Month: October 2020

I woke up this morning after having a few rough days battling a cold. My energy level is down but feeling so blessed to not cough every breath. Sneeze attacks are still prevalent but hey, I am better. As I drank my coffee, this memory came to me. Time seems to be passing so fast and when I found this blog post, I seem to relax and feel comforted. I still cannot make oatmeal cookies and hopefully I will make them soon to help me realize it was never about the cookie, it was the memory of the times I made them. I think I can; I think I can. Here are the blog posts to read:

As the holidays come closer, memories of special moments come flooding in and as always a lot of them are engulfed with my Mom and I found this post about oatmeal cookies and to tell you how special this memory is, I haven’t made oatmeal cookies since she died except one time and it pinged my heart strings that I haven’t repeated it again. Some memories are that strong but one day, I will pick up some oats and make them for the grandchildren. I will start a new tradition that will make me smile when I see them enjoying them like Grandmama BeaBea did and I will share this story with them. You will probably understand the blog title more from reading this blog. MY ORIGINAL POST: Grandma’s Oatmeal Cookies Recipe

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• Yield: Makes about 2 dozen cookies.

Ingredients

• 1 cup shortening
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 cup white sugar
• 2 eggs well beaten
• 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cup flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 Tablespoon cinnamon
• 3 cups oats (we use Quaker Quick or Old Fashioned. Do NOT use instant.)
• 3/4 cup chopped walnuts (use 1/2 cup if using raisins)
• 1 cup raisins (optional)

Method 1 Cream shortening and sugars, add eggs and vanilla and beat well. 2 Sift flour, salt, baking soda and cinnamon. Add to first mixture and mix well. Add a tablespoon of water. Add raisins (if using) and nuts. Add oats last. 3 Spoon out by heaping tablespoonfuls on to greased cookie sheets. Bake at 350°F. Bake for 10 minutes. Remove to wire rack. Cool completely.

NOTE FROM ARLINE: My version is taking and cutting sugar by half of the brown and granulated sugar and replacing with honey. I never measure by use taste method but no more than a 1/4 cup unfiltered raw honey. Love this taste. 

Copyright reference for above recipe. Hello! All photos and content are copyright protected. Please do not use our photos without prior written permission. If you wish to republish this recipe, please rewrite the recipe in your own unique words and link back to Grandma’s Oatmeal Cookies on Simply Recipes. Thank you! Read more: http://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/grandmas_oatmeal_cookies/#ixzz452z2Njuj *************************************************************

TODAY THE WORDS are OATMEAL COOKIES. We are going to go down memory lane for a visit to my dear Mother’s home before she passed away. As my Mother got older, she cooked and baked less, which is understandable.  I began to bring her baked goodies when I would visit her. I started out with a variety of different desserts but it was soon narrowed down to my version of “Grandma’s Oatmeal Cookies”. They had honey in them and they are scrumptious to say the least. I would bring her a container full. She would always eat one as if testing them to make sure they were as good as the batch before. As I would watch her, I received more sweet enjoyment than the cookies’ sweetness. I could tell how much she loved them and she also loved I had made them for her. She had a certain spot the container would be placed when she had finished. Once in a while she would splurge and eat two, but never more than two. As sweet of a memory as this is to me, this is only part of the reason for the topic. Why the oatmeal cookie plays such an important part is not that the cookies were tasty, it was Momma’s rationing of the cookies that will reflect a life’s lesson. When I would call Momma for our regular Saturday morning talk which usually lasted about an hour and a half, one of the things Momma would share is how many cookies she still had and if my Sister had stopped by and had eaten some cookies. My Momma was a wonderful person and she would share whatever she had, but you had to be willing to be frugal with those goodies like she was. I would bring her fresh ones every time I would come so rationing was not necessary. It was built into my Momma to have a willing spirit of anticipation.

Now for the deeper thought…...If we would live our lives on Momma’s Oatmeal Cookie program, we could enjoy life a lot longer and better. I see many people who devour what they receive in a hurry never thinking if they are going to get hungry soon. We are a living, breathing example of why we should eat a reasonable amount of food and not overindulge. The same goes for the rest of lifestyles. some of them need to be lived (or tasted), We need to savor each day (or morsel). We need to appreciate the love and labor which went into each opportunity with a palette of life. We should exercise moderate portions of life and enjoy each bite (or experience) we are given and not feel as it we are on our last “cookie”. Live life, love life, and live life to the fullest!

FEATURED BIBLE VERSE:\1 Peter 5:8     Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.(

c) copyright 2012-2020 Arline Lott Miller. The material here copyrighted, use only by permission. Third party material is referenced to original location for reference credit.

I am reposting this message in honor of all of us old fashioned cooks/bakers all over the world. I post a lot of my meals and offer recipes to my friends on Facebook. I still feel I love to cook because it is not required at our home, but thoroughly enjoyed. Love what you do and do what you love. I love to see a pretty plate that I know is tasty. Here is this post again and I would love to hear your comments about how you feel about cooking and/or baking.

Yesterday, a good friend of my husband jokingly asked what was the name of our new restaurant. While I was explaining how I love to cook for my man, our kids, the grands, and when we have company, I would never consider cooking for a living. I have the utmost respect for those who have chosen that occupation. This lively conversation took me back to this blog and I thought I would share it with my readers in case some missed it.

PERILS OF BEING A GREAT COOK is a comical look at being a Southern Cook. This morning my husband and I were having a chuckle over our weigh in. Now, it is not literally funny as we both would prefer losing some weight and the topic went to how he explains to people why he is heavier now than when they all went to school……”My wife is such a great cook and I don’t want to disappoint her.” It brings us to our blog topic.

