White Chocolate Chip Lime Cookies

In my mind, summer and limes make a perfect pair. Perhaps my way of thinking comes from my childhood when Mom would take my sister and me to a local drugstore that still had a soda fountain (and an amazing penny candy display!) We would order limeades, made with fresh squeezed limes, simple syrup, and soda water. These beverages were nowhere like the ones you occasionally find today made by adding limes to lemon-lime soda. These were made in the style of lemonade using limes instead…the perfect remedy for a sweltering Midwest summer day.

 I wanted to celebrate limes this summer, but this time in cookie form with these White Chocolate Chip Lime Cookies. The recipe is a twist on a Lemondoodles one I created a few years ago.

The lime flavor pairs nicely with the white chocolate chips. I also like how the pecans help balance the sweetness of the chips and the tartness of the lime, but you could leave them out if nuts in cookies aren’t your thing.

White Chocolate Chip Lime Cookies

Makes 3 1/2 dozen

1 cup butter, softened

2 cups granulated sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 large eggs

3 teaspoons lime zest

2 tablespoons lime juice

3 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1 cup white chocolate chips

1 cup chopped pecans

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.

In a medium-sized bowl, sift together the flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. Set aside.

In the bowl of a mixer with a paddle attachment, cream together the butter and sugar until fluffy. Add the vanilla, eggs, lime zest and lime juice until blended, occasionally scraping down the sides of the bowl with a spatula. Slowly stir in the powdered ingredients until they are just blended. Fold in the chips and pecans.

Roll the cookie dough into 1-inch balls. Place 1 1/2-inches apart on the baking sheets. Bake for 9 to 11 minutes, or until the cookies just begin brown on the bottom. Don’t over bake. Cool on the baking sheets for 2 minutes, and then finish cooking on a rack. Store in an air-tight container. 

Kicked-up Burgers for Summertime

Whenever a summer holiday comes along, my first craving is for a hamburger. (With a hot dog not a too distant second. Okay, I’ll admit to having one of each!) Did you know Americans eat about 14 billion burgers each year? I guess I’m not alone in my craving for this meat patty on a bun.

If you’re having guests over to celebrate the holiday, consider setting up a hamburger and hot dog bar. Then everyone can have fun trying out different flavor combinations on their meat of choice. Cook up some hot dogs and hamburgers, and then set up a condiment bar so people can choose their own toppings. (You may want to hold a fun contest for the most creative hamburger and hot dog, with prizes.) Also, condiment combinations, such as how to make a Chicago Dog, can be printed and framed to set on the bar, or written on a chalkboard.

Here are some hot dog and hamburger bar suggestions:

• Regular and poppy-seed hot dog buns
• Regular and onion hamburger buns
• Ketchup
• Mustards, yellow and brown
• Barbecue sauce
• Mayonnaise
• Salsa
• Sweet pickle relish
• Dill pickle slices
  
• Dill pickle spears
• Diced onion
• Sliced purple onion
• Sautéed onions
• Banana pepper slices
• Jalapeno pepper slices
• Sauerkraut
• Tomato slices
• Lettuce leaves
• Chili
• Coleslaw
• Crispy bacon, sliced and crumbles
• Nacho cheese
• Blue cheese crumbles
• Sliced American, cheddar, and pepper-jack cheeses
• Grated cheddar cheese

While I love a simple hamburger cooked with just a sprinkle of salt and pepper, once in a while I like to kick them up in flavor. I first came across this recipe in a diet book, of all things. I’ve tinkered with it a bit. The original version of the recipe called for cilantro, but I like parsley better. But, if you’re a cilantro fan, by all means, give it a try. 







For other summertime holiday recipes, check out the links on this blog post from last year!

Kicked-up Burgers

Serves 4

1 1/2 pounds ground beef

1 tablespoon dried mustard

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley

4 hamburger buns

Butter

In a large bowl, combine all the ingredients together, and then shape into patties. Cook the burgers any way you choose—on the grill, or with a broiler or skillet—to the desired doneness. (I love them cooked in my cast iron skillet!) While the burger cooks, spread butter on the cut sides of the hamburger buns. Toast them either on the grill, under the broiler or in a skillet. Once the burgers are done, place on a toasted bun and top with your favorite condiments.

