No fair, they get COOKIES for breakfast!

I've always wanted to be the "cool mom on the block." You know, the one where all the kids hang out. My mother was that mom. When someone's kid ran away from home, they'd call our house and my mother would be sitting at the kitchen table with them, listening to their troubles over cookies and milk. I don't envy her, though, because it got harder to send them back home once the kids got to be teenagers!

In my childhood mind, I imagined the "cool mom on the block" as someone who always had freshly baked cookies laying around. Not just for dessert and snack, though - all the time, even at breakfast.

I found this great cookie recipe and tweaked it for my family. We had cookies for breakfast this morning and it was easy. I loved them! The ginger warmed me up from the inside, perfect for a cool morning! The kids, well, let's just say they are more fond of their cold cereal than the exotic idea of cookies at 7AM!

Here's my recipe:

Breakfast Ginger Cookies

The night before, mix in one bowl 1 cup of pastry flour, 1 1/2 cups rolled oats, 2 teaspoons baking powder, 1/2 teaspoon baking soda, pinch salt. Cover that and leave it on the counter. In another bowl, mix up 2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger, 1 egg, 2/3 cup milk, 1 tablespoon oil and 3 tablespoons cooking maple syrup. Cover that and leave it in the fridge overnight. Line your cookie sheet with parchment so it's all ready to go, and go to bed!

In the AM, preheat the oven to 375°. Mix the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients just until mixed. Drop the batter in 2-tablespoon-lumps onto a cookie sheet and bake for 25 minutes. This batch made 1 dozen.



Snack today was a yummy dip with fresh-tasting basil. I didn't plan quite far enough in advance for this recipe. It would have been much better chilled until it thickened a little. But it's a grownup dish, unless your kids like green food.

Basil Satin Dip

Bring a pot of water about six inches deep to boil and toss in 10.5 ounces of reduced fat tofu. Take off the heat and let it sit there for two minutes, then pour off the water and sit the tofu on a couple paper towels to drain a little. (This blanching process takes a lot of the soy flavor out of the tofu.) Toss into a blender with a tablespoon of miso (I like light miso, but it's a flavor choice, try red, too), 2 teaspoons of tahini, 1 teaspoon of grainy mustard (I don't like the really hot stuff, but something along the lines of Grey Poupon is delicious) 1/4 cup fresh, washed and blotted dry basil leaves, 1 teaspoon dried thyme, 1 clove garlic. Blend that until it's smooth and satiny. Ooh, with whole wheat crackers...Yum!


And, here I go again with the purple veggies. This was more interesting-looking than just weird though, it was more a two-tone dish, so the purple cauliflower didn't look quite so strange with the green broccoli. Hubby even ate this, which is high praise for a recipe containing a cruciferous veggie.

Broc and Cauli Salad

Cut a head of cauliflower and a pound of broccoli into florets. Peel and chop the stems of the broccoli. Steam for 7 or 8 minutes and drain. While it's steaming, finely mince a clove of garlic and a couple scallions. In a small pan on medium high heat, swirl a teaspoon of oil until fragrant. Add a teaspoon coriander, the garlic and scallions. Saute, stirring for 2 minutes or so until fragrant. The seeds might jump around a bit, and that's fine. Remove the pan from the heat and let it cool down a bit before adding 2 teaspoon minced fresh dill (or 1 teaspoon dried) and 1/2 cup plain nonfat yogurt. Pat the veggies dry, add the dressing and toss. Chill for about an hour (or longer) to let the flavors marry.