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I wanted to feature books on gingerbread. The multitude of gingerbread man, baby, girl, woman, twins, doll, bear, dog, computer mouse (joke) books out there have raised my blood sugar to dangerous levels.
Cookies are less sweet but there are some winners available - and most of them are holiday free! Read them now. Read them months from now. Still tasty.
The Duckling Gets a Cookie!? by Mo Willems. The cheek of that little duckling! He asked for a cookie - politely - and he got one. The Pigeon wants a cookie. Does anyone ever give HIM a cookie? Another delightful meltdown by the world's favorite pigeon! And cookies. And a very cute Duckling. (And too many sentence fragments.)
Cookies : Bite-size Life Lessons by Amy Krouse Rosenthal, illustrated by Jane Dyer. Oooooh, Jane Dyer artwork. Now that IS sweet! Rosenthal uses the process of baking and eating cookies to introduce concepts such as the difference between "fair" and "unfair" or what it means to cooperate. And the pictures? Well, they are by Jane Dyer.
Read
Christmas Cookies : Bite-size Holiday Lessons by the same team to feel all warm and yule-tide cozy.
Gingerbread bunnies, gingerbread husbands, gingerbread hearts, wives, foxes, ponies, dreams, AAAHHH!!!
Still...
The Gingerbread Boy by Paul Galdone. This is the version I grew up with. The text is straight forward and the illustrations are bright and snappy.
The following book is for teenagers. Gingerbread by Rachel Cohn. Cyd Charisse - no, not the long-legged actor from the '50s - is a young teen with a lot of attitude. She's been thrown out of school - again. Her mother and stepfather are fed up. So across the country to NYC, Cyd goes, to meet her biological dad and her half-siblings and, hopefully, get straightened out. There are not many cookies in this book. There is a lot of smart-a** dialogue and convoluted thinking. Cyd makes some blunders but the reader cheers her on. There might be some dated phrases here (c2004).
BTW, Gingerbread is her rag doll, her talisman and best friend. I relate. I still have my kid-hood best friend. (In the attic.)
Be forewarned: this post is one giant spoiler. Not of this book, actually, just the 11 that preceded it. ;)
Obviously there have been many changes since this series began, some more predictable than others. Zoey Redbird is no longer just a fledgling; she’s actually a High Priestess now. Or she would be if she wasn’t in jail for killing two men. (Yes, sweet and kind Zoey! But hey, there have been 10 full books since we were introduced; she even says curse words sometimes now!) And since she’s in human jail, she’ll most likely die there when her body rejects the change.
During this incarceration, she’ll surely have visitors, but Heath won’t be one of them as he’s no longer Zoey’s boyfriend. And he’s dead. Well, not all the way dead – he’s sort of been reincarnated, but more in a HoN way than the traditional sense.
On the friendship front, Stevie Rae is still Zoey’s bestie, as is Aphrodite!?! Clearly they’ve both evolved over the course of the series as well – one is now also a High Priestess and the other is no longer even a vampire! You’ve got a 50/50 shot at correctly guessing who’s gone which way. ;)
Besides those original friendships and loveships that readers have been following for 7 years, there have also been cast changes (staff and family, allies and enemies), scene changes (schools and islands and other-worldly realms, oh my!) and conjuring of all sorts of magick – new and old, light and dark.
But one thing has remained constant. (Okay, two things – you know Grandma Redbird wasn’t going anywhere.*) Even in prison, Zoey’s still craving brown pop. It was her beverage of choice when we first met her, and it’s still the first thing she wishes for when served super-runny eggs and beef-jerky-hard bacon in her cell. The only question is: will she be drinking it with her last death-row meal, or using it toast her success at the conclusion of her story?
That’s the one thing I’m not going to spoil, folks. ;)
*She’s of course Zoey’s first jailhouse visitor, toting a picnic basket stocked with her signature lavender chocolate-chip cookies.
At the innocent age of fifteen, Selma was just beginning to experience the power of her first love.
Unfortunately, living in Bosnia in 1992, Selma and her parents soon found themselves targets of the Bosnian War. Being in a war, they didn’t have a lot of choices when it came to food. They ate whatever they could find.
