Page One Hundred Seventy-Three.
A couple of days ago was Christmas. I hope it was pleasant for you. It was nice for me but a little too busy. Being Jewish, I do nothing with family. Instead, I do whatever happens to pop up with friends. This year, a lot popped up.
Christmas Eve afternoon I made 100 choco-chip cookies from scratch to take to a friend's gathering at 8.30. Then another set of friends had a late-night party that I went to at 10 and stayed a couple of hours.
Christmas morning I was up at 7 and out at 8. I went and delivered food to the needy and shut-ins. I deliver food every Christmas and Easter as I've been doing for almost fifteen years now. I was finished about 11 or so.
Then I decided to stop at a local church that was hosting a community Christmas meal and get myself a little something to nosh. I knew almost everybody in the kitchen and figured that I'd just hang out until feeding time. They had other ideas though and put me to work as a server. I left there at 12.30.
After lunch I went and visited and older Jewish couple whom I used to provide elder-care to. Next month she'll be 94 and in May he'll be 97. I haven't seen them for a while and thought that Christmas day might be a nice day to stop in. I was there at 12.45.
While visiting the elderly couple, a friend phoned me. Her husband received an unusual gift in the form of a fancy Reuben Sandwich kit which arrived that morning packed on dry ice. Did I want to come and join them for dinner that evening and have a homemade Reuben? Who says no to that?
So, I left the elderly couple's home at 2, went home, took a nap, took a shower, watched a documentary on Gary Cooper and left my place at 5.45.
From 6 'till 8 I was eating and thoroughly enjoying Reubens with these friends.
By 8.15 I was home and in my pajamas. And I was exhausted. But it was a very wonderful Christmas for me.
Actually, it wore me out a little. But I prefer this over not having anything at all to do. This Christmas was a true illustration to me of my blessings.
Showing posts with label Chocolate Chip Cookies. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Chocolate Chip Cookies. Show all posts
Friday, December 27, 2013
Monday, June 3, 2013
Mr. Hershey's Secret To Immoral Choco-Chip Cookies
Page Ninety-One.
It was a Tuesday afternoon in October and I was assisting my buddy, Romeo, as he was working on his newest invention: the computer. He was really frustrated. I was doing my best to try and keep him calm, but he was just off the charts with aggravation. (I wondered if this was how Bill Gates felt when he invented the disposable paper coffee cup?)
Just to backtrack, Romeo was a close high school friend of mine and he was dating another friend, Juliet. They got along great but their parents couldn't stand each other. (Romeo's mother, Halle Berry, was an astrophysicist. She didn't get along with Juliet's father, Theodore Roosevelt, who was a quantum physicist. They had altering theories as to how to figure out how many universes exist.) Subsequently, Romeo and Juliet had to have a clandestine affair.
Romeo and I had second period English class together and Juliet and I shared eighth period Life Skills class, so they would tell me what was going on. They also asked me to transmit messages to each other as their parents were monitoring their texts. (If they were even seen talking with each other, it would get back to their parents.) I didn't love being in the middle, but that's what happens sometimes. I really liked both of them, too.
So anyhow, Romeo fancied himself an inventor. I was over his house assisting while he was working on his newest invention: this "computer" thing. I wasn't even sure what it was, but I knew that if Romeo was inventing it, it must be good. And he was just talking non-stop about Juliet. I warned him that he'd better be careful what he said in the house because, of course, walls have ears.
All of a sudden, his father, Milton Hershey, walked in. I though for sure he'd heard us talking about Juliet but he acted normal. The reason that he'd come in was because he'd just made a batch of choco-chip cookies. I was hardly going to stop myself from gorging on choco-chip cookies made by Milton Hershey himself so I just inhaled those things. And they were beyond good. They were downright immoral.
I asked Mr. Hershey what made them so good and he told me his primary secret was adding some almond extract. He added the same amount of almond extract as vanilla. He had a few other secrets too, which I'll share another time because they're complicated. But adding that little bit of almond is sooooo easy and sooooo good! I've never forgotten any of his other tricks either.
A minute after leaving he came back in and told us that he'd heard us talking about Juliet. He said that he wouldn't tell Halle, but that if Romeo knew what was good for him, he'd better be careful. Mr. Hershey really was very understanding. Also, I think another reason he didn't care too much was because the family feud was primarily between his wife and Juliet's father. And, I later found out that Milton and Halle were having serious problems anyhow which would lead to a divorce when Romeo was in college (University of Hawaii). So he truly didn't care if his wife was double crossed anyhow.
Incidentally, Romeo never completely got his computer working. He eventually gave up and put his energies into learning how to paint. It paid off - he ended up painting the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. And, as it turned out, he and Juliet eventually broke up. What do you expect from a couple of teenagers? He got over his parents divorce quickly too. He'd been seeing it coming for years. He told me that he'd wondered why it hadn't occurred earlier.
It was a Tuesday afternoon in October and I was assisting my buddy, Romeo, as he was working on his newest invention: the computer. He was really frustrated. I was doing my best to try and keep him calm, but he was just off the charts with aggravation. (I wondered if this was how Bill Gates felt when he invented the disposable paper coffee cup?)
Just to backtrack, Romeo was a close high school friend of mine and he was dating another friend, Juliet. They got along great but their parents couldn't stand each other. (Romeo's mother, Halle Berry, was an astrophysicist. She didn't get along with Juliet's father, Theodore Roosevelt, who was a quantum physicist. They had altering theories as to how to figure out how many universes exist.) Subsequently, Romeo and Juliet had to have a clandestine affair.
Romeo and I had second period English class together and Juliet and I shared eighth period Life Skills class, so they would tell me what was going on. They also asked me to transmit messages to each other as their parents were monitoring their texts. (If they were even seen talking with each other, it would get back to their parents.) I didn't love being in the middle, but that's what happens sometimes. I really liked both of them, too.
So anyhow, Romeo fancied himself an inventor. I was over his house assisting while he was working on his newest invention: this "computer" thing. I wasn't even sure what it was, but I knew that if Romeo was inventing it, it must be good. And he was just talking non-stop about Juliet. I warned him that he'd better be careful what he said in the house because, of course, walls have ears.
All of a sudden, his father, Milton Hershey, walked in. I though for sure he'd heard us talking about Juliet but he acted normal. The reason that he'd come in was because he'd just made a batch of choco-chip cookies. I was hardly going to stop myself from gorging on choco-chip cookies made by Milton Hershey himself so I just inhaled those things. And they were beyond good. They were downright immoral.
I asked Mr. Hershey what made them so good and he told me his primary secret was adding some almond extract. He added the same amount of almond extract as vanilla. He had a few other secrets too, which I'll share another time because they're complicated. But adding that little bit of almond is sooooo easy and sooooo good! I've never forgotten any of his other tricks either.
A minute after leaving he came back in and told us that he'd heard us talking about Juliet. He said that he wouldn't tell Halle, but that if Romeo knew what was good for him, he'd better be careful. Mr. Hershey really was very understanding. Also, I think another reason he didn't care too much was because the family feud was primarily between his wife and Juliet's father. And, I later found out that Milton and Halle were having serious problems anyhow which would lead to a divorce when Romeo was in college (University of Hawaii). So he truly didn't care if his wife was double crossed anyhow.
Incidentally, Romeo never completely got his computer working. He eventually gave up and put his energies into learning how to paint. It paid off - he ended up painting the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. And, as it turned out, he and Juliet eventually broke up. What do you expect from a couple of teenagers? He got over his parents divorce quickly too. He'd been seeing it coming for years. He told me that he'd wondered why it hadn't occurred earlier.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)