tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8107758195624200862024-02-07T09:49:37.660-06:00Wannabe Baker & Avid HomemakerA place for the ramblings of a former stay-at-home pet mom who loves domestic endeavors and has a love/hate relationship with modern technology.Tugs Girlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16358805885062849196noreply@blogger.comBlogger155125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-810775819562420086.post-40912813868565315752016-09-08T18:35:00.003-05:002016-09-08T18:35:40.790-05:00These days . . .Have you noticed the fewer hours of daylight? While I don't particularly enjoy that, I do look forward to the cooler temperatures and letting loose of the foul-weather baker in me. Some recent fall-like temperatures has kick started that process - along with some recipes from <a href="http://www.saveur.com/" target="_blank">Saveur </a>I found intriguing.<br />
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Last night I decided, hell or high water, I was making <a href="http://www.saveur.com/irish-coffee-soda-bread-recipe" target="_blank">Irish Coffee Soda Bread</a>. Of course, deciding this on the fly, I didn't have all of the ingredients listed. If you know me at all, you know that wasn't a deterrent. I didn't have dark brown sugar, buttermilk, Irish whiskey, or instant espresso powder. I did have light brown sugar, molasses, 1% milk, lemon juice, Guinness Extra Stout, and instant coffee granules (the latter for baking purposes ONLY!). <br />
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Although I did have whole wheat flour on hand, I thought this a good opportunity to use the <a href="http://www.kingarthurflour.com/shop/items/irish-style-flour-3-lb" target="_blank">Irish-Style Flour</a> from KAF. Personally, the only difference I could ascertain was price. But given that I ended up with batter instead of dough, I could be wrong. It's hard to tell with so many of my substitutions. While I (mostly) followed the directions listed, my ingredients were as follows:<br />
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2 cups AP flour<br />
2 cups Irish-Style flour<br />
1/4 cup packed light brown sugar<br />
1-1/2 tsp kosher salt<br />
1 tsp baking soda<br />
4 tbs chilled butter<br />
1-1/4 cups 1% milk<br />
1/4 cup lemon juice<br />
1/4 cup Guinness Extra Stout<br />
2 tsp molasses<br />
3 tbs instant coffee<br />
1 large egg<br />
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I didn't follow the directions about kneading the dough because, as I mentioned, I didn't have dough. Instead of kneading the dough and making a round, I lined a loaf pan with parchment and scraped in my batter. I did forget to make a cut down the center so I had a blow out on the side but, of course, that only affects appearance not taste. And I'm not mad at the taste at all. In fact, I may make it again, exactly the same way.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjV8voFolHrn-1SB7MtuQfWLZlUE6qqJnAwr9c7YHzWwI44_yavNgZhDTwBlHJnhcg1usrckDjJ8B1QqmkiE40w2CzENHfqUUrZ7TJQlxpyJuJL-9zm5UbtuMjCuyFvKAG8UB2vwlZH9yw/s1600/100_4653.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjV8voFolHrn-1SB7MtuQfWLZlUE6qqJnAwr9c7YHzWwI44_yavNgZhDTwBlHJnhcg1usrckDjJ8B1QqmkiE40w2CzENHfqUUrZ7TJQlxpyJuJL-9zm5UbtuMjCuyFvKAG8UB2vwlZH9yw/s640/100_4653.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Yes, I was drinking that Guinness.</td></tr>
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<br />Tugs Girlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16358805885062849196noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-810775819562420086.post-57627523849964686732014-06-28T16:32:00.001-05:002014-06-28T16:32:41.351-05:00It's been a long time coming . . . . . . slightly over a year to be more precise. To what do I attribute such a long, silent absence? Truthfully, to choosing to live my life instead of thinking what I'll write about it, or what I should have photographed and didn't. I don't mean that to sound like I don't enjoy the blog, but I found that after I went back to work, I could get a little stressed out about it. So I came to the conclusion if I had something for show and tell, I'd bring it. If not, I wasn't going to allow myself to lose any sleep over it. <br />
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So what brought me back here today? A wedding. My friend, C., is getting married this evening. Several months ago she found some pictures of cookies on Pinterest (of which I am STILL not on) and asked if I could make something similar. So I did.<br />
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It took seven batches of Grandma's Butter Cookie recipe (three of which I doubled to save time) and an industrial sized recipe of vanilla Swiss Buttercream. And a day off of work. I made the cookie dough Friday morning and baked the cookies that afternoon. This morning I made the buttercream - over six pounds of it and I nearly ran out!<br />
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You've seen cookie baking and buttercream making before, so I thought I'd just show you the production of putting them together.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4qcjrAtlXZW3BLCBOdaxq6RgcUcfOaCWPIJL4RaiU0lF6z2UPv29nYRTlfg3IaDuLtXIHT6lPsFv1V8d4De653BevExVEcCjGei6GtxMuoC-evSgh0AvtvrrJ69nK3Sg95VUuCZ9D9K4/s1600/100_4448.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4qcjrAtlXZW3BLCBOdaxq6RgcUcfOaCWPIJL4RaiU0lF6z2UPv29nYRTlfg3IaDuLtXIHT6lPsFv1V8d4De653BevExVEcCjGei6GtxMuoC-evSgh0AvtvrrJ69nK3Sg95VUuCZ9D9K4/s1600/100_4448.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Starting from the bottom and working my way up: a large cookie in a cupcake paper turned inside out.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjad6ooB3FPxylcLrn9NiXdqZd94s5M2EVjiIhmqQ7FdZybsrj4JZfR4F1O4XJAxHDWo172pE4T8yBXorbtGr5iy72LEo-rm0GCrvnALNVDjCobxaw6RQllruqnx1W-kR9rXhh0mqhYEj8/s1600/100_4450.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjad6ooB3FPxylcLrn9NiXdqZd94s5M2EVjiIhmqQ7FdZybsrj4JZfR4F1O4XJAxHDWo172pE4T8yBXorbtGr5iy72LEo-rm0GCrvnALNVDjCobxaw6RQllruqnx1W-kR9rXhh0mqhYEj8/s1600/100_4450.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Add a large buttercream rosette . . . </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhK2ezq3ExRmUexFj_TTsmFkwlNinrtNGJvZlR9nkmzFc4KfE0V6NFzukWel06WNfovQlXsiNIEY-AGhqpCxWI4lHoS6sEQfJtZ_qMh8Ze-OrFfjmfLAiTrhCla0XTPFyHecmqVumred4A/s1600/100_4452.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhK2ezq3ExRmUexFj_TTsmFkwlNinrtNGJvZlR9nkmzFc4KfE0V6NFzukWel06WNfovQlXsiNIEY-AGhqpCxWI4lHoS6sEQfJtZ_qMh8Ze-OrFfjmfLAiTrhCla0XTPFyHecmqVumred4A/s1600/100_4452.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">and top with a smaller cookie.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhibbEWsGhf2JR1SXqkRIoXzlCnnGqAsVDIkwyK48-Qb9MZDJX7sTkaPjQHzsKw8pIuOKVaKNADGWEQ4ZjNfPtEHbbL1OmSwSVcytMmfDgIrQk5Du6byE-AR6_1QRtDwUk2AEeFD_NJdnQ/s1600/100_4453.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhibbEWsGhf2JR1SXqkRIoXzlCnnGqAsVDIkwyK48-Qb9MZDJX7sTkaPjQHzsKw8pIuOKVaKNADGWEQ4ZjNfPtEHbbL1OmSwSVcytMmfDgIrQk5Du6byE-AR6_1QRtDwUk2AEeFD_NJdnQ/s1600/100_4453.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Top that with a slightly smaller buttercream rosette . . .</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRn_BUyjTLWEjBPd4-j6ypliOKCZP4PQ3vFBLnxBEh2q4fbQSDUzqp7JSj28o46EGEbeftKlYRjpaew_cyzgLEgX5KrxPKaokSjvjUdKpb5GjK3G1EwJu1pxsGYB0A3iWX6YWZb9UCOr4/s1600/100_4455.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRn_BUyjTLWEjBPd4-j6ypliOKCZP4PQ3vFBLnxBEh2q4fbQSDUzqp7JSj28o46EGEbeftKlYRjpaew_cyzgLEgX5KrxPKaokSjvjUdKpb5GjK3G1EwJu1pxsGYB0A3iWX6YWZb9UCOr4/s1600/100_4455.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">followed by an even smaller cookie.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWCFKFLOwpGwIKZE4_xLE3nMO3fH-gVk5xNlwqvVuQSng7VD_CjNAbcbyzxJiDx22IUSkH3f2I4z_H2CvglUA0gc13AMghQIzS9mHdO_ZTa-gFGqUVz3DDSnDtKyLsLxnxS4sH45apInQ/s1600/100_4457.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWCFKFLOwpGwIKZE4_xLE3nMO3fH-gVk5xNlwqvVuQSng7VD_CjNAbcbyzxJiDx22IUSkH3f2I4z_H2CvglUA0gc13AMghQIzS9mHdO_ZTa-gFGqUVz3DDSnDtKyLsLxnxS4sH45apInQ/s1600/100_4457.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A final buttercream rosette . . .</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis1ys-6xWKQMgH4tP8VJdy9WW2GaqGCqfc3w8113aenGHLnAW44IGpD_dYfjLkAIgOYEUjDm9nTkbK0XUCLj0VteB69ZsD3doled-WLz3kOnnCZHQSf7xKGjp4IQPSSqbuqAhthTw3uXg/s1600/100_4459.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis1ys-6xWKQMgH4tP8VJdy9WW2GaqGCqfc3w8113aenGHLnAW44IGpD_dYfjLkAIgOYEUjDm9nTkbK0XUCLj0VteB69ZsD3doled-WLz3kOnnCZHQSf7xKGjp4IQPSSqbuqAhthTw3uXg/s1600/100_4459.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">and finished with a little fondant flower.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPIibQd_g4hgGvW2MvAtj3TGdklon1Mf19rp8uigsilEYtazJHLUZOjzZ3Bj5MLe-o1I_1SAmhIcg-tNhwem1zJArMJ1MHMMZyFTQT08aWxAPFWfbOYXcOmXFvxEukuUopisKR_CAYkSc/s1600/100_4463.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPIibQd_g4hgGvW2MvAtj3TGdklon1Mf19rp8uigsilEYtazJHLUZOjzZ3Bj5MLe-o1I_1SAmhIcg-tNhwem1zJArMJ1MHMMZyFTQT08aWxAPFWfbOYXcOmXFvxEukuUopisKR_CAYkSc/s1600/100_4463.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A little army of wedding cake cookies.</td></tr>
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And I even managed to get them all there without catastrophe. The only one lost was the one C. dropped. But since these are my gift to her, she can do what she pleases with them!<br />
<br />Tugs Girlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16358805885062849196noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-810775819562420086.post-2766780935148732782013-06-25T19:40:00.000-05:002013-06-25T19:40:54.113-05:00Fresh Coconut<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Coconut seems to be one of those "love it or hate it" foods. I'm on the "love it" side of the fence. The sweetened flakes most of us grew up with aren't necessarily my favorite, but they have their uses. My favorite is fresh coconut cracked from the shell. I've shared some at work, and apparently my coworkers are pretty fond of it as well. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Every so often I will buy a coconut (or two) from the produce store. These aren't your typical grocery store coconuts These coconuts haven't been smoothed, they still have their rough, hairy shells; there are no grooves inscribed around their middles; and they are definitely not plastic wrapped. It's taken me awhile to figure out my technique for choosing and </span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">cracking </span>coconuts, but lately I've been pretty pleased with my results.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Choosing a coconut:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Ordinarily I recommend smelling produce before you buy it. (If it doesn't smell like a peach, it probably isn't going to taste like a peach.) In the case of coconut, however, that doesn't work as well. Here's my method:</span><br />
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<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Pick it up and inspect it. Check the shell for any dark areas. You don't want those. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Look at the "eyes". Make sure they are not damaged, are dry and definitely free of mold. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Feel how heavy the coconut is. I'm looking for a coconut that feels heavy compared to the others.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Shake it. Listen for the coconut milk inside to slosh around. I like coconuts that have a fair amount of milk in them.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Ignore the curious stares and juvenile smirks of fellow shoppers and proceed to the cashier with your head held high, confident that you obviously possess superior skills in selecting fresh coconuts.</span></li>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Cracking a coconut:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Choosing a fabulous coconut is of little use if you can't get it out of its shell. I'm sure if you search the internet you can find dozens of methods for cracking coconut. My method works best for me, but a different method may work better for you.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">You'll need some supplies for this. I recommend a dish towel or newspaper to put under your work area. The husks are messy and the coconut milk sometimes makes escape attempts. You will also need a skewer, ice pick or other similar (food safe) sharp device as well as a cup or bowl for catching the coconut milk. Finally, you will need a meat cleaver or large, <i>heavy</i> chef's knife and a small, sturdy paring knife.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Begin by scraping at the eyes of the coconut until you find the one that's softer than the other two. Scrape away as much as possible of the dark "skin" over the soft eye. Pierce the soft area with the skewer or ice pick. (Of note: in my experience, if the coconut has a gaseous emission when you pierce it, it's probably not going to be good when you open it.) Jiggle the skewer around a little to open the hole up a bit. Remove the skewer and invert the coconut over the cup or bowl. Give it several gentle shakes to coax out the milk. If you can manage to get a second eye pierced, the milk will flow much easier.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Once the milk is drained from the coconut, hold it in the palm of your hand with the ends to your left and right. Using the spine (back) of the cleaver or knife - NOT the sharp edge - begin whacking the coconut around the circumference. Rotate the coconut with each whack. Pay special attention to the "ribs" that run end to end and be sure to give them a good whack. You'll hear when the coconut starts to crack - it will begin to sound more hollow. Keep turning and whacking and eventually the shell will crack all the way around and you can pull the two ends apart. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Okay, so now it's cracked. How do you get the coconut meat away from the shell? Although I've not tried it, I've read a method of placing the coconut in the oven that helps to separate the meat from the shell. I probably won't try that as it seems to me it would dry out the coconut. I prefer to take a sturdy paring knife and run it from the cut edge of the coconut down to the middle. I do this all the way around and then slide the tip of the knife under one of the sections and jiggle it until the section pops out. If you're bothered by the brown skin on the coconut flesh, you can peel it off with the paring knife or a vegetable peeler. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">This coconut I cracked recently surprised me: the shell split and left me with a perfectly intact, shelled coconut!</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTgbsf3ob6gPhEhGGlVJKDYqc891ZzGySaHL8fFSrAbg1hyphenhyphenHOG_Wh_rQFaHUy6XRLEKrzOvslCoDnK8NnUu0caT7f8Y2FzeXBkN3hoozdtrM6a7apS6fxyN0W-0s4OugQZ_qLU6QEy_i8/s1600/100_4252.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTgbsf3ob6gPhEhGGlVJKDYqc891ZzGySaHL8fFSrAbg1hyphenhyphenHOG_Wh_rQFaHUy6XRLEKrzOvslCoDnK8NnUu0caT7f8Y2FzeXBkN3hoozdtrM6a7apS6fxyN0W-0s4OugQZ_qLU6QEy_i8/s640/100_4252.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">And because my coworkers were so fond of the fresh coconut, I took one to my office and did a demo. I've been told <i>future demos </i>must include piping the rosettes, like on the red velvet cake, and cutting a pineapple. I love where I work!</span>Tugs Girlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16358805885062849196noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-810775819562420086.post-33763665072202110092013-06-16T16:03:00.000-05:002014-01-18T11:08:16.434-06:00Red "Velvet" Cake<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Full disclosure: I'm not particularly enamored with red velvet cake. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Most of my aversion stems around the artificial color. Not that I have a spectacularly sophisticated palate, but I <i>can </i>taste the coloring (sort of in the same manner I'm able to taste the can from canned foods and beverages). </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">My other pet peeve with red velvet cake is that most of what I've been served is not what I would consider to be <i>velvet</i>. In my opinion - and this is totally just "Dawn on cake" - if it doesn't have the fine crumb and delicate texture of a true velvet cake, it's nothing more than a mild cocoa cake with red food coloring.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Which is pretty much what I made. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">I have a few recipes for red velvet cake, but decided to use the one that was in a King Arthur Flour (KAF) catalog I had recently received. As with most recipes, it was just a suggestion. KAF sells what they called "Red Velvet Cake Flavor". I didn't have any of that and not much intention of ever buying any. (Side note: I realize KAF is in business to sell their products but the recipes that use ingredients you can only get from them, and in my case only by ordering, is another of my many pet peeves.) Instead of red velvet cake flavoring, I used a one ounce bottle of red food coloring and a teaspoon of vanilla extract. It also called for white vinegar (as many recipes do); however, that bottle in my pantry that I would have sworn was white vinegar was actually apple cider vinegar. I used lemon juice instead. I also thought the one teaspoon of salt called for by the KAF recipe was a little much so I reduced it to three-quarters. Beyond THAT, I followed the recipe. For the most part. I think. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">So given my aversion to red velvet cake, why did I make one?</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">One of our student employees was celebrating her 22nd birthday on Friday. I said I would make a cake for her. She's from China so we were sort of giving her the American birthday experience. I think she was kind of excited. </span><br />
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<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">In
theory, it's probably not the best idea to test a new recipe when baking
for others. It's a lesson I've not yet learned though. I tried some
of the trimmings of the cake the night I made it. It didn't impress
me and I was fully prepared to send the recipe to file thirteen. My colleagues, who tried their slice of cake before I did, thought it was great. While I will say it did actually taste better the next day, it's still not going to be on my top ten list. But if you're a fan of mild cocoa cake with red food coloring, here you go:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Red "Velvet" Cake</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">(Adapted from <i>The Baker's Catalog</i>)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">14 g cocoa powder</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">1 tsp salt</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">1 tsp baking soda</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">113 g unsalted butter, room temperature</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">265 g granulated sugar</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">2 large eggs, beaten</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">1 fl oz red food coloring (one bottle)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">1 tsp pure vanilla extract</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">1 tsp lemon juice</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">270 g all purpose flour</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">227 g buttermilk *</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Preheat oven to 350</span><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">°</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">F. Prepare two 8" cake pans with cake release and parchment paper. Sift together the cocoa powder, salt and baking soda and set aside. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar on medium speed for three to five minutes, stopping at least once to scrape the paddle and bowl. Slowly drizzle in the beaten eggs, no more than one tablespoonful at a time, stopping to scrape the paddle and bowl about halfway through.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Reduce the mixer speed to low. Add the cocoa mixture, food coloring, vanilla extract and lemon juice. Mix briefly until the coloring is evenly distributed. Add one-third of the flour, followed by half of the buttermilk; repeat, ending with the flour. Mix just until the flour is incorporated.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Pour the batter evenly in the two pans (I like to set my pans on a baking sheet) and bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until a tester comes out clean. Cool the cakes in the pans on a wire rack for ten minutes. Remove the cakes from the pans to the wire rack to cool completely.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">*I used the classic buttermilk substitute of two tablespoons of lemon juice in my measuring cup and adding milk to one cup.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">For the icing, I had some leftover <a href="http://tugsgirl.blogspot.com/2011/02/coconut-caramel-cupcakes.html" target="_blank">white chocolate buttercream</a> (about 1 kg) to which I added one box (227 g) of softened cream cheese. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br /></span>Tugs Girlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16358805885062849196noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-810775819562420086.post-54648256207962735402013-03-03T21:19:00.000-06:002013-03-03T21:19:05.699-06:00Unfinished Business<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Or “The Posts that Never Were”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Do you ever start things without finishing them?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When it comes to follow through, I am often
lacking.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Whether it be lack of
motivation, lack of time, lack of interest, combinations thereof, I won’t even
begin to list the number of projects I have started in various stages of (lack
of) completion.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">While going through some of my photos this evening, I cam
across several intended for blog posts that never materialized.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></div>
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</span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbu0eIFIJp7IbhZjAsIB5Rjv7MslHL5imAlk2cI1svNLL4Akm8WH9mzr80CDnA5aSSH_BOg1x1KNAgOqW7a9YwT95webpfTeQsAbqb1BxM7_cBNYdRjiZgvCKWRrRkSF1C6hDg5WtlYIA/s1600/100_4149.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbu0eIFIJp7IbhZjAsIB5Rjv7MslHL5imAlk2cI1svNLL4Akm8WH9mzr80CDnA5aSSH_BOg1x1KNAgOqW7a9YwT95webpfTeQsAbqb1BxM7_cBNYdRjiZgvCKWRrRkSF1C6hDg5WtlYIA/s640/100_4149.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">This photo was taken on December 15 of a haul from the winter farmers market. The intent was to write about what I did with all of it. The tatsoi went into some soup; the radishes we just ate with salt; the cele<span style="font-size: small;">ry was mostly used in stock; and as for </span>the rest - I have no idea what I ended up doing with it!</span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7vM1_L7_HLhLGnTZaLBUYZ9v2dHVO67RO7Dt3YueqIQfIs-SkSFAZivBLx6B5FJSN9Q8e-vYgQzQzwi-aiw7N7VsH5n_pCyMMah-jDJn5vDCLaQUWwFxj_XvcdtdnkZnu6HNKBpUX61A/s1600/100_4193.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7vM1_L7_HLhLGnTZaLBUYZ9v2dHVO67RO7Dt3YueqIQfIs-SkSFAZivBLx6B5FJSN9Q8e-vYgQzQzwi-aiw7N7VsH5n_pCyMMah-jDJn5vDCLaQUWwFxj_XvcdtdnkZnu6HNKBpUX61A/s640/100_4193.JPG" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">I grew this pineapple. It was about to fall off the p<span style="font-size: small;">lant at the end of December, so I picked it (and ate it). <span style="font-size: small;">A post about growing it entered my mind, but <span style="font-size: small;">obviously that's as far as it went.</span></span></span></span></span></td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_UVegbzQAbf169ETK3eiOqOIAq_SHF3-ztcEKBXi2l4hfbOL2atfM-VuYQYG0oafNevTE07UOK-QKf2VLzLChB1fy7-qaHS3mAVKU4vJhyphenhyphenK3Spyd-5dgqQznDlDMONUU9Uvlv5-wE0LA/s1600/100_4195.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_UVegbzQAbf169ETK3eiOqOIAq_SHF3-ztcEKBXi2l4hfbOL2atfM-VuYQYG0oafNevTE07UOK-QKf2VLzLChB1fy7-qaHS3mAVKU4vJhyphenhyphenK3Spyd-5dgqQznDlDMONUU9Uvlv5-wE0LA/s640/100_4195.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">This was one of two gi-normous pomegranates I bought in early January. Their intended purpose was lovely, pink pomegranate jelly.</span></span></td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtelTWI7LdmOpAFm87-1t5b9brbk1urJmGFS9ceEElLEhFlhymJQekaolOdVG52vueu4R1UJULTAZC3UIQyrW8D4yWU_mq_lMjPA5kQa4d8A50gsDAw1qWxA0uI0Bjxzr5Ken8lzU_6nE/s1600/100_4194.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtelTWI7LdmOpAFm87-1t5b9brbk1urJmGFS9ceEElLEhFlhymJQekaolOdVG52vueu4R1UJULTAZC3UIQyrW8D4yWU_mq_lMjPA5kQa4d8A50gsDAw1qWxA0uI0Bjxzr5Ken8lzU_6nE/s640/100_4194.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">I did a slightly better job of taking photos along the way, but the post never materialized. Neither did the jelly.</span></span></td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6IaqYwiPC_OQw6Ry5jOsgwbxOk66Nxi-wn7T9TUoi7iZOgyPjsJSAsOE5t771i5e-MOz32ozvWYj64W3fEneKiMYNBQ0ynifJ_3F_ty2H-Runpq7SU2scctZLaNgqIN5zADBNnRftQes/s1600/100_4198.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6IaqYwiPC_OQw6Ry5jOsgwbxOk66Nxi-wn7T9TUoi7iZOgyPjsJSAsOE5t771i5e-MOz32ozvWYj64W3fEneKiMYNBQ0ynifJ_3F_ty2H-Runpq7SU2scctZLaNgqIN5zADBNnRftQes/s640/100_4198.JPG" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Separating the arils from the pomegranate was a hateful task. Juicing them was no picnic either. In the end, I didn't even have enough juice for jelly so I cooked the juice down for pomegran<span style="font-size: small;">ate molasses.</span></span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEholK039Hc9yr3kHOm2DdZyWrf1rnXS5mGNfBG-Tb5DcerK-NIyOGXuIy1vonnD22mVKj-RCGTVrIDzcwoVzygKBaDEeeZ3h67YkEt89TZQL-Gp6MLtN-Yn_zYdKWyPkGi1LjicKG4SYeI/s1600/100_4218.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEholK039Hc9yr3kHOm2DdZyWrf1rnXS5mGNfBG-Tb5DcerK-NIyOGXuIy1vonnD22mVKj-RCGTVrIDzcwoVzygKBaDEeeZ3h67YkEt89TZQL-Gp6MLtN-Yn_zYdKWyPkGi1LjicKG4SYeI/s640/100_4218.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">This is the lone coffee cherry on our <span style="font-size: small;">coffee plant. <span style="font-size: small;">W</span>e won't be enjoying <span style="font-size: small;">a cup of coffee from homegrown beans for some time to come. I was considering a post o<span style="font-size: small;">n how to roast coffee beans since I hope to <span style="font-size: small;">try that at some point in the future. Apparently<span style="font-size: small;"> the distant future.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">So there's a recap of some things I've done, some ideas I've had that never made it here in their entirety. Am I the only one who does this?</span><br />
