Saturday, July 30, 2011
Sourdough..
I think I am going to have to give sourdough a 2nd try, I ran out of AP flour and had to sub cake flour for my bread. The taste was really yummy, nice and sour, but the texture was off. It was very hard and crunchy on the outside which was good, but the inside was just off. I can't really describe it, it just wasn't right. So all in all not a bad first try. I had never made bread with a starter before, I was really surprised by how easy it was. It reminded me of my Mom and Grandma making the Amish friendship bread that was fairly popular a while back. If you have never heard of Amish Friendship bread before, basically a friend gave you a baggie or jar full of starter and a list of instructions, for the next 10 days you added fruit, water and flour or sugar to it and only stirred it with a wooden spoon and only stirred it until it was blended, never more. On day 10 you had to divide the stuff up and find 3 friends that were willing to take the goo and start their own bread, you always knew it was time to give up when you started getting the starter back from people you gave it to! I do remember the bread being quite tasty, and it was alot easier to give away then the starter was! Maybe I will have to start my starter and make some Amish Friendship bread :)
Thursday, July 28, 2011
yummy things in the works
I have lots of yummy things in the works. Right now I have sourdough starter "starting" so I can try my hand at sourdough bread, I have the stuff to make everything bagels this weekend, and at some point I am going to make lemon lime cupcakes with a lemon glaze. YUM
I got up and took Molly to doggie day care so she can play with her friends today while I work on my latest project, painting Matthew's new room! He requested a Star Wars room, so Erik and I convinced him that he wanted to move to the bigger empty room. I have it all taped and hopefully today during nap time I will get it painted. We chose a really nice blue-grey color. I think I am more excited about it then he is! After we get him all settled in his new room, we will move Adam over to Matthew's old room. I think we are going to do his room in Thomas the Tank Engine.
Matthew has been going to Hooray For Books camp this week, they do reading activities and cooking activities with them. So far he has made "dog chow" which is basically muddy buddy snack mix, and they made lobster claw shaped soft pretzels. Both VERY cute! Next week he has art camp, they were told to wear clothes they can get messy as they will be working with clay and paper mache. I am sure he will enjoy that :)
It's hard to believe that summer is almost over and that Matthew starts Kindergarten in the fall!
I got up and took Molly to doggie day care so she can play with her friends today while I work on my latest project, painting Matthew's new room! He requested a Star Wars room, so Erik and I convinced him that he wanted to move to the bigger empty room. I have it all taped and hopefully today during nap time I will get it painted. We chose a really nice blue-grey color. I think I am more excited about it then he is! After we get him all settled in his new room, we will move Adam over to Matthew's old room. I think we are going to do his room in Thomas the Tank Engine.
Matthew has been going to Hooray For Books camp this week, they do reading activities and cooking activities with them. So far he has made "dog chow" which is basically muddy buddy snack mix, and they made lobster claw shaped soft pretzels. Both VERY cute! Next week he has art camp, they were told to wear clothes they can get messy as they will be working with clay and paper mache. I am sure he will enjoy that :)
It's hard to believe that summer is almost over and that Matthew starts Kindergarten in the fall!
Sunday, July 10, 2011
Oh Ms. Molly...
We noticed Ms Molly was limping a bit yesterday evening, didn't really think a whole lot about it, just figured she pulled something in her foot or leg and would let her rest it for the night. Woke her up this AM and noticed that one of her toes were quite swollen and she was not putting any weight on it. UH OH off to the vet we went...the whole family had to go on this trip, as there was no way she was going to be able to use the step we have on the truck for her and there was no way I was going to be able to lift all 73 pounds of her in to the back. Vet decides that she has something stuck in her toe pad and it has gotten infected, they will need to take her to the procedure room, give her some sedation, open up the toe pad, drain it and clean it and see if they can get what ever out (if its still in there) About 45 mins later they bring me back a loopy, still out of it Molly with a bright green bandage on her paw, needless to say she was not a happy puppy. If you wanted to get a chuckle for the day all you had to do was watch Erik and I trying to get a half sedated 73 pound lump in and out of the back of the truck. I am sure all the neighbors had a nice chuckle. We now have 14 days of antibiotics, 5 days of anti-inflammatory meds, and 3 days of 2x a day foot soaking we have to do. I am sure that will be FUN! Molly is NOT amused.
Thursday, July 7, 2011
Homemade Granola Bars
We have been eating alot of granola bars lately, I happened to stumble across a recipe this afternoon for homemade granola bars...it looked easy and got great reviews so why wouldn't I make my own??
First you mix all the dry ingredients, oats, wheat germ, flour, brown sugar, and salt
Then you create a well in the center and put in your wet ingredients, oil, honey, egg, and vanilla. I also added some raisins and chocolate chips.
And mix, mix, mix...you will get quite the arm workout doing this! After it is all mixed, pat it into a 9x13 pan that you grease really good.
Bake for 20 mins or so and that's it! Take out of the oven and cool for a bit, when it is still warm you want to cut it into bars.
They are actually quite tasty, hopefully the boys will enjoy them. Molly decided that she wanted to bake with mama.
