Cookie Jar: Crunchy Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

I'm here.  I made it.

Prom #1:  Glad it's over.

Prom #2:  Glad it's over.

Takenoko Sushi:  When is the next time?

Prom #1 was a headache and a half.  For many of the students, this was their first formal dance, and since a dinner was provided, it became apparent early on that not all high school juniors have a grasp on proper table manners.  Last weekend, my cousin asked me, "do they know how to dine?".  Now I can officially answer her, "NO".  They have a year to prepare themselves for the senior prom, and if they plan to have prime rib, then the learning curve will be steep.

My main objective was to keep the students safe and contained within the facility.  I'm always amazed at how students look forward to these things, yet the moment they arrive, they want to "go".  And while they are in line, they can't wait to get in, but before the event is over, they are lining up by the door, ready to go.  Amazing.  I'm thankful that everyone who went to the venue also left safely.  We lost nobody along the way.

Prom #2 was D1's last high school prom (as a host).  Bittersweet.  I'm not sure what time she and her friends (2 spent the night) rolled in.  According to The Help, they went for a swim at 3 am.  The water must've been freezing!

We celebrated Uncle Edz' belated birthday at Takenoko Sushi.  The food was delicious.  Upon the advice of a coworker,  Uncle Edz ordered the lobster miso soup.  There was half a lobster floating in the bowl.  Talk about decadent.  The Hamakua mushroom appetizer was also good.  Uncle Edz went the no-fail omakase route, substituting something else for the uni.  I had one of the mini bowls and the baked avocado/crab/scallop.  That was tasty, but its probably not something I'd order again.  You really need to like avocado!  I'm not sure when I'll be lucky enough to get back to Takenoko Sushi again.  What blew my mind was that there was a high school couple sitting next to us at the sushi bar.  They kept ordering things, and I'm sure their bill wasn't much less than mine.  How do these kids do it?

This is the start of another busy week.  A two-day workshop means I'm out of the classroom for two days.  I don't mind learning things at these workshops, but I don't like making substitute plans.  What a pain!  And this workshop requires traveling.  I am so not looking forward to getting up early to catch a plane, only to arrive at the workshop ready to nap.  I thought my days of these early morning flights were behind me.  I'm getting too old for this!

In preparation for the boring workshop ahead of me, I spent a few hours yesterday in the kitchen.  I baked a batch of these cookies.  I will sneak them in to the workshop so I will have something to do. . .eat instead of sleep.

click on recipe title for printable recipe

Crunchy Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

     1/2 c butter, softened
     1 c sugar
     1 egg
     3/4 c flour
     1/2 tsp baking soda
     1/2 tsp salt
     1 c quick oats
     6 oz (about 1 cup) semi-sweet chocolate chips
     1/2 c pecans, chopped

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy.  Beat in egg.  Stir together flour, baking soda, and salt.  Add to creamed mixture.  Stir in oats, chocolate and nuts until just combined.  Using a #60 disher (about 2 teaspoons), drop onto parchment-lined baking sheet.  Bake for 11 minutes.  Allow to remain on baking sheet for 3 minutes after removing from oven.  Remove to wire rack to cool completely.

love the hand face

D1's last prom (as the host). . .it's been fun. . .the seemingly endless stream of girls coming over to test makeup and hair. . .the seemingly endless stream of girls coming over to get ready for the big night. . .cars all over the driveway. . .bags and bags of chips. . .the aroma of hairspray (I think the hairs in my nose were stiff from all the particulate matter in the air). . .

This year, several of the girls were picked up by their dates at my home.  It was a treat to see them all dressed up.  The plan was for us to get a few shots of them outside, then they planned to head down to the park to take pics with another group of friends.  Unfortunately, the weather wasn't cooperative anywhere in Hilo, and a frantic D1 asked if The Help could set up a backdrop and lights in the living room.  Talk about rush job!  The Help and I set up everything in record time, and within an hour, The Help was snapping away.  I will definitely miss these moments (the squeeze-ass-assemble-photographic-equipment-quickly-moments notwithstanding).

