Day of the Dead

Since I learned about the importance of Dia de Los Muertos in New Mexico, two years ago, I'll never look at pumpkins the same way again. Mexican-Americans throughout this country honor loved ones who have died on November 1st and 2nd - 'the Day of the Dead' - because they view death as the continuation of life.

Around Halloween sugar skeletons appear throughout the Mexican community, in preparation for this celebration. Families who visit cemeteries together, on the 1st and 2nd, may share picnics there too. Bread of the Dead, music, and entertainment are other ways to celebrate.

Altars are created for each deceased person, with photographs of that individual, and his or her favorite food and drink. Each altar also features natural elements of earth, wind, water and fire. A crop represents the earth, a moving object represents the wind, a container of water is meant to quench the soul of the deceased, and a candle represents fire.

It's a ritual that has thrived for 3,000 years.

Teddy Bear Cookies

Whenever the holiday season rolls around there are two cookies on our 'must make' list - Walnut Crescents (see previous entry, 'Thanks Joy (of Cooking)') and Teddy Bear cookies. I started making the latter many years ago, when my daughters really loved cute things, especially if they were edible. For these now 20-something girls and their friends, it wouldn't be Christmas at our house without Teddy Bear cookies.

I didn't create the recipe, and the only change I've made is to use equal parts of chocolate and peanut butter chips, because one daughter isn't wild about p.b. But these cookies are so darn cute, easy, and fun that they're well worth sharing. As for a source, my original copy of the recipe is on a tiny, yellowed piece of the Kansas City Star, but that's all I know.

I hope you enjoy making what has become a holiday tradition in our house. And best wishes to all for a blessed season of celebration!

Cheery Chocolate Teddy Bear Cookies

Makes about 4 dozen (VOE - I'm lucky if I get 3 1/2 dozen)

1 2/3 cups peanut butter chips (I use 1 1/3)

1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips (I use 1 1/3)

(VOE - these are the best alternate proportions I've found; something about the peanut butter amount is important to the consistency)

2 tablespoons margarine or butter

1 package chocolate sandwich cookies

1 box teddy bear-shaped graham snack crackers

Cover tray with wax paper (or foil). In medium microwave-safe bowl, place peanut butter chips, chocolate chips and margarine. Microwave at high for 1 to 2 minutes or until chips are melted, mixture is smooth when stirred, and chocolate and peanut butter are thoroughly combined.

With a fork, dip each cookie into chip mixture and cover completely. Place coated cookies on prepared tray and top each with graham cracker. Refrigerate, uncovered, until set, or about 30 minutes. Store in refrigerator and bring individual cookies to room temperature before eating.

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VOEs - You have to work fast before the mixture begins to harden, so pour the teddy cookies and the sandwich cookies in separate bowls for easy access. And don't answer the door or phone unless absolutely necessary.

-Have a rubber spatula on hand so you can move mixture off sides to bottom of mixture bowl.

-After you dip each cookie, scrape the bottom side of the fork on the edge of the bowl to 'recapture' excess mixture.

-You may have to 'frost' the last half dozen of cookies, as the mixture is used up.

-Make sure each teddy bear cookie has both ears and all limbs :)

Kansas City's Beautiful Link

Sometimes, an image of glass and steel can become an art piece, if your camera is positioned just right. Such was the case on a chilly, bright September morning, in Kansas City's Crown Center complex.

After attending a conference at the Hyatt Regency Crown Center, I followed "The Link" across the street to the Crown Center shops and the Westin Crown Center (hotel). The Link is a gently curving, climate-controlled structure that provides visitors with safe, comfortable passage from hotels to shopping, restaurants and theaters while crossing high above traffic-filled thoroughfares.

Built in 1988, The Link from the Hyatt to Crown Center is 180 feet long and has 2,000 panes of glass. In 2000 a second, 810-foot "Link" connected Union Station - one of the neighborhood's oldest landmarks - to the modern complex. Simultaneously functional and beautiful, this unusual structure offers great views and great comfort to visitors.

Marketing in Santa Fe

The Santa Fe Farmers Market continues a four-decade tradition of sharing fresh produce with local residents. Vendors offer an enormous array of chiles each fall, in addition to items that might appear in markets across the country. Santa Feans adore their chiles and often freeze them for use throughout the year.

