New Year's Traditions

There are many "traditional" foods to eat on NYE to "guarantee" a great following year. Eat pork b/c pigs only root forwards, never backwards so your new year will go happily forward. Wear red or yellow underwear to ensure that you will find (or continue to love) the love of your life in the coming year. Eat loooooong noodles to guarantee a long life. Eat 12 whole grapes, one for each dong of the clock at midnight (eat fast!!) to ensure a sweet year, every month. And many, many of eating round/circular foods to bring prosperity, monetarily and pyschological, throughout the coming 12 months....... I have sent enough pasta recipes (ok, more to follow in the coming 12 months, promise!) but i will be making the round, green food to ensure pschological prosperity for myself and the friends with whom i will be sharing this dish (but not the Hubster who _hates_ peas of all sorts!!...so,,, more for me!)..... NEW YEAR'S EVE/NEW YEAR'S DAY SPLIT PEA SOUP/POTAGE.....1C split peas.....1C dried peas(or 2C split peas)......1C shredded or chopped carrot.....3/4C shredded or chopped onion.....1/4C celery, chopped (or leave out).....1t salt....pepper to taste.....5-1/2C water/broth (broth is better, water is easier).....1t smoke seasoning (if you don't do the ham).....1C chopped leftover ham (this is for you, Reni Fruits!/mom).....[if using the dried whole peas, soak for ~8 hours with a pinch of baking soda, drain and rinse well].....dump all in Instapot.....set to 14 minutes.....have a life....return when you remember that you're making soup/potage.....open lid (as pressure has no doubt released by now...if not, release pressure first!!!).....serve over rice with optional sprinkling of fresh/thawed frozen peas and swirl of sour cream/natilla/cream....sosososso good....but _will not freeze!!_...... so eat it all now!

NYE RESOLUTIONS....

I will be making NYE resolutions this year. And...i was going to make the same resolutions that i had made for 2022, 2021 and 2020. I clearly have not achieved these goals...so i'm going to be a bit more kind to myself this year. Would i like to have the results that i "resolved" to achieve those past years? Absolutely. But, moving in the right direction is also a "win"...accepting that i'm going to have good and bad days (moments!) makes it more likely that i'll keep going. You too? Or are your _really_ going to go to the gym for 2hrs a day, get that "beach body" of your 20's and stop drinking/eating fast food? Good on you if so. I'll be the chick that takes the day off b/c she just isn't feeling it...who eats the donut b/c she (finally!!) can....who has the "sabbath soda" (weekly treat after church/studies) on Friday b/c it was a particularly hard week. And, this year, i'll _achieve_ my NYE resolution to be kinder to myself...and maybe treat myself to the movement towards those goals that i set in the past........ https://wapo.st/3G04sIY........ i'm hoping that this goes through...if not....write me and i'll try to forward it to you.....i can only share seven articles a month from my subscription to the Washington Post so i cannot send it to everyone!..... https://wapo.st/3G04sIY ...............https://www.washingtonpost.com/wellness/2022/12/30/disability-new-years-resolutions/

LAUREL AND LISA LENTIL PILAF

*****LAUREL AND LISA LENTIL PILAF***** Laurel called me to say "let's play...i have chicken...and i'm hungry...and i have the InstaPot...go!".....and this is what we made. If the pictures go through, you can see _her_ creation. I claim little credit. I did none of the work...she made it...she ate it...she loved it. ....... Here's her/our recipe!!....... *****LAUREL AND LISA LENTIL PILAF***** 2 smallish apples, not peeled but chopped.....1/2C lentils.....1C brown rice.....1-1/2C water.....1-1/2t curry powder.....1/2t cinnamon.....1t salt.....8 grinds of pepper.....mix this in IP.....nestle in boneless/skinless chicken breasts (hers were frozen!).....1 generous squirt ketchup (she did it on top of the chicken....i had t hought to have stirred it in).....close instapot and set to 21 minutes....have a life....return, open (after natural release if life was generous or with quick release if not)...stir, eat.....lather/rinse/repeat.....freezes well 9if you can resist eating it all before then.....lunch---dinner----after-run snack.....

