Pumpkin Cookies and a Sweetheat of a Mutt

Friday was my "I'm going to hang out with my sister and do things that sisters do" day. Miss Monkey and I don't get to hang out very often. She lives about an hour away and until a few weeks ago worked non-stop. I was also frantically trying to finish several projects at work. So, Friday outings to see her were pretty much out of the question.

Anyway, Miss Monkey and I were trying to figure out what we were going to do on Friday. We discussed shopping for beads, but I didn't think Bug would appreciate my homecoming with a haul of beads. He tolerates my camera habit, my bicycle habit, my book habit, and my running habit. He's aware that I have a bead habit and a yarn habit, but so long as I keep them somewhat concealed and under control, he doesn't mind terribly. He's also aware that if I go bead shopping with Miss Monkey I might not practice the necessary amount of restraint. (Miss Monkey also has a bead habit.) He practically begged me not to procure additional beads. So. Bead shopping was out.

We considered going for a walk, but it was overcast, windy, and chilly. Such a loss, because the leaves are changing. I've marveled at the colors all week. Stunning.

We opted for lunch at a Chinese restaurant, an afternoon filled with movies that most boys won't watch, and baking. Mmmm, cookies!

Miss Monkey also asked me to make her dinner. She specifically requested something that I love but Bug does not. Perfect. You see why I adore Miss Monkey, yes?

Now. My sister has a dog. He's named Marley. After the musician, not the dog from that book by John Grogan. Marley is huge. As in practically a horse huge. He's a mix of Great Dane and pit bull. Looks just like a Great Dane, but he's brindle like a pit. He's beautiful. But, most importantly, he's a sweetheart of a dog. Miss Monkey has a way with him. They're kind of incredible to watch.

Anyway, while Miss Monkey washed dishes, I mixed up a batch of pumpkin spice cookies and some maple royal icing. I dyed the icing a lovely shade of red, and the cookies were a perfect orange. I put the first tray in the oven and cringed through the opening credits of Music and Lyrics. Cute movie, but the corny 80s pop hit a little too close to home.

We got about 15 minutes into the movie before I went to put the next pan of cookies in the oven. A pan of cookies that I'd already scooped onto a cookie sheet and left on the counter. I'd left them on a counter that is about the same height as my sister's Great Dane/pit bull mix. There were no cookies on the counter when I wanted to put them in the oven. Marley had eaten the entire pan of cookies and licked it clean.

To be honest, we should have known something was up when he came out of the kitchen with his head down.

Miss Monkey, being the head of the household, scolded him and put him in his kennel. I've never seen a more dejected, sad looking dog in my life. He had his paw over his muzzle in shame. I let him out after about half an hour, and Miss Monkey told him that he needed to come to me for cuddles because she was still mad at him.

He's a good dog. You can't blame a dog for doing the things a dog does.

So, without further ado, I present to you, the recipe for pumpkin cookies:

• 3/4 cup unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon orange zest
• 1/2 cup solid pack pumpkin puree
• 1 egg yolk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
• 1 pinch salt

In a medium bowl, cream the butter, brown sugar, and orange zest. Stir in the pumpkin. Add the egg yolk and vanilla, mix well. Sift together the flour, spice, and salt; stir into the pumpkin mixture. 

Chill dough for 30 minutes.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Bake for 10 to 12 minutes in the preheated oven. Decorate with frosting or candy.

Miss Monkey and I did not have cookie cutters. Thankfully. We would have made a mess of things if we did, because I didn't add enough flour. I'm a horrible transcriber of recipes. I forgot to write down how much flour was needed. So I eye-balled it. But, they were freakin' delicious. The recipe above is an approximation of what we made on Friday. Basically, add enough flour so the dough is stiff, but not unworkable if you're mixing by hand. Miss Monkey said that she preferred the cookies to pumpkin pie. Blasphemer.

Sometimes the best kind of love comes from a stockpot

Today is Palm Sunday. This does not have a lot of religious significance to me; I am, after all, a Catholic who has fallen away from the Church. Palm Sunday does, however, hold many memories for me.

A few years ago I was invited to the home of a Hungarian family for dinner. I was welcomed into their home on Palm Sunday. My mom's family is Hungarian. Going to the home of this family was like going home. It was an incredible comfort in a time of great turmoil. That Easter was the first without my mother and grandmother. Palm Sunday fell on my mother's birthday, and I had the great fortune to be embraced by this family. They treated me as one of their own. A fifth daughter.

Dinner was gulyas, prepared the same way my grandmother, Mom-moms prepared it. Dessert was palacsinta stuffed with cottage cheese and apricot jam. Thinking about that day makes me choke with emotion. Some people give so freely, and with so much love. I could never express the gratitude I feel toward that family.

Today's recipe is for gulyas (often written as goulash). Gulyas is considered by many to be Hungary's national dish. Every family has their own recipe, but this is my family's recipe, learned from my grandmother and my great aunt. If you wish to alter it, I do not wish to know. I know it by heart, and it is as precious to me as the women who made it.

You will need:

• a large, heavy bottomed pot
• lard
• 1 onion, chopped
• beef, cut into cubes (a pound or so)
• carrots, cut into pieces (two or three)
• potatoes, peeled and cubed (three or four)*
• sweet Hungarian paprika**
• water***

Melt some lard in the pot, add the onions and cook until they are soft and translucent. Do NOT overcook the onions, it will significantly alter the taste of the dish.

Add the beef and paprika and brown. Just barely cover the beef with water. Bring to a simmer, add the potatoes and carrots, cover with a tight fitting lid, and allow the dish to cook until the beef is tender.

Please do not try to cook this dish too quickly. Low and slow is the way to go. When browning the beef, one must be very careful to ensure that the paprika does not burn. My grandmother always used the toughest cuts of beef for gulyas. When simmered for a long time tough cuts of beef become incredibly tender and yield intense flavor.

* Use starchy potatoes. The starch from the potatoes thickens the gulyas.

** This is the only ingredient I'm ever insistent about. Don't skimp on paprika. Use spicy Hungarian paprika if you prefer, but make sure that you use a high quality brand imported from Hungary. Pride of Szeged and Kalocsa are available in many well-stocked grocery stores.

***Use a high quality (preferably homemade) beef stock if you prefer. If you don't have good beef stock, stick with the water. The gulyas will have plenty of flavor if you use water.