Sunday Scribblings ... Yummy!

Today I baked cookies and made a pot of stew. At the same time I had fun with my camera. The following is my own recipe:

Chocolate Chip Almond Cookies

1 cup shortening
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup icing sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tsp salt
2 eggs
1/2 cup almonds
2 tsp pure almond extract
2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 450F.

Cream together first 5 ingredients.

Beat together eggs and almond extract. Add to mixture.
Combine flour and baking soda. Add to mixture.
Mix in chocolate chips.
At this point I remove enough dough to make two "Castration Cookies" for Mellissa. She doesn`t like nuts in her cookies. I put bright coloured sprinkles on her`s so they don`t get mixed in with the others.
Mix in almonds.
Place on cookie sheet.
Place in oven for ...
... 12 to 15 minutes.
Watch hockey while waiting. (If there`s no game on at the time, simply watch the game you taped last night. I`m assuming everyone tapes the late games on Saturday nights on CBC.)

Remove from oven. Let them cool a bit. Eat one, then share the rest with your coworkers. They`ll love you for it.

Beef And Vegetable Stew

This is a recipe I found in "Lighthearted Everyday Cooking" by Anne Lindsay:

1 lb lean stewing beef
2 cups water
3 med onions
1 bay leaf
1 tsp crushed dried thyme
1/2 tsp crushed dried oregano
1/2 tsp grated orange rind
1/8 tsp pepper
2 parsnips, peeled
Half small turnip, peeled
4 med carrots, peeled
4 med potatoes, peeled
2 stalks celery, cut in 1 inch pieces
2 tbsp all-purpose flour
1/2 cup cold water
1 cup frozen peas
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
(Today I added: 1/2 a sweet potato, some chopped broccoli and some chopped red pepper for a bit more colour.)

Trim all visible fat from beef and discard. Cut beef into 1 inch cubes.
Spray Dutch oven or large, heavy saucepan with non-stick coating. Heat pan over med-high heat; cook beef, stirring, until browned on all sides. Pour in water and bring to boil., scraping up any brown bits on bottom of pan.

Add onions, bay leaf, thyme, oregano, orange rind and pepper; cover and simmer for 1 hour.

Cut parsnips, turnip and carrots into 3/4 inch cubes; add to pan and simmer for 10 minutes. Cut potatoes into 1 inch cubes; add to pan along with celery. (This is when I added broccoli, sweet potato, and red pepper.) Cover and simmer for 20 minutes or until vegetables are tender.

Mix flour with cold water until smooth; stir into stew. Add peas and parsley; cook, stirring, until thickened and bubbly. Discard bay leaf.

Don`t forget to share it with your friends! Again, they`ll love you for it.