But there's more to the fall market than chiles. Over 100 vendors sell miniature vegetables, fresh raspberries (this is their season in the Land of Enchantment), local chutneys and honey, goat's milk cheeses, and pistachios and pinon nuts. The market also sells chicos - corn roasted in a traditional adobe 'horno' oven, allowed to dry on a tin roof, and cooked so the kernels are chewy and nutty. Chicos frequently pair with frijoles (beans) or meat and chiles.

All vegetables, fruits and nursery plants at the Santa Fe Farmers Market are grown in northern New Mexico, and at least 80 percent of the ingredients and materials used to create craft items. In addition, all products sold by vendors are grown by the same vendors. No matter what time of year you visit Santa Fe, there's always something tasty and fresh available at the market.

Thanks, Joy (of Cooking)

By the time I received my Joy of Cooking cookbook, more than three decades ago, I'd already become well-acquainted with one recipe that my mother had always made for Christmas - Almond Crescents. After my husband and I married, I learned he had grown up with the same delicious holiday treat. They soon became a beloved recipe in our home too.


Fast forward 25 years. Today, I can't seem to use any recipe without giving it my own spin. Those of you who are regular readers of this blog also know I have a 'thing' about whole wheat pastry flour; I don't bake without it. We're crazy about cinnamon too and, although I do like almonds, I've switched to walnuts because we always keep them on hand.

So, with thanks to the Rombauer sisters (the authors), my mother, and my husband's mother, and a few adjustments, I give you:


Walnut Crescents
Makes 3-4 dozen

3/4 cup confectioners' sugar
3/4 cup butter, softened
1/4 canola oil (*the original recipe calls for all butter; oil makes a flakier, flatter & larger cookie)
2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
(the original calls for 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, but I reduced this because my flour is denser and previous cookies were too dry and crumbly)
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 teaspoon cinnamon (optional in original recipe)
1 cup ground walnuts

confectioner's sugar
cinnamon (there is no cinnamon in this part of the original recipe)

Cream together butter, oil and confectioner's sugar. Add vanilla, cinnamon and walnuts. Combine thoroughly and form a large ball. Cover completely and chill, about 20 to 30 minutes.


Form small crescent shapes with chilled dough - about 1 1/2 inches long - and place on greased cookie sheets. Bake in 350 degree pre-heated oven, about 15 minutes. Let cool just until easy to handle.

Stir together additional confectioner's sugar and cinnamon in increments of 1 cup sugar to 1 teaspoon cinnamon. Roll/cover each cookie in confectioner's sugar. Cool thoroughly before storing them in an air-tight container.

Architectural Inspiration at Powell Gardens

My husband, Mark, and I revisited Powell Gardens in Kingsville, Mo., last summer, and stopped by the Marjorie Powell Allen Chapel for the first time since our daughters were in middle school (they're now 20-somethings). As soon as we stepped through the doors and looked towards the front of the quiet, peaceful non-denominational sanctuary, I remembered our older daughter declaring she would get married there.


The view of serene water through soaring windows, and natural wood, have also inspired me during each visit to the chapel. I've been a fan of Frank Lloyd Wright's architectural style since my teens and the architect of this beautiful structure, E. Fay Jones, was an apprentice to Wright.


After a few minutes, we finished our tour. A fountain rushed into a shallow pool near the chapel entrance as we returned to the steamy summer heat, where butterflies and bees ate from vibrant blooms that covered the gardens in a riot of color.

Clean Fish Catches On

The Texas redfish arrived alongside Mexican shrimp, in a cooler full of dry ice. Pale pink, 3/4 inches thick, and glossy, it set my mouth watering. After a brief stint under the broiler the fish was moist and flaky, without a hint of 'fishy-ness.'

This fish is part of a rather unusual story. It came from a company called CleanFish Alliance, a group of artisan fish and shellfish producers from across the globe, who focus on farming and/or catching their product using environmentally sound methods, as well as offering a better-tasting products. The big goals? Improve the health of our oceans and regenerate ecosystems while creating a sustainable source of fresh seafood.

Food & Wine Magazine has given the company an Eco-Ocean Award for its efforts to make seafood sustainable, alongside the Ocean Conservancy, Oceana and the North Atlantic Salmon Fund. A leading group of socially responsible entrepreneurs, investors and nonprofit leaders also gave the organization its 2008 Social Venture Network Award.

And to think their products taste good too.