...and chocolate chip cookies will heal you...
That was the only thing I could think of to help. You see, a relative was ill, really ill, been in the hospital for weeks. Test, tests and more tests. So serious, and more tests. Then really scary surgery. I mean this was not outpatient stuff. I would come to the hospital each day, keep his wife company. Try to be helpful by....????? I mean what can I do but try and be light, or serious, ask a question but not too many questions, whatever was needed at the time. Sometimes it meant playing cards, heard of May I? Sometimes it was staying late and having dinner together. Actually the food was really good, steak, sweet potato fries. But my relative needed to gain weight. Needed to have his appetite teased. Eat. So that’s when I came up with baking cookies. I mean who can turn down, cookies, Chocolate Chip cookies. That was my first thought. Nothing too clunky, nothing too dainty, not one of those “Best Chocolate Cookies on Earth” cookies. No, just the recipe on the back of the Nestle Chocolate Chips bag. Freshly made, they are superb. They don’t need any fancy embellishments.
Two of my grandchildren were in town at the time. They love baking and cooking with me. I think it’s the time where I’m totally focused on them, teaching a skill as opposed to trying to win at, War, Fish, Crazy Eights (my own children beat me at that game every time) board games, we play a lot. So I thought it would be a great idea for all of us to make cookies that I could bring to my relative that were made by the grand-kids. It would be good for them to “give” and help a loved one heal. So off we went to make cookies.
Now to get ready to bake...So careful and precise.
Let me tell you my baking secret. I weigh the ingredients when I bake. If you complain that you're really not a baker, weigh the ingredients and you, too, will become a baker. It completely improved the end result. You’ll be amazed at your accomplishments and compliments. Another hint. Take a vanilla bean and bury it in your sugar canister. wonderful flavoring for sugar.
What happened? I brought the cookies to the hospital and everyone wanted just one, maybe two, well, "OK I’ll have just one more." Eventually they had to be hidden so that the person who was ill could have a few for himself. We became cookie machines. As soon as one batch was eaten up, we were on to another. I’ve never gone through so many sticks of butter, bags of flour and cups of sugar so quickly.
Oops, I did it again. I had forgotten to take photos of the baked cookies, that I made with the grand-kids, so today I thought I'd bake more cookies, take photos, and deliver the newest batch. Well, I pre-heated the oven using the Convection Mode, heats faster, put the dough in the oven and completely forgot to change the mode to bake! "Well done" cookies. I'm eating a lot of them to make sure they're OK. Life is always a learning lesson. Wish it were easier.
