For Father's Day: Dad's Favorite Recipe

Ah, the month of June.

I'm partial to long daylight hours, so for me the buildup to the Summer Solstice is a great thing (the exact event takes place this year at 6:06pm on June 21st). As an outdoor photographer living in the far north, however, that also makes for especially early mornings when shooting at daybreak! I have to be on location, set up and ready to work by 4:30am. Still, I find that preferable to the long, dark days of winter.

Of course we also honor our fathers this month. I hadn't realized that it was fairly recently - 1972 - that Father's Day was signed into law. While President Coolidge supported the idea of such an observance as far back as 1924, and President Johnson signed a proclamation declaring the third Sunday in June as Father's Day in 1966, it's Richard Nixon who made it legal.

My own dad is 95 this year and still going strong. Since I was the "caboose" in a large family, my folks were much older than the norm - so it's quite a blessing that my dad is still around and we're able to enjoy his company. He planted the seeds for my love of gardening, tennis, and photography - all things for which I'm grateful.

Professionally, he was a respected civil engineer who, during the course of his career, supervised site work and construction on a variety of noteworthy projects including the Air Force Academy, the creation of the city of Oak Ridge, Tennessee for the Manhattan Project, and the transformation of O'Hare Field to a jet-age airport. None of that meant much to me as a kid; he was just my dad!

It's as I grew older and entered the work force myself - and as I began to meet my father's business associates along the way - that I truly began to appreciate his career and understand the high standards to which he has held himself for his entire life.

I don't live near my father, unfortunately, so I'll be unable to share Father's Day with him in person. If I were, though, I'd be making him peanut cookies, one of his favorite treats. It's my mom's recipe, which I highly recommend and would like to share with you! If your dad has a sweet tooth, consider whipping up a batch.

Peanut Cookies
1 cup white sugar
1 cup brown sugar (packed)
1 cup Crisco
2 eggs
2 cups flour
2 teaspoons cream of tartar
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 cups oatmeal
1 cup salted peanuts (chopped - you can do this with a rolling pin)
1 teaspoon vanilla
½ teaspoon salt

Mix in order given. Roll into balls the size of a walnut. Press flat with a fork. Bake in a 375 degree oven until light brown.

Enjoy!