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Tugs Girlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16358805885062849196noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-810775819562420086.post-44801486406170790982013-03-01T22:32:00.000-06:002013-03-01T22:32:09.925-06:00Chocolate Chip Cookie Crusted Cake<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<![endif]--><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Occasionally, I foolishly agree to do things that I know I
shouldn’t.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I know that it’s going to
cause me stress and make me temporarily insane(r).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But I do it anyway because I also know that
the end, my insanity will result in someone else’s joy.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Such is the case for this birthday cake.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The office manager in Tug’s school,
Arthurina, sent me a message asking if I did birthday cakes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The school’s administrative aide, Sheila,
had a birthday coming up and they were going to be celebrating at the office.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Since I’ve returned to work, I’ve been saying
“no” to cakes as they can be time consuming and I refuse to use frozen
cake.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I probably should have said “no”
to this one.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But since I didn’t . . .</span></div>
<a name='more'></a><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"></span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">We agreed on chocolate cake with mocha buttercream.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But then it was suggested that Sheila really
liked chocolate chip cookies.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At first I
wasn’t sure how I would incorporate chocolate chip cookies.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Cookie garnishes, cookie “dough”
filling?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>No.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I decided that I was going to make a giant
chocolate chip cookie – the size of the cake – and use it as the bottom layer
of the cake.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span>
</div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"></span><div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">While I was congratulating myself on this idea, I began to
realize the extra work I had just created.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>How was I going to get all of this done?! Make a schedule. I need a schedule to assure myself that I can
actually meet the deadline.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While I
steadfastly refuse to use frozen cake, there are still some things that can be
done in advance, and some things that are even better when done in advance.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">The cake was needed on Thursday.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So working backwards, I knew it had to be
finished Wednesday evening.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For my scheduling,
that meant that on Wednesday I would be splitting and filling the cake layers
and icing the cake.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In order to do that,
the cakes and cookie had to be baked on Tuesday and the buttercream would have
to be ready.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Monday was removed from the
schedule because of an after-hours work event.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>That put me back to Sunday.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So on
Sunday, I made the <a href="http://tugsgirl.blogspot.com/2011/09/one-cake-down-one-to-go.html" target="_blank">mocha buttercream</a> and mixed up the <a href="http://www.verybestbaking.com/recipes/18476/Original-NESTL%C3%89-TOLL-HOUSE-Chocolate-Chip-Cookies/detail.aspx" target="_blank">chocolate chip cookie dough</a> and
stashed them in the refrigerator.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(Cookie dough is one of those things better made in advance. Making the dough ahead of time and refrigerating it overnight results in better cookies.) Then I
measured out all of the ingredients for the cake so I would be ready to go
on Tuesday. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>Since I woke up way too early on Tuesday (probably because I was obsessing about cake) I decided to get up and bake the cookie layer. That worked out well as the cookie - and the pan - had plenty of time to cool while I was at work. Baking the cake that evening was made so, so much easier by having all my ingredients ready. I really can't stress the importance of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mise_en_place" target="_blank"><i>mise en place</i></a> nearly enough. And it's fun to say.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1LhjgYo_lSAf93E0gtK4f6GQa7AtLXDpuYLSrkrg3zCOd8xFqLhCN13AJjA5oyE3qJa7qdoe3mRX4pg7pwG_nAwtWQnCEqb1peACdJrrSkBx5wD-9dqVXQlgPfT1QFwn-QLYVyw_W904/s1600/100_4216.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1LhjgYo_lSAf93E0gtK4f6GQa7AtLXDpuYLSrkrg3zCOd8xFqLhCN13AJjA5oyE3qJa7qdoe3mRX4pg7pwG_nAwtWQnCEqb1peACdJrrSkBx5wD-9dqVXQlgPfT1QFwn-QLYVyw_W904/s400/100_4216.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This photo is one of the two I managed to get (too bad it didn't turn out well) but I wanted to show the advantage of using cake strips on the outside of your pans: check out the evenness of the cakes. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Overall, the schedule and the process went fairly well.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There were a couple of small glitches on Wednesday,
however.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The first was discovered when I
began stacking the cake layers on top of the cookie layers:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>cake shrinks; cookie does not.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There was such a significant difference between
the diameter of the cookie layers and the cake layers that I had to trim the
sides of the cookie layers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This wasn’t
a huge problem, but I did have to spend time on it and I hadn’t planned on
dealing with the crumbs that cutting the edges produced.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The second began to come into focus about
half-way through stacking the layers:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I
was going to run out of buttercream.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Fortunately, in a rare moment of foresight, I anticipated that might
happen and Wednesday morning had taken an additional pound of butter out of the
refrigerator to warm up.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Thank goodness,
because I had to make more buttercream.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyUs72iaRQX5EarXhFikOlQ8MZUE574s5mnenE12IiB-4BUfBUBuB5meDyXBpNVCWgbGvn7aSp3Zt87imtek786xfUtGA_6NEmQj6nQN3xNyMOVt8hD1ViAwx6XPEPU_WH2vtBk0QTljU/s1600/photo.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="540" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyUs72iaRQX5EarXhFikOlQ8MZUE574s5mnenE12IiB-4BUfBUBuB5meDyXBpNVCWgbGvn7aSp3Zt87imtek786xfUtGA_6NEmQj6nQN3xNyMOVt8hD1ViAwx6XPEPU_WH2vtBk0QTljU/s640/photo.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A photo of the finished cake just prior to cutting - thanks to Arthurina for the photo.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">When all was said and done, I ended up with a 10-inch round cake consisting of two half-inch cookie layers (I
split the cookie in half) on the bottom of six half-inch cake layers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Since the cake was very moist on its own, I
kept the icing between the layers minimal:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>essentially it was just enough to “glue” the layers together.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I swear that cake weighed at least 12 pounds as it was - more buttercream?? </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">It would be awesome if I had some
step-by-step photos to share with you, but my inconsistency in photographing
has not improved.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I didn’t even snap a
photo of the finished cake as, by the time I was done, our kitchen was such a
mess I didn’t want it documented.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Fortunately, Arthurina was kind enough to take some photos with her
phone and send them to me.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuJFjJphN-TOAKsvdpZQdsiYkENvTZ_BmvxoFXOCYCTU5L8J2WPLboWU12JIGLs6ZdrfOfbJfBga-W7lj4hp0vrGbNaOcng6lsfGAtQGibEI7wVCQe2nntnNVKC5l_1uP-BV550El4vCQ/s1600/photo%25285%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="539" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuJFjJphN-TOAKsvdpZQdsiYkENvTZ_BmvxoFXOCYCTU5L8J2WPLboWU12JIGLs6ZdrfOfbJfBga-W7lj4hp0vrGbNaOcng6lsfGAtQGibEI7wVCQe2nntnNVKC5l_1uP-BV550El4vCQ/s640/photo%25285%2529.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Two layers of cookie, six layers of cake: gain five pounds in just once glance.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoTitle" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"></span><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Dark Chocolate Cake</span></div>
<div style="border-bottom: solid #4F81BD 1.0pt; border: none; mso-border-bottom-themecolor: accent1; mso-element: para-border-div; padding: 0in 0in 4.0pt 0in;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Californian FB","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%;">2½ cups all-purpose flour</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Californian FB","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%;">½ cup Dutch-process cocoa </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Californian FB","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%;">2½ tsp baking soda</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Californian FB","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%;">1½ tsp salt</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Californian FB","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%;">½ cup natural cocoa</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Californian FB","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%;">½ cup hot water (just below boiling) </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Californian FB","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%;">3 extra-large eggs, room temperature</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Californian FB","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%;">1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Californian FB","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%;">1¼ cups granulated sugar</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Californian FB","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%;">¾ cup brown sugar, packed</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Californian FB","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%;">1¾ cups buttermilk, room temperature</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Californian FB","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%;">1½ tsp pure vanilla extract</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Californian FB","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%;">6 oz dark chocolate (60 – 70%), melted and cooled</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Californian FB","serif";">Preheat
oven to 350</span><span style="font-family: "Californian FB","serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">°</span><span style="font-family: "Californian FB","serif";">F.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is a good time to melt the dark
chocolate.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Put the chocolate in a
heat-proof bowl in the oven while it’s warming up.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It takes just a few minutes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Be careful not to scorch it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Prepare two 8” round pans with cake release (or
butter and flour) and parchment.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Californian FB","serif";">Sift
together the flour, Dutch-process cocoa, baking soda and salt in a large
bowl.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In a small bowl, add the hot water
to the natural cocoa and stir to a smooth slurry.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Break the eggs into a measuring cup with a
spout and beat well enough to break up the whites.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Set all of these aside.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Californian FB","serif";">Cream the
butter and sugars in the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment for three
to five minutes on medium-high speed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Stop the mixer, scrape down the sides and cream for another one to two minutes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>With the mixer on medium speed, drizzle in
the beaten egg in a slow, steady stream, no more than one tablespoonful at a
time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Stop and scrape the bowl and
paddle about half-way through.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Mix in
the natural cocoa slurry.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Californian FB","serif";">Stir the
vanilla extract into the buttermilk.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>On the
lowest speed, add a third of the dry ingredients, mix briefly and add a third
of the buttermilk.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Repeat until all of
the dry ingredients and buttermilk are used, mixing just until combined.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(It’s very important not to over-mix once the
flour has been added.)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>With the mixer
still on low speed, drizzle in the melted dark chocolate.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Mix briefly.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>If streaks of chocolate remain, fold in gently with a spatula.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Californian FB","serif";">Divide the
batter evenly into prepared pans.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Tap
the pans on the counter to level the batter and release air bubbles.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Bake for 40 to 50 minutes or until a
toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Trust your nose:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>when you start to smell cake, it’s almost
done.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Cool the pans on a rack for at
least 10 minutes before removing the cakes from the pans.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<br /><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
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<br /></div>
Tugs Girlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16358805885062849196noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-810775819562420086.post-57642684190180974732012-12-29T16:02:00.001-06:002012-12-29T16:39:37.655-06:00Snow Days<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Although we didn't get a white Christmas,we got a white day after Christmas. And a little more white three days after Christmas. This is what it looks like from my corner of the world:</span><br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEil2oojHl39UcXH2m65MFy1dSGT2z08vkrNARPF98vQ1E9iVfGpFEG8jlYUU2aYH41yC1WxmJlqQ1hyphenhyphenqmraaTn_dgtso1y1BqN3t1k-XpVdxup-Fj-JzohKK27TF6EigdUGYEdjxZoypHM/s1600/100_4169.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEil2oojHl39UcXH2m65MFy1dSGT2z08vkrNARPF98vQ1E9iVfGpFEG8jlYUU2aYH41yC1WxmJlqQ1hyphenhyphenqmraaTn_dgtso1y1BqN3t1k-XpVdxup-Fj-JzohKK27TF6EigdUGYEdjxZoypHM/s640/100_4169.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">It makes my snow-loving husband quite happy. He's been out shoveling snow for the last three days. Apparently there is more coming on Monday. The only thing good I can say about it is that I don't have to go anywhere in it. (Actually, I can't even say that's good. It kept me from going home to see my family while we're on break from the university.)</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">These are good days to stay home and bake though. I've done quite a bit of that lately. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgIgqWBsGho7kNjO0pW3j1IpX0LXw3oEntrQkQZmUxd-fQNIeAfNCNnWRIF0uLBii9KxKQODSzJi_6TgboHru2kcxgJM_xGxGZSTu7x6RyN-ZfCHEAPqlw50B81IArBW2a-LpVZGeTMYM/s1600/100_4156.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgIgqWBsGho7kNjO0pW3j1IpX0LXw3oEntrQkQZmUxd-fQNIeAfNCNnWRIF0uLBii9KxKQODSzJi_6TgboHru2kcxgJM_xGxGZSTu7x6RyN-ZfCHEAPqlw50B81IArBW2a-LpVZGeTMYM/s320/100_4156.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">I had good intentions of taking photos . . .</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">We are fortunate to be invited to our friends' home for Christmas Eve. Wayne and Terry are fabulous people and we love the tradition of spending Christmas Eve with them. An evening of good food and good friends is such a blessing. Terry always serve a fabulous meal and because of such, I simply can't go empty handed. This year I took four mini boules (two plain, two dill) and a pistachio Italian cream cake. No photos of either, of course. I'm very out of practice in that regard.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><br /></span>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgm4iOV81-5pU7xF0Dj2Di3atT74ZOz2pk-a1uECEcqXSApzXwxRPvwuTbvwJiAqwhVRrTwiiukc7ctfECJ0w98pw61-WMqAojuAVSCuZaCQEg_32hBpurBOokKTr6duyW3OnRCKJ1jZd0/s1600/100_4157.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgm4iOV81-5pU7xF0Dj2Di3atT74ZOz2pk-a1uECEcqXSApzXwxRPvwuTbvwJiAqwhVRrTwiiukc7ctfECJ0w98pw61-WMqAojuAVSCuZaCQEg_32hBpurBOokKTr6duyW3OnRCKJ1jZd0/s320/100_4157.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Curmudgeonly (but sweet) professor's gift basket</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">A few years ago, I adopted the Italian tradition of panettone for Christmas morning. So Christmas Eve also found me making panettoni for Wayne and Terry and myself as well. I didn't actually get the panettone I made for myself as another friend, Rhonda, sent me a message about last minute gifting for a curmudgeonly bachelor professor friend of ours. He received a gift basket of panettone, tea and some preserves. His reaction totally made it worth it and I made myself another panettone on Christmas Day.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgT_iWJTCwfSTpi8HPANlX0T3r7X5H-7ZYNolrtNgnb9-5rK-2Rg3V2_kb0BH6D93bF7aiXx15dEKTl7bJWW3qXJJqv7BRacZIyDtFIzcgnR-dc-_G5aGO4KZdkdn1AwercziNp-s80KGw/s1600/100_4177.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgT_iWJTCwfSTpi8HPANlX0T3r7X5H-7ZYNolrtNgnb9-5rK-2Rg3V2_kb0BH6D93bF7aiXx15dEKTl7bJWW3qXJJqv7BRacZIyDtFIzcgnR-dc-_G5aGO4KZdkdn1AwercziNp-s80KGw/s320/100_4177.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">My panettone . . . minus a few slices</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTIKj_WeztkNdPi6mHi2tRDRafSu7LKhhKiZ3MDH2G5WIkYzOixKRgk2UFDPgXW0ZNeBKwoRz5G6gOeUB4ffTuQipXFmGwr5Yu4CeA-gF4M8Hd1rrEA-s0iUdPsPYsP-8CNazX6F-BNGY/s1600/100_4190.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTIKj_WeztkNdPi6mHi2tRDRafSu7LKhhKiZ3MDH2G5WIkYzOixKRgk2UFDPgXW0ZNeBKwoRz5G6gOeUB4ffTuQipXFmGwr5Yu4CeA-gF4M8Hd1rrEA-s0iUdPsPYsP-8CNazX6F-BNGY/s320/100_4190.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Soon to be bread</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">I also made a loaf of sourdough sandwich bread on Christmas Day for Tug and myself. </span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">(It didn't last long, so there's another loaf rising right now.) </span>It was perfect with the potato soup I made in the new cooker I received for Christmas. Later that evening I remembered some coffee cookie dough in the refrigerator and baked us some cookies to have in the evening while sitting in front of the fire. Again, no photos.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Terry had asked me on Christmas Eve if I would be interested in doing a birthday cake for a friend of hers. Since I didn't get to go see my family after Christmas, I said I would. We finalized arrangements on Thursday and the cake was needed Friday evening. Sometimes I am a glutton for punishment and make things harder on myself than necessary. I used a recipe from Rose Levy Berebaum which, while a great recipe, was very time consuming and really needed an extra day of prep. The cake wasn't quite finished in the manner Terry requested, and I was seriously disappointed. Apparently, the guest of honor was quite pleased though so that's a plus, but still . . . and no photos of the cake either. I did snap a pic of one of the cupcakes I made with the extra batter, left over glaze and fondant rose that wasn't used.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXETgdCdOxugS0nR_Vsw66DmGY8wdBQOxtm93xg_C0vqGKAnqH2UyUtGOAS72hBPcvIWRHCv71DyALAi7KtWsoqBvPQ_pApOu24sNRgOk4i76ALG1kEEKM73fadXKMkni5dYKo_McmvD4/s1600/100_4182.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXETgdCdOxugS0nR_Vsw66DmGY8wdBQOxtm93xg_C0vqGKAnqH2UyUtGOAS72hBPcvIWRHCv71DyALAi7KtWsoqBvPQ_pApOu24sNRgOk4i76ALG1kEEKM73fadXKMkni5dYKo_McmvD4/s640/100_4182.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">I'm thinking about what I want to bake next. I'm thinking I need more butter.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><br /></span>
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<div class="MsoTitle" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto;">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Christmas Panettone</span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
(Adapted from King Arthur Flour)<br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<u><span style="font-family: "Californian FB","serif";">Starter</span></u></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Californian FB","serif";">120 g
all-purpose flour</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Californian FB","serif";">1/16 tsp
instant yeast</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Californian FB","serif";">113 g
cool water</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Californian FB","serif";">Combine
the starter ingredients thoroughly in a medium-sized container with a
cover.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Rest the starter overnight, or 8
to 10 hours, at room temperature. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<u><span style="font-family: "Californian FB","serif";">Panettone</span></u></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Californian FB","serif";">all of
the starter</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Californian FB","serif";">2 large
eggs, room temperature</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Californian FB","serif";">85 g
salted butter, room temperature</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Californian FB","serif";">57 g
lukewarm water</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Californian FB","serif";">1/4 tsp
