Welcome to my homestead. After writing about Grandma Hulda and sharing our family's recipe for old fashion pinwheel date cookies I thought I would share another great recipe and such a classic; Chocolate Chip cookies!
Oh don't you just love a freshly baked, still warm from the oven, chocolate chip cookie? It takes me back to my teenage years. I know you would think it would take me back to a younger time in my childhood but after my dad died when I was 6, I don't remember my mom doing any baking for years. In fact, I was the one who would bake in our home, so hungry was I for baked goods. When I was around age 9 or 10, I started baking Biscuit dough from a box and I would stuff the center with mincemeat. Whenever we had guests I would make those but I cringe now wondering how good they really were. At the time I thought I was such an amazing cook. Ha!
When I was 12 my mom remarried a man named, Bud (John Ray Finch) who had been a custom's officer in Campbell River on Vancouver Island. My mom met Bud at the Empress Hotel in Chilliwack, where she worked as a front desk clerk. Leaving my sister J behind to finish school, the three of us created a new family and moved to Creston, B.C, in the Kooteneys and started a new chapter in our life.
It was there in our large 100 year old, historic home on the hill that my mom started to bake again. I can remember coming home in the fall, my cheeks flush with cold and the smell of pinwheel cookies, or chocolate cookies, would rise up to meet me when I opened the back door leading to our homey kitchen.
I'd like to believe that I'm creating those same sorts of memories for our children and this blog is also another legacy to capture some of our family stories and our favourite recipes.
In my recent blog post I wrote about my grandmother's Hulda's life as a way to inspire those of us who live in more modern times but in the last 6 months as there is such political unrest in the States since the recent election of their new president and also power struggles throughout the world, I thought it is very timely that two of my favourite people in the world (Oprah Winfrey and Dr. Deepak Chopra) are providing a free meditation series called, "Hope in Uncertain Times."
I laughed out loud when I saw the title of their new meditation challenge for it is aptly named and something I can totally relate to.
This is the invitation I received from the Chopra Centre in my email, since I have done other meditations challenges in the past.
Uncertainty
can be scary, and with fear comes defensiveness, judgment, and “us vs.
them" thinking. Fear tempts us to give up our power to others who only appear strong, whether that’s your boss, your partner or other leaders. But true strength lies within.
Starting April 10,
you’ll learn to take back your power and discover the inner resources
to find love, peace, and connection in even the most difficult
situations with Hope in Uncertain Times.
If you have not participated in one of these events, (it starts on April 10, 2017) I encourage you to pencil this date on your calendar and register as it could change your life. At the very least it will help you align yourself with your true essence and help you create the life that you want. When I have invited a few of my friends in the past, some have said, oh, I don't have even 15 minutes in my day to do something like meditate but that seems so backwards to me.
If we want to be more productive in our lives, we don't just work until we drop. No we have to eat properly, to rest appropriately, which will give us the energy we need to do our jobs. Well, meditation is really the same, although it's our soul's alignment and when we are in harmony with our inner power then we can do ANYTHING....and you know in my small way, that is what Hope's Homestead is really about. Yes, I want to inspire others to live a more sustainable life, to realize that living more simply is really living more fully, but more than anything I want that to come from a place of spirit.
This is the true homestead.
My hope is that it will touch millions and millions of people. If we are all hummming, or rather, ommmming, with a single thread of Hope as we move more deeply into the year 2017, imagine what we can accomplish. Fear will be banished and love replaced and when we live in a state of love, that is where miracles happen.
So please join me now in registering for this series. It's absolutely free, no strings attached and I believe it's a Win/Win for everyone who takes just 15 minutes out of their day to connect.
Here's the link to the 21 day meditation challenge, "Hope In Uncertain Times."
And now for the COOKIES!
Hope's Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe
Ingredients
1-1/4 cups sugar
1-1/4 cups firmly packed brown sugar
1-1/2 cups margarine or butter, softened
2 tsp vanilla (I play around with this...1 tsp vanilla and 1 tsp almond extract or coconut extract)
3 eggs
4-1/4 cups of all purpose flour (I play with this too, sometimes add some oatmeal, ground flax seed)
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups of chocolate chips
1 cup of nuts or coconut, or dried cranberries...this is the fun part of the recipe and makes it different each time you make it. Also, the 2 cups of chocolate chips can be played with using white and dark chocolate
Directions
Heat oven to 375 F degrees. In a large bowl beat the margarine or butter until creamy and then slowly add the sugars until light and fluffy.
Add the vanilla and eggs, blend well. In a separate bowl, add the flour, baking soda and salt. Mix well. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture, again, mixing until well combined.
The final step is adding the chocolate chips and the 1 cup of nuts or whatever you have decided to include. Mix all until well combined. Drop dough by rounded tablespoon 2 inches apart onto an ungreased cookie sheet.
Bake at 375 F for 10 minutes or until lightly golden brown.
This makes a large batch of cookies. I often make a few dozen big and then a few dozen small for our little people but I probably get 5 to 6 dozen depending on the size of cookie I make
Note: When the dough can also be frozen if you just want to make a dozen at a time...that way you will always have some freshly baked cookies on hand but in my house....yeah, the whole batch go in about 2 days!!! ....and my kids are just hoping and trusting that our cookie jar will ALWAYS be full.
A final tip from my kitchen, I don't know about your part of the world but nuts are extremely expensive in mine, so I always keep a basket of dried nuts in their shells for the kids to crack and for me to use when baking. Yes, it takes a bit of effort to crack a cup of nuts but somehow it feels so much more satisfying and you know it's also meditative cracking nut after nut and watching a mound of nuts form in your measuring jar. Also, this is a good way to have a combination of nuts in your cookies....I'm sorry if you are allergic to nuts like my niece T is....I'm sure you can find some other yummy addition it that is your situation.
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| When I put these cookies on my mom's old Forget Me Not China, it feels like we are having tea together again like our old days in Creston, B.C. (Her friends gave her this china when she left Creston btw) |
Well that wraps another blog post. I'm so glad you came to visit and I hope you will be joining me on April 10th meditating on the thoughts of Hope In Uncertain Times
If you are unsure, join me in one of Deepak and Oprah's past meditations from their "Perfect Health," 21 day series...."Meditate it Forward"
Pass it on.......
Thank you as always, for coming to visit. Wishing you MUCH love, lots of peace...and Hope always!
Until we meet again, may you be well, happy and peaceful.
Blessings from Hope
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