We did and it was the ultimate gift. It was concentrated Linda/Russell time. We were 2 blocks from the ski area, the grocery store, the library, and the post office.Yoga was across the road. Burgers and beer were in walking distance. We had no entertaining to do, no phone calls to answer and only sun and fun called our name.
Sun Valley was IDEAL! Sun Valley gave us a PERFECT winter,
The sad truth however is that there was no way for us to afford such perfection, we had to look else where. We are list makers so that's what we did. We each decided what our top 10 'needs' were. We combined the lists to find mutual 'needs' and direction. For the remaining we discussed, communicated and filled in the blanks.That was the easy part. Now we had to come up with a community that met those needs.
Here is a list that we generated:
- college town
- ski area
- great library
- affordable sports center
- excellent bakery ( we love bread...which I can no longer eat...sigh)
- 300+ days of sun a year
- bigger than a town / smaller than a city
- cultural options
- health food store
- options to expand our 'world'
We hit pay dirt in Durango. The bakery... BREAD... also made great cookies. We spent a LOT of money that first year buying Chocolate Gulch, Ginger and Oatmeal cookies. I bought so many and spent considerable food money on cookies; that had to change! I began buying them and dissecting them so I could evaluate the ingredients. BREAD did not want to divulge their recipes.
You have the Chocolate Gulch and Ginger Spice recipes. Here then is my Sow Your Oats cookie recipe a la BREAD Bakery.
Heat oven to 375 degrees
I prefer using parchment paper when making cookies, but you can grease the pan if you prefer.
Cream Together:
1/4 cup softened butter and 1/2 cup Crisco
Add & cream:
1 to 1 1/4 cups packed brown sugar
Now add:
1 egg
1/3 cup milk
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
In a small bowl mix together:
2 3/4 cups oats
1/4 cup flax or sesame seed (tho if you don't have just use 3 cups oats)
1 cup flour
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
Now add the above dry ingredients to the creamed mixture and beat on low just until blended.
Stir in:
1 cup raisins
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 cup sunflower seeds
Bake:
375 for 10 minutes or until lightly browned. I do 8 minutes and then turn pan for last 2. Works for me. You may want to do 12 minutes.
Alternatives...
use cranberries instead of raisins
use chocolate chips instead of raisins