Fior di Sicilia*</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Californian FB","serif";">120 g
all-purpose flour</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Californian FB","serif";">28 g
tapioca flour</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Californian FB","serif";">1/2 tsp
kosher salt</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Californian FB","serif";">50 g
granulated sugar</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Californian FB","serif";">11 g
instant yeast</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Californian FB","serif";">60 g
dried cranberries</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Californian FB","serif";">60 g
dried apricots, diced</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Californian FB","serif";">40 g
candied orange peel, diced</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Californian FB","serif";">40 g
candied ginger, diced</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Californian FB","serif";">Combine
the starter with the remaining ingredients in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted
with the dough hook.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Mix on low speed
(stir on Kitchen Aide mixers) for one minute.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Increase the speed to low and mix for another minute.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Increase the speed again (2 on Kitchen Aide
mixers) and mix for another minute.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Increase the speed once again (4 on a Kitchen Aide) and mix for three
minutes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The dough will be soft and
sticky.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Californian FB","serif";">Cover the
bowl with plastic wrap (or transfer the dough to a covered container) and allow
the dough to rise for 1-1/2 hours until it’s puffy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It may not be doubled in size, but definitely
should have “grown”.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Californian FB","serif";">Scrape
the dough out onto a lightly floured surface.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Knead briefly and form into a ball as best as possible. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Place the dough into a paper panettone baking
mold set inside a cake pan or on a baking sheet.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(If you don’t want to order these, a paper lunch
bag cut to about 8” tall works well too.)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Cover the dough and let it rise in a warm spot for about an hour or
until the top of the dough reaches the edge of the baking paper.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Californian FB","serif";">After 40
minutes of rising, begin preheating the oven to 375°F.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Bake the panettone for 15 minutes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Remove the panettone from the oven; reduce
the oven temperature to 350° and loosely cover the top of the panettone with
foil to prevent over-browning.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Return the
panettone to the oven and bake for an additional 35 minutes.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Californian FB","serif";">Remove
the panettone from the oven and cool completely on a wire rack. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Californian FB","serif";">*Available
from King Arthur Flour or substitute 1/4 teaspoon orange extract and 1/4 teaspoon
vanilla extract</span></div>
Tugs Girlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16358805885062849196noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-810775819562420086.post-81350302916065651772012-11-08T06:24:00.000-06:002012-11-08T06:24:18.316-06:00His and Hers RisottoWhile there is an exhaustive list of things Tug and I have in common; we have our differences, too. One of the areas where that's most prevalent is what we (want to) eat. We could both be considered picky eaters, but in vastly different ways. At home, he would be perfectly happy with meat and potatoes every night, with pizza on occasion. But take him to a restaurant near any coast and the man will eat anything that comes out of the water. Growing up landlocked, I'm not as adventurous, but I do get a little bored with the meat and potato routine. I like to try new and different things once in awhile. <br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
All week I've been thinking about making brown rice risotto. I thought about it again last night. But brown rice takes so much longer to cook than white rice. But I didn't want to use traditional arborio rice. But it was late and I was tired. But. . . but . . . In the end, I didn't use rice at all. I used farro (emmer wheat).<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-1qpYvQGzMl9PTTGqmuxw8ej-ahGSe5PmT3zuYm5_6NYiIKSqtkGRLAW9nfBGNk7Z0mCDnIQVv1_wE9hNpMjToh3hvzcJ_PSOzd2KwCSQSwJ9tQeJnTmL5N_pAput5j1poJ0QHm8DyMM/s1600/100_4093.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" rea="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-1qpYvQGzMl9PTTGqmuxw8ej-ahGSe5PmT3zuYm5_6NYiIKSqtkGRLAW9nfBGNk7Z0mCDnIQVv1_wE9hNpMjToh3hvzcJ_PSOzd2KwCSQSwJ9tQeJnTmL5N_pAput5j1poJ0QHm8DyMM/s640/100_4093.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Hers" farro risotto</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
I'd not had farro before. The small package I had was sitting patiently in the pantry for some time, waiting for me to figure out what to do with it. The more I thought about it, the more I was excited to use it. Reading the packag directions (not followed, of course), it didn't seem as though it would take any longer to cook than traditional Arborio rice.<br />
<br />
A quick inventory of the vegetable bin gave me some other ideas. I could see the last of the kale was trying to be pathetic, and there was that little bag of squash I'd taken out of the freezer for another purpose and then didn't use it. <em>Farro risotto with bacon, kale and squash.</em> It sounded great to me. But then there's Tug. The man seems to have deeply held conviction that orange vegetables (excepting raw carrots) are the anti-christs of the food world. The solution to this was to make the risotto as I normally would, without the squash, remove a portion for him, then add the squash to the rest for me: his and hers risotto. Is this what feeding children is like?<br />
<br />
I used volume instead of weight on this recipe because it was a "throw it in the pan and see what happens" kind of thing. The amounts of some ingredients are approximations, but risotto is forgiving.<br />
<br />
<div style="border-bottom: #4f81bd 1pt solid; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; mso-border-bottom-themecolor: accent1; mso-element: para-border-div; padding-bottom: 4pt; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in;">
<div class="MsoTitle" style="margin: 0in 0in 15pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="color: #17365d;"><span style="font-family: Cambria;">Farro Risotto with Bacon, Kale & Squash<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Californian FB','serif';">4 slices thick cut bacon, diced<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Californian FB','serif';">1 – 1-1/2 quarts stock, preferably homemade (I had some awesome prosciutto stock I’d made)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Californian FB','serif';">1/2 cup diced red onion<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Californian FB','serif';">1-1/4 cups farro<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Californian FB','serif';">1 Tbs dry sherry (optional)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Californian FB','serif';">1-1/2 cups chopped, stemmed kale (I like Lacinto)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Californian FB','serif';">1 cup squash or pumpkin puree (mine was Blue Hubbard)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Californian FB','serif';">1-1/2 cups freshly grated Pecorino Romano cheese<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Californian FB','serif';">Add the bacon to a cold, large skillet and render the it over medium/medium low heat.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While the bacon is cooking, heat the stock over medium heat until simmering.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Reduce the heat and keep hot.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When the bacon bits are crispy, remove them to a bowl with a slotted spoon.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Remove all but about two tablespoons of the bacon grease.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Californian FB','serif';">Add the onions; cook and stir until translucent.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Add the farro and stir to coat well with the fat.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Add the sherry, if using, stirring well to combine and scraping the brown bits from the bottom of the pan.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Begin adding the stock, one ladleful at a time, stirring frequently after each addition.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Wait until the stock is almost completely absorbed (but the farro is never dry on top) before adding the next ladleful.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Californian FB','serif';">After repeating this procedure for about 15 minutes, sample the farro for doneness.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(I cooked mine until it was softened, but still had a little bit of chew.)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Add the chopped kale to the pan and pour a ladleful of stock over it to wilt slightly then stir the kale into the risotto.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Stir in the squash puree and one cup of the grated cheese.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Reduce the heat to medium low to heat the kale and squash thoroughly.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Add a little more stock if the risotto appears dry instead of creamy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Serve with the remaining grated cheese.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Californian FB','serif';">This recipe could easily be meatless by omitting the bacon and using olive oil to sauté the onions and toast the farro.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Tugs Girlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16358805885062849196noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-810775819562420086.post-39306080601046769762012-11-02T21:55:00.000-05:002012-11-03T20:18:29.608-05:00Pumkin Gooey Butter Cake<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Californian FB','serif';"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Continuing with my apparent theme of fall flavors, pumpkin gooey butter cake had been on my mind for awhile.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Several years ago I made </span><a href="http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/paula-deen/pumpkin-gooey-butter-cakes-recipe/index.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Paula Deen’s version</span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">; but given that I haven’t purchased cake mix in over four years, I needed a new recipe.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While I was in the process of trying to come up with my own “cake mix” recipe, my friend, Tracie, found this </span><a href="http://www.sugoodsweets.com/blog/2010/11/pumpkin-gooey-butter-cake-from-scratch/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">recipe for from scratch pumpkin gooey butter cake</span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> for me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Did I follow it?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Not exactly, of course.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<a name='more'></a><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcrrBNTNKi1Ok59fddwno8DYeaAEY5cG_76YD8Bd3Cs8jccxS7xAGsVDPZAfZBbNLOLB9uDdFWVOY5-RLd0v7MN-3RR3S1NyCINS49sq8OlG2-sNawyNpN131gRkh63QiAVG2tn3qBnxE/s1600/100_4060.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" qea="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcrrBNTNKi1Ok59fddwno8DYeaAEY5cG_76YD8Bd3Cs8jccxS7xAGsVDPZAfZBbNLOLB9uDdFWVOY5-RLd0v7MN-3RR3S1NyCINS49sq8OlG2-sNawyNpN131gRkh63QiAVG2tn3qBnxE/s640/100_4060.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Californian FB','serif';"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Perhaps it’s because of my alterations, perhaps it’s because I didn’t use a box of cake mix and a pound of powdered sugar, but this pumpkin gooey butter cake is a little more like pumpkin cheesecake on a cakey-cookie crust.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Not bad by any means, but not exactly what I was aiming for.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The people I work with had no complaints, however.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
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<span style="font-family: 'Californian FB','serif';"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">The recipe below is exactly as I made it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Some of my alterations/substitutions were based on using ingredients I had on hand instead of going to the grocery store.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(I completely avoid shopping during the first week of the month.)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The small amount of whipped cream cheese is simply because I didn’t have enough ricotta.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You could use any proportion of ricotta and cream cheese, or just one or the other.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If you want to use all cream cheese, I would recommend the regular versus whipped variety though.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The maple-glazed walnuts are totally optional, but totally worth it!</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Californian FB','serif';"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">(I've add the volume measurements for those who haven't jumped on the measure by weight bandwagon. They're approximate, but should yield perfectly acceptable results.)</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="color: #17365d;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Pumpkin Gooey Butter Cake with Maple Glazed Pecans<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Californian FB','serif';"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Crust:<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Californian FB','serif';"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">267 g (2-1/4 cups) cake flour<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Californian FB','serif';"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">158 g (3/4 cup) granulated sugar<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Californian FB','serif';"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">7 g (2 tsp) baking powder<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Californian FB','serif';"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">1/2 tsp kosher salt<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Californian FB','serif';"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">31 g (1/4 cup) dry milk powder*<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Californian FB','serif';"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">1 tsp vanilla extract<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Californian FB','serif';"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">1 large egg<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Californian FB','serif';"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">113 g (1/2 cup) salted butter, melted<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Californian FB','serif';"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Filling:<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Californian FB','serif';"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">180 g (3/4 cup) whole milk ricotta cheese, room temperature<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Californian FB','serif';"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">55 g (1/4 cup) whipped cream cheese<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Californian FB','serif';"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">425 g (1 can) pumpkin puree<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Californian FB','serif';"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">1 tsp vanilla extract<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Californian FB','serif';"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">3 large eggs<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Californian FB','serif';"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">113 g (1/2 cup) salted butter, melted<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Californian FB','serif';"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">360 g (1-3/4 cup) granulated sugar<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Californian FB','serif';"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">1 tsp cinnamon<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Californian FB','serif';"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">1/2 tsp freshly grated nutmeg<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Californian FB','serif';"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Glazed Pecans:<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Californian FB','serif';"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">175 g (1-1/2 cups) pecan halves and pieces<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Californian FB','serif';"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">35 g (2 Tbs) pure maple syrup<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Californian FB','serif';"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Preheat the oven to 350°F.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Line a 9” x 13” baking pan with parchment paper.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Californian FB','serif';"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">For the crust:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and milk powder in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Mix on low to combine.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>With the mixer on low, add the vanilla extract, egg and butter; mix until combined and crumbly.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Pour the mixture into the baking pan, distribute evenly and pat down.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Californian FB','serif';"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">For the filling:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Using the same mixing bowl and whisk attachment, combine the ricotta, cream cheese, pumpkin and vanilla.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Whisk until smooth.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Add the eggs one at a time and mix well on medium speed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Scrape the sides of the bowl and add the sugar and spices.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Mix on medium speed for three to four minutes.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Californian FB','serif';"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Assembly:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Pour the filling mixture over the prepared crust and spread evenly.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Bake the cake for 50 minutes on the center rack of the even.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While the cake is baking, combine the pecans and maple syrup in a medium bowl and stir gently to combine.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Make sure all of the pecans are evenly coated with the syrup.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Pour onto a parchment lined baking sheet.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Toast the pecans in the oven on the lower rack for eight minutes (while the cake is baking).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Remove and let cool while the cake finishes baking.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Californian FB','serif';"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">After 50 minutes, remove the cake from the oven and distribute (as evenly as possible) the pecans on top.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Leave them where they fall – trying to rearrange them will make a mess.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Return the cake to the oven for 10 minutes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After 10 minutes, remove the cake from the oven and set on a wire rack.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Cool for at least an hour before cutting.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to three days.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Californian FB','serif';"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">*A note about milk powder:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>if you use the standard, grocery store non-fat dry milk it’s usually granulated so you’ll need to process it in a food processor or crush it in a mortar and pestle until powdery and fine.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If you have King Arthur Flour’s milk powder, you won’t need to do this.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Or you can leave it out completely if you like.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
