2025- Pecan pie bark

Yes, another bark.

But this one went better.

Except…

I had purchased graham crackers that were going to serve as the base under the praline mixture. Like Christmas crack, minus the chocolate, plus toasted pecans.

But when I went to make the candy, the graham crackers were NO WHERE to be found. And I mean no where. It doesn’t help that the house is in an upheaval with the dining room light switches being intermittent. Of course, I trouble shot to the best of my ability. It wasn’t the bulbs. I had to empty out the dining room, which was on my list for the week, because we are hosting Thanksgiving next week. The night before the electrician was coming I thought that it might be the original light fixture itself and, wanting no delays in getting the light fixed, I purchased one the day they were coming.

As an aside, when the electrician was here he tried the light switch. And it WORKED! Way to make the electrician think I am crazy, house. The plot thickens after he pulled off the switch plate and found that it was badly put in. Of course it was. When I say that this house was badly made, I mean it.

Back to the candy.

The graham crackers were missing. Strum and Drang, indeed. This is in reference to the late mid 18 century when a romantic period in German literature happened. This period exalted nature and feeling and can be translated to storm and stress. I think of it like being dramatic for dramatics sake.

It was quite the hullaballoo when I couldn’t find the graham crackers. Well, I wasn’t about to drive to the store to purchase more. That is its own trek with the construction going on the only street out of our development.

What did I do?

Like any operating room nurse worth her salt, I made do.

I used Ritz crackers as the base of the praline.

Because Ritz crackers are not unlike well made pie pastry.

I made the praline and poured it over the crackers and baked it as directed for 10 minutes.

And what do you think I found after I pulled the candy out of the oven and placed it to cool? The graham crackers. Safe where I had put them.

Of course.

Cookie Thursday 11/13/25- Caramel apple bark

You can stick just about anything in chocolate and call it a bark.

This one is chocolate, caramel, pretzel, and granny smith apple.

And it’s a bark!

Okay, I wrote that part last night and today I attempted said “bark”.

Remember when I said that this would be a bark? Yeah, no. The pretzels, although freshly purchased and freshly opened, were stale. Ick.

And the freshly cut apples were too juicy for the chocolate to set properly.

And the caramel, that went on the freshly cut apples, did not stick to the apples.

A mess really.

Won’t be doing that again and really calls into consideration next week’s planned bark. I may have to reconsider.

This is the second week of the Fall theme of November. Uninspired, I know. But there are only THREE CTIATs that count in November. The 4th is Thanksgiving and I will be delivering no cookies to the hospital on Thanksgiving. Sorry, folks on call.

I will make it up to them with the December theme, though.

Also tragedy struck my Pinterest account.

It was deleted. On purpose by the company. Despite my appeals.

Apparently I am too political. Funny other people can post wildly political things in the opposite direction. It was getting too corporatey there anyway.

I would have continued to save political stuff. Sorry, not sorry. I will continue to save political stuff, just not there.

But with it goes all 3200 CTIAT recipes I had saved. Some for future themes, some were favorites, some just looked cool.

That’s okay, I have a hell of a memory and can reconstruct most of it.

Because Pinterest is just a storage vault. And I was expecting something like this for awhile now.

I had been cross-saving some very special looking recipes to another type of vault.

Again, sorry, not sorry.

This won’t slow me down at all!

Probably not as they intended but oh well.

Good thing I have at least 20 cookie specific cookbooks I’ve been saving for a rainy day.

This also gives me permission to be more organized with my saving. CTIAT was organized and I had about 50 different subsections.

But I remember all the subsections and will use them to build CTIAT recipe repository 2.0.

I will rebuild, I have the technology and I can make it multi-level. I can make it better than it was.

Better, stronger faster.

The first bionic CTIAT repository.

Bonus points if you know where that is from.

And a gold star.

FFS 10/31/25- Feed Me, Seymour!

It is definitely cartoon villain adjacent to give another country $40 BILLION dollars to shore up their currency when your own people are facing double or triple insurance premiums in 2026.

It is definitely cartoon villain adjacent to dangle food assistance for the food insecure people as a gotcha to make the Democrats do what you want and capitulate to the bullshit budget bill that will double or triple the healthcare exchanges premiums.

It is definitely cartoon villain adjacent to extort the Democrats to capitulate with your demands or 40 million American people will lose their SNAP benefits.

It is definitely cartoon villain adjacent to starve your own constituents.

It is definitely cartoon villain adjacent to give talking points to the bots that says that they don’t want their money to go to others having steak and candy and baked goods that they don’t have to bake themselves. And have it taken up by the mommy bloggers and the manosphere to endlessly repeat it.

