Archive for the ‘friends’ Category
What’s Cooking Wednesday: Thumbprint Cookies
Or, “12 Christmas Memories: Part III. ” If you haven’t yet, do check out Part I and II.
6. Cookies!
I simply couldn’t do a series on my Christmas memories without cookies.
My grandmother always made cookies for the holidays, but my mom? She goes crazy. In addition to making them for the family, she’s now started selling trays of homemade cookies and candy–and she’s doing so well that I just may have to go to America to help her next year. Go Mom!
And so, making cookies is definitely one of my fondest Christmas memories. From the time I could walk, I was around the kitchen helping make cookies–although for a while there I didn’t do much other than steal chocolate chips off the table, earning me the nickname “Cookie Monster” from my mom’s friend, her baking partner for many years.
But eventually I worked my way up to working with sprinkles and candied cherries. You know, the Big Time.
My mom made it fun not only for me but also for the friends I was allowed to invite over to help decorate the cut-out cookies–there were far too many stockings and Santas and snowmen and bells and wreaths for just one or two people to decorate.
So at my mom’s house, we’d have decorating slumber parties every year between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Just the other day, in fact, one of my best friends and regular participants in the bake-a-thons left a comment here on the blog longing for the days of such innocent fun.
And I’m so with her on that.
(I’m the one without a blurred face; maybe 12-13 years old here? Not sure.)
And yes, in case you’re wondering, my niece is fully prepared to keep this tradition going. Just the other day my mom said that she’s getting to the age where she can have some friends over to help decorate (she already helps my mom with the cut-outs).
So next year, 9-year-olds at Nana’s!
Before this year, I have never done the Christmas cookie thing by myself–why would I when my mom had it covered? But now that I’ve been here for a few years and have really missed those tastes of home, I decided that this year I’d make some of my mom’s recipes and give out trays to Italian family, friends, and neighbors.
I highly doubt any of them have ever even seen the cookies I made, so it’ll be an interesting experience for all of us.
Yesterday I finished up the last of six types that I made this year, and I’ve already decided that next year I’ll try my hand at even more. My mom had sent me some things like chocolate chips and brown sugar, but since I decided on Operazione Biscotti at the last minute, some cookies just weren’t going to happen this year for lack of the proper ingredients and tools.
But look out Christmas 2008!
I’m not going to share all the recipes with you now, or even the photos just yet, but I will let you in on what has to be one of the easiest and tastiest cookies ever for this week’s What’s Cooking Wednesday. In fact, this is a great one to make with kids because they get to play around in the dough as much as they want and they really can’t ruin it.
“Unless their hands are dirty,” adds my mom.The words of wisdom never end I tell you.
These classics will also be my entry in Food Blogga‘s Eat Christmas Cookies event. Go check out all the great cookies over there–just beware you’ll probably leave hungry.
Thumbprint Cookies*
2 c flour
3/4 c confectioner’s sugar
1 c butter
1 tsp vanilla
Jelly of your choice (I used apricot and strawberry)
1. Combine flour and sugar and then cut in butter until well distributed. Sprinkle with vanilla and mix dough with hands until smooth.
2. Shape into 1 inch balls and place about 1 inch apart on greased cookie sheet.
3. Indent centers with lightly floured finger (or thumb!) and fill with jelly.
4. Bake in preheated 325°F (163°C) oven for 15 minutes or until golden brown.
5. Remove to rack to cool.
Easy peasy and tasty too!
*I should note that the original recipe calls for a cup of chopped nuts–I just don’t like them in this, so I don’t put them in. If you want to, put 1/2 of them in with the flour and sugar in the beginning, and then, after you make the dough into balls, roll them in the remaining nuts. Thanks Christina for reminding me to include this!
Buon appetito!
5 post meme (nothing like a one-trick pony)
I was tagged by new blogging buddy Goofy Andie (that’s the name of her blog, I swear!) to do the following:
I like this meme because it gives me a chance to point out posts that new readers may have missed. I do keep a list of posts that new visitors can read to get to know me better–in my favorites tag above–but here are five more, per the meme:
FAMILY:
This one is from May of this year and talks a bit about my niece and nephew back in the States and all the fun stuff they send me. Check out the label “family” for more family posts.
FRIENDS:
First published in March 2007, this post recounts my first meeting with fellow expat blogger in Calabria, Cherrye of My Bella Vita, and Dawn, who we’re still hoping finds time to write up one of these blog things. We had an awesome time and recreated the magic in August before Cherrye left us to get married in Texas. I know some of you, like me, are missing Cherrye lately, but she’ll be back soon to tell us all about it, I’m sure.
The label “friends” will take you to more friends posts.
Sunday Scribblings: Chronicles
I’ve written many, many posts about me and other than searching the “me me me” label, you can also find a lot of those on my sidebar.
But now I’m going to point you to one that says a little something different about me than any of the memes or lists I’ve done over the past 11 1/2 months. You might have missed this one as it was first published way back in January, less than two months into my blogging adventure. I hope you enjoy it.
YOUR LOVE:
Another May post about how P surprises me every now and again. There are lots of P and love posts under the “love” label.
This last one was hard! I didn’t know which direction I should go in, but I finally decided on a snippet of my fiction writing since it’s a part of me that gets ignored early and often around here.
This May post was my first entry in a fiction writing contest, and I even ended up with a prize; check out other writing related posts under the “writing” label.
