Apparently seeking a life of adventure unavailable on the home front, 11-year-old Jacob’s socks decided to stowaway in the backseat of his mother’s car.
Ah, the sites. Ah, the sounds. All found on a weeklong tour of Minnesota. Sock style. Hidden in the backseat door compartment. #IWouldHaveFlownCoach
Fearing the worst, I decided to document the activities of our suspected poltergeist.
Our dining room table at 8AM…
Our dining room table, when I returned at 3PM…
Our suspected furry devil…
PS – I know, I know, those shoes look awfully big for his feet. Perhaps another clue to help solve the mystery.
CRANBERRY OAT BARS
“Time for a little prep work. Time to try out a holiday recipe. Time for a little cranberry action. With the tart taste of cranberries and the crumbly texture of an oat bar, this treat would make a fine addition to any holiday spread. So ho, ho, ho and bake away.”
½ cup Sugar
2 cups Fresh Cranberries
2 Tablespoons Orange Marmalade
2 teaspoons Lemon Zest
2 Tablespoons Water
1½ cups Flour
1 cup Brown Sugar
½ teaspoon Baking Powder
½ teaspoon Salt
1½ cups Quick Cooking Oats
10 Tablespoons Butter
In a sauce pan, combine sugar, cranberries, orange marmalade, lemon zest, and water.
On high heat, stir occasionally, while bringing to a boil.
Reduce heat to medium and cook for an additional 5 minutes, while stirring frequently.
Transfer to a bowl (the contents should now equal about 1 cup) and loosely cover with plastic wrap.
Chill for 2 hours.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Combine flour, brown sugar, baking powder, salt, and oats.
Cut in the butter.
Line the interior of a 9”x9” baking pan with aluminum foil.
Coat the aluminum covered pan with cooking spray.
Press ½ of the oat mixture into the bottom of the pan.
Spread on the chilled cranberry mixture.
Crumble the remaining ½ of the oat mixture and sprinkle on top of the cranberry layer.
Bake for 30 minutes or until the edges and top are light brown.
Cool completely on a wire rack before removing from the pan and cutting into bars.
Makes about 25 bars.
Revised Source: “Cranberry Oat Bars” recipe, as found in “All You” magazine.
The Mission: Liberate Goldilocks from the Oppression of the Three Bears
The Nerf Gun Liberation Squad
The Adversaries (a.k.a. the Three Bears)
The Battle of the Three Bears
Winner: Sadly, two of the three bears survived, althought the Nerf Gun warriors put up a valiant fight. Next time, bears, next time…
I was pretty proud of myself. At work, we heard the announcement regarding a lockdown drill and I knew just what to do. I headed to the secure room, which in this case happens to feature a very comfy couch, and I waited for my co-workers to join me. Since it was late on a Friday afternoon, the office was mostly vacant. There I waited until a colleague showed up and looked as if she needed further direction.
Considering that I had taken on the role of “Safety Dave,” I looked at her and provided guidance. “We need to lock the door, turn off the lights, and stay quiet.” Then it dawned on me, these are not words you should ever speak to a co-worker. Especially in a room with a super comfy couch. Emergency be damned, this drill had created an uncomfortable situation all its own, even though the couch in the “safe room” really is rather comfy.
Tonight’s “Suspect Story of the Night” comes from my 6-year-old son Ben. Walking into the living room, I was startled to see that young Ben had a shiner on his forehead. Asking him how and when he got it (must have been within the last 20 minutes or so), his answer was straightforward, “I don’t know.” Hum…
Now for your “Suspect Story Tour of Assumptions”
First stop, suspect answer (most likely correct assumption).
Second stop, but it could be true. It was after all a head injury (benefit of the doubt assumption).
Third stop, solution. Perhaps the answer will come to you, as you rest on the couch with a bag of frozen mixed vegetables on your head (enough with the assumptions… humiliation as a path to truth #TheOnlyWay).
Well, at least my 8-year-old son Sam’s socks enthusiastically showed up to do homework. That makes one entity existed to learn, two if you count each of the socks. #ItIsaStart #ASomewhatSmellyStart
During 20 plus years in municipal government, this never once crossed my mind. Oh, how it makes sense. Oh, how William and Kate would understand. Why should commoner fast food be intermingled with royalty? No tolerance for that Jimmy John’s “new money.” The time had obviously come for Fast Food Royalty Zoning…
Dairy Queen and Burger King surveying their kingdom.