Tugs Girlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16358805885062849196noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-810775819562420086.post-21851405310085778232012-10-21T11:03:00.001-05:002012-10-21T11:03:48.077-05:00Apple Cider . . . Donuts?<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Over the summer I purchased a couple of mini-donut pans thinking I would use them for a recipe my mom sent me (which I still haven't). For at least a month, I've been staring at a <a href="http://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/cider-doughnuts-recipe" target="_blank">recipe for apple cider donuts</a> that I wanted to try. After some tweaking to the recipe to avoid special order ingredients, I finally made the donuts.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">So why the question mark? They don't really <em>look</em> like donuts. They look more like small cakes or mini-muffins with holes in them. As much as I wanted to love <a href="http://www.norpro.com/store/products/ns-mini-donut-pan" target="_blank">these pans</a> - I don't. The cone in the center that's supposed to make the donut holes is just too large. But the shape notwithstanding, I'm quite pleased with the flavor of my little "donettes" (or maybe "dough-nots").</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHTwtOCud100eM6GiO_Ox2lMokBls-TxDOInnVnCgfgtgldpDoTxuNok0PYVAokebYGwaLAdNtTpYCvRhrd334kmbKiyMSyaopkuyiZhPewEhJjmgYVBzvsqF443mvNAZesCG48_dvDxE/s1600/100_4057.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHTwtOCud100eM6GiO_Ox2lMokBls-TxDOInnVnCgfgtgldpDoTxuNok0PYVAokebYGwaLAdNtTpYCvRhrd334kmbKiyMSyaopkuyiZhPewEhJjmgYVBzvsqF443mvNAZesCG48_dvDxE/s640/100_4057.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">The tops: The cider glaze soaked in overnight. I'll have to work on that.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEid8EoUTXIWhsJuIR26ySDRzYz7wp5Oevxck0AbFBYxHhLTzpBqpjHuVrDRpgM1F5nZYmYzaGBdDui_lAmZ88c7Y08NXEH1QdzMYZzZa4V35Xuapd3lL6UVGuD63VNRoP1mTAM8nreuz74/s1600/100_4058.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEid8EoUTXIWhsJuIR26ySDRzYz7wp5Oevxck0AbFBYxHhLTzpBqpjHuVrDRpgM1F5nZYmYzaGBdDui_lAmZ88c7Y08NXEH1QdzMYZzZa4V35Xuapd3lL6UVGuD63VNRoP1mTAM8nreuz74/s640/100_4058.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">The bottom: Do these look like donuts to you?</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">If you're interested in making these, there's some advance planning required. You will either need to order the <a href="http://www.kingarthurflour.com/shop/items/boiled-cider-1-pint#1003#" target="_blank">boiled cider</a> from King Arthur Flour or make your own. I chose to make my own. It couldn't be easier if you have a slow cooker. I poured one-half gallon of unfiltered apple cider into the slow cooker and let it go, uncovered, on low until I had about one and one-half cups of reduced cider. You could also do this on the stove top with a wide, heavy-bottomed pot on low heat. The original KAF recipe gives suggestions for alternatives, however, notes that you won't get the same flavor. But the flavor is what these donuts are all about.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">Recipe adapted from King Arthur Flour.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="color: #17365d;"><span style="font-family: Cambria;">Buttermilk Apple Cider Donettes<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Californian FB','serif';">155g whole wheat pastry<span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"> flour<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Californian FB','serif';">1 tsp baking powder<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Californian FB','serif';">1/8 tsp baking soda<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Californian FB','serif';">1/2 tsp salt<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Californian FB','serif';">1 tsp ground cinnamon<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Californian FB','serif';">1/8 tsp ground nutmeg<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Californian FB','serif';">40g <span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">reduced apple cider</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Californian FB','serif';">115g buttermilk<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Californian FB','serif';">30g unsalted butter, room temperature<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Californian FB','serif';">25g vegetable oil<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Californian FB','serif';">50g sugar<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Californian FB','serif';">1 large egg, beaten<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Californian FB','serif';">Special Equipment:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> two </span>mini donut pans; piping bag with large round tip (such as Ateco 804)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Californian FB','serif';">Preheat the oven to 400°F for at least 20 minutes. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Grease or spray the <span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">donut pans<b>.</b></span> Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and spices.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Set aside.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In a measuring cup with a spout, combine the reduced apple cider and the buttermilk.<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Californian FB','serif';">In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter, oil, and sugar on medium-high speed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Reduce the speed to medium and drizzle in the beaten egg no more than one tablespoon at a time. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Californian FB','serif';">On low speed, add one-third of the flour mixture then half of the cider/buttermilk mixture;<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>repeat, ending with the flour mixture.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Mix only until combined and finish with a rubber spatula to avoid over mixing. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Californian FB','serif';">Spoon the batter into the piping bag. Pipe the batter into the prepared pans, filling at least three-quarters full.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Californian FB','serif';">Bake the donuts for 8 to 10 minutes, until a cake tester inserted into one comes out clean.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(In my oven, 10 minutes was just a little too long for the mini pans.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I think 9 minutes would have been perfect.)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Remove them from the oven, wait two to three minutes, then turn them out onto a rack to cool slightly while you prepare the coating of choice.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Californian FB','serif';">Cinnamon Sugar Coating<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Californian FB','serif';">100g granulated sugar<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Californian FB','serif';">2 tsp ground cinnamon<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Californian FB','serif';">Whisk the sugar and cinnamon in a large, shallow bowl until well combined.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While the donettes are still warm (but not hot), gently dredge them in the sugar coating and place on a rack set over a baking sheet to cool completely.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Store in an airtight container for up to three days.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Californian FB','serif'; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Cider Glaze<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Californian FB','serif';">2 tablespoons reduced apple cider <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Californian FB','serif';">1 tablespoon heavy cream <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Californian FB','serif';">Approximately 113g confectioners’ or glazing sugar <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Californian FB','serif';">Stir the reduced cider and cream together.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Gradually add the confectioners’ sugar to achieve the consistency of molasses. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> Dip the tops of the donuts in the glaze and set </span>them on a rack placed over a baking sheet to catch drips.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span> Alternately, you can drizzle glaze over the tops.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Store in an airtight container for up to three days.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Tugs Girlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16358805885062849196noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-810775819562420086.post-827551224545520382012-10-03T20:13:00.000-05:002012-10-03T20:13:03.222-05:00Whoop(s)ie Pies<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
Since returning to work, I find that I don’t have much time for keeping up with the blog right now – my own nor others’ I like to follow.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I miss it; but sometimes life forces us to prioritize (first world problems).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I still manage to catch glimpses of what comes through my e-mail and make mental notes of what I want to try.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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A couple of weeks ago a recipe from King Arthur Flour for <a href="http://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/pumpkin-cake-doughnuts-recipe" target="_blank">Pumpkin Donuts</a> caught my eye.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I bought a can of pumpkin with the intent of making them, but didn’t have the time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Recent cooler temperatures made for favorable baking conditions, so it was time to use the pumpkin.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I gave the donuts serious consideration, but really had cookies on my mind.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A quick search on KAF’s site revealed a recipe for <a href="http://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/pumpkin-chocolate-chip-cookies-recipe" target="_blank">Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies</a>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Perfect!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As with any recipe from KAF, I took the time to read through the reviews.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They were mostly positive:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>just a few comments about the dough not spreading, the cookies being cake-like and not being sweet enough.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was okay with those things.</div>
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Being me, I had to make a few minor adjustments to the recipe.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(Heaven forbid I should follow a recipe as written.)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I used half all-purpose flour and half whole wheat pastry flour; increased the ground ginger to 3/4 teaspoon; and omitted the orange zest, walnuts and glaze.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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Several reviewers had commented on getting golf-ball shaped cookies because the dough did not spread.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Knowing ahead of time that the dough wouldn’t spread gave me an idea.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Instead of using my normal-sized cookie scoop, I chose to use the larger scoop I normally use to fill cupcake tins and then a small off-set spatula to spread the dough into large rounds.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The baking time required a little bit of trial and error, but fortunately the error part was limited to one sheet of six cookies – six really big cookies. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Great Pumpkin cookies, Charlie Brown! </div>
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They were okay, but it seemed like something was missing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Despite using the entire can of pumpkin, the cookies didn’t scream “PUMPKIN!” like I wanted them to, and my taste buds thought they could have used a little more salt.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And then there was that cakey texture and lack of sweetness the reviewers talked about.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I didn’t think these things would bother me, but they kind of did.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Whoops.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Now what?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And it occurred to me that my answer was in my reaction. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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The obvious thing for large, round, cake-like cookies was whoopie pies (or in my case “whoopsie” pies).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Now a filling was needed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Most recipes I’ve seen use the typical butter and powdered sugar “creme” filling.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I thought a caramel filling would be good, though not necessarily traditional.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The compromise was to combine them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For the creme filling, I combined one-half cup of butter with one cup of powdered sugar and a pinch of salt.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The caramel filling was made by cooking a can of sweetened condensed milk until it had a thick, spreadable consistency.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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The filling definitely compensated for the lack of sweetness, and made them very rich; but they’re still not <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">great</i> and are way too rich to want them frequently, even with my intense fondness for rich, sugary goodness.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Currently, there are seven pumpkin chocolate chip whoopsie pies in the freezer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m thinking I should have gone with the donuts.</div>
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Tugs Girlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16358805885062849196noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-810775819562420086.post-37057485443125474012012-08-28T18:55:00.000-05:002012-08-28T18:55:46.657-05:00Transitions
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Totally unrelated to this post, but I think thistles are beautiful. Must be the Celt in me.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">While it's been very quiet here on the blog, life couldn't be more opposite. You should have been reading about the Daring Bakers' challenge on Monday; however, for my sanity I really needed to opt out this month. August is nearly over and I barely remember it beginning. I would like to tell you my days have been filled with gardening, reading and baking, but nothing could be further from the truth. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia;">At the end of June, Tug and I discussed me returning to work. (I've mentioned before my problem with contributing only to expenses and not income.) We both agreed it will be a big adjustment, but he supported my decision. Fortunately, I could be flexible in terms of full-time, part-time, salary, etc. Tug was very specific that I should only accept an offer of employment if I was completely comfortable with it. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia;">So in early July, I began taking Civil Service exams to return to work at the university I left four years ago. </span><span style="font-family: Georgia;">This is a public university and as such, is a state entity. That means nothing. happens. quickly. Especially the employment process. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia;">Instead of gardening, reading and baking in August, I've been updating my resume, trying to figure out which pieces of my pre-culinary school work wardrobe still fits, shopping for replacements and going on interviews. I've had four. I received three offers of employment. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia;">The first interview and offer was in the departmen</span><span style="font-family: Georgia;">t </span><span style="font-family: Georgia;">I left four years ago. I honestly felt that returning to that department would cause some very hard feelings with the person who is now doing the job I had. And since the responsibilities of the position I was offered sounded beyond monotonous, I declined the offer. There is much to be said for the luxury of choice.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia;">There was no offer of employment from my second interview and that didn't upset me at all.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia;">The third interview was in a very desirable area of the university. It went well despite my being at a total loss and stumbling when asked, "How would a former supervisor describe you?" I'm not comfortable speaking as to others' opinions of me. I was still offered the position, however. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia;">I was set to accept this offer pending university approval. Then I was notified I was eligible to interview for another position. Since the approval for other position was still pending and there are no guarantees until the contract is signed, I accepted the interview. The next day I was offered the position. While my initial thought was that I would be happy with either position, the tension ache in my left shoulder was trying to tell me otherwise. I listened. I accepted the offer from my fourth interview and start on Thursday. The pain in my shoulder is gone and I'm excited about my first day instead of anxious.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia;">Without a doubt, there will be days when "what was I thinking?!" will pass through my thoughts. I know I will miss the freedom of being a homemaker. But I also know it will be good to get out of the house, learn to manage my time again and meet new people. And there will be a very satisfying feeling upon receiving that first check. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia;">Things will probably remain fairly quiet around here for awhile as I adjust to my new schedule. I hope you'll stay tuned with me to see how it all works out.</span>Tugs Girlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16358805885062849196noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-810775819562420086.post-55705267350588626722012-08-01T21:45:00.001-05:002012-08-01T21:48:00.685-05:00Black Velvet . . . if you please<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">To the song and to the whisky, I would say, “no thanks.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>This is neither.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>Last Sunday Tug and I went to our local big box warehouse store to stock up on some essentials (mainly coffee).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Going in, I had some concerns as they <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">always</i> have fruit, and usually have something unusual that I feel I must have.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was determined not to succumb to my fruit for jam addiction.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This shopping excursion taught me that I have an enabling husband.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We came home with three more pounds of dark cherries and something totally new to me – Black Velvet apricots.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">looking like plums here, but with warm fuzzies</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">Black Velvet apricots are actually yet another cross between apricots and plums.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This particular variety has been developed, and is apparently owned, by <a href="http://www.kingsburgorchards.com/" target="_blank">Kingsburg Orchards</a> in California.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m not sure if their flavor is remarkably different from pluots, plumcots or apriums; but visually, they are absolutely stunning.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They’re fuzzy like apricots; they’re about the size of plums, maybe a bit smaller; they’re the color of dark purple plums; and, to me, they taste more like plums.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So when looking for recipes for jam, I looked at both apricots and plums.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And I looked at a LOT of recipes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Like <a href="http://localkitchenblog.com/2010/07/15/100-local-apricot-plum-preserves/" target="_blank">this one</a>, and <a href="http://hitchhikingtoheaven.com/2011/07/neighborhood-plum-jam.html" target="_blank">this one</a>, and <a href="http://whatjuliaate.blogspot.com/2010/04/apricot-plum-jam-with-orange-pectin.html" target="_blank">this one</a>, and <a href="http://www.foodinjars.com/2011/07/urban-preserving-apricot-rosemary-jam/" target="_blank">this one</a>, and several more.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';"><a href="http://www.coconutandlime.com/2011/08/black-velvet-apricot-tellicherry-jam.html" target="_blank">This one</a> from Coconut & Lime is specific to Black Velvet apricots, so it was my starting point.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Since I didn’t have tellicherry peppercorns, and I’ve become quite fond of using chipotles in preserves (thanks to <a href="http://localkitchenblog.com/2012/06/26/smoky-chipotle-cherries/" target="_blank">Local Kitchen</a>), I subbed a chipotle for the peppercorns.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Although I don’t particularly care for overly sweet preserves, I did increase the sugar by 1/4 cup, thinking it may help with the consistency of the finished jam.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">I’ll be honest:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I Googled Black Velvet apricots when we got home.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While most of the websites talking about them mentioned their golden yellow flesh, mine had much more purple to them especially around the pits.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Perhaps because they were riper?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The other quality mentioned was how juicy they were.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I can definitely attest to that.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Had I been cutting these on a board versus over the bowl, there would have been juice <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">everywhere</i>. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">What I didn’t know about the Black Velvet apricots when we bought them is that they are a clingstone fruit.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My experience with clingstone fruits is the riper the fruit, the more it clings to the pit.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I had selected what I believed to be the ripest of the apricots available.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">the stubborn little pits <br />
(you know I stuck some of these in some dirt, dont you?)</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">The process of pitting them took much, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">much</i> longer than the 20 minutes I had anticipated before cutting into the first one, and I knew I wouldn’t have time to finish everything before an interview I had scheduled in the afternoon. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It wasn’t initially my intent to make this a two-day jam.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">this stuff foamed up like crazy while it was cooking</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">Although I don’t think the fruity taste of the finished jam can be identified specifically as apricot or plum, I’m still pleased with it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There’s a tartness that didn’t get masked by too much sugar, and just a hint of smokiness from the chipotle.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The skins give the jam gorgeous color.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The set was a little bit soft when I tried it, but given that I opened the jar less than 24 hours after it was processed this isn’t unexpected.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>More than likely it will continue to firm up over time. Overall, two spoons up!</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">my favorite way to eat jam - with Greek-style yogurt</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="color: #17365d;"><span style="font-family: Cambria;">Smoky Black Velvet Apricot Jam<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Californian FB','serif';"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Adapted primarily from Coconut & Lime<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Californian FB','serif';">juice of one lemon <br />1350 g Black Velvet apricots<br />500 g sugar<br />1 dried chipotle pepper*<br /><br />Strain the lemon juice into a large bowl.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Halve (or quarter) and pit the apricots, adding the fruit to the bowl with the lemon juice.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Add the sugar and chipotle and stir gently.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Cover and refrigerate overnight.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Californian FB','serif';">Day 2:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Prepare a water bath canner and five half-pint jars with lids and bands.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Strain the apricots in a colander set over a large, heavy-bottomed pan to collect the juice.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Find the chipotle (*if you want spicy heat as well as smokiness, break the chipotle open) and add it to the pan with the juice.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Return the apricots to the bowl.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Bring the juice to a boil over medium heat.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Cook, stirring occasionally, until the syrup reaches 220°F.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Skim as needed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Remove the chipotle and add the apricots, along with any accumulated juices, to the syrup and return the mixture to 220°F.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Remove from heat and skim again, if necessary.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Californian FB','serif';">Ladle the jam into the prepared jars leaving 1/4-inch headspace. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Attach the lids and screw on the bands finger tight.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Process the jars in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Allow the jars to sit for 5 minutes in the canner, off of the heat and uncovered.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Remove the jars to a rack to cool for 24 hours.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Check the seal on the jars, remove the bands and store in a cool, dark place for up to one year.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Any jars that didn’t seal should be stored in the refrigerator and used within one month.<br /><br />Makes about 4 half-pint jars.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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</div>Tugs Girlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16358805885062849196noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-810775819562420086.post-72450028273977117222012-07-27T01:00:00.000-05:002012-07-27T07:38:02.506-05:00Crack(er)ing Up<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
While I’m ordinarily one of the last ones to finish my Daring Bakers’ challenges, this time I was among the first. There was a possibility I would be returning to full-time employment in July so I wanted to do my challenge baking while I knew I would have time. Unfortunately, that meant baking while the thermometer hovered somewhere around 104°F. But the motivation was there, so I went with it. By the time I was done, Satan would have felt at home in our kitchen.<br />