I PROMise I won't cry

Cookie Jar: Potato Chip Cookies

Another hellish week in the books!  The week began with an observation by our district office.  We were assured the observations were not evaluative, however, I'm certain the data collected will be used to bite someone in the ass.  Never trust a person from the district office. . .lol.  I know some of you district office people are reading this and laughing!

Actually, the two groups of guests who visited me were really nice.  Perhaps they reamed me in the initial debrief, but they were nice and polite.  That was the overall sentiment echoed by many coworkers.  The last group of intruders were rude to some teachers.  Of course, some teachers weren't around to experience the rudeness, while some of us had polite people the first time too.  We'll see how the department debrief goes tomorrow.  Unfortunately, I won't be there.

In retrospect, the observations were the worst part of the week, but when you couple being "on stage" with trying to catch up from being out so much during the previous two weeks, it seems like even treading water is barely manageable.

I could not help being out of the classroom.  I had a workshop on Oahu that had been scheduled for some time.  My aunt passed away just before that, and services were held on Oahu.  Then I was out for a day to attend a pretty worthless workshop.  That workshop was in town, but it still kept me away from my students.  I hope I'm done traveling for a while.  I need time to plan for the 4th quarter, get my classroom up to speed, and get my house up to speed.

Unlike me, several others here will be traveling soon.  The Help will be heading to Oahu next week to celebrate his mom's birthday.  D1 will also be hitting the road, er, skies.  She is headed to SoCal for some kind of convention.  It will just be D2 and I holding down the fort.  Yippeeeee!  I guess that means cookies and pistachio nuts (another guilty pleasure) for dinner!

 I often talk smack about D2, saying she is a picky eater and difficult to feed.  That's true, no doubt.  But D2 and I are kindred spirits when it comes to snacking.  We love cookies, chips, salty nuts, cake, li hing mui, arare. . .anything without mustard or wasabi.

D2 and I find it impossible to walk past a cookie jar without dipping into it at each pass.  We both like crunchy cookies.  D1 can easily stay away from a cookie jar (as long as it's not filled with chocolate chip cookes).  D1 will eat soft cookies, warm from the oven.  D2 and I NEED the cookies to be crunchy.

One of our favorite cookies is potato chip cookies.  Potato chip cookies are easy to make and it gives us a good excuse for not eating all the way down to the bottom of a bag of potato chips.  None of us (even D1) like eating the potato chip crumbs, so potato chip cookies are a good way to use those small bits.  And D2 is okay with nuts, as long as they are chopped fine.  I prefer to use pecans or macadamia nuts in my baking; I never use walnuts.  I find walnuts to be slightly bitter, and I don't like them.  I can get into the rich, buttery quality of macadamia nuts or the toasty, warm taste of pecans.  I can't get into bitter.

In preparation for those cookies & nuts dinners, I made some potato chip cookies this weekend.  There is a chance they may be gone before the week is over, but that won't be a problem.  We are also "working" on another Costco-sized bag of potato chips (we buy the Kettle Chips).  By the end of the week, we should have more potato chip crumbs to use for cookies!

click on recipe title for printable recipe

Potato Chip Cookies

     1 c butter, softened

     1/2 c sugar (plus additional sugar for dipping)

     1 tsp vanilla

     2 c flour

     2/3 c potato chips, crushed

     1/2 c nuts, chopped fine

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Lightly grease cookie sheets or line with parchment.  Cream butter and sugar til light and fluffy.  Add vanilla.  Add flour, crushed chips, and nuts.  Stir until evenly combined.  Using a #60 disher (2 tsp), drop dough 2" apart onto prepared sheets.  Using a flat-bottomed glass dipped in sugar, flatten each dough ball until 1/4" thick.  Bake for 12 minutes.  Leave on cookie sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Blond Brownies

Welcome to the first official day of spring break for public schools in Hawaii!  Yay!  Double yay!!  I really needed the break, and I am NOT going in to the office.  I am not going in to the office.  I am not going in to the office.  I need to keep repeating that so it sinks in.

The office needs to find another person to dump on.  I'm not dumb enough to get caught doing all the work, especially on my vacation.  The boss needs to get his shit together.  