  

Summer Veggie Succotash

Does anyone eat succotash anymore? Traditionally made with corn and beans (usually lima beans), this side dish seems a bit old fashioned…or it did until this recipe came along!

Succotash’s history reaches back to the early days of our country. A Native American stew made from corn, beans and a bit of meat, it was adopted by the early English settlers as a way to ward off starvation when other food sources weren’t available. Succotash was probably on the menu that first Thanksgiving in Plymouth, Massachusetts.  

Recently, the Kansas Museum of History featured an exhibition called What’s Cooking, Uncle Sam? The Government’s Effect on the American Diet. Created by the National Archives and Records Administration, the exhibit detailed the Government’s impact on how we eat every day, from what is grown on farms to recipes served on dinner tables across the country. It also explained how economic hardships, wars, and other historical events impact our food choices.

A cooking class was part of the exhibit, featuring recipes inspired by ones in Eating with Uncle Sam: Recipes and Historical Bites from the National Archives, which was published to go along with the What’s Cooking, Uncle Sam? exhibit.

The succotash recipe in the book was from an 1879 Army cooking manual and called for the cooked vegetables to be made in a cream sauce. My mom told me that is how she remembered it being made, but growing up we often had corn (or hominy) combined with lima beans on their own and called it succotash. At least, that’s how I remembered it.

At the cooking class, dietician Amber Groeling came up with a modern-day version that works both as a side dish or a main course. Her version added many more vegetables, swapped the Lima beans with shelled edamame, and dressed it with fresh basil, olive oil, and tarragon vinegar. 

Since tarragon vinegar isn’t something I keep around, I swapped it for red wine vinegar. I also upped the amount of bacon from 2 slices to 3 for more flavor, and used cherry tomatoes instead of one whole tomato. That’s what is great about this recipe…you can tinker with it to fit your own tastes very easily. Soon I plan to try it with lima beans instead of edamame.

I enjoy this succotash as a one-skillet supper on warm summer evenings, but it would also work well as a side dish to grilled or barbecued meats. You can make it a vegan dish by skipping the bacon and using olive oil instead. It tastes wonderful both served warm or at room temperature.  

Summer Veggie Succotash       

Serves 6

3 slices bacon

1 medium yellow onion, diced

1 12-ounce package of frozen corn, defrosted

2 cups zucchini in 1/2-inch dice

2 cups yellow squash in 1/2-inch dice

1 12-ounce package frozen shelled edamame, defrosted

1 cup cherry tomatoes cut in half

3 tablespoons red wine vinegar

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste

1/4 cup fresh basil, cut into thin ribbons.

In a 12-inch skillet, cook the bacon until crisp. Set the cooked bacon aside. Into the skillet in the hot bacon fat, add the onion and cook until translucent, about 5 minutes. Next, add in the corn, zucchini and squash. Cook until the zucchini and squash start to become tender, about 5 to 10 minutes. Add the edamame, cook until warmed through. Chop the crisp bacon and stir into the mixture, along with the sliced tomatoes. Turn off the heat and add the vinegar, oil, salt, pepper and basil. Adjust seasonings to taste. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Greek Salad Turkey Wrap

In much the same way my body and spirit crave comfort foods in colder weather (mac and cheese, pot roast, hearty soups), the longing turns to fresh veggies and fruits as the temperature rises. Maybe it’s the plethora of fresh produce at the farmers market and grocery store? Maybe it’s just the heat? For whatever the reason, my crisper drawers and hanging wire baskets are bursting with freshness.

This Greek Salad Turkey Wrap is a wonderful way to pack a lot of veggies into one meal. It's based on a sandwich I always order at a local coffee shop. It makes a great sandwich for a picnic, lunch at work, or a light summer supper. There are no exact measurements with this recipe since everything can be added to fit your personal tastes. Just be sure to not overload the wrap or you’ll have trouble rolling it all up. 

