This is topic Dallas has felt my presence: (Now a discussion of cookies.) in forum Books, Films, Food and Culture at Hatrack River Forum.


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Posted by katharina (Member # 827) on :
 
I was driving in the middle lane, and turned on my blinker to switch to the left lane. I didn't see the person in my blind spot until I started moving over, so I went back into the lane I was in. I think I overcompensated, because the car started jerking wildly, and then went into a spin. I was moving over towards the barrier on the right side, and the car spun 270 degrees. The engine died (thank heavens), and I was fine. I was scared to my kneecaps, but the car did not hit the barrier, no other cars hit me, I didn't get whiplash, and the engine started when I put it in park and turned the key. I covered my face for a moment to take a deep breath, and the lady in the car behind me who had hit her brakes in time came over to make sure I was okay. I was fine, and in a moment, I put it in drive and came back to work.

This was directly past the 75 and 635 interchange, so I had own bit of immortality as I made people wait in their cars for me to turn from perpendicular to parallel to traffic.

[ January 13, 2006, 09:54 AM: Message edited by: katharina ]
 

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Posted by katharina (Member # 827) on :
 
What an interesting day it has been.
 

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Posted by pfresh85 (Member # 8085) on :
 
*mental note to avoid 75 and 635 interchange as much as possible*

Just glad to know you ended up safe and didn't cause too much trouble.
 

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Posted by Tante Shvester (Member # 8202) on :
 
It was a kapporah (a merciful sparing)! Thank G'd!
 

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Posted by peterh (Member # 5208) on :
 
my sister did one of those but did a full 360 coming to rest in the emergency lane. I was in the car with her.

Glad to hear you're ok.
 

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Posted by advice for robots (Member # 2544) on :
 
*whistle*

Glad you're OK, kat. Wow.
 

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Posted by Farmgirl (Member # 5567) on :
 
Wow kat!

So glad you're okay.

Even weirder that immediately it sounded to me exactly like that new song by Carrie Underwood:

quote:

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She saw both their lives flash before her eyes
She didn't even have time to cry

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quote:

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Originally posted by Tante Shvester:
It was a kapporah (a merciful sparing)! Thank G'd!

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quote:

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the car spun 270 degrees

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quote:

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Originally posted by King of Men:
Is there, by any chance, a word for divine intervention that leads to death in what would otherwise be a safe situation?

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Uh, "smite" I guess.
 

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Posted by KarlEd (Member # 571) on :
 
Katie, glad you didn't get hurt.

Was there water on the road? Ice? (Dallas probably doesn't get much ice, huh?) Too much accumulation of oil? Are your tires bald?

I just keep imagining what it would take to spin my car 270 degrees on an average road with decent tires and nothing unusually reducing the normal friction.

At any rate, glad you're OK.
 

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Posted by Primal Curve (Member # 3587) on :
 
Curses! Foiled again!
 

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Posted by Irregardless (Member # 8529) on :
 
Ooh, scary... I did a 180 once on Interstate 40 in western Arkansas. Fell asleep in the left lane, my old Ford LTD drifted into the gravel on the left shoulder; I woke up & overcorrected, ending up facing backward in the right lane (and stalled). I was on my way home from college & had stayed up packing all night. Dumbest thing I ever did.
 

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Posted by katharina (Member # 827) on :
 
Farmgirl, I did think of that song, but I also thought that if Jesus took the wheel, then he's a really bad driver. *shifts out of the way of the lightning* I shouldn't have gone into a spin - it's confusing to me.

Sorry for the flippancy - I've disovered my method of dealing with it. I am very grateful to be fine. A little disbelieving - that was almost a tragic story. If I had been retiring in three weeks, I would have been toast.

Karl, I'm not sure why it did that - there were no exacerbating conditions. I've replaced all four tires in the past two years (*sigh*), so it can't be that. I was very surprised when the car didn't go straight when I thought the wheel was straight. Either I was scared enough that I was overcompensating even more than I realized, or maybe there's something funky with the steering mechanism. I think I'll take the car in and see if anything is going on.
 

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Posted by Olivet (Member # 1104) on :
 
Geez, hon. Please, please get the thing looked at as soon as possible.