Seeing as dogs can not have raisins or chocolate maybe I will have to look at making her some dog treats. She spent a good part of the evening running around the island in the kitchen because she thought I wanted to take her stuffed elephant from her. Silly girl!
Here is the granola recipe
Ingredients:
2 cups rolled oats
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup wheat germ
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup raisins (optional)
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup honey
1 egg, beaten
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Generously grease a 9x13 inch baking pan.
2. In a large bowl, mix together the oats, brown sugar, wheat germ, cinnamon, flour, raisins and salt. Make a well in the center, and pour in the honey, egg, oil and vanilla. Mix well using your hands. Pat the mixture evenly into the prepared pan.
3. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes in the preheated oven, until the bars begin to turn golden at the edges. Cool for 5 minutes, then cut into bars while still warm. Do not allow the bars to cool completely before cutting, or they will be too hard to cut.
I may have to make another batch using almonds and cranberries...
First you mix all the dry ingredients, oats, wheat germ, flour, brown sugar, and salt
Then you create a well in the center and put in your wet ingredients, oil, honey, egg, and vanilla. I also added some raisins and chocolate chips.
And mix, mix, mix...you will get quite the arm workout doing this! After it is all mixed, pat it into a 9x13 pan that you grease really good.
Bake for 20 mins or so and that's it! Take out of the oven and cool for a bit, when it is still warm you want to cut it into bars.
They are actually quite tasty, hopefully the boys will enjoy them. Molly decided that she wanted to bake with mama.
Seeing as dogs can not have raisins or chocolate maybe I will have to look at making her some dog treats. She spent a good part of the evening running around the island in the kitchen because she thought I wanted to take her stuffed elephant from her. Silly girl!
Here is the granola recipe
Ingredients:
2 cups rolled oats
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup wheat germ
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup raisins (optional)
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup honey
1 egg, beaten
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Generously grease a 9x13 inch baking pan.
2. In a large bowl, mix together the oats, brown sugar, wheat germ, cinnamon, flour, raisins and salt. Make a well in the center, and pour in the honey, egg, oil and vanilla. Mix well using your hands. Pat the mixture evenly into the prepared pan.
3. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes in the preheated oven, until the bars begin to turn golden at the edges. Cool for 5 minutes, then cut into bars while still warm. Do not allow the bars to cool completely before cutting, or they will be too hard to cut.
I may have to make another batch using almonds and cranberries...
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
Chocolate Salted Caramel Cupcakes
I thought instead of making my birthday boys the same ole vanilla or chocolate cupcakes for their birthday I would try something new, chocolate salted caramel cupcakes with a chocolate ganache frosting. Who knew something so tasty could be so easy??
First you had to make the yummy devils food cupcakes and cut a cone in the middle of each one (this is where the YUMMY caramel will go)
Next you have to make the caramel, I have to say it was alot easier then I thought it would be. Basically you boil sugar and water together until it starts to caramelize. Pretty easy, despite the instructions telling me to have a bowl of ice cold water nearby incase the caramel gets on my skin while it's cooking)
Starting to boil....
Yummy homemade caramel...
After you have your cupcakes ready and your caramel made it's time to fill them, the recipe says to fill them with the caramel immediately, however I waited a bit until the caramel started to firm up. (All I could think of were the instructions that called for a large bowl of ice water incase this stuff gets on your skin while it's hot)
You want to fill them as full as you can get them, the caramel will soak into the cupcake a bit so just keep filling.
Your final step is frosting them with a really rich dark chocolate ganache.
They were a huge hit and will be added to my cupcake rotation. Now I need to come up with a new cupcake for Matthew's birthday...Thoughts?
Here is the recipe for the cupcakes, caramel and frosting :)
Martha Stewart's Chocolate Salted Caramel Cupcakes
The Cupcakes
Ingredients
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
3/4 cup buttermilk
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3/4 cup warm water
Directions
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line mini muffin tin with paper liners. Whisk together flour, cocoa, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. With mixer on low speed, add eggs, buttermilk, oil, extract, and the water; beat until smooth and combined.
Spoon the batter into liners about two-thirds full. Bake approximately 15 minutes, or until tester comes out clean. Transfer tins to wire racks and allow to cool for 10 minutes; turn cupcakes onto racks and let cool completely. Cupcakes can be stored overnight at room temperature, or frozen up to 1 month in air tight containers.
To finish, use a paring knife to cut a cone-shaped piece (about 1/2 inch deep) from the center of each cupcake and throw away the pieces. Spoon 1 to 2 teaspoons warm Salted Caramel Filling into each hollowed-out cupcake. You will notice the caramel will sink into the cupcake a little, just fill it up a bit more. Sprinkle a pinch of sea salt over filling.
Use a pastry bag with a medium open-star tip (I used Wilton #1M) and pipe Dark Chocolate Frosting onto each cupcake, swirling tip and releasing as you pull up to form a peak. Garnish each cupcake with a pinch of sea salt. Cupcakes are best eaten the day they are filled and frosted. Store at room temperature in airtight containers - do NOT refrigerate. Enjoy!