To be honest, I’m terrible at filling a wrap. I always put in too much.

Greek Salad Turkey Wrap

Makes one sandwich

1 wrap (I like spinach wraps.)

1 to 2 slices deli turkey

Mixed greens

Feta cheese

Red onion, thinly sliced

Sliced olives

Cucumber, thinly sliced

Tomato, thinly sliced

Radishes, thinly sliced

Greek salad dressing (I found this in the produce section of the grocery store.)

           

Lay the wrap on a flat surface. Layer on the remaining ingredients. Roll up the wrap, cut in half, and enjoy.

Diabetes-Friendly Chocolate Chip Cookies

One of my personal traditions is to make treats for my friends and family on their birthdays. Sometimes I let them pick whatever they want, and other times I know their favorites and I just whip up a batch of goodies. I’ve made everything from whoopie pies and brownies to chocolate chocolate chip muffins, and buffalo wings.

However, there is a small glitch to my birthday treat tradition: Diabetes is common both in my Thompson family line and the Ditch family. I was faced with this dilemma recently when my brother-in-law’s birthday approached. Since he has diabetes, how would I give him a festive treat and without causing blood sugar issues?

The Picky Eater always loved chocolate chip cookies for his birthday, which made me wonder if a diabetes-friendly version was available. I also wanted a recipe that didn’t use artificial sweeteners. (Right or wrong, I just believe real sugar must be better for you than chemicals.)

An internet search came up with this recipe from Diabetic Living magazine. Since I don’t have diabetes, I’m not sure what makes these cookies more blood sugar friendly than regular ones. The recipe calls for real brown sugar! If I had to guess, it’s the additional complex carbs in the ground toasted oatmeal, a smaller sugar amount than traditional recipes, and the smaller serving size that makes these cookies work.

Each cookie made using the original recipe has 12 grams of carbs and 7 grams of sugars. I tweaked the recipe a bit by using whole milk yogurt instead of low-fat, and adding chopped pecans. So be aware! I don’t have any knowledge how my changes may impact healthfulness of the cookies. When in doubt, go with the original recipe.

These cookies are soft, moist and chocolate-chip-cookie delicious. They don’t spread out while baking like traditional cookies, which gives them a tasty, cake-like texture.

This recipe is now a part of my cooking-making repertoire.     

Diabetes-Friendly Chocolate Chip Cookies

Makes 60 cookies

1 cookie per serving

1 cup old-fashioned oatmeal

1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened

1 cup packed light brown sugar

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup plain yogurt (I use the whole milk variety.)

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

1 cup chopped pecans (optional)

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Pour the oatmeal onto a baking sheet. Place in the oven and bake until oats are toasted, approximately 5 to 10 minutes, stirring once. Pour the toasted oats into a food processor and blend until finely ground. Set aside.

Using a mixer, blend together the butter, brown sugar, baking soda, and salt until combined. Mix in the yogurt, eggs, and vanilla. Gradually add in the flour and mix until just combined. Mix in the ground oats, and then add in the chocolate chips.

Spoon rounded teaspoon-sized portions of the dough 2 inches apart onto a parchment-lined baking sheet. (I used a teaspoon-sized ice cream scoop.) Bake for 9 minutes or until the bottoms of the cookies are golden brown, rotating the baking sheet in the oven halfway through. Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 2 minutes, and then transfer them to a cooling rack.   

THE Tomato Sauce from Marcella Hazan

I was on a quest to find the perfect tomato pasta sauce.

I’ve been making my own tomato sauce for years now. No more buying jarred spaghetti sauces. Homemade is just too easy to make.

However, I was still searching for “THE" taste. While I liked the sauce from Lidia Bastianich I made a few years ago, and the home-canned one I made the following summer, both didn’t have quite the right taste I wanted.

 

Then I heard about a sauce from the queen of Italian cooking, Marcella Hazan. Her recipe for a Cream and Butter Sauce that I posted in 2012 is one of the most popular recipes on my blog. So I pulled out my copy of Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking to see what she recommended for tomatoes.