christmas curmudgeon

How was your Christmas? I have to say, this was the most disappointing Christmas that i can remember having. While i've long said that "it's just a day" about all holidays since the kids were no longer littles, this was even more disappointing that the average "just a day". The high point of the day was drinking 4oz (Hubster bought the little tiny cans of soda instead.."they're so cute!" but it means that my weekly "treat" is that much smaller than when we had the 12oz bottles/cans) of Coke Zero in the moving car on the way to the restaurant. Trying to not spill soda on my dress and/or aspirate soda as we swung around curves and shifted gears to climb the BIG hill that leads out of the neighborhood.......... And that was the high point of the day. You can only imagine how the rest of the day went.......... I had bought a small treat (i thought) for Joe so that he had something fun to start the day. He opened the heart shaped pan with brownie mix...and said, "oh...a brownie...here, put this away" and went to get his computer to read his fantasty football updates (he is out of the playoffs but still reading to see how others in his league are doing...)......... We met with friends at the Asian/Thai restaurant to find that one didn't come(there was a story there that we were not privy to...girlfriend that came said that he had another engagement). The entree that i ordered, on the recommendation of the friend that has lived in Asian countries for the past 15 years, was gado gado...a typical Indonesian dish. It was, it seems, a deconstructed salad. Undercooked hard boiled eggs, sliced in 1/2 (essentially a tad more than soft-boiled...too soft to pick up)....boiled plain potato...boiled green beans (five, cut in half, about 1/2C)....boiled carrot(about 1/2C)...cooked bean sporuts (1/2C)...peanut butter (not sauce, just a bowl of peanut butter)..LUNCH. I couldn't eat the egg (i tried but soft boiled egg with peanut butter? even i don't want protein that much!) and the potato was without taste (peanut butter on potato is not a new TikTok trend..and never will be...)......... ... Friends liked theirs well enough. Hubster got some spicy beef dish that he didn't like ("kinda tasteless mush"). He bought the entire meal for everyone (Merry Christmas to them). Eveyone had drinks and extra rice/naan...they seemed to enjoy the meal. I jst sat there and wished that i was home eting a peanut butter sandwich, not peanut potatoes and peanut eggs.......... We then went to the friends' house to play their "favorite game from family game times". 7Wonders. They were unsure how to explain it and, Hubster having watched a YouTube video of the game, had to explain it mostly. After the explanation,we played two rounds of the game. I never, ever, no, not ever, "got" the game and just randomly put cards in front of me. The two friends for whom this was "their favorite game" were pretty clueless too and had many questions about which card to play and how to proceed. After the second round, there was some discussion of playing a third (games only last ~ 25 minutes). I said that i would not be playing again but that the other four of them could and that pretty much ended that.......... We went home...Hubster says "i'm still full from lunch so not much for dinner....but i want coffee...oh...and waffles would be good". Meanwhile, i'm _starving_ (boiled veg for lunch, no munchies at all at friends' house...they drank wine but i don't drink and there were no other options...). I made a tomato/egg sandwich for me and waffles and coffee for him (didn't want to make a lot and then have to toast them...cannot make more than one at a time in the mini-waffle maker..they are the size of Eggo waffles). We then watched a film that Joe selected...and it was so awful that i just sat on the couch, kept him company and closed my eyes and daydreamed about the rest of the coming week and what i need to do to get everything done.......... ... I was tempted to take sleeping meds so that i could sleep away the entire night and sleep later in the morning but didn't want to wake up hung over. THat would have started today even more glum that it did (at the usual, non-sleeping aid time of 0341). ......... So, next year, Christmas has been cancelled. There will be a 25 December...but it will be just a Monday. Not a holiday. I will "celebrate" with a peanut butter sandwich at home with my kitties (God willing...if they haven't met with harm by then). The key to happiness...lower expectations....really...really....lower expectations, clearly!......... I am counting on your holiday being better.......... Pura Vida.

