The Birds Know

We may have had snow,sleet and rain this week and cold temperatures but the birds still know it is spring.

I had lots of Robins, Sparrows, and a new bird, a White-Breasted Nuthatch!

So I got to add a new bird to my bird list.

Fat Robin

The first cardinal I’ve seen this year.

Mrs. Cardinal

The boys bird watching

I got to do my first giveaway this week,kinda exciting for me. I’m giving away a DaVinci bracelet from Coppin’s gifts.

Phil and I went to Irwin to meet Alicia for pizza at our favorite pizza place, Vincent’s, last night and to attend the first car cruise of the year at the Norwin Shopping center. Unfortunately the weather was bad and only a couple of cars showed up. I took this photo of this Dodge and played with it in Lightroom.

MMMmmmm, this weeks recipe is:

Oatmeal Raisin cookies

Thick, Chewy Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

The last trick to getting a really thick, chewy cookie is to chill the dough before you bake it. You can scoop it and then chill it, or, if you’re like us, scoop it, freeze them and store them in a freezer bag so you can bake them as you wish. I find they’re always thicker when baked from the cold — only a couple extra minutes baking is needed.

This is a half recipe. It makes a couple dozen standard-size cookies. (I get more because I make them tinier.) I always feel like I’m swimming in cookies when I make the full volume, but if you’re feeding a crowd, go ahead and double it.

1/2 cup (1 stick or 4 ounces) butter, softened
2/3 cup light brown sugar, packed
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt (I often use a half teaspoon, but I like more salt in my baked goods)
1 1/2 cups rolled oats
3/4 cup raisins
1/2 cup walnuts, chopped (optional)

Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C).

In a large bowl, cream together the butter, brown sugar, egg and vanilla until smooth. In a separate bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt together. Stir this into the butter/sugar mixture. Stir in the oats, raisins and walnuts, if using them.

At this point you can either chill the dough for a bit in the fridge and then scoop it, or scoop the cookies onto a sheet and then chill the whole tray before baking them. You could also bake them right away, if you’re impatient, but I do find that they end up slightly less thick.

The cookies should be two inches apart on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake them for 10 to 12 minutes (your baking time will vary, depending on your oven and how cold the cookies were going in), taking them out when golden at the edges but still a little undercooked-looking on top. Let them sit on the hot baking sheet for five minutes before transferring them to a rack to cool.

This recipe came from Smitten Kitchen and they were soooooo good!

 

The Eagle cam I found this week is just awesome.

Here is the video of the first baby eagle hatching

Decorah Eagles First Egg Pip and Hatch

www.youtube.com

‎24-hour collage of first egg pipping and hatch, 1-2 April 2011. Thanks to The Raptor Resource Project, Bob Anderson, Executive Director

Wins this week

Candles from Enjoy Lighting and http://debshere.blogspot.com/

Necklace from Shari Wacks Jewelry and http://www.mammamoiselle.com/

Nello Necklace

from http://countrycitymouse-pam.blogspot.com/

and Amrita Singh