Food and other such holidays

[formerly33]

As today is National Roof over Your Head Day, I suggest that we also give thanks for the food on our tables without actually having to have the tables overflowing. Because, you know, to some it would look overflowing.

 

Today it was roasted chicken breasts, rice, and glazed carrots. Of course it tasted wonderful since I made it...not to brag, but yeah, it was good. Too often I view eating as a necessary evil and blasted waste of time, but that's ungrateful and my outlook would be different if I didn't have platefuls of leftover food to put away every night. So tonight I'm grateful that I had not only one bite or two, but too many to count. And two other meals besides.

[Squirrel]

 

As today is National Roof over Your Head Day, I suggest that we also give thanks for the food on our tables without actually having to have the tables overflowing. Because, you know, to some it would look overflowing.

 

 

While giving thanks is always good for what we have and maybe even take for granted, in honor of National Roof Over Your Head Day donate to Habitat for Humanity, or your local homeless shelter, or volunteer at one.

[Squirrel]

Christmas cookies. Tis the season. What are your favorite traditional holiday treats? Has baking begun in earnest? Baking has begun in my home ... maybe not in earnest yet ... but has begun.

[formerly33]

 

While giving thanks is always good for what we have and maybe even take for granted, in honor of National Roof Over Your Head Day donate to Habitat for Humanity, or your local homeless shelter, or volunteer at one.

You don't need to sound so patronizing. I was trying to keep it food related, and by the way, couldn't (and shouldn't) you do that more often than once a year?

[Vanimal46]

Yesterday didn't offer up anything great for National Days, so I skipped the post.... 

Today though, buckle up! 

 

Today is National Cookie Day! So many great cookies to talk about... What are your favorite holiday season cookies to eat?

It's also National Faux Fur Friday. From my understanding it's a requirement for all females to have at least one item of clothing with faux fur on it. Miss Vanimal loves wearing her coat with fur on it now that it's cold enough down here in TX.   

[Mike Sixel]

Hey, as a gamer, I'm excited about Dice Day. Or, I would be, if I was going to be home.

[Vanimal46]

I like playing dice games too. My family likes to play Farkle during the holidays when we're all back under one roof. 

[Vanimal46]

 

Christmas cookies. Tis the season. What are your favorite traditional holiday treats? Has baking begun in earnest? Baking has begun in my home ... maybe not in earnest yet ... but has begun.

 

My baking skills have topped out at the pre-made Pillsbury cookies you buy at the grocery store. I have tried several times to bake, and have failed every time. Very frustrating....

I'm very excited to go home for the holidays so I can enjoy mom's cooking and baking. Some of my favorite Christmas cookies:

 

- Snickerdoodles 

- Monster cookies

- Blossom cookies

- Don't know the name, but it's marshmallow dipped in caramel, topped with rice krispies

- Sugar cookies

- Gingerbread cookies

 

And my all-time favorite, home made cinnamon rolls!!

 

[Willihammer]

Question - how big can a cookie be before it is considered something else, like a sandwich. Eg. could an ice cream sandwich be considered just a bigger Oreo cookie?

[twinsnorth49]

 

Christmas cookies. Tis the season. What are your favorite traditional holiday treats? Has baking begun in earnest? Baking has begun in my home ... maybe not in earnest yet ... but has begun.

Butter tarts, with raisins, no nuts.

Cherry tarts, with that canned cherry pie filling stuff!

Nanaimo bar

Good Shortbread cookies

Christmas Bread Pudding

Anything Gingerbread

 

The list will be too long, I'll stop.

[Squirrel]

 

I like playing dice games too. My family likes to play Farkle during the holidays when we're all back under one roof. 

Rail Baron, baby! Yeehaaaa!

[Squirrel]

 

My baking skills have topped out at the pre-made Pillsbury cookies you buy at the grocery store. I have tried several times to bake, and have failed every time. Very frustrating....

I'm very excited to go home for the holidays so I can enjoy mom's cooking and baking. Some of my favorite Christmas cookies:

 

- Snickerdoodles 

- Monster cookies

- Blossom cookies

- Don't know the name, but it's marshmallow dipped in caramel, topped with rice krispies

- Sugar cookies

- Gingerbread cookies

 

And my all-time favorite, home made cinnamon rolls!!

 

I make the most amazing snickerdoodles. That said, no, I will not be baking you any and sending them to you.

 

Also ... Blossom cookies? Do you mean peanut butter blossoms? The ones with a Kiss in the middle? If so, I have a variation on that you should try. You roll the cookie dough in balls and bake them and as soon as they come out of the oven, you put a Kiss in the middle ... instead ... try this ... after you roll them in balls, put them in mini muffin tins, bake as usual, and as soon as they come out, press a mini peanut butter cup into the middle. Amazing! You have a mini peanut butter cookie peanut butter cup blossom cookie.

[Squirrel]

 

Butter tarts, with raisins, no nuts.

Cherry tarts, with that canned cherry pie filling stuff!

Nanaimo bar

Good Shortbread cookies

Christmas Bread Pudding

Anything Gingerbread

 

The list will be too long, I'll stop.

I have a ginger cookie recipe that uses freshly grated ginger ... talk about snap to a cookie! Those things have some kick!

 

I haven't made shortbread in a long time, but I do a little bit of a variation. The tradition in my family are pebernodder, which is essentially made from a shortbread dough ... butter, flour, a little sugar ... but the variation is a little white pepper. Awesome!

 

I like to bake.

[Vanimal46]

I make the most amazing snickerdoodles. That said, no, I will not be baking you any and sending them to you.