*shakes finger* Don't make me come down there! [/mother hen]
 

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Posted by katharina (Member # 827) on :
 
*hugs* I love it when you mother me.
 

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Posted by Farmgirl (Member # 5567) on :
 

quote:

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Farmgirl, I did think of that song, but I also thought that if Jesus took the wheel, then he's a really bad driver. *shifts out of the way of the lightning* I shouldn't have gone into a spin - it's confusing to me.

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- that made me smile.
 

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Posted by Olivet (Member # 1104) on :
 
You are SO getting a box of cookies when I have cash for postage...
 

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Posted by KarlEd (Member # 571) on :
 
<---never gets cookies in the mail.
 

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Posted by katharina (Member # 827) on :
 
*now tempted to start a cookie exchange*

Olivia, you're so darling.
 

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Posted by Olivet (Member # 1104) on :
 
That could be fun, actually. We'd need to know what kind of cookie people liked, allergies, etc.

Would this be a homemade cookie exchange or would oreos qualify? (I worry about how well the home made stuff would survive certain longish trips.)
 

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Posted by katharina (Member # 827) on :
 
Hmm...I wonder if it could be an ongoing thing? Instead of everyone mailing at once, there's a continual cookie sending. Less central organization, although there would have to be a way to get the addresses without posting them for everyone.

Hmmm...I need to think about this. Does anyone else have an idea for how it would work? Maybe something like the following:

1. Person A sends cookies to B.
2. B posts happily that cookies have arrived.
3. The Home Office sends B the address of C.
4. B sends cookies to C, and it starts over again.

Actually, that reminds me that I need to some e-mails.
 

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Posted by KarlEd (Member # 571) on :
 
Hey, that sounds like it would work. I'm in.
 

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Posted by Magson (Member # 2300) on :
 
Cookie exchange? I'll put in a couple dozen of my family's secret recipe chocolate-chip & raisin cookies. Best. Cookies. In. The. World. Well . . . all right. . . my favorite, at least.

Now how did the story of a near-miss turn into a cookie exchange. . . . ??? Gotta love derails!
 

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Posted by Boon (Member # 4646) on :
 
Hey, I'm all for that! Would Girl Scout Cookies be acceptable?
 

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Posted by KarlEd (Member # 571) on :
 
They would to me, but I'd prefer homemade or something I couldn't get easily where I live, like some from a local (non-national-chain) bakery. For instance if someone wanted to send me Old Salem Moravian Cookies, I'd certainly make no complaint. (The Ginger ones and the Walnut ones are my favorites )
 

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Posted by katharina (Member # 827) on :
 
Oh, this could be really fun. It would also eliminate the squirmy issue of giving a present and not getting one by not giving a present until you get one (except for the very first person, of course, and I'm guessing Person B would be willing to send out two packages of cookies).

Y'all really want to do it? We (by which I mean the Gift Exchange committee) would be happy to organize (see how I blatantly speak for them *waves*) (since it isn't all at once, it wouldn't be too much work at all), and the HatrackGiftExchange e-mail address is still active. I can start a thread to guage interest and roust signups when I get back from D.C. on Tuesday.
 

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Posted by ClaudiaTherese (Member # 923) on :
 
I make a very yummy holiday cookie that is essentially almond paste and ground walnuts in a flaky pastry crust.
 

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Posted by KarlEd (Member # 571) on :
 
Sounds good. Depending on the number of people who want to participate, I was thinking it might be good to break the list a little. For example, if 15 people want to participate it could be something like this:

code:

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1a   2a   3a
1b   2b   3b
1c   2c   3c
1d   2d   3d
1e   2e   3e  

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quote:

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Originally posted by ClaudiaTherese:
I make a very yummy holiday cookie that is essentially almond paste and ground walnuts in a flaky pastry crust.

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Sounds yummy. I'm normally a "tube-o-cookie-dough" cookie baker, but for this I'd try something from scratch.
 

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Posted by katharina (Member # 827) on :
 
That's a good idea - not all at once, but more than one thread going at a time.

I want to do it. I have a recipe for pumpkin/white chocolate chip cookies that I love, that stay firm but soft for long periods, and that freeze well. My boss loves them - everytime we have a "Bring Food" day, she requests that I bring them.
 

