posted by Jennifer on a day in the life of me!, cookies

Today is my daughter Claire’s 10th birthday!!! I can’t even believe it’s been 10 years since I gave birth to that wonderful girl. When I got pregnant with Claire, I had 2 boys. Paul was 4 and Mark was 2. We pretty much were going to stop at three no matter what, but I was hoping that I would get a girl. When it was time for the ultrasound, we all went – the boys too. The technician was really quiet and then she said “I know”. My heart was about to beat out of my chest. Of course I loved my sons and having another boy would still be deluxe. When she said “It’s NOT going to be my three sons” I almost couldn’t believe it – I was having a girl.

Claire was actually 8 days later than her due date. When the due date came and went, then another day and another day I was getting so anxious for it to all be over. And I did all the old wives tales. Ate spicy foods, went for long walks, etc… but nothing! On the day of her birth, November 14, 2001 my Dr. called and asked if I wanted to be induced that day. “YES!!!!!” I said. It was 9 in the morning. Then she called me back with bad news. 8 other women were in labor so could I would have to come in around dinner time 6:00 p.m. It actually was nice because then I had all day to get ready, my mother in law came over to stay with the boys and we were off.

Now for my 1st son, I had a natural childbirth – no drugs or anything. It was a 24 hour labor. For my 2nd son, I also wanted to try the natural route, but ended up getting an epidural and had a C-section. With Claire, when they induced me and the pain started they asked me if I wanted an epidural and I was like “YES…RIGHT NOW!” So I got it, fell asleep and woke up at 9:30 p.m. so I had actually only been in my room for 3.5 hours. At 10:00 my Dr. checked me again and said I could start pushing and she was born at 10:25 p.m. – by far the easiest labor ever!

I still had to be assured that it was still a girl. It’s been an awesome 10 years. She has done tap, gymnastics, softball, plays chess, Girl Scouts – has a ton of friends and makes my day pretty much all the time! I posted some pics of her growing up on Facebook, but in case we aren’t friends on there, here are a few!

When I asked her what she wanted for birthday dinner, she said “BURGERS!” I make burgers a couple times a month, so I was surprised when she wanted that. But she said – I’d like turkey bacon, caramelized onions and cheddar cheese on them. OK, then that’s what you shall have on the Celebrate Plate!

***

Now onto my friend Roz. She sent me a cranberry recipe after I posted the entries, so I’m sorry Roz, your’s didn’t get in with all the others, but I will post it now!

Here is her recipe – only 48 calories per cookie – nice! She made a few changes which are in bold.

Ingredients

1 cup butter, softened (1/2 cup earth balance, 1/2 cup applesauce)
1 cup white sugar (reduced to 3/4 cup)
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon grated orange zest (upped to 1 tbsp – I like orange!)
2 tablespoons orange juice
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (2 cups all purpose flour, 1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups chopped cranberries
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional) (I omitted)
1/2 teaspoon grated orange zest
3 tablespoons orange juice
1 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar

Directions

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). (I found that a bit hot, so reduced my second batch to 350)
In a large bowl, cream together the butter (earth balance + applesauce), white sugar and brown sugar until smooth. Beat in the egg until well blended. Mix in orange zest and 2 tablespoons orange juice. Combine the flour(s), baking soda and salt; stir into the orange mixture. Mix in cranberries and if using, walnuts, until evenly distributed. Drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets. Cookies should be spaced at least 2 inches apart.
Bake for 12 to 14 minutes in the preheated oven, until the edges are golden. Remove from cookie sheets to cool on wire racks. (I found that with my adaptations, this was a bit long – reduce to 9-11 minutes).

In a small bowl, mix together 1/2 teaspoon orange zest, 3 tablespoons orange juice and confectioners’ sugar until smooth. Spread over the tops of cooled cookies. Let stand until set.

Makes 48 cookies

Calories per cookie (in original recipe) 110
Total Fat: 4.8g
Cholesterol 15mg
Sodium 67 mg
Carbs 16.2 g
Fiber 0.5g
Protein 1.1 g

Thanks for taking the time to send me your recipe for cranberries! Check out Roz’s blog here. She lives in Canada with her husband Dennis