random rantings from the Rossi ranch

Some people take loooooong showers and have the much-discussed (at least on Bored Panda) "shower thoughts". I hate showering (more on this in a minute) but love to let my mind wander when i take my looooong walks in the morning. The birds are singing, i'm alone, my mind wanders as i walk the same route (so the view rarely changes). Of course, my focus being on my random thoughts is how i get bitten by the stray dog but i digress. ....... . . Anyway, so on the walk that i took this morning (thank God, back to walking!), i had some thoughts that had built up (four days without walking...i was getting cranky -- no endorphins!). Because you are still reading, you are stuck having to share in the random ramblings from my head. Feel free to stop reading now! Leave a comment, if desired, at gringalet@hotmail.com (cannot leave comments here...don't know why...)....... . . 1. I went to a wedding and the priest was telling a story of a long married couple from his congregation. They were asked the secret to their long union and the woman spoke up. "See,", she said, "when we were getting married 40 years ago, that priest told us to make a list of five things that the other partner could do that we would just overlook, despite how much it bugged us. I was a busy bride and just didn't make the list. I didn't tell either my husband or the priest. Then, throughout the past 40 years, every time that he did something that i wanted to protest... i would just figure that what he was doing was one of the things on that list that i didn't make and held my tongue.". This got a giggle from the congregants at the wedding and the ceremong proceeded to its end. But.... his story spoke to me. I was already married at the time but thought that this was a good idea. So, throughout the past 31 (!!) years, there might have been things that i would have squawked about...but i didn't for the most part, thinking that they must be "one of those five things"...... Until recently when Hubster has started a new behavior that is like bamboo under my nails. I stopped the Duolingo Spanish b/c it was just not sticking and making me so sad/frustrated that i wanted to cry. He has continued with his studies and is doing fantastically. So, now he speaks to me (not all the time, but often enough) in Spanish, throwing in words here and there (Bon provecho! every time we sit down to eat....comments on the day/schedule for the week....random comments throughout the day). I don't say anything but want to. I really wonder if i should just start speaking only French to him. He wants to make our home a tower of Babel? Bueno/Bon/Excellent. But.....i don't want to be a spoiled brat...so i say nothing (rien/nada). Can he not get his fill of Spanish speaking with Olga (coming tomorrow and every Tuesday) and Didier (also coming tomorrow and every Tuesday) and all the others in this country except me who speak Spanish? I just smile...and nod....and respond in english or, if i don't know what he's said, just ignore him. Grrrr....... . . 2. I have been trying to "braid" our foods so as not to waste (let food go bad b/c we forgot it in the fridge) or have "food monotony" (how often can one eat a cheese quesadilla and plaintains before it's no longer a treat?). Some weeks/days are better than others. This has been a bad week (burnt the spinach so that threw off that meal!) and had to throw away cheese (!!!) that had molded as Hubster kept requesting other foods. So, no matter how careful of a shopper i am (comparing unit prices....only buying what we need....), i am still behind. Grrrr. ....... . . 3. I have sosososo many recipes for cornbread, baked beans, and pancakes. I have made so many variations to try to make the Hubster happiest. And...he likes the "kits" the best. Homemade cornbread or corn pancakes with flour and cornmeal and baking soda and sugar...and he says "it's not quite as good as Jiffy". Add 1 egg and 1/3C milk...stir...BOOM! Hubster is happy. Soak the beans, mix the tomato sauce, sauteed bacon/grease, salt/pepper, smoke seasoning, mustard, paprika....and he prefers the store-brand barbeque sauce over beans. We won't even talk about the many, many, many times that i've tried any manner of pancakes...to have him crave the "Bisquick kind" (or Krusties)...the "just add water" kind. So...you would think that after THIRTY ONE YEARS i would learn, right? So, on our return trip to the US next month, i will again be "sherpa-ing" back Jiffy cornbread mix. [insert sigh here] What i will do with all the cornmeal that i have already is a mystery.....maybe make cornbread just for me......... . . 4. I walked today but have to say that my joy was tempered by fear. I am just reinforcing that i'm getting to be an old lady (or already am but i put my fingers in my ears and say "lalalalala"). I wear pants that cover over my knees. I wear gym shoes with inserts (the inserts are over 10 years old and essentially useless but still better than nothing). I wear a _hug_ turquoise sun visor hat as i've already had squamous/basal cell cancer cut off my face. I carry a stick to fight off the random dog attack (again...had stopped and we saw last week what that resulted in). I carry a key to get back in the house (but no purse/bag as it's only one key..i don't have a wallet). I don't carry a mobile phone because i have no service anyway so it would be useless. I have no music or podcasts to listen to anyway (no service on mobile = no podcast/music). And, even if i had service, Pandora is not available in Costa Rica. I walk alone, pop out in the street if i cross anyone's path (exception if car approaching which it was with said dog) and don't make eye contact or _ ever_ speak to anyone (see: "don't speak Spanish"). So...i'm a crazy old lady with a stick and a diverted gaze. I only need to start mumbling to myself to make the vision complete. :-( I was back to walking today but hyper-sensitive to the threats of dogs, stumbling on uneven pavement (you should see the roads/sidewalks here...sigh), or sun damage. If we still had our treadmill, i would go back to that (boring as it was). The birds and sunshine are nice though. Maybe after a week or so my fear of the dog will abate. As it was, i took a different route today (shorter and more commercial/public...less nature, more cars) but will hope to return to the "better" route (which passes where i "met" the dog) next week. When i'm braver (or my leg stops aching and reminding me with each step of the incident)........ . . 5. I made , last week, an appointment for today to have a "female exam" and was assured by the "bilingual english speaking" nurse that it would occur. This morning, i structured our day so that we could go to my appointment, then grocerying and home by lunch. I arrived on time...gave my cards to the nurse at the desk...and waited 45 minutes, past my appointment time, as she took five (5!!) walk-ins before me. When she finally escorted me in to the exam room and sat me on the table, she asked what i was there for. Upon hearing my explanation, she looked confused. I had to act out a pelvic and breast exam (medical charades!) as my "bilingual English medical staff" was ....well.....not. She said, oh no. We don't do that. So, an hour after arriving, i left without anything. If i spoke the language of the country in which i live, i would not have had this problem. Part of the "joy" that i bring on myself by quitting Duolingo and Spanish lessons. It is frustrating and all the more so b/c it's my fault........ 6. Off to read and try to "redeem" this day. I hope that you're having a splendid holiday week and get lots of warm family time this coming week and into the new year. ....... . . . . PURA VIDA....kinda

