Mom's Ginger Sparklers (AKA Rock Cookies)

Someone told me years ago that in Egypt, they have a saying. "A soul will live forever if you speak their name each day." If this is true, poor ol' Mom isn't getting much rest. Not that she ever did...

These cookies were, without question, her absolute favourites. I can't see a ginger snap cookie without thinking of her. She loved to eat something sweet with her tea and often baked huge batches of these to keep on hand. Ginger cookies weren't necessarily MY favourites or my brothers, for that matter, so they would last for months. She kept them in a big tupperware container until they were so hard, they HAD to be dipped in tea to eat. I should mention that at this point, they also made impressive projectiles. They would leave dents in the walls and wouldn't crumble on impact. (They hurt like hell when you got hit with them, too.) My brother and I fondly dubbed them "Rock Cookies" and tested their strength in numerous creative, if ill-mannered ways.

 I sometimes bake these cookies for no other reason than to feel close to my Mom. I can picture her sitting contentedly at the kitchen table in her housecoat, with a steaming cup of tea and two or three "Ginger Sparklers" stacked beside her teacup. The recipe card has little dough splatters on it and the ink is beginning to fade but  the smell of them baking evokes memories that are oblivious to time.                        

Ginger Sparklers
3/4 cup butter or margarine
1 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup molasses
1 eg
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp ginger
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp cloves
Granulated sugar


Pre-heat oven to 350 (It once read 375 but it's been scratched out on the card...probably in an effort to make them softer.)

Cream butter and brown sugar - molasses and egg until light and fluffy - measure flour, soda, salt and spices - blend - stir into creamed mixture until blended - shape into small balls - roll in sugar - place 2" apart on a greased baking sheet - bake 8-10 minutes.

Store in an air-tight container for weeks...months...
years...hell, these cookies might even survive a nuclear holocast...(Love you Mom.)

Banana Almond Bread and the Barbados Diet

If you've noticed that I'm not blogging as frequently (and I like to think you have) it's because Keith and I are on "The Barbados Diet". For the record, this is NOT a medically sound weight loss program but rather a frantic, last-minute attempt to pare down before we have to get into our bathing suits in public. Keith is always a bit more dramatic than I am, so his diet consists of little more than lettuce leaves and water. Mine just eliminates my most favourite foods. In an effort to stay the course...I have all but ceased kitchen activity. It just makes it easier.
Lauryn and Jude are coming today and I can't force them to eat corn cakes and cottage cheese, so I am going to drive myself crazy and bake them banana bread.
To add insult to injury, today was also the first snowfall of the season so I'm feeling semi-suicidal and the smell of baking might just give me a reason to live. (Even if I can't partake.)
This recipe makes two loaves of moist, nutty banana bread. I'll send the house-bombs home with the remaining loaf tomorrow afternoon so I don't have to live with the temptation. 


Banana Almond Bread

Lightly butter two loaf pans and preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2 sticks of butter (1 cup) at room temperature
2 cups of sugar
4 large eggs
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
3 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 cups  mashed, ripe bananas
1 cup sour cream
1 cup slivered almonds
Cream butter and sugar until fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time and vanilla. In a separate bowl, whisk flour, salt and baking soda and add to butter mixture until incorporated. Add bananas, sour cream and almonds, stirring until just combined. Pour into buttered loaf pans and bake for approximately 70 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean. Allow bread to rest for 10 minutes before turning out onto racks to cool. 

Usually content to play inside, Lauryn couldn't WAIT to get outside to play in the snow. She asked until I relented. I reluctantly dressed her up in boots and snowpants, assuming she would ask to come back inside after about 10 minutes. I was wrong. She quietly and contentedly pushed snow around the yard and made this happy little snowman for me! 

The Secret to Surviving Canadian Winters

It's a bleak, grey November afternoon and I am struggling with the onset of another seemingly endless, dark Canadian winter. In spite of the fact that my life is literally overflowing with abundance (my family and friends are happy and healthy, I am about to start a new job, I have a big, warm house and a pantry full of good, nutritious food, not to mention plenty of clothes to keep me warm in the coming months) I am filled with dread and something even more subtly malicious...ennui.

I came across this video while searching for a photo for Keith and I watched it...remembering the afternoon (was it really a year ago already?) that I attended "Grandparent's Day" at Peanut's kindergarten. Following is the video and the most sure-fire way to conquer the winter doldrums. Some sage advice from a five-year-old. Enjoy.