The Rhinelander Daily News - Online news and information for the Rhinelander, Wisconsin region

Pat Pfeiffer - Correspondent

(Hiles News) - More and more color is showing in the Maple trees, ferns and other foliage. The hummingbirds are still here. Last week Doris Louvrine sent me a note saying that she, too, has used a lot of sugar feeding the “flying jewels” this year. She reminded me that red food coloring isn’t necessary in the mix, and is, in fact, detrimental to the little creatures. It isn’t really needed to attract them. I think we use it mostly to please our own eyes. Meanwhile, the blue jays are becoming regular visitors to the feeders for seeds, and chickadees are busy feeding there, too. A lot of the other summer birds have disappeared.

New Face in Town?

Well, no. But it’s a face we haven’t seen for a long time that has shown up. Last week Paul Jenkins did an annual face shave. Maybe he needs a yearly peek in the mirror to remind himself he’s still there after hiding out for a year behind all the whiskers. Paul, you’re a good looking guy under all that fuzz. You should come out of hiding more often.

Service Club Plans

The Hiles Service Club met last week, and among their plans for the autumn season is another Harvest Dinner at the Hiles town hall. The date picked for this event is Saturday, Oct. 11 at 5 p.m. The plans are for an old fashioned pot luck with everybody bringing a dish to pass. This year the service club will not be providing any meat, except for a dish they may cook up with bratwurst in it. So besides the salads, desserts breads and so forth, hot dishes will also be welcome. Some of the service club members will be making pumpkin pies also. Oct. 10 will be a workday at the town hall. There will be reminders closer to the time of the dinner in this column, but be sure to reserve space now in your schedule.

Plans this year include a costumed event, with prizes for the kids costumes. This should add a whole lot of fun to the festivities. You have plenty of time to come up with some creative ideas for a costume for yourselves and for the kids.

The service club and the playground committee are still collecting recipes for a cook book with fun to cook and fun to eat recipes for kids, parents and grandparents. If you have recipes or food tips to donate toward this project, give Margaret McCarthy a call, or e-mail her at sunshine@newnorth.net.

Cans Wanted

Speaking of the playground committee, the service club is donating this year’s aluminum can money to the playground project. The bin has been filling up, and due to high demand, the can-man has not yet been here to pick up the cans at Hiles at the collection site. That is the bin located at the playground near the town garage, below the hill from the town hall. This is the only location for this collection. The cans dropped off at the Hiles transfer site are not given to this project. So bag up your aluminum soda and beer cans and drop them off at the playground collection site. They will be very much appreciated.

Calendar / Almanac

This week is Constitution Week, National Suicide Prevention Week and Line Dance Week.

Sept. 13 — Bald is Beautiful Day

Sept. 13 — International Chocolate Day -- Yay!

Oct. 11 — Hiles Harvest Dinner — Potluck dinner at 5 p.m.

Celebrate International Chocolate Day!

There is always some wonderful way to celebrate a chocolate holiday! Have a little after-school chocolate cookies with milk party! If you don’t have kids, invite the neighbors. Anything as important as chocolate holidays should not be ignored!

Chocolate-Chocolate Chip Cookies

2 cups (16 ounces) semi-sweet chocolate morsels, divided

2 cups (16 ounces) milk chocolate morsels, divided

1/2 cup (1 stick or 4 ounces) butter at room temperature

1/2 cup (4 ounces) shortening

1 cup packed brown sugar (use dark brown if you want a very rich and sweet, chewy taste)

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3 eggs

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour

Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Melt 1 cup [8 ounces] semi-sweet chocolate and 1 cup [8 ounces] milk chocolate in a double boiler (or, if you don't have a double boiler, put a stainless steel bowl with the morsels in a saucepan of boiling water and stir to melt). If you can't find milk chocolate morsels, it is okay to use all semi-sweet. It will result in a more brownie-like taste. Save the rest of the morsels for later. Beat butter, shortening, brown sugar, granulated sugar, and vanilla extract in large mixing bowl. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add salt and baking soda. Beat in the melted chocolate. Gradually beat in the flour. Stir in the remaining 2 cups (16 ounces) of chocolate morsels.

Drop by rounded tablespoons onto ungreased baking sheets. Bake for 8-9 minutes or until cookies puff up. They will fall when they cool.

Chocolate Cranberry Cookies

3/4 cup butter or margarine, at room temperature

3/4 cup sugar

1 cup dark brown sugar, packed

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1/3 cup milk

2 tablespoons orange juice

2 eggs

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

2 1/2 cups flour

1 cup oatmeal, quick cooking type

3/4 to 1 cup macadamia nuts, chopped

1 cup candied or dried cranberries, (Craisins)

1 cup chopped dark chocolate or semi-sweet or dark chocolate chips

Mix butter, sugar, brown sugar and vanilla in a bowl until blended.

Add milk, orange juice, and eggs, salt and baking soda, mixing well.

Add flour and oatmeal and mix well. If too liquid, add a tablespoon or so of flour.

Stir in nuts, dried cranberries and chocolate or chips.

Drop by large teaspoonsful on cookie sheets, allowing room to spread in the oven.

Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 8-10 minutes. They should be golden brown, not too pale. Remove from oven, cool a bit, and then remove from cookie sheets.

Why Celebrate?

If you think I am being facetious about celebrating chocolate, consider these interesting facts about chocolate that I found on the Internet:

• The average American eats 10-12 pounds (4.5 kg) of chocolate a year. The average Swiss, the largest consumers of chocolate, eats 21 pounds (9.9 kg) a year. Despite the fact that the average Swiss eats 21 pounds of chocolate, they have the lowest incidences of obesity and coronary heart disease in Western Europe. The Swiss, have the highest lean body mass index in the Western world.

• Several medical studies show that eating chocolate in moderation can actually prolong your life by reducing risk of blood clots and fighting bad cholesterol.

• Chocolate is not physically addictive and does not cause acne, as shown in several medical studies.

• Chocolate is not high in caffeine. A 1 oz bar of milk chocolate contains only 5-6mg of caffeine. This is significantly less than in coffee, tea and soft drinks.

• In general, the shelf life for chocolate is a year.

• Chocolate is America's favorite flavor, according to recent surveys with a little over 50 percent of adults preferring chocolate to other flavors.

• According to Pat Kendall, PhD, a Food Science and Nutrition Specialist at the Colorado State University. Chocolate is the most commonly craved food in North America. 40 percent of American women and 15 percent of American men are "chocoholics".

• Chocolate was regarded as an aphrodisiac by Aztec Indians.

• It is widely believed that chocolate consumption releases a chemical into your body very similar to what is produced when you are in love!

• Chocolate contains antioxidants which may help prevent cancer and heart disease.

So enjoy! Don’t worry, eat chocolate.

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