Black-eyed peas and sweet potato soup can help you live longer!

says the Washington Post...and who am i to argue?!....... BLACK EYED PEA AND SWEET POTATO SOUP....... 1 cup dried black-eyed peas, soaked for at least 3 and up to 12 hours....... (1/4 cup vegetable oil)...... 3 small tomatoes (12 ounces total), cored and chopped....... 1 large yellow onion (12 ounces), chopped...... 1 green bell pepper, chopped....... 2 cloves garlic, chopped....... 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper....... 1/2 teaspoon fine salt, plus more to taste....... 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar (may substitute apple cider vinegar)....... 3 large sweet potatoes (2 to 2 1/2 pounds total), peeled and cut into 1/2-inch dice....... 2 cups water....... (3 tablespoons palm oil or coconut oil)....... Drain and rinse the black-eyed peas........ >>>>>>>Instapot version:<<<<<<<....... (oil) is optional, can saute in water or oil....... [saute veg....add rest....IP ~10-12 minutes....go to ***]....... >>>>>>>Stovetop version<<<<<<<....... In a Dutch oven or other large pot over medium-high heat, heat the oil until it shimmers. Add the tomatoes, onion, bell pepper, garlic, cayenne and salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is soft, about 10 minutes. Stir in the vinegar to deglaze the pot, scraping up any browned bits on the bottom of the pan with a spoon........ Add the black-eyed peas, sweet potatoes and water and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat so the soup is at a simmer, cover and cook until the black-eyed peas are very soft, 30 to 40 minutes. Stir in the palm or coconut oil, taste, and season with more salt, if needed. Remove from the heat and let cool for a few minutes........ ​***If desired, use a slotted spoon to transfer about 2 cups of the solids to a bowl and reserve for garnish. Using an immersion blender, puree the soup until smooth........ Divide the soup among bowls, and top each with some of the reserved garnish. Serve hot........preferably with fluffy green salad and a crusty bread with butter.......

