A wee walk in the woods...

We found a new park and it's a good one!  We had a bit of sunshine, minimal rain, and temps in the 40's, so off we went. 

It was packed with people in wellies, and dirty pawed dogs.  We had neither, though were jealous of both!  But we were happy to slosh around in our trainers, Levi making slides out of wet leaves and a bit of a run.  

This adorable, ancient wall had a brick path behind it, that was most certainly the road less traveled.  So we took it per Robert Frost's instruction.

We finally found the River Kelvin and got to experience the Kelvin walkway from a different side of the city.  

The bridges were grand and a marvelous thing to behold.  There were even more pillars in the river where the bridges had eroded away centuries ago.  But the moss covered bricks were stunning in their own.

So here's to tree bathing in Scotland, it doesn't get much better than this!

Such a great way to spend an afternoon during lockdown. 

Kitty the wee walker

kitty crocker cooked a crock of crazy cookies 

So my sister, Pen-ia Childs, is like most big sisters and believes I have talents that I've never embodied.  God bless her.  So she sent me this great big, massively huge cookbook, and I'm intimidated by the size alone!  Then she followed it up with emails of 30 minute videos of how to make some of the recipes.  Did you read that, I said 30 minutes, for the video alone.  WTH?  I hate to be a disappointment, so I'm starting with the Chocolate Chip cookies.   Though I know full well that I am wholly capable of disappointing on the most basic of levels.  Oh well, here goes nothing.....

I had all of the ingredients, except the chocolate disks, she wants disks instead of chocolate chips.  Sorry Chef Saffitz, this is the best I can do at the moment, and truth be told, I'm nonplussed about it.  

The first thing to do is to brown the butter.  Hmmmm?  My earliest memories as a young Kitty Crocker and the Joy of Cooking Cookbook by my fairy god-mother Betty, never browned the butter.  But why not, times are a changing and I might just as well embrace them.  You boil half the butter until there are brown bits floating on top, then you begin.  

Once done, I mixed all of the wet ingredients in one bowl (as one does), the dry in another, and then finally together adding the chocolate chips to finalize my creation.  As I turn the page to see what's next, I read and I quote, "scoop and chill the dough for 12-48 hours."

WAIT, WHAT?

Betty what is this sheer nonsense?  Who does Claire Saffitz think she is delaying my cookie baking by a day or two.  This is utter madness!  

I am gobsmacked.  Completely gobsmacked!!  I decided to sit down, think this through and eat half my weight in cookie dough.  Screw you Claire, maybe I won't bake them at all!   

But...

I must confess, they are AMAZINGLY delicious.  Claire may have just redeemed herself!  She browns the butter for a deep butterscotchy flavor, and WOW, I'm converted!

As I chill the dough, I decide to whip up this little gem!  A veggie lasagna from Cookie & Kate.  With Jackson stepping in as a sous chef, it only took a couple of hours and it was primo deliciouso!

Now everybody is too full for cookies, (baked ones anyway) so we will wait until tomorrow to bake, that is if there is any dough left.    

It has been a superb, stomach stretching Sunday!

Happy week y'all,

Kitty 'cookie dough' Crocker