cookies that are good for your soul

when searching through my recipes to find something to take for the "soul food sampler" at church, i came across this cookie recipe that i haven't had in years, and the thought of yummy peanut butter fingers sent warm fuzzies all the way down to my toes. they're hardly good-for-you treats, but they're definitely good for your soul.

peanut butter fingers

(from janice gamiere)

1/2 C. margarine

1/2 C. sugar

1/2 C. brown sugar

1 egg

1/3 C. peanut butter

1/2 tsp. soda

1/4 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. vanilla

1 C. flour

1 C. quick oats

6 oz. chocolate chips

peanut butter drizzle:

1/4 c. peanut butter

1/2 C. powdered sugar

4 T. milk

1) cream margarine and sugars

2) blend in egg, peanut butter, soda, salt and vanilla

3) stir in flour and oats

4) spread into greased 13 x 9 pan; bake 20 - 25 minutes (350∞)

5) immediately on removing from oven, sprinkle 6 oz. chocolate chips, let stand 5 min. and spread evenly.

6) drizzle with peanut butter mixture

if you're going to pack this one to take somewhere, make it a day ahead as it takes some time for the top to get "unsticky"

i wish i had a really nicely styled photo of the finished product, but trust me, this recipe is worth a try.

have you seen this?

sometimes i wish i had a brain that could come up with stuff like this. but think i'd get even less sleep than i do now.

full story here.

sam's cafe

perhaps it's the ina garten we've been watching before naptime, but sam's becoming quite the little chef lately. this morning we set up a little kitchen for him using his wood storage crates (complete with refrigerator and basket sink—for washing dishes, of course), and he's been fixing up fancy things for me and buckeye bear and caterpillar to eat.

the menu (as of this morning) includes:

chocolate milk with ketchup and salt (and sometimes birdseed)

soup (with chocolate)

blue and green sandwiches

pepsi

ice cream

cake

i'd highly recommend sam's cafe to anyone in the area who enjoys a good pretend feast. amazingly, there always seems to be an open table, so feel free to stop in and have a bite.

the art gallery

sam's started to make some really cute drawings (mostly garbage trucks and rocks), and i wanted a nice place to put them on display. so i went off to the dollar store (i love the dollar store!) and got a few of these white metal frames. they're super easy to open, so i can add drawings when sam makes something new.

i'm not precisely sure where i'll put them, but at least they won't be on the refrigerator (where they'd most likely be either knocked down or pulled off by the artist himself), which means i can (sort of) keep them for posterity without having them feel like clutter.

the artist at work

so much for the thaw…

at least it makes for some interesting photo ops in the backyard.

snapshots of sam 2/14-2/18

i forgot to mention

we successfully celebrated sam's second birthday last weekend. it was still pretty low-key (chili in crockpots, cherry-topped cheesecakes, and just a few festive decorations), and even so, i was still pretty stressed about pulling it all together (or as pulled together as i could manage). but sam had a good time, which in the end is all i'm really after.

since then, sam has been devoting a lot of time to making his new cars and trucks and books feel at home.

thanks to everyone who was able to come and be with us to celebrate the second anniversary of our little peanut. it makes a happy occasion just that much better.