it has happened

I was warned that moving to a "third world country", i woul be asaulted. That violence was rampant and that i was risking life and limb moving from New Mexico, USA to Atenas, Costa Rica. And, after three and half years here, i have been assaulted. Yes, risking life and limb every day...it finally came home to roost. I fear for my continued safety and have changed my behavior...at least temporarily........ How was i injured? Was it a random gunman in a Wal-Mart? No. Was it a protester driving into a crowd of people? No. Was it even a drug junkie robbing me for whatever he can get to finance his next fix? No. Thse were my fears in the US but not here........ Was i walking in "the bad part of town"? no. Was i out at an inappropriate time (ie 0330 in the dark on the streets of Washington, DC which i did nearly daily when in DC for 10 years)? no. Was i flashing gold chains and diamonds and other riches? no....... No How did i risk life and limb this week?........ I walked home, my usual route, on a sidewalk, in front of the cemetary, around the corner from a grocery and mom/pop restaurant. And on this sidewalk, i saw a stray dog. Nothing unusual, having passed already three other "street dogs", of the chihuahua variety/size. This was a gold laborador size...but not a purebred. Just another street dog, right? I stayed on my side of the sidewalk, not going in the street (as i often do when passing people or dogs or both on the sidewalk...COVID cooties!) as there was a car coming in my direction. As i passed the dog (not making eye contact to be threatening, not really thinking of the dog in fact), he growled at me and bit my leg........ [Remember when in school we girls had to put our hands to our thighs and if the skirt or shorts were shorter than the tips of our fingers it was too short? Ok, in putting my hands to my thighs, the wounds that i have are at the base of my hand. That's how high the dog was to me.]....... He didn't break the fabric of my pants but my leg HURT. He ran off and i crouched down with "discomfort" to my thigh. But no bleeding. As i was still about a mile or two from the house, i had no other option than to continue to walk and check things when i got home....... While my pants were not torn, my skin was. I have a ~1-1/2" laceration (you can see muscle and fascia) to my thigh with another smaller tear lower. My thigh is swollen and bruised to the knee. The skin is taut and i have, as the Red Cross used to tell me when i would give blood, " a rainbow of colors" appearing........ I have never (despite the story that my mom will tell you of my _begging_ for a puppy when i was 7 years old) been a fan of the canine. This has not gone farther to endear me to them. I was doing nothing to threaten this animal. I was not intruding on "his house". I was not taking his food, threatening his puppy or enganging him at all. Just random meanness and violence from an animal....... An animal that is, presumably, still loose on the roads of Atenas...... While i am not walking since (two days so far), i do want to return to leaving my house and walking in the sunshine. I will go back to carrying a broomstick to protect myself from dogs (was overwhelmed by a neighbor's seven dogs that were "overly enthusiastically welcoming me" and tore my arms to shreds two years ago)........ But... i'm afraid. Yes, i am fearful that this dog..or another..could be on my next walk. And that it would be even worse. This animal, for the damage that he caused, did only bite me once then ran away. What would the result have been had he been more persistent? Or had bitten more aggressively than the "nip" that he did? Had he been one of those "attack pit bulls or rottweiler or bull mastiff"? Or if there are more than one dog?..... I cannot be a prisoner in my home because there are stray dogs out there. Or other threats. I already wear an SPF 90 BIG floppy hat to protect against future skin cancer having had a lesion cut off my face last year. Now, i will carrry a BIG stick to protect against the threat of a recurrence of the damage that i received this week. I'll walk "armed" against the threats that are on the street. SMH...... But not soon. I'm still too sore...and still bleeding through my bandages and pants (started on the walk home...had to throw away the two pants that i was wearing)...and still too afraid. Maybe next week, when i feel better. I do, however, miss the time in nature..and the endorphins....of walking. I've thrown away my gym shoes (needed to get new ones soon anyway) and have gotten a new broomstick in anticipation of _someday_ returning to my walks. I don't know that i'll be able to return to that same route, though. I know in my heart that a homeless street dog could be anywhere by now...but i'm feeling queasy just typing now the thought of returning to that sidewalk near the cemetary and auto repair shop...... Even in my sleepy town...danger is everywhere.......