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Our July 2012 Daring Bakers’ Hostess was Dana McFarlane and she challenged us to make homemade crackers. Dana showed us some techniques for making crackers and encouraged us to use our creativity to make each cracker our own by using ingredients we love. The challenge required us to make crackers using two of three different methods: hand rolled crackers, “ice box” (sliced) crackers or crackers made using a pasta roller. </div>
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My first cracker was a hand rolled cracker using a recipe I’d saved some time ago from King Arthur Flour for <a href="http://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/carta-da-musica-recipe" target="_blank">Carta di Musica</a>. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEwOzCU1DkAyaaHu-2hix69QORl6431nw3I7Xs9-V6cZOF4z_iUJO145wtnrAu2Mat6-8eRuz-phJ4auQyItnFf5aniZmh3FDAKxr1lGNvJqmsJdmtGnrKYIOo0vtNp4LrxCYkJldL_sQ/s1600/100_3946.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEwOzCU1DkAyaaHu-2hix69QORl6431nw3I7Xs9-V6cZOF4z_iUJO145wtnrAu2Mat6-8eRuz-phJ4auQyItnFf5aniZmh3FDAKxr1lGNvJqmsJdmtGnrKYIOo0vtNp4LrxCYkJldL_sQ/s640/100_3946.JPG" vca="true" width="640" /></a></div>
The recipe is intended to be thin, crisp, cracker-like bread about seven inches in diameter. I used the recipe as is but just made them much smaller. <br />
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The recipe itself is beyond easy: <br />
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combine the ingredients in your mixer bowl and mix with the dough hook on medium speed for about seven minutes; <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHtYfo0GaVvLVsrLbxJuF50mWlNstAQBtyB37qpnzXbx3fTfH7zQrPGJVKbmJ-FY03rTQKa38-IVFJSUOolDxXTJAmIsXEg3JMNBV-InDmss1FrEkWjcQ0F1LWSLXhOJ4mNVGiY892lNY/s1600/100_3921.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHtYfo0GaVvLVsrLbxJuF50mWlNstAQBtyB37qpnzXbx3fTfH7zQrPGJVKbmJ-FY03rTQKa38-IVFJSUOolDxXTJAmIsXEg3JMNBV-InDmss1FrEkWjcQ0F1LWSLXhOJ4mNVGiY892lNY/s400/100_3921.JPG" vca="true" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">after the ingredients are combined, the dough will pull away from the sides of the bowl</td></tr>
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divide the dough and let it rest; <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPfOqWUSwdZAssPd1bAJPecJuiiZWeAezjb-AAYLZr6YvLnhsBlHN-myZO5yOogXk5tto1iHdia8UCbWEU1dEd-bxDy7O23G01VmkJQHjck8WM-Wp32Yjnzk-0a8EJSVd06K9DBZ9jmLw/s1600/100_3922.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPfOqWUSwdZAssPd1bAJPecJuiiZWeAezjb-AAYLZr6YvLnhsBlHN-myZO5yOogXk5tto1iHdia8UCbWEU1dEd-bxDy7O23G01VmkJQHjck8WM-Wp32Yjnzk-0a8EJSVd06K9DBZ9jmLw/s400/100_3922.JPG" vca="true" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I weighed out my pieces to try to keep them as uniform as possible</td></tr>
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roll it and bake it. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG9krogRj2wTaXtbAcHjYQwtJUK0e769zw5pbrsUXd28gVjDLoXoCEkABWF9lUAa4OqFq7nPxSTDfiV_kmKzunGDIVWgV6H7VLjrY7ha7bnTKjmbQZ7p_vB_S_BA7XRf4X1kLNG1v_wVE/s1600/100_3926.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG9krogRj2wTaXtbAcHjYQwtJUK0e769zw5pbrsUXd28gVjDLoXoCEkABWF9lUAa4OqFq7nPxSTDfiV_kmKzunGDIVWgV6H7VLjrY7ha7bnTKjmbQZ7p_vB_S_BA7XRf4X1kLNG1v_wVE/s400/100_3926.JPG" vca="true" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">rolled and ready to bake</td></tr>
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The only things I would do differently would be to make them slightly smaller and roll the dough thinner. It took my crackers a lot longer to bake than the recipe indicated, and some places where the dough was too thick ended up being hard instead of crispy-crunchy. I brushed the warm baked crackers with olive oil and sprinkled them with rosemary salt. As is, they are pretty much a blank canvas. I think the next batch will get spiced up a little bit.</div>
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For my second cracker, an ice box cracker, I adapted Ina Garten’s recipe for <a href="http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/blue-cheese-and-walnut-crackers-recipe/index.html" target="_blank">blue cheese and walnut crackers</a> into white cheddar, cranberry and walnut crackers. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBKUm_YYk-_Zx9LUR3ZOHeZxlonEObDOwo1oHm1oP2XG1S_jpYouSvXoITqJaqVeCIc-KYNTyfVGJGgIhR-WAd4Y-qjbILKLuxrlho2AcC_nGVItVTaTh1gAq0AaCUCe0dKNPP5WMAudA/s1600/100_3960.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBKUm_YYk-_Zx9LUR3ZOHeZxlonEObDOwo1oHm1oP2XG1S_jpYouSvXoITqJaqVeCIc-KYNTyfVGJGgIhR-WAd4Y-qjbILKLuxrlho2AcC_nGVItVTaTh1gAq0AaCUCe0dKNPP5WMAudA/s640/100_3960.JPG" vca="true" width="640" /></a></div>
The most difficult part of these was finely chopping the sticky dried cranberries. (Dana, a big THANK YOU for this challenge. Seriously, had I realized making crackers was so stupidly easy I would have done it a long time ago!) I made these using the same method as food processor pie crust.<br />
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Measure out the dry ingredients and stir in the dried cranberries. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLjl1EWKMf1DK1zYgJ4DAo1G0b4XNhsZgEmHjvZn4aIwHk5VYamInzUID_qBYdMHYymlglsQkqjCauqXQflvqhjGJZmzeT0Fur4aSnj74c3wmTfLJhTAHgGBlr8rHwR6x43YPWp3kO17k/s1600/100_3955.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLjl1EWKMf1DK1zYgJ4DAo1G0b4XNhsZgEmHjvZn4aIwHk5VYamInzUID_qBYdMHYymlglsQkqjCauqXQflvqhjGJZmzeT0Fur4aSnj74c3wmTfLJhTAHgGBlr8rHwR6x43YPWp3kO17k/s320/100_3955.JPG" vca="true" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">the cranberries really are in there</td></tr>
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Then add the cheese to the work bowl of the food processor and give it several pulses until it's coarsely grated.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5kwtlDp-eRpi6XvQiI8xdCTZ5JcSnL4vnsBnO99ymLZJl-SDiQDAWV6TewdxzBiBuEacRWbceLCp1ad5c_Ko2oLXui2dx_d_jay1zJBshqqp7nKN5cw2aPLjMjfrsPsialP6sMu-HmOM/s1600/100_3954.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5kwtlDp-eRpi6XvQiI8xdCTZ5JcSnL4vnsBnO99ymLZJl-SDiQDAWV6TewdxzBiBuEacRWbceLCp1ad5c_Ko2oLXui2dx_d_jay1zJBshqqp7nKN5cw2aPLjMjfrsPsialP6sMu-HmOM/s320/100_3954.JPG" vca="true" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I could have shredded this by hand, but white cheddar is<br />
notoriously crumbly and I don't like shredding my fingers</td></tr>
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Add the dry ingredients and the cold butter cubes to the cheese, whirl it around to combine and with the processor running, slowly add one to two tablespoons of ice cold water until the dough comes together.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOHoR_tH68bOeZIbcmpQKhjPXq40M72xRmXsiXDSj8mX6K4Aw1vRpYhQVefkssnneFVSXsHcFHqJ8fZlq3vpz9L-IO-xmma48yG9E16x2ce_0Hf45RXZ_3DbJgvf85lbs_49ErkZJEoMY/s1600/100_3956.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOHoR_tH68bOeZIbcmpQKhjPXq40M72xRmXsiXDSj8mX6K4Aw1vRpYhQVefkssnneFVSXsHcFHqJ8fZlq3vpz9L-IO-xmma48yG9E16x2ce_0Hf45RXZ_3DbJgvf85lbs_49ErkZJEoMY/s320/100_3956.JPG" vca="true" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">the amount of water you need can depend on the humidity</td></tr>
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Turn the dough out on to a sheet of parchment (or plastic) and roll it into a log. Wrap the dough log and refrigerate it for at least 30 minutes or overnight. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAofYUFTVbTvW4vzZyAwXGlqBOP_WRaQQSQaRdKwfcNvbk73Vuiapo5BSBTY1HNFZcxQxg94U6Ge82424nHvZVsITC0YhDpJSNknkcEiFzjXi9qrB0ga8onHThIAPqoT_GfUERixD14qY/s1600/100_3957.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAofYUFTVbTvW4vzZyAwXGlqBOP_WRaQQSQaRdKwfcNvbk73Vuiapo5BSBTY1HNFZcxQxg94U6Ge82424nHvZVsITC0YhDpJSNknkcEiFzjXi9qrB0ga8onHThIAPqoT_GfUERixD14qY/s320/100_3957.JPG" vca="true" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">ready to wrap and refrigerate (the "ice box" part)</td></tr>
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Slice the dough log into 1/8" - 1/4" slices using a thin, sharp knife,<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqnc4-upueAXh_6Sx4uPGVcV4MA8ObduB1rLxrjQXHQY3G1SMUmP0aZJhrr7kIL96RFWWObaHBXNcfvcGRMd-1WXfwbonHc3cNJyCcnidDketEthp-h6Qvy7s6PiUAWAC_hA4e5Xh4vIY/s1600/100_3958.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqnc4-upueAXh_6Sx4uPGVcV4MA8ObduB1rLxrjQXHQY3G1SMUmP0aZJhrr7kIL96RFWWObaHBXNcfvcGRMd-1WXfwbonHc3cNJyCcnidDketEthp-h6Qvy7s6PiUAWAC_hA4e5Xh4vIY/s320/100_3958.JPG" vca="true" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">thinner slices = crisper crackers</td></tr>
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then place on a parchment lined baking sheet and bake to perfection.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgap0Cq7EGySoQWL-aYVvQdzOh4KpwsExBI37pkhAsC__bjuxi5WR3nQVgukzRRlT80JG3h34IlXsBC-7s72y90hMDAAxQ8sQSv9ZeOvYiioStpPxs4h6SbQga1ETIIYzysotnEqnVOFMM/s1600/100_3959.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgap0Cq7EGySoQWL-aYVvQdzOh4KpwsExBI37pkhAsC__bjuxi5WR3nQVgukzRRlT80JG3h34IlXsBC-7s72y90hMDAAxQ8sQSv9ZeOvYiioStpPxs4h6SbQga1ETIIYzysotnEqnVOFMM/s320/100_3959.JPG" vca="true" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">these will spread a little bit as they bake</td></tr>
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The problem with my recipe is that it didn't quite produce perfection. The original recipe contained quite a bit of salt and I didn't adjust the quantity of salt in light of the fact I was using salty extra-sharp white cheddar. Even with the sweet cranberries, these crackers are SAL-TY. That being said, they are still oddly addictive and even Tug liked them, probably because the salt overpowered the sweetness of the cranberries.<br />
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Not all of the crackers fit on my baking sheet and those left over went back in the refrigerator. The oven had been on long enough. I was looking at them the next day and an idea to reduce their saltiness occurred to me. Next to the wrapped, unbaked crackers was a plastic bag with some raw, rinsed potato slices left over from a gratin. I've always heard if you over season a soup or sauce to put a large piece of raw potato in it to absorb some of the salt - so why not try and layer my unbaked crackers with the raw potato slices? Why not, indeed. I patted dry the potato slices and sandwiched them in between the sliced cracker dough. The whole package was re-wrapped and put back in the refrigerator for several hours. When I unwrapped them, I was amazed at how much moisture had been drawn out - I had to blot the crackers before baking them! But you know what? It worked! Those crackers weren't even half as salty as the first ones I baked. (For the recipe below, I have drastically reduced the quantity of salt.)<br />
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For the recipes and techniques provided for the challenge, please visit <a href="http://thedaringkitchen.com/recipe" target="_blank">The Daring Kitchen Recipe Archive</a>, and check out all of the inspiring results at <a href="http://thedaringkitchen.com/" target="_blank">The Daring Kitchen</a>. To see some particularly inspiring crackers, check out <a href="http://audaxartifex.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Audax Artifex</a> - I would love to try his recipes some time!<br />
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<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="color: #17365d;"><span style="font-family: Cambria;">White Cheddar, Cranberry and Walnut Crackers </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Californian FB","serif";">Adapted from Ina Garten’s Blue Cheese and Walnut Crackers<b></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Californian FB","serif";">206 g (1-1/2 cups) Italian 00 flour</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Californian FB","serif";">2 g (1/2 tsp) kosher salt</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Californian FB","serif";">freshly ground pepper to taste</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Californian FB","serif";">41 g (1/3 cup) walnuts, toasted and finely chopped </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Californian FB","serif";">43 g (1/4 cup) dried cranberries, finely chopped</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Californian FB","serif";">170 g (6 oz) white cheddar cheese, cold, cubed</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Californian FB","serif";">113 g (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, cold, cubed</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Californian FB","serif";">1 – 2 Tbs ice cold water</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Californian FB","serif";">Scrape the dough onto a sheet of parchment or plastic wrap, press it together, and roll into a log about 12 inches long. Wrap the dough in the parchment or plastic and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or overnight.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Californian FB","serif";">Preheat the oven to 350</span><span style="font-family: "Californian FB","serif";">°</span><span style="font-family: "Californian FB","serif";">F.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Californian FB","serif";">Slice the dough 1/8- to 1/4-inch thick with a thin, sharp knife. Place the crackers one inch apart on a sheet pan lined with parchment. Bake the crackers for 20 – 22 minutes until lightly golden brown, rotating the pan halfway through baking. Remove the crackers to a rack to cool. Serve at room temperature. Store the crackers in an airtight container at room temperature for up to three days. If necessary, reheat the crackers in a 350° oven for five minutes to crisp.</span></div>
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</div>Tugs Girlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16358805885062849196noreply@blogger.com20tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-810775819562420086.post-396816316127613502012-07-24T21:47:00.000-05:002012-08-01T10:04:04.204-05:00Giving<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">With the abundance of produce right now, I've gone <strike>slightly</strike> majorly overboard with making jams and jellies this month. As if I didn't already have enough, I canned 24 more jars today. The shelf I have designated for my preserves is not going to be able to withstand the weight of all of these jars (more than 50). I mentioned previously that some will be gifted to friends. And I've also decided to gift some to one of you.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">To be honest, I'm a little leery about doing a give-away of my homemade preserves. We seem to live in such a litigious society these days that I fear someone may sue me because I missed a cherry pit in the cherry preserves. Instead of forgetting it all together, I'm opting for the wordy disclosure/disclaimer statement at the end. (Please be sure to read.)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">This is a list of the preserves I've made this month. <span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">All jars are half pints with the exception of the rainier cherry preserves, which are in four ounce jars. </span></span><br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">peach jelly</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">peach-champagne jelly</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">chai-infused peach jelly (the best of the jellies, in my opinion)</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">brown sugar peach jam</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">apricot-Sauternes jam (the Sauternes makes this <i>very</i> sweet)</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">apricot jam with hibiscus and cardamom (one of my fair entries this year)</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">rhubarb-ginger jam (my personal favorite)</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">apple-ginger jam</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">strawberry-chipotle preserves (this one has some heat)</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">cherry-chipotle preserves (more smoky than spicy)</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">rainier cherry preserves</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">sour cherry-almond preserves</span></li>
</ul>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Leave me a comment by midnight CDT July 31, 2012 telling me which four you would like to try and an e-mail address to contact you if you win. (I won't be using your e-mail address for any other purpose, but I recommend spelling out the @ (at) and . (dot) to reduce chances of third-party spam. I will chose one winner via random.org on August 1, 2012. The winner will receive the four preserves of their choice. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Ready for the (not so) <b>fine print</b>?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">My apologies to international readers but because of the weight, I will ship the preserves (at my expense) to a U.S. address only via USPS Priority Mail. I will do my best to package the jars in such a manner to avoid breakage. I've had a lot of practice mailing things to my dad, so I'm getting pretty good at it.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">You must select four different preserves, not four of the same kind. Sorry, but of some I have only four jars.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">These are preserves made by me in our home, not a commercially licensed or inspected kitchen. As hard as I work to </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">keep our kitchen clean, the fact remains that we have three dogs and dog hair <i>can</i> get into places one wouldn't think possible. Every reasonable (and, frankly, unreasonable) attempt has been made to ensure all seeds and pits have been removed, but there still exists the possibility I missed one.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Our kitchen is a hot bed for common food allergens. We are allergic to practically nothing and consistently have peanuts, peanut products, tree nuts, wheat products and dairy in our kitchen. As I said, I make every attempt to keep a clean kitchen but I do not guarantee anything from our kitchen to be free of cross-contamination of food allergens.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">It's extremely hot here right now - <i>really hot</i> - with no indication of relief any time soon. I don't know what the effect of said heat will be on jars of preserves during shipping. All preserves have been processed according to USDA guidelines; however, I can only control quality while the preserves are in my possession.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia;">So, after all of that, if you're still interested, let me know which four you would choose and good luck!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia;">UPDATE: The winner is the divine Ms. Terry - congrats!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia;"> </span>Tugs Girlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16358805885062849196noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-810775819562420086.post-76969980046324210192012-07-16T20:48:00.001-05:002012-07-17T07:31:01.962-05:00Jamming and Canning<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Saturday was </span><a href="http://www.freshpreserving.com/community/events/can-it-forward.aspx" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">National Can-It-Forward Day</span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">. While I am a canning enthusiast, this isn’t something that I sign up for or, realistically, to which I pay much heed. For the last two years, however, it seems like I end up canning on Can-It-Forward Day without premeditation. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">My canning weekend started with two pounds of sweet cherries I picked up while grocery shopping on Thursday. I bought them with a purpose other than just eating them – which is what happened to the last cherries I bought. Kaela of Local Kitchen had a recipe for </span><a href="http://www.freshpreserving.com/community/events/can-it-forward.aspx" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Smoky Chipotle Cherries</span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> that I just had to try. When I read the recipe, I knew I had not the slightest chance of finding the Portuguese cherry liqueur in Southern Illinois. I chose to substitute with 1/4 cup dry red wine and 1/4 cup crème de cacao. It worked. Really, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">really</i>, well. So well, that I feel the need to get more cherries. I mean, it only made three jars. That can’t possibly be enough.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">On Friday I pulled a couple of bags of frozen peach peels and pits from the freezer. Odd things to keep in the freezer you’re thinking? Possibly. Last year I made a lot of peach jam and canned some peaches in ginger syrup. It seemed like such a waste to throw out or even compost those beautiful (and tasty) peach peels. So instead, I used some of them to infuse some white wine jelly. The deep red peach pits gave the jelly a gorgeous color. This year I made the jelly with some dry sparkling white wine. Before ladling the jelly into the jars, I added an extra two teaspoons of the sparkling wine to each jar in hopes it would give the jelly a bubbly appearance. It did at first, but after processing the bubbles seem to have disappeared. I’ll work on that. I’m planning on entering peach jelly in the state fair this year so I need to get my recipe just right. But since I have five jars of this batch, the next one need be a bit smaller.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">In June I had purchased a couple of bundles of rhubarb just because it was a great price. Since I didn’t have anything immediately in mind for it, I diced it and put in the freezer. After finishing the peach jelly on Friday, I decided to pull out the rhubarb for some </span><a href="http://localkitchenblog.com/2009/05/26/tais-rhubarb-ginger-jam/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">rhubarb-ginger jam</span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">. This batch of jam wasn’t the beautiful color of that I’d made previously because of the lack of color in the rhubarb. To help it out, I added a spoonful of dried hibiscus petals. I’m pretty happy with the end result. Rhubarb-ginger jam is one of my favorites to add to my yogurt, so I have a feeling these six jars won’t last me nearly as long as they should. </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAhc5ylG6mVFxIyt655ITgAsBPXRpzR8r_hNdZ4jCfgYF5rRq_27iTwUD1rjxiUTnvV_5XN6ealrhUDxMHet82fm9VzobojdxOWlPOizuF3V11ygqH_lqoU9xBb1ka6l0H-VWKHbg3uzc/s1600/First+Three.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img $ca="true" border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAhc5ylG6mVFxIyt655ITgAsBPXRpzR8r_hNdZ4jCfgYF5rRq_27iTwUD1rjxiUTnvV_5XN6ealrhUDxMHet82fm9VzobojdxOWlPOizuF3V11ygqH_lqoU9xBb1ka6l0H-VWKHbg3uzc/s400/First+Three.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">smoky chipotle cherries, peach champagne jelly, rhubarb-ginger jam</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Saturday morning Tug and I went to the farmers’ market. In addition to coming home with a couple of cantaloupes, some small eggplants and a huge bunch of kale, I bought . . . more fruit. Peaches. Although I made a lot of peach jam and jelly last year, most of it is gone and I didn’t get to try all of the ideas I had in mind. One of my favorite ways to eat peaches is sliced at room temperature, sprinkled with brown sugar and drizzled with a little bit of cream. Decadent and unhealthy? Absolutely. But also absolutely delicious. Keeping that combination in mind, I made peach jam substituting one cup of brown sugar for one cup of the granulated sugar and adding a touch of maple syrup. Other than all seven jars experiencing fruit float, I’m really happy with this one as well.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">By Sunday, I already had more jam and jelly that one woman reasonably needs but I have never claimed to be reasonable. I’ve had some apricots (a lot, actually) in the freezer with the intent of making apricot jam and since I was on a roll, it seemed a good time to get them out. Part of them was made into Martha Stewart’s </span><a href="http://www.marthastewart.com/318320/apricot-sauternes-jam" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Apricot Sauternes Jam</span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">, using domestic sauternes. This jam was literally a bit of a pain. (Am I the only woman to ever burn her <i>foot</i> making jam?!) Despite the large pot I used, the sugary concoction bubbled madly out of its boundaries. It was supposed to boil at 220°F for five to six minutes, but I never made it to that temperature. It was getting late and I was getting tired of being spattered with screaming hot sugar syrup so I cheated. I dissolved about a tablespoon of powdered pectin in an equal amount of water and stirred it into the boiling jam. It seems to have done the trick. This recipe only made five half-pints, which is okay as it's extremely sweet. If you’ve been counting though, that brings the total up to 26 half-pint jars thus far.