Is Santa real?

As far as Mads is concerned, yes, because she’s seen him around town. We’ve been downplaying it, so he’s semi-real. All she understands is that he brings presents to kids (in our case, Santa sent them ahead of time and the UPS guy brought them to us to wrap, but if she’s bad, Santa will come take the presents away and give them to someone else) and that come Christmas morning she’s going to open all the presents, including her brother’s “because he’s little and he needs help.” I’m not sure what she would think if she saw the Santas from the Salvation Army on every street corner in NYC. Although Mads will probably figure out on her own in a couple of years that Santa’s not truly real, for now it’s fun to see her get excited about sprinkling “reindeer food” on the lawn and leaving a cookie and water (our Santa’s lactose intolerant). Merry Christmas, everyone!

Recipe: Ginger Cookies

These came out REALLY good. I don’t remember where I picked up the recipe card, but it’ll be published in the SoNo Baking Company Cookbook. I experimented with some cutters, but they didn’t pan out. I also tried flattening some out with a glass before baking them, but those ended up being too crispy. The best was just making walnut-sized balls to bake.

What I used:

• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 2 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp coarse salt
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp ground cloves
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 1 cup sugar and 3/4 cup sugar to coat cookies
• 3.4 cup (1.5 sticks) unsalted butter at room temp
• 1 large egg at room temp
• 1/4 cup unsulfured molasses

How I Made Them:

1. Combine flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, cloves, and ginger. Set aside.
2. Beat sugar and butter. (Use medium speed if using electric mixer with a paddle.)
3. Add egg and molasses until combined. (Continue to use medium speed with mixer.)
4. Gradually add flour mixture and beat until well mixed. (Use low speed with mixer.)
5. Transfer dough to clean bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least an hour (up to 24 hours).
6. Set oven rack in middle position. Preheat oven to 350F.Place sugar for rolling on a plate.
7. Scoop out dough (use rounded tablespoon) and roll into balls between your hands. Roll the balls in sugar to coat.
8. Place prepared balls 2 inches apart on cookie sheet lined with parchment paper or non-stick silicone baking mats.
9. Bake for 10 minutes (original recipe recommended 15-20 minutes).
10. Transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool.

Additional comments: I was worried with the first batch when I watched them bake. The centers bulged. In the end, though, you get cracks on the surfaces (like the ones from the bakery) and they are sure soft and tasty!

Recipe: Choc-Oat-Craisin Cookies

My daughter wanted chocolate chip cookies, but I wanted oatmeal-craisin cookies. I compromised with Nestle’s choc-oat-raisin recipe on the bag using leftover white chocolate chips, a cup of regular chocolate chips, and 2 handfuls of Craisins. The result? Sinfully “healthy” oat-choc-craisin cookies. I wish they were softer, but no one else has expressed this.

The Joy of Passing an Exam

My heart was pounding after I decided to call the Commission of Pharmacy. It’s been 3 weeks since I took the exam. Last time I got a letter in less than 2 weeks, but noticed the date was just 2 days after I took the exam. I figured I either failed and they’re taking their time, or I might have actually passed. I couldn’t not know anymore. I heard my voice shake when I replied with my own, “good afternoon.” I started explaining that I took my exam on 11/24 and was wondering if I missed any mail from them. The woman said, right away, “Catherine? You passed. Didn’t you get something from us?…sent out December 2nd…” I stopped holding my breath. I kept my calm, but holy smokes! Later I found out that I only passed by 4 points after buying a book and studying a little more than the first time. It’s ok, the important thing is: I. Passed. I’m still not over the moment when she said my name because I never told her that piece. Hmmm…

Our Gingerbread House

Our friends invited Mads to a gingerbread house decorating workshop at a candy store, Sweet Rexie’s, for her birthday. I’ve never actually done that myself, but thought that was a great idea. We arrived first, but I got a look from the salesgirl when I walked in with Mads and WZR, who was in a stroller. There was no warm greeting by any of the staff. In fact, I was pretty much ignored. Ok, am I supposed to know where to go for this shindig? I’ve never stepped foot into the store. There were also 2 doors visible so naturally I thought it might be in one of the rooms. Finally I asked where we were supposed to go for the workshop. A different girl smiled and told me to follow her. She led us to the back of the store where there was a table with 2 families already decorating houses. This cramped space was also not very inviting. When our friends finally arrived, we got to work. While help was offered, I think there should have been better instructions, like to stick the candy onto the house, apply the icing glue onto the candy, stick it on, and then let go. She did say, the less icing you use the faster it’ll dry. Anyway, I also felt like we had to fight for the candy. We had to share bowls of candy with others, so we ran out of things pretty quickly and we had to pretty much beg for more. Mind you, they boasted about “lots and lots of candy from the giant candy wall.” Ideally, we’d be able to walk around with our own bowls and select our own candy. Again, it was emphasized that we had to share the meagerly-filled bowls of candy that they suggested. I shamelessly requested candy that I saw on the other girls’ houses. Frankly, unless they move some of the displays around, I don’t see how they can host birthday parties in this new location. The old one seemed more spacious from the pictures. In any event, we finished and shopped for candy. Yes, they have a large selection, but it goes by the pound, $9.99 a pound. Jellybeans and sour candies that I like are not worth this much money. I found them at Fresh Market’s display for $4.99 a pound. Huge difference, especially when it’s very easy to fill a poundful of candy when your eyes are entertained by all the bright colors. I will give the store lots of credit for their baskets and other gift ideas, but it is not a place one would be able to frequent routinely. It’s a neat little place to visit, but you can easily drain your savings if you’re not careful. Don’t get me wrong, I think the candy store is an asset, but I just didn’t have the ideal experience.