Mr. Dependable was supposed to take the Ds on a trip, but he decided to postpone the trip and wait for good prices.  Uh, yeah, when will that happen when kids are on vacation?  Nearly fifty years on this earth and he hasn't figured that one out yet.

During the last break, D2 invited a friend over for a baking session.  They wanted to bake with bacon.  They made chocolate bacon cookies.  Turned out pretty good, at least the first few.  After about a half-dozen, the bacon flavor got really old.  I never thought I'd feel like that.  So far, D2 hasn't extended a baking sesh invite to anyone, but she did ask me if KN could spend the evening.

"KN spending the evening" entails hours of pool play (not sure how much of this will happen with the cold front) and tons of snacking.  Both D2 and KN are big time snackers.  In preparation of KN (or RT, perhaps) coming over, I prepared some blond brownies.  I guess my mind was elsewhere (not at work, thats for sure) because before I realized what I was doing, I added the nuts in the batter.  Both D2 and KN don't care much for nuts, so I guess I'm going to be eating the brownies without any help from them.  Anyone wanna come over for brownies?

click on recipe title for printable recipe

Blond Brownies

     1/2 c butter
     3/4 c sugar
     3/4 c brown sugar
     2 eggs
     2 tsp vanilla
     1 1/2 c flour
     1 tsp baking powder
     1/2 tsp salt
     1 c white chocolate chips
     1 c semi-sweet chocolate chips
     2/3 c chopped macadamia nuts or pecans, divided

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease a 9 x 13" pan.  Stir together flour, baking powder, and salt.  Set aside.  Cream butter and sugars until light and fluffy.  Beat in eggs and vanilla.  Gradually stir flour into butter mixture.  Stir in chips and 1/2 c nuts.  Spread evenly in prepared pan.  Sprinkle remaining nuts evenly over top.  Bake 30 minutes.  Cool completely before cutting into squares or bars.

doing the Captain Morgan

Mr. Sun hasn't been seen for a while here.  In fact, its been freaking cold.  The electric blanket The Help got me for Valentine's Day Boss' Day has come in handy.  The last time I owned an electric blanket was when I was in college.  Speaking of college days, one of my friends from my freshman year, Flo Beck (Anchorage, AK), was known for a potent potable. . .Flo Tea.  Flo Tea was a staple at all the weekend/weeknight parties in her room.  It was Crystal Light iced tea (in those days it only came in 1 variety) spiked with Captain Morgan Spiced Rum.  I made some for my grandfather when I came home for summer vacation after my freshman year, and he loved it.  He said he was happy I was learning a lot of new things in college.

I found this pic on my waterproof camera a few days ago.  It was taken before last week's post (Korean Tofu Salad), and that's probably the last time we saw the sun.  The Ds took advantage of a string of sunny weather days and went for a dip.  After a small battle over who had to get a dead bee out of the water, they decided it was easier to get along with each other than deal with me.  One of their pool play activities was attempting to do the "Captain Morgan".  Where do kids get these ideas?  I don't even buy Captain Morgan!  As a self-described "rum snob", my preferred brands are 10 Cane, Pyrat, and Tommy Bahama.  My current pour, Cross Keys, is also very smooth.

Since we had some time this past weekend (Mr. Dependable said he had to work), The Help got his background and lights set up for a photo sesh with D1.  I enthusiastically helped him with his equipment because it was a treat that there was someone else willing to pose.  It was a great opportunity all around.  The Help got to practice his action shooting skills with his new toy.  D1 got some neat pics, including portrait shots which she can distribute when yearbooks come out since her picture was again left out of the yearbook.  She happened to be away on a Key Club service project when it was her turn to take class yearbook pics.  D1 had a good week.  She was officially notified that she will be Junior class president next school year.

This is my favorite pic from the session.  She doesn't care for it, but I love how her hair is wanging all over the place.  Kinda reminds me of Medusa.

D2 was camera-shy and refused to pose for any pics.

