Birthday brownies

I used to have a reputation for my "from scratch" brownies. It has been four years since I made brownies so my daughter has no recollection of my awesomeness.

For her birthday today, we made brownies.

We started with a trip to Target to get the necessary supplies: applesauce, butter, chocolate, heavy whipping cream.

Because I'm planning on making homemade whipped cream.

Imagine my delight when I found the following on clearance: Ghiradelli 60% cocoa baking chocolate ($1.60 for four ounces); Toll House stuffed morsels ($2.30 for the following stuffed chocolate chips: caramel, cherry or mint).

We preheated the oven to 350 degrees.

In a saucepan we melted:

1.5 sticks unsalted butter

6 ounces of the Ghiradelli chocolate

In a separate bowl we mixed:

1.75 cups sugar

3 individual serving cups no sugar added applesauce (replaces the egg, they didn't have a full sized bottle)

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract.

We added the fudgy mix and then a heaping cup of organic white flour.

Then we stirred in about half a bag if the caramel morsels.

We poured into into a greased jelly roll pan. It's a travesty I don't own a brownie pan these days.

I wove a thread of Justin's maple almond butter, another of Justin's vanilla almond butter and a third of Nutella across the top.

Bake for 40 minutes.

Strawberry Birthday [Short]cake

Sometimes the best things happen by accident. Child knew she wanted to bake a cake for her birthday and it should have layers and strawberries.

So we started with a Betty Crocker Starlight Yellow Cake adapted slightly since I didn't have shortening.

I used a jelly roll pan for one layer and the corresponding sized cake pan for the second.

Preheat oven to 350.

Grease and flour pans.

The cake:

(Put all ingredients in, 30 seconds mixing on low, 3 minutes on high.)

- 2 1/4 cups flour

- 1 1/2 cups sugar

- 1 heaping tablespoon baking powder

- 1 teaspoon salt

- 1 1/4 cups soy milk

- 3/4 cup butter (softened)

- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla

- 3 eggs

We cooked ours 30 minutes.

The filling:

I had leftover cooked strawberries frozen from a previous dessert and used fresh strawberries and homemade lemon whipped cream to stretch it out

The whipped cream:

(In a cold mixing bowl with a cold blender)

- one pint heavy whipping cream

- one tablespoon powdered sugar

- one teaspoon lemon extract 

Mix until it "creams"

Take the layers out of the oven. Cool the pans on wire racks for ten minutes. Invert them and the layers should fall out. When cool, spread strawberries and whipped cream on one layer, top with other layer, ice with more whipped cream. Decorate with strawberries. Store in fridge.

My ten-year-old did all the work. I supervised.

Watermelon cupcakes

My daughter did my blog post today:

We made cupcakes in our free time before I went to school.we used two eggs and a single serving cup of apple sauce instead of three eggs .they took 15    min.to cook .5min.in the tray to cool and a half hour to cool out of the tray .they tasted wonderful !

Whipped cream

I bought Market Pantry heavy whipping cream at Target. It expires very soon, and I wanted to try making my own whipped cream. There was a recipe on the box.

Tonight we had $6 left to our name and I noticed we were somehow out of powdered sugar. So, after picking up our new glasses, we stopped at Giant.

The powdered sugar was $1.50. Then I grabbed some Swiss Miss Dark Chocolate Sensation (because it was $1.25 for the box). And fearing we didn't have enough milk at home grabbed an aseptic carton of vanilla rice milk. The bill was $4.24.

I had left the mixing bowl and beater of my kitchen aid mixer in the freezer.

We poured in:

- 1 carton (2 cups) heavy whipping cream

- 3 tablespoons powdered sugar

- 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

And beat on medium-high until peaks formed. Delicious!

And the cocoa? The cheap Swiss Miss, rice milk, vanilla coconut milk AND unsweetened almond milk.

