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my choc chip cookie recipe

Well after a dud first batch, hours scouring for tips on making them softer, moisture and a little chewy and modifying WC's recipe, I came up with very own made up on the fly, yummo, slightly softer, a little chewy, choc chip cookie recipe:

• Melt 125g butter with 1/2 cup brown sugar, 1/4 cup white sugar and 1 very largely heaped tablespoon of choc hazelnut spread together. Cool for 5 minutes whisking till combined and thickened a little.

• Lightly beat 2 eggs with vanilla to taste. Whisk butter mixture through until smooth.

• Sift in 1 1/2 cups self raising flour in 1/2 cup batches. Mix until combined.

• Fold through 1 cup choc chips, 1 cups nuts of choice. I used a mixture of walnut crumbs and crushed peanuts.

• Freeze for 10 minutes.
  

• Roll tablespoonfuls into balls, place with around 1 1/2 inches between them for spreading and cook for 12 minutes at 180C or 400F. Cool on tray for 2 mins before putting on wire rack. They will still be soft when coming out of oven. I used an egg flip to remove them.

I changed sizes a couple of times, but I think you'll get around 2 dozen large (golf ball size) or 3 dozen smaller size. Adjust cooking time for size... I also rolled the whole lot into balls at once and kept the rest in fridge while batches were cooking.

Try your own variations and let me know how you go. I'm going to try peanut butter instead of choc-hazelnut spread, and maybe add in some coconut instead of nuts or even try a little condensed milk in the butter mixture. I'm guessing you could use an assortment of essences instead of vanilla too, like mint, orange, almond, coffee...blah blah blah...experiment!

I'll post some pics if I remember and they last long enough for me to take some! So far the kiddies love em.

Anzac Biscuits

Ok CeCe, just for you. Here's my fantabulous recipe...if you can't get the ingredients, do a hunt for substitutes via the net..I can't be bothered right now :)

1 Cup dessicated coconut

1 Cup plain flour

1 Cup rolled cooking oats

1 Cup sugar

2 tablespoons boiling watter

1 teaspoons bicarb soda

125g/half cup of butter

2 tablespoons of Golden Syrup

Mix all dry ingredients together in bowl.

Melt butter with Golden Syrup. Dissolve bicarb soda in boiling water and stir through butter mixture - it will foam up!

Mix with dry ingredients until well combined.

Shape heaped teaspoonsful into balls, flatten slightly and place on cooking tray covered with foil leaving at least an inch of space between each bikkie. Cook in a moderate over for around 11-14 mins or until golden brown, remove from oven and stand for 2 mins before placing on wire rack to cool. They will still be soft so be careful (I use an eggflip), and dont assume they aren't cooked and put them back in!

volunteering...do it for yourself!

Good afternoon all. I've spent a pleasant day up at the school. The WHOLE day.

First off we had brekkie club, 40 kids this morning so that was good. The feedback from staff regarding some of our regulars has been nothing but positive, so we are making a difference. In at least one case, a HUGE difference.

Then I headed into Zoe's class where I worked with the grade 1 students - inc Zoe, no she's not 'officially' in grade 1, but is doing mostly the same as them everyday anyway - on estimating lengths of, then measuring different items. God it was fun! I had to laugh when nearly all of them thought their spelling book was the same number of paddle pop sticks long as their desks. One thought that the blackboard was 600,000 sticks long!! Watching the reactions when they realised just how close - or far off - some of their estimates were was just priceless.

Then it was off to canteen which is always a giggle.

After that I headed back to Zoe's class for some fun watching them paint a picture of themselves before sport.

While sport was on I headed over to the brekkie club room to do my stock count and found one of the teachers setting up for the 'first steps' program, so I helped her out! First Steps is 2 hours on Friday afternoons from week 5 of this term and all of next term for those who are enrolling in Kindergarten next year. It helps them get comfortable with the school setting and next term some of the days involve finding out about the library and canteen and how they work. Makes the transition next year much easier. And not just for the kids. Parents/Carers benefit as well by meeting other parents, and getting used to the idea of leaving their children at school. I think it certainly helped me. Zoe was so ok with her first day, and it wasn't the first time I'd been up the school either. It's fantastic. The new principal (who has been one FOREVER) said he has never seen new students settle in as well as those who attended First Steps last year.

