I gave today completely over to baking cookies. Once I took care of a few phone calls this morning, I slid my Union Jack cooking apron on over my pajamas, pulled my hair into a sloppy bun and started mixing ingredients. That was at 9:00. I finished around 7:30p and immediately headed into the shower to wash away all the butter, flour, chocolate and sugar.
While I was standing in my tiny kitchen with no cabinets, mixing a bowlful of batter with a handheld mixer whose little motor was struggling to fight against the density of dough, heat and the aroma of caramel buttery indulgence emanating out my open hallway door, I thought of my grandmother. She loved vanilla, and agreed with me that it's never a bad idea to add more to a recipe.
Later, I attempted to make fudge according to my aunt's foolproof recipe. I realized that I didn't have enough milk chocolate pieces, so I improvised and added some mint chocolate pieces. How bad could it be if there's only one letter difference between the two? I smiled as I thought of her and how she'd probably approve – if not of the flavor, at least of the courage to adapt the recipe according to supply. My aunt inspires me for a number of reasons, one of them being her creativity in the kitchen. Her kitchen is her palette, and she knows exactly how to mix one flavor with another.
In between digging out from the avalanche of flour, I munched on handfuls of Chex Mix thoughtfully made and shipped from my mom. It's very hard to find a suitable cereal equivalent on this side of the ocean, so it's a luxury that I can't even come close to duplicating. It combines the my favorite snack elements: crunchy and salty. You can keep your gummy worms, kids. I'll take Chex Mix by a country mile.
At the end of such a long marathon, my back is a little stiff, my fingers pruned, and my kitchen floor an imitation Jackson Pollock. But, to show for it, I've got chocolate chip cookies, peanut butter cookies, peppermint cookies, pecan pie cookies, eggnog cookies, rice krispy treats, and chocolate-mint-hint fudge.
And family reunions unlocked from memories....
