And Now for Something Baked--A Recipe in Honor of my Mom

Nearby is a bakery called Sugar, Butter, Flour, and I think it's clever marketing, considering that pretty much everything with that combination of ingredients is likely to be tasty.

My latest culinary production is made with these, and some other delectable ingredients. Interestingly, I only made these for the first time in mid-December, after somewhat mysteriously asking Dear Sister (Kate) for some of our mom's recipes, if she had any that Mom had handwritten.*  She only came up with two (which is strange, but I have zero, so I guess Mom is hanging onto her gold for now). One was for Raisin Bars,

and I immediately made the cookie bars, forgetting all about the project. I also skipped the glaze as superfluous, but of course they would be even tastier with it.

You may notice the recipe calls for molasses: here's my tip for the post. When you need to measure out a sticky liquid, use spray oil on the inside of the measuring cup before you pour the molasses or honey in, and then immediately add the liquid to whatever you're mixing up. This minimizes how much of the liquid is "lost" by sticking to the sides of the measuring cup.

*I was going to make a Christmas giftie for Kate that I got straight from my friend Martha Stewart, from the December issue. It involved getting muslin transfer sheets and using the printer to make the transfer of a family recipe, then sewing it, as a pocket, to an apron. I'll still get around to it sometime, but for now, I'm enjoying this recipe. (I know she said to use margarine, but that was a generation ago. Sorry, Mom, I like butter better!) Funny, I don't remember her making them when I was a kid, but that doesn't mean much. I remember chocolate things much more vividly.

Here is today's batch:

Cream together sugar and butter.

A mixer would work even better. I was lazy.

Add eggs and beat again; add molasses and vanilla and stir until smooth.

When it was time to spread them in the pan and bake them, I had had a bit of trouble combining the flour mixture and the dough so it was pretty crumbly; again, the mixer would work better here. Even so, the final product tastes divine. One great thing about these cookie bars is the small amounts of spice in the recipe--tasty and distinct flavors, but no one spice overpowers the cookie. A note: I used yellow raisins (some call them sultanas) as I love the flavor. They are easily replaced with regular raisins.

I consider them raisin-pecan bars, but Mom's way works fine too, of course.

"Delicious!" says Molly, my official taste-tester. She also mentioned how buttery they are. 8^)

Here are some other great combos: walnut-dried cranberry; almond-dried cranberry; pecan-date; or walnut-prune (the last two, with chopped fruit of course).

Love you, Mom!
And thanks for the recipe, Kate.

Asian-esque Salmon with Greens

I wanted to make a special dinner in honor of the Eldest, who leaves tomorrow bright and early for Guadalajara, and the next stage of her Master's degree adventures. Stopped at Trader Joe's with a hankering for something Asian (I know--that's vague) and decided on some wild-caught and some farmed salmon. A package of bok choy, fresh spinach, and some shiitake mushrooms completed the picture.

At home, I put rice on to cook and then separately poached the salmon in 1/2 c. dry white wine and a few tsps. butter for about 10 minutes. Salt and pepper of course. I took the lid off after that to cook down the juices a bit.

 

Meanwhile, in the steamer I put green onions and chopped bok choy. After 15 minutes, I put spinach leaves in the top of the steamer (mine has two partitions) and cooked it for 10 more minutes. (Note to self: next time cook them both for 10 min. together--the bok choy was overcooked and gray.)

 

In the middle here, I sauteed shiitake mushrooms in butter.

I also made up a sauce of 1 part red wine vinegar to 1 part soy sauce to 1/4 part sesame oil. I added about a Tbsp. sesame seeds and a finely chopped green onion (green portion, reserved from earlier). Shook this all in a jar and set aside for the "plating" and serving.

Before I served it onto a plate, I started with a spoonful of salmon pan juices. Then, rice on one side, two kinds of salmon to compare (quite different!), two kinds of greens, and a spicy sauce on the rice. Mushrooms for those so inclined, which means more for me--since some people don't think they're food. 8^(

Both daughters at home seemed to like it, and the husband declared it, "Veddy tasty, dear." Yum!