what the whisk

a review of last year's resolutions

2012-01-01T19:24:00.000-08:00

I thought posting my resolutions on the internet would hold me more accountable and I figured I should at least review them and see how I did.

Be a nicer person - this one is kind of hard to judge. I tried to be nice and I know I'm not always. I think this can always be a work in progress.
Have more patience - another super difficult one. I am not a patient person. I will continue to try to let the small things go.
Drink more water - depends on the day.
Read more with Lukey - success! He LOVES books and being read to. I think if he had his way he would sit in my lap all day and read book after book. I have many memorized at this point. I would say I probably read him 10-20 books a day (often the same book over and over and over again).
Start baking regularly again (and possibly even blogging about it) - total fail.
Spend more one on one time with Pete - not so much. It is hard when you have a little one. Babysitters aren't cheap and it is way easy to put everyone else first. I'll have to keep working on this one.
Run a 5K - success! Ran a 5K in June the See Jane Run 5K with Lucas in the stroller. I then ran a 6 mile mud run in August, two half-marathons and another 5K.
More frequent walks with Willa and Lukey - we walk or run together almost every day.
Keep in contact with family and friends - working on it.
Write more letters (at least once a month to Mom and Oma and Opa) - working on it. I've been calling more and writing less.
Keep both blogs going - fail and success. This blog not so much. Lucas' blog totally although I ran out of steam after posting every day for a year. I would like to continue to post on his blog.
Meet new friends/join some Mommy groups - success. I have found quite a few new friends here in Idaho and still have my friends back in California. Lucas is making friends too and we have fun on playdates.
Spend less money and save more - been a really tough year and we are hoping that 2012 will be a bit kinder to us.
Do a yoga class/swimming class with Lukey - we tried one of each plus a music class.
Be supportive and helpful to Pete - I'm going to say I have been.
Continue breastfeeding - we just stopped. 17 months. I would say success!
More sewing projects and get better at crocheting - made some pillows and I've been crocheting hats and blankets.
Read more books - success!
Start a garden - had my first garden this past summer. Lots and lots of tomatoes and zucchini. Built two more garden boxes so this next year I will have an even better garden. I can't wait.
Feel confident in a bikini again - lots of running equals success!

I need to come up with some new ones for this coming year. I feel pretty good with what I have accomplished this past year and I am so looking forward to what this new year brings.

Resolutions

2011-01-01T10:34:00.000-08:00

I've never been a resolution kind of girl but this new year with a new baby and other big changes I thought it might be helpful. I also figured if I posted them on here there would be some accountability. I can't just say I'm going to do all this in my head because with my lack of sleep I'll forget my resolutions by tomorrow. So here they are in no particular order:

Be a nicer person
Have more patience
Drink more water
Read more with Lukey
Start baking regularly again (and possibly even blogging about it)
Spend more one on one time with Pete
Run a 5K
More frequent walks with Willa and Lukey
Keep in contact with family and friends
Write more letters (at least once a month to Mom and Oma and Opa)
Keep both blogs going
Meet new friends/join some Mommy groups
Spend less money and save more
Do a yoga class/swimming class with Lukey
Be supportive and helpful to Pete
Continue breastfeeding
More sewing projects and get better at crocheting
Read more books
Start a garden
Feel confident in a bikini again

I think that is a good start for now. Some of my resolutions are easy and others will be challenging (like patience). If I think of any others I'll add them and when I complete some I'll cross them off.

I am so excited for this new year and all the things Pete and I have to look forward to with Lukey. So I'm ready for the challenges and really cannot wait to get started. Lucas will be my inspiration because really how can you say no to this face:

a new blog

2010-09-12T09:39:00.000-07:00

I have started a new blog about baby Lucas. Hopefully soon I will have some time to get back to baking but for now you can get your baby fix at soybabyblog.blogspot.com.

Introducing....(Finally) Lucas William Soyer

2010-08-29T09:52:00.000-07:00

Our little bundle of joy was born at 7:15 p.m. on Tuesday July 13, 2010. He weighed in at 8lbs 7 oz. and was 20.75" tall. He is now almost 7 weeks old and I've been neglecting to update this old blog and let everyone know that he is here and we are both doing well.

It has been quite the adventure the past seven weeks learning how to care for little Lucas. We've had our ups and downs but we are beginning to get the hang of this taking care of a newborn thing. It's tricky.

Here are a bunch of photos and when I have more time I will update again. He is adorable.

Here he is at one week:

Two weeks:

Three weeks:

Four weeks:

Five weeks:

and six weeks:

the nursery

2010-07-04T10:04:00.000-07:00

Although I haven't posted on here in forever and I am impossibly behind with my baking for Tuesdays with Dorie, I thought it would be fun to post some pictures of the finally completed nursery. Pete and I have been working on getting this room just perfect for the past six months. I think we are finally done. (Actually, Pete has a couple of shelves he still needs to build but they are not necessary.)

Our nursery used to be our guest bedroom. We only have a three bedroom condo and one of the rooms is an office that we really didn't want to give up. So we decided to make a nursery/guestroom combo room. We got rid of the full bed that took up way too much room in there and bought a great daybed from Ikea that trundles out into a king bed when we have more than one person visiting. Plus it has three giant drawers for even more storage. I love storage. Just getting rid of the full bed gave us so much more room. We bought some wall mounted lights that we put on each end of the day bed so as not to waste space with floor lamps. We also were able to recycle the mirror that used to be above the dresser.

I have a dresser and desk that belonged to my great-grandmother. Pete and I decided to try not to go crazy with spending money for the nursery. So we decided to refinish (Pete did all the work) the desk and use it as a changing table. Pete did a wonderful job on the desk and installed a shelf underneath it so we could put baskets there for some more storage. We splurged a bit and bought some cute drawer pulls from Anthropologie for the drawer on the changing table and for the drawers on the daybed. We also decided to move the dresser into the closet to give us more room. Pete and his grandpa made the airplane together when Pete was a kid and we thought it would be cute if we hung it from the ceiling. Pete had the idea to add some clouds for a mobile over the changing table. A family friend crocheted the little clouds for us and we got ourselves a super inexpensive but meaningful mobile.

We bought our crib when we were about six months pregnant. Pete put it together while I was at work. It has a drawer underneath for storage which is nice. We went back and forth with bedding. I didn't really want a theme room and I couldn't find a crib skirt that I liked. I ended up making my own using an idea I found on this blog. It was one of my first sewing projects and although not perfect I think it turned out nice and was so much cheaper than any of the crazy overpriced crib bedding I found. The crocheted blanket on the crib was made for our little guy by my sister. She taught herself how to crochet just to make him a baby blanket. So special.

Pete and I have been enamored with wall decals and really wanted to get one for the nursery. It took us awhile to find one we really wanted but once we found this tree we thought it was perfect. It adds just the right amount of whimsy to the room and makes me smile when I see it. We got our glider from a friend of Pete's for $60 which you can't beat. It is super comfortable and all it needed was a little pillow for back support that I made. (My second sewing project was making pillow covers for the day bed.) We reused a little table that used to hold a tv in the guest room as a side table. Now we have a place I can put a drink down or a book when we are snuggling with the little one. It also is the perfect table to display the adorable blocks Lucas' (yup that's his name) godmother got him. Aren't they just adorable. We got the curtains on sale at pottery barn kids and I don't think I could have made them cheaper. Plus it saved me a sewing project.

Above our closet was a large empty space. I'm not sure what you would store up there besides dust bunnies. I've always wanted to put shelving up there and finally convinced Pete and my dad to build some. It made the useless empty space useable and gave us a place to store (although slightly inconvenient) books. My grandma is a potter and growing up she always made us the most awesome clay figurines. I asked her if she would make some for the little guy and she went all out. She made him over 22 animals consisting of a hippo, lion, zebra, giraffe, walrus, penguin and many more. Now the little one has his own special figurines from his great-grandma.

So that is our nursery. Now we just need our little guy to make his grand debut. Today is our official estimated due date and I have my fingers crossed that he'll come. Here's to hoping that little Lucas makes his entrance very soon.

Here is me at 39 weeks pregnant. Come on baby.

belly update

2010-05-10T20:57:00.000-07:00

My apologies for not posting anything for a couple of weeks. A lot has been going on (baby growing, visiting Montana, family visiting) and unfortunately the baking had to take a backseat. I hope to get back in the swing of things this coming weekend. The belly is continuing to grow and the above picture was taken on Mother's Day at 32 weeks. Only eight weeks to go. Yippee!

TWD: sweet cream biscuits

2010-04-20T06:00:00.000-07:00

I have a love/hate relationship with biscuits. I love to eat them and I hate to make them. The past few times I've made biscuits they resemble hockey pucks or hardtack. No one enjoys biting into a hard dry piece of cardboard. If they do than they probably have bigger problems than liking bad biscuits. I like to eat biscuits when they are all fluffy and soft and melt in your mouth with tastiness.

Despite my dread of making these biscuits I persevered (mostly because the recipe was so simple) and attempted to give biscuits another try. This recipe is insanely simple and has very little ingredients (always a bonus). I rolled out my dough and proceeded to cut a lot of biscuits. I think I may have grabbed a smaller biscuit cutter than recommended. These turned into two bite biscuits. I also froze some to enjoy later.

So how did these little guys turnout? Surprisingly good. I watched them rise up in the oven and when I tasted one I didn't break a tooth off. That equals total success in my book. They were even good a few hours later at room temperature. I didn't do anything creative with them. I just ate them. Pete ate a few with eggs. We live an exciting life over here.

Thanks to Melissa of Love at First Bite (super cute blog name) for picking this recipe. Check out her blog for the recipe. The recipe is quick and simple and worth a try. Also see what all the other Tuesday with Dorie bakers thought of these biscuits.

(P.S. I apologize for not commenting last week. I was (1) tired, (2) sick with a cold, (3) super busy at work, and (4) busy growing a baby. Enough excuses or do you need more? I'll try to be better this week.)

TWD: swedish visiting cake

2010-04-13T06:00:00.000-07:00

Between work and baby building, Kim asked if I could find time in my unemployed schedule to take over blog duties this week. Seeing how much I enjoyed the Swedish Visiting Cake, I felt like I could give the blog a fair shake.

I'll admit that when Kim said we were having another cake this week I was not the most enthused husband. I'm feeling a little caked-out. But as soon as the lemon zest and almond extract started hitting my nose I was all in. The cake turned out great and within 24 hours of it coming out of the oven, there isn't a slice left in the house. Kim's older brother is in town this week so he had a hand in finishing this off so quickly, but I think I could have managed to clear this cake out even without the extra help.

When I was uploading Kim's pictures a lot of them reminded me of Pac-Man (see above). So I thought I'd make an animation for her blog with Pac-Man replaced by the Swedish Visiting Cake. Sounded simple enough. I spent about an hour working on it, transferred the pictures to the animation windows, then realized I didn't have them in the right order. So I closed the animation window to go back to the photo editor. Little did I know that when I open the animation window, the photo editor disappears. Little did I also know that if I close the animation window it doesn't save a draft of my photo edits. So the following graphic is extra nice because I made it twice. So much for getting ahead on my reading in economics. Making an animated picture of cake is WAY more important.

Thanks to Nancy of The Dogs Eat the Crumbs for picking such a great recipe. Be sure to check out how the other Dorie bakers treated their Swedish visitors.

