I don’t know if you’ve ever decided to make a yummy looking recipe and realized that it had “chocolate wafer cookies” as an ingredient. They are a tasty simple cookie, that I think used to be readily available in stores, but now are limited to gourmet shops (Gourmet shops don’t exist in Cordova). These little cookies can be used in cookie crusts or in sandwich cookie desserts or pies or tarts or anywhere a bit of chocolate crunchiness might be a welcome addition–i.e. crumbled on top of pudding or ice cream or used to decorate the sides of a cake or as one layer of a trifle. At any rate, I had typically avoided such recipes because I didn’t have a ready source for chocolate wafer cookies, and I also don’t like to use a lot of processed foods in my cooking because, I’m a little perverse that way.

This weekend, I needed to make a dessert for a progressive dinner and I was devoid of inspiration. I felt tarted and pied and caked out from all of the fall fruit I had baked and birthdays I had fêted over the last few weeks. So it was time for something new. Thumbing through my cookbooks, I got a little obsessed with cheesecake. I had never made a cheesecake with actual cream cheese–In my days as a vegan chef I’d made plenty of delicious “cheesecakes” with tofu. But we’re in using things up mode since we’re travelling over Christmas, and I had a bunch of organic neufchatel cream cheese in the fridge from a bulk order earlier in the fall (when Jay was big in a bagel eating jag). Selma said, “Make a graham cracker crust!” But that didn’t really appeal to me. I definitely wanted chocolate involved. On top of that, my spring form pan has gone missing, or more likely didn’t make the move because the movers left my house without taking any of my baking pans, and tho’ I rushed a box down to them at the warehouse, it wouldn’t surprise me if something got left out.

One thing led to another, and I only had about three hours left before the party, so I got to work making the batter for some mini chocolate cheesecake bites, in tiny mini muffin tins with no crust. While the cheesecakes were cooling, I improvised this recipe for chocolate wafer cookies which served as the base or “crust” for the cheesecakes after they had cooled.

Chocolate Wafer Cookies

1 1/4 c flour
1/4 c. cocoa powder
1 T baking powder
1/2 c. canola oil
1/4 c. blackstrap molasses (important for giving the cookies a nice dark color and rich flavor)
1/2 c. maple syrup
3 T - 1/4 c. water

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa powder and baking powder. In a small bowl, whisk together oil, molasses and maple syrup. (TIP: if you measure the oil first, then the molasses and syrup will slide right out of your measuring cup). Add wet to dry and stir to combine, kneading with your hands when the mixture is too thick to stir. If it seems to dry to hold together, add a Tablespoon of water at a time until the dough can form a ball. Use immediately, or chill until ready to use.

To make the cookies, roll the dough out between two pieces of parchment paper or waxed paper to a thickness of 1/8 - 1/4 inch. Cut with a small biscuit cutter or cookie cutter. Bake for 9-10 minutes in a 350 degree oven. It is very hard to tell if the cookies are done by sight, if you can smell them, they’ve probably been in there too long.

Makes approximately 2 dozen, depending on the size of your cookie cutter. This recipe is easily doubled.

I’ll post more about the cheesecakes soon.

Thank you everyone for your readership, for your support, for sharing your creative ideas in the comments on the blog. I wish you a colorful and happy Thanksgiving.

Pearl is ready for her close-up, but I have a feeling the news media might have other things to cover today. Nonetheless, my new book, Knits for Bears to Wear is officially released today. (A friend of my mom’s in upstate New York even confirmed a sighting in the wilid). Pearl did insist that I clean up the mess in my studio just in case a rogue reporter mistakenly stumbled on over to Cordova. I am excited about the book launch–we’ll be having a party to celebrate at my local yarn shop, The Net Loft on November 19th.

The book has over 20 outfits for soft toys–that’s right, they don’t have to be for bears. The patterns can fit bears, American Girl Dolls, and any soft toy. Each pattern can be easily customized to exactly fit your toy with a simple little “customizing sidebar” we built into each pattern. You do a couple of easy calculations, and you’re ready to knit!

I also, can finally tell you that I’ve been asked to do a sequel to Knits for Bears. A yet-to-be-titled Crochet for Bears book will be out in spring of 2010. I’m working on it now, and without the wonderful group of sample knitters I had helping me with Knits for Bears, it is a little more challenging, but I’m delighted to be designing on a small scale again–it’s a process that allows for creativity in ways that human garments do not.

OK, back to my regularly scheduled obsessive watching of the election results!

Lost.

One of the things I love about moving is getting lost. When I’m exploring a new area, I love to wander around back roads feeling my way and learning the area. I had thought that it wouldn’t be possible to get lost in Cordova, but it turns out there’s plenty of roads to loose my way on (even though, locals say “out the road,” as if there’s only one, whenever they’re talking about things away from town), and each one seems to offer a better view of mountain or water or rainforest.

Found.