Since Selma and her parents lived in a city, they didn’t have a vegetable garden or live stock. They ran out of money, so they couldn’t just go out and buy food.
At first, they would walk to Selma’s grandparents’ farm and borrow food. The walk would usually take them about two hours there and two hours back, but as the war situation got worse, going there became too dangerous.
After Selma’s father got arrested by the Serb army and taken away to a concentration camp, Selma and her mother were at the end of their rope. They had absolutely nothing to eat and no way of getting food. That’s when one of Selma’s neighbors pitched in and started sharing with them what little food she had left.
She didn’t have much herself, so they had to come up with their own recipes in order to create something out of nothing.
One of Selma’s favorite things to eat at the time were these little doughnut-like cookies they didn’t even have a name for.
In a large bowl, they would mix a little bit of flour with a couple of diced apples, a pinch of sugar, and some water. They would, then, take spoon-fulls of it and deep fry until golden brown. Sprinkled with some powder sugar—if they were lucky enough to have it— it almost tasted delicious.
Those were the happy memories of shared meals in a war. However, those days didn’t last too long, for Selma was unfortunate enough to be taken away from home and thrown into a concentration/rape camp where she had to learn the hard way about how little a person needs in order to survive.
Follow Selma’s journey through love, despair, hope, and peace in author Sanela Jurich’s Remember Me. Experience the brutality of the Bosnian Genocide, but see how God’s hand restores Selma’s life tenfold. Understand the courage it takes to face your attackers and relive the pain in the name of justice. Discover whether love can blossom from beneath the rubble of war.
Thanks for stopping by to share your food for thought, Sanela!
You can find Sanela here:
How time flies. I thought I'd be back here sooner, but I think there's some sort of time warp thing that happens when its really hot. Like, everything slows down and days go by and you don't even know what you've been doing. It all kind of melts together, and next thing you know its been weeks since you've updated your blog.
So I said I'd have the finished art of the mice reading the letter done, but I don't. Its been worked on and changed and added to - a lot - and will be done soon! No, really. I've had to switch over to other things. And one of them I can show is this cookie art.
These are actually all individual drawings, which I did a mash-up of for a group portrait. This is what they really look like ~
They're all Prismacolor colored pencils on paper, and are all ACEO size (2.5" x 3.5").
I've already made
prints available of the group shot, but am thinking of putting some of these originals for sale as well. If I can get my brain out of slo-mo enough to get it together. Really, when its 100 degrees, I have to do more 'lie downs' and everything is so much more of an effort. And I have good A/C! But still.
When I was a kid, before we got central air installed, we had a regular air conditioner in the up-high bathroom window. I so clearly remember going in there and turning it up full blast, then laying down on the floor in the dark with the door shut, just soaking in the freezing air coming out, for as long as I could get away with before I either froze, or someone knocked to see what was up.
Anyways. Yeah. Cookies! Please let me know if you're interested in any one in particular, and I'll put a listing together for you in the shop. The background on the originals is a warm white with some paper texture. I've cleaned all that up for the prints and made it very white - just fyi.
Hope its cool where you are!!
When you are raised in an America Italian Family home life is full of traditions. Two of the most traditions are family gatherings and food. Trust me, I was raised in one. Seems life was centered around food and family. And maybe more food. Christina Ciccone, the main character grew up on her mama’s spaghetti and meatballs. She loved Sunday dinners which consisted of spaghetti, hot garlic bread and salad.And of course there was always Neapolitan Ice Cream for dessert.
I mention Pizzelle cookies in the story. These fancy waffle cookies were served up for Christina’s elegant high school graduation party. Her mother and her Aunt Linda made them in the waffle iron the morning of the party. These are her favorite cookie.
Helen Ciccone, Christina’s mother learned the craft of making great spaghetti sauce from her mother. It was a recipe in the family for generations. The secret was to put pork into the sauce for great flavor and add a little bit of sugar to sweeten the sauce and take out some of the sour taste from the tomatoes.
Now, Darien Russo, the young man obsessed with Christina is hooked on fast food. When you are a paramedic and on the run all the time it’s just about the only option. His favorite fast food is a footlong Subway turkey sandwich and chips. He once ate four bags of chips while sitting outside of Christina’s house hoping he’d see her.