Chris's question and Creole/Cajun Red Beans and Rice

RED BEANS AND RICE IN THE INSTAPOT ...... 3 tablespoons canola oil, or any other neutral oil...... 1 pound Andouille sausage, sliced..... 1 cup chicken stock..... 1 small yellow onion, sliced.... 2 cloves of garlic, minced..... 1 green bell pepper, chopped..... 2 stalks celery, diced..... 1 pound dried red kidney beans..... 1 tablespoon Cajun seasoning..... 3 dried bay leaves..... 1 bunch green onions, sliced... 2 cups long-grained white rice..... Step 1 Turn your Instant Pot to the sauté function. Add one tablespoon of the neutral oil and the sliced sausage to the bottom of the pot. Sauté until the sausage is browned on both sides, about seven minutes...... Step 2 Add the other two tablespoons of oil along with the onion, bell pepper, celery, and garlic. Cook until the onions are soft and just getting brown around the edges. Add in the chicken stock and use a wooden spoon to scrape up any brown bits stuck to the bottom of the pot...... Step 3 Add the red beans, Cajun seasoning, a few grinds of black pepper, and the bay leaves. Add five cups of water to the mixture. Turn sauté mode off. Seal the lid and set the Instant Pot to high pressure for 40 minutes. ..... Step 4 While the red beans cook, cook the rice...... Step 5 When the beans are done, allow the pressure to naturally release. Season the beans with salt, pepper, more Cajun seasoning, and hot sauce, to taste. Using a wooden spoon or potato masher, smash the beans to your desired consistency. They may look soupy, but they will thicken as they sit. Serve over hot rice with a sprinkling of green onions and more hot sauce as desired. .....>>>>>>> Many years ago, Hubster and i went on vacation with two other couples, Sara & Christian and Kristi & Chris. I was pregnant and Sara was hoping to be pregnant in the next year. Kristi had informed Chris that they would not ever, ever, no, not ever, be having kids. They had met in high school and had always been together so this was something that they had known for years before this vacation. Chris asked me, and Sara, why we wanted to have kids. It is easy to come up with a myriad of reasons to _not_ have children (many of which Kristi was happily providiing) but he was curious as to why we wanted to have children. Sara, who had been adopted along with her sister and brother, wanted to carry on her line. Wanted to give her mom grandchildren. As i was already "commited" to having children (in the process!), i was the surer answer for Chris. I could at the time and even more so now, come up with sosososo many reasons to not have children.And the current world situatoin is even more of a deterant. But...i just have always known that i wanted to have kids. I can only speak for me but i know that i didn't fully grow up until i had kids. I got to experience a second childhood with my children. I got to meet these really cool new people that changed every day,to experience the world in a new way because of how they see things. I had another opportunity to do all the fun things that a childhood can have--DisneyWorld, yes, but also coloring..and Power Rangers...and princess dress-up...and archery/TaeKwonDo/piano (ok, piano wasn't a walk in the park...)...and playgrounds...and dancing and singing in the parking lot of our apartments...and ice cream cakes... I got to be a kid again and go through all the fun of that with these cool kids. And i could watch my favorite guy play and interact with them too. I could fall in love with him all over again watching him with his son...and his daughter...and how they all got along (to varying degrees from day to day...). I cannot imagine my life had i not had children. That said....it has been...and still is...the hardest, most painful thing, that i've ever done. They are a piece of my heart and when they had sadness, i was sad too. When they did things that i knew were bad for them (both to varying degrees and at different times), i had such a difficult time trying to "fix" the situation, often this was impossible. It is easy to lift an 15 month away from a fireplace...much harder to deal with a 15 year old that has run away from home. It's easy to sooth an 18 month old that is sad that her favorite movie character is hurt falling from a tree...much harder to deal the an 18 year old who leaves college to be with her favorite person who they miss. It is easy to "scrunch" a cute elementary school kid when they come home from a long day at school and both of you need a hug. It is harder to do so when said "child" is on the other side of a telephone call...or text....and busy with their own life. I've been a parent for nearly 30 years..and my heart literally hurts with the missing of my "little kids". They are great adults now, don't get me wrong. And i gladly "suffer" the pain of missing them for the memories of all the fun that i had being their "maman". And now my "baby" has a baby of his own. The cycle continues. I hope that he enjoys it as much as i did (do!!).

