12/22/2010

Mood: 

Better then yesterday, I so did not want to move & was depressed all day. I am cooking today.It always makes me happy to cook.

Life:
I am just waiting for the Christmas. I am cooking, planing & waiting all for this one day. I love it though. Its my fav time of the year. when people remember to be nice to others. I just wish it would last longer then the couple of months that it does.








  Cooking:
Oatmeal Cookies

Ingredients 

	1 cup Margarine or butter softened
	1 cup Brown sugar, firmly packed
	1/2 cup Granulated sugar
	2 Eggs
	1 teaspoon Vanilla
	1 1/2 cups All-purpose flour
	1 teaspoon Baking soda
	1 teaspoon Ground cinnamon
	1/2 teaspoon Salt optional
	3 cups Quaker Oats, uncooked recommend Old Fashioned
	1 cup Sun-Maid(R) Raisins

Heat oven to 350 F. Beat together margarine and sugars until creamy.
Add eggs and vanilla; beat well. Add combined flour; baking soda, cinnamon and salt; mix well. Stir in oats and raisins; mix well. Drop by rounded tablespoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until light golden brown. Cool 1 minute on cookie sheet; remove to wire rack. Cool completely. Store tightly covered.

Varations: Stir in 1 cup chopped nuts. Or, Substitute 1 cup semisweet chocolate pieces or candy coated chocolate pieces for raisins. Today I am using crasins in mine.

I also made Monkey bread. I love this cake. Its so gooey, sweet & sour. 

• 1 1/8 cups Water 
• 1 1/8 cups milk (2 percent, you need the fat content.)  
• 2 tablespoon Honey plus 1/4c for the drizzle
• 2 tablespoon Olive oil 
• 1 teaspoon Salt
• 2 teaspoon Sugar
• 6 cup AP flour 
• 1 tablespoon Yeast (Or one pack)
• 2  teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon nutmeg
•  1 teaspoon clove  
•  1 1/2c packed brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon Lemon zest ( I usually use the whole lemon zest, but I make a double batch of dough.This is already a doubled recipe.)

In a bowel combine milk & water. Microwave the mix for 30-40secs, you want the temp of the mix to be 100-110 degrees. Mix in the sugar, olive oil & the 2tb honey into the milk & water. Stir till you can't hear the sugar on the bottom of the bowel 1-2mins. Mix in the yeast & let stand for 10mins. Meanwhile in the mixer bowel, mix in the flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, clove & the salt. Once your yeast has bloomed. Set your mixer on the first setting & slowly poor in the mixture. Once the flour has been almost mixed all the way in you can turn up the mixer. The dough must be needed for 5mins. It will be really sticky, don't add more then 1-2tb of flour more. Oil a bowel with olive oil & toss the dough in the bowel till coated. Let stand in a warm place for 1hr, (Hey I said it was good not fast.) Once it have doubled in size, oil an angel food pan. Rip small bits of the dough & roll them briefly into rough balls, dropping them into the pan, shack 1-2tb of brown sugar between the first lair. Let the dough stand in a warm place again for another hour. Turn the oven on at 350. Bake for 30mins. Mix the remaining brown sugar with the lemon, the lemon zest & the 1/4c honey. Let the cake stay in the pan for 30mins. after turn it out on a draining rack. Drizzle the lemon sugar on to the cake. Let stand on the draining the rack till the cake has cooled to room temp.  Serve with nuts on top or with dried fruit.