Baking Day

Today is baking day or rather make the dough to bake on a later day. One of the local churches is having a variety show on Saturday so many of the women are making cookies to share. I made 3 different kinds, all of which will get their own blog so y'all can have each recipe individually. None are my original recipe, so I will mention where I found each of them. The first one I found on the back of a package of Nestle Toll House dark chocolate and mint chips. I will give my opinion at the end along with any changes I would make in the future.

Mint Chocolate Delights

Makes about 4 dozen cookies

2 cups all-purpose flour

⅔ cup Nestle Toll House Baking Cocoa

1 tsp baking soda

½ tsp salt

1 cup (2 sticks) butter or margarine, softened

⅔ cup granulated sugar

⅔ cup packed brown sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 large eggs

1 ⅔ cup (10-oz package) Nestle Toll House Dark Chocolate and Mint morsels

Preheat oven to 325°.

Combine flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt in a small bowl. Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract in a large mixer bowl until creamy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in morsels. Drop by well rounded tablespoon onto ungreased baking sheets.

Bake for 11 to 13 minutes or until cookies are puffed and centers are set. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes, remove to wire racks to cool completely.

These aren't bad. I was expecting them to spread out while baking, but they retained their shape. I used a combination of butter flavor Crisco and regular vegetable shortening because it is what I had on hand and cheaper than butter. The cookies are nice and moist, but crumble when transferring to a baking rack.

All in all, I would make these again, but would add more chips (morsels).

Trying New Things

 It seems like every single time I try something new, it blows up in my face. Case in point. Tonight I decided to try a new cookie recipe from one of my newer cookbooks that looked and sounded good. I followed the recipe exactly, only substituting preserves for jam because I was unable to find jam. The dough seemed to be right, but when I baked them, the cookies looked and tasted awful.

A few years ago, I attended a happy hour during Pride Month. There were supposed to be drink specials, but when I finally got to the bar, there weren't any and the one drink I did purchase, was in a small plastic cup and cost $14. I also went to try to meet new people, but it seemed that everyone there already knew everyone else thus leaving me in the dust yet again.

A few years before that, I tried meeting new people by joining Meet-up groups for those with similar interests. I tried a photography group and we met in Central Park in the fall. it started out ok, but within a very short span of time, I lost the group and got bored as all of the photographers were taking pictures of the same things over and over and moving on very slowly. I and several others decided to branch out on our own to further explore the park. Mind you that by this time we had lost the rest of the group entirely. We walked around the park and ended back at the 59th Street station where we went our separate ways. When I reviewed the meetup later, I mentioned that we had branched out and did our own tour because we had lost the group and I got kicked out of the group. I was more annoyed than anything, but it still hurt.

Given my disastrous history of trying new things, is it any wonder when I tend to stick to my routine and rarely stray from it? I like routine and patterns and when my routine changes I get anxious and upset.

Have you ever tried something new and it backfired? Let me know in the comments.

Abercromie & Fitch

 I'm watching the Abercrombie & Fitch documentary on Netflix and the ONE thing I remember the most about working in a store next to one was the constant smell of cologne. It was so pervasive that even once the store closed permanently, the entire area still stunk. The other thing that was most noticeable would be the giant photo of a half naked man at the entrance. He would be attractive and white. I didn't really think much about the company as a teenager because I didn't have access to a mall and never really thought about how exclusionary the company was. ALL of their models were attractive and white. You didn't ever see any variety of people. No gays, no blacks, Asians, Hispanics. Just white.

When the company first started in 1892 by David Abercrombie (Ezra Fitch was a frequent customer who bought into the company in 1900), they catered to people like Teddy Roosevelt, Charles Lindbergh, and Ernest Hemingway- rugged, heavy outdoorsmen and carried such items like fishing gear, guns, camping gear. When they moved to a Madison Avenue location, they started to carry sportswear for women. The store filled the entire building and housed a shooting range in the basement, on the mezzanine paraphernalia for lawn games, archery, skiing, and free diving. The second through fifth floors were for clothing for different climates or terrains. On the sixth floor were a picture gallery, a bookstore (focused on sporting themes), a watch repair facility and a golf school (fully equipped with a resident professional). The seventh floor included a gun room with hundreds of shotguns and rifles, decorated with stuffed game heads, as well as a kennel for dogs and cats. The eighth floor contained fishing, camping and boating equipment and included a desk for a fly- and bait casting instructor who gave lessons at the pool which was located on the roof. The fishing section alone was stocked with over 48,000 flies and over 18,000 fishing lures.