The book has an entire section on tomato sauces! In it, Hazan wrote, “No other preparation is more successful in delivering the prodigious satisfactions of Italian cooking than a competently executed sauce with tomatoes; no flavor expresses more clearly the genius of Italian cooks than the freshness, the immediacy, the richness of good tomatoes adroitly matched to the most suitable choice of pasta.”

 

The section gives many tips for making a good tomato sauce, as well as a number of sauce recipes. The one I was interested in is a simple sauce made with tomatoes, an onion, and butter. That's all.

I’ve used butter in tomato dishes for years to help tame the acidity. In this case, it gives the sauce a smooth, creamy texture.  Hazan’s recipe calls for 2 pounds of fresh tomatoes, peeled by blanching them in boiling water for about a minute and then cutting them into coarse pieces. She also says canned whole tomatoes can be substituted. I went with a 28-ounce can of San Marzano tomatoes since I can find them all year around. I also like a smooth sauce, so I used a hand-held immersion blender to puree it smooth, which also lightened the color.

For the first batch, I followed Hazan’s recipe just as written. The result was a velvety sauce with a clean, fresh tomato taste. I liked it a lot, but I wanted it to taste a little more Italian. In the next batch, I added Italian seasoning. It was perfect!  

Next, I plan to use the sauce to make my Baked Ziti, and as pizza sauce. I also plan to give it a try with fresh tomatoes once they are in season.

I think I’ve found THE sauce!

Tomato Sauce with Onion and Butter

Adapted from Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking by Marcella Hazan

Makes enough sauce for 1 pound of pasta

1 28-ounce can San Marzano whole peeled tomatoes

1 medium onion, peeled and cut in half

5 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 teaspoon Italian seasoning (optional)

Salt, to taste

1 pound pasta of choice

Freshly grated parmesan cheese, for topping

Put all the ingredients except for the salt into a large saucepan. Bring the mixture to a low, steady simmer and cook uncovered for 45 minutes, or until the mixture reaches the desired thickness. Stir occasionally and break up the tomato pieces. For a smoother sauce, remove the onion halves and puree with an immersion blender or in a blender to the desired texture. Add salt, to taste.

Make pasta according to package directions and serve topped with the sauce and grated parmesan cheese.

Leftover sauce may be frozen.

Stormy Cocktails

There’s a good reason L. Frank Baum set The Wonderful Wizard of Oz in Kansas. Besides producing bushels of wheat and corn, this state is also prolific in two additional areas—wind and storms.

For days, the weather forecasters warned about the coming storm, which arrived a few days ago. The city’s tornado sirens got their first non-test workout, though thankfully no twisters developed.

While my area of Topeka (downtown) got the usual wind, lightening, thunder, tiny hail and lots of rain that comes with a big storm, other surrounding locations had it much worse, with flooding rains and massive hail. (One place reported hail the size of grapefruit!)

I’m always fascinated by thunderstorms. I will sit at a window or on a covered porch and watch one roll through as if it were the latest Hollywood blockbuster. 

Mom thinks my storm interest comes from my childhood when we lived in Grandview, a suburb of Kansas City. Our rented house didn’t have a basement. When the weather turned ominous, we crossed the street to the landlord’s home where we joined other families in its sheltering basement. Mom says while the other kids were scared and crying, I looked around in excitement waiting for the “fun” to begin.

Now when I watch a storm roll through, I can do so with an appropriately themed cocktail. 

My favorite is the Storm Chaser, a bubbly, zippy beverage made with spiced rum, ginger ale and a squirt of lime juice.

For a drink with a little more kick, I like the Dark and Stormy, with its blend of dark rum, ginger beer, and lime juice.

Mix up your favorite and watch the clouds churn.

Storm Chaser

Serves 1

1.5 ounces spiced rum (I use Captain Morgan.)

Ginger ale

Lime wedge

Fill a highball glass with ice. Pour in the spiced rum and top off with ginger ale. Squeeze in the juice from the lime wedge.

Dark and Stormy

Serves 1

1.5 ounces dark rum

Ginger beer

Lime wedge

Fill a highball glass with ice. Pour in the rum and top off with ginger beer. Squeeze in the juice from the lime wedge.

