Chocolate Chip cookies

When summer winds down, I am always ready for cooler days and fall baking. Although the days aren't really cool yet, I am wanting to get back in the kitchen. (I'm already thinking of Christmas baking and decorating!)

Today I made some chocolate chip cookies from the cookbook book called "101 Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookies" by Gwen Steege. The first part of the book is filled with tips on baking the type of cookie you prefer; soft, chewy, cakey, thin, crispy. Whatever you like; it's all there and quite helpful. The rest of the book covers basic to quite different twists on the good 'old Chocolate Chip Cookie. Here's the recipe I tried today:

Beverly's Chocolate Chip Cookies

3 C flour

1 t baking soda

1/2 t salt

1 C butter, softened

1 C brown sugar (I used dark)

1/2 C white sugar

2 t vanilla

2 eggs

1 1/2 C chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350. Sift together the flour, baking soda and salt; set aside. In a large mixing bowl cream the butter, vanilla and sugars until light. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Slowly add sifted mixture and mix until combined. Fold in chocolate chips. Drop by heaping teaspoonfuls onto greased baking sheet. Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until lightly browned for a chewy cookie or darker for a crisp cookie. Let stand for 1 minute before removing to a cooling rack.

Yield: 6 - 7 dozen

~Andy and Michele

PS: We had hoped to share shots of Friday night music, a "Pancake Breakfast Fly-In" at our local small airport, and a Pow-Wow. BUT, the weather and a couple of urgent issues got in the way of each of these events. It happens!   ;->   Andy

Peach season

The produce stand down the road provides us with the very best peaches! I've been making a peach smoothie every afternoon.

Peach Smoothie

1 peeled and sliced peach

1 C plain low fat yogurt

1/4 C almond milk or water

1 - 2 t honey

a couple dashes of cinnamon

Blend and enjoy!

~Michele

Pesto

With saffron brown basmati  rice.

I'm addicted. Really. I've had pesto in the past many times and liked it. But then, I made it fresh this summer for the first time. I used fresh ingredients. I used those of my own choosing. I was creative. I've made it MANY times since!


At our recent dinner picnic we had a salad with it spread over the top. It consisted of sliced heirloom tomatoes and a layer of pesto topped with sliced radishes and avocado. We ate it with some stone ground crackers, sage derby cheese (home-made by a good friend of ours!), some Raclette cheese, and, of course, Riesling.


I learned from my brother David to add a slice of lemon to a chilled white wine in the summer. Twist it in first and then enjoy how refreshing it is. He's right and it's great on a beach on a hot day!


I like traditional recipes, but love to modify too. This pesto has the following:

1. a good bunch of basil (maybe a cup of loosely packed leaves).
2. a good bunch of cilantro (yes, cilantro!). About a dense cup.
3. half cup of walnuts.
4. juice from a quarter lemon or so.
5. Tbsp of white balsamic, lemon infused.
6. 2 Tbsp of olive oil or so (I used Tuscan Herb infused).
7. 1/4 Tsp salt (French Gray Sea Salt).
8. And, the real secret to me . . . 4 garlic scapes, cut in half inch pieces.

Throw it all in a food processor. YUMMY!!
Andy


Oh, almost forgot . . . for my lunch the next day . . . with radishes, beets, and shredded roast beef . . .

Beach Dinner Picnics

Can you beat 'em? Obviously, we love 'em and you got to take advantage of them in our area. Friday night we went to one of our favorite spots--music in the marina park in Northport. Always a great venue and time; see our previous posts on this.

You gotta click this one (to enlarge it) to appreciate the boat!

And then last night, we had another dinner picnic at Christmas Cove Beach. You can always find Petoskey stones there and Michele, an ole pro stone collector, found several. There are lots of beautiful other stones to find and we came back with a nice bag full.

As you can tell by the pix, the sunset is a big draw. As the day progressed there was hardly a cloud in the sky which typically leads to really nice, but less dramatic sunsets--to me. Luckily, as the "round ball of golden butter" dropped lower (as Michele put it--knowing I LOVE real butter), a set of distant layered clouds became apparent which made the colors, textures, and patterns quite striking. A quarter moon followed not too far behind!

(According to WolframAlpha: the moon was a waxing crescent or waning gibbous, 22.65% illuminated, distance from earth of 228,390 miles. If you haven't tried WolframAlpha--do so--it's AMAZING! Read more here: examples.)


As an afterthought, we threw in a really bad picture of us . . . the ones behind Kensho Studio. Yes, this is after we've been in the hot, humid sun all afternoon. Yes, after we took a wonderful dip in Lake Michigan. Yes, after our hair is windswept and grimy. C'est la vie and I'm OK with it!  ;->


Andy

Art Fair II

A couple more pictures from the Suttons Bay Art Fair. I really like this years poster/tee shirt (above) design. Each year a contest is held for the artwork that will be featured on the poster. This year's winner was Kaye Krapohl.

Andy treated me to this bracelet, which was crocheted by artist Suzanne Lubeck. Her colors and designs are amazing! (I have tried crocheting with seed beads, it's hard!) You can also find her jewelry locally at the "The Painted Bird."

~Michele

Suttons Bay Art Fair

Can you beat an organic pancake breakfast on the beach? We thought it delicious and a great way to appreciate our town's Art Fair. We shopped Saturday for several hours, ate our lunch, and had breakfast Sunday followed by several more hours of shopping. It's a nice opportunity also to catch up with friends; we saw lots. 


Below is a shot of Michele (left) and her Junior High Art Teacher, Jean Stoick. Jean left teaching many years ago and joined her husband, Carl Sams, full-time in artistic wildlife photography and publishing. Check out their amazing talent here.

This is not a "craft" fair, but a true, excellent art fair and a real treat for us to experience every year. If you can, stop in Suttons Bay the first weekend in August to see for yourself. Great town, great food, great art.
Andy

In-Camera vs. Post-Processing

Ever since Michele and I started this blog, I've been waiting to make a post like this. 


A friend of mine has become very creative in a really cool, experimental way in his retirement. He loves photography, but loves even more modifying the pictures AFTER they have been taken. He does this, of course, on his computer in what is generally known as "post-processing" or after the original picture has been taken "in-camera." Here is a fun example.


My original shot is above. He, his son, a young friend, and me did a garden shoot together recently. His son is an amazingly talented gardener (like Gardeningbren and Sue!) and has what must be thousands of blooms to shoot in and around his gorgeously landscaped yard. I took several hundred shots within an hour and burnt a CD for my friend. 


Below is my friend's "magic" on the file above. Albeit different, but really cool, very beautiful. Here's to you and your creative expression, Jim, and thanks for being such a great role model in both art . . . and life.

Andy