(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Abercrombie_%26_Fitch)

It was founded as an upscale sporting goods store that was completely revamped into what it is today by Mike Jeffries after the company was purchased by Limited Brands in 1988. In 1910, they began selling women's clothing, becoming the first store in New York to sell clothing for both women and men in one store (citation needed).

This is very similar to both Orvis and LL Bean as they both focus on the outdoors, camping, fishing, hunting and spending time in the outdoors.

As a teenager in the 1990's growing up in a very rural area where the nearest shopping mall was an hour away, MTV was only accessible to families who could afford satellite (cable wasn't available in my town and still isn't) or those who subscribed to magazines like Seventeen, Tiger Beat, Teen Beat, etc.. What they did was discriminatory and illegal and while they were sued and settled, they never admitted any guilt nor faced any real consequences for their hiring practices.

I think that documentaries like this one (White Hot: The Rise & Fall of Abercrombie & Fitch) are hugely important because they not only show the illegal business practices, but they also show how some of the employees felt about working there and the sexual assault that some faced and the blatant discrimination (hiring employees of other races and then either scheduling them for only night shifts and scut work or not putting them on the schedule at all).

Chapter 7 and finale of Trapper’s Christmas

 Chapter 7 and finale of Trapper’s Christmas

Recap. The two men, Jim and Crazy Joe, have settled in to have a real Christmas feast. The food is cooked and the men are at the table.

After the words were spoken and the two men have settled back into their chairs, they begin to eat their fill, not a word being said, and none needed. The look for contentment on their faces said it all. Even Beau, chewing on the food his master had given him, had a peace about him that came from the men about him as well as from a full bully.
After dinner the men talked a while and listened to the old radio in the corner. They talked of friends long ago gone and of memories old and new. They shared woods stories of old hunts and adventures when they were young men. The afternoon was spent in reflection of those things that we all cherish, those memories that bring a tear to the hear and a smile to your face. Both men had many a laugh at the old times.

As the afternoon waned and the sun got low in the sky, Joe stood and said, “Well my ol’ friend. I best be heading back to my cabin ‘fore it gets dark. I thank ye for the victuals an’ the good company! You an’ the pup their be nigh the closest thing to family that I have an’ it was a holiday I’ll never forget!”
After grabbing their coats and Joe putting on his hat and mittens, the two men step out into the cold night air. They say their goodbyes and even the pup gives a quick tip to send Joe off to the trails. After watching Joe disappear into the darkness beneath the balsams, the old trapper takes a deep, satisfied breath of the cold air and he and his old dog step back in the cabin.
The sound of the wind in the evergreens and grainy Christmas carols from the old radio return as the only sounds to be heard. After stoking the fire to a roaring flame Jim Roberts, once again, sits in his old rocking chair, smoking his pipe and watching the snow flakes collect on the window sill. His old hound laying contentedly in his usual place. A scene of pure peace in its most naked form. Quietly Jim whispers to his companion,"Well old friend, we made a holiday out of it didn’t we?” And with a smile on his weathered face, he fades into a peaceful sleep with home for Christmas playing softly in the air.

The end

Tomorrow I will begin the second story of the trapper and his friends. I hope you have enjoyed these. Please leave a comment telling me what you think.

Chapter 6 of Trapper’s Christmas

 Chapter 6 of Trapper’s Christmas

Recap: the trapper was able to get a nice sized turkey to bring home for Christmas supper. As he was heading home he met up with his old friend “Crazy” Joe and invited him for dinner. They two have just returned to the cabin and the trapper has cleaned the turkey while Joe warmed himself by the fire.

Chapter 6

The trappers skill at cooking on a wood stove was unsurpassed by anyone. Ina short duration the turkey was done to the nines. To add to the feast he made stuffing with bread and some herbs he dried during the summer. In place of baked potatoes was a package of powdered potatoes with lots of butter. There were green beans and squash from his canning shelf and fresh biscuits. On his table he laid a white bed sheet for a table cloth and in the center, a handmade candle, lit as a beacon for the souls traveling the Christmas skies, and those that he misses so. His plates were pewter and his cups were tin. Dented as they were they made a fine setting for woodsmen and dog. As they sat down in the homemade chairs that Jim had skillfully made many years before, Joe said quietly, “As it is Christmas, maybe we should make a sayin’ or something.” “By god Joe, yer right,” Jim said agreeing,” I do believe I’ll say somethin’ to that affect!”

