Rain Rain Go Away

Do you think if you sing the song enough times, it will actually work? Yeah, I didn’t think so either. Well, after a completely dry week, I’m not going to complain. During the day, the rain was just that annoying-in-between-wiper-speeds, spitting kind, so Nicholas and I were able to get some errands done earlier in the day.

After seeing a recent episode of Dora where she returns books to the library (and in the words of Stephanie, from Dispensing Happiness, “Darn that Dora!”), he was dying for a trip to the library. Even though we actually go regularly, it is now all the sudden “cool” to go because, of course, Dora goes. I promised him if he behaved during our other errands, we would go. And hey, it gave me a chance to grab a few cookbooks from there too. ;)

As promised, we did have Tortellini for dinner tonight, just a simple butter sauce with a sprinkling of Parmesan cheese, salt and pepper. Nicholas and I both love tortellini; The Husband, not so much. Eaten with just the butter sauce is a big comfort food for me, and perfect with the rainy, cold weather.

And speaking of rainy, cold weather, for some reason, it always puts me in the mood to bake. Maybe it’s something about the warmth of the oven – who knows. About a year ago, I bought Mrs. Witty’s Monster Cookies. For some reason, this was a hard purchase for me. The book was only $1.98 at a discount book warehouse, and I kept picking it up and putting it down, which was pretty silly given my import magazine habit. I think part of the reason was that it has absolutely no pictures in it. I hate that. Anyways, I did end up buying it and finally made my first recipe from it tonight, with the outcome proving the book’s value. Amazon has copies for under a buck, so go grab your copy now. I made Toasted Oat and Raisin Cookies and they are delicious. They have a slightly crispy, sugary outside with a softer inside. I’ll definitely be making these again, and for those that ship Cookie CARE packages, they should travel well.

It’s been a whole two days since Nicholas and The Girlfriend saw each other and between that and The Husband being away, Nicholas has had enough. So, the young couple has a breakfast date tomorrow, which will hopefully tide him over until The Husband comes home Monday, who he’s desperately missing.

All for tonight folks … off to snuggle with my munchkin.

Toasted Oat and Raisin Cookies
(includes some Sweetnicks modifications)
2-1/2 cup regular oats (toasted, optional)
3/4 cup vegetable shortening
3/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1-1/2 cups all purpose or whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground allspice
1-1/2 cups dark raisins

Preheat oven to 350 and move rack to center of oven. In a mixing bowl, cream the shortening until it is soft. Add the sugars, beating until fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla, flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and allspice. Combine well. Stir in the oats (cooled, if toasted) and raisins). Mix well. Drop by tablespoons on greased baking sheets. Bake for about 15 minutes. Makes about 3 dozen.

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