A recipe I don't even really care for...

When we got married my husband asked me to make these cookies. I was sure I had done something wrong, they weren't like cookies at all. Cookies need to be crisp and have a little crunch, these were more like little pieces of cake. But hubby assured me that they were exactly like his mom made and this is what he liked. So over the years I've made them. I don't really care for them but my husband likes them and all of my kids like them so I guess we're good.
Yesterday my youngest daughter called and asked for the recipe. A few months earlier my oldest daughter had wanted the recipe. So in the interest of putting the recipe out there so my kids can always find it, here it is.

Applesauce Raisin Cookies (or as I call them, mini-cakes)

Ingredients:

1 cup raisins
2 cups flour
1 cup sugar
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 cup shortening
1 egg
1 cup chopped nuts( I never use these, hubby doesn't like nuts in his food.)
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp cloves
1 tsp baking soda
1 cup thick, smooth applesauce

Pour boiling water over raisins to plump them, let stand for about 10 minutes, then drain. Toss with nuts and flour. Mix sugar, salt and spices. Gradually add to shortening, creaming until fluffy. Add egg and beat. Stir soda into applesauce and add to batter. Stir in raisin mixture. Drop by tablespoon onto lightly greased cookie sheet. Bake at 375 for 15 minutes.

They really are tasty, I just can't think of them as cookies.

One of my favorite summer foods

Hummus! I had never even tried hummus until last year when I tried going vegan. I used this recipe from my friend Barb and fell in love with it. I think it's the sesame oil I really like in this recipe. It gives it that umami flavor.

I like to put some in my pita bread and then fill it up with veggies. My boys love it as a veggie dip. Now that it's hot outside we like to have cool, nutritious foods to grab when it's too hot for a cooked meal. We still don't have my husband converted to eating hummus but that's ok, there's more for the rest of us.

Here are some ideas on how to use hummus:

http://www.mysisterskitchenonline.com/2006/08/18/hummus-and-its-uses/

http://sabra.com/

It Is The Little Things...

Do you know when you hear about someone who went off their rocker and beat someone to death with a frying pan for a seemingly small offense? I am guessing that they had put up with so many big things that there just wasn't room for one more little thing.
So, if you hear about me one the news it will be because someone used my special coffee cup after specifically being asked not to.
And it won't really be about the coffee cup, but in a way it will.
It will be about personal respect or the lack thereof.

A building project

The old swingset was literally falling apart. When the boys would swing it looked like it might collapse on them. We knew we had to take it down, but Alex really needs to swing. When he is stressed or overwhelmed he will go out and swing. Sometimes he takes his MP3 player and listens to his music and sings at the top of his lungs. Sometimes he just swings and watches the neighbors work in the garden. So we knew we had to replace the swing, not just tear it down. We also knew that it needed to be bigger and heavy duty so that Alex could use it for years, not months. My husband got online and found the coolest brackets to use from Backyard PlayPlaces so he could design his own swing. We ordered them and a few other pieces, headed to Menards to buy some wood and he built the new swingset in a couple of hours!

The boys always have to help when it's time to build something. They also got to help tear the old swingset apart.

Alex had to give it a test run!

I am so thankful for a husband who not only realizes the needs of our son to have a swingset to help him calm himself, but also for one who is handy and can make what we need without costing a fortune. We have just under $200 into this project and it will provide hours and hours of therapy. Not a bad deal.

Yum

Awesome Words

My 10 year old son is studying Awesome Words in his Sunday school class. They gave him a binder to keep things in and he wanted to decorate the front of the binder. It was his idea to put awesome words on it, so I told him to make a list and then I would make him something for the binder. These are the words he came up with and I thought it turned out pretty cool!

This Girl~

 

This girl is my oldest granddaughter, Lexi, who just turned 5 years old. She and her mother recently moved to Kansas so we were able to run down for a couple of days and spend her birthday with her. I can't believe she is 5 already!