TWD: mocha-walnut marbled bundt cake

2010-04-06T06:00:00.000-07:00

Another bundt cake this week. Bundt cakes are great. No fussy frosting needed as the bundt pan does all the decorating work for you. I was a little hesitant with this cake since it has coffee and espresso powder in it but I was pleasantly surprised. Pete liked it too. When I told him what I was making this week he just made a grunting noise. I think he is getting spoiled. But after having a bite he changed his tune and actually said it was tasty. I'm enjoying the cake too and the little caffeine jolt makes the little guy in my belly dance A LOT. He likes it too.

This cake was pretty simple to make. I ground up the walnuts in my mini-chopper since Trader Joe's does not sell walnut meal (just almond meal). The walnut flavor is pretty mild but it adds a nice taste to the cake. I tried to follow Dorie's marbling technique of alternating spoonfuls of the chocolate/coffee batter and the plain batter. I then zig-zagged a knife through the cake. It mixed together a bit more than I would have liked so I'll have to keep practicing.

We have some squatters taking up residence at our house. These two are slowly moving into the ant moat. The papa bird likes to sit on top of the hummingbird feeder and sing sweet love songs to his lady bird. He has a nice voice but he is driving Charlie crazy. He's been staring out the sliding door making his cat bark noises for most of the day. Hopefully the bird family will continue to build their nest and take up residence. We'll give them a discount on the rent.

In other news here is an updated tummy photo from a week ago. I'm a tiny bit bigger this week.

Thanks to Erin of When in Doubt...Leave it at 350 for picking out this delicious cake. Go to her blog to get the recipe. Also head over to Tuesdays with Dorie to see what the other bakers thought of this cake. I hope everyone had a nice Easter.

TWD: coconut tea cake

2010-03-30T06:00:00.000-07:00

Short and sweet this week. This cake was wonderful. I made the lemon version and the addition of lemon zest and juice were the perfect accompaniment to the mild coconut flavor. Everyone really enjoyed this and we are quickly working our way through the full bundt. This cake was especially delicious with fresh strawberries and whipped cream. So yummy. Make this cake you won't be disappointed.

Thanks to Carmen of Carmen Cooks for picking this delicious treat. Head over to her blog for the recipe. Check out what all the other bakers thought of this cake at Tuesdays with Dorie.

TWD: dulce de leche duos

2010-03-23T06:00:00.000-07:00

Who knew cookie sandwiches could be so tasty? Who knew you could make dulce de leche from condensed milk in a crock pot? Who knew those cans of condensed milk would leave rust stains in said crock pot? We know all of this now.

Kim and I just got home from our first pregnancy class and she is nursing a strawberry milkshake while casually instructing me on what to write. We are pulling off a team post while doing the Kegel exercises that were strongly recommended at the class. I was able to bond with a group of expectant fathers by telling them about a traumatic phone call I received from a crying Kim this morning. Kim made it all the way into work before realizing her lunch bag only made it to the counter top. I didn't notice her lunch sitting there until she called. The reason this was traumatic was because of how excited she was about her lunch. She made an amazing eggplant pizza last night which made up the main part of the lunch. Then she had a bunch of yummy snacks. She even talked about how excited she was about her lunch before going to bed last night. Other guys in the class were talking about the hormonal mood swings of their pregnant wives and I shared this story to help strengthen our manly bond.

As much as I'd like to finish telling you about my manly bonding experience, Kim just informed me that I need to talk about the cookies. So, back to the cookies. Aside from the new rust rings in the crock pot, they turned out great. I've been snacking on them for two days now and they're just as good as they were when Kim first stuck them together. Kim is partial to the cookies on their own, but I'm definitely a fan of the cookie sandwich.

Thanks to Jodie of Beansy Loves Cake for picking out these delicious treats. You can find the recipe for these cookies on her blog. Also head over to Tuesdays with Dorie to see what the other bakers thought of these cookies.

TWD: soft chocolate and blackberry tart

2010-03-16T06:00:00.000-07:00

Pete was so very excited when he found out this week's recipe had chocolate in it. He's been craving chocolate. I am happy to say that this didn't disappoint. Let's just say I made a full size tart on Saturday and there is only a sliver left. He's good about eating sweets. He takes his taste testing job very seriously.

I ended up using fresh blackberries for this recipe since they were cheaper than raspberries. They looked so pretty in the grocery store.

The mix of bittersweet and milk chocolate was a nice combo and I must agree with Dorie that this was the best room temperature the day it was made. No nice pictures of the full tart because it got out of the oven a bit late and I couldn't make Pete wait until the next day to try a piece. That would be mean. This tart is delicious and it will make anyone craving chocolate very happy. My favorite bites were the ones with the juicy blackberries.

Thanks to Rachelle of Mommy? I'm Hungry! for picking out this delicious treat. Check out her blog for the recipe and to see what else she has been baking up. You should also go to Tuesdays with Dorie and see what all the other bakers thought. I'm thinking this one was probably a hit. How can you go wrong with chocolate and berries in a yummy crust?

Tummy Update - 24 Weeks

2010-03-15T20:26:00.000-07:00

For all those interested in my ever expanding tummy here it is in all its glory at 24 weeks. The baby boy is getting big and he's kicking and punching like crazy. I have no idea what I'm doing in this picture. I may be laughing really hard at one of Pete's jokes, staring up at the spider webs on our porch, or maybe I was thinking that if I stretched out I would look skinnier.

We are slowly putting the nursery together. This past week our crib came and Pete put it together while I was at work. It looks great and Charlie the cat has been giving it some test runs. Lifting him out of the crib is probably the same as lifting a baby out. Although Charlie probably has 10 pounds on the average newborn. I figured he would be way too fat to jump into it. Unfortunately, no. He's pretty nimble for being such a chunk. I'll post some nursery pictures at a later time. Maybe Charlie will oblige and let me dress him up in a onesie. I can dream.

msc: lemon cupcakes

2010-03-15T06:00:00.000-07:00

This month for Martha Stewart's Cupcakes Club Megan of My Baking Adventures chose lemon meringue cupcakes. I adore lemon. Lemon cake, lemon candy, lemonade, lemon bars, I love them all. So when I saw that we were making lemon cupcakes I thought YUMMY.

This recipe had three steps, cupcakes, lemon curd and a meringue frosting. This was two steps too many for me. I improvised. Don't be mad. Please don't kick me out. I did make the actual cupcake. I bought some lemon curd at Trader Joe's and I can't believe I'm going to admit this but I bought vanilla frosting. My cupcakes weren't really lemon meringue. Just lemon with some vanilla frosting.

I cut little cones out of the top of the cupcakes and filled them with some lemon curd and then put the little cone back in and frosted the cupcakes. The cupcakes are tasty. A nice lemon flavor. The Trader Joe's lemon curd is very tasty and the frosting was good too. This was a nice simplified version of Martha's recipe. I made a half recipe which still made 12 cupcakes which is probably six too many for Pete and me. I have a bit of a tummy ache but the cupcakes are worth it. Check out what the other cupcake bakers thought of these over at Martha Stewart's Cupcakes Club.

TWD: thumbprints for big guys

2010-03-09T06:00:00.000-08:00

I'm back. Sorry for my hiatus. Luckily I have a very sweet unemployed husband that can pick up the slack when I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed. The funny thing is that I made the last two recipes on time but just couldn't find the energy to post them.

So hopefully I'm now back on schedule. I made these thumbprints on Sunday morning. I didn't want to buy hazelnuts so I used some ground almond meal that was leftover from some other recipe. The cookie dough is primarily butter and flour/almond meal. Not too much else in there except for some sugar and vanilla and almond extract.

I was a total genius in the kitchen cooking these cookies. I rolled the cookie dough into the balls and put them on the baking sheets. I was running out of room on my kitchen counter so I balanced one sheet on the small piece of counter in front of the sink. I poked holes in the first cookies on the first sheet and then moved over to the second sheet precariously perched on the counter. Not thinking I began to poke holes in the cookies and all of a sudden the sheet tipped (not very surprising) and all but 2 of my 15 cookies fell onto the floor. I made some sort of weird noise which woke up the unemployed husband napping on the couch, freaked out the cat and scared the dog. Pete came into the kitchen I must have looked really pathetic standing there with a cookie sheet in my hand and cookie dough balls all over the floor. I kind of just whimpered and Pete started picking up cookies and said "a little grit won't hurt." See. Sweetest husband ever. We baked up the cookies grit and all and have been enjoying them.

I wouldn't say these were a huge hit but the number continues to dwindle. I really like them and Pete is happy with anything with sugar in it since he gave up all sweets but what I make for Lent. He can't be too picky or no sweets for him.

Thanks to Mike of Ugly Food Dude for picking out this week's recipe. Check out his blog for the recipe. You should also see what the other bakers thought at Tuesdays with Dorie. I'm sure no one else added grit to their cookies.

TWD: Let's Play Catch Up! (Toasted-Coconut Custard Tart & Honey-Wheat Cookies)

2010-03-03T13:53:00.000-08:00

Quick disclaimer: I'm not the wielder of the whisk. I am the husband of the wielder of the whisk. In an effort to get these goodies up on Kim's blog while she maintains a hectic schedule I volunteered to post her pictures and write some comments. So here are the past two Dorie recipes.

I know these recipes are out of order, but I wanted to go with favorites first. And the toasted-coconut custard tart was a huge favorite in our house. Kim made it on Sunday and the entire thing was gone by Monday. For lent this year I gave up alcohol, fast food, soda, and sweets. But I made an amendment to my sweet sacrifice. If Kim makes the sweet I am allowed to eat it. So I am void of sweets throughout the week, but when Sunday gets here and she whips up her Dorie recipe I am all over the finished product. The toasted-coconut tart was no exception. I saw one comment on the Dorie site that said "Holy crap this is good." I can't say anything better than that. I agree whole heartedly 100%. Holy crap this is good!

On behalf of the entire Whisk household, thank you Cinemon Girl for picking such an awesome recipe. Be sure to check what the rest of the bakers did.

Next up are the honey-wheat cookies. These were met with some shrugged shoulders in our kitchen. It's not that they were bad, but they really weren't that great either. My father-in-law's comment was that they taste like "horse biscuits." He also asked me not to pass that along to Kim, so please keep that between us. I didn't think they tasted like horse biscuits and enjoyed quite a few of them, but even in my heightened sweet-craving state these still lasted over a week. I guess no matter how sophisticated I try to be I'd rather have melted chocolate all over my t-shirt while eating chocolate chip cookies and drinking milk than sipping tea with a honey-wheat biscuit delicately placed on my saucer.

In the end they all were eaten and Kim actually thought they were very tasty with tea. I got into a habit of eating a couple with my morning coffee (or my afternoon coffee). So while I wouldn't ask for them again, they were nice to have around for a week.

Thanks to Flourchild for picking this one out. I'm always excited when Kim says what she is making and it doesn't sound like something I would have thought of. I'm always game for the adventure.

Hopefully Kim will be back in blogging shape next week after her schedule eases off a little.

TWD: Dorie's Best Chocolate Chip Cookies

2010-02-16T06:00:00.000-08:00

I love chocolate chip cookies. They are probably my all time favorite. I love them even more than snickerdoodles and peanut butter cookies. The best part is the raw dough. I managed to keep myself from licking the bowl this time. The sacrifices I make for this little baby boy.