carrot cake cookie cake and frustratingly finicky friends

Hi hi from Costa Rica. It's "magic light time" here and i can barely tear myself from the view to write this but write i must! I had said that the Monday Missive would continue, albeit in blog form, so i need to be sure to write on Monday, not randomly as i think of things throughout the week. Because i didn't include a recipe last week, let's start there first...then i will give you the backstory. FLEXIBLE CAKE MIX COOKIES/COOKIE BARS 1 box cake mix * 2 eggs 1/3 C oil/melted butter ** =>optionals *** mix all roll into balls (acorn size) and place on silpat tray or parchment paper or push (batter is _thick_) into 11x7 pan bake 350 for 9 (balls) to 25 minutes (bar) let cool "frost", as desired with cream cheese, frosting or powdered sugar * cake mix + optionals chocolate mix with peanut butter chips or chopped nuts spice cake mix with shredded carrot (which is what i made and it was yummy!) yellow cake mix with chocolat chips/nuts white cake mix with shredded coconut &/orchopped macadamia nuts red velvet cake mix with chocolate chips any cake mix without any optionals! i used 1/2 pureed banana and 1/2 oil and chilled the batter overnight (didn't want to bake the cookies too far before the arrival of the guests so that they would be fresh but made a couple "test cookies" to try the day i mixed the batter to be sure that the new recipe wasn't, as Christian would say, an "epic fail") the bar cookies were superior to the balled/individual cookies as they ended up being firmer while the ball cookies were chewier...personal preference We had friends over to play games but these friends are...well...high-maintenance dietarily. I know, i know. This is the pot calling the kettle black as i am, i'll admit it, rather a prickly eater. Anyway, these friends, who we really do love dearly, are...well... worse. P doesn't tolerate any dairy (he says) so only plant-based products. Preferably all organic. He cannot tolerate any tomatoes or tomato products. He doesn't like sugar either, prefering honey b/c it's "healthier" (it's not...body breaks down honey to glucose...like with sugar). He likes coconut milk and margarine. Also, he doesn't do beef, but loves pork and chicken. He doesn't like beans. He is also fond of explaining how this, that and the other thing that we/i eat are bad for the health and we should do this or that instead. J doeesn't like any fruits or vegetables except will tolerate some fruits in desserts (like the blueberries in pancakes) but no fruit that isn't cooked or that he can identify. So, no raisins in cookies or apple/fruit pies. A doesn't do any fats or oils at all. And no meat. Ok with eggs in products (the cookie) but no fat so i did hers with only banana. No milk (has fat) or milk products. And, of course, no meat byproducts (chicken broth soup, gelatin/jello, most red wines). So, cooking for all is a challenge. We generally just drink wine (that A brings) or coffee (no sugar). No crackers (have oil) or tortilla chips (oil) and no salsa (tomatoes). Roasted nuts (oil in nuts and oil for roasting) are out. So, i figured that the above cookies might satisfy some of the 'needs"...and an entire batch (save four small pieces) was inhaled by them in the course of the game. So much for their "rules" in the face of dessert! One of them explained that they're "VUD"-- Vegan Until Dessert!! Speaking of hosting guests, i ask you. When someone is coming to your house and asks you "what can i bring?", what do you answer? And what do you do when said person/people bring something completely unsolicited? When you say..."oh nothing, please, i have lots already prepared" and they bring an entree-size offering. When you say "oh, just your company would be great or whatever you want to drink other than tea/coffee" and they bring an entire spread to rival what you already had planned/prepared? Do you just count on guests providing the snacks? Do you, as was suggested by another, thank them for their offering...and put it in the fridge/cupboard for later as there is already enough out (ie. "thank you so much for those cheeses/fruit pie...that will be great for lunch tomorrow...")? When someone comes to your house and you ask them for dietary issues (allergies and preferences), do you make a point to address them or just make what you had planned and allow them to pick and choose what they can/will do? One of the above guests did just that...when asked to be able to take the dressing/topping on the entreee, told me/us "no...i made this and that is what you'll eat".... We have kind of resolved that we just won't serve meals or even large snacks to guests (or at least some guests...) as it is just too complex. The last meal with two of the above guests left me makeing four (4!!) different plates/entrees to address all the wants/needs/whims of the individuals. And, as it was, the two guests who "don't eat meat" and "eat healthy" said that this didn't apply to bacon (!!) which they then took from my husband's portion, thus leaving none of them with very much and all a bit cranky. Sometimes JOMO is a very real thing. Love my friends...reallyreally....but sometimes it's a relief to eat alone!