Saturday, October 1, 2011

Building "my community" and other small projects

Nut thins

I'm in the habit of making new friends, and tend to do so quickly each time we move. I may come across as overly forward, but I'm OK with that. People can take it or leave it, and they do. I may live in a big city but I happen to like simple human interaction, so I go about building community however I can. That's where these cookies come in.

Nut thins

We live above a bar. We're lucky that the owners and clientele are a nice bunch of people, very courteous (they'll take our packages for us since we don't have a doorman) and eager to greet us as we come and go from the building. So recently when I got to baking these cookies, I brought down a plate and was told they disappeared like "hotcakes." Exactly what I like to hear, since I can't be expected to finish off a big batch of rich, buttery cookies on my own. A plate of cookies now and then doesn't cost me much, but the pay back is large. Back in Rome I had built up a series of friends around the community, like my butchers. I fully intend on building a similar lot here in New York. People I can exchange a few words, laughs, or smiles with on a weekly basis. It's the familiar faces that make a big city seem like a small town.

Nut thins

This cookie recipe is part of a small project that has been following me around the globe for years. It has been carefully packed away on four moves, sailed back and forth across the Atlantic ocean several times, wrapped up and nestled into boxes along side all our worldly belongings. Over the years I've looked over the recipes one by one, thinking I should really do something with them. They are my grandmother's recipes; that would be Ruth.

Ruth's Box, Nut thins

I'm not sure what spoke to me about these nut thins or why I chose them as a starting point. Many of Ruth's recipes are not very detailed. She hadn't specified what kind of nuts to use so I decided on both walnuts and pecans. Some of her recipes lack thorough instructions, which tells me that she was a skilled cook and baker who had method down and could probably bake a batch of rugelach blindfolded. Like a good Jewish grandmother, I suppose.

I've always been fascinated with Ruth's box of recipes and have treated it like an heirloom. I'd like to think that two generations from now when the internet and computers as we know them become obsolete, I may have a granddaughter who loves to cook. Perhaps she'll peruse my blog, reading my stories, trying my recipes and maybe getting a glimpse of what life was like in "the old days."

Nut Thins Recipe

I followed the recipe as written by Ruth, but couldn't resist adding 2 tablespoons of ground flax seeds, even though I'm pretty sure no one had ever heard of Omega 3 fatty acids in Ruth's day. Trust me, you would never know they are in there. Make these larger for chewier cookies, or smaller if you prefer, but I warn you that you may end up eating more that way.

10 comments:

  1. I also have my grandmother recipe notebook. I love to cook some of the dishes she made me when I was a child, it makes me go back to a simpler world.

    I am terrible at making new friends in the neighborhood, fortunately my BF makes up for it: he knows everyone in my building!

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  2. Pola, isn't it wonderful? Recipes that don't come from the internet or cyberspace, but from our own ancestry? I find it lovely.

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  3. What a treasure that little box is. I have a beat up file folder packed with pre-internet recipes. Many are from a time when my taste was not so well developed and those recipes hold a special place in my heart. I will save them. Some of the recipes are my own, some from friends, and several from my mom. I've been feeling very nostalgic for books, the written word, face-to-face meetings, etc. lately. Not sure what's gotten into me...

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  4. Lovely post and recipe - thanks for sharing.

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  5. Ciao Nicole,
    Complimenti per il tuo blog! Ti leggo spesso.
    Sono contenta che la mia ricetta del pesto alla menta ti sia piaciuta, sono solo agli inizi ma spero di poter condividere con te altre ricette sfiziose...
    Questi biscotti alle nocciole sembrano proprio deliziosi!

    A presto,

    Ilaria

    p.s. Scusa per la mia risposta in ritardo ma sono stata per un lungo periodo senza internet.

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  6. wonderful cookies and so neat to have your thoughtful gesture be so well received.

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  7. I love to bake biscuits from my own Grandmother's recipes too. Both of my Grandmas were wizards in the kitchen and I like to follow tasty lead when mood strikes.

    (Delighted to have found my way to your blog, by the way.)

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  8. gracia, welcome, I am glad you found me too!

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  9. love Ruth's typed index card recipe file, and even better, that you have them, and are baking her treats,adding your touches. the nut thins look delicious.

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  10. Just found your blog - am now your newest follower! These nut thins are right up my alley! I also have my grandmother's recipes, in her handwriting. They are very much treasured by me.

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