So as the men settled into the comfort of the warm cabin, Jim started to speak in a low but clear voice, “Today is a day of memories and of family. My only family I have left is right here at this table. You, Joe are like a brother to me and Beau there has been the greatest companion a man could ask for. However for memories I have many, good’uns and bad’uns, but they keep me goin’ when I done think I can. Now I have never been a man with many wants but I have to ask for one now. I would ask, perhaps, in the years I have left, that I not lose those memories or those friends I’ve gathered over the years.”

“Amen, my friend, amen,” Joe said with a tear in his eye, “I dare say that their may have been more elaborate speeches spoken on this day, but I don’t think any had as much meanin’ as that’un you just said here!”

Finale of chapter 7 tomorrow!!!

Chapter Five of Trapper’s Christmas

 Chapter Five of Trapper’s Christmas

Recap: The trapper had finished decorating his cabin and realized he needed to go out and get something special for Christmas dinner. He had just come upon a large turkey.

Chapter 5

As the smoke of the old shotgun cleared, and the trapper got to his feet, their lying before him was the turkey. Slowly he walks to the turkey and, kneeling down beside it, puts his hand on the animal and thanks it for its sacrifice so that he and his pup could eat tonight. Gathering his prize and swinging it over his shoulder, the old man begins to head back toward his cabin. “Halloooo! Halloooo Jim Roberts!!” Came a familiar voice. “Is that you Crazy Joe?” Jim asks as he turns toward the voice. “Now you know I hate when you call me that ol’ man!! I ain’t crazy!” Joe says with a frown. “You are when you been drinking!!” Said Jim, chuckling to himself. “That’s quite the turkey you got there Jim! What ya fixin’ ta do with it?” said Joe. “Gonna have a real Christmas feast tonight Joe!! Say why don’t you come along with me and we can surprise the old pup with a visitor an’ you can join us for supper!!” Jim said excitedly. “Woo hoooo Jim I’d be delighted!!!,” Joe exclaimed, “I ain’t ‘et nothing decent in days! I dare say I may starve ta death ‘fore too long!” “Well then it’s settled Joe, you come along with me an’ you, me, and the pup will make a real holiday of it!” Said the old trapper as he started to walk again, with more energy in his step than he had already had with the idea of a real Christmas running through his mind. So the two men walked joyfully back to the cabin, talking of times gone and times to come and it took no time at all before they reached the little cabin. After getting inside to the warmth and an excited greeting with old Beau, both men took off their coats and hung them on the hooks by the stove to dry out. “Well I declare Jim you’ve made this cabin downright homey!! That tree there be nigh on the prettiest tree I’ve ever seen!! said Joe as he looked around. “Well I thank ya Joe! I did see it that way m’self,” said the trapper,” it may not be fine by the city slickers standards but by god it’s fine by mine!” Moments later the trapper tells Joe to make himself comfortable and heads to the trapping shed to take care of cleaning the turkey. In no time at all the trapper enters the cabin once again and shakes the snow from his shoulders, a beautiful fifteen pound turkey in his hand……

Chapter six tomorrow!!! Happy Thanksgiving y’all!

Chapter 4

 Chapter Four of Trapper’s Christmas

Recap: the trapper has just finished decorating his tree and making a wreath of evergreen boughs for the door.

Chapter Four

After standing back and being satisfied with his wreath, the trapper heads in to warm his fingers at the wood stove. As he runs his hands together he suddenly jumps to attention. “Pup! We ain’t got just a thing special to eat fer supper!!! I reckon I should go out and try an’ rustle somethin’ up!” So once again he goes to the hook and grabs his mackinaw, boots, hat and beaver skin mittens and his old shot gun from over the door. He heads out, telling the pup to stay warm by the fire, and steps into his snowshoes that hang in the wall outside the door. As he quietly walks down his old familiar trails, the snow begins to fall lightly. He keeps his eyes moving, looking for a dinner prize that will suffice for their Christmas feasting. As he walks he again thinks of times gone and memories of those he loves who he misses so. A small smile comes to his face and then suddenly, his attention snaps back to the present. Straight ahead, seemingly out of nowhere, a turkey gobbles just over the hill in front of him. Immediately he takes to a knee and raises his old trusted shotgun to his shoulder. The turkey crests the hill in full strut and the trapper knows the time is now. Steadying himself and taking a deep breath he gently squeezed the trigger until the old shogun barks and bellows a cloud of smoke into the air, a timeless progression that has lasted since the dawn of man……..

Chapter 5 tomorrow!!!!