almost feels like Christmas....

.....except for the unseasonably warm and beautiful blue sky days we are having in the foothills of the Rockies. Well, they say that is where we are...but, they are a bit further away than our doorstep ... at least an hour and a half..or so......
but, be that as it may, what great days!! I burned a lovely scented candle earlier in the day to get rid of the popcorn smell.... I tried out a new popcorn maker...and a few kernels got caught under the little sweeps... back to the shopit goes. Sigh ... some year I will find the perfect popcorn maker.














'tis the season for those great little Italian plums again too... remember those from last year? You don't ... shame on you for not seeing my plum loaf then...hahaha..... or not... never mind.... it's not that important. But...it is that tasty and if you haven't tried some of these little guys... maybe now is the time. They are the backyard variety.. found in any of the older neighbourhoods.











You only need 8 or so to make a cup... which will make one loaf.












Do you ever crack an egg into the mixture only to realize you also got a bit of shell in there as well? ...then you have to spend time digging it out? I began breaking my eggs into a separate bowl years ago.... saves time and frustration.










oooooh....a lovely soft mixture.... dollops of yogurt in there....











I love the tart hits of some of the plums.... maybe they are not quite as ripe as the rest.

I'm a delinquent...

...but, I have excuses..... oh, yeh...I remember now...nobody wants to hear them.

Well, in honour of me finding half an hour while my slave driver is having a bath....I'm doing a post about something beginning with a big D.... maybe he won't notice that I'm not painting doorframes......

Dark and delicious.... chocolate!!














here's the picture...and mine.....

They are from the Company's Coming Chocolate Everything book by Jean Pare. Somebody named them white chip cookies...huh? ...terrible...I call them Double Chocolate Chunk cookies. .. cuz I used chunks of white chocolate instead of chips.

Here they are. You'll notice I always throw in my own twobits as I tell you the recipe... sometimes I think they put in too much of this or that ... suit yourself....but, here it is straight from the book.......

Double Chocolate Chunk Cookies

1/2 cup butter
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup sifted cocoa
1 large egg
1 tsp. vanilla
1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 cup white chocolate chips (I only used about 3/4 cup semi sweet dark and white chocolate chopped into chunks..it was plenty...)
3/4 cup chopped walnuts (1/2 cup was enough... I toasted them beforehand... better flavour)...

Cream butter, brown sugar and cocoa in large bowl or mixer bowl. Beat in egg and vanilla ..mix til fluffy.
Add remaining 5 ingredients. Mix well. Drop by rounded tablespoons onto greased cookie sheet. (I have enamel sheets and they didn't need greasing..test bake one to check on your sheets.... but, they probably won't need much at any rate...)
Leave as drops or flatten slightly with glass or fingers.... Bake at 350F or 170C for 10 to 12 minutes. Remember...it's chocolate... keep an eye on it! Mine barely needed 10 minutes.

Says it makes 3 dozen.... only made 23 of my tablespoon size...... hmmmmm.... my tablespoons must be bigger... *grin*** .......

Ohhhhh.....are they delish!! I just made them last night and already only 5 left... but, I did take a few for the old guys at the golf course today...and gave a few to my neighbour..... .........