Coconut Fudge Cookies

When I think of coconut cookies, the first thing that comes to mind is macaroons. They're good, but always a bit more work than I want to put into a batch of cookies. I like to make cookie dough that I can freeze and pull out and bake when I need a dozen.

Monday night I got home and needed to whip up a batch of cookies and my computer was still packed away from my day out of the house so I turned to a Taste of Home cookbook that's been collecting dust on my shelf. I found a recipe for coconut cookies that looked good and weren't macaroons. I tweaked the recipe a bit to accommodate what I had on hand and this is what I ended up with.

They were SO good! They were so good straight from the oven. And as as a morning snack with coffee while I was working. And so good as dessert with dinner. And so good that the stash I sent to HandyMan's meeting completely disappeared. They were THAT good! If you like coconut, you should make them. If you like coconut and dark chocolate (think Mounds Bar) you should definitely put the chocolate on top.

Coconut Fudge Cookies

1 cup softened Butter or Margarine

1 cup Sugar

1 Egg

2 cups All Purpose Flour

1/2 teaspoon Baking Soda

2 cups Unsweetened Shredded Coconut

Fudge Topping

2 squares Semi-Sweet Chocolate

1 Tablespoon Butter or Margarine

Directions

1.  Cream together sugar and butter.  Beat eggs into the creamed mixture.

2.  Add flour, baking soda and coconut and blend thoroughly.

3.  Divide dough and roll into logs 2-3 inches thick.  Wrap in plastic and place in the freezer to chill for at least 4 hours.

4.  Slice dough into 1/4 inch discs and place on a baking sheet.  [mine didn't spread much]

5.  Bake at 325 degrees for 18-25 minutes or until edges turn golden.

6.  Melt chocolate squares and 1 tablespoon of butter/margarine.  Spread frosting-style on top of the warm cookies. [I also want to try to make the cookies super thin and sandwich the chocolate in the middle like a fancy Pepperidge Farm type cookie].

7.  Allow to cool [or not] and enjoy!

Why I Keep Fighting

Five years ago by body was attacked, and I waged war with everything my doctors could give me to rid my body of cancer.  After three months of chemo and 3 weeks of radiation treatments, I won that battle.  And I kept fighting.  I keep fighting because progress is being made every year with new treatments.  In my relatively short lifetime, the type of cancer I had has gone from a terminal disease to having one of the highest cure rates among cancers.  That's worth fighting for!

While I have won back my health, my fight against cancer continues for those who are fighting for their health.  For friends who have been diagnosed with cancer, and those unknown to me who have had a portion of their life shattered by cancer.  I continue so that my daughter, my nieces and my nephews may see more curable cancers in their lifetime.

I have walked a marathon to raise awareness and funds for the Leukemia Lymphoma Society, I have participated in the American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life as a Survivor, as a Participant, as a Team Captain and as a Committee Member.  I have grown and cut my hair a number of times to donate towards wigs for women who have lost their hair in their fight against cancer.

This past weekend involved a lot of fighting.  On Friday and Saturday was our local Relay for Life.  For those of you not familiar with the event, it is an all night walking event and teams come together to raise money and spend the night walking.  This year I was on the committee so I did a lot of walking, just not on the track.  I helped set-up, break down and everything in between.  While I worked behind the scenes (where I tend to work best) there were 30 teams who had raised money and were walking and having a great time.  We wanted to raise $85,000.  At the end of the event, our staff coordinator announced that our small town Relay had raised $98,500 and she expected the final to come in over $100,000.  While this is nothing to shake a stick at, in order to fully appreciate the magnitude of this accomplishment by our teams, you have to realize that in this area of New York, we reported a 10.6% unemployment rate in February of 2010.  In the perspective of the current economics in our area, I am amazed and so grateful for all the hard work of these teams, individuals and our committee to make this happen.

Following Relay, I headed for a Hair to Share event in memory of a local teacher who had lost her fight with cancer.  My hair had been living comfortably in a braid between washings for about four weeks.  It had grown too heavy to pony-tail and it was definitely time to cut it off.  So I did.  And so did my friend Margery.  About 9 inches of my hair was cut to send off to the Beautiful Lengths program.  I have seen the wigs that have come back to our community through this program and was so glad to help.

Most people don’t have to go outside their circle of friends or family to see lives that have been affected by cancer.  Take a stand.  Join with those who are fighting for their health and fight along side them.  Check out the links in this post to learn more about programs you can get involved with.

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Sunday Sunshine

Practicing contentment by remembering the graces of the week and practicing gratitude by giving.

As I sit here remembering my week, I'm ignoring the fact that it is May 9th and I saw snow flakes flying around this morning.  Instead, I will remember that it was 80 and beautiful on Wednesday and that the warm weather will return!  I put my clothesline to good use this week as I let our natural resources do the work for me.

On Friday and Saturday I was part of our local American Cancer Society's Relay for Life where our small, rural communities raised over $100,000.00 to go towards patient support and research.  Our goal as a planning committee had been $85,000 and we were all pleasantly surprised when the final numbers came in!  Relay for Life has been a big part of my walk through cancer and it was great to be there with my daughter and husband and celebrating my health.

On Saturday I was also able to take a part in a Hair to Share program in a neighboring town that was collecting ponytails for the American Cancer Society/Panteen Great Lengths program.  I've done Locks of Love before and had been growing my hair to donate.  What I love about the Great Lengths program is that the wigs come back to the communities and are distributed through the local ACS chapters.

I'm thankful for my Mom and I'm so blessed to be a mom.  I'm thankful for HandyMan who helps juggle the house so that I can be in and out at all hours with Relay.  I'm thankful for today.

It has been a full week.  I hope you can look back, and forward, to find the joy dotting your story!  Every desirable and beneficial gift comes out of heaven. The gifts are rivers of light cascading down from the Father of Light.” (James 1:16 -The Message) May the light of the Father brighten your week!

Roasted Potato Salad

I LOVE roasted potatoes. If you like roasted potatoes, you can quit and serve them as they come out of the oven. If you need a tasty summer side dish that is ready to serve from the fridge, take the next step and have a fantastic potato salad. My only regret is that I didn't have enough potatoes to double this and have it extras in the fridge this week (and that I forgot to take a picture)!

Roasted Potato Salad

8 cups chopped Red Potatoes (1/2 inch cubes work great)
1/4 cup Olive Oil
1/2 teaspoon Ground Black Pepper
1 teaspoon Salt
1 teaspoon Rosemary
1/2 cup finely chopped Onion
1 cup grated Cheddar Cheese
1/3 cup Mayonnaise
1/3 cup Sour Cream

Directions:
1. Toss potatoes, olive oil and spices together until all are evenly distributed.
2. Spread potatoes on a baking sheet and bake at 400 degrees for 40-60 minutes, or until potatoes are fork tender. Turn potatoes every 15 minutes to keep.
3. Once potatoes have thoroughly cooled, add shredded cheese, sour cream and mayonnaise and stir.
4. Refrigerate at least 2 hours before serving. Garnish with green onion and/or crumbled bacon.