Gingerbread Gangstas

So I was sitting down to write and Reid came up to tell me an exciting story. He really likes to be listened to immediately no matter what I happen to be doing. Hahaha this is so true. Currently he is talking about what crap proxy servers are. He likes to tell me about nine times a day, "You don't know me..." This is a joke mostly. He also likes to say, "You're not my real father..." He's a hilarious kid. I may not be his father but I probably need to break it to him that Princess Leia is his sister.

So he wanted to tell me a story about Connor singing a rap song in the car the other night, called Forever (Drake, Lil Wayne,Kanye West, and Eminem). I hadn't heard the song. I just youtubed it with the lyrics so I could catch all of them. I really liked it a lot. I've been a Kanye fan from way back, he has always been awesome to choreograph dances to. Apparently Connor, who has a great voice which I have heard several times- just killed this song and everyone was impressed. Hopefully I will get to hear him sing it!

This in the midst of watching the Bourne Ultimatum, and looking for dark gingerbread recipes. Remember like Grandma gingerbread from the old days? It was really dark and gingery and full of molasses and not really all that sugary, but it was dense and the top would be sticky? I think there was some kind of syrup that went over the top. I found this in my files from ages ago, but I never made it. I will make it soon and post pictures and let you know if it is a good recipe.

gingerbread

1 pkg. (14 oz.) gingerbread mix
1 tablespoon instant coffee
1 tablespoon grated orange peel
1/4 cup orange juice
3/4 cup Coca-Cola®
Combine all ingredients. Beat vigorously with spoon until very well blended, about 1
1/2 minutes. Pour into 8x8x2-inch greased and flour pan. Bake in moderate oven,
350°F, 30 to 35 minutes or until center springs back when lightly touched. Cool 10
minutes; remove from pan and set on rack. Serve as a hot bread or as a desert with
whipped topping. Makes 6 servings (about 2x4 inches

I make Coca-Cola cake, the kind with the melted sugar frosting that cracks almost like fudge when you cut it. Everyone loves it. The Coca Cola adds more sugar, and a certain hard to identify taste that mimics caramel, but not quite. People who don't know that it is Coke cake are always curious.

So, a short post tonight...and a silly story about teenagers, gangstas, and gingerbread. It is a Christmas tradition at our house to decorate Gingerbread men. I have a cookie cutter that cuts out Frosty the Snowman with his hat and I like to use that one for Gingerbread Men. About three years ago, I made the cookies and set out the decorations and frosting, and let the boys do all of them. I knew I had to come watch when I heard the near hysterical laughter they were sharing. They were producing "pubescent boy gingerbread" and "gunshot victim gingerbread," among others. Two brothers, egging each other on, falling down with laughter and tears in their eyes, on a total sugar high...Comedy and imagination always reigned supreme at our house. Often inappropriate, but so unforgettable. I hope they cherish all the silly crap that went on in their childhoods. This is for you, Guy and Reid, don't drink too much juice...but if you do, be sure to save the remains for tasty fruit roll-ups. Wink.

Saturday night! Woo Hoo!

It's Saturday night. Connor is over visiting Reid. We are watching Man on Fire and eating peanut butter chocolate cookies. Okay...for those of you who didn't take to the chocolate cobbler....let's see what you think of these.

These are, like, the easiest things to make in the world. Not like peanut butter cookies are difficult.
1 cup smooth peanut butter
1 cup white sugar (but hey, brown is fine if that's what you have)
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1/2 tsp vanilla (I like to add a half teaspoon of cinnamon, but you don't have to)
also need 3 hershey bars, milk or dark
......mix ingredients together except for the chocolate bars. spread with fingers onto a baking sheet into a
rough rectangle shape. Bake at 350 for about 10-12 minutes. Top will slightly puff, and look dry/cooked.
Let cool on the counter for about two minutes. break the hershey bars into small squares and arrange on top of the cookies. They will melt in just a couple of minutes but retain their Hershey shape. Spread chocolate out with a spatula or knife. Eat warm, eat cool, try to get some before they all get eaten...hahaha. Pop in fridge if you need the chocolate to harden so you can cut and stack them. If you need them to be even prettier, put Reeses pieces in the melty chocolate. Or whatever you like!! Fun!

So Connor is on the Drumline with Reid. He plays the drumset. He reads this blog! So that goes to show that you can make the blog if you're lucky.  He's even going to get a picture!

At Connor's feet is Aero. (the other kid is Reid, you noticed, huh?)
Aero is a full blood-ed Caanan. She's a desert dog, and very smart. I'm really used to dumb dogs, or dogs smart enough to act dumb all the time so nothing is expected of them. I know soooo many people like that. Aero has her head on his foot, isn't that cute?
     So, one funny story. I have this doorstop that is black cast iron. It is in the shape of a scottie dog. Because it fits against the door, it is flat on one side. When Reid was maybe two and a half he decided to take a closer look at this doorstop he'd been seeing all his little life. He pulled it out and looked at the back and exclaimed, "hey, it's only half a dog!" This was really cute from a two year old. We still refer to it as the "half-dog."

Aero took a look at this doorstop and started growling. She was very unnerved by its presence. Aero clearly recognized it as a "dog." And that is pretty darn smart, because dogs generally don't recognize some silly half-caste (joke) terrier that smells like nothing but dust as a fellow dog. Having a dog around for a few days is a real treat. Goes well with the cookies!

Hey, full moon tomorrow. Let's see if anything unexpected happens.