Resentments: Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies

There's a lot being said these days, about dear old Charlie Sheen.

How he's gone crazy... how the drugs have finally done their job... how he's a sex addict. Or an alcoholic. Or addicted to the Internet. Or chocolate. Or peanut shells. Or eating the dadgum stuffing found inside your living room couch. (Did anyone see that special on TLC?)

I don't agree with any of these assertions. I think... he's an overpaid punk that's never had to work for the life he lives and can't comprehend the normal boundaries which the rest of the world (either willingly or reluctantly) lives within.

But that's just me.

What can I say? Compassion is not my strong suit.

I say... put him in one of these get-ups for a few weeks. And lets see what happens?

"Resentments...are the rocket fuel that lives in the tip of my saber." (C. Sheen, 2011)

Yeah. You don't know how many times I've heard that, this past week.

Ignore this who-haw, and bake some cookies.  Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies.

What you'll need:

2 Cups all purpose flour

2 1/3 Cups old fashioned oats
1 Teaspoon baking soda
1/2 Teaspoon baking powder
1/2 Teaspoon salt
2 Teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 Teaspoon pumpkin pie spice (it's like, the bottle that never runs dry!)
1 Cup (2 sticks) butter - softened
3/4 Cup dark brown sugar
3/4 Cup granulated sugar
2 Tablespoons honey
1 Cup pumpkin puree
1 Large egg
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Extra bits: cranberries, chocolate chips, walnuts, pecans, etc.

Preheat your oven to 350* and line the baking sheets with parchment paper.

Cream butter and sugars together until light and fluffy. Add egg, pumpkin, vanilla, and spices and mix until just combined.  Add flour, baking soda, and baking powder, stirring until combined... then add your oats.

Divide your batter and add your "bits" accordingly. I put cranberries and walnuts in one batch (Yum!)... semi-sweet chocolate chips in another (meh.).. pecans and milk chocolate (okay)... plain pecans (the best!)... just throw in whatever your little, crazy heart desires.

Bake each batch 10-13 minutes.

And by the way, for those of you who know the cone head above... he is doing well. He's certainly not fixed, but at the very least, we bought some more time.  Time... to live with his incoherent rantings, hotdog binges, and shady behavior with Princess, the street-dog from down the road.  Sigh.

In Training: Nutmeg Pumpkin Cookies

Somehow, I committed myself to a 5k on Thanksgiving morning.  And agreed to be the team leader.  And turned a nice little three person walk... with my Aunt, my Mother, and myself... into a family affair, involving husbands, Fathers, distant cousins, the local deli manager, and a Catholic priest.  I've begged my Pulmonologist to walk with me... "it's for the kids," I told her.... but I'm pretty sure she sees right through me, and must know that I fear for my well-being.  Seriously fear.

It sounded like a GREAT idea... in early September.  When it was warm outside and I couldn't help but think... "oh dude!  I've got like, two months to train."  Which is a funny sentence in and of itself.  Saying dude.  And "train" as it pertains to exercise.

Then early October hit... and I'm thinking... "dadgum.  I really should get to the gym sometime."  And I casually email my cohorts to let them know about an old war injury that's flaring up... so chances are good, I'm gonna need to jog, rather than run, this 5k.  (As if I do 5k's every weekend... and this one, is juuuust slipping away from me.)

Then early November rolls around... and I'm thinking... "dadgum.  I really should get to the gym sometime."  Yet I managed to convince myself that if I "work out everyday, from here on out... everything'll be fiiiiiine."  I mentioned in a carefully worded email, that walking briskly might be more up my alley, but that I'm holding out hope.  And sent the carefully worded email to seven people, who then forward it to seven people, who then forward it to seven people... and before I knew it, I was getting letters of encouragement from folks in Haiti and President Obama paused for a moment in the middle of his meeting with the Japanese Prime Minister, just to say good luck.  It was touching.

And so today, November 21st, after I've worked out a total of two times, I've decided drop the charade and begin a prayer campaign called Operation Coldnflurry.  And take pictures (as proof) on my phone, of an ice pack propped on my knee, sending it on to the familial participants, with a sheepish note that says something to the effect, "Cn't wlk. No 5k 4 T." (Because apparently vowels are too hard to type.)

The ice pack may or may not, have been a ruse.

So to kill the time that I'm NOT using to train for my first 5k... I made Pumpkin Nutmeg White Chocolate Chip Cookies.

What you'll need:
1 Cup butter, softened
1 Cup packed brown sugar
1 Teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 Teaspoon baking soda
1 Cup pumpkin puree
1 Egg
2 Teaspoons vanilla
2 Cups all-purpose flour
2 Cups white chocolate chips
1 Cup chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Beat your butter until it's nice and fluffy.  Add brown sugar, nutmeg, and baking soda. Beat until combined, scraping bowl occasionally. Beat in pumpkin, egg, and vanilla until combined. Beat in as much of the flour as you can with the mixer. Using a wooden spoon, stir in any remaining flour. Chances are good, that if you're using the homemade puree, you will not need to stop and fold in the remaining flour as the water content of the homemade puree is a bit higher.) Stir in white chocolate and pecan pieces.

Place about two inches apart on baking sheet and bake between 10-13 minutes, or until the edges turn golden and the middles no longer look gooey.  Cool them on the baking sheet for about 2 minutes, before having them cool completely on a plate or rack.

Don't be fooled by the fact that these are from Better Homes and Gardens (which in general, is a little on the bland, overly sweet, "every-child's food" end of things).  These are great! Each one, is like eating a slice of cake!  Delightful... not to mention, helpful, when you're trying to "train."

Now, I'd better go lick some elementary school drinking fountains.  See if I can't catch a very unfortunate cold by Thursday.