Chocolate Chip Cookies

Tonight was one of those nights. I had a meeting at the Legion. The kids only have a couple more days of school. Things are looking bright. Then I hear those words every mother hates to hear.... Mom...... Can you make 3 dozen........ um........ somehting really good for tomorrow. Luckily, once she finally spit it out I had all the ingredients to make Chocolate Chip Cookies that she was requesting. Since I had my meeting. I am now running really late. But it is all done and here are some pictures of it and the recipe. Enjoy!

1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup shortening
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup white sugar
2 eggs
2 Tbsp hot water
2 tsp vanilla
3 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
12 oz chocolate chips

Cream butter, shortening, brown sugar and white sugar together. Add eggs, water and vanilla; mix well. Mix in dry ingredients flour, salt and baking soda, stir in chocolate chips into sugar mixture.
Drop by tablespoon onto an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 375 for 10-12 minutes.
Makes approximately 3 1/2 dozen.

The Wet Ingredients


Creaming the sugars


The egg, vanilla and water

Blended smooth

Flour and Chocolate chips mixed in


Waiting on the tray


Cooling on the tray


Waiting to be packaged up

Chocolate Mint Herb

Here is another herb that I planted and have no idea what to do with. So here are a few links to some very interesting things you can do with Chocolate Mint.

I figured I would start with a Yummy one!
Fresh Organic Chocolate Mint Ice Cream
Organic Authority

Here is a spot with recipes for things like:
CHOCOLATE MINT TRUFFLE TORTE
Chocolate Mint Julep
Chocolate Mint essential oil
Garden Web

This recipe calls for just mint leaves but I am sure that substituting chocolate mint leaves would make for an even better tasting dessert.
Chocolate-Mint Pudding
MyRecipes.com

Chocolate Mint Leaves
Martha Stewart

History of Mint
Cooking Vegetarian

Care and Feeding of Mint
Garden Action

Now to find some of the other flavors of mint. I think I'm hooked. The orange & pineapple mint sound really good.

Gotta Run
Yart

Lemon Balm

Since I planted it not really knowing what it is or what to do with it, it is research time.

Here is a great site that talks about the basic methods to store Lemon Balm and also how to cut it back.
Herbal Branch 24: Lemon Balm uses

Here is a recipe for Lemon Balm Popsicle. Great site. Step by step instructions as well as pictures.
Learning Herbs Blog

Lemon Balm Soda Recipe
Herb Gardens @ About.com

Everything you ever wanted to know and were afraid to ask
Sara's Superb Herbs

The care and feeding of your Lemon Balm
Department of HorticulturalScience
North Carolina Cooperative Extension Service

Lemon Balm Mojitos
Recipezaar

Eau De Cologne
Recipezaar

Lemon Balm seems to be a great addition to the herb garden. I can't wait till mine gets a little bigger so I harvest it. Since I just planted it this year I figure that I should harvest in the fall. Next year maybe two times.Since I have two other new additions (herbs) to the garden they will be the next couple of posts.

Gotta Run
Yart

Showing off

Here are some pictures of the garden.


Chives


Spearmint


Chocolate Mint


Lemon Balm


Newly Fenced Garden


First Tomatoes


This Pepper should produce 11 peppers at least that's how many flowers it has right now!


Who knew green beans flowered not me. So this is very kewl

Challenge

1. Garden work: I have been working on weeding the garden.

2. Preserve something. I tossed an extra steak in the freezer (hopefully, more soon)

3. Food storage. The steak... LOL!

4. Other preparedness tasks: I got some more canning jars, am working on a change purse (knitting) for teenage monster, cleaned out several plastic totes.

5. Try a new recipe: Made spaghetti sauce. Used some items from the freezer and some dehydrated mushrooms.

6. Financial preparedness: Made more payments to get caught back up on the bills.

7. Work on local food systems. Nothing this week

8: Learn something. Still working on the knitting thing. Doing good so far.

9: Serve someone. Helped out at the Legion this past week.

Challenge Rules

I finally have the information for the Challenge's that I see on other blogs. I got this information from one of the Yahoo groups I belong to.