I was lazy and used semi-sweet chocolate chips for these cookies. I didn't have the energy to chop my own chocolate. I did add chopped pecans and was pleasantly surprised with how yummy the cookies were with nuts.

I really enjoyed (and I'm still enjoying) these cookies. I'm kind of a cookie snob. I won't eat store bought cookies but if the cookie is homemade it will probably end up in my mouth. This will probably become my go-to chocolate cookie recipe. I have no complaints only praise.

Thanks to all for the kind wishes regarding our newest family member. Our little boy's expected due date is July 4th. We are beyond excited.

Thank you Kait of Kait's Plate for picking this week's recipe. Go to her blog for the recipe. I'm in heaven. Check out what all the other bakers thought of these yummy cookies at Tuesdays with Dorie.

TWD: rick katz's brownies for julia

2010-02-09T06:00:00.000-08:00

These brownies are soft, gooey and very very chocolaty. I wouldn't expect anything less since it was Chocolatechic's pick this week. I find myself going back for just another little piece. I've had about 20 little pieces. But these are so very yummy and deserve to be nibbled on.

This recipe has A LOT of butter in it. I feel like I'm constantly buying unsalted butter in bulk at Costco. With a mix of unsweetened and bittersweet chocolate these brownies are for true chocolate lovers. When I started this blog I didn't really like chocolate and especially no dark and very chocolaty chocolates. But over the past 11 months my taste buds have grown and matured and now I look forward to the chocolaty recipes. This one definitely didn't disappoint.

On a little side note, I've mentioned that my sweet tooth disappeared for a bit. It is now back with a vengeance. It took a leave of absence for approximately three months. It is now back and going strong and I've got the belly to prove it.

Pete and I have been working on a different sort of baking project. We have a little bun in the oven waiting to come and meet us in July.

Thanks to Tanya of Chocolatechic for picking this week's recipe. It was super delicious and the baby and I really enjoyed it. Check out her blog for her recipe. Head on over to Tuesdays with Dorie to see what the other bakers thought about these brownies.

TWD: milk chocolate mini bundt cakes (or not milk chocolate cupcakes)

2010-02-02T06:00:00.000-08:00

Pete was at band practice on Sunday (or as my brother likes to call it band camp) and we usually do the grocery shopping together or he does it by himself but I NEVER (I lie probably once every six months I might find myself at the store alone) do it by myself. I hate it. I think it has to do with pushing the cart. Everyone else in the store is in my way. There is no need to park your cart in the center of the aisle and spend 10 minutes gazing at cereal. If you are like me you always pick the same cereal anyway. There is a certain cart etiquette that many people at my local Trader Joe's and Safeway are missing. The worst is when two people that know each other bump into one another at the store and then proceed to have a conversation in the middle of the aisle. It is never okay to block the aisle. It makes me cranky. It's probably a good thing that I don't go by myself. Pete is actually protecting all the innocents by keeping me under control. He calms me. He's a good man. It is pretty much a given that if Pete and I don't go together on the weekend then no grocery shopping is happening. We then live off fat and gristle and other things we can scrounge up in the freezer until Pete makes the trek to the store. (Don't feel bad for him he is unemployed so he has lots of time to do stuff. Right, baby?)

This is all a very long winded way of saying I made do with what I had at home to make this week's milk chocolate mini bundt cakes. I do not own a mini bundt cake pan so I had to improvise and went with the cupcake pan. No milk chocolate in the house so I made these with a mix of bittersweet and semisweet chocolate (all the left over chunks sitting in my baking box). No whole milk in the fridge so I used buttermilk like Dorie suggests in the playing around. I also ran out of energy and did not bother making the glaze for these little cakes. I ended up with semisweet/bittersweet chocolate cupcakes (sort of). These were a bit underwhelming on their own but cupcake + vanilla ice cream + chocolate sauce = yummy. Unfortunately we are now out of vanilla ice cream and still have a lot of little cakes. Pete will have to make a run to the store. We need these basic necessities in the house.

Thanks to Kristin of I'm Right About Everything for picking this week's recipe. Check out her blog for the recipe. These make the best base for an ice cream sundae. You should also check out Tuesdays with Dorie to see what an actual milk chocolate mini bundt cake looks like and how they tasted.

(Wondering why my pictures are kind of lame and there are only two - I waited until 5:30 at night to try and take pictures. Not a good idea. Even with the tripod some were blurry. Almost dark out does not make pretty baking pictures. Maybe some day I will learn to start baking earlier in the day and not wait till 3. )

TWD: cocoa-nana bread

2010-01-26T06:00:00.000-08:00

Whenever I make banana bread I always add chocolate chips. It is a must. If for some reason I don't put chocolate chips in (only happened once because I ran out) my older brother looked like he was about to cry. Since everyone already loves the banana chocolate combo I figured this very chocolaty banana bread would be a big hit. No surprise it was. I even liked it. I've already had two slices.

This was one of those recipes where I already had everything in the house. I had frozen ripe bananas, cocoa powder, bittersweet chocolate chips and the usual flour, sugar, butter, etc. Don't you just love those? I love not having to go to the grocery store. This recipe was super easy to make. It took a while to bake (around 70 minutes total), but you get the bonus of warming up the house with the oven. It smelled delicious while baking. The perfect recipe to combat the non-stop rain we are getting here in California.

Pete enjoyed this one and my dad got into town last night and also thought it was yummy. I have less than half a loaf left. I'm thinking it will be gone by morning. Pete's been munching on it for breakfast. It does have bananas in it so it has to be healthy.

Thanks to Steph of Obsessed with Baking for picking this most delicious and simple recipe. Check out her blog for the recipe then go make this. Also head over to Tuesdays with Dorie to see what the other bakers thought of the cocoa-nana bread.

TWD: chocolate oatmeal almost-candy bars

2010-01-19T06:00:00.000-08:00

I made Dorie's chocolate oatmeal almost-candy bars on Sunday and after I cut them Pete grabbed one and munched it down and thought it was super delicious. The different layers of the cookie reminded him of a geological cut (who knows where he comes up with stuff) and he dubbed these "land cakes." So the land cakes were a big hit.

I made a full recipe which makes A LOT. Way too many for just Pete and I. Pete is making some good progress on putting the land cakes in his tummy but we are trying to give some away too so his belly doesn't grow too much.

I put the pan of the land cakes in the fridge to cool and forgot about them until a few hours later. I had to chisel around the edges of the bars to get them out of the pan. Fortunately they are soft and chewy when you bite into them.

Pete was nice enough to take photos of the cut bars for me and he is to thank for the giant tower of land cakes.

I'm glad these were a hit. Thanks to Lillian of Confectiona's Realm for picking out this tasty treat. You can find the recipe on Lillian's blog. Also check out what all the other bakers thought of these land cakes over at Tuesdays with Dorie.

msc: coconut cupcakes

2010-01-18T19:22:00.000-08:00

I finally made them and I'm so glad I did. These were really really good. The cupcake has just the right amount of coconut flavor. Despite my lack of a sweet-tooth I've eaten three of these. That's a lot for me. I'm actually thinking of having another for dessert. I only made a half recipe because it is just Pete and I. I'm thinking I shouldn't of halved it.

These were so good I begged Pete to make me an animated picture and he did. He's the best. You can find the recipe in the Martha Stewart's Cupcake book on page 29. You should definitely make these.

coming soon...msc: coconut cupcakes

2010-01-15T08:52:00.000-08:00

I haven't actually made these cupcakes yet. They are on my to do list and I hope I can have them posted by tomorrow or Sunday. Please come back and check.

TWD: Mrs. Vogel's Scherben

2010-01-12T06:00:00.000-08:00

I had a tough day at work today (Monday) and I'm feeling beat down so I'm going to keep this week's short and sweet. I just want to curl up on the couch under my electric blanket with Willa and Charlie and my new smooshy pillow and maybe some cheap cinnamon doughnuts. (I must apologize for the photos. I didn't get around to frying this dough until 7:00 on Sunday night so I had to use the flash and I really hate using the flash.)

What is Mrs. Vogel's Scherben you may be asking? I asked the same question. Turns out Mrs. Vogel's Scherben are fried dough strips. The dough is pretty simple and doesn't have much in it and barely any sugar. After frying the strips you coat them in cinnamon sugar and powdered sugar before serving. It is imperative that you use A LOT of cinnamon sugar and powdered sugar because the dough strips taste like nothing. Pete made the comment that these really are just a way to eat cinnamon sugar. I ate one that did not have enough sugar on it and it was not very good. These weren't super popular at our house. I had a few that were totally coated in sugar but it wasn't hard to walk away. I think I would rather just have a spoonful of cinnamon sugar.

Thanks to Teanna of Spork or Foon? for picking this recipe. Although it wasn't a hit I'm glad I gave it try and I got to fry some stuff. Always fun. Check out Teanna's blog for a lot of really pretty photos, yummy recipes and witty writing. Also head over to Tuesdays with Dorie to see what all the other bakers thought of the scherben.

TWD: tarte tatin

2010-01-05T06:00:00.000-08:00

I was torn over which Tuesdays with Dorie 2nd Anniversary dessert I should make. We got to choose from the tarte tatin and the cocoa-buttermilk birthday cake. At first I was leaning toward the cake thinking I would make a mini size with whipped cream as frosting. It was all circuits go with the cake until Sunday morning when I changed my mind and decided to make the tarte tatin. I luckily had all the ingredients on hand (not that there are many, just apples, puff pastry, sugar and butter). I thought this tarte would be tasty for breakfast. I didn't realize the puff pastry had to defrost so the hungry bellies couldn't wait and we ended up having cheerios for breakfast and tarte tatin for an early afternoon snack.

I had a random variety of apples rolling around in the fruit drawer in the fridge. Some were smaller and a little bruised but I figured once they are all cooked up and smothered in butter and sugar no one would care. I only had seven but my tarte didn't feel apple deficient.

You can't call this a healthy dessert with a whole stick of butter. I melted my butter, added my sugar and then plunked my little apples round side down in my pan. It took forever for the sugar to turn a nice dark caramel color. I might still be hanging out over the stove if I waited for the deep color Dorie suggests. I'm thinking it might be the nonstick pans that are causing me caramel problems. Anyone know anything about this? I let the apples and butter/sugar cook on the stove for probably 25 minutes before I gave up. It was a nice light caramel color. My tummy was grumbling and I was tired of waiting so I called it. You then lay the puff pastry over the apples and stick the whole thing in the oven.

Mine took about 30 minutes in the oven and when I took it out it was a nice golden brown. I love puff pastry. So yummy. I had no problems flipping it onto a serving plate. I did have some trouble waiting the recommended 10 minutes before I could eat it. This was the first dessert I've made in awhile that I tried. So good. So sweet. So perfect. A great anniversary pick. I'm wishing I had another piece now.

I think you may be able to find the recipe for the tarte tatin on our great host, Laurie's blog, Slush. We have to give so much thanks to her for starting this fun baking group. You can also find the recipe for the other anniversary pick the cocoa-buttermilk birthday cake on her blog. Make sure you check out what all the other bakers whipped up this week at Tuesdays with Dorie. I'm sure the cocoa-buttermilk cake was a hit too.

Happy New Year!

