cider donuts. Turns out they were worth the wait - delicious! We bought too many - thus I ate too many.

Dear School Disctrict 196

Dear School District 196: I love our school, I have always been impressed (and still am) with our principal and assistant principal. I am not impressed with the Transportation Department for District 196. Isn't it the goal of the transportation department to work together with schools to see that every student has a safe means of transportation to and from school?

This year, for the first time, our school is not providing safe transport for all children at Red Pine. Calvin is in morning kindergarten. He walks to school along with 6 other children from our cul-de-sac as we are less than .5 miles away. The school provides crossing guards at the two intersections he has to cross before and after school to ensure that the all of the walkers safely cross both streets. The problem arises at noon when morning kindergarten gets out. There are still crossing guards, but they are only allowed to cross the kids over the first street, not the second as it is off of school property.

When Max and Sophie were in kindergarten, I called the transportation department and they agreed that it was not safe to ask a 5 year old to cross a three way intersection alone and allowed them to ride the bus home, getting off at the street one down from ours. This year however, the Director of Transportation (Randy Dukek) insists that Calvin (and another little girl in his class who comes to my daycare) cannot ride the bus home unless I PAY $500.00 for them to do so. Even though according to Randy, policy has not changed in the 5 years since Max was in kindergarten, this year the school and transportation department refuse to work together to ensure that all of the kids attending Red Pine have safe means to and from school. These two little 5 year olds are the only children at the school who are asked to cross a street without supervision.

Last week, without telling me, the crossing guards who had been walking the kids across both streets (before they realized school policy dictates that they can't) were told to only cross them over the first one. The bus driver who literally follows them as they walk home, saw these two little 5 years olds trying to determine if it was safe to cross the next street all by themselves, stopped her bus and made sure they got across the road safely. Thank heavens. Exactly how hard would it be for the bus (with less than a dozen kids on it) to also give Calvin and Molly a safe ride since it already passes by our street?

Update: just to confirm the fact that the Director of Transportation at 196 is a little caught up in his position, this week the kid's teacher asked the bus driver why she could not drop the kids off as she already drove right by their street. She said she did not know why it would be such a big deal and called the transportation department while their teacher stood outside the bus. Guess what the director said to the bus driver?

HE CHANGED THE BUS ROUTE!!! That's right, in order to avoid dropping off these two little 5 year old children, the transportation department rerouted the school bus so instead of driving through our neighborhood and passing by our street, it now leaves Red Pine, crosses the railroad tracks, drives down busy Hwy 3, crosses the railroad tracks again and then goes to the first stop. I wonder if the parents of the kids on that bus know that the Director of Transportation for SD196 thinks it is better to expose their children to unnecessary risk and a longer bus ride (as the bus has to come to a complete stop at railroad crossings and open the door to check for trains and now has to pass through two stop lights) than to allow two children to have a safe means of transportation home from school. Can you imagine the lawsuit if anything were to happen at one of those railroad crossings and it comes out that the Director made this decision when it has always been their policy to avoid railway crossing whenever possible?

Dear School District 196 - sometimes it really is best to listen to common sense. All children (and ESPECIALLY those in kindergarten) should have access to a safe route to and from school.

In the meantime, I am walking to school at noon every day with the daycare children to ensure Calvin and Molly can get home safely - which is fine when the weather is nice and when my numbers are low. When I walked over with six children including two babies in a rainstorm complete with flying branches and lightning? Not so good.

Recipe - Toasted Coconut Cookies

Two dear friends celebrated birthdays last week, so I pulled out The Good Cookie cookbook and tried a new recipe. I have been doing pretty well at avoiding the sweets around the house, but I could not leave these cookies alone! I do not not normally like coconut, but with the almond and the rum extract, these are like a crumbly, buttery shortcake gift. They are best cooled and I prefer them without the chocolate. I doubled the recipe.

1/3 cup slivered almonds
2/3 cup confectioners sugar divided
1/3 cup sweetened coconut
1/8 t. salt
3/4 cup softened unsalted butter
1 large egg yolk
1 T. dark rum
1 t. vanilla
1 1/3 cup flour

garnish:
3 oz. chopped bittersweet chocolate
1/3 cup toasted sweetened coconut chopped

In a food processor, blend almonds, 1/3 c. confectioners sugar until fine. Add coconut and remaining confectioners sugar, pulse until finely chopped. In mixer, beat butter until smooth. Add coconut mixture, beat unit well blended. Add egg yolk, vanilla and rum (I used rum extract - a little more than 1t.). At low speed, add flour. Scrape out dough, pat into disc and refrigerate for several hours. Use flour to roll out to 1/8 inch thick - cut with cookie cutter. Bake at 350 for 11-13 minutes until lightly brown at edges.

If you want garnish, melt the chocolate and drizzle on top.