Westport Pizzeria

Not the BEST I’ve ever had, but good enough to serve adults and children for Mads’ 4th birthday party. Even my husband ok’ed it. So I called (gasp!) and asked (double gasp!) if they would offer a discount if I gave them a large order. I ordered 10 pies and a platter of baked ziti; the guy gave me about a 10% discount. How cool is that? And although he wasn’t sure if they took Discover (I knew they did because I used the card the night before), the man who took my order said if they don’t I can write him a check or pay him next time I go in. Wow! I like local businesses! Don’t be fooled by the crampiness when you walk into the restaurant because all the chairs seem to be occupied all the time. Also, during the summer, we saw a lot of their boxes at the Levitt Pavilion.

Book Talk: The Housekeeper and the Professor

I’m not a math buff, but the numbers and equations were fascinating. So were the nameless characters; none of the characters had names. Of course, these are good discussion points for book clubs. I actually stumbled upon this book because it was on sale at the check-out counter of the Westport Library. Translated from the original Japanese version, this is a beautiful story about relationships between the housekeeper and the professor, the housekeeper and her son, her son and the professor, the professor and his sister-in-law, and the sister-in-law and the housekeeper. The most fascinating thing is that the professor only has 80 minutes of memory at a time, so he keeps a lot of notes attached to his clothes to remind him of pertinent facts. Sounds like Memento, right? And I’m not a big fan of the game of baseball, but the book touches on that theme, too. All in all, I thought it was an EXCELLENT book. I would give it 4 stars. Go get it now!

Clashing Celebrations – Christmas Spirit and Jewish Traditions

We started the morning with the WWL’s Children’s Holiday Breakfast, but we were off to a bad start. It took us 30 minutes to figure out that we had to park in the back of the Middle School and enter into the cafeteria that way. We went up and down School Road because the front of the school (except for the entrance to the pool) was closed. There was no signage indicating that the event was happening. Anyway, we didn’t take a picture with Santa, but we did get a picture of Mads with Mrs. Claus. WZR did not like the looks of Santa; Mrs. Claus got skeptical looks from him.

Mads even hip hopped with the Abominable Snowman after eating her hearty pancake breakfast.

After that we went to a Jewish wedding, where there was a lot of eating and dancing! It was interesting in that the men and women were separated during the ceremony and also during the reception. There was a divider in the middle of the room so the men had their celebration and the women had theirs. The bride and groom got together a couple of times, but most of the evening they spent it apart. The bride was absolutely beautiful (LOVED her dress). Poor Mads wanted to dance with her, but her mother was too shy to get involved in traditional dancing. At least she got a private moment with the princess and posed for a pic.

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Recipe: Pumpkin Pound Cake

I had a cup of pureed pumpkin left in the fridge and I made a pumpkin pound cake. Ok, it was supposed to be pumpkin chocolate chip pound cake, but I forgot to put the chocolate chips in. Recipe coming soon.

Mike’s Pizza

I have a problem with dry food – I don’t like it. Pizza is no different; I like it with a lot of sauce. The plain pie I ordered was greasy (I used a lot of paper towels to dab at the cheese). The clam pie I ordered was not what I expected; it was mistaken for a plain pie with clam topping vs. white pizza with clam topping (this is the exception to my lots of sauce pizza rule). Anyway, I should have known I wouldn’t be happy with it the minute I placed the boxes on the passenger seat. The smell was of grease. Ok, the first slice was ok, but subsequent slices were not satisfying. The clam pizza tasted just like the plain. As my  husband put it, “it has no taste.” Of course, Mads and WZR ate it just the same. Thus, Mike’s Pizza in Westport would be fine for kids’ parties, but not for the snobby pizza lovers that we are.