Clint and Cookies

Today is Clint Eastwood's birthday. He was born in 1930, which makes him...79.

The first movie of his I saw was The Good, The Bad and The Ugly. I doubt I saw it the year it came out, which was 1966, because movies got to the islands kind of slow. I probably saw it in 1967 at the Center Theater on Main Street in St. Thomas.

Going to the Center Theater was always a bit of a big deal. I had a favorite place I liked to sit. Upper level, seventh row, middle seat of the row. If someone was sitting in my spot I'd reluctantly moved up or down a row.

Anyway, back to Clint. There was something about him and those spaghetti westerns. I was hooked after that first one, violent as they were for the day. Didn't matter. Maybe it was his playing the strong, silent type, the reluctant anti-hero, the loner, the under-dog.

Maybe it was those blue eyes.

Happy Birthday Mr. Eastwood. Thanks for all the movies.

Today is also National Macaroon Day.

Macaroons are a Jewish tradition, usually made during Passover because they can be made without flour.

Here's an easy recipe which makes at least two dozen.

Pre-heat over to 350, grease cookie sheets

5 cups shredded coconut
1 cup oat or rice flour for binding - you can use regular flour or almond flour
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp almond extract
1 cup milk
1 can sweetened condensed milk

Mix everything together. Drop by the tsp (or larger if you want them bigger) onto a greased cookie sheet. Bake 10 to 12 minutes, or until lightly browned. Remove and immediately take them off the cookie sheet.

Enjoy!

I wonder if Clint likes macaroons?