Did you know that according to the USDA, in 2023, the average household who received SNAP got $332 per month. This is $177 per person. FOR ENTIRE FUCKING MONTH’S FOOD SPEND!!!

Now, I know that the vast majority of congresspeople and senators and people in the government do not do their own food shopping. I’m going to tell you gently that $177 is not steak money. It is money that goes to the dollar stores or Walmart to try to cobble some semblance of healthy food for the household. Again, for the entire fucking month. Breakfasts, lunch, dinner, a snack if you are lucky.

To do the math, even a little bit, $177 is roughly $5.90 per day. Again, not steak money. Hell, it isn’t even fruit and vegetable money.

But, but, Kate, it is in the name of the program “Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program”, it is supposed to be in addition to whatever you have to spend on food.

Ignorant fucker.

These numbers are from 2023. Before the inflation went nuts, before every little thing at the grocery store started to shrink in size, for the SAME price. This is known by the cutesy name “shrinkflation”. But what it really is is the multi billion dollar companies trying to make us pay more for less. Look, they cry, it is the same price as before.

Yeah, fucker, for less product.

This was hammered home to me yesterday when I pulled out the bag of Flaming Hot Cheetos so I could make a Halloween treat for Cookie Thursday is a Thing. This is not something I would normally buy the house as I anticipate no one would like it. The bag was 10 full ounces less than what was called for in the recipe I was following, almost half the number of ounces. 10.75 oz to the recipe ingredient which was a 20.5 oz bag. This made me take evasive maneuvers with the suddenly twice as much caramel than I needed.

I am lucky in that I can afford the prices and drive to more than one store, searching for the best price. But for how long? And even that is only if I maintain my current employment as a full time nurse in a hospital. But what about the ones that cannot?

As of this writing, a federal judge Rhode Island, Jack McConnel has blocked the administration from ceasing to pay SNAP benefits during the shutdown. Despite the lawyers for the administration arguing that SNAP doesn’t exist and there is not entitled to the $5 billion that was set aside by Congress in case of an emergency.

Like a government shutdown.

Their villainy strokes are so broad and diabolical you’d think they’d be afraid for their immortal soul.

Look, I don’t care if my tax dollars, and as a double income no kids couple we always pay, go to feeding the food insecure. It is a pittance compared to the corporate welfare that the gigantic companies receive every year.

So stop clutching your pearls and consider not torturing the single mother who is struggling.

The way better and bigger target are the corporations and the billionaires.

Cookie Thursday 4/24/25- applesauce egg replacement

When I first started planning this month’s theme of “That’s a good egg…substitute!”, I began, as I always do with searching for suggested egg substitutes. I hoped I would find at least 4 to round out the month.

To my shock, I found so much more than four.

There are egg substitutes for different applications, too. Some for baking, some for cooking, and some that switch hit.

I was certainly not spoiled for choice.

To recap

April 3, 2025- flax egg. 1 tbs flax to 3 tbs water per egg. These cookies did not behave like I was expecting them too. They were almost too crisp with no give in the mouth feel. These cookies tasted stale, even right out of the oven. 4/10
April 10, 2025- chia egg. 1 tbs chia seed to 3 tbs water per egg. I felt that this second egg substitute had a lot going for it and I was prepared to wowed. I was not wowed. But this was a fresher tasting cookie, even right out of the oven. 5/10
April 17, 2025- banana and psyllium husk eggs. No idea what led me to combining the different egg substitutes but I am so glad I did. Definitely the star of the month. Soft, pliable cookie, even 4 days later when I retrieved the leftovers. 10/10
April 24, 2025- applesauce egg. This one came highly recommended by some bakers I know. I was underwhelmed, especially after last week. The applesauce led to quick browning yet not quite done cookies. I understand the ease of these because most kitchens, especially those with children, have applesauce in them. But eh. 5/10.

Looking back at my prepared list of egg substitutes it appears that the month isn’t quite over yet. And so I will be continuing the theme for next month.

I mean, I shouldn’t be surprised at the breadth of choice for egg substitutes. You have the people with allergies and you have the vegans.

Everyone deserves a cookie sometimes.

Happy Hospital Week

Celebrating in the Operating Room.

It happens. And it usually involves food.

Strike that. It ALWAYS involves food.

This week is Hospital Week.

For the first time I can remember Nurses Week and Hospital Week have been separated. With an itty bitty overlap of May 12. May 12 is the day that Nurses Week ended. It traditionally ends on Florence Nightingale’s birthday.

