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For the recipe you’ll need butter, granulated sugar, powdered sugar, vanilla, eggs, neutral oil, flour and baking soda. What I found unusual with this recipe, was the addition of oil. I did some internet sleuthing and found this may be based on an Amish sugar cookie recipe where they use both butter and oil. The oil will keep the cookies soft and moist. While this recipe doesn’t call for it, some may include cream of tartar, which will jumpstart the baking soda making the cookies rise and lighten in taste.
The recipe was very easy to prepare; it’s done in one bowl and is broken down into three steps. The butter and sugars are creamed, the wet ingredients are added next and followed by the dry ingredients. The dough is rolled into balls and flattened with the bottom of a glass that has been dipped into sugar. As I was adding flavorings, I weighed the total amount of dough I made and divided as equally as possible before adding the cocoa and strawberry powders. I pulled off a piece of dough of each flavor and pressed them together. I didn’t bother flattening and coating with sugar. The cookies puffed up nicely and were slightly golden on the bottom. The texture was soft and not overly sweet. The only downside was when eating the cookie, each flavor would break apart. Other than that, the cookie had the appearance I was after as well as the taste. Next time, I may just use my cookie scoop and grab a bit of each flavor thereby making a more cohesive dough ball. In a recent Dreyer Farms CSA box, I had some lovely, large leaf spinach and a spring onion. I debated making creamed spinach, which I’ve done before, but I opted for Quiche with Red Peppers and Spinach. I found Martha Rose Shulman’s recipe on The New York Times/NYT Cooking webpage. For the recipe you’ll need extra-virgin olive oil, yellow or spring onion, fresh garlic, salt, pepper, red bell peppers, fresh thyme leaves, spinach, eggs and egg yolks, pie crust, milk, Gruyère and Parmesan cheeses. While the recipe calls for a whole wheat pâte brisée pie crust, I chose to use a pie crust dough that I had in my freeze from a recipe from the Stella Parks. The quiche begins by sautéing the onion until tender. Next, the garlic, peppers and thyme are added along with a hearty pinch of salt. When everything is tender, spinach is added in batches by handfuls and stirred until wilted. It’s removed from the pan to a bowl. In a separate bowl, eggs and milk are added along with salt and pepper and whisked. The spinach mixture is spread in an even layer on the pie crust, the cheeses are tossed together before being spread over the spinach. Lastly, the egg mixture is poured on top. Don’t overfill the pie crust as you don’t want the custard to overflow onto your oven bottom. I used a 9-inch Pyrex pie dish and my custard fit perfectly. The quiche bakes in a 350° oven for approximately 30-35 minutes. What a wonderful quiche. I served it as a light supper one evening along with a salad. The quiche was creamy and the combination of sweet red peppers with the spinach made for a very flavorful filling. The last recipe I made was Skillet Pork Chops with Caramelized Pears. This recipe is from the October 2024 issue of “Southern Living Magazine.” While pork with apples is a wonderful combination, pears with pork sounded interesting. For the recipe you’ll need bone-in center cut pork chops, kosher salt, black pepper, ground fennel seeds, olive oil, Anjou pears, chicken stock, maple syrup, apple cider vinegar, stone-ground mustard and fresh thyme leaves. Instead of an Anjou pear, I had a French butter pear left from another recipe, that was a tad overripe. The pork chops are seasoned with salt, pepper and ground fennel seeds and must sit for 30 minutes before cooking. They are then sautéed in olive oil until browned on both sides then removed. In the same pan, pear wedges are added and cooked until caramelized. Chicken stock, maple syrup, apple cider vinegar, mustard and thyme sprigs are added to the pan along with the pork chops. This meal was delicious. The sauce was both sweet and tart and complimented the pork nicely along with the pears. Overall, a delightful supper. By the way, while typing this blog, I again found my attention diverted. While checking some food information, I peaked at social media…FOMO got the better of me!
Sugar Cookies
From Megan Boyle Ingredients ½ pound unsalted butter ) 1 cup white sugar ) Cream together 1 cup powdered sugar ) 1 teaspoon vanilla ) 2 eggs ) Add to above 1 cup oil ) 4-1/2 cups all-purpose flour ) 1 teaspoon baking powder ) Add to above Preparation Roll into balls. Flatten with bottom of glass dipped in sugar. Bake for 10 minutes at 350°. 
Quiche with Red Peppers and Spinach
“Quiche Meets Whole Wheat,” By Martha Rose Shulman The New York Times, April 25, 2014 Total Time: about 1-1/2 hours (including prebaking tart shell and baking the quiche) Yield: 6 generous servings Note: I used a pie crust recipe by Stella Parks, Buttery, Flaky Pie Crust Ingredients 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil 1medium-size onion (yellow or spring onion), chopped 2 large garlic cloves, or 1 small bulb green garlic, peeled and minced Salt to taste 2 large red bell peppers (about ¾ pound), seeded and cut in thin 1-inch strips 1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme leaves 1 generous bunch spinach, stemmed, washed in 2 changes of water, and coarsely chopped Freshly ground pepper to taste 2 egg yolks 2 whole eggs 1(9-inch) whole wheat pâte brisée pie crust, fully baked and cooled Freshly ground pepper ⅔ cup milk 2 ounces Gruyère, grated (½ cup) 1 ounce Parmesan, grated (¼ cup Preparation
Whole Wheat Pie Dough “Quiche Meets Whole Wheat,” By Martha Rose Shulman The New York Times, April 25, 2014 By Marth Rose Shulman Total Time: about 1 hour, plus chill time Yield: 2 9-inch pastry shells, 6 to 8 servings each Ingredients 222 grams French-style butter such as Plugrá (8 ounces, 1 cup), at room temperature 175 grams whole-wheat flour or whole-wheat pastry flour (approximately 1½ cups less 1 tablespoon) 175 grams unbleached all-purpose flour (approximately 1½ cups less 1 tablespoon) 7 grams fine sea salt (1 teaspoon) 92 grams water (6 tablespoons) Special Equipment: Pie weights Note: You may want to line your quiche shell with parchment or foil and add pie weights before baking to prevent the crust from shrinking.
Skillet Pork chops with Caramelized Pears
“Southern Living Magazine,” October 2024 Active Time: 30 minutes Total Time: 1 hour Serves: 4 Ingredients 4 (1-1/4-inch thick) bone-in center cut pork chops 1-1/2 teaspoons kosher salt 1-1/2 teaspoons black pepper 1-1/2 teaspoons ground fennel seeds 2 tbsp. olive oil 3 cups (1-inch thick) pear wedges (from 3 medium-size green Anjou pears 1/3 cup chicken stock 2 tbsp. maple syrup 2 tbsp. apple cider vinegar 2 tsp. stone-ground mustard 4 thyme sprigs Preparation Sprinkle pork chops evenly with salt, pepper and ground fennel. Let stand for 30 minutes. Heat olive oil in 12-inch cast iron skillet over medium-high. Add pork; cook until golden brown, 3 to 5 minutes per side. Transfer to plate. (Do not wipe skillet clean). Add pear wedges to skillet. Reduce heat to medium cook, turning occasionally, until pears are caramelized, about 6 minutes. Stir in chicken stock, maple syrup, apple cider vinegar, mustard and thyme sprigs. Nestle pork chops into skillet; simmer until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest portion of meat registers 140°F, 2 to 4 minutes. Transfer pork to clean plate. Cook until sauce slightly thickened and pears are just softened, 2 to 3 minutes. Return pork to skillet and spoon sauce over pork. Season with additional salt to taste; garnish with fresh thyme leaves.
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