Wednesday, October 14, 2009

baby, its cold outside

Gordy was sure of it. Rachel was on fire.

She had not noticed the temperature dip, evidently. But it was freezing inside, too.

"What are you doing?" She was on to him as soon as he was near the thermostat.

"Turning on the heat." He was pleasant enough about it. He'd cooked supper hadn't he? A nice stir-fry with carrots and broccoli and very lite on the sauce. He'd timed it where she had plenty of time to put her feet up on the couch. He was hoping she was still enthralled with Extra. As it was, Jane and Lucy were huddled together hugging just to keep warm.

"No. No you don't." She shook her head all fussy.

"Babe, the girls are cold." He gave her a glare. He smiled sweetly. "We won't set it too high."

There was a pouring icy rain out. Everything was soggy. The snow might have melted, but it was still cold.

He didn't want to tell her that each night she was getting just a little harder to sleep with. All her tossing and turning. And he couldn't begin to tell her what was on his mind. Everything from something new to drive, so an extra car seat would fit... to the notion this place really was too small for all of them.

"Please?" He winced a bit helpless.

She let out a sigh, and rolled her eyes at him.

Gordy turned on the heat. Naturally, cold air came out the vent. He shut it off and put sweaters on the girls. He scratched the back of his head for a moment, thinking. Maybe he could light the furnace or something. No, best not. Didn't want to set the building on fire. He'd have to call maintenance. He doubted they'd get here tonight.

Rachel just smiled. She picked up the Food Network magazine he'd brought her.

"Hey, here's a cookie recipe right here to ward off the flu. Maybe we could make these tonight." She showed the girls.

Gordy just sighed. He knew when he'd been whipped. She handed over the magazine to him. He supposed he best get to it so they could keep the kitchen warm.
***************************
Flu Fighter cookies

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour (295 grams)
1 1/4 tsp. baking powder
3/4 tsp. baking soda
3/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg
Pinch of ground cloves
1/4 tsp. salt (I used ½)
4 oz unsalted butter
1 cup packed dark brown sugar (220 grams)
2 large eggs
1/4 cup molasses
1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger
2 tsp. finely grated lemon zest (about 1 lemon)
1/4 cup sour cream or low fat Greek yogurt
1/2 cup old-fashioned oats
1 1/4 raisins (golden or regular)
1 1/4 cups dried cranberries
1 1/4 cups roughly chopped walnuts, toasted

Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and salt in a bowl and stir well; set aside.

Cream the butter and brown sugar in a large bowl until light and fluffy, 3 minutes. Beat in the eggs one at a time. Beat in the molasses ginger and lemon zest, scraping sides of bowl, then fold in the sour cream.

By hand or with lowest speed of mixer, stir in the flour mixture.

Fold in oats and half of the raisins, cranberries and walnuts. Mix the remaining dried fruit and nuts in a small bowl and set aside.

Drop heaping tablespoons of batter onto the prepared baking sheets.
Top each with some of the reserved dried-fruit-and-nut mixture and
chill for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, preheat oven to 375. Bake the cookies until dark golden but still soft, 10-12 minutes; cool on a rack. Store in an airtight container for up to 1 week.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Oh boy I must've missed a lot I'm guessing. An odd question...is that a real recipe? Story stil good as ever.

Anonymous said...

Oh boy I must've missed a lot I'm guessing. An odd question...is that a real recipe? Story stil good as ever.

cait said...

in the oct. issue of the food network magazine.

diane said...

Ingredients that boost the immune system:
ginger, cinn., cloves, cranberries, walnuts, & (surprise surprise) molasses.
Heating the kitchen while baking cookies:
priceless.

My new post is a response to your question in my last post. : )

the oaks said...

rachel is the queen of things. The cookies sound great!

Anonymous said...

Ahhs, I've finally posted, sorry its so confusing. Anyways, I hope you know I read your blog about everyday, just dont comment. If you want me to comment say so.

Jared said...

Sorry again thats from me, the anonymous one.