I’m never sure how much personal stuff to write on this blog, but every now and then I feel compelled to share. And so right now, even though I’d rather be writing gift guides and assorted other nonsense, I’m just going to rant. Emmet has Asperger’s Syndrome. Look it up. It’s a disorder related to Autism, but sufferers are said to be “high functioning.” Just looking at him, you’d never know that anything was wrong. But if you spend some time with him, you’ll see that he has trouble with social functioning. Asperger’s sufferers (they call themselves “Aspies”) aren’t good at self-reflection, and they aren’t good at picking up on social cues. They're also (in most cases) uncoordinated, and they tend to have a variety of tics (physical and behavioral). On top of this, Emmet has an anxiety disorder. Emmet’s life is tough. He is in trouble constantly at school because of the little tics that he’s developed, and because of his anxiety, and because he is afraid of going to the bath
It may sound boring but my oatmeal peanut butter dark chocolate chunk cookies with a hint of sea salt always win everyone over.
ReplyDeleterecipe:
1/2 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup white sugar
1 cup peanut butter
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup white whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon sea salt
1 cup rolled oats
1 1/4 cup dark chocolate chunks (I chop up high quality dark chocolate bars -- 60% at least)
Bake at 375 -- cream butter, sugars and peanut butter, add in egg and vanilla, add all dry ingredients (usually do all this with my stand mixer) then fold in the dark chocolate chunks(by hand)
How fun! This gingerbread from SF Bakery Tartine is just a little fancy, but not too crazy. Black pepper adds some spice to chewy gingerbread goodness. And, they're really easy - http://emilystyle.blogspot.com/2009/10/fall-favorites-tartines-gingerbread.html
ReplyDeleteAs for apps, I like the butter overload of dungeness crab with fresh herbs and a tiny bit of mayo baked in little filo dough cups. Also, pretty easy. You can use cucumber cups instead - if you're a killjoy.
How comfortable/creative a baker are you? I suggest taking a look at Martha Stewart's cookie recipes for ideas, as hers range from the very simple to the very complicated, and the recipes are generally very well-written and easy to follow. These have always intrigued me because they are so simple and pretty, though I've never made them.
ReplyDeleteI like dips, spreads, and cheese-based items for appetizers. I'm having my cookie party on Saturday and plan to make white bean aioli from Veganomicon; pimento cheese toasts and probably a cheese ball. If you want to be super-insane and win the app competition for encouraging pure gluttony you might consider the turducken of cheese balls.
I can't wait to see what you come up with!