Beer and Cheddar Fondue

This Beer and Cheddar Fondue recipe celebrates many of my favorite things:

1. Cheese: I adore cheese! Devour cheese. Buy-too-much-and-have-to-hurry-to-eat-it before-it’s-too-moldy cheese. My mom used to call Dad and me her little mice since we were always grabbing a slice of cheese. Of course, back in those days, the slice usually came from a large block of Velveeta stored in the fridge. Now I can’t walk past the cheese counter at my local grocery store without picking up my favorites (Port Salute, cheddar, and smoked gouda), plus one or two new ones to try. My lunch and/or supper are often comprised of cheese, crackers or bread, fresh veggies, and fruit (right now I’m into blackberries.) And I want my last meal on Earth to be homemade mac and cheese.



2. A cast iron skillet: I love mine. It is the first one I grab most of the time. While it may be a little slow to heat up, once it’s hot, it stays hot for a long time. I like the sear it gives to meats, how quickly I can stir-fry ingredients, and the nice brown crust on baked recipes such as cornbread and biscuits.


3. Socializing: (You thought I was going to say beer, didn’t you?) My idea of a perfect evening is having a few friends over for food and conversation, with playing games or watching a movie or sporting event for entertainment. This recipe is perfect for such gatherings, especially since I don’t own a fondue pot. (I know, it’s crazy considering how much I love cheese. I really should buy one.)

I found this recipe in a copy of Cook It in Cast Iron: Kitchen-Tested Recipes for the One Pan That Does It All by the Editors at America’s Test Kitchen, the people responsible for both Cook’s Illustrated and Cook’s Country magazines, plus the America’s Test Kitchen and Cook’s Country television shows on PBS (americastestkitchen.com). The publishers sent me a copy to check out…thank goodness! My copy now has numerous sticky notes popping out of the top to mark the recipes I still wish to try.

This recipe is a keeper!



Beer and Cheddar Fondue
Adapted from Cook it in Cast Iron: Kitchen-Tested Recipes for the One Pan That Does it All by the Editors at America’s Test Kitchen
Serves 8 to 10
8 ounces mild cheddar cheese, shredded
8 ounces American cheese, shredded
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1 1/2 teaspoons dry mustard
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 1/2 cups American lager beer (I used Budweiser)
1 garlic clove, minced
Hot sauce, to taste (optional)
Bread cubes, large pretzels, and broccoli and cauliflower florets, for serving

Place the shredded cheese, cornstarch, dry mustard, pepper, and cayenne pepper into a large bowl. Toss with your hands until the cheese is well coated. Set aside.

In a 10-inch cast iron skillet over medium heat, bring the beer and garlic to a boil. Turn the heat down to medium low and then whisk in the cheese, one handful at a time. Once all of the cheese has melted into the beer-garlic mixture, keep whisking until it just begins to bubble.

Serve the fondue with bread cubes, pretzels, and broccoli and cauliflower florets. The mixture should stay hot for about 15 minutes. To warm it back up, place the skillet back over low heat and stir constantly until the fondue begins to bubble again. If it is too thick, add a tablespoon or two of warm water.

Maple-Pecan Scones

Whoops! I guess I’m late! Talk about waiting until the last minute.

March was Maple Sugaring month when maple syrup makers begin to celebrate the end of the “harvest.” I miss maple season in New England. Somewhere between February and March, the steam starts to rise from gallons of boiling maple sap through the tops of sugar houses nestled amongst the maple trees. Years ago, I even learned how to tap a maple tree and the joy of hearing the magical “ping” sound made by the first drops of sap into the metal bucket.

Kansas isn’t a maple syrup-producing state, but I’ve told everyone I know all about the yummy virtues of Mother Nature’s golden gift. When sap comes out of the tree it looks and tastes like slightly sweet water. It takes 40 gallons of sap to make one gallon of syrup.

I featured this Maple Pecan Scone recipe in a recent newspaper article. These treats are tender, nutty, and full of maple goodness. I enjoy them both for breakfast and with my afternoon cup of tea. They taste good at room temperature but even better warmed in the microwave for a few seconds.

