pumpkin snickerdoodles

 

guess what i am doing.....  :D

 

3-3/4 C flour

1-1/2 t baking powder

1/2 t salt

1/2 t ground cinnamon

1/4 t ground nutmeg

1 C (2 sticks) unsalted room temp butter, ((although i have been known to use 1/2 C butter, 1/2 C butter shortening))

1 C sugar

1/2 C dark brown sugar

1 C pumpkin puree

1 large egg

2 t vanilla extract

 

For the coating:

1/2 C sugar

1 t cinnamon

1/2 t ground ginger

Dash of allspice

 

1. combine flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg.

2.  beat together butter and sugars on medium speed until well combined. beat in pumpkin. then add the egg and vanilla extract. add in the dry ingredients. Beat until combined, but do not overmix.

3.  cover & refrigerate for one hour, until firm.

Preheat oven to 350.

stir the sugar and spices in a small bowl. scoop into about 1" ball and roll in spiced sugar.  flatten slightly on parchment paper lined sheet.   bake x 10-12 minutes. cool on the baking pan for approximately 5 minutes, then transfer to wire cooling racks to cool completely.

apple-cranberry stuffed pork tenderloin

 

~3 pound roast - butterflied, then each half butterflied again.  beat heartily with mjulnir (that's what i call my meat mallet...)

1C croutons (i had leftover homemade italian spiced bread AWESOME)

1-1/2 C finely diced granny smith apple (i used fuji.  i don't follow directions well.)

1/2 C toasted walnuts (i used almonds...see?)

3/4 C chicken stock or white wine (.....i used woodchuck fall cider)

1/2 C craisins

1/4 C chopped shallots

1 t crushed rosemary

 

1.  beat your meat to about 1-inch thick.  salt & pepper to taste.  but don't actually taste it yet.

2.  soak croutons in stock x 5 minutes.  mash w/for and add rest of ingredients.

3.  spread on roast to within 1" of edges.  roll tightly from shortest side.  tie with kitchen twine.  (pretty sure the kids used my twine to make bows to shoot arrows in the back yard, so i secured them with 3 toothpicks.  but that was tough!!)

4.  oil roasting pan.  (i forgot.  it was fine.)  cook uncovered at 325 x 1 hour 10 min or until internal temp reacheds 140-145.  let stand 10 minutes.  untie, slice, and savor.

you mad, bro?

 

ok.  scenario:  several gender-neutral employees - terry m., chris a., taylor g., etc...  these employees are working on a project.  they are not shown in a picture, otherwise they would be listed in order of appearance L-R in the picture.  how should their names be placed in the article?

 1 - alphabetical by last name

2 - chronological by tenure

3 - highest ranking first

any one of those is acceptable, correct?  well, what if all three were true about the group?  what if the highest-ranking person was also the one with the longest tenure, chris a?  what if the second-longest-tenured person was the same rank as the the third, and their last names happened to also fall in the tenure and alphabetical pattern?  does that automatically mean that chris is the boss of the project?  it does not say so in the article.  no one is named as "in charge" in the article.

you would list them in the article as sergeant chris a., private taylor g., and private terry m., correct?

of all the childish, panty-twisting, acid-reflux things to be mad about....  and on that note, I AM NOT THE ONE WHO CHANGED THAT.  try talking to me instead of making assumptions that i think i am the "boss" of the whole thing.  i have never said any such thing and i have

never

taken credit for your work... i make sure everyone knows how hard you have worked.  it would be nice to see you return the favor instead of being a douchecanoe.  if i wanted the silent treatment i would talk to my mother, ya dick.

(...she posts on the internet instead of talking to him directly... ahh, the irony.  too pissed to have a conversation tho.)

the cookies i lerve

 

Nancy Olin's Chocolate Chip Cookies

from the Bake Sale Cookbook, 2000

• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1 cup light brown sugar
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 2 large eggs, at room temperature
• 1 generous teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups all-purpose white flour
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 340 degrees. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.

Place the butter and sugars in the bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and mix until smooth and creamy. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, add the eggs and vanilla, mixing well between additions. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, add the flour, baking soda and salt and mix until everything is well incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, add the chocolate chips and mix again.

Drop the cookies by heaping tablespoons 2 inches apart onto the prepared pan. Transfer to the oven and bake until the cookies begin to brown on the edges but are soft in the middle, 10 to 12 minutes. Cool on the cookie sheet for 2 to 3 minutes and then transfer to a wire rack. Let the cookie sheet cool completely between batches and repeat with remaining dough.

dairy-free spinach quiche

yields 6-8 servings depending on how ya slice it


3 C wilted spinach

leftover veggies (mushrooms, onions, peppers...)

6 eggs

3T flour

3/4 C almond milk

1/2 tsp each baking powder, salt, paprika, thyme

pie crust



preheat oven to 350.

i wilt my spinach in butter and then saute the veggies. (you could add cooked sliced sausage or crumbled bacon in this step too.) tonight we have thin-sliced yellow zucchini, minced garlic, and fire-roasted red peppers mixed in with our spinach, and i added 1/4 tsp roasted coriander to see how it turns out.



beat 1 egg until lemon-colored. combine with flour.

add remaining 5 eggs, milk and spices.

fold in spinach & veggies. salt & pepper to taste.

pour into pie crust and bake for 45-50 min.

let it rest for 5-10 minutes before cutting.



noms. we serve with a side of sausages or bacon and muffins.

split hairs

student A has a drink in the classroom. this drink is not part of or provided by BCPS school breakfast program. student A puts the drink on a file cabinet between the teacher's desk and the trash can. this location is not recognizable as "near" student A's desk. an unknown number of other students may or may not have been playing with the drink, picking it up and pretending to drink out of it.

student B sees the drink next to the trash and throws it away. student B claims to not know the owner until after it was in the trash.

student A picks up student B's binder and throws it across the room. student A is sent to the office.

student B is called to the office. student B is given a 2-hour after school detention for touching another student's property by throwing the drink in the trash.

W. T. F.

1. drinks are not allowed in the classroom. student A was breaking the rules. student B should not have touched the drink. student B should apologize and possibly replace the price of the drink.

2. if student A had not thrown a temper tantrum, would student B get a detention anyway? that question is apparently "splitting hairs."

3. will the will the first students to "play with the drink" be given detention for touching student property? how about student A? he touched student B's property when he threw it across the room. the administration "will not discuss other students."

bottom line is, sweetcheeks, my boy isn't serving a detention for throwing trash away. next time, make sure your students are all obeying the rules, and there won't be a drink in the classroom at all. i split hairs for a living.

eastern inn

 

heading out to do some shopping and eat lunch at Eastern Technical High School's Eastern Inn, where my little Bear's menu is being served this week for lunch.  it's her senior project to plan, budget, and direct production of the school restaurant for a week!  sooo proud!  she is serving up roast beef, ham with pineapple, veggie-shepherd's pie, tossed salad, baked potatoes, corn w/peppers, and upside-down cranberry-ginger cake (i *want* this recipe) and eggnog.