Jade, Christina’s BFF loves to come over at night and hang out with Christina in her room searching for paranormal topics on the internet. She loves to munch on Caramel Corn while chatting.
Mysterious Mrs Silva, retired school teacher and chaperone on the trip to Rome with Christina’s history club is a very refined lady. She loves her Chardonnay with a fresh Caesar salad. She’s been known to throw a hissy fit it lettuce is wilted.
Mr Frescelli, Christina’s history teacher and bachelor is not much of a cook. His evening meal consists mainly of a frozen dinner and a beer. One of his favorites is the Hungry Man Meatloaf Platter. He watches the History Channel while trying to grade papers.
For the Vestal Virgins, their specialty is making the famous ‘mola salsa’ cakes. These were a special wafer like cakes made of pelt flour,water and salt, then burnt in the turibulum which was a type of incense burner. The cakes were brought to special events and crumbled up and sprinkled over areas as offerings for the gods.Thanks for stopping by to share your food for thought, Lorraine.
You can find Lorraine here:
I never knew there was such a thing until my wife just told me. But today is National Chocolate Chip Cookie Day. I just had to blog about this momentous occasion. Chocolate chip cookies happen to be one of my favorite food groups. They're almost right up there with ice cream. Why aren't there bigger celebrations for this wonderful holiday? There should be parades. Balloon floats. Fireworks. Cookie barbecues. Paid holidays. Do your part, enjoy a chocolate chip cookie today with someone you love. :)
I feel like I've been hibernating for much of the winter. Why go out when it's icy cold and snowy? Especially when it's nice and cozy in the studio, and I can do what I love best– write and make art.
But, oh yeah– we DO have this thing about making cookies every time it snows. And it has snowed a LOT this winter! (I am capable of eating more cookies than a bear. Heh!)
Here is a wonderful and very thoughtful blogger's review of Bear and Bird. Enjoy!
Art from Bear and Bird, written by James Skofield, Sleeping Bear Press, March 2014.
(Below: Oatmeal-Butterscotch cookies. OH yeah!)
We served these yesterday to non-gluten-free guests, and they were a hit with everyone, kids and grown-ups alike. They have a nice, chewy texture.
I actually made them egg-free as well (using egg substitute) since one of our guests is allergic to eggs. The cookies have a lot of butter in them, but next time I may try coconut oil, since I’ve made similar cookies with regular flour and coconut oil in the past, and they were great.
The recipe is once again from Artisanal Gluten-Free Cooking by Peter and Kelli Bronski. You can find the recipe on their blog here.
Today, we made a little candy! So I’ll show you that when I have time. Hope you’re cozied up with loved ones and enjoying festivities.
P.S. We got a special Christmas supplement to the newspaper today: a cup of water and an earthworm fell out when I removed plastic bag #1! Luckily the paper itself was dry and wormless. Gives you an idea of how much rain we’ve had in the last day or so.
Turns out my recipe for almondy cookies easily adapts to a gluten-free version. I made a half-batch last week just to test it out. Everyone loved them, including visiting gluten-eaters. They are not too sweet and have a nice shortbready-type texture.
I make my own gluten-free flour blend in large batches according to the recipe in Artisanal Gluten-Free Cooking, but you could probably use any GF flour blend.
GLUTEN-FREE ALMONDY CUT-OUT COOKIES (adapted from this cooks.com recipe)
Makes about 4 dozen cookies, depending on the size of your cutters, but you can easily halve it if you don’t want that many.
2 sticks butter (I’ll have to try subbing coconut oil another time….)
1/2 cup white sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1/4 tsp. almond extract
1 1/2 cups almond meal
3 cups gluten-free flour blend (homemade or purchased)
pinch of salt
Cream together butter, sugar, egg, and almond extract. Beat in flour, almond meal, and salt.
Make a ball and flatten it, wrap in wax paper and place in the fridge for an hour or a day.
Preheat oven to 325°, roll out dough, and use cutters to cut shapes. Ours were a little thicker—in the 1/4 inch range, but you could go thinner, depending on how crispy or chewy you want yours. Just watch the time—you definitely don’t want to overcook them.