Let’s look at the benefits of Southern Cooking or in reality any regional cooking style that puts the fluff on our bods!

WAYS TO LAUGH ABOUT A SOUTHERN COOK REASON TO COOK:

1- We cook a lot of food as if we are cooking our last meal or in case the power goes out. We fuss about all of the food in the refrigerator but that is really bragging on our part.

2- If our food receives compliments, and we have leftovers; we can hear the same compliments again. In reality everyone is thinking, “Are we eating the same thing over and over?”

3- We believed the saying “The way to a man’s heart is through his stomach” as gospel. We tell our husbands that if something happens to us, they better not be trying to find a pretty wife but one who can cook like us.

4- We want to win the competition when men gather and start talking about which one has the best cook and they try to name more good dishes we cook. We don’t want to hear about how many fish they caught but how much they bragged on our cooking.

5- We want to hear the “I ate too much” groan as they slide on the recliner with the follow up line “I need a nap to wear this off.” We worry more if they don’t eat than them gaining weight.

6- And this is probably the secret reason, we want to hear “I am not going to tell Momma, but you made this better than her.” This is a rare statement but if we ever hear that it is better than winning the Betty Crocker Award. The worst critique after they have emptied all of the bowls is to hear “Momma always made us this _________ and she could make it better than anyone. A cold shower doesn’t work as good as this line for killing romance.

7- We begin posting every meal we cook to see how many likes and shares as well as requests for the recipes. We reply that it is a family recipe, right? That means right after we copied it off Pinterest or the Food Network.

8- We will cook an occasional healthy meal just in case someone criticizes our unhealthy fattening cooking style. It is more for show and once we receive the kudos for watching our family’s eating habits, we make a pan of homemade cathead biscuits, grab the butter and syrup and redeem ourselves. Not to forget the pies and cakes we make to show our true love.

All of this is in jest but there is some truth in how we, as Southern cooks, love cooking. It is rare for a Southern gal to not know how to cook like most of us do. When we good cooks hear that someone hates cooking or is a rare bad cook, we have to stop ourselves from saying “what’s wrong with that gal?”

All of us have our hobbies and talents but most southern ladies will proudly tell you “Cooking and Baking” if you ask what they love to do.

LIVE LIFE, LOVE LIFE, AND LIVE LIFE TO THE FULLEST BY COOKING TIL THE LAST OF THE GOODIES ARE GONE.

(C) Copyright 2012-2019 Arline Miller of Sipping Cups of Inspiration with all rights and privileges reserved. Third party material is sourced, if known to the original location for credit reference.

This morning, I want to spend a little time with all of my readers on an important thought, DO WE SPEND TIME WITH THE KIDS? as the topic for the blog. I don’t have all the answers but several things have occurred that moved this thought to the forefront in my mind.

For those of you who know me personally, know I love to write and decorate but a love that is as strong as both of these two hobbies is cooking and baking. I understand that a lot of you may not enjoy the kitchen and what it has to offer but it has worked as a special way to bond with people, and especially, my grandchildren. I have made special treats for them as well as others and cater to “show them Nana cares about them when I make their favorite desserts or even deviled eggs for one special lady.”

Times in the kitchen have spurred on a special bond with my daughter, who was allowed to sit on a counter top when she was a toddler and stir things for her Mom. We laughed, got flour on us, dropped a few things, but I kept it as a fun time. To prove how small she was, my recipe cards have pencil marks all over them as she proved to have talents as a budding artist and exhibited that talent while helping her Mom make delicious food. Today, Missy makes up recipes like I do, she has her own style of cooking and baking, and I can’t tell you how proud this makes her first cooking mentor, her Mom! Many photos pass between us and it provides great conversation between us. As a matter of fact, my daughter introduced her Mom to the use of fresh herbs and my life in the kitchen was never the same. The student became the teacher.

Moving on to the main point of this blog, is I want to ask you to think out of the box. It is not cooking, fishing, painting, woodworking, sewing, dancing, etc., it is giving of your time. It is the cheering children on, teaching them and then praising them they can do what someone they love does, and the affirmation is worth more than any monetary gift you can give. Children want to imitate who they consider their heroes, so let’s don’t be zeroes.

As a grandparent, Nana is my name and I love that title. When one of our grands walk into the room, slide up and ask, “Nana, do you know what is my favorite of all the things you make for us?” Before I can answer, I hear, “EVERYTHING”.

When I get calls after I send some goodies for them to enjoy, I get a phone call not only thanking me, but asking “Can we make some of these when we visit and let me help you?” My heart swells to think they want to spend time with me and allow me to be part of their lives.

I had a message from a dear relative of mine and she was bursting with pride after spending time teaching her grandchildren how to make biscuits and even roll the dough for fried fruit pies. It is a time of such deep sharing and fun with them and i could hear her excitement through text. What a pleasure and a feeling for both to share this time.

I get messages with pictures from our children on their activities and their cooking adventures and I am going to take my hat off to my husband, Granddaddy who volunteers to make his trips and taking them to school, and special breakfast get togethers, and always there if he is needed. That time will never be forgotten.

Now, for my deeper thought, if we take time with our children or grandchildren, we make memories but we leave them with memories of us. We don’t get lost in their mind as who we are and what we represent. Cherish the times and not look at it as a chore or responsibility but a blessing. Trust me, I know how special these times are. We see development in our grandchildren from their parents spending time and sharing experiences and their talents. I encourage everyone to take time with children, show them a world outside the video games, and watch the results.

(C) Copyright 2012-2020 Arline Miller of Sipping Cups of Inspiration with all rights and privileges reserved. Third party material is sourced to original location, if known for credit reference.