Boy Convinces Grandmother to Feed Him Peanut Butter From a Spoon

We live with a boy who loves peanut butter. He would eat it for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, if I let him.



Here he is talking his grandmother into skipping the bread and feeding it to him directly with the spoon. Look how excited he is.



Boy = very happy.

Mama = not so happy!

(photos by Dudley Poston, Jr.)

Secondary Injuries and Oatmeal Cherry Walnut Cookies

Have you ever counted how many times in the course of a day you can be mildly injured by little boys? If it isn't someone banging his head into the corner of your glasses or dropping a train on your kneecap, it's someone else stepping on your little toe with a sneaker or running up the back of your heel with a big wheels. Sometimes it's stepping on a lego in the middle of the hall or sitting on a tow truck under a blanket on the sofa. Little raggedy fingernails scratch your face in the middle of a hug, and little teeth bite your finger because they're so excited about oatmeal cookies.



Oatmeal Cherry Walnut Cookies

3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
3/4 cup butter
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
1/4 cup water
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 cups uncooked oats (quick or old fashioned)
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt (optional)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup walnut pieces
1/2 cup dried cherries

Heat oven to 375°F. In a large bowl, beat brown sugar, shortening and granulated sugar until creamy. Add egg, water and vanilla and beat well. Combine oats, flour, salt and baking soda. Add to rest of ingredients and mix well. Stir in cherries and walnuts.

Drop dough by rounded teaspoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets.

Bake 9 to 11 minutes or until edges are golden brown. Move to wire rack to cool.

If you feel like you've been run over by a truck at the end of the day, these will probably help!

Fence-post French Fries

Pa has been laying fence-posts all week so I made him some french fries for lunch.



I mentioned a while back that we were redoing our backyard. Because we live with two people who love to run and run and run and run, we needed to build a fence near the stairwell in order to relax when we're out in the backyard with said two people.

Pa is doing this this work, so I started peeling potatoes.

I used nice big russets, and sliced them into long strips. Then I put them in a bowl of water to soak. Soaking them in water for 10 minutes before frying gets them nice and crispy.



So does Evil Chef Mom's method, which I tried today. ECM recommends frying the fries twice--and you know what, ECM is right! This is a really great way to make french fries. (Of course, ECM is always right!)




Here they are frying happily the second time around.



Don't they look yummy? Nothing better than potatoes, oil, and salt...

Fog

It is so cold and drippy and grey here that we are all feeling the weight of a sunless summer.

This is what it looks like. ALL THE BLINKING TIME!!



It's so depressing that I've been playing lots of irish music, and I added lavender to my oatmeal this morning. It was so delicious. Along with a little bit of honey, it was almost as good as Lavender Shortbread.



Bet you didn't know I was an irish dancer many years ago. Trophy and everything. I'll have to try and find some photos.

On a Lavender Kick

Do you like lavender? Try it in your tea: Earl Grey with Lavender, or Chamomile with Lavender. They are the perfect accompaniment to what my family says are the best cookies I have ever made in their whole lives.



Lavender Shortbread

1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
juice of 1 lemon from the backyard tree
3 cups of flour
pinch of salt
2 teaspoons of dried lavender buds

Preheat oven to 325.

Cream together butter, sugar, and lemon juice.

In another bowl, sift flour and mix in salt and lavender.

Slowly add dry mixture to butter, in three additions, scraping the sides of the bowl carefully. Do not over mix. Batter will be lumpy because it is buttery. That's the good part.

Press batter into a 9-inch pie plate or cake tin or a 9-inch square baking dish. Prick top of cookies with a fork, marking where you will cut them when they're done.

Bake at 325 for 25-30 minutes, until golden brown around the edges. Let cool for a few minutes before cutting. Let cool a few more minutes before eating!

I've been reading about lavender a lot lately. Check here for some lovely photos, and here for an exposé.

Coco is back!

With some interesting and artful adventures under his belt, Coco is home with his boy.



Come in and tell us about it, Coco.



"Everyone was very nice to me," Coco said.



"When they found me on the floor in the crayon department they said, 'Look at this guy -- he has lost most of his fur! His must be very well-loved and sorely missed. We'd better take care of him for a few days.'"



"They were nice to me, but I missed having someone kiss my nose."



What a happy reunion!