May 2019 – Gina Diamond's Flower Co.

Cream of the Crop Chocolate Chip Cookies 2 comments

Finally, a chocolate chip cookie so good it’s the cream of the crop!

May 28, 2019, posted by Gina – Working in the shop keeps me very busy and for that, I am truly grateful! I love it but I was also happy to have a bit of spare time on my hands this Memorial Day. So, I took the opportunity to share this great chocolate chip cookie recipe with you.

Cream of the crop chocolate chip cookies

Over the years I have tried a million chocolate chip cookie recipes that claim to be the BEST. I must say I have liked them all and, believe me, not a crumb was wasted. However, I did not find one I felt was “the best”. Then a few years ago I found a recipe somewhere online and if you are like me, you approach these with caution. Most of them are good but occasionally you come across one that is not written correctly or the result just isn’t so grea. For some reason, I decided to try this chocolate chip cookie recipe and I was so happy; I felt I had finally found a true winner. I think the reason why this recipe is different than others is because of the pudding mix. These are crunchy on the outside and chewy on the inside and for me, this is a perfect combination. These fall into the “best” category or the “Cream of the Crop”, as I have coined them.

This recipe makes 72 cookies! That’s a lot of cookies. I love this because you can enjoy a few as soon as you bake them and you can freeze some too.

I wish I could remember where I found this recipe. I hand wrote the recipe which is odd as I usually just print it out. While I can’t take credit for it, I am happy to share it with you. It is a straightforward recipe and I made them as directed. I added the part about the #40 food scoop. If you don’t have one of these, I encourage you to get one. It is great for so many things and for this recipe it allows you to uniformly bake the cookies.

Please give me a shout if you try these and let me know where you rate them. Or at least enjoy every bite! Until next time.

Cream of the crop chocolate chip cookies in the making!

Patio Project: Lighting, Seating & Plants 2 comments

May 21, 2019, posted by Gina – What do I do when I’m not working at GDFC? I work in the yard. I just can’t live without flowers and greenery. We built this patio and fireplace right after we moved into our home. At that time we loved it and dreamed of putting pretty lights up. Well, it’s about 7 years later and our son decided it was time to get it done.

He is really good at figuring things out, mainly because he’s patient. I must give him all the credit for this project. I merely held the string of lights and handed him things while he did all the work. We are so happy with the pleasing lighting that now washes over the patio.

At the same time, I began the first part of re-working our screened-in porch. I found a fabulous old pine table that I thought would work great. At first, I planned on getting metal stools to go with it but my son spotted some folding acacia wood ones that are perfect with it. While we have the table and chairs in place there are many other things that will need to find another home. I’ll share that once we are finished.

As soon as the lights went up, I couldn’t wait to plant some of the plants I’ve been collecting. First, herbs went into pots beside my back door for easy gathering when cooking. Rosemary, lemon thyme, Greek oregano, sage and basil were my herbs of choice. A friend shared some bay leaf with me and I repotted it. I look forward to seeing these multiply and using them in all kinds of summer recipes.

James Farmer recently planted some foxtail ferns in pots at his home. Since that time, I’ve been obsessed with finding some for my yard. I put them in pots today and I absolutely love the texture and vivid green color. I also planted some zinnias. There is no prettier summer arrangement than a vase of zinnias. I ran out of time but still have some beautiful red caladiums to plant as well as a variegated ginger plant. I’ll post about those as soon as I get another free moment. Until then, Happy Gardening!