Santa came a little early this year for Bobby and me. We've been keeping our eye out for used goods on dba.dk, the Danish equivalent of CraigsList. It was through this website we found the used TV we mentioned in the previous post. Aside from household needs, we also look for new toys: accordions for Bobby and kitchen gadgets for myself. Bobby lucked out this week with this great German-made Weltmeister piano accordion, which was purchased for the unbelievable price of $50! Now Bobby just has to relearn how to play a non-button accordion.
I also got a new toy this week. We have been searching for a slightly used KitchenAid stand mixer on dba.dk. We thought we lucked out last week but it turned out to be a scam. The guy wanted us to wire him money before he would send the mixer. Seriously, who runs a scam with kitchen appliances?!? Anyways, I was a bit disappointed and had resigned myself to hoping for a mixer for a Christmas gift. On Saturday, Bobby went to a local store to buy a DVD player. He game home with a brand new stand mixer instead!!
I was so excited and put my new toy to use right away. A stand mixer is one of those appliances that lasts forever and can be used to make so many different things. My Mom has had the same KitchenAid stand mixer since I was born. I remember helping her make chocolate chip cookies when I was little, so I decided to break in my own mixer by making these cookies. You may notice that some of the cookies look like they don't have chocolate chips in them. That's because they don't. I love chocolate chip cookies without the chocolate chips. If I weren't making cookies for other people to eat, I would leave out the chocolate completely. But, since I am kind-hearted and wanted to share the cookies, I made a separate batch for me sans chocolate chips.
I also made carrot cake earlier in the week using Grandma Townsend's recipe. My paternal Grandmother was an excellent baker. Whenever I had dinner with her and Grandpa (which was pretty often, since we only lived 5 miles apart), she always had a dessert prepared. At her funeral, my second cousin told this lovely story about Grandma:
"When I was a little kid, I ofter went over to Uncle Don's and Aunt Frieda's home for dinner. One day, I came home from such a dinner and asked my Mother why she doesn't make desserts for us like Aunt Frieda does. She responded, 'Oh, that Frieda, she spoils Don.'"
I love this story. My Grandma baked with love and happiness, which is the best way to bake. This cake, which was my Grandpa's and Dad's favorite cake, is very moist and bursting with flavor. I miss both of my grandparents, but some of the heartache is mollified by cooking Grandma's recipes while recalling the wonderful moments we shared.
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