TWD Twofer: my favorite pecan pie and low and luscious chocolate cheesecake

2009-12-29T06:00:00.000-08:00

For Christmas I decided to make both the pecan pie and the low and luscious chocolate cheesecake. One was a huge hit and one was a bit of a dud. The dud is still sitting in the fridge begging someone to eat it. I'm assigning that job to Pete. He's good at eating leftovers. Can you guess which was the hit?

Dorie's favorite pecan pie was the runaway hit of the night. Pete said it was the best thing he ever tasted and my uncle agreed. I made the pie with the additions of espresso powder, cinnamon and chocolate. Pete said he could only taste the chocolate and thought it was super awesome.

The cheesecake on the other hand was not a favorite. My uncle said it was only because the pecan pie was so delicious. Pete just made a grunting noise and pushed it to the side of his plate and continued on with his pecan pie. I have 1 1/2 mini cheesecakes sitting in the fridge and I only made two. Pete has some eating to do now that he has finished the pecan pie.

I can't weigh in on either dessert because I didn't try them. My sweet tooth is still on vacation.

Thanks to Beth of Someone's in the Kitchen with Brina for picking the runaway hit. Check out her blog for the recipe. Thanks also go to The Tea Lady of Tea and Scones for picking the low and luscious chocolate cheesecake. You can find the recipe on her blog. I think the cheesecake would have been more of a hit if I didn't serve it with the pecan pie.

Willa and Charlie wanted to show everyone how excited they were to get Christmas presents from their grandparents in Montana.

I also have to show off my new apron. It got a lot of use on Christmas day. Thanks Robin and Dave from all of us.

Santa stopped by and I just had to get a picture with him.

Hope everyone had a wonderful holiday. Happy New Year!

P.S. Thanks to Pete for making the neat picture of the disappearing pie. What would I do without him?

msc: gingerbread cupcakes

2009-12-15T11:41:00.000-08:00

I whipped up these cupcakes on Sunday after a very long weekend of baking cookies, cookies and more cookies. Pete had to go to the recording studio again and I thought that sending the cupcakes with him would be the perfect way to get them out of the house. I only made a half batch which produced ten regular size cupcakes. The perfect number, enough to give the band a couple each.

As I previously posted I've lost my sweet tooth the past couple of months and it takes a lot to tempt me to try something I baked. I'm hoping I get over this because I really like sweets and what fun is there in making sweets if you can't gobble them up and waddle around the house after with your pants unbuttoned.

These cupcakes are super simple to make. They have the usual spice combo of ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves (if my memory is correct). These were significantly easier to make because I didn't have to make any frosting. We went over to Erin's house on Friday night and she gave me a container of cream cheese frosting that was in her freezer. All I had to do was make the cupcakes and pipe on some frosting. Easy enough.

One of the cookies I made this weekend were the sugar topped molasses cookies and I made a few small versions to decorate the top of these cupcakes with. I think they turned out cute. Pete said they looked professional. He probably just said that so he could have more cookies. He's a tricky one.

I cut one cupcake in half to try to take a picture of the center and I left that out for Pete to taste test before he took off for the studio. He ate one half and with a full mouth started telling me how delicious they were, best ever, fantastic, etc. He asked if I wanted to try a little bite and while I was thinking about it he put the whole second half in his mouth. I stared at him and said I would have liked a little bite and he proceeded to pull the half out of his mouth. I passed. I'll take his word for it. These were a hit. The band loved them.

Thanks so much to Kayte from Grandma's Kitchen Table for picking these delicious holiday treats. Pete sends his thanks too. And next time we have something sitting in the kitchen that he won't eat we'll send them to Kayte's hungry boys. Make sure you check out what all the cupcake bakers did this month at MSC.

TWD: Cafe Volcano Cookies (CVC)

2009-12-15T06:00:00.000-08:00

Kim is on the road this evening. She had to travel south for work so Willa, Charlie, and I have been holding down the fort. She asked if I could write a couple sentences about my thoughts on the Cafe Volcano Cookies (CVC) for her, but those thoughts turned into a full on post. Then I thought I might as well put her pictures up. Then I thought I'd just completely hi-jack her blog. So I'm either a nice husband for getting the writing part done for her or a creepy one who knows her Internet passwords. Either way, here goes the CVC post:

It was bound to happen. I’ve loved and devoured every amazing treat coming out of the pages of Dorie through our small kitchen. Leftover sweets never last long. Empty Tupperware containers litter the counters. Crumbs of cookies and tarts and cakes trickle down my chest. My enemies quake at my ability to decimate a pan of crownies. People move to the other side of the street when they hear me correctly pronounce pineapple dacquoise. All of these were consistent until today.

I came home late last night after another day in the recording studio to find a new Tupperware filled with treats waiting to meet my mouth. The CVCs waiting inside looked beautiful as I reached in to grab my first one. The first one was my last one. I was so sure the coffee flavor would win me over. Put the coffee label on anything and I’ll give it a try (and nine times out of ten I’ll love it). But even with my love of all things coffee and all things sweet, the CVC’s are still occupying their container on the counter while my enemies laugh at my inability to finish them in my normal zealous style. I’m not feeling these. From the texture to the taste, the small little lumps are destined for the mouth of the garbage can instead of my belly.

While I cannot stand behind the CVC's, I can stand behind every other cookie still occupying our kitchen table. I hope my family understands how hard it is for me to see the piles and piles and piles of sweet sweet cookie goodness, but practice restraint. Thank goodness we're mailing these out soon or my inner sweet monster would be seeking some kind of solace after the dissapointing CVC experience.

Thanks to Macduff from Lonely Sidecar for picking the recipe. I thought it sounded good and was completely behind you. Check out what the rest of the Dorie crew thought about these little guys.

P.S. From Kim - weren't these the most unphotogenic cookies you've ever seen. Seriously.

cookies galore and some appreciated help from C & H

2009-12-14T06:00:00.000-08:00

This Christmas I wanted to make an assortment of cookies to send to family and friends. I enlisted Pete to help and Willa to taste and we had a baking weekend. I also got some surprise and much appreciated help from the people at C&H/Domino Sugar. They asked that I bake something from their website and gave me a $20 gift card toward expenses. Thank you! Nothing like having someone help you with the grocery bill.

I wanted to make a yummy sugar cookie so I looked at C&H's website and found a nice recipe for basic sugar cookies. I love sugar cookies. So simple yet so delicious. I had to swat Pete's hand away from these cookies or I would not have enough to send out. Don't feel bad for him. I make him a special pile of reject cookies for his tasting pleasure.

I not only made sugar cookies but I also made world peace cookies, sugar topped molasses cookies and sables from recipes by Dorie Greenspan, and last but not least snickerdoodles. I spent the majority of Saturday and Sunday in the kitchen and by the end of the day I was exhausted. Who knew baking was so much work?

C&H's basic sugar cookies recipe is super easy and you get delicious cookies. I colored some of the dough with red food coloring for some variety. I also rolled the red dough in peppermint sugar and some dough in green and red sugar for that holiday look. I tried making a candy cane by twisting the red and white dough together but they were a failure. Pete looked at them and said "you're not sending those out are you?" I think not. I won't even tell you what he thought they looked like. Inappropriate for a baking blog. Here's the recipe from C&H:

C&H Basic Sugar Cookies

Ingredients:

3/4 cup C&H sugar

1/2 butter at room temperature

1 egg

1 1/2 tsp vanilla

1 1/2 cups flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

Instructions:

In a large bowl beat sugar and butter until fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla. Combine flour, baking powder and salt; stir into sugar mixture. Form dough into flat disc on lightly-floured surface; wrap in plastic wrap and chill for 1 hour. Preheat oven to 350ºF. On lightly-floured covered board, roll out half of dough to 1/8 inch thick. Using cookie cutters, cut out various shapes. Place 1 inch apart on cookie sheet. Sprinkle with sugar. Bake 10 to 12 minutes until lightly browned. Cool on rack. Makes 3 dozen.

Thanks again to C&H for the $20 gift card and giving me that needed motivation to bake some cookies. I'm hoping to get all these cookies out of the house by Tuesday. Pete and I don't need the temptation.

POM and Orange Yogurt Cake

2009-12-12T14:48:00.000-08:00

The nice people at POM Wonderful sent me a case of their yummy POM (pomegranate) juice to try. Pete and I have been enjoying all the benefits of the pomegranate juice over the past few weeks. Pete is loving his mixed with some vodka. Nothing but the healthiest for my baby. I've been scratching my head over what to make with the juice and really wanted to do a baked good. Last night I was hanging out with Erin and she made a yummy lemon yogurt cake and we both thought it could be adapted and made into a pomegranate yogurt cake. It was a success. (This recipe is an adaptation of the Barefoot Contessa's lemon yogurt cake recipe.)

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

2 tsps baking powder

1/2 tsp kosher salt

1 cup plain yogurt

1 1/3 cup sugar, divided

3 large eggs

1 1/2 oranges zested

1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1/2 cup pomegranate arils (seeds)

1/3 cup POM juice

Preheat oven to 350º F. Grease a loaf pan (I made mini loaves and the recipe made three).

Whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt in a bowl. In another bowl, whisk together the yogurt, 1 cup sugar, the eggs, orange zest and vanilla. Slowly whisk the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. With a rubber spatula fold the vegetable oil into the batter until its incorporated. Then fold the pomegranate arils into the batter.

Pour the batter into the bread pan(s) and bake for 50 minutes (with the mini loaf pans they baked for 35 minutes), or until cake tester placed into the center of the loaf comes out clean.

While the cake is baking, cook the 1/3 cup POM juice and the remaining 1/3 cup sugar in a small pan until the sugar dissolves. Set aside.

When the cake is done, allow it to cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Remove cake from pan and place on a cooling rack over a sheet pan. While still warm, pour the POM juice and sugar mixture over the cake and allow to soak in. Allow to cool.

ENJOY!

Pete and I really enjoyed this cake. Thank you again to POM Wonderful for their generous gift of yummy and nutritious juice.

a few of my favorite things

2009-12-09T13:30:00.000-08:00

Erin from Dog is my Sous Chef and I decided to blog about a few of our favorite things as a needed distraction. At first I was drawing blanks and then I couldn't stop thinking of things. Some of these items would make nice gifts. Hint, hint, Mr. Pete.

All of the above items I have owned, currently own, or used to own and now covet. They are in no particular order. I also was not asked by the makers of any of these product to endorse these items or blog about them. (Unfortunately.) I just love this stuff.

1. Nikon D40 Digital SLR Camera. Last March I decided I wanted to start learning about photography and I really wanted a digital SLR. I wanted a basic digital SLR that wouldn't have a bunch of options that I probably would never learn to use. This has been the perfect camera to get me used to digital SLR photography without a huge price tag. It is my baby. Sometimes I let Pete borrow it if he is extra nice to me.

2. Simple Satire Hemp Sneakers (ecoSNEAKS). I bought these sneakers a year or two ago and they are still kicking. They are eco-friendly and vegan in case that was a concern. The sole of the shoe is recycled tire and the laces are made from recycled soda bottles. Besides being earth friendly these sneakers are super comfortable and cute. My only complaint is that the laces take after Houdini and can even escape from double knots. Sneaky laces. Pete has a similar shoe made for men and he loves them too.

