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| SUN LAKES LIFESTYLES | DECEMBER 2020 | 47 Happy Cookers Baby it's cold outside. December is when warm temperatures in the kitchen and tantalizing aromas trigger memories. Maybe it's the smell of Christmas cookies, a sizzling roast or the clinking of glasses as we toast each other. Cooking isn't always the physical act of making food, especially during the holidays; it is about sharing and loving. My favorite childhood Christmas gift was a popcorn popper. At nine years of age, I couldn't wait for the light to turn red so I could pour the popcorn and oil in. It was magic. My whole family loved when I started popping away. Speaking of popcorn poppers, the Whirley Pop is fantastic. If you add about 1/8th cup of sugar and a teaspoon of salt toward the end, you get amazing kettle corn. I love to cook my popcorn in a little Temecula Garlic and Jalapeno Olive oil with a little melted butter drizzled over the freshly popped corn. Try adding parmesan cheese to that. The combinations are endless. The only down side is when our dogs look at us with loving eyes and just want one more piece. Another wonderful memory maker is cookie exchange parties. To socially distance, try packing bags of cookies and dropping them, like Saint Nick, at a friend's door. Usually each participant bakes 6 to 24 of one type of cookie. They walk around a table laden with trays of yummy treats. Each person picks one or two cookies from every tray. When they return home, it is like they baked oodles of recipes to share with loved ones. This fall I experimented with a wonderful sugar cookie mix sold at Walmart. Alma's is an excellent basic mix and it came in a variety of colors. Besides adding an extra tablespoon of vanilla to the mixes, I added a tablespoon of lime zest to one mix, a tablespoon of lavender and a teaspoon of lemon oil to another mix and lastly, I added anise extract with a sprinkling of anise seed on top. Glazes are super easy to make with powdered sugar, juice and a little fruit zest. It is fun to be a wacky elf trying all kinds of flavors. I'd like to share a favorite memory of my father. He and I would love to make a prime rib roast. We would slather the roast with Dijon mustard and make a mix of garlic powder, onion powder, ground pepper, salt and flour. (We never measured.) Then we would pat the powder onto the mustard covered roast and bake it at 425 to 450 degrees for 10 to 15 minutes to sear the crust mixture, then turn the oven on until it got down to our regular baking temperature and cooked it until we liked it. We had so much fun with the messy mixture, talking and laughing. I will never forget it. This season whether Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa or just celebrating the joy of living, Happy Cookers wishes you a healthy and safe holiday and new year. Comments from our President, Pat Pinz: A special thank you to Wendy for keeping our Happy Cookers spirits up during this difficult time. Also, a great thanks to all the Happy Cookers who have helped Wendy with the various cooking projects. My very best to all of our Happy Cookers for a healthy and happy holiday season! Just in case: Check with your club contact to confirm meeting place, date, and time.

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