 

Also ... Blossom cookies? Do you mean peanut butter blossoms? The ones with a Kiss in the middle? If so, I have a variation on that you should try. You roll the cookie dough in balls and bake them and as soon as they come out of the oven, you put a Kiss in the middle ... instead ... try this ... after you roll them in balls, put them in mini muffin tins, bake as usual, and as soon as they come out, press a mini peanut butter cup into the middle. Amazing! You have a mini peanut butter cookie peanut butter cup blossom cookie.

Ooooh the peanut butter cup blossom cookie sounds even better than having a Hershey's kiss on top!

 

If you ever start ChiTown Cookies, I'll put in the first order of snickerdoodles

[Squirrel]

 

Ooooh the peanut butter cup blossom cookie sounds even better than having a Hershey's kiss on top!

If you ever start ChiTown Cookies, I'll put in the first order of snickerdoodles

Baking is easier than cooking. It's more of an exact science. Just follow the recipe exactly and it turns out. However, you do have to keep an eye on the oven because baking times can vary from oven to oven. And if you don't have a convection oven, you need turn your cookie sheets around half-way through the baking time and/or move them to a different rack.

 

But if you do try the peanut blossom cookies using mini peanut butter cups (I use Trader Joe dark chocolate pb cups when I do this and they. are. AMAZING!), you need to let them set before removing them from the tins or the chocolate will run out.

[twinsnorth49]

 

I have a ginger cookie recipe that uses freshly grated ginger ... talk about snap to a cookie! Those things have some kick!

 

I haven't made shortbread in a long time, but I do a little bit of a variation. The tradition in my family are pebernodder, which is essentially made from a shortbread dough ... butter, flour, a little sugar ... but the variation is a little white pepper. Awesome!

 

I like to bake.

I would never have guessed............

[formerly33]

No problem, Chi. My mom makes the most amazing snickerdoodles, too.
 
But if I have to name my favorite Christmas cookie, it's Russian tea cakes! My gramma makes the absolute best...but Gramma does everything best from including in-laws and grandkids and giving the best presents to being the coziest of all cozy sizes and wearing the best perfume. Haha...there's a reason we kids always loved her more than Grandma. Even her name was better.
 
Of course, gingersnaps are also a favorite. My mom used to make those every year for skating parties and our neighbor would fill his pockets to sustain him through his wanderings. Unfortunately his pockets were never deep enough, so he always came back for refills.
 
Can peanut butter cookies be counted as Christmas cookies? They always make me think of winter...in fact, peanut butter is in high demand right now but we need to use up that blasted almond butter first. I wouldn't want to try almond butter cookies. It's a most unsatisfying substitute.
 
I used to love baking, but after I started making supper every day for my very large family, I always felt too burned out to bake much. Now that supper no longer scares me, I should give it another shot. Pull out those old recipe cards and see what we still have... Unfortunately, most cookies call for sugar, and right now we only have maple syrup and honey.

[Hrbowski]

Since this thread talks about different holidays that aren't food related could we discuss which date would be the best for my proposed International Internet Shout Like a Troll Day?

[twinsnorth49]

No

[Mike Sixel]

Internet shout like a troll? How would that work?

[Hrbowski]

 

Internet shout like a troll? How would that work?

Broken caps lock all day long.

[Mike Sixel]

Tomorrow is pretend you are a time traveler day. According to one of my FB friends, and my dad (wow, that was a surprise), they've already been there and it wasn't anything special. Can we change the future?

[Craig Arko]

 

Tomorrow is pretend you are a time traveler day. According to one of my FB friends, and my dad (wow, that was a surprise), they've already been there and it wasn't anything special. Can we change the future?

It's all wibbly-wobbly timey-wimey stuff.

[ashbury]

Tomorrow is pretend you are a time traveler day. According to one of my FB friends, and my dad (wow, that was a surprise), they've already been there and it wasn't anything special. Can we change the future?

I'll pretend it's the day after tomorrow and skip the holiday.

[Squirrel]

I proclaim it pebernodder day! (Those are gallon-sized storage bags, btw)

 

[Mike Sixel]

Are those like pfeffer nuts? (that's what they called them, I would guess the german spelling is very different than that).

 

German hard cookies? My grandmother made those like crazy, and later my mom.

[Squirrel]

Are those like pfeffer nuts? (that's what they called them, I would guess the german spelling is very different than that).

 

German hard cookies? My grandmother made those like crazy, and later my mom.

While the translation is similar/the same, they aren't the same. Pebernodder are more like shortbread. A very 'melt in your mouth' buttery cookie made with a hint of white pepper in the dough.

[twinsnorth49]

While the translation is similar/the same, they aren't the same. Pebernodder are more like shortbread. A very 'melt in your mouth' buttery cookie made with a hint of white pepper in the dough.

Damn, why did I read this before bed....must have melt in mouth shortbread.

[Vanimal46]

We've got a couple of goodies today...

Today is National Brownie Day. God dang do I love brownies.... I don't know how I'm not 300 pounds yet.

 

Also, as Mike mentioned yesterday (HOW DID YOU KNOW - ARE YOU A TIME TRAVELER??) it's National Pretend to be a Time Traveler Day. Did anyone dress in costume and pretend like it's 1987 or 1991 again?

[Mike Sixel]

 

We've got a couple of goodies today...

Today is National Brownie Day. God dang do I love brownies.... I don't know how I'm not 300 pounds yet.

 

Also, as Mike mentioned yesterday (HOW DID YOU KNOW - ARE YOU A TIME TRAVELER??) it's National Pretend to be a Time Traveler Day. Did anyone dress in costume and pretend like it's 1987 or 1991 again?

 

if I worked for a smaller, more fun company, I would have organized something fun for this, like I did next year....