3. Donna Karan Cashmere Mist Deodorant/Antiperspirant. My sister-in-law turned me on to this deodorant and it has been a favorite ever since. Although it has a steep price tag it really works and the container lasts for several months. It has a nice scent that isn't too overpowering and it provides protection all day.

4. Archipelago Botanicals Signature Soy Wax Candles. These candles are a total splurge purchase. A few times over the past couple of years I've been given one of these candles as a gift and I adore them. They have the best smells. One of my favorites is the bergamot tobacco flavor. So yummy. I wouldn't mind if a couple of these candles found their way into my stocking.

5. 7 for all mankind Dojo wide-leg jeans. These jeans are expensive. BUT they fit awesome and I wear them almost every day (ask Erin). I'm actually wearing them right now. I used to think that it was a waste of money to pay so much for denim, but I noticed I was buying a lot of jeans at Old Navy and other places that were cheap but didn't fit right. I would never wear them and they would just collect dust in the closet. With these jeans I have more than got what I paid for. It is going to be a sad day if I outgrow them.

6. Mountain Hardware Monkey Woman Fleece Jacket. This fleece jacket is my favorite fleece jacket and I have a few. When I bought it new it was so soft. After a year's worth of wear and some washings it is still keeping me all snuggly and warm. I also like that it has monkey in the name.

7. Rice heat pack/sack. My little sister made me a sack similar to the one shown as a gift. She filled hers with rice and flax seed and some essential oils for scent. I warm my sack up every night before bed and cuddle with it while I sleep. The rice and flax seed retain heat and keep me warm for hours. It's also nice to put on a sore neck or lower back. Pete has started stealing it to use on our pup Willa in the afternoon for extra warmth. She loves it too. The link is to a blog with a wonderful tutorial on how to make your own.

8. KitchenAid Stand Mixer. My KitchenAid stand mixer is my savior. It keeps me sane in the kitchen and helps me make cookies, bread and anything else I can think of. I also go into a kind of sad shock when I have to bake without it. There are all sorts of different versions out there with different price tags. It really is the perfect gift for any baker. Mine is white but I covet all those wonderful new colors they offer.

9. Alba Botanica Very Emollient Body Lotion. I use this lotion everyday when I get out of the shower. I have dry skin and if I forgo lotioning my skin is itchy and angry all day, making me sad. You can find this lotion at Target and Whole Foods and surprisingly it is cheaper at Whole Foods. I like the unscented version so it doesn't battle perfume if I decide to wear some.

10. SmartWool Socks. These socks keep my feet warm and happy. I usually try to find them on clearance so I have all sorts of neat colors. Pete really loves the running sock.

11. Love Actually. I adore this movie. I watch it every year around Christmas and it always gives me a warm feeling. Last year I watched it once and then immediately restarted it for a second round.

12. Penzeys Spices. Penzeys has the best spices. They have wonderful spice blends, like Fox Point Seasoning that tastes like heaven on potatoes. Their spices are affordable and can be bought in bulk. To save some money I like to buy my spices in bulk and then split them with family.

Hope you enjoy some of these. Feel free to pass on your favorites that you think could become my favorites too.

Happy Holidays.

TWD: sables

2009-12-08T06:00:00.000-08:00

Sables = crazy delicious. I can't stop eating these delicious cookies. Sweets and I have not been friends for the past few weeks but I heart these cookies. I'm going to run off with them and we'll live together on a warm sunny beach with lots of margaritas. Pete can come too. He just has to realize that sables are number one.

These cookies are simple to make. They are similar to shortbread cookies hopped up on butter. The dough is supposed to be sandy and it came together okay. You then take the dough and shape it into two logs and refrigerate them. I then ran out of energy which is good because the dough logs have to chill in the fridge for at least three hours. I cut my first log into four equal sections and rolled each in a different sugar. I had red sugar, green sugar, white sugar and Pete's pick, a red and white peppermint flavored sugar. I tried my hardest to cut even circles but that skill continues to escape me. So these cookies are super original because they come in a lot of different and exciting sizes. I also slightly overcooked them. They do not resemble the perfection in the book but they taste good so I say these were a WINNER.

Because I'm lazy I didn't start rolling the dough in sugar until 4:30 on Sunday and totally blew any chance of taking pictures of these. Pete being the totally awesome dude that he is took these photos for me this afternoon while I was at work. I have one log of dough still chilling in the fridge which I think will be part of some Christmas cookie gifts.

Thanks to Barbara of Bungalow Barbara for picking these most wonderful cookies. Check out her blog for the recipe. Also head over to Tuesdays with Dorie to see all the other beautiful sables. If anyone has any extra sables they need to get rid of I'll take them off your hands.

TWD: chocolate caramel chestnut cake (aka: 4C's)

2009-11-24T06:00:00.000-08:00

I have good news and bad news. First, the bad news. Kim is currently on Thanksgiving vacation in The City of Brotherly Love with her sister. Now the good news, her husband (that's me) is guest blogging!

While I can't speak to the ease or difficulty in making the chocolate caramel chestnut cake (4C's), I can vouch for its deliciousness. Kim made four mini cakes, which meant I received an entire cake to myself. After I finished my cake I slowly started stealing bites of Kim's as she wasn't eating it fast enough. I was just making sure the cake didn't go to waste. The third cake was dropped off with Kim's mom and the fourth is waiting in the freezer for my mini-Thanksgiving.

I loved everything about these little cakes, but my favorite part by far was the ganache. I was lucky enough to sample it straight from the bowl. Sooooooooooo good.

Kim has also been supplying me with amazing treats all month long (thanks in part to the great picks from the Tuesdays with Dorie bunch) that I have been using as nourishment while my band records its debut album in San Francisco's Tiny Telephone studio. From the sweet potato cupcakes, to the molasses cookies (which were a childhood favorite), to the holiday bundt cake, everything has been a hit. She even offered to remake the molasses cookies for the next round of recording in December. At the risk of appearing as a shameless self-promoter, here is a link to the band: New Cadence. The first six songs on the player are the ones we're recording.

Here's a quick picture of the piano I've been spending my time with in the studio (you can see our singer through the window on the right, running on all cylinders thanks to a sweet potato cupcake).

Thanks to Katya of Second Dinner for selecting the awesome 4C's recipe. Be sure to stop by Tuesdays with Dorie to see what everyone else baked up this week.

From Whisk's kitchen to all of yours, have a great Thanksgiving.

And from Whisk's husband to Kim, hurry home.

We miss you and we miss the blueberry.

TWD: cran-apple crisps

2009-11-17T06:00:00.000-08:00

Since the days are now shorter my natural light picture taking time has decreased. Now when I procrastinate on Sunday afternoons I find myself racing against the setting sun. The sun totally beat me on these crisps. I got them out of the oven around 5:00 and it was just too dark to get a decent photo. I had to take the picture of the finished crisp this morning before work.

I made a version with just apples and fresh cranberries and it was super delicious. I loved the tartness of the cranberries with the yummy crisp topping.

I also made an apple, walnut and caramel version after drooling over Chocolatechic's adaptations last week. It was also delicious.

This is the perfect dessert. Simple to make and tasty.

Thanks to Em of The Repressed Pastry Chef for picking out this yummy recipe. Check out her blog for the recipe. It is definitely worth it. Also head on over to Tuesday's with Dorie to see what all the other bakers whipped up this week.

If you were wondering about Charlie's (the cat) Halloween costume check out the post from Monday.

msc: (tardy) sweet potato cupcakes

2009-11-16T18:43:00.000-08:00

I made them. They are late but I did make them. Here they are. Pete says they are yummy. I have not tried one yet but I'm sure they are.

Thanks to Karen of Karen's Cookies, Cakes & More for picking this month's cupcakes. Make sure you check out her blog and all the bakers at MS: Cupcakes Club.

To get you all in the mood for Thanksgiving...

Because nothing says Thanksgiving like sweet potato cupcakes and a cat dressed as a turkey/chicken.

TWD: sugar-topped molasses spice cookies (aka heaven)

2009-11-10T06:00:00.000-08:00

I adore ginger cookies. I'm always on the hunt for the perfect ginger snap. Trader Joe's used to sell little ginger snap cookies in a small tin that were fantastic. I would eat them until I was sick. I also adore the Mother's Cookies little ginger bread men that are only sold during the holidays. Whenever I would see them I would buy four or five bags just in case they were gone the next time I went to the store. Last year was a sad year since Mother's Cookies went belly up. But I've heard they were bought and I am awaiting my little ginger bread men. Now I may not need those little men to make me happy, because these cookies are so much better. They taste like heaven.

I made the dough for these cookies last Sunday and due to laziness I didn't actually bake them until Friday night. The cookie is made up of everything that is delicious - ginger, brown sugar, and molasses. While they were cooling I decided I better try one to make sure it was okay. It was. Just to be sure though I tried 3 more. I don't want Pete to have to eat anything that isn't perfect. I make a lot of sacrifices for him.

These cookies are going to be my go to for ginger deliciousness. They also make the perfect ice cream sandwich. I made the ice cream sandwich for pictures and took two or three bites. I put it in the freezer to save for later but Pete beat me to it. He did say it was very yummy.

Thanks to Pamela of Cookies with Boys for picking this winning cookie. Check out her darling blog for the recipe (it will probably be posted on November 17th). Also head over to Tuesdays with Dorie to see what all the other bakers whipped up this week. It could be cake, cookies or a crisp. All sound and look yummy.

TWD: all in one holiday bundt cake

2009-11-03T06:00:00.000-08:00

I'm going to keep it short and sweet this week. For the month of November we can make the recipes out of order so my first pick was this bundt cake. It truly is all in one with the usual assortment of yummy holiday spices, pumpkin, cranberries, and pecans. It made the house smell heavenly and tasted delicious. I'll be making this again and again. Pete has been gobbling it down.

The only thing sweeter and more delicious than this bundt cake is this...

Willa was a lady bug for Halloween. I'll post a picture of Charlie (the cat) in his Halloween costume as soon as I can figure out how to hold him down and take a picture at the same time.

Thanks to Britin of The Nitty Britty for picking this delicious cake. I'm not sure when the recipe will be up on her blog but check back because this cake is worth it. Also head over to Tuesdays with Dorie to see what the other bakers baked this week.

TWD: cherry-fudge brownie torte

2009-10-27T06:00:00.000-07:00

When I looked at this recipe I thought ugh. It was one of those weeks when all I really wanted was a cookie. No fancy schmancy torte with cherries. I was also clean out of kirsch. I can't keep that stuff stocked in my house. Willa has a real problem when it comes to kirsch. Despite all my problems with this recipe the guilt (gut wrenching and torturous) I would feel for not making it beat out my ugh.

There was one upshot to making this recipe. When I told Pete how many servings a full recipe would make he decided a half recipe was necessary which prompted a trip to Williams-Sonoma for some cute baby springform pans.

Because Willa drank all the kirsch I substituted it with some red wine. Someone mentioned using it in the comment section and I thought that was perfect. I also am clean out of any sort of alcohol that would go good in baked goods. Who drank all the rum? Willa was that you? I'm thinking vodka and gin don't mix with baked goods.

This brownie had black pepper in it. Interesting. I could taste it but Pete couldn't. My half recipe filled two mini springform pans almost to the top. I made the mascarpone mousse with no changes. I adored the mousse. I could eat that mousse every day all day. I licked the spoon, the bowl, and my fingers. So good. I thought the brownie was okay. I don't like cherries so I tried to avoid the cherry bites. Pete liked it. He said it wasn't his favorite but it has slowly been disappearing.