1. Garden work: Planting, thinning, weeding, watering, harvesting,
hauling manure , working on the compost pile, planning next year's
garden, going through catalogs - it's all garden work.

2. Preserve something. Sometimes this will be a big project, but it
doesn't have to be. When you are in major food preservation mode, get
some friends and make a day - or a week, or a month - of it. But, it
doesn't take long to slice a couple of tomatoes and set them in the
dehydrator - or even a bag of frozen veggies from the store. Make
extra when you make soup and pressure can the left-overs. Buy ham on
sale at Easter time and pop it in the freezer - you get the idea. This
is one area where many small contributions can really add up - and
faster than you think.

3. Food storage. What have you added to food storage? Cereal for
$1/box? 100, 200 or 1000 pounds of wheat? Did inventory? Bought a cow
or a half a cow? What did you do this week for food storage?

4. Other preparedness tasks: Add to your overall preparedness - hit a
yard sale and pick up an extra blanket. Purchase some extra legumes
and oatmeal. Sort out and inventory your pantry or your freezer. Make
a list of tools you need. Find a way to give what you don't need to
someone who does. Fix your bike. Fill that old soda bottle with water
and a couple of drops of bleach. Plan for next year's edible
landscaping. Work on 72-hour kits. Have a fire drill. Replace
batteries in your smoke detectors. Check the squash on your pantry
shelves and feed the squishy ones to the chickens. Camp out in the
backyard and see what you need to repair/replace/acquire. You get the
idea!

5. Try a new recipe: Yup, once a week, try something new. Bonus points
if you use food storage!!

6. Financial preparedness: Balance your checkbook. Pay off a little
more debt - maybe just $5 more on the credit card you are trying to
pay off first, or an extra payment to the mortgage company or anything
in between. Buy on sale and in bulk to stretch your dollar. Sew a
quick skirt for a couple of bucks instead of heading off to the
department store. Do a fun, creative and inexpensive birthday party
for your little darlin' instead of renting a clown and ball pit. There
are lots of ways to stretch a dollar, a skill that is needed more and
more.

7. Work on local food systems. This could be as simple as buying
something you don't grow or make from a local grower, or finding a new
local source. It could be as complex as starting a co-op or a farmer's
market. You might give seeds or plants or divisions to a neighbor, or
solicit donations for your food pantry. Maybe you'll be like a friend
of mine and start a community garden or help a homeschool co-op
incubate some chicks or buy a side of beef from someone up the road.
Try eating as "locally" as you can and see how that works for you!

8: Learn something. Learn a little more about gardening, canning,
sewing, birthin' babies, homesteading, car mechanics, cutting hair -
you name it. It can be a little thing, or practicing on a skill that's
still new to you. For a longer challenge, how about this one: Learn
one new skill each year. That can be a great new year's resolution and
look how much you'd know by the time you are 40, 50, 60 . . . it's
never too late to start!

9: Serve someone. There are a jillion ways to serve - bake cookies,
weed a garden, teach a class, do home repairs for someone else, reach
out to the neighbor you've never had a chance to get to know. Include
your family on this one and let them start learning the rewards of
serving others.

June & Freebies

June 1st already. Where has the first half of the year gone. It seems like yesterday there was a foot of snow on the ground. It doesn't help that they are calling for 3 days of rain. When I was driving home from dropping the last one off at school I was looking for cut down trees. I guess that the winter mode is starting to kick in again. I love summer but it seems like a whole lot of lets get ready for winter. Now please don't thingk that I am whining, cause I'm not really. Just stating a general fact. Winter will return and will I be ready?

Ok, on to some free stuff I stumbled on.

Paper Dolls

Yogi Tea Sample

And here is a recipe that I found for a Chocolate Triffle.... It sure looks yummy! I have been looking for new recipes. But nothing is really popping out at me. Ever get that way. You want something new and have no idea what it is you want. That is where I am right now. I am thinking that today I will look for some crockpot inspiration.

Since it is raining, I have to hang clothes in the house today. And I also am going to try this recipe for English Muffin Bread. If I'm lucky maybe even a nap... LOL!

Gotta Run,
Yart