The secret ingredient

I wasn't going to blog today -- you know, give the faithful readers a chance to catch up. But I couldn't pass this one up.

This afternoon a big rain shower came through, bringing with it lots of cold air. So Brian put on the coffee and I decided we needed something sweet to go with the joe. It was decided that we would make chocolate chip cookies. Now let me explain that chocolate chip cookies (you know, America's cookie) are not quite so easy here in Austria. First, I haven't been able to find chocolate chips even though I've been assured that they do exist in Austria. So we had to cut up a block of chocolate. (This was Brian's contribution.) Next, brown sugar as we know it in the U.S. doesn't exist in Austria. So I had to buy some brown sugar from an import store. In other words, it was quite pricey. On top of that, I haven't been able to find baking soda, so I had to find a recipe that didn't require it.

Despite all of these obstacles, I was determined to make chocolate chip cookies. That's why when I found the dead moth in the flour, I wasn't quite ready to give up on the venture. After all, I had already searched for a suitable recipe, creamed my expensive brown sugar with butter, and had Brian chop a huge block of chocolate. I consulted with Brian and we decided that we would pick out the moth and prevail. (The moth was just in the flour, so it was still intact.) I was feeling okay about the dough. I had sifted through the rest of the flour and hadn't found anything suspicious. I had even tasted the dough and it seemed promising.

You can tell that I eventually found something else, can't you? I mean, you just feel it coming. Well, as I was scooping the dough onto the cookie sheet I found -- are you ready? -- a larvae. Just the thought of it makes me cringe. I don't know why the larvae is so much more disturbing than the moth, but that did it in for me. And since I knew the likelihood of finding a small, white wormy thing in a bag of white flour was slim, I decided to throw the whole bag of flour out along with the cookie dough.

But now here's my dilemma. I bought that bag of flour earlier today, so I know the moth was in there when I bought it. And I bought two bags of flour. That were sitting next to each other in the store. So is my other bag contaminated? Should I throw it out too? Should I buy flour somewhere else for a while? Or switch brands? Am I completely over-reacting? (You can't answer that last one unless you, too, have found a larvae in your chocolate chip cookie dough.)

I sure do wish I had some moth-free chocolate chip cookies right about now.