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">And I still wasn’t finished with the apricots. While I was preparing them for the apricot-sauternes jam, I also prepped some for apricot jam with hibiscus and cardamom. I chose a slightly different technique for this jam. Instead of immediately cooking it, I mixed the majority of the ingredients together and allowed them to macerate overnight in the refrigerator. The purpose for that mostly being because it <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">was</i> getting late (9:00 p.m. by the time I finished the other apricot jam), I still had a big mess to clean up, and I was getting tired of standing at the stove.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">This morning, I finished the jam. When cooking this batch, I kept the temperature set a little lower in an attempt to avoid the violent spattering previously experienced. Again, however, it didn’t seem as though the jam was going to reach 220°F without a much longer cooking period than I wanted. And so again, I added a small amount of pectin slurry to shorten the cooking time. This recipe made six half-pint jars perfectly, so I didn’t have any left over to sample. However, an afternoon yogurt snack gave me the excuse to try it. Happily, it's not nearly as sweet as the apricot-sauternes jam. Unhappily, I'm not tasting the cardamom; but I find with cardamom, it's better to err on the side of too little versus too much and the flavor may develop over time.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">peach brown sugar jam, apricot sauternes jam, apricot jam with hibiscus and cardamom</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">So as of today, I have 32 half-pint jars of jam and jelly. This is in addition to 15 jars remaining (not including the too tart Rangpur lime marmalade) from last year’s jam session. In all fairness to myself, some of that recently made will be given as gifts. That being said, however, I still have plans for more jams and jellies in the future. </span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">all but the last six jars</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">No, indeed, I cannot possibly be labeled as reasonable.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="color: #17365d;"><span style="font-family: Cambria;">Peach Brown Sugar Jam</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Californian FB","serif";">Adapted from <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Put ‘em Up!</i> By Sherri Brooks Vinton</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Californian FB","serif";">1 cup water or white grape juice</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Californian FB","serif";">1/4 cup bottled lemon juice</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Californian FB","serif";">1.8 kg (4 lbs) ripe freestone peaches</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Californian FB","serif";">200 g (1 cup) granulated sugar</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Californian FB","serif";">200 g (1 cup packed) brown sugar</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Californian FB","serif";">1 Tbs Pomona’s Universal Pectin</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Californian FB","serif";">2 Tbs pure maple syrup</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Californian FB","serif";">1 Tbs calcium water (included with pectin; see instructions on box)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Californian FB","serif";">Prepare a boiling water bath canner and seven half-pint jars and lids. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Californian FB","serif";">Combine the water (or grape juice) and lemon juice in a large, non-reactive pot. Peel, pit and dice the peaches, dropping them into the pot with the juice mixture as you go.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Californian FB","serif";">Bring the peach mixture to a boil over medium high heat. Cook for five minutes, stirring to avoid sticking and burning. Meanwhile, combine the sugars and the pectin in a small bowl and stir together.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Californian FB","serif";">Lightly crush approximately one-third of the peaches. Add the sugar/pectin mixture and stir to dissolve. Add the maple syrup. Return the mixture to a full boil and boil for one minute. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Californian FB","serif";">Stir in the calcium water and immediately remove from the heat.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Californian FB","serif";">Ladle the hot jam into the clean jars leaving 1/4" headspace. Position lids on the jars and screw on the bands finger tight. Place the jars in the water bath canner and once the water returns to a boil, process for 10 minutes.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Californian FB","serif";">After 10 minutes turn off the heat, remove the lid from the canner and let the jars rest in the water for five minutes. Remove the jars to a rack and cool 24 hours. Check to make sure all of the jars sealed, refrigerating any that didn’t. Remove the bands from the sealed jars, label with the contents and date, and store in a cool, dark place for up to one year.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Californian FB","serif";">Makes approximately seven cups of jam.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="color: #17365d;"><span style="font-family: Cambria;">Apricot Jam with Hibiscus & Cardamom</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Californian FB","serif";">Yield:<b> </b></span><span style="font-family: "Californian FB","serif";">about 6 cups</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Californian FB","serif";">1430 g pitted fresh apricots, halved and quartered</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Californian FB","serif";">juice from half of a large lemon</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Californian FB","serif";">450 g granulated sugar</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Californian FB","serif";">250 g turbinado sugar</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Californian FB","serif";">1/8 tsp kosher salt</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Californian FB","serif";">3/8 tsp ground cardamom, divided</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Californian FB","serif";">1/2 tsp dried organic hibiscus petals</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Californian FB","serif";">1 Tbs powdered pectin (such as Ball or Sure-Jel)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Californian FB","serif";">2 Tbs warm water</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Californian FB","serif";">Toss the apricots with the lemon juice in a large, non-reactive bowl. Stir together the sugars, salt and 1/8 teaspoon of the cardamom. Add to the apricots and gently toss to combine. Cover and refrigerate overnight. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Californian FB","serif";">The next day, prepare a water bath canner and six half-pint jars and lids. Bring the fruit mixture to a gentle boil in a large non-reactive pot, stirring to dissolve sugar. Add the remaining cardamom and the hibiscus petals. Skim foam from surface as necessary. Cook, stirring more frequently as jam thickens, until it is the consistency of very loose jelly and reaches at least 210°F. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Californian FB","serif";">Combine the pectin powder with the warm water and stir to dissolve. Add to the jam and boil for one minute. Remove the pot from heat, allow the jam to sit for five minutes and skim again if necessary.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Californian FB","serif";">Ladle the hot jam into the prepared jars, and cover immediately with lids. Screw on the bands finger tight. Place the jars in the canner and process 10 minutes once the water returns to a boil. Remove from the heat and allow the jars to sit in the water, uncovered, for five minutes before removing to a rack to cool. After 24 hours, check the lids to make sure the jars have sealed. Any jars that did not seal should be refrigerated. Remove the bands from the sealed jars, label with the contents and date, and store in a cool, dark place for up to one year.</span></div>Tugs Girlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16358805885062849196noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-810775819562420086.post-3471684934709932902012-07-08T16:09:00.000-05:002012-07-08T16:09:13.505-05:00July Garden UpdateA couple of days ago I received a comment on <a href="http://tugsgirl.blogspot.com/2012/06/june-garden-update.html" target="_blank">June Garden Update</a> that made me smile. Within this comment, the author professed to a "black thumb" and indicated that, given my container garden, I would now "have someone to gloat over". Beyond that fact that it's not really my style, it's very easy to resist any temptation to gloat. This is why:<br />
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Beyond the fact that my fennel never developed the robust bulbs it should have, it became a buffet for seven black swallowtail caterpillars which apparently find fennel fronds extremely tasty. Given that the caterpillars disappeared suddenly, I have a feeling that the cardinals that nested near our deck apparently find black swallowtail caterpillars extremely tasty.<br />
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I planted several varieties of tomatoes this year, hoping to be inundated with tomatoes for canning. All varieties but the cherry tomatoes developed blossom end rot. There are sprays available to prevent this, but I choose to keep my garden as natural as possible, and will have to sacrifice some of my tomatoes as a result. <br />
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We frequently have had to water the containers twice a day as the heat here in Southern Illinois has been of record-breaking intensity lately. Too intense for my sweet peppers apparently. Quite a few of them are suffering from sun burn.<br />
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Earlier in the year, the squash plants were covered with blossoms. I had resisted using the blossoms, preferring to let them develop fruits. (Katie, I should have just picked the blossoms!) As it was, insipid little boring insects attacked the plants causing the blossoms to wither and fall off before they could fruit. The plants are regrowing, but I'm not optimistic about being overwhelmed with squash.<br />
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On a more positive note, the chile peppers and tomatillos, though not ready for harvest, are doing quite well and I have harvested my first ever Italian cippolini onions. Thankfully, the only fault I can find with the onions is that I didn't plant nearly enough of them.<br />
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And on an even more positive note, it has just started to rain. Hallelujah!Tugs Girlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16358805885062849196noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-810775819562420086.post-23823663263509998722012-06-27T05:00:00.000-05:002012-06-27T05:00:04.014-05:00Battenberg Up<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
When I read this month’s Daring Baker’s challenge, I was kind of excited that it was cake.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> "<a href="http://thedaringkitchen.com/users/mandym">Mandy</a> of <a href="http://www.mandymortimer.com/">What The Fruitcake?!</a> came to our rescue last minute to present us with the Battenberg Cake challenge! She highlighted Mary Berry’s techniques and recipes to allow us to create this unique little cake with ease." </span>It’s been awhile since I’ve made a cake and I’ve been feeling the urge a little bit.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This cake was the perfect answer as although it’s small in size, it involves a lot of technique.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Perfect!<br />
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Knowing that June was shaping up to be a busy month, I had wanted to get the cake done early in the month.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That didn’t work out so well.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>On the day I decided I was going to bake the cake, I took the necessary butter and eggs out of the refrigerator to come to room temperature.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There were also several other things I had decided to do that day, and the pan with the ingredients kept getting in my way.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I finally decided to remove it from the kitchen completely instead of moving it from counter to counter.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It ended up on top of the washing machine (our laundry is just off of the kitchen).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In retrospect, this was not the most brilliant idea.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Especially since there was laundry in the washer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Once the spin cycle started, my pan vibrated right off the edge and on to the floor.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> I did manage to salvage the egg that landed on the butter.</span></div>
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You’ve heard that story and seen that picture before – <a href="http://tugsgirl.blogspot.com/2012/06/one-of-those-days.html" target="_blank">One of Those Days </a>– and that pretty much removed my motivation for the day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It wasn’t until about a week after returning from a visit to my dad’s before I chose to try again.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The deadline was nearing QUICKLY and I needed to allow enough time for at least one failure.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I would say I had a semi-failure, but it wasn’t enough to make me start over. </div>
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While I had read the recipe multiple times earlier in the month, when I actually started making it I failed to remember that I needed self-rising flour.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Self-rising flour is not something I use often enough to keep on hand.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Fortunately there were instructions for making your own, which is what I did.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Instead of using artificial color (which I prefer not to use) I colored my cakes with ground dried hibiscus petals and turmeric.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I got a little carried away with both.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I knew when I looked at the batter with the hibiscus that the color wasn’t going to turn out at all as I would have liked.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And then when I put the cakes in the oven, I realized I had forgotten to add the vanilla and almond extracts.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Big sigh.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It meant the cake wasn’t going to taste very good, but it wasn’t enough to make me start over.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>No one looking at the photo was going to know I forgot the extracts.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But the color!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What was intended to be pink and yellow ended up being purple and gold.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Fine for high school colors, but not so great for cake.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkxdBb28KYDWp6rwDxXxcaL1X2IPF1jaOuq1NDsKT7sszu7oIOPOkM_6bYOvoDskBAyJWt-M_MyGMOp5Rb1seHTilukfbaqHsrIrhaP5j1woD6rGeoO-rRhbADX_pc1MhwtwzF2U_tMDU/s1600/100_3907.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" rca="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkxdBb28KYDWp6rwDxXxcaL1X2IPF1jaOuq1NDsKT7sszu7oIOPOkM_6bYOvoDskBAyJWt-M_MyGMOp5Rb1seHTilukfbaqHsrIrhaP5j1woD6rGeoO-rRhbADX_pc1MhwtwzF2U_tMDU/s320/100_3907.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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Cutting the cakes was causing me some stress.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am not very good at straight cuts.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>To help me along, I devised my own “cutting guide”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It took me longer to find two identical items of the appropriate size than it did to actually cut the cakes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At least that part worked well: Sure-Jel to the rescue. Putting the pieces of cake together in the checkerboard pattern – not so much.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The recipe recommends using heated and sieved apricot jam to glue the cake strips together.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I didn’t have any and used some citrus marmalade instead.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Apparently my marmalade doesn’t have the same tenacity as apricot jam.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It wasn’t sufficient to convince the cake to stay together.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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The choices for the covering were marzipan, chocolate plastique (modeling chocolate) or fondant.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I had a little bit of marzipan, but not enough to cover the entire cake.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I also had some modeling chocolate but, again, not enough to cover the entire cake.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So I combined them. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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Despite a passion for things pastry, I absolutely despise confectioners’ sugar and try to avoid it whenever possible.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>To roll out my marzipan/modeling chocolate mixture, I placed it between two silicone mats.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I removed the top mat and added the pattern to the covering, then put the top mat back on the flipped it over so when I rolled it around the cake the pattern would be on the outside.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In theory, it worked well.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In reality, the cake didn’t want to stick to it and the pieces tried to come apart when I rolled it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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Being too stubborn to scrap the whole thing and start over, I got out some honey.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I drizzled a little bit in between the cake pieces that were trying to separate as well as brushing some on the cake covering.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The cake still didn’t want to stay together, but at least it was sticking to the covering.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><br />
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<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">Some time ago I had purchased some sugar pearls that I'd not had an opportunity to use yet. I thought they would look nice where the lines on the cake intersected. True to the spirit of this cake, I spilled sugar pearls all over the floor while trying to open the safety seal. I'm still finding them in odd parts of the kitchen.</span></div>
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All pseudo-catastrophes aside, this is what I ended up with:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiX21NcCE6RyReiwvNoD03ZHOIERRpby5YRlZUZaQYsUx_BziVoX6trcfCgqrv2am1KvwEp78QaN1ej-frf3Wb2sUm23eDjHOwUaY8Q272usaJL-8cWCSwAvvtjfWwn0V9Q7Gc-i26bo8k/s1600/100_3912.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" rca="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiX21NcCE6RyReiwvNoD03ZHOIERRpby5YRlZUZaQYsUx_BziVoX6trcfCgqrv2am1KvwEp78QaN1ej-frf3Wb2sUm23eDjHOwUaY8Q272usaJL-8cWCSwAvvtjfWwn0V9Q7Gc-i26bo8k/s400/100_3912.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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With the purple and gold, it’s definiely not the attractive pink and yellow cake I imagined.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And because the extracts are missing, it doesn’t even taste very good.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m still glad I made it and finished it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I hope I have time in the future to try this again.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s a great technique and with practice I think will produce some awesome results.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Be sure to check out some of the other results on the <a href="http://thedaringkitchen.com/" target="_blank">Daring Kitchen</a> site.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Some of them are just gorgeous and the bakers were incredibly creative.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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For the recipe(s), visit the <a href="http://thedaringkitchen.com/recipe" target="_blank">Daring Kitchen Recipe Archive</a>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m thinking of trying the coffee-walnut version.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m also thinking I should have made that one in the first place!</div>
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<br /></div>Tugs Girlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16358805885062849196noreply@blogger.com28tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-810775819562420086.post-70491281372511282762012-06-07T17:22:00.000-05:002012-06-08T07:12:12.592-05:00One of Those Days<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
Do you ever have them? Those days that, at some point, you realize the most challenging thing you should have endeavored was changing the channel? Apparently, today was my day. C’est la vie.</div>
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It began with something as simple as a burnt out light bulb. I was sort of surprised that it was burnt out since it was a CFL and they seem to last forever. In the back of my mind I think I knew that CFLs got really hot when they burned out. It should have been in the front of my mind. I’m now sporting a blister on my finger where I touched the bulb next to the base.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9CN_Lvi_jBl98LzDTD7r5lclm1HylltzbOMn_fYfZSI7_B644u66jQrDOL_rK_x_G2TAmfo_D3Mi18z3mAMfFmh3yVwtG2IsGmfr8IiLoXlxRvATx2k7iqTCsG8a5vpGzu5_QlROfrXQ/s1600/100_3862.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" fba="true" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9CN_Lvi_jBl98LzDTD7r5lclm1HylltzbOMn_fYfZSI7_B644u66jQrDOL_rK_x_G2TAmfo_D3Mi18z3mAMfFmh3yVwtG2IsGmfr8IiLoXlxRvATx2k7iqTCsG8a5vpGzu5_QlROfrXQ/s320/100_3862.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">one of three very large plants gifted to me</td></tr>
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Later in the morning I chose to tackle dividing a huge tropical plant a friend had given me. This should have been done about five years ago. It was amazingly root bound. What I thought would be a relatively simple task was not. And that was before I discovered that it had tiny little spines that embedded themselves in my skin. Before I was finished I ran out of potting soil, but Tug was out and about and came to my rescue. After stopping at three places to find potting soil. Love that man!</div>
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Before the light bulb incident, I had taken some butter and eggs out of the refrigerator to come up to room temperature for a cake recipe I wanted to try. There were a couple of other things I needed to finish first, and the ingredients kept getting in my way. I finally set them on top of the washing machine (our laundry is just off of our kitchen) as they would be out of the way and away from the hot stove. What I didn’t think about was the fact that I had laundry in the washer. Once the spin cycle began, my pan and ingredients vibrated right off the edge.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLkO98RC8ZEaamyEHyPqk61DLxxTGKCkay1uhcG-FPwux5bFjgpDAm7eD5kGLL5z_YxlokpqX-BIqwMoj_H6nh6o9vfiIN8MbrwR0ZXvuJBHZfPbWyz9G2-0gZu8v_2hjmWK-OlTmD4pA/s1600/100_3871.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" fba="true" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLkO98RC8ZEaamyEHyPqk61DLxxTGKCkay1uhcG-FPwux5bFjgpDAm7eD5kGLL5z_YxlokpqX-BIqwMoj_H6nh6o9vfiIN8MbrwR0ZXvuJBHZfPbWyz9G2-0gZu8v_2hjmWK-OlTmD4pA/s400/100_3871.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">two out of three eggs were Humpty Dumpty-s; the egg that landed on the butter survived the fall</td></tr>