Salted Caramel Filling
Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups sugar
2/3 cup water
1 tablespoon light corn syrup
3/4 cup heavy whipping cream
2 1/2 teaspoons sea salt, preferably fleur de sel
Directions
Heat sugar with the water and corn syrup in a heavy saucepan over high, stirring occasionally, until syrup is clear; clip a candy thermometer to side of pan and stop stirring.
Cook until syrup comes to a boil, washing down sides of pan with a wet pastry brush as needed. Boil, gently swirling pan occasionally, until mixture is caramelized and just reaches 360°F. Remove rom heat and slowly pour in cream; stir with a wooden spoon until smooth. Stir in sea salt.
Use immediately; if caramel begins to harden reheat gently until pourable.
Dark Chocolate Frosting
Ingredients:
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon boiling water
2 1/4 cups (4 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 cup confectioners' sugar, sifted
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 pounds best-quality semi-sweet chocolate, melted and cooled
Directions:
Combine cocoa and boiling water, stirring until cocoa has dissolved.
With electric mixer on medium-high, beat butter, confectioners' sugar, and salt until pale and fluffy. Reduce speed to low. Add melted and cooled chocolate, beating until combined and scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Beat in the cocoa mixture.
Frosting can be refrigerated up to 5 days, or frozen up to 1 month in an air tight container. Before using, bring to room temperature and beat on low speed until smooth again.
First you had to make the yummy devils food cupcakes and cut a cone in the middle of each one (this is where the YUMMY caramel will go)
Next you have to make the caramel, I have to say it was alot easier then I thought it would be. Basically you boil sugar and water together until it starts to caramelize. Pretty easy, despite the instructions telling me to have a bowl of ice cold water nearby incase the caramel gets on my skin while it's cooking)
Starting to boil....
Yummy homemade caramel...
After you have your cupcakes ready and your caramel made it's time to fill them, the recipe says to fill them with the caramel immediately, however I waited a bit until the caramel started to firm up. (All I could think of were the instructions that called for a large bowl of ice water incase this stuff gets on your skin while it's hot)
You want to fill them as full as you can get them, the caramel will soak into the cupcake a bit so just keep filling.
Your final step is frosting them with a really rich dark chocolate ganache.
They were a huge hit and will be added to my cupcake rotation. Now I need to come up with a new cupcake for Matthew's birthday...Thoughts?
Here is the recipe for the cupcakes, caramel and frosting :)
Martha Stewart's Chocolate Salted Caramel Cupcakes
The Cupcakes
Ingredients
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
3/4 cup buttermilk
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3/4 cup warm water
Directions
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line mini muffin tin with paper liners. Whisk together flour, cocoa, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. With mixer on low speed, add eggs, buttermilk, oil, extract, and the water; beat until smooth and combined.
Spoon the batter into liners about two-thirds full. Bake approximately 15 minutes, or until tester comes out clean. Transfer tins to wire racks and allow to cool for 10 minutes; turn cupcakes onto racks and let cool completely. Cupcakes can be stored overnight at room temperature, or frozen up to 1 month in air tight containers.
To finish, use a paring knife to cut a cone-shaped piece (about 1/2 inch deep) from the center of each cupcake and throw away the pieces. Spoon 1 to 2 teaspoons warm Salted Caramel Filling into each hollowed-out cupcake. You will notice the caramel will sink into the cupcake a little, just fill it up a bit more. Sprinkle a pinch of sea salt over filling.
Use a pastry bag with a medium open-star tip (I used Wilton #1M) and pipe Dark Chocolate Frosting onto each cupcake, swirling tip and releasing as you pull up to form a peak. Garnish each cupcake with a pinch of sea salt. Cupcakes are best eaten the day they are filled and frosted. Store at room temperature in airtight containers - do NOT refrigerate. Enjoy!
Salted Caramel Filling
Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups sugar
2/3 cup water
1 tablespoon light corn syrup
3/4 cup heavy whipping cream
2 1/2 teaspoons sea salt, preferably fleur de sel
Directions
Heat sugar with the water and corn syrup in a heavy saucepan over high, stirring occasionally, until syrup is clear; clip a candy thermometer to side of pan and stop stirring.
Cook until syrup comes to a boil, washing down sides of pan with a wet pastry brush as needed. Boil, gently swirling pan occasionally, until mixture is caramelized and just reaches 360°F. Remove rom heat and slowly pour in cream; stir with a wooden spoon until smooth. Stir in sea salt.
Use immediately; if caramel begins to harden reheat gently until pourable.
Dark Chocolate Frosting
Ingredients:
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon boiling water
2 1/4 cups (4 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 cup confectioners' sugar, sifted
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 pounds best-quality semi-sweet chocolate, melted and cooled
Directions:
Combine cocoa and boiling water, stirring until cocoa has dissolved.
With electric mixer on medium-high, beat butter, confectioners' sugar, and salt until pale and fluffy. Reduce speed to low. Add melted and cooled chocolate, beating until combined and scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Beat in the cocoa mixture.
Frosting can be refrigerated up to 5 days, or frozen up to 1 month in an air tight container. Before using, bring to room temperature and beat on low speed until smooth again.
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