Saturday 30 August 2008

Tomatoes or cookies?

This year I thought I would try growing plum tomatoes for a change. It has not exactly been a bumper crop. In fact so far this is it...

But I did think I might at least make a small salad to accompany my lunch. Turned my back for two minutes and some litle b****r has has eaten them!

Oh well... might as well have cookies instead. For years I tried various recipes for chocolate chip cookies but could never quite get that chewiness that makes a good cookie until I discovered these...

Chewy and chocolatey every time! Just in case you would like to try them:
Beat together 225g soft butter and 225g of soft brown sugar. Into this beat a round tablespoon of golden syrup, a teaspoon of vanilla essence and 1 large egg. Stir in 400g plain flour and 1 teaspoon of baking powder. Finally stir in 200g chopped chocolate (I used toblerone this time).
Put well spaced blobs (approx a heaped tablespoon) onto greased baking trays and bake for about 12-14 minutes at 170 deg C. This makes about 24 large cookies... if you want to make half the recipe (why?) just half all the ingredients and use just the egg yolk.

Other good things today - Jenny has sent me several old copies of Embroidery magazine as a thank you for sending her one of the dressing up outfits. I certainly didn't expect anything for being able to get rid of my old stuff but it was very much appreciated. They totally fascinating so thank you Jenny - it was really kind of you! ( There are still several outfits left so if you already have one but would like another... just say so!)

And also today, although I received these fabrics quite a few days ago, they were so beautifully packaged I haven't been able to bring myself to open them until this afternoon. The Paper Lace (cue song?) is so beautiful!

But then so are the fabrics! A lovely selection by Anna Maria Horner and Heather Bailey from Sew Love Fabrics. Now I've just got to decide what to do with them!

17 comments:

  1. The fabrics are lovely. The cookies look and sound delicious too - I may give these a try.
    well, you couldn't just use half an egg could you?

    PS You're showing your age - Paper Lace! I remember them too.

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  2. OMG!!! Billy Don't Be A Hero!! I remember mortifying my parents by singing that for some nuns one Christmas. Hee, hee, Santa only brought coal that year ;-)

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  3. Hello,
    Yes the cookies look delicious.
    The tomatoes remind me of holiday.
    What are you going to do with the lovely fabrics?

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  4. oooh those cookies look munchalicious (think i have imbibing too much pimms!) will give them a go tomorrow. i have tried growing plum tomatoes have got some but not as many as i do from gardeners delight!

    xx

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  5. oooh, cookies - yum! Those fabrics look gorgeous.

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  6. Definitely eat the cookies over the tomato!

    the fabrics are lovely.

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  7. You picked a good dy to show these! I am hell bent on losing at least SOME weight before we go on holiday and you are tempting me. AND I've just made a choccy birthday cake for my Joe's 26th. (I've only eaten one chocolate coin that got for the decorations..well..maybe two....)

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  8. If someone are my only homegown tomatoes, I'd need the entire plate of cookies to console me.

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  9. Your house is like my house ~ nothing is sacred ~ Here I go again ~ Grumpy old woman alert!
    Cookies look truly mouthwatering.
    That paper lace.....I'm lovin' that.

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  10. typical! if you have lots of green tomatoes though, i can recommend making green tomatoe chutney. It's the only way to make use of plantfulls of unripe tomatoes and is DEEEELISH!!

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  11. Hi Gina, i am going to try out you cookie recipe today, I have already done your squash recipe that you left some time ago many times. my tomatoes are not doing well this year either.

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  12. That is a lovely selection of fabrics, what plans do you have for them?

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  13. Hi. Thanks for the lovely comment. Hope your 'back to work' goes well!

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  14. Cookies or tomatoes? No contest! They look delicious.

    I work in a reception class - 4-5 yrs - don't suppose any of the left-over costumes would fit them would they? They all love dressing up!

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  15. What a delicous post (in more ways than one!).

    I am sure the person (or person's) who ate the tomatoes loved them. They looked veryyy tasty!

    The cookies sound yummy. And I have just ordered a batch of fabric from the same Etsy seller. Can't wait to see them now! Look forward to seeing what you make with them....

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  16. I used to love (okay, I still do) Billy Don't be a Hero - didn't know it was by Paper Lace though - but I do love paper lace - never had any, but it always looks so lovely.

    I'm going to get Dot to make me some of those cookies - she is now the resident chef.

    And if the Dare Devil costume is still around Fred would love it - seeing as you said we could have more than one!!

    Lucy x

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  17. Mmmm- yummy cookies!

    Well cheers Gina and Trashy - between you In now have a very annoying song stuck in my head!!

    Sew Love Fabrics is a great etsy shop and you have great taste in fabric Gina.....you must have 'cos I've got those fabrics too :)

    I can't wait to see what you make with them.

    xxx

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