Bake for 8-10 minutes or more. They should be very lightly browned. I should’ve cooked ours a little longer, but I got impatient.
I’m tempted to up the almond meal further and lower the flour portion. Maybe next time. Also hoping to try out a GF molasses cookie recipe. Stay tuned. For other eating and cooking adventures (including gluten-free) click here.
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Aunt Anna’s Anise Cookies
I made anise cookies last night. I made them to share at my Illustrator monthly meeting’s holiday cookie exchange extravaganza today.
I chose to make anise cookies and this sketch (from last year), in memory of my sweet Aunt Anna who passed away last year, at this time and who’s recipe this is.
It was passed down to her from her mother-in-law of German decent. So they’ve been a family tradition for ions and my family became part of that tradition somewhere in the 50′s, I believe.
I suppose they are an acquired taste, what with that licorice taste from the anise and all. In fact my husband and niece both called them poison cookies until those lovely, seductive, little holiday shaped biscuits finally grew on them. But to say my family loves them is an understatement and now they’ve become an even more important part of our holiday tradition.
Anise cookies.
Anna’s anise cookies.
Aunt Anna’s anise cookies.
Thank you auntie, for being such a wonderful, loving person, my godmother and for leaving us with such a lovely, sweet tasting tradition. You’re always in my heart.
Given that the daughter is currently living at home, she was willing to help in cookie making this year. :-)
We tried some new things (with varied success) - these being chocolate-cherry chews -
-and these cookie 'lollies'. (These would be better given a second attempt. There is definitely a learning curve).
And what holiday is complete without a rainbow-unicorn?
Awarrd-winning author Lyn Miller-Lachmann has spent the past few months living in Portugal. She has posted such fascinating insights into her adventures that I asked her if she would write a cookie post. She graciously shared the following.
Pastel de Nata
I don’t bake and for the past four months have been living in Portugal, so my contribution contains neither a recipe nor a holiday-oriented treat. However, the “Pastel de Nata” is Portugal’s national pastry and enjoyed also by those living in former colonies of Brazil, Angola, Mozambique, East Timor, Goa, and Macau and by the many Portuguese living outside their country. The first “Pastéis de Nata” were made by monks at the enormous Jerónimos Monastery in Belem, just outside Lisbon. As the story goes, the monks had a variety of uses for egg whites but were at a loss for using the yolks, so they started to make custards with the egg yolks, cream, sugar, cinnamon and other ingredients, and to bake the custards inside a flaky crust.
When the pastel de nata is ready, it has a slightly browned top. The pastries are best when eaten warm, right out of the oven, and with cinnamon sprinkled on top.
The oldest and best-known purveyor of the pastry to the general public is Pastéis de Belem, located across the
street from the monastery that is now a major tourist attraction in Lisbon. Pastéis de Belem is a magnet for locals as well as tourists, and most of the time there’s a line just to get into the door. However, there were torrential rains the day my husband and I went, along with our two adult children who were visiting, and we found a seat in the café right away.
Pastéis de Belem dates from 1837 and the café’s interior features the traditional blue tiles, or “azulejos.”
0 Comments on Cookie Traditions as of 12/26/2012 1:03:00 PM
I’ve been posting about cookies for several years now. I think since my sister and I have gotten together to do our Cookies and Cocktails, we’ve thought about the cookies we’ve baked over the years and the special recipes we got from our mom. I can’t say I remember mom particularly baking cookies at Christmas, but I sure remember her baking cookies.
Today, I’m going to share a recipe that’s been a sheer delight to me and my children. I cam across this recipe in a cookbook my children’s elementary school put together and sold several years ago. I cannot bake these and leave them in my house as they are one of the few items I cannot stop myself from eating. I’ve recently took in a batch to work and my colleagues had pretty much the same complain. That simply means they’re delish! And, for just that reason, I’m sharing the recipe here. Whether or not you like to cook, you’ll enjoy the ease of this recipe and the joy and brings to those for whom you bake them.
Orleans
saltine crackers
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 cup butter
I bag chocolate semi-sweet chocolate chips
nuts (optional)
Preheat oven to 350.