Maple-Pecan Scones

Makes 9 scones

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup chopped pecans

1 1/2 tablespoons baking powder

3/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, chilled and cut into small pieces

2/3 cup pure maple syrup

1/3 cup heavy cream

For glaze:

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

1 cup confectioners’ sugar

1/2 to 2/3 cup pure maple syrup

           

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, pecans, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon. Add the chilled butter and, using a pastry cutter or two knives, cut in the butter pieces until the mixture resembles coarse sand.

           

In a large measuring cup, whisk together the maple syrup and cream. Slowly pour the liquid ingredients into the flour mixture, using a fork to swiftly mix until the dough starts to stick together. It will be crumbly. Dump the mixture onto a lightly floured surface and, using your hands, bring it together into a ball, kneading a few times as necessary. Roll the dough out to a 1/2 to 3/4 inch thickness. Using a 3-inch round cutter, cut the scones and place them on the baking sheet about an inch apart. The scones will not rise much in the oven while baking. Place the baking sheet in the oven and bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the tops of the scones begin to turn lightly brown. Remove the scones from the oven and place on a cooling rack.

           

While the scones bake, whisk together the ingredients for the maple glaze in a medium bowl. Once the scones are just warm or at room temperature, drizzle the tops with the glaze. (Placing a cookie sheet lined with foil or parchment under the cooling rack will make clean-up much easier.) You may not use all of the glaze.

           

Serve the scones warm or at room temperature.

Key West Key Lime Pie

Have you ever been to Key West, Florida? I hadn’t either until my recent cruise on the Carnival Dream, but I always imagined it to be a laid-back, easy-going place full of free spirits.

Reality didn’t disappoint!

I was only there one day, but it was a beautiful day. The sun was shining, it was warm but not too warm, and I was ready to soak in as much atmosphere as I could. This is what I found:

Palm trees. I took a lot of photos of palm trees. It must be a secret obsession.

Sleeping porches. I love the idea of snoozing in one of these spaces as the night ocean breezes blow through.

Hemmingway’s House, which was a beautiful place full of interesting stuff (i.e. typewriters) to see, especially for a writer. Yes, there were plenty of the famous six-toed cats around, and I covet Hemmingway’s writing office though I think I’d skip the mounted animal heads.

Bicycles…everywhere!

The Key West lighthouse was beautiful.

Best of all, I enjoyed a slice of key lime pie at Kermit's Key West Key Lime Shoppe and chatted with owner Kermit Carpenter. His chocolate-dipped pie slices have been featured on both the Food Network and the Travel Channel.

I love key lime pie, and this one was perfect! Not too tart, rich and creamy.

Kermit shared his recipe with me. When I made it at home, it tasted just like his.

This is an easy pie to make. I like my slice topped with a little sweetened whipped cream.

You can learn more about Kermit’s shop at www.keylimeshop.com. (His key lime fudge is amazing, too!)

Kermit’s Key Lime Pie

Serves 8

1 3/4 cups graham cracker crumbs

1/4 cup confectioners’ sugar

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

6 egg yolks

2 14-ounce cans sweetened condensed milk

1 cup key lime juice (1/2 cup of Kermit’s key lime juice, which is double strength)

Grated lime zest, for garnish

Sweetened whipped cream, for garnish

           

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. In a mixing bowl, stir together the graham cracker crumbs, confectioners’ sugar, and melted butter until the mixture is crumbly like sand. Pour into a 9-inch deep-dish pie pan. Press the mixture into the bottom and up the sides. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes, until the crust is set and browns. Remove and place on a rack to cool.

           

Lower the oven temperature to 300 degrees F. In a large mixing bowl, whisk the egg yolks until smooth and then whisk in the sweetened condensed milk and key lime juice. Pour the mixture into the cooled pie crust. Bake for 15 minutes. Allow the pie to cool for 15 minutes before refrigerating. Before serving, sprinkle some grated lime zest over the top of the pie. Serve with sweetened whipped cream.