I got out the play food today. My hopes were that it would keep the older boys happy and that the Imp wouldn't resort to throwing things - as he did before. So far, they seem to be mostly happy. He loves putting the food together and "cutting" it apart again. The Elf, of course, wants to take food orders and watch me "eat" endless plates of wooden food. I find it hard to stay present for this kind of play for too long. It's fun to watch, but exhausting to participate in.



And later..



I found myself eating far more than I'd planned and felt that I simply must share. The Elf enjoyed them, the Imp.. not so much. The Beast is forever trying to take them out of my hand (don't worry, I don't let him have them).

These cookies are long time favorites of mine. The original recipe is here. Don't get me wrong, the original recipe is great. But my gods! The sugar! The butter! My recipe these days is much more like this:

1 cup organic coconut oil
1 cup (or more) natural peanut butter
1/4 cup (or slightly more) organic apple sauce
3/4 cup (or less) brown sugar (or regular sugar if that's all I have)
1.5 cups whole wheat flour
2 tsp baking soda
1 cup (or more) quick oats (though old fashioned work as well)

Sometimes I add: granola, flax seeds, chocolate chips (okay, I add these most of the time), nuts.

I scoop them with a cookie scoop and bake a dozen, freezing the rest on a pan. Then I bake as desired. I really love these cold. The chocolate chips (I use mini) are hard and the cookie doesn't crumble as easily - which it does when warm (because of the coconut oil). I reason with myself that as far as cookies go, these are fairly healthy. So I can easily go through a batch in less than a week. There. You now know my weakness.