Early Mornings

It was dark this morning. I heard voices in the hall. It was my boys. I looked around at the light in my room. It wasn't light enough to be any later than 5 am. What were they doing up? That question was easy to answer. It was the weekend, and the weekend means video games; only after showers, breakfast, clean clothes, and taking the dog out to pee. The next series of noises forced me to take action. There was the squeaking of the towel rack, the gush of water into the tub, its thunderous reverberations as the water hit the walls, and footsteps as someone stepped into the tub. I looked at my clock. 4:00 am. Way too early to be up on a leisurely Sunday morning.

"What is going on? What are you doing?"

"I'm taking a shower."

"What? Why now?"

"So I don't have to do it later. I'm just getting ready for my day."

"Matt, it's four in the morning. It's way too early to be up. You guys need to go back to bed."

I went back to bed. I was wide awake. I turned this way and that. I tossed and turned. I tried deep breathing, and relaxation techniques. It was no use. I was awake. Ugh. It was only 4:30. I decided I'd better get up and be productive. I had been stuck in bed for nearly a week, unable to move due to a back injury. At one point in the middle of the week, I was certain that I'd be in that much pain and incapacitated for the rest of my life. Such an enlightening experience, the importance of back health. I digress. Since I was awake, I thought I would at least be productive. I had many things go undone for the week, that I could now catch up on.

I did dishes. Three loads of my own laundry made it into and out of the washing machine. Most days I'm lucky to get the kids' laundry done, and the towels. I will usually get one load of my own in in a week, which means wearing the same things, rotated and interchanged, for seven days. This week is going to be so much more fun, with a larger wardrobe to choose from. I also had a birth class to help with later in the morning, so I thought I would make cookies. The kids were up by this point, and had all their chores done, as well as cheerful attitudes. It felt almost like an episode of Leave it to Beaver, or The Andy Griffith Show. I was the quintessential female figure, up before dawn tending to the daily duties, with happy little children milling about on a quiet morning, and I was making cookies. I giggled at the thought, wondering where my valium and cosmo were hiding, and finished the cookies.

I wanted to get a good picture of the finished product, so I borrowed my son's camera; my batteries were dead. His were dead, too. Exhausted battery warning, his camera stated in a panic before shutting off. I raided batteries from video games, video game remotes, the TV remote, and several other electronic devices before I found a set that did not ellicit the same panicked message. By now I was starting to delve into the realm of tardiness. That one I am a little more familiar with. So much for quinessential female figure. I threw on my silver gray sheath, black sweater, and black pinstriped trousers. I put in my contacts, and touched up my mascara. No time for eye shadow or lip stick today. Did I need to brush my hair? No, it looked mussed, but not ratted, it would fly. I threw a dozen and a half cookies into a ziploc, grabbed a blue plate for presentation of the cookies, and slipped on my black flats. Keys, purse, phone, cookies, and I was out the door, on my way, and only 10 minutes behind schedule. Aunt Bea, sorry to let you down, but this is a new era, and at least I got the cookies, even if my hair is not perfectly coifed. You too can wake at 4 and end up with gluten free chocolate chip cookies, but first you must have the recipe. Enjoy!

Anna's Gluten Free Chocolate Chip cookies, adapted from a recipe her sister gave her.

2 eggs

1 1/2 c sugar

1 tsp vanilla

1 cup nut butter(I use almond or cashew)

1/2 cup Bob's Red Mill all purpose Gluten free flour mix

1/2 cup Bob's Red Mill coconut flour

1/2 tsp salt(unless using salted nut butter, then omit)

1 tsp baking powder

2 TBS oil

1/2 bag chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a stand mixer, beat eggs, sugar and vanilla till pale and a little fluffy. Add nut butter, and mix till thoroughly incorporated. Add the flour, salt, and baking powder in, all at once is fine. The dough will be very stiff at this point because the coconut flour holds a lot of moisture. Add in the oil to loosen it a little. You may need to stop the mixer, and scrape down the sides in order to fully incorporate the oil and get the right consistency. It will be a stiff dough. Add the chocolate chips and mix till they are just mixed in. Form into balls by kitchen table spoon, about the size of a golf ball. Bake on a silpat lined cookie sheet for 15 minutes, until the tops are just barely blushed golden, and the bottoms are golden. Do not overcook. Remove from pan to cooling rack, and store in airtight container once cool. They soften up to a wonderfully chewy consistency over time, and are best the next day, or later the same day. They should never be hard as rocks, even straight out of the oven or off the cooling rack. Enjoy!