Nora sat at a checkerboard table and sipped on a cup of steamed milk and chocolate. She sat at a wooden table and looked (again) at her black phone. Nora sat with her elbows pressing down and her chin resting in the cradle of her hands. She sat until a smile pushed those cheeks of hers into her palms, and Michael walked through that smudgy glass door.
Two months gone and her brother now wore plaid shorts and these glasses that made him look thin. Black frames swallowing his face, sinking in his cheeks, making his eyes look deep and hollow.
Cracker elephants carrying purple popsicles marched forward in Nora's mind until they stopped in front of all those pillows that became all those forts. We built quite a few, she thought . And then she stood up and straightened her pleated skirt. Nora walked over and took her brother in her arms.
"Hot chocolate?" she asked, and Michael nodded, although what he really wanted was something darker, like a a double shot Americano. But Nora wanted him to drink this, this smooth and creamy cup, and because she cared, he would.
You've changed (Nora wanted to say) but this he knew and this she knew and so now they were going to sit at the checkerboard table and talk about the mornings they ate peanut butter waffles and watched Scooby Doo cavort across the screen. And to Nora and to Michael, this was what family meant: sitting and sipping on lukewarm cups of sweetened milk.
Two months gone and her brother now wore plaid shorts and these glasses that made him look thin. Black frames swallowing his face, sinking in his cheeks, making his eyes look deep and hollow.
Cracker elephants carrying purple popsicles marched forward in Nora's mind until they stopped in front of all those pillows that became all those forts. We built quite a few, she thought . And then she stood up and straightened her pleated skirt. Nora walked over and took her brother in her arms.
"Hot chocolate?" she asked, and Michael nodded, although what he really wanted was something darker, like a a double shot Americano. But Nora wanted him to drink this, this smooth and creamy cup, and because she cared, he would.
You've changed (Nora wanted to say) but this he knew and this she knew and so now they were going to sit at the checkerboard table and talk about the mornings they ate peanut butter waffles and watched Scooby Doo cavort across the screen. And to Nora and to Michael, this was what family meant: sitting and sipping on lukewarm cups of sweetened milk.
When I sip on hot chocolate (which happens about as often as Christmas morning) I want a cookie in my left hand. Preferably a cookie that can be dipped and dunked. Preferably a cookie with bits of almond icing that can peel off and float on a lake of chocolate.
Before Ryan and I said good-bye to Colorado, my dear friend Abby made one of my favorite cookie recipes (with her own sweet twist) for our going-away party. Ryan and I were given a container to take home, and we snacked on cookie after cookie as we packed box after box.
A mug of hot chocolate would have been the perfect accompaniment, but alas, I was moving and had no milk.
Before Ryan and I said good-bye to Colorado, my dear friend Abby made one of my favorite cookie recipes (with her own sweet twist) for our going-away party. Ryan and I were given a container to take home, and we snacked on cookie after cookie as we packed box after box.
A mug of hot chocolate would have been the perfect accompaniment, but alas, I was moving and had no milk.
Strawberry Cookies
1 cup fresh strawberries (the riper the better)
1/2 cup butter (room temperature)
3/4 cup sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
2 tsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Using a blender or a food processor, puree your washed and hulled strawberries. Pour into a 1/2 cup measuring cup, discard the remainder of the puree (or use it later for pancakes, waffles, ect...)
2. Cream together the butter and sugar until smooth. Add in your egg, stir well, and then add in your vanilla and lemon juice. Fold in the strawberry puree.
3. In a small bowl, combine dry ingredients and whisk to incorporate. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and stir until combined. At this point, you can let your dough chill if it is too warm to handle. Using a TBSP, drop spoonfuls of cookie dough unto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake in preheated oven for 13 minutes. Allow cookies to cool for 5 minutes on sheet before removing. These cookies will be very soft so be careful removing them.
4. These cookies are moist, so they are best eaten the day they are baked. They will store, but will become even softer once placed in a container (which isn't necessarily a bad thing, I guess!)
Almond Glaze
1 cup powdered sugar, sifted
1 tablespoon Roberts Butter, softened
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon almond extract
1-2 tablespoons Roberts Milk, warmed
Combine powdered sugar, butter, vanilla extract and almond extract; add warmed milk for desired spreading or dribbling consistency.
Always,
Monet
Anecdotes and Apple Cores
1 cup fresh strawberries (the riper the better)
1/2 cup butter (room temperature)
3/4 cup sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
2 tsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Using a blender or a food processor, puree your washed and hulled strawberries. Pour into a 1/2 cup measuring cup, discard the remainder of the puree (or use it later for pancakes, waffles, ect...)
2. Cream together the butter and sugar until smooth. Add in your egg, stir well, and then add in your vanilla and lemon juice. Fold in the strawberry puree.
3. In a small bowl, combine dry ingredients and whisk to incorporate. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and stir until combined. At this point, you can let your dough chill if it is too warm to handle. Using a TBSP, drop spoonfuls of cookie dough unto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake in preheated oven for 13 minutes. Allow cookies to cool for 5 minutes on sheet before removing. These cookies will be very soft so be careful removing them.
4. These cookies are moist, so they are best eaten the day they are baked. They will store, but will become even softer once placed in a container (which isn't necessarily a bad thing, I guess!)
Almond Glaze
1 cup powdered sugar, sifted
1 tablespoon Roberts Butter, softened
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon almond extract
1-2 tablespoons Roberts Milk, warmed
Combine powdered sugar, butter, vanilla extract and almond extract; add warmed milk for desired spreading or dribbling consistency.
Always,
Monet
Anecdotes and Apple Cores
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