Nicholas and I spent a really fun afternoon together today. Our first stop after school was Target, as I promised him I would buy him a few puzzles. He loves putting puzzles together, and he only has one, so it was time to add to his collection. After that, we dropped off movies at Blockbuster (more on that in a sec) and drycleaning for The Husband. When we came home, he was dying, simply dying, to take Eli for a walk. It has been raining for the past week, but the drops stopped long enough for us to get a 20-minute walk around the neighborhood in. When we came back, it was time for cookies!
I asked Nicholas what type of cookies he wanted to make and after thinking for a moment, “Peanut butter! I love peanut butter!” Fair enough. He wanted to make a plate for his school, his grandma and us. I ran upstairs to find a cookbook to use for a recipe, and, taking full advantage of today being Rediscovering My Library Thursday, I grabbed Pillsbury’s Best Desserts off the shelf. I have had this one for at least a few years, and have yet to use it. Luckily for me, they had a peanut butter cookie recipe! A short 20 minutes later, we were pulling the first of three trays out of the oven. He’s had 3 already, so I think it’s safe to say they were a hit.
If it’s Thursday, it must also be time for our New (to Me) Blogger on the Block nomination, and this week, it goes to Alice Q. Foodie. California-based, she’s not only new-to-me, she’s new to the food blogging scene in general, having only started in May. With her Chopped Caprese Salad, bookstore confessions and culinary school dish, she’s well on her way.
Now for the movies… anyone have any good must-see recommendations? I returned three today and none were wows. I saw An Unfinished Life (ok), The Prince and Me 2
(original was much better) and Shop Girl
(very s-l-o-w). Combined, the movies feature popular actors like Steve Martin, Morgan Freeman, Robert Redford, Jennifer Lopez, and Claire Danes. How could I have so many duds in one batch? Well, at least I’m catching up. ;)
OK folks, all for tonight. Nicholas just told me how pretty Eli looks with his curlers, so I think it’s time to save the poor dog, but not before a quick picture, of course. Until tomorrow…
A year ago today… sick day.
Peanut Butter Cookies
Recipe courtesy of Pillsbury
Yield: 4 dozen (I got 3 dozen)
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup margarine or butter, softened
1/2 cup peanut butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 egg
1-1/4 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 teaspoons sugar
Heat oven to 375. In large bowl, combine 1/2 cup sugar, brown sugar and margarine; beat until light and fluffy. Add peanut butter, vanilla and egg; blend well. Add flour, baking soda and salt; mix well. Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Place 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheets. With fork dipped in sugar, flatten balls in crisscross pattern. Bake at 375 for 6-9 minutes or until set and golden brown. Immediately remove from cookie sheets.
I haven’t watched many movies lately because I’ve been studying for my subject medical boards but I CAN tell you a movie NOT to watach (sorry no good ones!)…Bee Season. My mom and I watched it last Saturday and it was not what the cover made it seem. Oh, here’s a good one…Life is Beautiful (subtitled).
Awww, shucks – you made me blush! Thank you Cate, I am enjoying your blog too!
Followed you over from flickr. LOVE the dog pic–priceless! A Berner?
The most recently enjoyed-by-me movie that I hadn’t seen previously was “Being Julia” with Annette Bening and Jeremy Irons. Simple adaptation of a short story by Somerset Maugham (Theatre?), but Bening was just fun to watch in this one. You can tell she had a good time.
My must see movie recommendations: “Mad Hot Ballroom” and “Capote”.
I just went into my Netflix history to find the ones that I liked a lot, and here are a few: Shine, My Cousin Vinnie, Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, Because of Winn Dixie, Million Dollar Baby, Freaky Friday, both X-men movies, Popeye with Robin Williams (lots of people hated it, but I’ve seen it twice and think it’s great!), the English Patient (boo hoo), Whale Rider, Gattaca, and Gandhi. Obviously, they’re not all suitable for Nicholas, but if you watch one (that you haven’t seen before) and like it, let me know!
Well I intended to just leave a comment telling you what a great idea “Rediscovering My Library” is–I definitely need to start doing that! But now that I see all these movie comments, I’ll put in my two cents. If you like food movies and haven’t seen MOSTLY MARTHA, I highly recommend it. It’s a German movie with English subtitles (not tiring to read at all–the movie is very visual) and won all kinds of awards. You can read about it on imdb.com. Kids probably would be bored by it, though.
Oh, and thanks for the reminder that I’ve been meaning to make p.butter cookies for weeks. Nicholas has great taste! : )
Claire – I will definitely stay away from Bee Season – thanks for the warning. I loved Life is Beautiful, and remember the director’s exuberance when he won the Academy Award – great movie.
Alice Q – no problem! Thanks for dropping by. :)
Belinda – Yes, Eli is a Berner, definitely a gentle giant, and Nicholas’ permanent sidekick. I’ll add Being Julia to my list – thanks for the recommendation. :)
Nupur – two more for my list!
PatL – Popeye? Really? I’ll have to check it out. Thanks for your list. I’m going to be busy, but in a good way. :)
farmgirl – you know, it’s a great way to discover cookbooks that have been long since forgotten. Haven’t heard of Mostly Martha, but added it to my Blockbuster queue – thanks for the heads up! You can’t go wrong with Peanut Butter Cookies. :)