Early in my cookie baking project, I discovered I would have to plan ahead to find the right ingredients for each cookie. I have made special trips to the grocery store for almond paste, pastry flour, graham crackers, Brazil nuts, dried currants, sesame seeds and coconut (the fresher, the better). I made additional trips to Home Cake, my local cake decorating supply shop, for special cookie cutters, pastry bags and decorating dust. I managed to conserve gas on other occasions only because the things I had on hand included: lemons, fine granulated sugar, pecans, molasses, oats, pine nuts, vanilla beans, brandy, rum and sherry. Impressive, huh? Now, as I look ahead to the next few cookies, I've added to my shopping list: cottage cheese, dried figs, more oranges, and peanut oil - somehow, I stopped using it for stir-fries and never bought more. Oh yes, one more thing - a pizzelle maker. For the uninitiated, or non-Italian, a pizzelle maker is a device that takes a fairly runny ...
I began this blog when my mother was ill and needed enough of my attention that I could not concentrate on longer-form works I wanted to write. I set those aside to distract myself with cookie-making and this blog. Please find my new blog (2020) entitled "Time NOT Lost" at karenbrattesani.blogspot.com, where I explore the behavior I see around me -- both my own and that of others -- and what it says about our changing culture during the coronavirus pandemic. And, I hope, beyond.