"I think I've changed my mind!"

My life with the L'Arche Community is shifting. Instead of spending most of my time on administrative tasks, I'm working with the core members more, much to my delight. They always make me smile.

Yesterday afternoon was no exception. It was cookie time. The gang and I made 'Oatmeal Cookies with a Purpose' from my old copy of the Mennonite More with Less cookbook. It's a recipe for a soft, easy to work with cookie dough that my Day Program friends with and without disabilities could easily shape as they pleased and decorate. Most opted to press m&ms into their cookies before baking, but a few cookies were baked un-decorated, so we iced them and put on sprinkles, as you can see in the picture.

The best moment of the afternoon was when when everyone, core members and staff alike, were joking around and happily nibbling warm fresh cookies. But my favourite anecdote occurred earlier, as I was helping to put aprons on each core member, asking if they were willing to help shape the cookies. Some I didn't even have to ask -- they were "all in" from the moment I started putting ingredients into the mixing bowl. But Lark* and Mariette* said no. They're older ladies and they usually prefer to sit and watch everyone else do things.

Not wanting to leave them out, I turned to Lark and said, "Are you sure you don't want to make cookies? If you don't make some, what will you do when the rest of us are enjoying our treats?"

An assistant piped up, "If you don't make cookies, you don't eat cookies."

I could tell that the wheels were turning as I watched Lark's expression change with the idea of no cookies. "No one else is going to make them for you," I said.

Lark paused a moment, then grinned and announced in her high, reedy voice, "I think I've changed my mind!" Mariette begrudgingly agreed with Lark, and as soon as I gave them their cookie dough, they both got right into it!

Everyone enjoyed their cookies when they were ready, and Mariette even hung in with me until the last cookie was iced and sprinkled, insisting that I deliver the pink-sugared one to her favourite staff member friend, who works in an office down the hall. Vinh, don't forget to thank her!

It was a delightful afternoon, and it was fun to see everyone in a happy mood, enjoying their cookies together. I much prefer baking with Day Program to working at a computer!

* I use pseudonyms for my L'Arche friends.

Trying to bake like Grandma, Part II

Yesterday, I finally did it. I baked real, delicious jam jams. Just like Grandma. If you don't know why I am so proud of this accomplishment, you might want to read Part I of Trying to bake like Grandma by clicking here. It took me three hours (keep in mind that I'm still dizzy) to do a double batch.

If you want the recipe, here's a reprint:

1 cup lard
1cup brown sugar
2 eggs
6 tbsp Roger's Golden Syrup
2 small teaspoons soda (slightly heaping tsp? dissolved in a bit of water)
1 pinch salt
5 cups flour (small china tea cup -- somewhere between 3 and four regular cups of flour!)
2 tsp vanilla

Roll dough out (use a bit of flour to keep it from sticking to the rolling pin) and cut circles. Put on greased pans and bake at 350F until done (10-12 minutes). Put together with jam or date filling.

This time, they turned out just right, moist and not too thick. The lard made all the difference to their texture. I wonder how I could make a vegetarian version that's as good? If you have any ideas, let me know.

Grandma had nine kids, and the thought of keeping nine kids in jam jam cookies is quite something, because they're a lot more work than basic chocolate chips or ginger cookies, no question. 

Anyway, I don't think I can make jam jams any better than these. So... this evening, Lee and I walked some over to my Dad. I'm sure they still aren't quite as good as Dad's Mom's jam jams, but my girls don't know the difference - they love them! I may not be able to bake like Grandma, but I can bake like me, and that's good enough in the end.

Trying to bake like Grandma

Eight autumns ago, I was fortunate enough to go to Saskatoon to visit my godmother, my dad's oldest sister. While I was there, I asked for some of my grandma's cookie recipes, and came home with recipes for German Buns and Jam Jams -- and a plan to make some Jam Jams for my dad for Christmas.

The only problem is that I don't bake like Grandma. She visited us many times as we were growing up, and baked all sorts of wonderful things for us. She taught me to make robbeshtivel -- I don't really know how to spell that, but it's my best guess at Grandma's Russian-German word for "rubber boots," amazing little pasta-like mouthfuls of yumminess, the dough of which we stretched out until it was translucent and as big as our kitchen table before we rolled and cut it into bite-sized pieces. I think I wrote the recipe down somewhere (I'll have to check if it's still in my mom's recipe box) -- but somehow, I doubt I'd be able to recreate that recipe, for several reasons.

