Valentines Day and Texas Tea Cakes

Just a few notes on what's happened since Multi-Cultural Day, and a recipe that I forgot to include last time!

This last Saturday in LA was a sunny, bright, cold day sandwiched between a stormy Friday the 13th and a dreary Sunday. To celebrate love - and the fair weather - LA's Farmers Market and West 3rd Street appeared to be the places to be. Lots of happy couples, lots of families, and lots of friends were out to play and have fun on Valentines Day.

Each year for at least the past 4 years, I have passed out kiddie valentines on the day, to complete strangers, with true desire of offering more love to the world. I have found this to be the most perfect and surefire way to make people happy, smile, and even laugh.

Late Friday night I stuck tiny heart stickers on my Ratatouille kiddie valentines - about 70 total - and early Saturday morning set out to distribute them. Having plenty of everyone - of all ages - to give them out to at the Farmers Market before our tour started, all 70 were mostly gone in less than an hour. Way too much fun! I highly recommend trying this. It takes a little courage but the rewards are wonderful (and, shhh, 99-cent and dollar stores have a great selection of valentines if you buy them early enough)!

Bringing well-deserved attention back to Multi-Cultural Day at Open Charter School last week, I happily brought home a little program piece that contains a recipe for Texas Tea Cakes...so worth sharing, as is the quote on the front of the little folded program:

"Much of what we know about each other's culture is learned through the sharing of food."

Young Drew Alexander Aldridge happily offers this multi-generational recipe for her family's famous cookies. Handed down now to Drew, the fifth generation to enjoy them, they were baked 2 and 3 generations ago, for families of 10 children each. Her great-grandmother Elizabeth baked them in a pot-bellied stove for her brood!

Drew recommends savoring them with ice cold milk or a cup of hot chocolate. It is with great joy that I share her recipe with you!

Texas Tea Cakes

1 cup shortening
2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp vanilla
1 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp baking soda
4 cups flour

Preheat oven to 375F. Combine shortening and sugar, stir and mix in the eggs and buttermilk. Add the salt, vanilla, nutmeg, and baking soda. Add in flour one cup at a time. Stir and mix until you have firm dough. Roll out and use a cookie cutter or glass to make circles. Bake until golden brown (I'm guessing about 8-10 minutes; Drew doesn't say!)

Yields about 4 dozen.

Bon appetit and enjoy!

Til next time, I remain your Tour Maestra,
Diane Scalia