Cookies?

Our Weeping Cherry (something) tree is starting to bloom!:

Tonight is my last Master Gardener class!! That tone you detect isn't excitement that its over- just excitement that I get to learn about Composting, the topic for tonight!

After Composting, the last half of this class is devoted to having local organizations who might be looking for Master Gardener volunteers to come in and present about the volunteer opportunities they have- cannot express how psyched I am for that!

 I've been looking lately (for a while) for a way to meld my personal interest in gardening and the environment with my professional experience in social work and community work. You think it'd be an easy connection to make, but I seem to have some difficulty finding opportunities to break my way into the "Environmental Nonprofit" sector without a degree in agriculture or botany or something akin to that.

SO maybe tonight some volunteer opportunities will present themselves!!

I stopped by Growing Hope, our local awesome nonprofit that runs the community gardens in Ypsi and does some educational program, runs one of the Farmer's Markets... as I said, all-around awesomness. I went to one of their volunteer orientations, and I plan to go volunteer on Saturday... maybe I'll be building some raised-bed gardens, or maybe I'll be weeding. Who knows! All I know is that I'm excited to get out there and do something active and productive!

I need to do something with these window boxes on my house. It looks like my home has baggy, tired eyes. Other than that, it's looking quite nice!:

In honor of our last class tonight, I decided to make those delicious Chocolate Chip cookies that I stumbled upon a few weeks ago! Everyone is supposed to bring a dish to pass- I guess this is my dish?

Mmmmm!

Chicken Noodle Soup follow-up and deliciousChocolate Chip cookie recipe

Success! Soup turned out great, and chicken that went into soup turned out great!

I ended up using Aimee's suggestions for preparing the chicken, and I poured some red wine into the cavity of the chicken, along with sliding some garlic slices and some butter between the skin and the meat of the bird. I cooked it about 90% of the way and then put it in the slow-cooker to flavor the broth. Here's the finished results:

Also found a delicious, wonderful chocolate chip cookie recipe! These cookies end up tasting just like Der Dutchman cookies (which you should try immediately if you've never had them!)

Here's the recipe I used:

Ingredients

• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 teaspoons hot water
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
• 1 cup chopped walnuts

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. Cream together the butter, white sugar, and brown sugar until smooth. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in the vanilla. Dissolve baking soda in hot water. Add to batter along with salt. Stir in flour, chocolate chips, and nuts. Drop by large spoonfuls onto ungreased pans.
3. Bake for about 10 minutes in the preheated oven, or until edges are nicely browned.

Nutritional Information

Amount Per Serving  Calories: 266 | Total Fat: 12.4g | Cholesterol: 38mg