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Cleaning up raw egg and soft butter did not happen easily. (Where were the dogs when I needed them?) When I finally mopped up the last of it with paper towels, I got out the WetJet to finish the job. Only the solution bottle was empty. As luck would have it, we actually had another bottle of solution. But then the batteries were dead. Really?! Tug came to my rescue again (without even knowing it) as he practically hoards batteries. So new solution, new batteries, floor clean, cake abandoned, I decided it was time to throw in the towel and go watch <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Pride-Prejudice/dp/B002APU580/ref=sr_1_1?s=movies-tv&ie=UTF8&qid=1339107197&sr=1-1" target="_blank">Pride & Prejudice</a>. I’m thinking that’s how I should have started my day.</div>Tugs Girlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16358805885062849196noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-810775819562420086.post-53095146828948955352012-06-03T23:27:00.000-05:002012-07-07T13:31:14.814-05:00June Garden Update<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
It’s been 10 days since I took the photos of my container garden for <a href="http://tugsgirl.blogspot.com/2012/05/almost-garden.html" target="_blank">Almost a Garden</a>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Every day when I walk out onto our deck I am amazed at what can happen in 24 hours, let alone 10 days.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>See for yourself:<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFZViPWj2tn-Dgs7ymsfUSb70x-q7YflgEDFh5aQEbMxcSEyqCwy6AmY7EpEzEntbg7qsaJLGFe_ixx_P3xMxWihR5ytw7TIdEZ0ZowuvWQaPDKAInlUTjxFtepNXWQtj3l8yPPSez0vI/s1600/Before+and+After.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" fba="true" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFZViPWj2tn-Dgs7ymsfUSb70x-q7YflgEDFh5aQEbMxcSEyqCwy6AmY7EpEzEntbg7qsaJLGFe_ixx_P3xMxWihR5ytw7TIdEZ0ZowuvWQaPDKAInlUTjxFtepNXWQtj3l8yPPSez0vI/s640/Before+and+After.jpg" width="433" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">And look, we grew three dogs in ten days too! Kidding; just kidding.</td></tr>
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To see this progress is one of the things about gardening and growing that I enjoy the most.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But I know a lot can happen between now and harvest time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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It looks like I may be learning to make pickles this year.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My little cucumber plants are going crazy and are covered with blossoms and little cucumbers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’d like to harvest some very early for cornichon-type pickles.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then I’ll let them get a little bigger for some dill pickles and maybe some bread and butter pickles.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And of course, some will be left to become lovely, unwaxed cucumbers for salads and refrigerator pickles.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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I’m hoping to have an abundance of tomatoes to can.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Last year I expected to have a steady supply of tomatoes just for eating fresh.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I didn’t.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Of the two plants I had, one would set volumes of beautiful blossoms only to have them wither and fall off.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As you can see, I’ve upped my odds by having a lot more than two tomato plants this year.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzHgRzd_LwS7mjQpNI2M-EndabS8SVVkyIKVKQF6lrMT7U6nL6pyRWcNqmnXeHakK3bMkva8C7mS60C2l2RY306LDzYCrwmFW8DhUG3c2RCioupYQhksR4NV2M2ia2NjfbH_4Z5_dcBmQ/s1600/Blossoms.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" fba="true" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzHgRzd_LwS7mjQpNI2M-EndabS8SVVkyIKVKQF6lrMT7U6nL6pyRWcNqmnXeHakK3bMkva8C7mS60C2l2RY306LDzYCrwmFW8DhUG3c2RCioupYQhksR4NV2M2ia2NjfbH_4Z5_dcBmQ/s640/Blossoms.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">See the little cucumber to the left of the text? I've not counted them, but there are many.</td></tr>
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The tomatillos have blossoms as well.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Granted, they aren’t as prolific, but I’m okay with that.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I usually only use tomatillos in salsa and other sauces for which I prefer to use them fresh.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If I end up with more than I can use at a given time, I may freeze them to help preserve their color.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This particular variety is supposed to be a lovely purple color.</div>
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I considered harvesting some of the squash blossoms, but in recalling how frequently squash vines get boring insects that cause the blossoms to fall off, I chose to leave them and increase the odds that I would actually get some squash.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The seeds were mixed varieties so at this point I have no idea what kind of squash we may get, but I’ve yet to meet one I didn’t like.</div>
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And I have my first gooseberry harvest!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>It’s not going to make a pie by any means (not even a mini pie), but I’m excited nonetheless.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Perhaps next year the bushes will be well enough established that I can get enough berries for pie.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m also very excited that a wild blackberry bush on our property is currently loaded with little green berries.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Hopefully as they ripen I can get to them before the birds.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s been a number of years since I’ve made blackberry jam and it’s one of my favorites.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Fingers crossed!</div>Tugs Girlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16358805885062849196noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-810775819562420086.post-57955130551550833552012-06-02T00:17:00.000-05:002012-06-02T00:17:30.249-05:00Homemade Yogurt Unplugged<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
Back in April, <a href="http://www.foodinjars.com/2012/04/homemade-yogurt-in-mason-jars/" target="_blank">Marisa of Food in Jars posted about making homemade yogurt in mason jars</a>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was enthralled.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For years – Y E A R S – I’ve looked at yogurt making machines.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Part of me felt it would be a justifiable expense as I do eat quite a bit of yogurt and the idea of experimenting with different flavors was intriguing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But then I would read further about needing to order and reorder the yogurt cultures, think about the cost of having everything shipped, and the fact that it would be a single-use machine and eventually would talk myself out of it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><br />
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Thank goodness I did.</div>
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Using Marisa’s method is beyond easy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The only “specialized” equipment you need is a good thermometer and a small cooler; everything else is stuff you probably already have.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For plain yogurt, you need two ingredients:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>milk and a small amount of purchased yogurt.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While some people commented on her post that they didn’t feel it made sense to buy yogurt to make yogurt, to me it makes perfect sense.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I know exactly what I’m buying and even with the pricier <a href="http://www.greekgodsyogurt.com/html/" target="_blank">Three Greek Gods</a> yogurt I like, $1.69 gets me a small container of yogurt that I can use to make several batches of homemade yogurt without having to pay shipping on anything.</div>
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So far, I’ve used this method to make yogurt four times.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The first time I threw in some scraped vanilla pods that had been hanging around in some sugar; the second time, half of a full vanilla pod and some honey; the third, some instant espresso; and the fourth, some of last year’s dried strawberries.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> I'm going to use some dried peaches in my next batch. </span>In all but the third attempt, I used organic whole milk.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When I made the coffee yogurt, I picked up essentially generic whole milk and a different brand of yogurt at the grocery store instead of making the trip to the Co-op.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It worked, but not as well.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I ended up with a very thin yogurt that took considerably longer to drain.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Despite that, I’ve not been disappointed with any of them thus far.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I intended to show you some of my half-pint fruit-on-the-bottom yogurts - <br />
but I ate all of them before I managed to get a photo. Story of my blog.</td></tr>
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For the strawberry yogurt, I had contemplated using fresh strawberries. Ultimately I felt they would water down the yogurt and I would also have to deal with the acid in the berries curdling the milk. The dehydrated strawberries did the trick, but their flavor had diminished somewhat with time. If you can find them, freeze-dried strawberries would be perfect. I did change up the formula a little bit by adding three tablespoons of nonfat dry milk to the simmering milk and stirring it until dissolved. I had read that this can help make the yogurt thicker without having to drain as much whey from it. It seems to have worked, but I'm not sure I will do it again. Despite that fact that I ground the dry milk granules to a fine powder in my mortar and pestle, it still seems to have left a slightly gritty texture to the yogurt. Or maybe that's just the strawberry seeds. </div>
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The cost effectiveness of making your own yogurt may be arguable.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It will depend on the cost of the ingredients you purchase, the cost of the commercially made yogurt you would ordinarily buy and whether or not you drain the yogurt to be thicker.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Before draining, my recipe makes a little over four pints of yogurt but I lose about a pint by draining it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> (You can see the "little over" in the Ziploc bag in the cooler.) For the yogurt I ordinarily buy, I come out ahead even with using the more costly organic milk.</span><br />
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I'm going to experiment with using the remaining whey is some bread recipes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As of right now, our dogs enjoy it poured over their food.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yes, they are spoiled.</div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="color: #17365d;"><span style="font-family: Cambria;">Homemade Yogurt</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Californian FB", "serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Adapted from Food in Jars:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><a href="http://www.foodinjars.com/2012/04/homemade-yogurt-in-mason-jars/"><span style="font-family: "Californian FB", "serif"; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="color: purple;">http://www.foodinjars.com/2012/04/homemade-yogurt-in-mason-jars/</span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Californian FB", "serif"; font-size: 10pt;"></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Californian FB", "serif";">Equipment:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>large, heavy sauce pan; heat-proof spatula; measuring spoons; thermometer (one that you can clip on the side of the pan); large heat-proof bowl; whisk; two quart-sized or four half pint wide mouth canning jars with lids (or other leak-proof containers, though I do recommend glass), washed in hot, soapy water and dried thoroughly; ladle; jar funnel; small cooler (like an Igloo Playmate)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Californian FB", "serif";">Before you begin, make sure your jars (with lids) fit in your cooler.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Some brands of coolers are larger than others and it would be highly disappointing to get to the end and realize your cooler is too small.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Californian FB", "serif";">Ingredients:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Californian FB", "serif";">64 fl oz whole milk (I splurge on organic for this)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Californian FB", "serif";">3 Tbs yogurt (use one you like, but do use a high quality yogurt without artificial sweeteners)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Californian FB", "serif";">Pour the milk in the large sauce pan set over medium-low heat.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Clip the thermometer to the side of the pan where you can easily monitor the temperature.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Slowly heat the milk to 190°F, stirring occasionally to avoid scorching.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Meanwhile, place the large heat-proof bowl in your sink and put the stopper in the drain. Alternately, if you have a larger pan or bowl that the heat-proof bowl will fit in, you can use that for the cold water bath and not waste so much water by filling your sink.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Californian FB", "serif";">When the milk reaches temperature, remove it from the heat and pour it into the heat-proof bowl.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Remove the thermometer from the pan and clip in on to the bowl.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Being careful not to splash into the bowl, fill the sink with cold water to the level of the milk in the bowl.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(You could also just set the sauce pan in the sink and add cold water, but I’m reluctant to risk warping a hot pan by shocking it in cold water.)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Stir the milk to help cool it until the temperature drops to 120°F.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When the milk reaches 120°F, remove the bowl from the sink and set it on a towel on the counter.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Whisk in the yogurt, making sure no lumps remain. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg01ykta_KlG85n3D9m-Z3TPsA4URYUk7pYIGr1meL46iq7a7jQueXEDzhyasKBKHSIb-c8nxZfDCx9lESoBPphCuGyJmvTPumenAkQAlwckRk2bUFB7ZOmZfJSc-1S1GgxJy_gSHcRvRQ/s1600/100_3842.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" rba="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg01ykta_KlG85n3D9m-Z3TPsA4URYUk7pYIGr1meL46iq7a7jQueXEDzhyasKBKHSIb-c8nxZfDCx9lESoBPphCuGyJmvTPumenAkQAlwckRk2bUFB7ZOmZfJSc-1S1GgxJy_gSHcRvRQ/s200/100_3842.JPG" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: "Californian FB", "serif";">Using the jar funnel and ladle, portion the milk equally into the jars (you may have a small amount left over).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Put the lids on the jars fingertip tight and set the jars in the cooler.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Fill the cooler with the hottest water possible from your faucet up to the level of the jar necks.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Close the cooler and set aside in a warm spot for six to seven hours.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The longer it sits, the tangier the yogurt will be, but it’s not recommended to go any longer than eight hours. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Californian FB", "serif";">When the yogurt is finished, remove the jars from the cooler, dry them off and refrigerate them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If you like thicker, Greek-style yogurt line a fine mesh strainer with cheesecloth (unbleached coffee filters work well, too), set it over a large bowl and pour in half of the yogurt . Allow to drain for several hours. Stir the yogurt occasionally as what's near the cheesecloth will firm up sooner than what's in the middle.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The longer it drains, the thicker it will be.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> Repeat with the remaining yogurt if desired.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Californian FB", "serif";">The recipe can be easily halved if you don’t eat as much yogurt as I do.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-ascii-font-family: "Californian FB"; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: "Californian FB"; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="mso-char-type: symbol; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">J</span></span><span style="font-family: "Californian FB", "serif";"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Californian FB", "serif";"><u>Variations</u>:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Californian FB", "serif";">Honey-Vanilla Yogurt:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Californian FB", "serif";">Add 2 Tbs of honey and half of a vanilla bean, split, to the milk as it cooks.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Californian FB", "serif";">Coffee Yogurt:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Californian FB", "serif";">Add 2 Tbs of instant espresso (or instant coffee) to the milk when it begins to steam.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Californian FB", "serif";">Strawberry or Peach Yogurt:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Californian FB", "serif";">Add 1-1/2 cups of dried strawberries or dried peaches to the milk when it begins to steam.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(I use dried fruits as they don’t add additional moisture and the flavor is more concentrated.)</span></div>Tugs Girlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16358805885062849196noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-810775819562420086.post-54779941879937128292012-05-27T01:00:00.000-05:002012-05-27T01:00:03.552-05:00Happy Challah Days!First things first, let me get the required verbiage in before I forget - <em>again</em>: <br />
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May’s Daring Bakers’ Challenge was pretty twisted – Ruth from <a href="http://www.mommy-crafts.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">The Crafts of Mommyhood</a> challenged us to make challah! Using recipes from all over, and tips from “A Taste of Challah,” by Tamar Ansh, she encouraged us to bake beautifully braided breads.</div>
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Okay, that taken care of, this was my first attempt at challah.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We were supposed to make it in school, but somehow didn’t get to it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Making the dough itself isn’t much different than making any other enriched bread dough.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, because it’s a traditional Jewish bread, there are certain dietary rules to be kept in mind if you’re keeping your challah true to tradition.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> This usually means no dairy in the bread. </span>Ruth provided some great information about the history of challah and what the different braids and shapes symbolize.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(She also included videos of braiding techniques which I tried to watch, but since my laptop doesn’t seem to like video I finally gave up in frustration.)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Of the recipes provided, I went with the Easy Challah mostly because it was a smaller quantity.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I do want to try the recipe for Honey White Challah at some point though.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It sounds really good and my braiding skills can use a lot more practice.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWBrhtdyVDmPtLLXBJR05W2vojVZ1Cd5jzXtwRrZxweIxj6jzR477uhK2O1KrkLpeTaxZ_5S8Bsmng7utvr0AC5lJcH6WOkubp-RvYBC32S7TiMwBlLvWmYZJ1rT-D9XSppQOwYSJD1JA/s1600/100_3814.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" qba="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWBrhtdyVDmPtLLXBJR05W2vojVZ1Cd5jzXtwRrZxweIxj6jzR477uhK2O1KrkLpeTaxZ_5S8Bsmng7utvr0AC5lJcH6WOkubp-RvYBC32S7TiMwBlLvWmYZJ1rT-D9XSppQOwYSJD1JA/s320/100_3814.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">rosemary-parmesan spiraled challah</td></tr>
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Even with the smaller yield, the Easy Challah recipe made two loaves.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Another Daring Baker, Hannah G, of <a href="http://www.daringbakerduluth.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Rise and Shine!</a> made a beautiful (blueberry cheesecake!) spiraled challah that sort of looked like a huge cinnamon roll.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I knew that one of my loaves would be shaped like that.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>By now, anyone who has read this blog more than once probably knows my husband does not like things sweet.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So to counter some of the sweetness of one of the challah loaves, I included some fresh rosemary and grated Parmigiano Reggiano. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After I rolled the dough into a rope, I flattened in out, sprinkled on the rosemary and cheese, sealed it, rolled it up and crossed my fingers that the seam wouldn’t burst as it was proofing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Part of it did, but I managed to repair it.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">traditional challah in a six-strand braid</td></tr>
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The second loaf I kept more traditional.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I didn’t add anything and shaped it into a six-strand braid.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Ruth recommended practicing braiding with something like clay, but I didn’t really have anything with which to practice.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As I mentioned previously, I was having trouble with the video and just gave up on it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That left me trying to do the six-strand braid, without practice, from an illustration in my baking textbook.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It seemed fairly straightforward at first – but then I got to the end of the steps and had to repeat them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For the life of me, it just did not seem right! <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I started, re-started and started the braid yet again.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Once I finally gave in and just went with it (despite the fact it didn’t make sense to me), it worked out and I found a rhythm to the braiding.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, the beginning of my braided loaf was definitely on the chewy side from being over handled.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> I took some step-by-step photos of the braiding process, but I think watching Ruth's videos would probably be better.</span></div>
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I loved learning the braiding technique, and in the future would like to try some of the other braids as well.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There were also some other recipes for challah that I would like to try, especially a sourdough challah mentioned by Daring Baker<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> <a href="http://korenainthekitchen.com/" target="_blank">Korena</a></span>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>With some perfection in technique, I think challah will be a great bread to make and give with some of my homemade jams and jellies.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Friends beware!</div>
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For the recipes and information on challah, visit the <a href="http://thedaringkitchen.com/recipe" target="_blank">Daring Kitchen Recipe Archive</a>.</div>Tugs Girlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16358805885062849196noreply@blogger.com30tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-810775819562420086.post-5686163681032649452012-05-25T15:45:00.000-05:002012-05-31T07:35:37.082-05:00Almost a Garden<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