All in all, I had a ball. I love working with the kids, and I'm always laughing! So if you've never done it, and have the time, go volunteer somewhere. If you have kids, call the school and see how you can help out. Call a local charitable organisation. Join meals on wheels. ANYTHING really. I guarantee it's one of the most rewarding things you'll ever do, and you may just change someones life in the process.

Now, onto other important matters. We have a new guest this week, and you should go check her out...Hothousemomma is a little like me. Go read and you'll see why I say that. Tell her I sent you. I've even made it easy for you this week, just click below! No need to move that mouse over to the sidebar! Aren't I good to you? Now return the favor and get clickin!!

laughter therapy....

I went along to my first support group tonight. For carers of people with a mental illness and/or substance abuse problems. It was great. Being in a room with 9 or so other people who can look at you and nod their head while listening to your story is more therapeutic than any drug, medicine, self coping mechanism or counseling session can ever be. It's why groups like this work. Knowing that someone else understands won't judge, and has been where you are right now helps you to realise two things. One, your not the ONLY person to have ever lived through something like this. And two, you CAN get survive it.

Tonight there was a guest speaker who talked to us about laughter therapy and laughter clubs. I've heard of them, seen them on the telly but never really taken them seriously, and like most people, thought that all those people looked just a trifle silly! Until tonight. She ran through some of the 'laughs' tonight with us. It's almost like yoga where you do certain exercises and there are steps to work through. It's not a matter of finding something funny and away you go. It was good. It was hard, but good! She talked about the benefits, both physical and emotional. We learned about the reason laughing makes us feel happier. She made us all think about how much, or how little, laughter there was in our lives and suggested some simple ways in which can laugh more. Like blowing a raspberry when you feel like it. Or doing something silly. It was all very cool and interesting.

It was a very appropriate topic considering the group of people she was talking to. Studies have shown laughter therapy to be beneficial within mental health communities, both for those diagnosed and the carers. With everything that is going on in our lives, if we didn't laugh somedays, then we'd cry. And this was a sentiment expressed a lot this evening.

One thing that I find myself saying a lot is that I hope Zoe remembers how much she laughed at this time in her life. It is important, and tonight showed me the reason WHY I strive to have so much in our house. It's a biological thing. It makes us feel better. We don't laugh because we are happier, we are happier because we laugh. Children use this emotional defense mechanism much more efficiently than adults. They use laughter, crying and rage when they need to without any thought for social acceptability or whether or not it's appropriate. And it works. As I said in a previous post, we can learn a lot from our children sometimes. Did you know that laughter is also a natural response to extreme pain, both physical and emotional? We tend to suppress it though....but I'm sure you've all seen someone who was uncontrollably laughing at what would appear to be an extremely inappropriate time. It's a natural reaction. Did you also know that children laugh on average 400 times a day, yet as adults this falls to 15??

But don't take my word for it, check out these sites:

Michael Kerr - Spreading laughter round the world

Laughter Club of NSW - The health benefits

The Laughter Coach

Till next time, laugh like nobody is listening....

Tip of the day...

It helps to stretch the brain muscles prior to heavy usage after extended periods of non-use.

Example. When attending a Red Cross Level 2 First Aid Course, don't give yourself brain strain by jumping straight into it. Do a few crosswords, attempt to answer your child's questions BEFORE you google it and above all, feed it more than coffee, chocolate and cigarettes in the days leading up to aforementioned course. If you don't, you may just feel like you need to administer to yourself your recently acquired knowledge regarding HEAD wounds, which you now can't remember because you've forgotten your own name amongst words like hypothermia, pneumothorax and donut bandage. Your also pretty sure that last one isn't something you eat with cinnamon sugar...

p.s I passed, in fact I kicked ass!