Things in Alaska are expensive, things in Cordova, are about twice that much. In the general store, a bag of potato chips regularly costs $8.99. I was relieved to find a small Salvation Army store on the main street here in town. Yesterday we found an old electric piano there that Selma bought for herself for just a few dollars, and when she was trying out the piano, the cashier said, “are you a Suzuki student?” It turns out she was two about 10 years ago, and her teacher still lives in town, but stopped teaching when she had children. We called the teacher, and she’s going to take Selma on as a student.

Our first day here we got a call from Kristy (flickr), the wife of the Engineering Officer on the ship saying that there was a gathering to plan the upcoming weekend’s Coast Guard Day picnic. It turned out to be an impromptu craft session as well with knitting and crocheting, quilting and one new friend Pam (shown here hand quilting a beautiful stained glass quilt) showed us her handmade paper collection including some made from dryer lint! (We’re all going to start saving ours asap). Kristy is the unofficial photographer of the group, and she took this shot:

Finished.

When I was planning our x-country journey, I fantasized about not having work projects to do, and using the travel time to finish up UFOs. Well, I ended up taking on work instead, but I did get to work on a couple of small projects some washcloths to give as hostess gifts, and a shawl for a friend–this is my Antique Lace Shawl worked in Malabrigo’s new silk and merino yarn.

Returned.

James was due to return with the ship this morning. (The last time we saw him was the morning of June 11th). Last night at about dinner time, I got simultaneous calls from James and the ship’s ombudsman saying that they were coming in tonight instead. The family members of the ship’s crew gathered at a point along the sound to wave to them as they passed by, then we jumped in our cars and drove to the pier to greet them.

Delivered.

Our household goods arrive tomorrow, so I may be buried in boxes and off the computer for a while. I do not like unpacking, so hopefully, I’ll power through and get it over with quickly.

On Saturday, we attended the Hamilton College commencement ceremony because it was the last commencement where my dad would be College Marshall–the person who leads the ceremony and directs everyone. (Here he is calling the ceremony to order.) He retires this year.

Here he is after the ceremony. Do you think he looks happy to be finished?

He doesn’t look old enough to be retiring! He’s not actually going to stop teaching. As an emeritus professor, he’ll teach one course per semester, but not have any administrative work that goes with a full time job.

My dad is an English professor, and he is a huge influence on my career as a writer. His influence began when he read to me as a little kid–everything from nursery rhymes to Robinson Crusoe. He reviewed and commented on practically everything I wrote through grade school, high-school, and college; he’s taught me more than anyone about how to write.

Anyway, after all of the marching in at the ceremony, once the speeches had started, I pulled out a sock I was crocheting and began to work on it. Selma, who had forgotten the book she was going to read, was watching me intently, and after a few minutes, I handed her the sock. I had tried to teach her to crochet a year or so ago, but she wasn’t interested, so I didn’t push it. This time, however, I didn’t really teach her, I just gave a little non-verbal advice when she got stuck, and it all came naturally–I think the fact that I couldn’t talk (because we were in a ceremony) helped–I probably would have given too much advice and annoyed her. This way, I let her work it out on her own. I also think the smallness of the sock yarn and hook may have been a better fit for her small hands than worsted weight and a big 5mm hook. Here she is continuing her work at the picnic after the ceremony.

Of course, she has another new fiber love, she learned to spin at Maryland sheep and wool:

She also designed her very own batt on Rebecca’s drum carder:

So it will be interesting to see what keeps her attention.

Today the movers came and took away our express shipment including, (GULP!) all my stitch dictionaries. I’m feeling a little naked without them.

…is a tattoo parlor. Yesterday, Emily and I were taking a break from de-cluttering and went shopping for buttons. She dared me to get a tattoo, so…

GOTCHA!!!!

It’s really a “tattoo sleeve.” I’m not sure when (or why) I got this in the first place, but it’s one of the things we found when cleaning up. I think I’ll hang onto it for the kids to play with.

We’re leaving tomorrow to spend the long weekend with my parents. I expect to do lots of knitting, but little or no blogging, so see you next week!

I think that our house is kicking us out. Our phone has been intermittently going on the fritz, every time it rains, as a matter of fact. And last week our furnace broke. Someone came to fix it, but a few days later, it broke again. Oh, and all the rain we’ve been having flooded the basement (i.e. my studio), so rugs are piled on top of boxes and things that I had to move to allow the carpet to dry. Argh. We do have to be here at least another 6 weeks until the movers come, so the house and I are going to have to reach some sort of détante. Maybe a little feng shui is in order.

Meanwhile, I have a new hat design in the works… here’s a quick snapshot. I hope to be doing a photoshoot of this and a few other new projects this week that we’ll be debuting at TNNA in June. The yarn is a sock yarn from Pagewood Farm. It’s a hand-dye on a lovely sock base that is great to work with–this is part of a trio of knitting patterns I’m doing with Pagewood Farm that will include a scarf and a purse.

