I think I make it pretty clear about my love for the written word.  I can't help it.  I've always been that way.  I remember spending my summers as a kid getting stacks of books at the library.  I would pile them high on my night stand and while away the hot California afternoons reading book after book after book.  I've always loved old books, too.  I remember in the first Sex and the City movie, Carrie is sitting in bed with Mr. Big, the ideal of domestic bliss - she with a book and he with a kindle or a newspaper or some such business, quietly engaging in comfortable silence.  He quips about the antiquity of her old library book, wondering aloud how a modern Manhattan woman still went to the library.  And, in a moment of character reveal, she lovingly fingers the pages, proclaiming that she loves the way old books smell.  I do, too.  I often imagine where the book has been, who has also opened its pages.  With old books, you feel like history is right in your hands and time has no measure. 

I read a poem in the beginning pages of the book The Zahir by Paulo Coelho.  While I wouldn't recommend it as Coelho's best - The Alchemist is a much more stunning, beautiful classic - I love this poem.  I think it's quite fitting these days, too.  

Ithaca

When you set out on your journey to Ithaca,
pray that the road is long,
full of adventure, full of knowledge.
The Lestrygonians and the Cyclops,
the angry Poseidon—do not fear them:
You will never find such as these on your path
if your thoughts remain lofty, if a fine
emotion touches your spirit and your body.
The Lestrygonians and the Cyclops,
the fierce Poseidon you will never encounter,
if you do not carry them within your soul,
if your heart does not set them up before you.

Pray that the road is long.
That the summer mornings are many, when,
with such pleasure, with such joy
you will enter ports seen for the first time;
stop at Phoenician markets,
and purchase fine merchandise,
mother-of-pearl and coral, amber and ebony,
and sensual perfumes of all kinds,
as many sensual perfumes as you can;
visit many Egyptian cities,
to learn and learn from scholars.

Always keep Ithaca in your mind.
To arrive there is your ultimate goal.
But do not hurry the voyage at all.
It is better to let it last for many years;
and to anchor at the island when you are old,
rich with all you have gained on the way,
not expecting that Ithaca will offer you riches.
Ithaca has given you the beautiful voyage.
Without her you would never have set out on the road.
She has nothing more to give you.

And if you find her poor, Ithaca has not deceived you.
Wise as you have become, with so much experience,
you must already have understood what Ithacas mean. 

    Constantine Cavafy (1863–1933)

Sometimes my blog platform gets confused.  Sometimes I get confused.  Sometimes I post things and then realize that I forgot a key detail, or made a glaring typo.   Sometimes I edit my posted documents and my blogging platform doesn't like it.  Sometimes, depsite my best efforts, things just don't go right. 

I swear on the last post I put in the recipe for the brown sugar cookies.  In fact, I looked back and saved it to my computer with a recipe!  But alas, it's not there.  So here it is, because, frankly who doesn't want to eat batches and batches of cookies?

Brown Sugar Cookies

makes 2 1/2 dozen cookies (unless you eat the dough because, ummm, hello? It's right there!)

from Joy the Baker

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1 1/2 sticks (6 ounces) unsalted butter, softened
1 1/4 cups dark brown sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 large egg

In a medium bowl whisk together flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and ginger.  Set aside.

Place butter and brown sugar in the bowl of an electric stand mixer.  Beat on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3 to 5 minutes.  Stop the mixer and scrape down the sides of the bowl.  Add the egg and vanilla extract, and beat on medium speed for one minute more.

Add the dry ingredients, all at once, to the butter and sugar mixture.  Beat on low speed until the dough begins to come together  and the flour disappears.  Stop the mixer and finish incorporating the ingredients with a spatula.  Once all the flour is thoroughly mixed in, cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Place a rack in the center and upper third of the over and preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.  Dollop tablespoons size balls of dough onto the baking sheet.  Bake cookies for 10 to 12 minutes, or until lightly browned around the edges.  Cool on the pan for 5 minutes, before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.  Cookies will last, in an airtight container at room temperature, for up to 5 days. <-- highly unlikely occurrence  

That's it.  I've had it up to here. Enough is enough.  It's been a week since we ripped out the kitchen and by last night, I'd come to my limit.  I need to bake things.  And not just sugary, buttery delicious things, but also, vegetable-y, savory things, too.  I need convection, I just do. 

So last night, I baked.  I gathered my ingredients from boxes.  I pulled out the electric mixer and I made brown sugar cookies.  The trick really is to do it all in stages.  Pull out your items, organize them, make the dough and then clean all of it up.  Put away all the ingredients while the dough chills, and then sit down and watch some Dancing with the Stars until you're ready to face the toaster oven.  What with technology being what it is, and my brother, the Scientist, managing to finagle a $160 toaster oven for $20, we have a pretty high quality machine.  That being said, space is still the number one limiting factor and I found myself making batches of four cookies at a time, while running back and forth between dances. 

Speaking of which, did you see Nancy Grace's adorable new dance partner?  And wasn't Ron Artest (oh, excuse me, Metta World Peace) gross?  And weren't you amazed at how charismatic Chaz Bono was?  Or how funny Carson Kressley is?  Ah, this show is so silly I can hardly stand it. 

Ok, back to what I was so saying.  What was I saying?  Oh yeah, these cookies were yummy and definitely worth the hassle.  They're made entirely with brown sugar, with a bit of ginger and cinnamon in them.  But they're not ginger snaps.  They're thin and a bit chewy and I could imagine them being outrageously good as an ice cream sandwich.  But also good alone.  Yum.