Granola

When you read this, I will be on vacation (actually formerly-known as furlough, directed leave without pay).  Yay!  Its a much-needed vacation (furlough is still a vacation since there should be no work issues), and I don't even want to think how quickly the next 2 weeks will go by.  Since I will be at home, I plan on having leisurely days. . .breakfast when I get up, lounging around in PJs, and not being a slave to the alarm clock.  Normally, I have a bowl of steel cut oats (cooked in the microwave) and a cup of joe, but since I'm on break, I think I'll change things up a bit and have granola and yogurt for breakfast.

I tend to be picky about granola.  I like things crunchy...not a fan of soggy granola.  I also don't like walnuts so many of the commercially-available granola are out. . .too many cheap walnuts.   I like granola with pecans or macadamia nuts.  Sliced almonds are okay too.  For the fruit, I use cranberries, dried mango, and dried pineapple.  If I have it on hand, I'll even chop up some dried apricots to throw in.  I keep the raisins away (raisins are on THAT list, below mustard, but somewhere near peas).  Homemade granola is great because you can choose what you put in it, but the best part is the smell as it bakes.  The aroma of cinnamon always makes me think "holidays".  Mmmmm.

And since Christmas will be here next week, this is a good time to make a batch of granola to keep on hand as a gift for people who surprise you with a gift.  Place cooled granola in an airtight container and tie with a holiday bow.  If you don't need to use it as an emergency gift, you'll have the pleasure of consuming it yourself.

 click on recipe title for printable recipe
Granola

     4 c rolled oats (old fashioned)

     2 1/2 c nut pieces

     1 1/2 c sweetened flaked coconut

     1/4 tsp salt

     1/2 tsp cinnamon

     1/2 c vegetable oil (scant)

     1/2 c honey

     2 c dried cranberries (or mixture of dried fruit)

Preheat oven to 250 degrees.  Line a large, shallow baking pan with parchment paper.  Toss together oats, nuts, coconut, salt, and cinnamon, in a large bowl.  Whisk together oil and honey, then stir into oat mixture until well coated.  Spread mixture in prepared baking pan and bake, stirring every 10-20 minutes for 1 hour.  Increase oven heat to 300 degrees and bake for an additional 30 minutes, stirring midway through.  Remove from oven and stir in cranberries/dried fruit.  Cool completely before storing in an airtight container.  Makes about 10 cups.

Unfortunately, my leisurely morning was hijacked this morning because the workers showed up before 8:00 am to fix my pool.  After 5 years, the liner at the deep end was tearing.  The Help patched it several times, but it got to the point where even the patches were pulling off.  I was telling people not to splash in the deep end.  Actually, I'm not upset at all that the pool people showed up this morning; in fact, I'm grateful that they could work today...its a typical Hilo day...overcast, cold & semi-drizzly.  But having a "new" pool brings baggage.  For the past few weeks, the pool pump and filter have been off.  The pool boy (a.k.a. The Help) saw no reason to condition and treat the water when the repairs were looming, so I was able to benefit from not having that eat into my electrical bill from HELLCO.

I guess I'm going to be turning the pool pump and filter back on later today or tomorrow and starting back up with my electrical consumption, but guess who showed up on Saturday!!!  A crew of nearly a dozen burly men spent 6 hours on my roof making a huge racket.  Because optimum roof real estate was taken by solar water heater panels and pool heater panels, the pv panels had to be places on 4 different roof faces.  30 panels and several arrays later (and several $K poorer). . .waiting for the inspectors to show, and more importantly, waiting for a small bill from HELLCO!  Mr. Sun, Sun, Mr. Golden Sun, please shine down on me!  I can't wait for tax time to get here. 