Line cookie sheet with saltine crackers. Set aside.
In sauce pan, mix together brown sugar and butter. Heat to 126 degrees on candy thermometer. Pour hot mixture over crackers, smoothing with spatula as needed. place in oven for 6-8 minutes. Remove from oven when ingredients begin to bubble. Sprinkle chocolate chips over top, letting the warm mixture melt them. Smooth with spatula. Sprinkle with your favorite nuts. Refrigerate until cool. Remove, break into pieces and store in covered container.
I haven’t found many ways to improve this recipe but might in the future try graham crackers or Club crackers. Also, sprinkling in caramel chips or milk chocolate chips rather than semi sweet sounds interesting.
Happy Holidays!
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cookies 
I do have plans for my Cookie posts and I this year, I’m getting things started with a few books by author of color in which 
food plays a primary role. I remember salivating through Silver Phoenix by Cindy Pon and the Great Wall of Lucy Wu by Wendy Wan-Long Shang but,today I’m looking at books in which food is central to the story.
Act of Grace by Karen Simpson Grace reluctantly embarks on the unlikeliest of journeys and into the magical world of the African-American traditions used by her ancestors to fight slavery and oppression, she undergoes a spiritual transformation that leads to the true nature of her calling: to lead Jonathan Gilmore, the town of Vigilant and her own soul on a path toward reconciliation, redemption and true grace. And, she eats to bury her pain. (Amazon)
A la Carte by Tanita Davis Seventeen year old Lainey of becoming a world famous chef one day and maybe even having her own cooking show. (Do you know how many African American female chefs there aren’t? And how many vegetarian chefs have their own shows? The field is wide open for stardom!) But when her best friend—and secret crush—suddenly leaves town, Lainey finds herself alone in the kitchen. With a little help from Saint Julia (Child, of course), Lainey finds solace in her cooking as she comes to terms with the past and begins a new recipe for the future.
Peppered with recipes from Lainey’s notebooks, this delicious debut novel finishes the same way one feels finishing a good meal—satiated, content, and hopeful. (Amazon)
Dumpling Days by Grace Lin Pacy is back! The beloved heroine of The Year of the Dog and The Year of the Rat has returned in a brand new story. This summer, Pacy’s family is going to Taiwan for an entire month to visit family and prepare for their grandmother’s 60th birthday celebration. Pacy’s parents have signed her up for a Chinese painting class, and at first she’s excited. This is a new way to explore her art talent! But everything about the trip is harder than she thought it would be–she looks like everyone else but can’t speak the language, she has trouble following the art teacher’s instructions, and it’s difficult to make friends in her class. At least the dumplings are delicious… (GoodReads)
Bite of the Mango by Mariatu Kamara When 12-year-old Mariatu set out for a neighboring village, she never arrived. Heavily armed rebel soldiers, many no older than children themselves, attacked and tortured Mariatu. During this brutal act of senseless violence they cut off both her hands. Stumbling through the countryside, Mariatu miraculously survived. The sweet taste of a mango, her first food after the attack, reaffirmed her desire to live, but the challenge of clutching the fruit in her bloodied arms reinforced the grim new reality that stood before her. With no parents or living adult to support her and living in a refugee camp, she turned to begging in the streets of Freetown. In this gripping and heartbreaking true story, Mariatu shares with readers the details of the brutal attack, its aftermath and her eventual arrival in Toronto. There she began to pull together the pieces of her broken life with courage, astonishing resilience and hope. (Amazon)
Bestest.Ramadan.Ever. by Medeia Sharif Okay, so during Ramadan, we’re not allowed to eat from sunrise to sunset. For one whole month. My family does this every year, even though I’ve been to a mosque exactly twice in my life. And it’s true, I could stand to lose a few pounds. (Sadly, my mom’s hotness skipped a generation.) But is starvation really an acceptable method? I think not. (Amazon)
Stir it Up by Ramin Ganeshram Thirteen-year-old Anjali’s life is rich with the smell of curry from her parents’ roti shop and an absolute passion for food. More than anything, Anjali wants to be a chef who competes on a kids’ cooking reality TV show. But Anjali must keep her wish a secret from her family, who thinks Anjali’s passions are beneath her. Thank goodness for Deema, Anjali’s grandmother, whose insight and love can push past even the oldest family beliefs. Woven with recipes that cook up emotions and actual culinary recipes that make food, this novel is as delicious as it is satisfying. (Amazon)
Hot, Sour, Salty, Sweet by Sherri L. Smith Ana Shen has what her social studies teacher calls a “marvelously biracial, multicultural family” but what Ana simply calls a Chinese American father and an African American mother. And on eighth-grade graduation day, that’s a recipe for disaster. Both sets of grandparents are in town to celebrate, and Ana’s best friend has convinced her to invite Jamie Tabata–the cutest boy in school–for a home-cooked meal. Now Ana and her family have four hours to prepare their favorite dishes for dinner, and Grandma White and Nai Nai can’t agree on anything. Ana is tired of feeling caught between her grandparents and wishes she knew whose side she was supposed to be on. But when they all sit down for their hot, sour, salty, and sweet meal, Ana comes to understand how each of these different flavors, like family, fit perfectly together. (GoodReads summary)
What other titles would you suggest?