The first reason is that I'm not Grandma.

The second reason is that I'm pretty sure her cup measures weren't the same as my cup measures. I like to cook by guesswork to a certain extent, but I also like to know that things will turn out roughly the same whenever I use a recipe. Grandma was the kind to measure things by feel, so what are the chances that my teaspoon measure will agree with the one she poured into her hand?

Even so, I have tried Grandma's Jam Jam recipe three times now. The first time, I followed it using my usual measures, and must have done something wrong when it came to the "two small teaspoons of baking soda mixed with a little bit of water." Exactly how big is a small teaspoon, Grandma? The cookies came out of the oven big and puffy, not at all like jam jams should look. I can't remember if we ate them or not, but I was too embarassed to give them to my dad!

The second time, I cut down on the soda and the flour (because the first cookies were much dryer than I remembered Grandma's cookies being), and they looked right. I even cooked some dates and made date filling, but there was still something wrong. They were denser than Grandma's cookies, not soft and delicious like hers, but it was already Christmas, and I had run out of time, so Dad received them as a Christmas gift. He did agree with me when I said something wasn't right.

So I forgot about Jam Jams for a while... and then the other day, as he drove me to work, somehow, we got to talking about Christmas cookies, and he said something about Jam Jams with peach jam filling. Aha! I thought. Peach jam! Maybe that's the secret ingredient! And I even had a jar of homemade peach jam from the boys next door!

So on Saturday morning, I found Grandma's recipe once again, used a china tea cup to measure the flour, used a demi-tasse spoon to measure the baking soda, and had to guess again at how long to bake the cookies because I had forgotten to note what "until done" was in minutes. Once the cookies had cooled, I spread homemade peach jam between them. I was excited. I figured these would be the perfect Jam Jams once the jam seeped into the cookies and softened them a little.

But no. They didn't soften to the consistency of Grandma's cookies. This morning, I gave the Jam Jams to my dad (I figured he might as well enjoy them fresh)... and discovered that the secret ingredient was right in front of my nose all along, right there on the recipe card. Here's the recipe:

1 cup lard
1cup brown sugar
2 eggs
6 tbsp Roger's Golden Syrup
2 small teaspoons soda (more like 1 tsp dissolved in a bit of water)
1 pinch salt
5 cups flour (small china tea cup -- somewhere between 3 and four regular cups of flour!)
2 tsp vanilla

Roll dough out (might want to chill it a bit first) and cut circles. Put on greased pans and bake at 350F until done (10-12 minutes). Put together with jam or date filling.

Can you guess the thing that messed me up? The first ingredient. Oh, our twenty-first century sensibilities! When I read LARD, something in my dietary upbringing resisted. I thought I should be able to substitute butter or margarine. I tried both. Butter didn't work, and I had forgotten that margarine is a latecomer in our world of food. When my dad was growing up, food was fried or baked with lard or butter, and Jam Jams just don't work without lard! As for the peach jam filling, it was more likely to be strawberry or raspberry because peaches only came to Saskatchewan in August.

So, now I know. And you do too. And Jam Jams really are wonderful, when they're made right, the way Grandma did. You can be sure I'll try again sometime, and post a picture of my success. And maybe I'll get brave enough to try German Buns, too, eventually!

Click here for Trying to bake like Grandma Part II.

Simple Suggestion #86 of 100... Bake two pies; give one away

I can just hear my sisters as they read this. "So is she going to give us a pie?" Hmm, I'll have to think about it. Hee hee!

Our dear neighbour, Back Alley Mary, was a great one for living out this particular suggestion. We were recipients of apple and cherry pies now and again, especially in apple and cherry seasons. She also brought zucchini loaf and pizelli, and other treats -- and we were delighted to be recipients of her generosity. I wanted to be just like her when I grew up.

But I'm afraid that, with three daughters and a husband to eat my now less-frequent baking, I don't give it away as much as I did when I had more time on my hands as a stay-home mom. But I should. It doesn't have to be pies. It could be cookies, or loaves of Amish Friendship Bread or jars of pickles, or anything home made.

Maybe I'm turning into an old fashioned girl, but when neighbours share food, community is created, and heaven knows we could all use more of it.

So this afternoon, I think I'll bake 3 loaves of something yummy, give one to my neighbours, and yes, my sisters, I'll save one for the two of you.

P.S. Looking for more Simple Suggestions? Try here.