Willa was too drunk to really enjoy this dessert. This is what happens when you drink all the kirsch in the house. Look at those glassy eyes. She could barely sit up straight in her chair.

Thanks to April of Short + Rose for picking this week's recipe. Check out her blog for her take on this dessert and the recipe. Also head over to Tuesdays with Dorie to see what the other bakers thought this week.

TWD: sweet potato biscuits

2009-10-20T06:00:00.000-07:00

I love sweet potatoes and I love biscuits so it was a given that I would love sweet potato biscuits. Too bad my biscuits resembled hardtack instead of puffy soft biscuits. At least there are a lot of uses for rock hard biscuits. You can use them to hammer in nail, as a hockey puck, a paper weight, a frisbee or dog chew toy. Really the list of uses is endless. You can also eat them. You just have to be careful you don't lose a tooth.

This was only my second time making biscuits. The first time was much worse which is saying something. With those ones I could cut glass. At this rate I may eventually make the perfect biscuit.

I used fresh sweet potatoes. I baked them in the oven until they were nice and soft and then skinned and mashed them. I used 1 cup of sweet potatoes per Dorie's directions. I have an unexplained aversion to canned potatoes. They give me the willies. I also added a pinch of cinnamon because who can say no cinnamon. Not me.

After I rolled/patted out my dough and cut my biscuits I realized that Dorie recommended a smaller sized biscuit. Oops. I don't know if these were cut smaller if they would have puffed up. I'm thinking probably not. Maybe if I stacked two biscuits together they would have been puffy. I put my biscuits in the oven and checked on them with mounting dread. These babies looked exactly the same when I put them in the oven as when I took them out. They just got a bit brown. Another biscuit failure.

These biscuits had one thing going for them...they taste wonderful. Even when you totally screw these up they are still yummy. Maybe a little crunchy and dry but still tasty. I'll have to give these another try. I will not let biscuits defeat me. Someday I'll be able to whip a nice light fluffy puffy biscuit.

Thanks to Erin of Prudence Pennywise for picking this recipe. Check out her cute blog for the recipe or get a copy of Dorie's book. I'm sure all the other Tuesdays with Dorie bakers had some good and tasty looking biscuits. You should head on over and check them all out.

P.S. Pete says thanks for all the nice comments from his post last week. You all were so nice he even offered to write a post for me whenever I want. Awesome.

msc: pumpkin patch cupcakes (aka MY PICK!)

2009-10-15T06:00:00.000-07:00

Yeah! My pick. This is the first time (in my short food blogging adventures) of getting to pick a recipe. So if you hated these you can blame me and the little pumpkin decorations. It was the pumpkins that drew me in. I won't feel bad if you leave me sad faces in the comments. I also picked these because I wanted something that was season appropriate. Nothing screams fall like pumpkin, cinnamon, ginger and cloves.

So after I totally rocked it in the kitchen and made the best pumpkin patch cupcakes ever I realized that I totally forgot to take any action shots. Now you probably don't believe me that these were the best pumpkin patch cupcakes ever. You'll just have to trust me.

I only made half of the recipe since a full recipe makes 32. That's a lot of cupcakes. I also made a half recipe of the cream cheese frosting. Martha's cream cheese frosting recipe makes a ridiculous amount of frosting. But it tastes so good.

Since these were my pick I figured I had to at least try and attempt the marzipan pumpkin decoration. I did not however attempt to make my own marzipan. I picked up a tube of marzipan at Whole Foods. I colored about 2/3 of the marzipan with red and yellow gel food coloring to make orange for the pumpkins. I tinted the remaining marzipan with green food coloring. To make the cute little pumpkins you roll the orange marzipan into approximately 3/4 inch balls. You then make a little hole in the top and press a toothpick along the sides from top to bottom to make the pumpkin ridges. I tried to find a leaf cutter at Michael's and then Williams Sonoma with no luck. All the leaf cutters I found were huge. I thought about cutting out my own leaves but went the lazy route and decided to just make stems. These are pumpkin patch cupcakes that have been cut from the vine and are now sitting on straw bales waiting to be picked by some cute little tot.

Does anyone like the taste of marzipan? I can't stand it. Pete didn't like it either. The pumpkins ended up in the trash but at least they looked cute first.

I've had some issues with just slathering frosting on cupcakes. Last time I did that with this cream cheese frosting my cupcakes looked like they were wearing helmets. Not an attractive look. This time I decided I would pipe it on and then place the little pumpkins in the center. Pete was impressed with my mad decorating skills. The pumpkins were really easy to make and would be a great activity for kids to help with. Anyone have a kid I can borrow to make more of these pumpkins?

So you are probably wondering how these tasted. They were good. I didn't love them but I found them tasty. Pete did most of the work in the eating department. He loved them. These are a nice fall treat and I think most people would enjoy them. You can find the recipe on page 236 of Martha Stewart's Cupcake book. We are not supposed to post the recipe but I think with some google searches you could find it or you could buy the book.

Thanks everyone for baking along with me this week. I hope you liked these and if not my apologies. Blame the cute little pumpkins. I couldn't resist. Make sure you check out what all the other bakers did with this recipe at MS: Cupcakes Club.

TWD: allspice crumb muffins

2009-10-13T06:00:00.000-07:00

Have you ever had one of those days where the thought of doing anything just exhausts you. Today is that day. So I begged Pete to write my post for me. After some moaning he did. His post gives these muffins the post they deserve. My post would have been "mmmmmmm...muffins." Here is Pete. (My writing is in italics.)

I’m not the cook in our family. Sure, I can throw together a turkey sandwich, over pepper a meatloaf, grill steaks into boot leather, and add hotdogs to mac-n-cheese, but don’t confuse me with someone who knows his way around the kitchen. I tend to hang out at the kitchen table (knife and fork in hand) waiting for the next amazing treat from my wife’s new found love of cooking/blogging. She has always been a great cook, but with this blog (and your awesome comments) she has taken it to a new level. I have eaten more sweets in the past seven months than the previous 29 years I have been on this planet. This weekend was no exception. The Allspice Muffins that graced my belly yesterday and today lived up to every expectation I had for them. I sent Kim a message this morning asking her if three muffins were too much for breakfast. She promptly wrote back that I should go with two, but in the 15 seconds between texts I had already started on the third. I couldn’t get enough of these guys for two reasons:

Reason 1 – Anything Kim makes I will try and more often than not I will try it more than once. These muffins definitely called for a “more than once” sampling.

Reason 2 – They tasted like Fall and I LOVE (all caps is definitely called for) Fall. Fall reminds me of Thanksgiving which reminds of Christmas which reminds me of presents which reminds of family which reminds me of being a kid which reminds me of Lincoln Logs which reminds me of how awesome of a builder I was. So thank you Allspice Muffins for reminding me that Fall is here and that you will hold my hand through all the epic adventures waiting for me with my Lincoln logs this Holiday Season.

Thanks for another great week of sweets. Now back to a week of exercising so I can be in top form for next weekend’s adventure. (The little pumpkin is a little sneak preview of the cupcakes we made for the MS: Cupcakes Club, check back on Thursday.)

Thanks to Kayte of Grandma's Kitchen Table for picking these delicious muffins. She has a fabulous blog and always has great pictures of her family enjoying her treats. Head over to her blog for the recipe for these muffins. Check out Tuesdays with Dorie to see what all the other bakers thought of these muffins.

TWD: split level pudding

2009-10-06T06:00:00.000-07:00

There is nothing more delicious and comforting than a bowl of pudding. Pudding makes everything better. This week's recipe is a fancy chocolate and vanilla Jello Snack Pack. The bottom layer is chocolate ganache and the top is delicious vanilla pudding.

I haven't had any major kitchen mishaps in a few weeks so I think I was due. The split level pudding decided it wanted to be difficult. It made an absolute mess of the kitchen, lots of dirty pots and the food processor leaked pudding all over the counter.

I put the ramekins in the fridge and let them sit for five hours. Pete and I then enjoyed some grainy chocolate ganache and vanilla soup. Not a success. But still totally delicious. I will have to try this one again. Hopefully with better results.

Charlie had eight servings of pudding. Look at that chunky belly. He's an advertisement for portion control.

Thanks to Garrett of The Flavor of Vanilla for picking this tasty treat. You can find the recipe on his blog. Also head on over to Tuesdays with Dorie to see all the other baker's pudding.

11 years

2009-10-02T06:00:00.000-07:00

It has been 11 years since I fell in love with a sweet boy with sparkling blue eyes and cherub cheeks. We met at the beginning of our freshman year at the University of Montana in Missoula. One of Pete's friends from his hometown lived a couple doors down from me in the dorm. She dragged me along to hang out with her friends a few times and I was introduced to Pete. I must have made a huge impression. The third time we met he looked me in the eyes and asked if we had met before. Seriously? I responded that we had met twice before. His cheeks turned pink and he gave me a cute smile. He hasn't forgotten me since.

Eleven years ago I was beginning to fall in love with Pete dancing to a swing band in a ballroom at UM. Through the past 11 years we've been through a lot and I continue to fall in love with him a little more each day. I love being able to make him smile and laugh. He is my best friend. He is my favorite. He is my everything.

So enough with the sappy stuff. Here are some photos over the past 11 years. This is fall of our freshman year of college camping at his family's cabin.

Pete and I ice skating on the outdoor ice rink in his hometown, Havre, Montana.

Visiting a cattle farm in Havre during calving season.

Sophmore year of college (1999-2000) hanging at Pete's parents.

On the banks of the Rattlesnake River in Missoula.

With our first car in 2004.

Here we are after Pete proposed to me in Tahoe.

We had a joint bachelor/bachelorette party spent camping and white water rafting. I'm sporting a lovely veil covered in plastic penises.

We got married on August 8, 2004. One of the best nights ever.

Our honeymoon in the Bahamas.

Happy 11 years baby. I love you.

msc: banana pecan cupcakes

2009-09-30T06:00:00.000-07:00

The bonus cupcake for Martha Stewart's Cupcakes Club was a banana pecan cupcake with caramel butter cream frosting. Yum.

I decided to half the recipe and make minis because I was out of standard size cupcake papers. A half recipe made 48 minis. That's a lot of minis. I must confess that I forgot to halve the eggs so the half recipe got 3 full eggs. Oops. I realized my mistake after I took the second batch out of the oven. I quickly tried one and thankfully it didn't taste like an egg cupcake. Disaster averted.

The banana pecan cupcake is good but the frosting is amazing. It has caramel in it. Not just any old caramel. Homemade caramel. I would be more excited about caramel in the frosting if the caramel wasn't a total pain in the butt. I made caramel Sunday morning for my Tuesdays with Dorie dessert, the chocolate-crunched caramel tart and all went well. When I went to make the caramel in the afternoon for the frosting all went very bad. My first try (oh yes, there was more than one try) I put the sugar and water on medium heat and waited for it to turn amber. And I waited and waited and then all of sudden it looked like this.