Hospital Week is the week that the American Hospital Association sets aside to celebrate the 24/7 providers of care for their community. A hospital certainly ticks that box.

Food and bragging rights are good for a celebration.

This week we celebrate the workers of the hospitals, including nurses.

At my hospital, the week kicked off with an apple pie contest. Each department that cared to submitted a homemade apple pie. Monday, May 13th is National Apple Pie Day.

That is where the food comes in.

I made the apple pie for the operating room. I used homemade crust. I also peeled, cut, and cooked the apple pie filling. Even though the recipe that I was using said store-bought would be okay. Um, no. Have you met me?

I believe there were 12 apple pies submitted for the contest.

OR won 3rd prize.

There were also cupcakes to feed everyone else.

Because 12 pies are not going to feed the staff that run the 139 beds.

No matter how small the pieces.

Cookie Thursday 3/7/24-parmesan crispy wonton crackers

The theme for March is similar to the November 2023 theme of Something From Nothing. That was where I made cookies out of whatever odd ingredient was in my baking pantry. At the time there was a poll taken with the two choices being 1) Something From Nothing and 2) Well That Was Easy. I knew that I wanted to return to the Well That Was Easy Theme in 2024.

I have decidedly simple recipes in my stack of recipes. These will become the Well That Was Easy makes.

This week, to kick off March will be the Parmesan Crispy Wonton Crackers.

I had two choices again, use storebought egg roll wrappers or make my own. Out of expediency, I bought egg roll wrappers. The homemade ones will have to wait until I am not preparing to leave for a conference. I have to practice rolling out dough to very thin some other time.

This recipe is very easy, very fitting with the theme. Egg roll wrappers, cut into strips, olive oil to wrappers, top with parmesan cheese. The original recipe called for thyme and parsley. I decided against that for 2 reasons (always the 2), 1) I hate parsley and 2) the OR is skeptical of green stuff, jalapeno chocolate chip cookies notwithstanding.

Bake the doctored strips at 375 degrees Fahrenheit for 8-9 minutes. Keep careful watch, these brown super fast.

I did hold back about 15 that I thought had gotten too brown. I am going to crunch these for use as salad toppers. What salad isn’t improved by a little crunch?

Cookie Thursday 2/8/24-cheese straw cookies

Continuing on February’s theme of Tracie’s Favorites, cheese straw cookies.

I know, I just did a cheese month in January. Yes, there is still that much cheese.

I don’t care. This is what Tracie asked for.

I did ask qualifying questions. Whether what she had in mind was pepper jelly thumbprints, cheese straws, or pimento cheese straws. She chose straight-up cheese straw cookies.

Okay then.

All of these three cookies have the same base. Flour, butter, and shredded cheese.

It is the application of how much and what to do with it that is a bit different.

These are not a roll-out cookie. So there will be no chilling of the dough. As always, I am going to be doubling down on the spices. The recipe I am using asks for 1/8 tsp garlic powder. Um, no. I don’t think so.

Since I will not be rolling these out, I will use my smallest cookie scoop to portion out the dough balls. And bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit oven.

There is also the question of how crispy do I want to make these bakes? The longer the cookies are in the oven, the crispier they get of course. But I want a bit of chewiness to them.

The cheddar cheese should not be bagged cheese. There are anti-clumping ingredients added to the cheese when it is packaged. I will be grating my own.

Also, my grater was last seen while making Christmas dinner. I have looked everywhere. Either it got thrown out by mistake, or broken and then thrown out, no one knows. Moment of silence for one of the OG wedding gifts. It served me well for over 25 years.

I bought a new one. Did you know that they are not dishwasher-safe? Probably explains why it broke/got thrown away/ran away.

Cookie Thursday 1/4/24- Happy Birthday, Cookie Thursday is a Thing. It is NINE years old this month!

Happy birthday to Cookie Thursday is a Thing.

Believe me, when I started this, I had no idea I would be able to sustain it for NINE freaking years!

Besides my 25-year marriage, this is the longest I’ve sustained something outside of work.

The theme for the month is Why is There so Much Cheese?

The cheese drawer is packed. And we got cheese from my brother-in-laws.

Every make this month will be cheese-related.

I wrote down 8 of the cheese recipes, including one of the department favorites, on gown cards and I walked around and had my coworkers pick.

A little gamification for the birthday celebration month. I could have made the 4 favorite cookies of the department, but there is SO MUCH CHEESE.

The make for this week is feta and spinach sconelets.

These are just little bite-sized scones.

Coincidentally I’ve not made these in about 6 years but they still made it onto the best list with one vote. Maybe this is a celebration month after all.