So, I went to an auction. It seems to be auction season in our part of the world, where people organize fabulous dinner events, with choice items to bid on, in the name of raising money. I wonder to myself if people are spending as much this year as they did last. The economy is a bit on edge: I went to the auction with a budget.

I spent my entire budget on one item. Well, 8 cases of one item.

I bought dry soda; it is a sexy soda based out of Seattle. It transcends corn syrup, sideswipes sweetness and ushers in unusual, savvy, urbanite flavors (lavender, kumquat, lemongrass and rhubarb). You might consider wearing shades while sipping from these clairvoyant bottles.

Their website is as hip as their sodas. I noticed they had a few cocktails on their site, many of which boasted a long list of ingredients. Never fear, my impatience is near. I just borrowed genius from a lemon drop and created a kumquat version:

Kumquat Drop
triple sec
vodka
fresh squeezed orange juice
Kumquat Dry Soda

Per drink: 1/5 fresh squeezed orange juice, 3/5 vodka, 1/5 triple sec, 1/5 kumquat soda. Shake with ice, strain into martini glass; pierce a few kumquats on an olive pick for garnish. Note: feel free to substitute fresh squeezed lemon juice for the orange, or a combination of the two… and skip the sugar rim. It isn’t necessary.

Orange you glad its a kumquat?

Kumquats are awesome; have you ever tried one? It is nature’s lemon drop candy; the candy that is so, so sweet yet makes you pucker straight to the back of your jaw. You can eat kumquats whole, though we usually slice them in half and remove the larger pits. I slice the halves and put them in my boys’ lunch. On my old site (didn’t have time to run two sites, though there is a chance I may resurrect it), Brown Bag Blues, I wrote a post on kumquats that you might find useful (click here).

Easter? Halloween? Christmas? Fourth of July?

Bring it.

Whatever holiday it is, these cookies can waltz right in and be fashionable, readily available, unassumingly appropriate.

All you need to do is buy that bag of holiday colored m ‘n’ ms. Hey, they are cookies. I didn’t say they were good for you. Though I suppose you could sneak in some wheat germ, use wheat flour, add in some flax meal, substitute canola oil for some of the butter, use some applesauce… but I will leave that up to you. Sometimes my version of healthy is less about the ingredients, and more about moderation (I didn’t say always, just sometimes). Consequently, these cookies aren’t made often: they simply show up, in colorful uniform, to stand in as a holiday treat.

I pop these casually dressed cookies into school lunches to usher in some holiday cheer. They don’t require a lot of planning or foresight on my part—I just walk through Target, notice the m ‘n’ m’s and scoop up a bag. And then smile, knowing my kids will hover around the mixing bowl, begging for a taste of the dough. Yes, the dough is unavoidably good. Especially with the big chunks of pecans.

M ‘n’ M Cookies
2 sticks butter
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/8 tsp salt
2 cups m n ms
3/4 cup roughly chopped pecans

Oven to 350. Cream butter and sugars. Add egg, vanilla and mix. Add flour, salt and soda and stir to blend. Mix in M ‘n’ Ms and pecans. Place in spoonfuls on tray and bake 10-13 minutes. Happy Holidays!

For a short while I had two blogs, this and another called Brown Bag Blues.

I [unofficially] decommissioned that site so I could focus more on this one. But all is not lost, I plan to occasionally bring you boredom-beating brilliance to cure your brown bag blues. A few of my favorite recipes will find a new home, here.

Brown Bag Blues will be a category on this site, dedicated to providing good ideas for better lunches. Mostly, it will provide recipes that are perfect for tucking into lunches. For my own children, my brown bag agenda is to provide variety, balance, novelty~regularly tasting unfamiliar foods, and maintain/develop their curiosity toward food.

I pulled this recipe out of some random magazine a million years ago, then changed it a bit. I was excited to find a granola bar disguised as a cookie; it is still a treat but with more of a nutritional punch.

In fact, I have been known to put granola (sub varying cereals in place of cornflakes, even add a little coconut) and a variety of nuts (sunflower, walnuts, pepitas) and dried fruit right into these cookies. I will tell you the basic recipe, then you can improvise from there (note: if substituting, just stick with similar proportions):

Lunch box Cookies
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup butter
1 tsp vanilla
1 egg
1 cup flour (I use wheat)
1 cup oats
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
pinch salt
1 1/2 cups cornflakes cereal
2/3 cup roughly chopped pecans

Oven to 350. Beat sugars and butter; beat in egg and vanilla. Add flour, oats, soda, powder, salt just to blend. Add cereal and nuts. (If you are a dough eater, this dough rocks). Shape into ‘golf balls’ and bake for 10-12 minutes. Makes 2 dozen, though I never count.