Knit & Nosh

chocolate chip cookies, gluten free friendly

May 15 is National Chocolate Chip Cookie Day, but really, is there a day that is not enhanced by a chocolate chip cookie? If you grew up eating cookies from a recipe passed down by through the generations, you probably have a recipe you love. If not, here is my Grandma's recipe, she is happy to share.

The shortening keeps the cookies tender, oatmeal adds the perfect chewiness, and chopped nuts keep it interesting. Real vanilla and a pinch of salt send your taste buds over the top. I have substituted the regular flour for a gluten free flour blend with great results.

Grandma Jeri's Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 cup shortening

3/4 cup brown sugar

3/4 cup granulated sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla (I use Nielsen Massey for the best possible flavor)

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

2 cups flour

2 cups oatmeal (Bob's Red Mill mkaes great GF oatmeal)

1 cup chopped nuts

3/4 cup chocolate chips

1. Preheat Oven to 350F.

2. Add fat and sugar (MMM fat and sugar) to the bowl of a stand mixer and cream. Add eggs and vanilla and mix until nice and smooth.

3. To the butter mixture, add baking powder and salt and mix until blended. Add flour and mix until smooth. Add oatmeal and mix until well blended. Add chocolate chips and nuts and give the batter a good stir.

4. Drop spoonfuls of dough onto parchment lined cookie sheets and bake until nice and brown, about 8 minutes. Let the cookies sit on the baking sheet for a couple of minutes before removing them to a cooling rack.

 

 

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menu planning

I have an impressive collection of cookbooks. I love to read cookbooks the way most people read novels. And like novels, the ones I especially loved reading and think I may read again go on the shelf, the others are given away. But I have discovered a disconnect between the books on my shelves and the way I actually cook. My cooking skills are good and I have no problem whipping up a fantastic meal without using a written recipe, but doing this means I am missing out on a ton of good food. There are so many good recipes out there that it is unfair for them not to get some attention. I think I have found a solution.

The most recent books that have come into the house have ben given the sticky flag treatment.

As I sit down to read them I have a set of flags at the ready to mark dishes that I want to try. But this is not enough, the marked pages are not making thier way into my weekly meal plans. I need a Master List.

I am a big fan of meal planning. Four kids, a husband who works long hours, and a multitude of eating preferences and intolerances means that serious planning is the only way to keep the crew fed and happy while keeping myslef sane. How can I bring my cookbook collection into the planning? A Master List.

Each cookbook has been/will be gone through and a list will be made of all the meals I would like to cook, separated by book, and by season if the book is broken up that way, with page numbers. When I sit down to meal plan, I have the sheet right there to offer inspiration and remind me of all the good things I have been missing. I have begun using paper and pencil, but if the system works I envision storing the list electronically, making it easy to add new cookbooks and print out a new list.

It is going to take quite a while to go through all the books on the shelves, but the beauty of this is that there is no hurry. If I get through two books, that is going to provide me with weeks of meals and time to go through more books.

The one exception to the list is Nigel Slater's Notes From The Larder, one of the most brilliant books released last year. It is set up like a calendar, each day has a new dish, and the format makes it a book I often turn to as is.

So, when I sit down to make the weekly menu I will no longer have just a couple pieces of paper and a pencil, my new set up will look like this:

A sheet for meals, sheet for a grocery list, my master recipe list, a calendar, and Notes From The Larder. I am excited to give this a try and will let you know if I need to make any adjustments.

What are your menu planning tricks?

 

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rhubarb shrub and pretty in pink cocktail

You may have noticed that the blog has been fairly quiet since the new year. I am not as excited as I once was about reviewing cookbooks, so I will only be sharing the very special ones, and the only knitting I have been doing is simple, round and round socks, so what to write about?

Well, I still love playing with jars and making cocktails. So, my new goal is to put up a cocktail recipe using seasonal ingredients that can be preserved, once a month. I am excited about this self-imposed challenge and hope that y'all will join me in this boozy jar adventure.

Here in the Pacific Northwest, rhubarb has started to arrive in the market. I love rhubarb, and am looking forward to harvesting stalks from my own plant this year.

Only one year old!

In the past I have made Rhubarb Syrup and used it to mix up a Hood River Sunset. This year the first stalks of the season will be used to make a shrub.

Shrubs are an old-fashioned beverage that were once all the rage in England, where they were used for their "medicinal and revitalizing" qualities. Last summer, on the verge of extinction, shrubs made a bit of a come back. Easy to make using all varieties of fruit and spices, I suspect we will be seeing more of these tasty beverages, with and without alcohol.

Spiced Rhubarb Shrub

makes 2 pints

6 cups sliced rhubarb

1 cup apple cider vinegar

1 1/2 cups sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cinnamon stick

4 whole allspice berries

Place all ingredients in a heavy-bottom sauce pan and bring to a boil. Turn down the heat and simmer for about 25 minutes, until the rhubarb has broken down.

Using a fine mesh strainer remove all the solids. The mixture is going to be quick thick so be patient while it drains, it will take about 20 minutes.

Pour into pint or half-pint jars, leaving 1/2 inch headspace. Process either size jar in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes.

Pretty In Pink

This cocktail is amazing good!

1 1/2 ounces brandy

1 1/2 ounces Rhubarb Shrub

Strawberry

Seltzer

Add brandy and shrub to a rocks glass filled with ice and stir to combine. Top with selzer and stir gently. Garnish with a strawberry. To complete the experience.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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