JWalking: The Blog

S ince the response to the cookies was so overwhelming (honestly and truly, this isn't a full-time cooking blog!), I'm sharing the recipe. This is something I clipped from Today's Christian Woman at some point along the way. It's super-easy and makes a lot of cookies! Enjoy....on this 100th day of school, for some of us. ***** Chocolate-Toffee Cookies From the Kitchen of Andrea Schmidt 2-1/4 C flour 1 t baking soda 1 C butter 1/4 C sugar 3/4 C brown sugar 1 t vanilla 1 small package of vanilla instant pudding 2 eggs 12 oz chocolate chips (Really, any kind of chips work here) 1/2 bag toffee bits (Find 'em in the chocolate chip aisle) Sift flour and baking soda. In separate bowl, mix butter, both sugars, vanilla and vanilla pudding. Mix until smooth. Beat in eggs. Slowly add flour mixture. Stir in chocolate chips and toffee bits. Bake at 375 degrees for 8 to 10 minutes.

T here really is such a thing as a "best mess". Letting the kids get themselves deep into a painting project is that kind of mess. But, the kids are in school today. (Praise the Lord!!) For me, a favorite "best mess" is...well...my kitchen this morning. Recipes, measuring cups and ingredients scattered. Pots and pans boiling and browning. Kitchen Aid churning out dough and well-conditioned pans yielding chocolate-toffee cookies. A sink of which you can't see the bottom. Because a friend's family has now grown to seven! And even though a baby girl doesn't eat much, her big brothers do. Today, that's definitely a "best mess."

RJ2 has spent a good amount of time, lately, on the Nick Jr. website. One of her favorite stories to watch is a Blue's Clues episode on "Love Day." She has figured out that after her birthday comes "Love Day." (Cards, but no singing or candles!) We had another enjoyable "Love Day" this year. Dad and RJ2 exchanged cards. (I was so proud of RJ2 writing without help!) Dad and CJ exchanged cards. CJ and RJ2 got a fancy homemade card from Grandma as well. Cards and TULIPS! How Springlike!! Chocolate for Dad, from the girls. Girls got chocolate from Dad. (Mom got coffee! Dad got beef jerky!) Lots of chocolate from Grandma and Grandpa! And, of course, Heart-shaped pizzas! Lots of love on "Love Day"!

A day off school was yet another day in the kitchen. But we had a special purpose for baking on Monday. Cupcakes! Now, would school be on or off? Would the cupcakes actually make it to their intended destination? YES!! Happy Birthday, Sweetheart!!

E xactly....

( Kara has been waiting for this post for over a year now!) A friend postulated in a post the other day that there probably is many a KitchenAid mixer gathering dust. She actually wants one, because she's a big baker. (And we have enjoyed many a good cookie by her hands!) I quickly responded that it was time for a blog post on the subject, because in our house, this definitely is not the case. ( Not Grandma's basement, but this sure looks like her mixer. ) The KitchenAid is as much a family tradition in my family as the recipes we cook up using the KitchenAid. My sisters and I remember going into my Mom's mom's basement to do any cake mixing, because Grandma's machine was so big, and there was no working counter space in her kitchen. We did all of our prep for any cooking on her kitchen table. (Then we'd eat in the dining room because there wouldn't be room on the kitchen table to put dishes!) My Mom has a KitchenAid. We grew up mixing lots of birthday cak...

L ast December, CJ got mad at me because, "All you post are recipes!" I was excited to share some of the recipes for the goodies I had served at my Christmas brunch. Edie provided a thoughtful response to CJ--something along the lines of, "We like food." We like to talk about good food, too, and exchange recipes for good food. And, every food post here has a story: When we lived in the western Chicago suburbs, we came to know a treat called Chicago Italian Beef. This was about as far from an East Coast cold roast beef sandwich as you could find. Portillo's, a hot dog giant, also made this delicious hot sandwich in our town. It wasn't long before we wanted to make our own and save the trip to the restaurant. But, as I said, this is no typical roast beef sandwich. I remember getting a recipe and trying to make it with purchased supermarket deli sliced beef. Never tasted right. Tried to make our own roast, but we could never slice the meat thin enough by ha...

C J has lamented not having enough time in the snow. She felt kind of icky over the weekend and just couldn't stay outside very long. By Tuesday, she was ready to play. Of course, by yesterday, some of the snow that had been there on the weekend was no longer. The toboggan run was starting to show a little green underneath. I didn't say, "Buck up, little camper," (a line made famous in Kelli 's posts), but she needed some positive encouragement that there was enough snow to make it fun out there. Knowing that 7 to 10 (or more?) inches are on the way for this weekend probably cheered her up the most! She makes an excellent run here and helps keep that toboggan run slick for another day...maybe.... Promise you'll help me make that ending go longer, OK? Maybe to the neighbor's driveway....

W ith all the excitement, fuss and waiting out the aftermath of the snow, it has been hard to think of much else around here. School has been called again on this Tuesday. Time to get creative with something! Fortunately, I had shopped in Michaels a few weeks ago and stopped at their Valentine's display. With such a large class of friends to send Valentine's cards, RJ2 could stand to start making hers early. [I am a fan of these new foam kits that they have created for class projects and such. However, I'm not ecstatic about the pricing! I went with a lower-priced base kit and scoured their "a la carte" foam/felt sticker wall for appropriate accoutrements.] RJ2 is not a big fan of writing, so addressing cards would not go over well. Peel-and-stick is definitely more her speed. And, I have to say, she had amazing patience with these. They were not easy to peel! This one became a puppet for a little while. She kept at it and finished more than half of the ...