Saturday, April 24, 2010

Island Pineapple Macadamia Nut Cookies

These cookies were inspired by our Maui vacation. I don't take home souvenirs the typical way--I bring home tastes and flavors and food memories. These cookies will send you straight to the Islands in no time flat. Enjoy!

3 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup loosely packed sweetened coconut flakes
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup (packed) golden brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 cup crushed pineapple, well drained
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 10 oz package cups white chocolate chips
1 cup med-fine chopped roasted salted macadamia nuts (about 4 1/2 ounces)

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 2 large rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper. Sift first 4 ingredients into medium bowl. Using electric mixer, beat butter in large bowl until fluffy. Add both sugars and beat until blended. Beat in eggs, 1 at a time, then crushed pineapple and vanilla. Add dry ingredients and beat just until blended. Using spatula, stir in white chocolate chips and nuts.

For large cookies, drop dough by heaping tablespoonfuls onto prepared sheets, spacing 21/2 inches apart. For small cookies, drop dough by level tablespoonfuls onto sheets, spacing 11/2 inches apart.

Bake cookies until just golden, about 18 minutes for large cookies and about 15 minutes for small cookies. Cool on sheets. Do ahead Can be made ahead. Store airtight at room temperature up to 2 days or freeze up to 2 weeks.

Saturday, January 23, 2010

December...

..had more going on than ever before. And this new year looks likes more of the same.

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Advil

Tonight I am grateful for modern medicine and all the comfort it gives us. As crunchy as I can get when it comes to food and eating naturally, I don't eschew medicine. I try to use it as sparingly as I can but man. Sometimes you gotta hit the Advil and then the couch. Which is where I am going next.

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Stuff

Today I am grateful for stuff. Even though I rail against having to clean, sort, store all this *stuff* I am blessed to have such a problem. It's a self made problem. My girls don't need all the toys we are able to give them. I am lucky I can indulge whims--both theirs and mine. I don't need all the kitchen gadgets and cook ware and serving platters and such that I cram into my cupboards. Surely I don't need to keep five different types of sugar and at least four flours on hand at all times, but it makes me happy to have a well-stocked larder.

There are bigger things. We are lucky to have a dishwasher. A washer and dryer. A television and stereo system and all the goods that come with that including a closet full of movies and albums by our favorite artists. A sewing machine. Computers. Books. Tools and crafty items. Art supplies. The little things that make life fun and a house an entertaining place to be.

We have a house. No mean feat in the South Bay where just last year only 18% of the population could afford the median home prices. And within this home we manage to fit all this stuff.

In my cleaning and organizing and dusting and washing and stepping on things and finding pockets of clutter that make me crazy moments I need to remember to step back and be grateful because I am able to have this stuff. This fluff. This cherry on top kind of life. And not everyone does.

Sunday, November 8, 2009

Pie

Tonight, gratitude in pictorial form. This is how I was able to spend my afternoon while John was running errands and the girls were sleeping. Baking centers my soul. And for this, I am grateful.

Sliced and Spiced--waiting to be arranged in the crust


Mile High Apples--the recipe called for 3 1/4 pounds of sliced apples


Cinnamon Crumb Topping--I really wanted that Dutch apple complexity for these lovely apples


Out of the Oven--golden brown and smelling so fall like. *swoon*


Slice and Serve--the crumb topping cracked like creme brulee but the pie held together in perfect slabs of happiness



The apples were the ones we picked earlier this week from the tree in the backyard. They turned into pie as wonderfully as I could have hoped for. I'm so excited for next years crop.

Saturday, November 7, 2009

Amazon.com

Tonight, as silly as it might seem, I am grateful for Amazon.com.

Yes, Internet shopping.

I am a recent convert. I really like brick and mortar shopping. I like interacting with people...I am in love with small family run toy stores and shop at those places when I can. I love touching objects and getting new ideas from looking at the selections. And there is something to be said about getting a feel for the quality of an item before you purchase it. So Internet shopping was not really my thing.

It started with Half.com. CD's. Movies. Text books. Easy things. Then I discovered Amazon. It was a flirtation at first. The I had Maia and shopping became a touch more...complex. And when I had two tiny infants for the Christmas season last year Amazon became a life saver.

This year, I am really trying to get a jump on my Christmas game. I have more folks to shop for (yay babies!!) and less time to get stuff together because we are spending Christmas with our out of state family, which means we need to ship presents. That double stroller takes up a whole bunch of trunk space!

Enter Amazon. I actually have a paper list running and tomorrow I think I might start an actual Amazon list. I "accidentally" signed up for Amazon Prime (the yearly subscription that gets you free two-day shipping). I hope to have shopping done by Thanksgiving...barring those few last minute items that always come up. But with two-day shipping I'll probably just Amazon those as well. The plus is no cranky kids in stores, no wandering around the mall and no subterfuge trying to disuade those same small children from believing those presents are for them. And no, you can't play with that toy for your "cousin".

So thank you Amazon.com for making what is a stressful time (shopping) a plesent time (unless you don't have what I need!!). I think I might go see what you have to offer right about now.

Friday, November 6, 2009

Getting Out

Today I left the house. As we do almost every day. And for this I am grateful. As much as I love my home (and I do love home, I am a homebody in my heart of hearts) I love it more when we're coming back to it and not staying there all day--day after day.