This weekend we had a break from many, many days of torrential rain on Saturday, and we took advantage of it by going to see the US Women’s soccer team beat Canada at RFK stadium in DC. We had front-row seats, and the kids really got to see the action. A few of the players were moms and their kids got to run out to the field and bring them flowers for mother’s day. Afterwards, some of the players came and signed autographs.

One of them, Kate Sobrero, who was carrying her son, Keegan, tossed Jay one of her signed Jerseys!

Of course, he had to put it on, right away.

If you’re a Heroes fan, you’ll appreciate this adorable Mohinder amigurumi doll created by Violet Anchovy. I love the sideburns.

She based it on Kim Werker’s Amigurumi Dude pattern at CrochetMe. Oh, and she’s made a Sylar one too!

Last Tuesday, at SSK (Silver Spring Knitters, our local group), I coerced Heidi into modeling my newly completed hat.

The cap is a summer version of a hat I wore all winter long. (I’m obsessing a little bit about hats right now, lots of deadlines for sweaters, vests, socks and minutely crocheted shawls, and all I want to do is make hats.)

After we had settled back in…

We had some unexpected (to me, at least!) visitors:

You may recognize James, I’m holding Jay, and in the bottom right corner is the back of Selma’s head. (Note they all have dressed for the event–James in a nice jacket, Selma in a skirt and crocheted shawl, and Jay in his Spiderman Jammies–everyone picked out their own outfits, I hear.) They had come to surprise me and James had worked quietly with the Martha, our group’s fearless leader to arrange their visit. James said something like this, when he arrived:

“In the military, when someone has a big achievement, we like to make a fuss, have a ceremony and give them a plaque to commemorate the event. Amy’s first book was just released in March, and to celebrate Jay and Selma and I had this put together.”

Then, they unveiled the coolest surprise ever:

James wrote to my publisher to ask them for a cover of the book, and they sent him one! Then he took it to our local frame shop and worked with the framer to come up with the perfect frame. I love it. And I was so touched that James took all that time and effort to say publicly that he was proud of me. What a sweetie.

A few nights ago, I came up with this recipe after seeing one for a Mexican polenta casserole. With the move coming up, I’ve been looking for easy recipes that we can make with things in our pantry both to use up what we have, and to develop a collection of recipes to rely on in Alaska when daily trips to the grocery are not an option. Selma loves polenta (or grits), so I had a feeling this would be an instant favorite, and it was!

Ingredients

• 1 tube of already prepared polenta (or, you can make your own with 1 cup of dry polenta and 2 cups water or broth)
• 1/2 lb of firm tofu, drained
• 1 8 oz can of organic tomato sauce
• cheezy topping of your choice (I like this sesame “parmesan,” or this tahini sauce, or you could use organic mozzarella cheese, like that from Organic Valley.)
• olive oil
• 1 t dried oregano

Preheat the oven to 325 Fahrenheit. Open the package of polenta and mash into the bottom of an 8×8″ glass baking dish using a potato masher.

Pour half of the can of tomato sauce over top of the polenta and spread evenly with the back of a spoon.

Sprinkle the tomato sauce with 1/2 of the dried oregano.

Slice the tofu into 1/8-1/4″ slices and lay them on top of the tomato sauce.

Spread the remaining tomato sauce on top of the tofu. Sprinkle the 2nd half of the oregano on top of the tomato sauce, and drizzle the olive oil over the top.

Top with cheezy topping of your choice.

Bake for 25-30 minutes or until everything is heated through.

Enjoy with a salad or carrot sticks or a steamed vegetable.

This made great leftovers when reheated the next day, too, so when I make it again, I might double the recipe and do it in a 9×13″ pan.

It’s a beautiful, sunny 60 degree day here in Maryland. Jay is sleeping, James is sleeping, Selma and a friend have been riding bikes and now they’re picnicking in the back yard (they requested sliced oranges, hummus and tortilla chips). Sophie, Selma’s guest said, “this is such a great play date!” I think they’re relishing in their new 8-year-old freedom of being basically in control of their free time. The house is quiet and I’m liking my free time too.

I did some laundry and picked up the really awful messes of the past day or so, but when I started on a pile on a couch side-table, I realized, what looked at first like clutter was a project in progress. We have a lot of “active” clutter in the house because its small, we don’t have dedicated room for the kids to do crafts, and although they have a play room they play everywhere.

And looking around, I realized, I didn’t mind this kind of clutter, I actually like it. It’s interesting to see what activities are happening in the house by what little piles are being created. That said, sometimes an “active” pile becomes stagnant–I just spotted the remnants of our Christmas card project. Before I can really put that away, I need to enter new addresses into my address book. But it isn’t an active project any more, it’s stuck.

With our impending move, I’ve had to be a lot more pro-active about sorting. I don’t want to take any unnecessary stuff to Alaska, and I want to have room for stocking up on needed supplies. I’ve already done a pass on all the bedrooms, and the rest of the house is much harder. My mom and I have promised each other that we’d tackle one small de-cluttering task per day on our houses, so today, I’m going to have a go at a problematic kitchen cupboard.