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Posted by Noemon (Member # 1115) on :
 
I'd be interested in this. How could we best ship the cookies to ensure that they were both fresh and reasonably intact upon arrival?

::has several delicious cookie reipes that he hasn't made in a long time::

::is aware that his favorite of them is way too fragile to travel well at all::

You know, another possibility might be to mail out all of the ingredients, premeasured, so that the recipient could enjoy the sender's cookies fresh baked.

...nah...that probably wouldn't be as much fun as getting a box of ready-to-eat cookies, I expect.
 

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Posted by KarlEd (Member # 571) on :
 
Chris's aunt sent a large box of a variety of Christmas cookies. She just lined a gift box with tinfoil and piled the cookies in. She did cap the whole thing with saranwrap, which probably helped with freshness, and she individually wrapped a couple of sticky kinds that otherwise would have messed up the others. Sure a couple were broken or mashed, but that didn't change the taste.

On the other hand, those cheapy pseudo-tupperware things are pretty good at sealing in freshness. I'll probably end up putting my cookies in those and sending them.

Oh, and the more cookies you cram in there, the less space they have to move around and get broken.

Or you could pad them with brownies.
 

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Posted by Noemon (Member # 1115) on :
 
Disposable tupperware is a great idea.

The brownies wouldn't make a bad packing material, but A)I'm afraid their parents would object, and B)I'm worried that they'd eat all of the cookies while they were in transit.
 

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Posted by seespot (Member # 7388) on :
 
This is totally something that I would love to be part of!!!

Sorry about your scare, Katharina. . . glad you're okay.
 

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Posted by quidscribis (Member # 5124) on :
 
Evil Noemon!

This is a great idea! I'd love to do it! Unfortunately, it wouldn't work for me to be involved what with me being so far away and the fact that I'm still off sugar. Except for the last four days, which just affirms the need to be off sugar.

I think... that in addition to sending cookies, the recipes for said cookies should be posted in the cookie thread. For, you know, people like me. Or, er, so Fahim can benefit. Or something.
 

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Posted by whiskysunrise (Member # 6819) on :
 
I think this is a good idea. But what about those that have allergies to stuff like nuts and whatnot.
 

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Posted by quidscribis (Member # 5124) on :
 
Allergies can be dealt with. Make sure you list all allergies when you sign up, and theoretically, the person making cookies for you won't use those ingredients. You hope.
 

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Posted by whiskysunrise (Member # 6819) on :
 
Right.
 

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Posted by Tatiana (Member # 6776) on :
 
Oooh I want to be part of this. I'll be one of the first rounders, too.

After having sent many a padded envelope of battered crumbs (by the time they arrived) and more than one package of one-huge-stuck-together-cookie, I've begun doing it like this.

1) I use the pseudo-tupperware things by Glad or Ziplock or one of the others.

2) I use parchment paper to line my cookie sheets while baking, so I cut the parchment paper into squares and place one square between each cookie.

3) I also freeze the whole thing before I mail it. Starting the day I make the cookies, as soon as they're cool they go into the freezer. Then when I pack the box, the whole box goes back into the freezer until I'm ready to take it to the post office. I have the idea this makes them survive better enroute, but I'm sure they would be fine regardless.

My favorite cookies right now are an old family recipe for oatmeal, but I can do chocolate chip, pumpkin raisin, peanut butter, sugar cookies, or whatever sounds good at the time. Alton Brown's cookbook "I'm Just Here for More Food" has some great cookie recipes.
 

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Posted by quidscribis (Member # 5124) on :
 
Pumpkin raisin cookies? Ummmmm. Recipe. Please? You are my hero, Tatiana.
 

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Posted by Tatiana (Member # 6776) on :
 
Can we post cookie-making tips too?

Alton Brown made two suggestions which have been fantastic for ease and quality of my cookies.

1) Line cookie sheets with parchment paper (see above). This means you can apportion out all the dough while the first batch is cooking, by placing the parchment paper on the cookie sheet, filling it up with dough, then sliding that piece of paper off onto the counter (sideways so it doesn't disturb the cookies), and then doing the next one. As soon as you take one pan of cookies out of the oven, slide off the parchment paper (sideways), and let the cookies cool on the paper alone until they're ready to be spatula-ed off. Meanwhile the same cookie sheet can be loaded with another piece of parchment paper and put back in the oven. With just two cookie sheets, you can very quickly bake umpteen dozen cookies this way. Turns out to be a great suggestion!

