Week 13: Chocolate Emergency Cookies

Kimmy, Bobo, & Ferfie
aka "the ambassadors of fun"

This week I decided to make chocolate emergency cookies. I got this recipe from my "sister in law" Kim. I used the quotation marks as Kim isn't really my sister in law... she is the wife of my cousin Jim.  However, I consider Jim (aka Bobo) and his twin brother Christopher (aka Ferfie) to be more than cousins...they are my little brothers.  I affectionately refer to them as "my brothers from another mother."    Bobo and Ferfie lived with my family from the time they were 4, until they grew up and moved out.  Bobo and Kimmy got married in May 2009, after many years of dating.  Like Dan and myself,  they were high school sweethearts.  In week 11's blog I wrote about a song by Frank Sinatra titled "All The Way."  In my opinion Jim and Kim are one of those "all the way" couples...even at their tender ages, I am confident they will go the distance.  I am so happy that they found each other, and I am honored to bear witness to their lives. Here is the link to the recipe that Kimmy shared with me: http://recipes.sparkpeople.com/recipe-detail.asp?recipe=1290916
These cookies are chocolaty and rich!  If you are having a chocolate attack this recipe will cure all that ails you ☺

Similar to last week I chose this recipe due to a theme that has been occurring in my house.  Last week the theme was "all things Italian."  This week the theme is "comfort."  We have all been under the weather this past week for various reasons, so today I really wanted some "comfort food".  For me, that equaled minestrone soup...warm, hearty, comforting soup. I used the same recipe as last week and again it turned out great.  After the soup was done I began thinking about my cookie of the week project and I asked Dan for his opinion.  He is partial to brownies, so when I mentioned that Kim had passed me a recipe for "brownie-like cookies", he was all over it.  He sat at the island in the kitchen and chatted with me while I made the dough. He even commented that brownies were comfort food for him and that brownies always reminded him of home.  Coupled with my craving for comfort food (aka the minestrone soup), a theme was born. 

Unfortunately during the time I was making the cookies, my poor Victoria began to run a fever.  I made her a "bed on the couch" and while the dough chilled  (per the recipe it must chill for an hour) Dan and I delved into our sterilization mode.  We are like a well oiled machine when it comes to sanitizing the house.  We have an unwritten, unspoken system and without saying a word we get the job done.  Today wasn't too bad.  In about 45 minutes we stripped beds, swapped hand towels for paper towels in the bathrooms, sanitized the bathrooms, sanitized the kitchen, sanitized all the phones, tv and game controllers, computer, door handles, and light switches.  I would like to hug the genius that invented Lysol/Clorox wipes because I love love love those products and would never survive cold and flu season without them.

After we finished "operation germs be gone,"  Dan sat with Victoria and put cold compresses on her head and neck so I could bake off the cookies. Fortunately her fever came down a bit and as the first batch of cookies were cool, I offered her one.  She ate it cautiously as it hurt to chew (poor baby) but after the first bite she smiled at me and said "...oh Mom...your cookies saved my life."

 In reality I know that isn't true, but maybe, just for that moment, my cookies did "save her" a bit.  I love love love the Norwegian proverb "cookies are made of butter and love," and I really do add love to all the things I make.  I have often said that love is my signature ingredient.  We rarely eat out, but if we do, and Ryan orders pasta that he isn't crazy about,  he'll say to me "...this isn't as good as yours Mom...maybe the chef forgot to add the love." 

Well today as I made the cookies I added extra extra love. Tomorrow is my Mom's birthday...she would have been 63.  At her memorial service her brother read a poem written by Merrit Malloy titled "Epitaph." Here is a link to the entire poem: http://www.merritmalloy.com/poems.php?id=1   It is a beautiful piece and it really personifies my Mom.  When I think of my Mom, I am always reminded of the following line from that poem: "...Love doesn't die, people do.  So, when all that's left of me is love, give me away."   It took me a long time to be able to appreciate the sentiments in this poem because for so long I desperately clung to anything that reminded me of her.  Clung so tight, in fact, that the mere suggestion that I "give away" anything that was "her" was unthinkable.  After much reflection, (and an entire year) I am at a place in which I can at least appreciate the spirit in which Merritt Malloy intended those words.  So today as I scooped the dough onto to the pan I thought of those words "...give me away"  and literally added "her love" to the recipe.  No I didn't actually save my daughter's life tonight with cookies, but I know that with my "Mother's love" I brought her some much needed comfort and peace. ♥

On the eve of my Mom's 63rd birthday, I am reminded of an interview that I saw about the life of Maya Angelou.  I love love love Maya Angelou and for many years have felt an affinity toward her that I cannot explain.  During the interview she was not reciting poetry, but was speaking about her experiences of her own Mother's death.  In my opinion almost everything Maya Angelou says IS poetry so I took it as such.  Here is what she said:

Love liberates,

it doesn’t bind.

Love says I love you.

I love you if you’re in China.

I love you if you’re across town

I love you if you’re in Harlem.

I love you.

I would like to be near you.

I’d like to have your arms around me.

I’d like to hear your voice in my ear,

but that’s not possible now.

So I loved you.

Go.

My Mom in her favorite place...The Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island