Soup, asparagus and Zoku pops

So, child is heating up some Italian wedding soup on this cold rainy day. We're roasting asparagus in the oven with coconut oil, garlic powder and fresh ground four color pepper.

For dessert, we're going to attempt Zoku quick pops, watermelon outside with a vanilla coconut milk/farm fresh vanilla yogurt core.

Peanut butter banana frozen dessert

I cook with an eight and a half year old. This dessert has two ingredients:
Equal parts ripe bananas & peanut butter

I had one ripe banana in the freezer and an almost ripe banana on the counter. So we heated the ripe banana and combined it with the fresh one and mashed them with a potato masher.

Then we took the banana and the peanut butter and placed it all in the blender with just a splash of water to lubricate it.

It tasted how I remember the filling in a "funny bone" cupcake to taste.

We put it in the ice cream machine and since it took forever to get the sticky mess out of the blender we ended up with a thick layer that was just like peanut butter ripple in commercial ice cream and a creamier filling on top.

I got it all out and mixed it well before I transferred it to the freezer.

No sugar.
No dairy.
No soy.

Puff pastry wheels

My husband has a Christmas party in his office tomorrow. He wanted to make little broccoli pot pies, but I didn't have store bought pie crust and Target didn't have any. So I bought Pepperidge Farm puff pastry.

The first sheet was a cup of berries and some strawberry syrup ground in the food processor.

I used the leftovers and added sliced banana for the second batch.

The third batch was Green Giant broccoli and cheese sauce, Frank's Red Hot buffalo sauce, and crushed red pepper. (In the food processor)

The final batch was another pack of the broccoli, shredded Parmesan and a sprinkle of Romano.

Super Sweet dairy free ice cream

It's darn cold outside so of course I choose today to make ice cream.

In the ice cream maker I place:
- 1 1/2 cups very vanilla soy milk
- 1 cup vanilla almond milk
- 1/4 cup strawberry syrup imported from Beirut
- 1 teaspoon Bols blue curaçao liquor

(The preliminary tests indicate this is going to be WAY too sweet)

Molasses dairy-free sticky rolls

First note: you can not make caramel with brown sugar and coconut oil. But, if you stir in blackstrap molasses and stir like crazy, you can make a syrup that solidifies into molasses candy as soon as it cools. I'm thinking Popsicle sticks and spinning it into lollipops...

For the dough:
- 2 cups organic white flour
- 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
- 1/2 cup sourgum flour
- 1/4 cup ground flax meal
- small handful granulated sugar
- pinch salt
- 1 egg
- 1/3 cup warm coconut oil
Combine.
In another container, mix:
- 1 cup warm soy milk
- 2 tablespoons yeast
- 1/4 cup local raw honey

Combine and knead. Let rise until double. Could take 90 minutes.

Make caramel (see my note above)

Preheat oven to 350. Have daughter roll dough into rectangle. Sprinkle with brown sugar, cinnamon and pecans.

Roll and pinch ends closed. Shape into nice cylinder.

Put some "caramel" on the bottom of a cake pan. Slice into buns. Place buns in pan. Top with "caramel."

Now you're supposed to let them rise 30 more minutes, but I forgot.

Bake 30-35 minutes.

Sunday Reflections

Food is such a vital part of our lives, and since I'm finishing school, interning at USAID, trying to be productive on the library board, and laying out the GLVWG newsletter, I'm stressed. Oh, I forgot my job at Target and the job hunt. Two interviews this week.

I decided that since I'm stressed, I'm making an extra effort to eat more whole and less processed food. I have a tendency to eat less healthy when I'm stressed and then my physical performance suffers.

This week I ate a lot of salad wraps. Homemade apple butter. Fresh feta from our favorite deli.

Today I stopped at Nature's Way for some funky flours-- some gluten free, others not. My family doesn't have gluten issues but many of the gluten-free recipes incorporate a better balance of carbohydrates/protein than wheat.