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My warm-up drawing for the day turned into a cookbook cover. I consider it a rough, mock-up. I could tweak, change and alter this thing forever, if I let myself.
…And now I think I need my own cookie fix… : )
Today I am thinking about anise cookies.
Anna’s anise cookies.
Aunt Anna’s cookies.
My sisters and I make them every Christmas and they are Aunt Anna’s recipe.
I always think of Aunt Anna when I make them. I’m going to make some today and think of Aunt Anna.
R.I.P sweet, lovely, Aunt Anna.
Fall Gingerbread
© Paula Pertile
Gingerbread, cookies, and colored pencils. And Fall! Some of my favorite things.
I tried out my new Caran d'ache Pablo colored pencils for this, and loved them. I used some Polychromos too, for more control. Both are oil based pencils, which I prefer to wax.
And do you know what? None of them broke in the electric pencil sharpener. (OK, one did, once.) But I probably jammed it in funny or something. Last time I tried to use my Prismacolors they ALL BROKE, over and over again. I was thinking part of the fault might be my sharpener, but now I know the sharpener is fine. So these new pencils are definitely 'keepers'!
Welcome Back to Kid Lit Reviews After last thirty days of wildly romping through April from A to Z, I needed to take a little rest. No kidding, my pinky finger on my writing hand went numb. The finger was totally and completely numb from the tip to the edge of the hand. Now that [...]
SANTA SLIMS DOWN: a Christmas story of rebellion and compromise
By Eleanor Tylbor
My annual sharing of the play focusing on Santa's need to lose weight in order to fly on Christmas Eve.
CAST OF CHARACTERS:
SANTA CLAUS – the jolly, old elf himself who ate one too many cook
MRS. CLAUS – Santa's faithful wife, who is worried about Santa’s cholestrol
RUDOLPH AND THE REINDEER GANG
SCENE: SANTA'S WORKSHOP, TWO WEEKS BEFORE "THE" TRIP. SANTA IS CHECKING OVER HIS TOYS. THERE IS A KNOCK AT THE DOOR RUDOLPH, ACCOMPANIED BY DONNER AND BLITZEN BARGE IN
AT RISE: A MUCH MORE PLUMP THAN USUAL SANTA IS SITTING AT A TABLE FILLED WITH TOYS
SANTA
This is an expected surprise, boys. To what do I owe this visit?
RUDOLPH
(moving his antlers from side-to-side defiantly)
We're here to give you a message, Santa
RUDOLPH
It’s about food
SANTA
(eating one cookie after another)
Mmm - good. Love those chocolate chips. You want one of these cookies? Why didn’t you say so? Plenty enough to go ‘round
RUDOLPH
Santa, there's something we really gotta tell you…
DONNER
- it's real important-like…
BLITZEN
…major important
RUDOLPH
(Turns around and addresses DONNER and BLITZEN)
Is there an echo, here? Did you not make me, Rudolph, the spokes-deer? Maybe one of youse wants’ta take over?