What is that? I might of said a few bad words and cleaned the pot to give it another try. I figured I must have messed it up somehow. My second attempt didn't go much better. My caramel would not color. It boiled and boiled and stayed clear. Finally after a long time it looked like it had a bit of color so I added the cream and it seized up and turned into a rock. Lovely. Unfortunately at this point I was hating caramel and didn't think to take a picture of the failed second attempt. After the second attempt I decided it was no longer my fault and by default it was Martha's fault. I decided to use Dorie's caramel recipe from the tart. Success. I knew it wasn't me.

The frosting is a mixture of fluffy egg whites and sugar, butter and caramel combined to make heaven. I couldn't stop licking the bowl. I even sucked the extra icing out of the piping tip. What? I'm not going to let heaven go to waste.

The cupcakes were okay but the frosting was fantastic. I think the caramel frosting on chocolate cupcakes would be heaven times two.

Head on over to the Martha Stewart's Cupcakes Club to check out what the other cupcake bakers thought of this bonus cupcake.

TWD: chocolate-crunched caramel tart (aka super delicious)

2009-09-29T06:00:00.000-07:00

We have a winner. Pete declared that this was his favorite recipe so far. It knocked the coconut-roasted pineapple dacquoise right off its pedestal. Pete didn't have too much else to say because he was too busy stuffing it in his mouth. Although when I mentioned taking a couple pieces to work to get rid of them he told me that I wasn't allowed.

I've been enjoying this tart too. I had chips and salsa and a piece of tart for dinner last night. I figured the salsa (homemade) totally counts as a vegetable and I had the tart with a glass of milk so I got some calcium and protein. Very healthy and very delicious.

This tart is a bit intimidating with its pastry crust, caramel filling and ganache top, but if you pulled this baby out at a dinner party everyone would bow down and worship at your feet. Seriously. It's that good. I surprisingly had no problems with the tart dough or the caramel. My problem arose with the ganache. Um, yeah I know that was the easiest step. The kitchen gods were just knocking me back down to earth, they don't want me getting too cocky. I boiled my cream and added half to the chopped chocolate and delicately stirred in little circles as directed and all was well. I added the second half of the cream and repeated. All was still well. I added the butter and all was very very bad. Curdled greasy lumpy chocolate. Not appetizing. More stirring wasn't helping plus Dorie says don't over stir or it won't be satiny and shiny. After some whimpering and some mad googling with no helpful results I thought I would just attack it with a whisk. It worked. It was no longer greasy and curdled but smooth and shiny. Take that kitchen gods. Hah.

I used hazelnuts instead of peanuts because I have an aversion to peanuts. Plus hazelnuts, caramel and chocolate together equals yummy. I will make this recipe again and people will fall at my feet and worship. (Willa counts as a person right?)

Thanks to Carla of Chocolate Moosey for picking this super delicious dessert. Visit her blog for the recipe and to ogle all the other delicious things she bakes up. Head on over to Tuesdays with Dorie to read about the adventures the other bakers had making this tart.

a penny for your thoughts

2009-09-25T06:00:00.000-07:00

Internet I need a little help. This summer when Pete's parents came to visit they came with a pile of old photos. These are photos that belong to Pete's Gramma and that will be included in a book she and Pete are working on about her life. I scanned all the pictures back in June and haven't had the opportunity to do anything with them until now. So last night I started editing the photos and giving them some photoshop love. For the old black and white photos I can't decide if I like them in black and white or sepia.

Thoughts? This is Pete's Gramma with her three oldest daughters, Marge, Lil and Robin (Pete's mom) when they lived in New York.

Do you like the sepia tone more?

Here is Pete's Gramma looking fabulous. Black and white?

Sepia?

The three little girls in matching outfits. So cute. This photo I didn't crop and left in a lot of the background.

This one I cropped to make the girls stand out more. Which do you like better?

The girls again. Pete's mom is in the middle. Darling.

Is sepia better?

The final question is whether you like a border with a torn picture look or no border.

Thoughts? Hate? Love?

I have a lot of pictures left to edit but I wanted some advice before I did too many. So are we loving the plain black and white or do we like the pictures with a little sepia coloring? Do we like cropped or uncropped? Borders or no borders? I have a hard time making decisions and could continue making different versions of these pictures forever. So, thoughts?

TWD: cottage cheese pufflets

2009-09-22T06:00:00.000-07:00

Cottage cheese pufflet dough vs. Kim? After a knock down drag out fight which left me teary eyed I must give the win to the dough. This dough is not hard to make it is just very susceptible to warmth when you try to work with it. Meaning if you breath on it, look at it sideways, or even just exist, it turns into mush.

I tried to combat the dough's fickleness by rotating the dough into the fridge to chill. This dough was too smart for that. I shall call it "impossible to please dough." The dough issues were not helped by my inability to cut/draw a straight line. I wasn't born with that gene (because being able to draw a straight line is inherited and part of your DNA, like hair color. Seriously, I'm not making this up.). I used my best squares for the pictures but I wanted to keep it real and let you see what the majority of my pufflets looked like. Pufflets only a mother could love.

I made half the puffllets with yummy peach conserves and the other half with a gorgonzola, honey and walnut filling.

Luckily these pufflets tasted awesome. If I had battled with that dough for nothing I would be a bit more peeved. Pete said the dough was awesome, I thought it was radical, Willa said it was bodacious and Charlie said cowabunga. He just finished watching the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. One of his favorites. Pete's favorite pufflet was the gorgonzola mixture.

Both the peach and gorgonzola turned out yummy. I have some in the freezer calling my name. I will tackle this dough again and win. I will probably wait for the coldest day this coming winter and open all the windows in the house and turn on the air conditioner before I attempt this again. Here is Charlie screaming for some more. I limited him to one because of his diet and he was having none of it. He is similar to this dough. Impossible to please.

Thanks to Jacque of Daisy Lane Cakes for picking this most delicious recipe. Check out her blog for the recipe. Also head over to Tuesdays with Dorie and check out what the other bakers did this week. I'm sure you will see some better looking pufflets.

TWD: flaky apple turnovers

2009-09-15T06:00:00.000-07:00

Does anything say fall like apples and cinnamon? I didn't think so. Well I guess pumpkins, mulled wine, and falling leaves. But apples and cinnamon are right up there. It isn't quite fall here in California. We are still enduring 90º days. Despite the heat I'm a slave when it comes to apples and cinnamon in any sort of crust. I will do whatever the apples and cinnamon tell me to. This week they told me to make flaky apple turnovers.

This was one of those multi-step recipes that aren't exactly hard but have a lot of steps. I made the dough on Saturday morning and put it in the fridge to chill. Saturday night after watching Inglorious Basterds I came home to very chilled dough. Have you ever tried to roll out a brick? Because this is what it was like trying to roll out this dough. I wanted to make the turnovers Sunday morning for Pete and his brother Sam who is visiting. I tried my hardest to roll out my dough by myself but I had to throw in the towel. Pete had to come help me. Pete has huge muscles and even he struggled with rolling out this dough. (Pete is very appreciative of that last sentence). I held the wax paper and Pete rolled. By the time we finished we were winded and sweating. And no we are not horribly out of shape. This was brick dough.

Sunday morning I got up early and put the turnovers together. When I make these again I'll make bigger circles. I wasn't able to get enough filling into each turnover.

I had some blueberries in the fridge so I made a couple of blueberry turnovers. As much as I love apples and cinnamon I love blueberries more. If I had to choose it would be blueberries. Sorry apples.

I had extra dough and had a lot of extra apple so I made the most attractive dessert ever. I give you the giant apple turnover. So classy. A great way to get rid of extra dough and apples without a lot of work. This is the lazy way to make apple turnovers.

Pete and I went to see the Giants/Dodgers game on Sunday afternoon with our friends, including Erin from Dog is My Sous Chef. Here Erin and I are enjoying the Giants, hot dogs, and Budlight.

This is my second post today. So if it makes no sense don't blame it on me. Blame it on Pete. Seriously, my family blames him for everything. He doesn't even have to be around and my family blames him. Who ate all the peanuts? Pete. Who broke that plate that my sister dropped? Pete. Don't feel bad for Pete. He is fighting back. He now blames my dad for everything. Who drank all the juice? Dad. Who ate the last cupcake? Dad. But Dad hasn't been here for three weeks. Dad still did it. So if my post sucks it's Pete and Dad's fault. But Dad is in Philadelphia. Doesn't matter, still his fault.

Thanks to Julie of Someone's in the Kitchen for picking out this week's recipe. Check out her blog for the recipe. Head over to Tuesday's with Dorie to see what all the the other bakers did. I'm sure there are all sorts of delicious fruit turnovers.

msc: zucchini-spice cupcakes

2009-09-15T05:30:00.000-07:00

Zucchini. It is fun to eat and fun to write. An all around fantastic veggie that can be made into sweets or savory delights for the tummy. For this month's MS Cupcake Club pick Tracey from Tracey's Culinary Adventures picked the zucchini-spice cupcakes. These cupcakes consist of cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg (aka the "spice"), walnuts and damn if I can't remember the other ingredient. Ha, just kidding zucchini. Duh.

Growing up we had 5 acres and an awesome garden. I did not, however, appreciate the garden growing up. That's probably because I had to weed it and kill those stupid green bugs that look like ladybugs but aren't. Now that I'm older I would kill (thousands of those stupid green fake ladybugs) for a garden. Living in a second story condo makes my gardening dreams a bit difficult. Fortunately my step-mom has a great garden and brings me all the goodies and I don't have to do any work. Perfecto! I used some of her home grown zucchini for this recipe.

I made these cupcakes twice. That's right twice. Why? Because they taste awesome (and because I didn't love the pictures I took of the first go round but mostly because they taste awesome). The first go round I made a half recipe of full-size cupcakes (12 cupcakes) and a half recipe of the cream cheese frosting. The half recipe of cream cheese frosting goes a long way. I had a lot extra. Pete was dipping strawberries, blueberries, tortilla chips and Willa in it to finish it up.

I made Pete an extra special cupcake because I love him lots (and because there was so much frosting). He enjoyed it.

The second go round I made mini-cupcakes. I think the mini's were much more photogenic. Look at them strut their stuff. I'm going to bring them to casting call of America's Next Top Model. They are totally fierce.

I like the frosting on the mini's too. On the full size cupcakes I just slathered the frosting on and it kind of made a frosting helmet. Not the most attractive. The mini's were piped and piped is so much better.

So far I have loved both recipes out of Martha Stewart's Cupcake book. Check out Martha Stewart's Cupcake Club to see what the other cupcake bakers did. Up next is a bonus round on September 30 of banana pecan cupcakes. I'm there.

TWD: chocolate soufflé

2009-09-08T06:00:00.000-07:00

I'm a bit short on words this week so I'm going to let the pictures do most of the talking. My creative juices were all used up making this week's chocolate soufflé. I'm also exhausted from the hike Pete and I took. I think Pete's exact words were "there are only like two hills, I promise." Yeah, only two hills was more like 4.7 miles of nonstop hills. Needless to say I'm a bit sore. Chocolate soufflé made everything all better.

Considering souffles have a reputation of being a fickle dessert I was pleasantly surprised with how easy this recipe was. I mean, how hard can a recipe be that only has four ingredients?

Once I stuck the ramekins in the oven I kept checking to see if the souffles were rising. I was thrilled when I saw the first signs of puffing.

The souffles look so pretty especially with the little sprinkling of powdered sugar.

Yummy.