“Hey, Cookie Dave here. In the time honored tradition of Johnny Carson, tonight I have a guest host and since of course this is a blog, I have a guest post. Now, my guest post is, in her words, a bit ‘interweb shy,’ so for the sake of this post, I’ll call my friend ‘ME.’ No, not ‘me,’ as in Dave, but rather a penname for my friend, ‘ME.’
Just to prove it, here’s a photo of ME.
See, it’s not me, but rather, it’s ME. Hmmm, still anonymous, but you get the point.
So enjoy, while I sit back, take the night off, and devour the remaining ‘Chocolate Chia Balls of Happiness.’ Also, remind me, as in Dave, to do this more often.
PS – Thank you, ME. You are always welcome at www.CookiesbyDave.com, your home away from home in the blogosphere.”
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“Survival Tips, until Brushing Teeth Returns” – A Guest Post by ME
The arrival of our third child was like angels singing. Also like getting hit by a truck.
I won’t lie, I was out of commission for some time after she arrived. I’m still taking each day at a time, but the days are going alright.
As with all new challenges, the learning comes gradually. Here are a few things that are helping me get through:
This is a cookie blog, so this post should have a recipe in it. I considered contributing the following:
That is the only kind of baking recipe I’m currently capable of following. But Dave deserves better. So here’s a recipe I aspire to using. The day I make these may mark a new stage in my ability to parent three, wife one, sleep, get to work on time, and start brushing my teeth again.
CHOCOLATE CHIA BALLS OF HAPPINESS
(my friend Becca makes these, and they make me very happy)
1 cup Medjool Dates
¾ cup Almonds
¾ cup Walnuts or any other nut
2 Tablespoons Chia Seeds
2 Tablespoons Ground Flax Seed
1 Tablespoon Coconut Oil
1 Tablespoon Hemp Protein Powder (optional)
1 Tablespoon Raw Cacao Powder (or just cocoa, for the ordinary Josephines among us)
Start by placing the almonds, walnuts, ground flax seed and chia seeds in your food processor. Blend for 1 minute, until the flour forms and the nuts have crumbled.
Then add the remaining ingredients, pitting the dates before adding those. Blend for another minute until a sticky dough forms.
Use your hands to roll the mixture into little balls, place in a bowl and store in the fridge.
Bite and enjoy! Just try not to eat them all at once!
Makes about 15 to 20 balls, depending on size
Revised Source: DeliciouslyElla.com
Thank you from www.CookiesbyDave.com to my special guest sous chef, Abby Vanderbill.
SPICY PUMPKIN CAKE COOKIES
“Embrace Autumn. Celebrate pumpkin. These pumpkins do both and with style. The cookies are soft and perfectly cakey, plus the frosting adds a delightful touch of Autumn spice. Embrace Autumn. Celebrate pumpkin. Savor one of these seasonal cookie wonders.”
COOKIE INGREDIENTS
1 cup Butter
1 cup Sugar
1 Egg
1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
½ 15 ounce can Pumpkin
2 cups Flour
1 teaspoon Baking Powder
1 teaspoon Baking Soda
½ teaspoon Salt
½ teaspoon Cinnamon
½ teaspoon Nutmeg
¾ cup Mini Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips
FROSTING INGREDIENTS
½ cup Butter
½ cup Brown Sugar
¼ cup Milk
1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
½ teaspoon Cinnamon
½ teaspoon Nutmeg
3 cups Powdered Sugar
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Cream butter and sugar.
Mix in the egg and vanilla extract.
Mix in the ½ can of pumpkin.
Mix in the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg.
Stir in the mini semi-sweet chocolate chips.
Drop by Tablespoon balls of dough onto parchment paper lined baking sheets.
Bake for 12 minutes or until the bottoms have browned.
Let cool on the baking sheets for 5 minutes and then move to racks to completely cool.
Prepare the frosting by creaming the butter and brown sugar.
Mix in the milk, vanilla extract, cinnamon, and nutmeg.
Mix in the powdered sugar.
Use a butter knife and spread about one teaspoon of frosting onto each cooled cookie.
Makes about 52 cookies.
Revised Source: “Melt-in-Your-Mouth Pumpkin Cookies” recipe from cookie scout extraordinaire Caryn Marcus.