Foodie Friday: Chewy, Spicy Molasses Cookies

Main Ingredients

• 1/2 C butter; softened
• 3/4 C sugar
• 1/3 C molasses (I like Wholesome brand ... flavor seems stronger)
• 2 T honey
• 1 egg
• 1 1/3 C white flour
• 1 C barley flour
• 2 t baking soda
• 1 T ginger
• 1 1/2 t cinnamon
• 1/2 t cloves
• 1/2 t cardamon
• 1/2 t salt
• 1/4 pepper

Coating

• 1/8 - 1/4 C brown sugar
• 1/8 - 1/4 C turbinado sugar*

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cream the butter and sugar till light and fluffy; add molasses, honey and egg; beating till smooth. Mix all dry ingredients together and stir in to batter by hand or on low with a mixer.

Combine brown sugar and turbinado sugar in a pie plate. Use a medium size cookie scoop (about 1 T of dough) to scoop dough into balls. Roll balls in the sugar mixture and place about 2 inches apart on a heavy cookie sheet. Bake for 7 - 9 minutes, depending on if you like a chewy or crispy molasses cookie.  Cool for a couple minutes before moving to a wire rack. Yield: 3 -3 1/2 dz.

*We use part turbinado sugar because of it's coarseness ... makes the cookies sparkle a bit. White sugar could be used in place of the brown and turbinado sugars.

Cat Nap Wednesdays

Our poor little Katie. When we went to bed last Thursday night everything was fine. Woke up Friday morning to a very sick kitty. By Friday evening she was in emergency surgery. It turned out to be a large hairball that she could not cough up. We are so grateful that it was something simple to remove. 

 This is a very poor photo but Katie was trying to show everyone her bandage. 

 Napping.

 Katie says "It may look like I am bothering my incision ... but I am not and I will not wear the cone of shame. And, furthermore, I am regaining my strength and if you think you are going to continue to cram those pills down my throat, you have another thing coming!" Yes, she is feeling much better today and acting much more like herself. A word of advice, even if your kitty never throws up hairballs and you brush her daily .... give her hairball medicine anyway. Katie doesn't like the hairball medicine and since she hardly ever threw up a hairball, I thought brushing her everyday was enough. We never knew there was a problem till it was too late. 

Feeling better!

Andy, Katie, and I want to thank everyone at the "Suttons Bay Animal Hospital" for the great care, for working late on a Friday night to care for our baby and for all the follow-up care. Once again, you have come to our rescue! From the bottom of our hearts ... Thank you, Thank you, Purr, Purr!

~Michele

Macro Monday

No puzzle today; just a series of macro insect shots.

Andy

Foodie Friday - Cashew Stir Fry

If you frequent this blog, you know I love Asian food and especially stir fries. Here is a nice one. 
Andy


Main Ingredients

• 10 oz or so of cubed firm tofu, patted dry
• 1/2 c chopped red pepper
• 1 celery stalk, sliced
• 3 chopped carrots
• 1/2 c chopped onion

Sauce

• 3/4 tsp (hot) red pepper flakes
• 3/4 c orange-mango juice
• 3 tbs low-sodium soy sauce/tamari 
• 2 tsp corn starch
• 2/3 c cashews

Your choice of bedding: quinoa, mixed greens, brown rice, etc. 

Mix sauce in 2 cup measuring mug and set aside. 

Stir fry main ingredients on med-hi starting with the firmest and longest cooking item. In this recipe, use this order: carrots, celery, onion and red pepper. When the carrots get about half way done then add the next ingredient and so on. 

Once you add the tofu stir fry it for several minutes. Then, stir the sauce very well and pour over the food in the wok. Let simmer for several minutes, stirring frequently, until it slightly thickens and slightly browns. Remove the wok from the heat and spoon a serving over your bedding of choice: quinoa, mixed greens, brown rice, etc. 

Cat Nap Wednesday

 Yep, Katie is still enjoying her naps in the dining room chairs. 

Silly girl!!

Happy Wednesday!

~Michele

Macro Monday

 Andy has another Monday off from blogging ... so our readers are stuck with me again! This is an easy one ... any guesses yet?

How about now??

Here's another hint.

Okay, this one is a give-a-way! 

Yep! It's sweet Katie!!! (Yes, she did get combed after the pictures ... she needed it!)

Have a great week!

~michele

Alpaca Portraits

Does anyone remember Shari Lewis and her puppet, Lamb Chop? Uncanny Lamb Chop likeness!

Here is a carry over from our last Macro Monday post on alpacas from Crystal Lake Alpaca Farm.We just had too many fun alpaca shots and had to share more!

Andy

Lunch time.

Looking noble.

Makes me think of Monty Python's Gumby character, "My brain hurts!"

Getting sleepy.

A shake of the head!

The end.