arms around Olivia

This is my donation to a grass-roots movement to help a beautiful friend & neighbor in her battle against cancer. Learn more about this insane swim-around-the-island, and see photos by Pete Saloutos here: http://www.armsaroundbainbridge.com/

good morning US Navy!

The Nimitz came in this morn. Happy holidays!

sunrise

One of the few good things about winter’s short days–the sun comes up at a civilized hour.

moon, mountain, morning

giant ship heading my way

It’s a little disconcerting….

big-ass tomato

My heirloom tomatoes rock this year.

sea holly

one of my favorite plants in the garden

dog days

Life is so hard for Sonny and Barkis.

bird 008

bird 010

bird 011

bird 023

bird 024

bird 025

bird 0261

bird 027

bird 028

bird 029

happy first day of summer

I’ve got the pedicure, the flipflops…but it’s 50 and overcast. C’mon summer!

ANZAC biscuits

So I’m breaking in a new friend–a KitchenAid stand mixer. There wasn’t really anything wrong with the previous Hamilton Beach–but the thing was ancient and tended to fling batter 360 degrees around the kitchen, so I got this new one.

new toy

The inaugural recipe is for some delicious, chewy cookies from Down Under. ANZAC stands for Australia-New Zealand-Air Corps. “Biscuits” stands for cookies. And you thought you wouldn’t learn anything from this blog. I’ve Americanized the ingredients so you don’t get confused by metric measures and things like “bicarbonate of soda” (aka baking soda). These are totally simple, first invented during WWII by housewives who needed a recipe without eggs for cookies that would keep for a long time.

They only call for one weird ingredient you probably don’t have on hand–Golden Syrup. I love that they call it that, like it’s something from Harry Potter. This recipe is simple to double, which you might want to do if you live with a cookie monster.

any oats will do

Lyle's Golden Syrup, the secret ingredient

Ingredients

• 1  cup  rolled oats (regular or quick cooking, or combine with oat bran and/or ground flax seed for extra nutrition)
• 1  cup  all-purpose flour
• 1  cup  packed brown sugar
• 1/2  cup  shredded sweetened coconut
• 1/2  teaspoon  baking soda
• 4 T butter, softened (use margarine if you must, or if your son-in-law is lactose intolerant)
• 3  tablespoons  water
• 2  tablespoons  golden syrup (I think in the South they call it cane syrup
• 1 tsp vanilla
• optional additions: cinnamon,  almond extract, raisins (they call them Sultanas Down Undah), nuts, chocolate bits…
• Parchment paper and cooking spray

high performance stirring

Combine dry ingredients, then stir in water, butter and syrup; stir well. Add extra things to taste. Drop by level tablespoons, 2 inches apart, onto baking sheets covered with parchment paper and sprayed with cooking spray. Do not try these without parchment paper. Parchment paper is your friend. Bake at 325° for 12 minutes or until almost set. Remove from oven; let stand 2 to 3 minutes or until firm. Remove cookies from baking sheets. Place on wire racks; let cool completely.If you’re an inquisitive dobie, you definitely want to check out the action. This is a technique Barkis calls counter-surfing.

any oats will do

Lyle’s Golden Syrup, the secret ingredient

high performance stirring