Now I’m going to tag 5 bloggers who are all doing NaBloPoMo, some of whom I knew previously and some I’ve just met. Show us what to read please!
Alyndabear
Candid Karina
Gill
Jill Althouse Wood
Miss Eliza
Today I’m thankful for:
Believe it or not, NaBloPoMo. I’ve realized through this experience that it’s not as difficult as I thought to post something every day–except for internet issues (fixed as of now…yeah!). Getting into the habit of writing, taking more photos, being more creative about posts–these are all good things, and I have NaBloPoMo to thank.
But even more than that, I’m so thankful to have met even more wonderful bloggers through the experience. One can never have too many blogging friends, I say.
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[tags]nablopomo, 30 days of thanks, memes[/tags]
stepping up while i sigh
The only time I really lament not having a car around here is on Sundays when there’s no bus service and I have somewhere to go. Like to the internet café in a nearby town to post something on my blog to keep my NaBloPoMo streak alive. Because my internet is still out.
And so I am relying on the kindness of friend and fellow She Who Blogs member Qualcosa di Bello of Piacere, Dog Blog, Write Away, and probably another in the works knowing her. If you want to talk to someone who knows a lot about time management, visit this homeschooling, Italian-class-taking, doggie-and-sometimes hedgehog-caretaking super mom.
Anyway since I get the feeling that she kind of likes to blog, I turned to her to save my NaBloPoMo hide and hit publish at the appropriate time. They say the internet will be fixed within 48 hours of Friday afternoon, but I wasn’t about to risk it.
Grazie Qualcosa!
So now what do I really have to say today? Hmm. How about we stick to a photo that reflects how I’m feeling.
I think that about sums it up.
Today I’m thankful for:
Qualcosa di Bello—the person (not only does she step in when I need her but she also sends me tahini and books!) but also the translation, which is “something beautiful.”
There are lots of beautiful things around me even as I’m typing this at the internet café, not the least of which are some pretty nice espresso beans waiting to be ground. Yum!
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[tags]nablopomo, friends, 30 days of thanks, dogs[/tags]
all hail my camera fairy!
Remember when I told you that something not so good happened to my camera a few months ago?
Soon thereafter a fellow blogger with whom I’ve shared quite a few email exchanges started asking funny questions…”What kind of camera were you thinking of getting?” and the like.
Turns out that my truck-driving, photo-taking, toenail-painting blogging buddy Salena from The Daily Rant had just bought herself a new camera and had the “old” one just sitting on a shelf, hoping and pleading to go to a nice home.
And Salena thought that nice home could be mine. Can you believe it?
I couldn’t either, and yet my new toy arrived yesterday. Via the Italian postal service. And I didn’t even have to pay customs.
To be perfectly clear, the idea of her donating the camera to a good cause (me) came up on September 11. A couple weeks later, Salena mailed it to my mom in Pennsylvania, my mom then mailed it to me, and I was holding it yesterday, October 15…and just in time for my birthday (Thursday) to boot!
This may not mean a lot to those of you who haven’t dealt with Poste Italiane, but trust me–this is nothing short of a flipping shipping miracle. I don’t know what other fairies are on my side other than my Camery Fairy Salena, but I like them. I like them a lot.
And I *love* the camera. LOVE THE CAMERA.
It’s a Canon PowerShot S1 IS, and my Camera Fairy also threw in a special Macro lens (that I have yet to play with) and a 1 GB memory card.
I am so beside myself with glee, appreciation, and excitement, I thought I’d share some of the first photos I took with the new camera.
Here’s a morning shot from my balcony:
This is the opposite side of the village,
taken a few minutes later while on my morning walk with the dogs:
And here is proof that my roses are still blooming:
And finally, on Puppy Watch, Stella growled at me this morning when I went near her box, so I think we’re getting close! Can’t you see the concern in her eyes?
I didn’t do anything to touch up these photos so you’d be able to see what the camera does all on its own. I’ve already discovered that the zoom on this thing is amazing compared to my old camera–all the photos above except for the rose were taken on zoom. Incredible if you saw what my old camera used to do with a zoomed photo!
Now I implore you–go to The Daily Rant, check out Salena’s fabulous photos (doesn’t matter which camera she’s using, obviously, as they’re always wonderful), and read about her fascinating life on the road in an 18-wheeler with her boyfriend Eddie; also be sure to check out Due Amici Designs for gorgeous, unique custom made cards.
Please go show my Camera Fairy some blog love, and thank her again for me.
Grazie mille Salena!
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[tags]digital cameras, dogs, medieval villages, southern italy, calabria[/tags]
i’m a tomato blogger!
Go over to TomatoCasual.com and check out my post, The Tomato: A Relatively New Addition to the Dinner Table, and then click on the home page to see all the posts.
The site was just launched today, so be sure to bookmark it and/or subscribe so you can learn more about the tomato than you ever thought possible–its history, how to grow them, how to cook them, and much, much more.
On a personal note, I’ve spent all day today with some American friends in town (yeah for English!), and we’re having a blast. Just got back from the beach, so it’s time to shower off the sand and head to dinner.
Hope your Monday is/was just as lovely as mine!
Michelle Kaminsky is an American attorney-turned-freelance writer who lived in her family's ancestral village in Calabria, Italy for 15 years. This blog is now archived.
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