I have a long history if requiring a certain blend of carbohydrates and protein with lots of good veggies to keep from self-destructing. I experience incredible weakness if I skip meals that can't be fixed without hearty protein. Testing my blood sugar reveals that it's "fine," but that I feel ravenously hungry with a blood sugar of 90.

Anyway, my adventures with flour hopefully will start with multigrain biscuits.

Then we went to Kline Farm where I got yogurt, dill Colby, a huge pumpkin, apple cider, ground beef, sausage and pork chops.

I planned to make a "quick" 4 course meal before I go to work, and realized I must be delusional.

We started with a salad and big glass of water.

Next I heated my spiced apples in my skillet with pecans and butter and served with vanilla ice cream.

Now I'm frying pork chops in the same skillet I warmed the apples to capitalize on any apple flavor. I'm also heating corn we froze off the cob this summer.

Honey Fried Bananas

I imagine if you'd like to make this vegan, swap the honey with agave nectar.

Coat bottom of frying pan with honey. Warm. Add sliced bananas. Sprinkle with lemon juice and cinnamon.

For one banana, use roughly 2 tablespoons honey and 1 teaspoon lemon juice.

Cherry Clafoutis

Today we made a clafoutis based on a recipe from Bon Appetit, listed here:

http://m.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Cherry-Clafouti-365670

Apparently, a true cherry clafoutis would leave the cherries unpitted to change the flavor of the baked dish. I pitted mine because between my dental woes and my eight-year-old pits seem risky.

I am contemplating a gluten free clafoutis, using almond flour instead of the white flour, but first I have to research whether or not almond flour would set the custard. I also must make it a priority to get to the farm for eggs.

My daughter did 90% of the work for this as it is a belated Fathers Day treat for Papa.

So-- our recipe--

- 1 pound cherries, fresh, pitted
- butter, to grease a deep dish pie pan
- 1/3 cup unsweetened almond milk
- 1/2 cup half and half
- 1/2 cup milk
- 4 eggs
- several generous splashes Fra Angelica
- 1/2 cup flour
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
- 1/2 teaspoon almond extract

1. Preheat oven to 375

2. Pit cherries and mix in some alcohol, let sit.

3. Grease pie pan

4. Combine eggs, sugar, flour, salt and extracts and whisk until smooth and homogeneous

5. Combine milks and heat over low to medium heat until simmering.

6. Pour into egg mixture and whisk together

7. Pour cherries and alcohol into pie dish, top with custard

8. Bake about 35-40 minutes until custard sets and edges pull away from sides, with some browning

S'mores

So, the meal with the layered basket of chopped potatoes, then red and green peppers, then black olives, and finally pineapple turned out awesome on the side of the grill that actually lit on this windy, rainy afternoon.

Gayle came over to burn economics books and make s'mores. That worked out deliciously. We had regular AND chocolate mint marshmallows, graham crackers and get this-- chocolate Ghiradelli squares filled with caramel.

Sugar Cake from the Flour Shop

My mother-in-law brought me sugar cake from The Flour Shop. I fell in love with sugar cake at Moravian College and even had a Moravian Love Feast at our wedding.

My grandmother-in-law used to make sugar cake-- the real version made with potatoes.

As soon as I tasted this, all brown sugar and buttery, I knew The Flour Shop uses the real recipe too!

Haven't had the real thing in years...

Purple Cow reopens

Last night our favorite ice cream shop had its spring reopening. So by 4 p.m. (after dismissal from school) my whole family headed to The Purple Cow Creamery where we stuffed ourselves with lots of ice cream.

And had no room for dinner. So dinner became rice with a touch of V8 broccoli soup as sauce and snow peas.

Daughter Cup Cakes

This is my daughter's attempt at the five minute microwave chocolate cake in coffee mug:

Mix in a mug and cook for 4 minutes in the microwave:
- 4 tablespoons flour
- 4 tablespoons sugar
- 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa
- 2 tablespoons whisked egg
- 3 tablespoons vanilla almond milk
- 3 tablespoons canola oil
- splash vanilla
- handful of chocolate chips

Ginger candy chicken and swimming cookies

After working on my economics homework for an hour and a half, I took a break to prepare dinner.

