New Year’s Salad and welcome Otis

New Year's Salad & Otis-5Just a little hello on the last day of 2012.

Here is a salad inspired by my friend Jen who’s roots grow from Sweden. This salad, her mother’s holiday special is a great way to ring in the New Year.

Here are the nuts and bolts:

PM New Year's Salad & Otis-3

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Salted Almond Chocolate Chip cookies…

Salted Almond Choc chip cookies-4

Who has a teen out there? Or has vivid memories of one that recently left home… raise your hand. And was it a girl? Because they are hands down different than boys. Dramatic, emotional, funny, spunky, stubborn, wonderful, frustrating… and so on. Did you ever have round robin sort of conversations like this?

Me: “Hey Chloe- you did awesome this morning getting out on time. Thanks.”

Chloe: “Yeah, that’s cause you didn’t nag me.”

Me: “That’s because you were up and on time. And I really appreciated it.”

Chloe: “Well… It’s because you didn’t nag me.”

Me: “I didn’t nag you because I didn’t have to. You got up and you were ready.”

Chloe: “And that iiissss  because you didn’t nag me.”

Me: “Well isn’t it great when I don’t nag and you are up and out on time.”

Chloe: ”          ”

Whatcha gonna do! EAT COOKIES. Now that’s a close up.

Salted Almond Choc chip cookies-2

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Gluten free gingery starry starry nights & a girl crush

almond cookies gluten freeI found these almond based chocolate cookies in a book I enjoyed very much this summer. Gesine Bullock -Prado’s My Life from Scratch. Formerly known as Confessions of a Closet Master Baker, I wondered if the mass public just couldn’t take this woman’s fabulous sense of humor. It went from the first title in 2009 to the second in 2010. Maybe the title just needed to be shorter. Hmmmm… It’s her story of going from the stress of LA limelight to rural Vermont. It will be most appreciated by those who love to bake.

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