Grace’s “Oops” Oatmeal Cookies

This sweet girl of mine is becoming a master baker (and getting popular with the neighbors in the process!)  Last week she made a batch of classic Quaker oatmeal cookies with her own personal twists.  They were delicious!  While munching my umpteenth cookie,  I noticed the old cinnamon container I resourcefully relabeled and filled with garam masala spice was in the wrong cabinet again with the baking spices.  Yep, she accidentally put garam masala in the cookies thinking it was cinnamon!  And she put a lot – like 1 tablespoon instead of 1 teaspoon (I must have rubbed off on her as I usually go heavy on cinnamon and ginger)  I decided to not actually write that into the recipe, but for those you wanting an exact repeat of the delicious cookies you munched down you may want to be brave and try it:)

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PC Isaac Leigh

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Simple Creme Brûlée

I was almost thirty years old before ever experiencing creme brûlée; I vividly remember all the details of that introduction!  I didn’t realize I could make it myself (and maybe it would have been better had I stayed ignorant) until my friend, Jennifer Ann, taught me.  She made friends with the cook at a fancy restaurant in Southern California where she waitressed and he taught her how to make her favorite desserts.  It’s a sweet “pay it forward” sort of movement:)  Much better than buying someones coffee in my opinion!

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Chicken Enchiladas with Green Sauce

Of course, one must mix a batch of  salsa  in order to fully enjoy a pan of enchiladas!  This recipe is all fresh ingredients I typically have on hand- I created it after being frustrated that I couldn’t make green enchiladas impromptu because I was out of canned green sauce.  I usually make a double batch and set aside a couple enchiladas for sick or elderly friends.  Making a little extra is a simple way to give practical love- there is always someone who appreciates a home cooked meal!  ( I keep disposable bread pans in the pantry for sharing food, perfect size for 1-2 servings of anything- this way they can bake dinner whenever they want it and not worry about returning a dish)

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A little pan for sharing 

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Pankaka (Oven Pancake)

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Apple Pankaka

I know- it’s a strange name!    My Swedish mother in law introduced me to pankaka (and cardamom) but I didn’t think to ask for her recipe before she passed away, so I’ve spent twenty years trying every oven pancake recipe I found.  This one is my favorite.  Mostly because it’s simple and takes less than five minutes to get into the oven.  I highly value simplicity, especially in the kitchen and especially in the morning! When we have company I make 2 or 3 of these at the same time and use different fruit at the bottom for variety.

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Salsa for the Masses

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Salsa has many variables and the great thing about making your own is you can mix it exactly the way YOU like it.  You choose level of heat and salt, chunky or blended, lots of onion, garlic, cilantro or not.  I’ll call this more a guideline then a recipe because I expect you to personalize it.  This is the basic spicy brew we have concocted wherever in the world we landed and managed to find the ingredients and a knife (I searched high and low in African markets to track down cilantro )

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Swedish Cardamom Coffee Cake

My mother-in-law not only raised an incredible son, she also introduced me to cardamom. Two pretty amazing gifts I continue to be thankful for.  At the very first sniff of this minty/cinnamon spice I was captivated.  (The winsome Mr Wonderful didn’t win by his smell, but I was quite attracted at our first encounter as well.  If you must know why- it was the super short running shorts he was sporting.) Anyways…

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