Once again I veered from the candy chicken recipe, but let's hope it works.

In the crockpot:
- 3 chicken breasts
- about 3/4 cup apple cider vinegar
- about 1/2 cup apple raspberry juice
- about 4 tablespoons spicy teriyaki sauce
- 2 tablespoons lemon lime soda syrup
- about 1 cup seltzer
- about 1/2 teaspoon ginger
- about 1/2 to 3/4 teaspoon diced crystallized ginger
- about 3/4 cup brown sugar
- 2 small apples, cored and quartered

For the swimming cookies dessert:
In a glass casserole dish
Layer eight lemonade girl scout cookies
Prepare one package instant vanilla pudding with 1-and-a-half cups whole milk and pour over cookies. Chill.

Tapioca pudding

My dentist canceled my appt for today, which means no crown for my back molar until it's rescheduled and nothing crunchy any time in the foreseeable future.

So I tried my hand at tapioca pudding.

The Kraft minute tapioca recipe is as follows:
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 3 tablespoons minute tapioca
- 2 3/4 cups milk
- 1 egg, well beaten
- 1 tsp vanilla

Combine all ingredients but vanilla in medium saucepan. Let stand five minutes.

Bring mixture to a rapid bowl on medium heat, stirring constantly.

Remove from heat. Stir in vanilla.

Cover and let stand 20 minutes. Stir and serve.

But I never follow directions. So my ingredients look like this:
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 4 tablespoons minute tapioca
- 2 3/4 cup milk
- 1 egg well beaten
Combine as directed. Let stand.
Before heating, add one cup diced strawberries.
After boiling, add 1 teaspoon almond extract instead of vanilla and a pinch of nutmeg.

Yum! Oh, this is delightful.

Hot Chocolate

My daughter had to write "steps in a process" in her second grade class. She's only seven, but of course her selection for the assignment was a recipe! (beaming here!)

In case the photo doesn't capture it:

Making Hot Chocolate
1. First you get hot chocolate miks and milk, a ovon (ummm... Microwave oven, love Mom) and a cup

2. Then you put the milk in a cup.

3. Next you heat it up.

4. Next you put the chocolate micks in the oven (in the cup, dear, with the milk, love Mom)

5. Finally you ster it and injoy it

Cranberry orange bread

I decided to modify my cinnamon raisin bread into a cranberry orange loaf. I started with the Traditional White Bread from my 25th anniversary Betty Crocker cookbook.

CRANBERRY ORANGE BREAD
- about 2 cups whole wheat flour
- about 5 cups unbleached white flour
- 1.5 tablespoons local honey
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 2 teaspoons (or did I use a tablespoon?) yeast
- 1 cup triple sec, heated (plus more for bowl)
- 1 1/4 cup warm water
- 1 cup raisins and craisins

Mix the wheat flour and 2 cups white flour with the butter, salt, sugar, honey and yeast. Add liquid. Stir thoroughly with wooden spoon.

Add fruit and enough remaining flour until the dough is elastic and not wet to the touch. Need ten minutes.

Sprinkle light amounts triple sec into the bowl (straight from the bottle), and drop the dough in. Cover and leave in a warm place to rise for about an hour.

Now, my house is always low so I preheat my oven to 200, turn the oven off and open the door and let most of the hot air out. Then I put the dough in and close the door.

The dough is ready when it doubles in size. Push a finger in and if the indentation remains, it's ready.

Knead again. Grease two loaf pans. Divide dough in half. Make rectangles, roll them tightly and then tuck the ends under. Put them in the loaf pans.

Preheat oven to 425. Cover dough and let rise 30 minutes. Until they double. I place my loaf pan on the burner where the oven exhausts so that hot air will keep it warm.

Bake 15-20 minutes until the top is golden brown.