Sunny Sunday

[ksmith]

It really, really is. Sunny. Snow is melting. Temps edging into the 40s. Good ol' Mother Nature, softening us up for the Winter Storm Watch on tap for Monday afternoon and evening.

I'm crossing my fingers that the storm fizzles. The watch had initially extended well into Tuesday, with 6+ inches of snow expected. Now it's been cut back to late Monday, with snowfall of 1-3 inches. Wet, heavy snow unfortunately, which may start as rain. Even though the snow is melting, there aren't many places for the rain to go, which means my basement could puddle again. Damn.

Indoor busy, getting stuff off my plate in prep for March 1st and the start of 70 Days of Sweat and Lots of Wordage Fingers Crossed. Boxed up some stuff that needed shipping, and pulled together paperwork and a letter to the lab that did my bloodwork for my physical and billed me even though my insurance company said the money would be deducted from my HRA and I didn't owe anything. After I finish baking cookies and cleaning up, I'll pull together the stuff for the accountant for pleasepleaseplease mailing tomorrow. I have all the bills and receipts tabulated. Just need to add things up and fill out the handy, dandy questionnaire. I may even do it during the conclusion of Pride & Prejudice tonight, if necessary, though I would prefer to have it done by then.

The Boyz seem to be on a hunger strike. I feed them 2x a day, and the noon meal has gone uneaten. Dry food and joint meds and smashed chicken livers and a little juice from said livers. Crap, apparently. Garbage, unfit for consumption. Well, do I have news for them. Dinner equals lunch, once removed.

As stated above, I baked today. Best oatmeal cookies I've ever had, courtesy of the Trib Food section.

Oatmeal cookies with 'fat' raisins

Preparation time: 40 minutes

Chilling time: 1 hour

Cooking time: 12 minutes per batch

Yield: 48 small or 24 large

Adapted from "Desserts by the Yard," by Sherry Yard.


1 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 3/4 sticks unsalted butter, softened
1 cup each: granulated sugar, packed brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons nutmeg, preferably freshly grated
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 large eggs, room temperature
3 cups rolled oats
1 1/2 cups fat raisins, recipe below


1. Sift together the flour and baking soda; set aside. Cream the butter with an electric mixer on high speed until lemony yellow, about 2 minutes. Add the sugars, nutmeg and cinnamon; continue creaming on high speed until mixture is smooth and lump-free, about 2 minutes.

2. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating on low speed until fully incorporated. With mixer still on low, add the flour mixture until fully incorporated; beat in the oats and raisins until combined.

3. Scoop out half the dough; center it along the bottom of a sheet of parchment paper. Roll it up in the paper, creating a log about 2 inches wide and 1 foot long. Repeat with the remaining dough. Roll up the parchment, twisting the ends; wrap in plastic. Chill dough at least 1 hour. (At this point dough can be refrigerated up to 3 days or frozen up to 1 month; Alternatively, you can drop tablespoons of the dough onto parchment-lined baking sheets and bake immediately.)

4. Place racks in the middle and lower third of the oven; heat oven to 350 degrees. Slice 1/2-inch rounds with a serrated knife; place cookies 2 inches apart on parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake 12 minutes; rotate the baking sheets from top to bottom and front to back. Bake until nicely browned, about 5-8 minutes. Remove parchment from the baking sheets; let cool on wire racks. Store cookies in airtight container up to 3 days at room temperature.

Note: For fat raisins, combine 1 1/2 cups golden raisins, 3/4 cup dry white wine, 3 tablespoons each orange juice and granulated sugar and 1 1/2 tablespoons dark rum in a small, heavy saucepan over medium heat; stirring constantly, heat mixture to a boil. Lower heat to a bare simmer; poach raisins 20 minutes. Remove pan from heat; cover pan. Let cool to room temperature; store in refrigerator in an airtight container up to two weeks.

Nutrition information per serving: 120 calories, 29% of calories from fat, 4 g fat, 2 g saturated fat, 18 mg cholesterol, 20 g carbohydrates, 2 g protein, 32 mg sodium, 1 g fiber

__________

I found this recipe confusing with regards baking times. I put one sheet on the top rack, the other on the bottom, baked for 12 minutes, then switched them and baked for another few minutes or until browned. Darker than golden brown. These are flopsie cookies, and they really spread. When I make them again, I will make them smaller so that when baked they measure no more than three inches across. Otherwise, they crack when I move them.

In closing, checked Amazon numbers today and was treated to a 1-star review for Endgame. Reader couldn't make heads or tails of story, realized it was the end of a series, and railed against the publishers for not putting that info on the cover. He's right--that info is not on the cover. It's on the inside flap.

Someday I'll learn not to read...

First, wash the sinkful of dishes. Then, time for taxes!

Comments

[msagara.livejournal.com]

In closing, checked Amazon numbers today and was treated to a 1-star review for Endgame. Reader couldn't make heads or tails of story, realized it was the end of a series, and railed against the publishers for not putting that info on the cover. He's right--that info is not on the cover. It's on the inside flap

I think it's one of the universal laws of amazon. My book isn't official yet, so although some people do have copies, they can't post anything until March 4th, but I did the usual thing: Opened the just received author's copy to a random page and caught a mistake that I -- and everyone else -- missed in the proofing =/.

[kristine-smith.livejournal.com]

Opened the just received author's copy to a random page and caught a mistake that I -- and everyone else -- missed in the proofing =/.

Yup.

Yup yup yup.