DONNER
(staring down at his feet)
And…you do a great job, Rudy. Super job
BLITZEN
You our main reindeer, man!
RUDOLPH
I mean, if one of youse guys can say it better…
DONNER
No-no… You’re the best
RUDOLPH
So lemme do the job! Cheez – everyone wants'ta be a star… Now where was I? See Santa, we're worried!
DONNER AND BLITZEN
(together)
Real worried!
RUDOLPH
(whirling around)
Hello? D'ya mind?
SANTA nibbles on a cookie while watching a train run around a track
SANTA
Oh my-oh-my! I love watching the train speed around the track. Um… Worried? About what, boys? Now just look at this train go. The elves finished it this morning
RUDOLPH
How can I say this nicely -
DONNER AND BLITZEN
Just tell him! You gotta!
RUDOLPH
(whirling around)
One more word from either of youse…
DONNER/BLITZEN
Sor-ree! We're just trying to help…
RUDOLPH
Well don't! You elected me head of the North Pole Reindeer Union so lemme do the job!
SANTA
What’s this all about, boys? Could somebody tell me?
RUDOLPH
I'm tryin' Santa, I'm really tryin’ if only these two big mouths would let me
BLITZEN
We promise we won't say another word, See? We’re zipping our mouths closed
DONNER
Maybe one word - two at the most. Sorry…
RUDOLPH
It's about your - um - well… Your shape
SANTA
(laughing)
My shape? I’m Santa! I’m supposed to look this way
RUDOLPH
It's um - very round
SANTA
(laughing)
This is not news, Rudolph. Now if you'll excuse me…I’m very busy here…
RUDOLPH
Much more than usual, Santa. Much… much… more
SANTA
I’ve always looked like this. You know that!
RUDOLPH
It hurts me to h
On of my few online friends that I’ve been able to meet in person is author Medeia Sharif. We met at ALAN last month and had dinner one evening with Lyn Miller Lachmann. I think Medeia and I share a real passion for teaching teamed with frustration for the condition of public education. Unlike me, Medeia is an extremely talented writing! Her first book, Bestest.Ramadan.Ever. was released this year and I believe she is currently working on her next book. Here, Medeia shares thought of cookies and holidays!
I’m not a domestic person. I haven’t cooked or baked in ages. Normal holiday fare is a batch of cookies from the local supermarket. Here’s a picture of some cookies I recently purchased. My favorite is the one with 
the red jam or jelly in the middle. I’ve loved those since I was a kid. As for music…holiday songs get tiring when in rewind, but one song I’ll always listen to is U2’s “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)”. I listen almost exclusively to rock music and I adore U2. Here’s the song in case you don’t know it:
My favorite holiday book is Clive Barker’s The Thief of Always. The book has a protagonist named Harvey who enters a magical house where time is endless and no one ever ages, therefore he experiences a whirlwind of seasons. It’s not a real Christmassy book, but there is more than one Christmas scene, although everything in the house is tinged with evil. It’s one of my “cozy” novels in that I like to read it over and over again, especially on cold nights in the heated indoors.
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4 Comments on Cookie Traditions, last added: 12/15/2011
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What an honor for your aunt… to be part of HoHoDooDa! Such a sweet story :o)). Love it!
“ions” is one of the sweetest typos I have seen. In fact you could say that for eons your family has been getting a charge out of the recipe and feel positively attracted to eating many anise cookies. I bet there is not a negative thought about them at all!
Those cookies are delicious as is your illustration.
What a lovely story!
they look like they’re a butter-type cookie only add anise? It’s actually in baking that I can tolerate the anise flavor
And it can’t be overpowering! lol Maybe you should try making half a batch going a little lighter on the anise flavor and see how that goes over 
It’s so nice your aunt left this behind for all of you to enjoy, but I’m sure there are many more things you certainly remember her by 
I love tradition!! Sweet illo♥
Ha ha, that is the sweetest correction of a typo I’ve ever seen. Thanks I’ll fix it right now!
Thanks Susan!
Thanks Julie
Thanks Vicki, (definitely one of my friends who loves the cookies!)
Thanks Laurel!
Thanks! Yes, she was a wonderful person and cookies are just one of the many, many things I’ll remember about her.