2) Use a scooper to apportion the dough. These things are like little ice cream scoops, and they come in various sizes. Very fast and easy way to make uniform sized cookies. I like the one that's about halfway between the smallest and largest sizes, for fairly large cookies. Scoop, level, and then plop face down onto the sheet in the desired spot. Squeeze the flapper arm and lift. Perfect size cookies perfectly placed.

Those are Alton's suggestions. This next one is mine.

3) Instead of making 4 rows of 3 cookies per row, a rectagonal array which has a low packing factor, use instead staggered rows of 3, 2, 3, 2, and 3 for a total of 13 cookies per sheet. This arrangement is known as "hexagonal close packed" and has a very high packing factor. You can make the largest cookies possible this way for a given cookie-sheet size. Just a little tip I garnered from materials class.
 

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Posted by Tatiana (Member # 6776) on :
 
Here's the recipe for pumpkin raisin cookies. This is still being perfected. Feel free to adjust as you like.

1/2 cup Butter (1 stick)
1 1/2 cup Granulated Sugar (1.5 cups)
1 cup Canned Pumpkin
1 Large Egg
2 teaspoons Vanilla Extract
2 cups Self Rising Flour (White Lily is the preferred brand)
2 teaspoons Ground Cinnamon
1 cup Raisins

Cream butter, gradually add sugar. Combine flour and cinnamon (=dry ingredients). Combine pumpkin, vanilla, and egg (=wet ingredients). Alternate adding dry and wet ingredients until well mixed. Gently fold in raisins. Drop with scooper onto cookie sheets lined with parchment paper. Bake at 350 degrees F for 12-14 minutes or until lightly browned.
 

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Posted by Tatiana (Member # 6776) on :
 
Here's my oatmeal cookie recipe. They are sooooo good! I used to like homemade chocolate chip, but these are far better.

3/4 cup butter
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1/4 cup water
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup self-rising flour (White Lily)
3 cups Quaker Oats (NOT instant, quick, or 1 minute oats, just plain old fashioned oats)

Cream butter, gradually add sugar. Add egg, water, and vanilla extract, beating until creamy. Add flour gradually until well mixed. Stir in oats. Scoop with a scooper onto cookie sheets lined with parchment paper. Bake 12-15 minutes at 350 degrees F.
 

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Posted by Carrie (Member # 394) on :
 
Wait, so are we really doing a cookie exchange? Because that would be awesome and I'd make someone very happy with my Special Secret Recipe (which, unfortunately, I would be unable to share in public ).
 

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Posted by Magson (Member # 2300) on :
 
This is my great-great-grandma's recipe, in the same format that she had it written in:

quote:

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2 cups raisins
2 cups water
Boil together 5 minutes. Cool and stir in 1 tsp soda.

Cream together:
3/4 cup shortening and 1-1/2 cups sugar.
Add raisins and their water to shortening, then

Add: 1 tsp vanilla and 3 eggs (1 at a time)

Then add:
4 cups flour
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt (all sifted together)

Stir well and add 1 package chocolate chips.
Drop by spoonsful on greased baking sheet.
Bake at 350 to 385 for 10 to 15 minutes.
(Makes at least 50 cookies.)

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Sounds kind of awkward when you read through it, but it makes sense once you are doing it. And yes, the only liquid in it is the 2 cups of water the raisins were boiled in. Doesn't seem like it would be enough, but it is.

Best. Cookies. In. The. World.

So says my great-great-grandpa, my great-grandpa, my grandpa, my dad, me, and my son.

6 generations can't be wrong!
 

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Posted by Tante Shvester (Member # 8202) on :
 
Mmm... Me really want cookie! But with the kosher thing I've got on, I'm afraid it wouldn't work.
 

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Posted by Tatiana (Member # 6776) on :
 
If enough people who eat kosher sign up, you could have your own kosherloop, maybe?

Or if it's possible for the non-Jewish to comply? I'm not sure what is involved. Does your kitchen have to be blessed by a Rabbi? That seems like it would be cool!
 

