Since I haven’t written since Saturday, lets see if I can recreate. [and started this post on like Monday, and finishing it Thursday night …]
I worked on the systems analysis final all day on Saturday. I really got stumped on the last part of the last, 5-part question – it required a UML diagram, and object orientated programming thinking. I did the best I could on it, which was pretty lame. Urgh. Got up Sunday morning, looked at the question, thought about if I had the energy to make it less lame, and did not. So I just handed the f*cker in.
We had breakfast in shifts. I baked cinnamon scones, and fried potatoes, some purple ones, and the last leek from my CSA box, and some of the fresh thyme I got at the co-op to put in the turkey stuffing. The thyme was bulk, I can’t remember what it was per pound, but I put a nice bunch of sprigs into a bag and it was only $1. Far superior to the usual herb sprigs crammed into plastic clam shells for $2.50. John and Megan and Ethan all had to leave earlier than I thought they did, so I made bacon and egg sandwiches for them. Afterwards, Mark and Toni and I had eggs and potatoes and scones and bananas. We forgot about the bacon, but that meant we could eat it in turkey sandwiches later on.
I went for a walk, and then mostly made doughs. All the logs for the slice and bakes – windmill, ginger, World Peace, and pistachio cranberry. I also rolled out and baked the Moravian ginger thins. But I still knocked off early and watched part of a Mad men, and Homeland – which was a bit too military for me, this episode.
On Monday morning I made the springerle, while I was waiting for the cats house call vet to arrive for the cat’s yearly physical. Didn’t have any lemon, so made them with orange. They were easy this year – I like the rolling pin I bought from King Arthur on sale after the holidays last year – it worked better than my individual molds.
Monday night I made the ginger cookies (gemberkoekjes; they’re Dutch) and the windmill cookies (also Dutch but less so; Dutch by way of supermarket cookies).
Tuesday night I had online class, and made the World Peace and pistachio cranberry. And the dough for the spoon cookies. Last year I put in too much baking soda and had to throw them out and start over. This year I made an even bigger batch. I went to bed quite nervous because the dough seemed a little odd – too runny, or something. It seemed like normal dough, but I had it in a big metal bowl ans the center was like quicksand.
Wednesday morning there was a little excess butter congealed around the edges. And I’m afraid I didn’t brown the butter enough. But it baked up fine, even though it took me 2 1/2 hours to shape and bake it all. I don’t think the little cookies have as many charming speckles of browned butter as they should. I had to stay at work late for student presentations, plus login to help some students practice in an online room (while cramming a turkey sandwich into my mouth) so all I could manage after all that was sticking the cookies together with jam.
Thursday I left work on the early side, but blew my lead by going grocery shopping. Last of the cookie stuff, and things like dish soap and Kleenex and napkins. Milk, bagels, bananas. I had class at 7:30. I made the dough for the pine nut macaroons, and then made dinner – we ate the last of the Thanksgiving stuffing with sauteed boneless chicken breasts and a beet salad with a no-beet quadrant for Mark. Toni & Mark watched he new sound of music while I had class.
I think the pine nut macaroons are one of the few I am totally happy with. The springerle seem too doughy (but they will taste better after they age). The biberli were hard; I overbaked them (but they wil soften with an apple in their container). I seem to be plagued with inconsistent sizes with all the slice & bakes – too thin, too thick, too small, too big … I don’t think the pistachio cranberry have enough grated orange rind in them.
And now that I’ve packed up the macaroons, one of the trays was somehow pale. Sigh. The black cat was crazy for the pine nuts. Reminded me of the year that mice got in to where I was keeping the cookies and ate just the nuts off the tops of the cookies. Guess I’ll drown my sorrows in a Mad Men.
Other years I would have done a do-over, but I’m not going there this year. Yet. Of course, there have not been any true disasters. Yet.
