Cooking So the Cookie Won't Crumble

I made a delightful batch of oatmeal cookies yesterday. I started with the recipe in Simple Treats for Oatmeal Raisin Cookies and changed it to make use of what I had onhand. Here are the changes I made:

subbed granulated sugar for maple syrup (you need to increase the liquid in your recipe if you do this)

subbed whole wheat pastry flour for barley flour

subbed dried currants for raisins

There were no earth shattering substitutions but if you're new to cooking or just rigid in your cooking technique, these changes may seem shocking. The trick is to look at the purpose of each ingredient.

The barley flour binds the cookie together, whole wheat pastry flour will do the same. But the recipe already calls for you to grind up some of the oatmeal into oat flour. Why not just use oat flour in place of the barley flour. The oat flour will not bind things together well. You'll wind up with a very crumbly cookie.

The maple syrup provides sweetness and liquid. Sugar can provide sweetness and soymilk (or other liquid of choice, even water) can make up for the lost liquid.

The raisins provide a texture and a sweetness. Currants can do the same. In fact lots of dried fruits would work in this recipe. Use what you like.

You can do this too! Find a recipe that you have most of the ingredients for and go for it. Tell me how it goes.

BTW, I've finally taken down the Cut the Crap banner, a mere 16 days after the challenge ended. Thanks to Chile for inspiring us all. We're still crap cutting around here but I think its just an integral part of our existance. Once people know you're frugal they tend to deposit their excess stuff with you. This is a mixed blessing. Stuff comes in and we need to make sure that stuff we can't use goes out. I guess that means I have to come to terms with the fact that no one wants to pay for the karate sparring gear that I put on craigslist. Off to the thrift store it must go.

Things That Take Up Space & Serve No Purpose

There are things in life that serve very little purpose but take up a huge amount of space. The sparring gear that's been sitting on the top shelf of my sons' closet since last May is a great example of this.

The boys lost interest in karate when they discovered swim team this past September. I held onto the karate gear because there is nothing that pisses this frugal momma off more than having to repurchase something she's just gotten rid of. So I waited and waited and waited.

I finally asked the boys if they planned to return to karate last week. They said no. I ask if they would mind if I got rid of their sparring gear. They said no. I wanted to be really sure so I waited until yesterday and asked them again. They said, "NO!"

So, I listed the almost brand new sparring gear on a local tag sale website. Happily, someone is supposed to pick it up later today. The closet is emptier and my wallet will be fuller. (Unless of course, the person is a no show. Chile, I'm thinking of you!)

I was pondering the idea of a project log again. I had planned to make a summer weight denim quilt for our bed last year but promptly forgot about it when the cold weather arrived. As I lay melting under the heavy quilt last night, I had a eureka moment and remembered my original plan. Would a project log have helped?

At least now I have a plan for the massive amount of worn out jeans that I've saved. I have other clothes that I'm planning to cut into strips and wind into rag balls for future projects, like that nifty rug in Mason-Dixon Knitting.

A google search on winding fabric into rag balls, revealed the dumbest thing I've ever heard of, how to make decorative rag balls. Actually, a lot of sites had similar projects. I swear this is proof that civilization is crumbling! Then I remembered that Ruthie had found this rag rug tutorial which revealed how to cut the fabric into strips and wind them into balls. I also like her joining technique (knot the ends together).

So here's the decluttering plan for today. Cut fabric and wind into balls, making sure not to use fabric that's been set aside for the boxer short project. I'd also like to get some squares cut for the queen size denim quilt. Maybe I'll even write down a few plans for future projects.

I've got a batch of alomond milk only yogurt brewing. I was super careful with the temperature so this batch should tell all.