I try not to get down with the events around me, but my heart aches when I think about all the families in Newtown who experienced great sorrow on Friday, December 14.  Having visited Connecticut a few years ago, I remember it as an idyllic place, straight out of a Norman Rockwell scene.  Lives there will never be the same.
Tales of teacher heroism in the face of death illustrate what I already know...teachers are dedicated people with a strong commitment to their students.  How many government bureaucrats would put themselves at risk to save others?  So for those of you assholes negotiating the teachers contract and trying to nickel and dime us, think about the work we do for your children, think about the commitment we show, .and then think about how many kiddie lives were saved because a teacher (Vicki Soto) sacrificed herself for her students.  Nobody is talking about how her students performed on a test; nobody is talking about whether she was a highly qualified or highly effective teacher.  Social media sites are inundated with how she was committed til the end.   Isnt' it obvious. . .what counts is knowing kids came first, that the were safe, not how well they scored on a test!  I hope you will feel ashamed at the way you've treated us, how superficial you've been to let test scores determine teacher pay (really, anyone will tell you, some kids are just smarter than others).  Settle the fucking contract and give us what we deserve!!!

Flexible Fruity Nutty Bars

I'm feeling a little melancholy today.  D1 left for Japan this morning with the Key Club, and D2 is still under the weather with a lingering virus (low fever, listless, grouchy).  I'm still stuck at an assessment workshop.  With 45 minutes for lunch, we pretty much have no choice but to eat lunch at Sky Garden.  I like the Chinese food at Sky Garden, but lunch gets a little tiresome day after day.  Sky Garden offers a buffet lunch also, but the price is steep, and 45 minutes would not allow me nearly enough time to consume my share.  With the vacation looming, I'm going to make a pan of these bars to help lift my spirits.

This is one of those recipes which began as an innocent date bar recipe but has morphed into many other things.  Lets start at the beginning.  When I was pregnant with D2, my ob-gyn visits entailed a detour to Jilly's, a snack shop on the ground floor of the medical building.  Without fail, I'd buy a 2-pack of date bars.  The bars had a buttery shortbread crust and a heavy, cakey, nutty, sweet topping.  I know I didn't taste dates, but it didn't matter because it was good, satisfied my sweet tooth, and sent me down the path towards gestational diabetes.  Imua!

Mom would often buy fresh dates from Costco and tell me to make date bars.  I was happy to oblige, but eventually the dates disappeared.  Left only with a partial tin of glaceed apricots from Williams-Sonoma, I decided to take a risk and experiment with them by replacing the dates with glaceed apricots.  The result was fabulous.  This led me to try other fruits:  dried mango, dried apricots (not the expensive glaceed type), dried peaches.  All were good.  Then I tried substituting macadamia nuts for pecans (I don't eat walnuts).  All good again.

But now I had an even bigger problem on my hands.  The 7"x11" pan I was using provided hardly enough bars to take anywhere.  It barely fed me!  I knew I had to somehow develop a recipe that could be made in a 9"x13" pan, which would definitely be enough for me to eat my fill AND take some to an event.  The crust was easy, but I had to do some tinkering with the brown sugar amount before I got the filling right.  The first few results were sickingly sweet, but I think its perfect now.

Some great fruit-nut combinations are:  apricot-pecan, mango-macadamia, dates-pecan, peach/pineapple-pecan.  The pics on this blog happen to be peach/pineapple-pecan.  Those are tried and true, but feel free to experiment with your own combos.  As a caution to anyone who makes this . . . be prepared to give out the recipe.  Everytime I've taken this somewhere (work potluck) or served it at home (Colleen & Flo), someone ALWAYS asks for the recipe.

click on recipe title for printable recipe
Flexible Fruity Nutty Bars

Crust:  1 c butter

           1/2 c sugar

           2 c flour

Mix butter, sugar and flour until crumbly.  Press evenly into a 9 x 13" pan.  Bake at 400 degrees for 12 minutes.  While crust is baking, make filling.

Filling:  2/3 c flour

            1 tsp baking powder

            1/2 tsp salt

            4 eggs

            1 1/2 c brown sugar

            1 c chopped dried fruit

            2 tsp vanilla

            1 c chopped nuts

Mix together flour, baking powder, and salt.  Set aside.  Beat eggs and add brown sugar and dried fruit.  Add flour mixture, vanilla, and nuts.  Spread evenly over hot crust.  Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees.  Bake for 30 minutes.  Let cool for 10 minutes before cutting into squares or bars.  When completely cool, dust generously with powdered sugar and remove cut pieces from pan.