Everyone is talking about the shorter days, and how mixed up they are.
'I swear it was yesterday,' says a friend, 'when it got dark at 8:30. The stupid movies in the park couldn't start until then, and now it's dark at 7.'
And, pretty soon, it'll be darker sooner, plus that time change. When is that anyway? Sometime at the end of October, right? I don't even want to know. It's too depressing.
But, I know anyway. Boy, do I know. My stomach won't let me forget. As soon as the days get shorter, and the wind picks up, scattering all the leaves, I'm doomed. It's not just me. Everybody starts packing it away for the winter. I think it's in our genes. Our bodies command us to eat, so that we're good and insulated for the coming months, just as our ancestors were in their caves.
So, I order pasta, and one cookie is never enough. The nights may be too cold for ice cream, but nothing goes better with my coffee than a few cupcakes. Bread baskets are my new best friend, and mashed potatoes are like a warm blanket, comforting and secure.
Throughout the winter, I will be baking and sautéing, filling my kitchen with steam and smells, warmth, and some precious humidity. Soon, I'll be baking more bread, and then I'll move onto stews and soups, then cookies and cakes. It's inevitable, and I have to accept this, because fighting it is a no-win proposition.
Conveniently, my body also demands that the workouts cease immediately. All the better to pack on the pounds for those dark and cold winter nights, right?
No more eating outside, no more fruit salads, no more nothing good for me, that's for sure. What gives? With all the gene mapping and scientific marvels like Olestra, you'd think some dumb scientist could discover some magic pill to keep your body thinking that it's summer.
In the meantime, it's gonna be a long cold winter, with a bowl of chips on my lap.
To keep you nice and round, and your kitchen, warm and comfy, not to mention smelling really good, try these not-so-bad-for-you goodies tonight.
Lilli's Low-Fat Chocolate
Chip Cookies
A friend of mine came up with this recipe for slightly healthier cookies, although you won't be able to stop yourself from eating them all. Still, if you're one of those people who understands why people order diet pop with their pizza, then you understand reduced-fat cookies.
Not only do these cookies lower the fat content, but they also are lower in cholesterol, reduce the amount of sugar a bit, and provide some actual fiber, thanks to the addition of the whole wheat flour or oatmeal. Why, they're practically good for you. Plus, give them to friends without revealing all of the nutritional aspects of them, and no one will even know the difference. OK, let's get started.
In a mixing bowl, blend together 1 stick of butter, one-half cup fat-free sour cream, one-half cup sugar, one-half cup brown sugar, one-half cup Splenda (you can buy a box of Splenda in a pourable form at the grocery in the bakery aisle).
After you have a nice, smooth consistency, add one-half cup egg substitute, and mix.
Slowly add one cup of whole wheat flour or oat flour (simply put oatmeal in the blender for a few seconds), and mix well. Add one and one quarter cups white flour, and one teaspoon of baking soda. Continue to mix, until you have a smooth consistency, and all dry ingredients are well blended.
Add one and one half teaspoons vanilla extract, and continue mixing.
Now, clean off the mixing blades (always a good point to start sampling the dough), and add six ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips, and either three ounces of milk chocolate chips or three ounces of butterscotch chips. Stir together, and drop by rounded tablespoon or ice cream scooper onto a greased cookie sheet. Flatten with the back of a spoon.
Bake for about 10 minutes (cooking time depends on cookie size) in a 350-degree oven.
Enjoy. Keep in mind, that butterscotch isn't my favorite, but mixed in with the semi-sweet chips—sublime perfection. The whole wheat and oat flour gives the cookies more of a body, and the extra vanilla gives them an extra special something, that you can't even detect while eating them.
Plus, the more you eat, the warmer you'll be all winter long. And, that's the only reason you're eating the cookies in the first place, right?