After an unsuccessful attempt at starting age-old seeds back in January, my second attempt with new seeds was a little too successful. I ended up giving about half of my seedlings to our former neighbor for his garden. The remaining seedlings have been transplanted to pots, and this what I have now:<br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">The large planter has beans and involuntary herbs (cilantro and basil) from seeds blown off of last year's plants. </span><span style="font-size: small;">The large round pots at the ends contain sweet peppers. The buckets in front contain orange mint, thyme, tarragon and lemon mint. Most of these were purchased as plants. The beans and peppers were the only ones I started from seed - intentionally anyway since the cilantro and basil technically are from seed as well, I just wasn't the one to plant them.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">With the exception of the rhubarb, all of these were started from seed. I have cucumbers, four pots of different varieties of tomatoes, hot peppers, tomatillos, Italian cippolini onions, Florence fennel, the rhubarb, black-eyed peas and a huge pot with squash and zucchini.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">I've never grown onion from seed before. Given their age, I'm really surprised they germinated.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Fennel is something I'm learning to like. Even if I didn't like it, this is such a gorgeous plant I would grow it for the foliage alone. I may try bronze fennel next year.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">This little guy came from the farmer's market. It really needs to be planted in the ground but I can't decide where it should go. In the future, I'm instituting a rule that I can't buy plants if I don't know where I'm going to put them!</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj873lvR7RXoCvyFw0GZ5J5bVOgQbJwa0jedCOrL04LGFM1XdqE9PW3lBkpl0FI3oWIVRUjdF52lBK_PKeAxzs20hEyXlqRHNLmGqrOJs7clbO4kz5Xg4-I-WEBx4Y_3ffqX_3VlUX3gkI/s1600/100_3831.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" qba="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj873lvR7RXoCvyFw0GZ5J5bVOgQbJwa0jedCOrL04LGFM1XdqE9PW3lBkpl0FI3oWIVRUjdF52lBK_PKeAxzs20hEyXlqRHNLmGqrOJs7clbO4kz5Xg4-I-WEBx4Y_3ffqX_3VlUX3gkI/s400/100_3831.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Squash blossoms are so pretty! I know they're edible, but I'd much rather leave them on the plant to become squash.</span></div>
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While I still long for the day when I can have a traditional garden in the ground, I admit there are conveniences to container gardening – especially when temperatures are reaching near-record highs. Pulling weeds in 100°F temperatures isn’t a part of gardening I particularly relish. Yes, I am a wimp!</div>Tugs Girlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16358805885062849196noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-810775819562420086.post-26261134963057997962012-05-14T22:46:00.000-05:002012-05-20T20:53:45.644-05:00Brioche and Preserves<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
This morning I got up early to get the mini ganache-filled peanut butter brioche loaves shaped, proofed and baked before it got too hot.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I shaped and filled them using the same method as the <a href="http://tugsgirl.blogspot.com/2012/04/chocolate-filled-chocolate-brioche.html" target="_blank">chocolate-filled chocolate brioche</a>, just spreading a thin layer of ganache over two-thirds of the dough.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While it was tempting to slather on the ganache, I knew it would just ooze out and make a mess once the dough was rolled up.</div>
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Knowing that I was going to finish off the last of my brioche dough this morning, I made a quick batch of bittersweet chocolate ganache (using a 1:1 ratio) after dinner last night so it could cool and set overnight.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As far as ganache goes, it’s not spectacular in texture as all I had on hand were bittersweet chocolate chips.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The stabilizers used in chocolate chips for them to hold their shape make them a poor choice for ganache.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But since it was to fill bread and not to make truffles, it wasn’t something I was going to lose sleep over – and it still tasted great.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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All in all, I think they turned out pretty well. </div>
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As I mentioned before, I do think the peanut butter flavor needs to be just a little bit stronger.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I also think should I fill them with chocolate again, semi-sweet or milk chocolate may be better choices.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As much as I’m a fan of bittersweet chocolate, it overwhelmed the delicate peanut butter flavor of the bread instead of complementing it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Definitely worth trying to get right.</div>
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I also finished the <a href="http://localkitchenblog.com/2011/05/16/strawberry-pinot-noir-preserves/" target="_blank">strawberry pinot noir preserves</a> today.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They actually <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">only</i> take three days to make instead of four.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Given my results, maybe they could have used four.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As of right now, I have five jars of strawberry pinot noir soup.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Great tasting soup, but not something I can easily eat on an English muffin in the morning.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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One of the things I had to do before finishing these preserves was make <a href="http://localkitchenblog.com/2009/12/08/apple-pectin-stock/" target="_blank">apple pectin stock</a>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is used to thicken the preserves in place of commercial pectin.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’d read about this last year and had been saving apple peels and cores (from the jars and jars of applesauce I made last year) in the freezer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s as easy as boiling the peels and cores, straining the mixture, reducing it slightly and then canning or freezing it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Unfortunately, I have no idea if mine turned out correctly or not, but<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m thinking not.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was expecting it to be somewhat thick and almost gelatinous.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s not.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It looks like apple cider in a jar.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s a little too early to panic about it as jams, jellies and preserves can often take several days to fully set.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We’ll see.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I may be eating a lot of yogurt with strawberry pinot noir soup.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I mean, preserves.</div>Tugs Girlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16358805885062849196noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-810775819562420086.post-79785234983749804262012-05-12T21:13:00.002-05:002012-08-04T12:40:18.973-05:00Produce Projects and Brioche<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
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Last week I got a little carried away at the farmer’s and produce markets.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I came home with strawberries, cherries, rhubarb, ginger and coconuts.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There were definite plans for each of my purchases but I knew it would take awhile to get everything done.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEii0rSeo1JlTQ7SHEFdpFAwG_yUq3-LbImGil-EfRBJGp7u1ZryLuY5DBJPscrHG0OO6XTHZJI0QxQXWvCQDTh4nStoyw2Gem6nIBvpOln996kYxouI49fNwxFyVE_wWF09oNrZv-xcdU4/s1600/000_0038.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" dba="true" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEii0rSeo1JlTQ7SHEFdpFAwG_yUq3-LbImGil-EfRBJGp7u1ZryLuY5DBJPscrHG0OO6XTHZJI0QxQXWvCQDTh4nStoyw2Gem6nIBvpOln996kYxouI49fNwxFyVE_wWF09oNrZv-xcdU4/s320/000_0038.jpg" width="320" /></a>The first thing I started on was the <a href="http://localkitchenblog.com/2011/03/04/strawberry-chipotle-preserves/" target="_blank">strawberry-chipotle preserves</a>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Since this recipe takes six days from start to finish, it was the obvious choice to begin with.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> Mine ended up being more jam than preserves as I overcooked the berries at one point. </span>I managed to get three and a half pints out of this recipe.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Two pints are for me (one half gone already) and the third and the half-pint are to be gifted.</div>
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I went back to the farmer’s market today and picked up two more pints of strawberries.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>These are destined for <a href="http://localkitchenblog.com/2011/05/16/strawberry-pinot-noir-preserves/" target="_blank">strawberry-pinot noir preserves</a> – which will only take four days instead of six.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Day one down, three to go and I’m already thinking I didn’t buy enough strawberries.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The need to hoard them for preserving is overwhelming me right now.</div>
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The cherries were frozen with the intention of making pie filling, but I don’t think I want an entire cherry pie around for me to eat and I know I won’t force myself to give it away.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Last year I read about a sour cherry jam – <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">somewhere</i> – and now need to go about finding the recipe.</div>
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The rhubarb became a glorious <a href="http://localkitchenblog.com/2009/05/26/tais-rhubarb-ginger-jam/" target="_blank">rhubarb-ginger jam</a>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I didn’t make the recipe exactly as stated with orange and lemon zest as the only citrus I had on hand at the time was lime.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Trust me when I say it is perfectly acceptable without the zest.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’ve been enjoying it nearly daily on my <a href="http://www.foodinjars.com/2012/04/homemade-yogurt-in-mason-jars/" target="_blank">homemade yogurt</a>.</div>
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All three pounds of the ginger were either candied or grated and frozen for future use.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I seriously didn’t realize how much my hands would burn from peeling, chopping and grating all of that ginger.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was almost like working with chiles!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsq5_DRw02MKKRTq4LagC79kXgmpaYHkx3IQ3SXx1N-A0FyigZJZ1IfLlvTyFiea514Q0Y3ypvyBlQsrndNlUJYGH_C3FRdyELm-o-_dtyvv4ut0jiDx6blYtvbLORKgQP-85MtIjLarU/s1600/000_0037.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" dba="true" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsq5_DRw02MKKRTq4LagC79kXgmpaYHkx3IQ3SXx1N-A0FyigZJZ1IfLlvTyFiea514Q0Y3ypvyBlQsrndNlUJYGH_C3FRdyELm-o-_dtyvv4ut0jiDx6blYtvbLORKgQP-85MtIjLarU/s320/000_0037.jpg" width="320" /></a>Two weeks ago I had purchased a huge coconut from the produce market.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I didn’t get to it as quickly as I should have and when I did . . . it was a lot of work for nothing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It had taken a trip south and the flesh next to the shell was spotted with black and pink mold.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I absolutely love fresh coconut and was ready to enjoy the fruits of my labors only to be disappointed on so many levels.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Throwing it out was heartbreaking.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I did better with the coconut I bought last week and am still enjoying fresh coconut as a mid-day snack in addition to some that was grated and frozen for future use. Some coconut shortbread has been lurking in the corners of my mind.</div>
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and Brioche:</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh2SxOTSkwylpPl9mvyHdAsUJ4vJij_4FRunWRYb39Hjj98t3QBNz-2wxCFaGrhpyfGmd_rkHmDXhFSdO2mU1jrXFgpvp90VYlHmjYrwK9jADUfbI17IyGv4j2L7-b2G38-dZVuxGogNs/s1600/100_3777.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" dba="true" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh2SxOTSkwylpPl9mvyHdAsUJ4vJij_4FRunWRYb39Hjj98t3QBNz-2wxCFaGrhpyfGmd_rkHmDXhFSdO2mU1jrXFgpvp90VYlHmjYrwK9jADUfbI17IyGv4j2L7-b2G38-dZVuxGogNs/s320/100_3777.JPG" width="239" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">mini brioche</td></tr>
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Yes, more brioche.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is a current obsession.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The small, French-made brioche molds I had ordered arrived last week so it was time to thaw some of the previously frozen dough and try them out.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I made some mini brioche with plain dough and some brioche <span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">à</span> t<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">ê</span>te with half of the peanut butter dough. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(The <span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">à</span> t<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">ê</span>te part needs improvement.) <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am so thrilled with these little pans!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Twelve of them are perfect for half of the brioche recipe, but I find myself wanting twelve more.</div>
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And the peanut butter brioche:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am not mad at it at all.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There is just a hint of peanut butter that I would like to be a bit more pronounced, so I may try increasing the amount of peanut butter slightly in the next batch.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(I’ve not even baked all of the dough yet and I’m planning another batch.)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>On Monday I’m going to bake the other half of the frozen dough and I think a filling of some bittersweet chocolate ganache will be just perfect.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh12bAmhH_fB-Cug4yKQ7Ul36s0D3-1BO3GYMorhQrVW8Q9IhyphenhyphenKHdcQchAjbwCQwI9hGMlv7rFXNZeKW464ygHRuYG7gK54fVpGn5p_tQj_L407MctismBZrfWH3zkvzyJ71qWe2HPSZkg/s1600/100_3783.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" dba="true" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh12bAmhH_fB-Cug4yKQ7Ul36s0D3-1BO3GYMorhQrVW8Q9IhyphenhyphenKHdcQchAjbwCQwI9hGMlv7rFXNZeKW464ygHRuYG7gK54fVpGn5p_tQj_L407MctismBZrfWH3zkvzyJ71qWe2HPSZkg/s640/100_3783.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "Arial", "sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">peanut butter brioche à</span><span style="font-family: "Arial", "sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"> t</span><span style="font-family: "Arial", "sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">ê</span></span><span style="font-family: "Arial", "sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">te</span> </span></td></tr>
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This is the recipe as I made it, but next time I'll swap out a little more butter for more peanut butter. The recipe is written for loaves since most people have loaf pans and I recognize not everyone gets as excited as I do about brioche molds.</div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="color: #17365d;"><span style="font-family: Cambria;">Peanut Butter Brioche</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Californian FB", "serif";">Adapted from <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Flour</i> by Joanne Chang</span></div>
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<u><span style="font-family: "Californian FB", "serif";">Brioche</span></u><span style="font-family: "Californian FB", "serif";"></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Californian FB", "serif";">2-1/4 cups (315 g) unbleached, all-purpose flour</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Californian FB", "serif";">2-1/4 cups (340 g) bread flour</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Californian FB", "serif";">3-1/4 tsp (11 g) active dry yeast (not instant)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Californian FB", "serif";">1/3 cup plus 1 Tbs (82 g) granulated sugar</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Californian FB", "serif";">1 Tbs (14 g) kosher salt</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Californian FB", "serif";">1/2 cup (120 g) cold water</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Californian FB", "serif";">5 large eggs</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Californian FB", "serif";">1 cup plus 2 Tbs (255 g) unsalted butter, room temperature, cut into cubes</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Californian FB", "serif";">1/4 cup (55 g) creamy peanut butter</span></div>
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<u><span style="font-family: "Californian FB", "serif";">Egg Wash</span></u><span style="font-family: "Californian FB", "serif";"></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Californian FB", "serif";">1 large egg, room temperature</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Californian FB", "serif";">Pinch kosher salt</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Californian FB", "serif";">Pinch granulated sugar</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Californian FB", "serif";">Turbinado sugar for sprinkling (optional)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Californian FB", "serif";">In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment, combine the flours, yeast, sugar, salt, water, and five of the eggs.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Mix on low speed for 3 – 4 minutes, until all of the ingredients come together.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Stop and scrape the sides of the bowl about halfway through.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Mix an additional 3 – 4 minutes after the dough has come together.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It will be rather stiff and seem somewhat dry.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Californian FB", "serif";">Still on low speed, begin adding the butter one piece at a time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Mix after each addition until the butter cube completely disappears into the dough.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Add the peanut butter in two additions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This entire process may take up to 10 minutes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Don’t rush it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Once all of the butter and peanut butter have been worked in, continue mixing on low speed for 10 minutes to completely incorporate the butter into the dough.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Stop the mixer a couple of times to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Californian FB", "serif";">Turn the mixer up to medium speed and continue mixing for another 15 minutes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Be patient – the dough will look really shaggy at first.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Eventually, the dough will look soft and sticky, perhaps even shiny and then become smooth and silky.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Turn the mixer up to medium-high and beat for one minute.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>By this time, the dough shouldn’t be sticking to the sides of the bowl at all and you should hear it slapping the bowl.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Californian FB", "serif";">Stop the mixer and grab a piece of dough with your finger tips and pull it gently.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It should stretch and have some give without being sticky or breaking.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If the dough is still wet and sticky, add flour a tablespoon of flour and mix until it comes together, repeating as necessary to get the smooth, silky dough.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If the dough breaks off when you pull it, mix on medium speed for another 2 – 3 minutes to develop more strength.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Ultimately, you should be able to pull the dough together and pick it up all in one piece. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Californian FB", "serif";">Place the dough in a large bowl or plastic container and press plastic wrap directly onto the surface.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Refrigerate the dough for at least six hours or overnight.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(At this point the dough can also be tightly wrapped in plastic, placed in a zipper bag or an airtight container and frozen for up to a week.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Thaw overnight in the refrigerator before using.)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Californian FB", "serif";">To make brioche loaves, prepare two bread pans with buttered parchment and set aside.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Divide the dough in half.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Press each half into a 9” x 9” inch square.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Fold the dough into thirds like a letter.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Press lightly to seal the layers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Place the dough seam side down into the prepared pans.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Cover the pans lightly with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm spot about four hours, or until the loaves are almost doubled in size.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When properly risen the top of the loaf should be rounded and even with the rim of the pan.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Californian FB", "serif";">Place an oven rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350°F for at least 20 minutes.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Californian FB", "serif";">Prepare the egg wash by vigorously beating the egg along with the pinch of salt and pinch of sugar.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You want to break up the white as much as possible. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Very gently brush the tops of the brioche with the egg wash.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(You’ll have a lot left over – you can freezer it or just discard it.)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sprinkle with turbinado sugar if desired.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Californian FB", "serif";">Bake the brioche for 35 – 45 minutes until the top and sides are shiny and golden brown.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>More reliably, check the internal temperature with an instant read thermometer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The brioche should be 190°F.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Remove the pans to a rack and allow the brioche to cool in the pans for 30 minutes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Remove the loaves from the pans and allow the brioche to cool completely on the rack.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Californian FB", "serif";">The brioche can be kept tightly wrapped for three days at room temperature.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The cooled loaves can also be tightly wrapped and frozen for up to a month.</span></div>Tugs Girlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16358805885062849196noreply@blogger.com2