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Posted by Tante Shvester (Member # 8202) on :
 
Kitchens don't require rabbinical blessings. In fact, kosher Jews always find this assumption to be kind of amusing. It is just that the ingredients, ovens, utensils, and preparations have to be all kosher -- that is, conforming to "the rules".

Even if we had a kosherloop, there is the problem of trust. Just because I SAY I am 100% kosher, does that mean that you trust my ingredients and preparations? Perhaps I am a wee bit lax in my adherence to the rules, and I either think that is perfectly fine, or I don't even realize that I'm not in 100% adherence. But you haven't seen my kitchen, my way of preparing things, or the ingredients that I think are fine. And maybe if you did, you would feel that I'm not as kosher as I think I am. So you might not want to accept my cookies on my say so.

One thing that most kosher Jews can agree on is that if an independent overseer supervises the kitchen and everything that goes in and out of it, and that this supervisor is a trustworthy person whose understanding of kashrut is on the up and up, then the stuff coming out of that kitchen would be fine. But regular people don't have independent overseers supervising their kitchens. Some commercial kitchens do, though, and the things that come out of those kitchens can bear the "certified seal of kosherness" (a heksher) that lets us know that it is okie dokie.

So, you could send commercial cookies (like OREOS) to a kosher person, if the package sported an acceptable heksher. But not home baked cookies. So don't bother. I can go out and buy my own Oreos.
 

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Posted by Tatiana (Member # 6776) on :
 
Ah, yes. The problem of trust comes into other religions as well. I just thought it would be a cool thing to learn how to do. It might come in handy. Who knows? I might want to send cookies to some orthodox Jews someday.

Do you every worry our doubt whether you can trust the heksher on commercially made foods?
 

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Posted by Tante Shvester (Member # 8202) on :
 
Indeed. Errors have been known to occur. I get a list of Kosher food alerts and mislabeling emailed to me every so often.

Some restaurants or kosher products lose their kosher status if they are found to be making mistakes (or more sinisterly, deliberately circumvent the rules, usually motivated by profit).
 

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Posted by ClaudiaTherese (Member # 923) on :
 
Tante, could cookies be made with approved ingredients (after sending pictures of kosher labels, say) and all-new utensils? Or would the oven itself have to be brand new or kashered (?), too?
 

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Posted by Tante Shvester (Member # 8202) on :
 
Ask three Jews, get three different answers.

But, speaking for myself, I wouldn't be comfortable with it.
 

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Posted by ClaudiaTherese (Member # 923) on :
 
Fair enough.

I had a friend who kept kosher and was okay with new utensils. On the other hand, we were close friends with a long history together, and that would naturally make a difference in what assumptions one would be willing to make.

Regardless, KarlEd, I'd love to send you my pastry cookies. I'll dig up some other recipes that have been particularly well-received, too.

Edited to add: And virtual kosher cookies for Tante!

[ January 15, 2006, 04:51 PM: Message edited by: ClaudiaTherese ]
 

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Posted by KarlEd (Member # 571) on :
 
Did this get launched? I've been only checking on a few specific threads lately and didn't see if a thread got started actually getting this going?

Are we still interested? (I am )

at CT. Didn't see your note until just now.
 

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Posted by katharina (Member # 827) on :
 
I'm sorry - I haven't started it yet. I can do that this morning.
 

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Posted by quidscribis (Member # 5124) on :
 
I want recipes. Please.
 

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Posted by sweetbaboo (Member # 8845) on :
 
I'd love recipes too. Please.
 

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Posted by katharina (Member # 827) on :
 
I'm glad everyone is excited. I'm two procedures away from finishing a manual - as soon as I do that (in the next twenty minutes, I hope), I can call this a good work day and set up the exchange. I'm stoked for the chance to spread the joy that is pumpkin cookies.
 

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Posted by Boon (Member # 4646) on :
 
I could send cookies...first or so. I'm actually making soft, yummy snickerdoodles (my very own recipe) this coming week/weekend and would be happy to send some off. I usually make about 10 dozen when I make them because everyone loves them so much.

So one question would be, are we each sending a dozen or so? Or how many? More? Less? Should we have guidelines at all?
 

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