Halloween Cookies!

"I'm going to be the most gorgeous knight in all the land, and I will go save my princess from candy overload!" laughed Zoe as she placed her hand over her forehead, went down on her knees and expelled a dramatic sigh.
"Well when I'm a zombie I'm going to come and eat your face off and your princess will never like you!" Kendra exclaimed with a mouth full of cookie.
"Okay that's it, out you go. Do something useful for a change instead of eating all my cookies," Stella said as she pushed the girls out the door. She was adorned with a tall witch hat and green cape, and looked as if she was about to cast a spell on them.
Nearby Kevin laughed into his coffee, spilling it, as he overlooked the scene. 
"Seriously I have no idea where they went. I made an entire batch this morning, iced and all, then poof! They disappeared! Now I have to make another whole batch before tomorrow." Stella said as she passed Kevin throwing her arms up,"and scones, squares and biscuits!"
Kevin then proceeded to spill more coffee onto his newspaper, as Kendra peeked inside the door while munching on a very tasty looking cookie.
              
                                                                         ***

The BEST Sugar Cookies

1 cup sugar
3/4 cup butter- softened
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
2 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt

In a large bowl beat sugar and butter together till light and fluffy. Add in eggs one at a time, followed by the vanilla.
In a separate bowl whisk together flour, baking powder and salt.
Add flour mixture to butter mixture till well incorporated.

Cover and refrigerate for up to 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
Flouring surface and rolling pin, roll out dough out till it is 1/8 of an inch thick

Cut out, place on a baking tray covered in parchment and bake for 6-8 minutes till edges are a very light golden brown.
Cool and decorate!

Royal Icing: for decorating!

1 egg white
1 cup icing sugar
2-3 drops lemon juice

Using a whisk, whisk ingredients together till they form a spreadable icing. If it's too thin, add more icing sugar. If too thick, add more lemon juice.

Put desired colours in icing, and decorate!

How to Make Spider Web Cookies:
Cover a circular cookie in white icing. Create a large dot with a circle around it making the cookie look like a target. Starting from the middle, using a toothpick or skewer, drag it through the icing to the edge of the cookie. You will see it as it drags, it moves the black icing along creating the spider web effect. Repeat all the way around the cookie.

Writing and photography by Emma

Nana's Cinnamon Coffee Cake

Stella's mother, whom they all call 'Nana', is visiting for a few weeks. She shares Stella's passion for feeding one and all, but she has her little quirks which often add spice to her conversation.

While she mixes up her family-famous Cinnamon Coffee Cake in the kitchen she says to her grand-daughters, "Now girls, you can have a piece, but you have to earn it. While this cake is baking, your mom can watch it and we can take a walk to the park. You girls can get some exercise on the swings and what-not while I people watch.This town has so many interesting weirdos and they amuse me."

Zoe thinks Nana is forgetting that she is fifteen and a little old for playground equipment, but she deems it wise not to say anything about that for the time being. She likes hearing Nana's observations and assessments of the world too much to risk irritating her. She also likes her delicious, moist Coffee Cake with its cinnamon-crunch layers and is looking forward to having some with a cup of tea after their outing. Zoe looks at Stella and Stella looks back at her with a slight lift of her eyebrow and just a hint of a grin.

"Enjoy yourselves, girls, and Mother..."

"Yes, dear" says Nana with a slight look of challenge in her eyes.

"Go easy on the citizens. Many of them are my customers."

"I'm never uncharitable, Estelle, only truthful," says Nana, winking at the girls.

She decides she'll join Nana and the girls for tea and cake, too. Stella looks up at the calendar, reminding herself of the date of Nana's flight back home. She'll need Kevin and Savannah in that morning so she can drive Nana to the airport.


Cinnamon Coffee Cake


Mix in a small bowl and set aside:
1/4 cup sugar
1 Tablespoon cinnamon
2 Tablespoons crushed nuts of your choice


Beat together 1/2 cup butter
1 cup sugar
beat in two eggs and 1 teaspoon vanilla

mix together:
1 and 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 and 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
a pinch of salt

mix 1 teaspoon baking soda into a cup of sour cream in a bowl or 2 cup measure (the sour cream will begin to foam and rise with the baking soda) - sometimes Nana uses full fat yogurt instead of the sour cream, or a combination of both.

Add the flour mixture alternately with the sour cream to the wet butter/sugar mixture. Mix just until blended.

Pour half the batter into greased and floured nine inch baking pan
Sprinkle with half the cinnamon mixture
Repeat.

Bake at 350 degrees Farenheit for 30 to 40 minutes.

Delicious served slightly warm.

Carrot Ginger Soup with Zucchini Cheddar Bread

 The first week of September has been hot, like August. Stella's customers aren't sure whether to order hot coffee or iced coffee. Everyone knows this weather cannot last, and are reluctant to let the summer go, but the calendar says fall is just around the corner, and beyond that, winter. The school kids are eager to wear their new school clothes but fuzzy sweaters, crisp blue jeans, and the latest boot styles will have to wait a bit longer in the closets around town. Stella's daughters, Zoe and Kendra are still wearing their summer dresses, shorts and skirts to school, along with their friends and classmates.

Stella knows from experience that even though the weather says 'salads and cold sandwiches', the human subconscious, especially in Canada, begins to turn naturally to comfort food as soon as the routines of fall resume. Although the thermometer outside will climb to 30 degrees this afternoon, many of her customers, particularly the elderly couple who come for lunch most Fridays, will be after soup with a side of warm bread.

So, this morning, Stella is making a pot of her famous Carrot Ginger Soup. Today's special will be the soup with a generous slice of Zucchini Cheddar bread. When it is time for her break, however, she'll be having a salad.

Carrot Ginger Soup - adapted from The Moosewood Cookbook 
serves 4-5

Bring to a boil:

2 lbs total of  a mixture of mostly carrots with either sweet potato or butternut squash, peeled and chopped
4 cups stock (or hot water with vegetable broth cubes added)
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1-2 medium potatoes, peeled and chopped

Cover and simmer 12-15 minutes. Let cool a bit.

Saute in 3-4 Tbps. butter (or coconut oil) with a little salt, until onions are clear and tender:

1 cup chopped onion
1-2 cloves crushed garlic
1/3 cup chopped cashews or almonds
1 Tbsp grated ginger root - added just before the onions are finished cooking

Puree everything together in a blender until smooth, in batches if necessary. Return the puree to the pot and whisk in one of the following:

1/4 cup of either: coconut milk, yogurt and a tsp honey, or milk

Reheat soup gently, stirring often

Zucchini Cheddar Bread - from Joy of Cooking 

Position a rack in the center of the oven. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9 by 5-inch loaf pan.
Whisk together thoroughly in a large bowl:
     3 cups all purpose flour (or half and half whole wheat like we have done here)
     4 teaspoons baking powder
     1 teaspoon salt
     1/2 teaspoon baking soda
Add and toss to separate and coat with flour:
     1 cup coarsely shredded zucchini 
     3/4 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
     3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley 
     1 tablespoon snipped fresh dill, or 2 tablespoons dried
Whisk together in another bowl:
     2 large eggs
     1 cup buttermilk
     4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) warm melted unsalted butter or vegetable oil
Add to the flour mixture and mix with a few light strokes just until the dry ingredients are moistened. Do not overmix; the batter should not be smooth. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 55 to 60 minutes. Let cool in pan on a rack for 5-10 minutes before unmolding to cool completely on the rack.