As you can see these were a hit. I'll definitely be making these again. No leftovers this week.

I walked out on the porch this morning and this is what I saw. Two of the laziest but cutest animals. They're like an old married couple taking their daily nap.

Thanks so much for Susan of She's Becoming DoughMessTic for picking this delicious dessert, head on over to her blog for the recipe. Also check out all the wonderful souffles that all the other Tuesdays with Dorie bakers made this week.

TWD: espresso cheesecake brownies (aka cheesenies or chownies)

2009-09-01T06:00:00.000-07:00

I love brownies and I love cheesecake so a cheesecake brownie seems like a match made in heaven. We could rename these cheesenies or chownies for simplicity sake. (Let me know your favorite. I'm leaning toward cheesenies.) My dad used to buy me whole cheesecakes at Costco and I would eat a slice a night. I would usually eat the first 3/4 of the slice (my favorite part) and he would eat the last 1/4 (the crust part - his favorite part). My metabolism isn't quite what it used to be so I no longer have whole cheesecakes sitting in the freezer but I won't say no to a slice. Despite my love of cheesecake, I've never made one myself. I guess I've always been happy with what I can get from Costco or Trader Joe's. The cheesecake layer for this brownie was my first foray into cheesecake. I must say it isn't very difficult. I see the possibility of frozen cheesecakes in my future.

I didn't do the glaze on these brownies because one more dirty bowl was not appealing and they look pretty without the sour cream glaze. These didn't have a very strong coffee flavor which was nice for me as I'm not a huge fan but Pete, who is a huge fan, was a bit disappointed. Although these aren't a favorite for me and don't come close to the crownie they were still good and they have been disappearing from the fridge. Pete liked them. Dad liked them. Charlie thought they were alright (after he ate 5). Willa prefers her tarter control cookies. And if someone offered me one, I wouldn't say no.

Here are Willa and Charlie after enjoying their cheesenies. This is what happens if you eat five. Don't say I didn't warn you.

Thanks to Melissa of Life In a Peanut Shell for picking this week's recipe. Check out her blog for the recipe. Also head over to Tuesdays with Dorie and see what the other baker's did with this recipe. I'm hoping there will be a cupcake.

BBA-SPS: anadama bread

2009-08-28T06:00:00.000-07:00

You may be scratching your head wondering what “BBA-SPS” stands for. I would be too. Erin (Dog Is My Sous Chef) and I both liked the idea of the Bread Baker’s Apprentice Challenge where bakers are baking through Peter Reinhart’s book, The Bread Baker’s Apprentice: Mastering the Art of Extraordinary Bread, but we wanted to do something at a slower pace. So we present to you, Bread Baker’s Apprentice – Slow Poke Style (BBA-SPS). We don't really have any rules and our only goal is to SLOWLY bake our way through the book. We'll see how long it takes.

So without further adieu I present to you the first recipe from BBA-SPS…anadama bread. One word describes this bread – yummy. Not much else needs to be said.

The bread starts with a cornmeal and water soaker (no picture) that sits overnight. In the morning you add some flour, yeast and water to the soaker and let it ferment for 1 hour.

Once it has fermented you add more flour, salt, molasses and butter. The molasses gives the bread a pretty color.

My sad little unrisen (?) loaves.

All plumped up and ready for the oven. Can you handle the heat little loaf? I think it can.

Post oven and just chillin' on the rack. Too cool for school these loaves. (Not a very good picture, my apologies I think I was getting tired.)

The bread was slightly sweet and made totally awesome grilled cheese. (Check out Erin's blog for some grilled cheese pictures.) I also had it with tuna fish and it didn't disappoint. Pete and I have managed to eat one loaf already and the second loaf is in the freezer waiting for Pete to make peanut butter toast.

In closing, bread was yummy, I'll make it again, hope you enjoy BBA-SPS.

TWD: creamiest lime cream meringue pie (aka butter pie)

2009-08-25T06:00:00.000-07:00

I really wanted to like this pie. What isn’t to like with a graham cracker crust, lime and ginger filling and a meringue topping? But this pie and I were not destined to be great friends.

The lime cream filling process had no major problems except the length of time it took on the stove. My arm was super tired from all that whisking and after approximately 18 minutes or more I gave up despite the temperature only reaching 160. Seriously, it stuck at 160 for over ten minutes. I tasted the cream off the stove and found it to have the perfect flavor, limey but not face-puckering limey.

I’m embarrassed to admit that I messed up a graham cracker crust. Is that even possible? I’ve never made a graham cracker crust before (crazy I know) so I wasn’t quite sure what kind of consistency I needed. My main problem (which was totally my fault) was not measuring the amount of graham crackers. I guesstimated that one packet of graham crackers was 1 ¾ cups. I’m thinking I guesstimated wrong. Super crumbly. I mashed it into the pie plate and it stayed well enough.

I took my cream out of the fridge after being chilled overnight and tried my best to loosen it up. Yeah, not happening. My “cream” had the consistency of refrigerated butter which is not surprising considering it contains 2 ½ sticks. Here I am trying to get the cream out of the whisk.

I ended up patting into the pie shell. So attractive. Can you see my fingerprints?

Meringue was going fine until I put it in the oven. I know not to walk away from meringue but what did I do. I figured I would have a little time to put away some blueberries. Nope. Those few seconds I wasn’t paying attention were the critical ones. After burning my meringue I was bemoaning to Pete about how ugly the pie was. He informed me that I am not a baking multi-tasker, whenever I try to multi-task I end of screwing something up. He has a valid point but still, no pie for him.

I decided to make this for dinner with my brother and his wife before they move away to Idaho. I figured with five mouths I wouldn’t have a lot leftover. Wrong. It just wasn’t a huge hit. I asked if anyone wanted to take some home and I just heard a chorus of "No’s." My main problem with the pie was that I felt like I was eating lime flavored butter. It had the consistency of butter, was smooth like butter, probably because it was butter. It put me off enough that I won’t be making this again.

This pie was not a huge hit and Pete told me today that he couldn’t eat anymore of the leftovers because it reminded him too much of eating butter (FYI, I never told him how much butter was actually in it. I told a small lie and said only two tablespoons when he asked). Oh well, if we liked all the things I baked we would be waddling around the house like Charlie.

Thanks to Linda of Tender Crumb for picking out this week's recipe. Check out her blog for the recipe. Also check out what all the other bakers did with this pie at Tuesdays with Dorie. I'm going to go eat some more butter.

TWD: applesauce spice bars

2009-08-18T06:00:00.000-07:00

Procrastination seems to be my middle name lately. I waited until Monday night after work to make these applesauce spice bars and ended up taking pictures of them around 8:00 (hence the blue tint). I don’t even have a good excuse for putting them off. I totally could have made them on Sunday but I was too busy lounging on the couch recovering from margarita night at Erin’s. I must blame Erin for my laziness. Her margaritas were too good. I also blame Pete for letting me do this.

Cigar mouth Sunday morning was not pleasant. So there are my excuses. I’m sure you’re thinking I’m just lazy and I’m that too. But the story has a happy ending. I did make the bars. I halved the recipe since it’s just Pete and me. Charlie is no help now that he is on a self-imposed diet. He wants to get back to fighting weight. Good luck chunky cat.

I made the recipe as directed but substituted walnuts for pecans and did not add applejack. I was fresh out.

I made a full recipe of the glaze because I was too lazy to try and half it. My brain does not want to mess around with fractions at night and I really wanted to watch True Blood so I was in a hurry.

Pete really liked these. He said they were yummy approximately 1,000 times. So I guess I’ll believe him. I liked them. Not my most favorite but I wouldn’t say no if someone offered me one. I will be enjoying these for breakfast for the next couple of days. I’m thinking they probably get better with age.

Thanks to Karen of Something Sweet for picking this week's winner. Head on over to her blog for the recipe. Check out Tuesdays with Dorie to see what all the other wonderful baker's did this week. Let me know if anyone else is smoking cigars. Damn margaritas.

msc: chocolate salted caramel cupcakes

2009-08-15T11:30:00.000-07:00

Yeah, it’s the first Martha Stewart Cupcake Club (msc) post. Is there a better way to start the club than with chocolate salted caramel cupcakes? No, there really isn't. Pete said these were "the best cupcakes I've ever had in my life." I'm having a hard time thinking back over my whole life to agree with his statement or not but they are really good. Thank you Sugar B from Eat My Cupcake for picking a fantastic start to the cupcake club and for creating this group.

To start you make a chocolate cupcake and then you make some salted caramel filling to put in the center. The recipe says to make mini cupcakes but the thought of filling approximately 56 mini cupcakes was unappealing. So, I made big ones. The recipe made approximately 21 regular cupcakes but I have a tendency to overfill my cupcake pans so you could probably get an even two dozen.

The caramel was a bit of a nightmare. This was my first attempt at making homemade caramel. My new candy thermometer decided that it was not going to work. This might be due to the fact that it was slammed in the drawer and is now crooked. RIP candy thermometer. While my sugar, water, corn syrup was bubbling away on the stove I ran to the computer and quickly googled “making caramel without a candy thermometer.” Thank you google, you saved me again. I waited for the caramel to turn a “golden amber color” and removed it from the heat and added the cream and salt. It tasted like caramel so I’m going to call this a success. I cut little cones in the top of the cupcakes and filled them with the caramel. The caramel was soaking into the cake so all the cupcakes got a second dose of caramel making the total caramel count for each cupcake 2 tablespoons. Can you say gooey?

The frosting is a dark chocolate with a ton (I’m not exaggerating as there was almost 2,500 lbs) of butter, melted semi-sweet chocolate and cocoa powder. It required a lot of dirty bowls and pans, which are currently still in the sink waiting to be cleaned. Martha says to use high quality semi-sweet chocolate. I used the highest and best quality semi-sweet chocolate made. I’m sure you are dying to know what the “best” is. It pains me to share such a secret but because I love you I will…Safeway Select Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips. Oh yes, quality or so I continue to tell myself since that is what Pete came home with. Per Martha, I garnished each with a pinch of sea salt.

Look at all the gooey caramel deliciousness. With 2 tablespoons of caramel in each cupcake these guys are moist and messy to eat.

These cupcakes are delicious but a lot of work. I waited till the last minute to make these bad boys. I made the cupcakes Friday night after work and then woke up this morning and made the caramel and the frosting and assembled them. Why did I procrastinate? Because, I’m bringing these with me to Erin’s (dog is my sous chef) house tonight for our After the Bar BBQ and Martha says that these are best the day of. That's my excuse and I'm sticking to it.

Head on over to Eat My Cupcake and check out the blog roll for the MSC club. Give a litle love to the other cupcake bakers. The recipe can be found on page 148 of Martha Stewart's Cupcakes.

Erin, get ready these are yummy.

TWD: classic banana bundt cake

2009-08-04T06:00:00.000-07:00

Mmmmm...banana cake. I like banana cake. Pete loooves banana cake and Charlie will eat anything. I kid, the cat only eats cat food and ice cream. This cake was really simple to make and as a bonus I had all the ingredients at home. I have a freezer full of black frozen bananas that were just waiting for this cake to come along and liberate them. Dethawed frozen bananas remind me of slugs. Ooey gooey slugs. I could call this slug bundt cake but I won't because it tasted too good for such a derogatory name.

The batter of this cake was so pretty. It was light and fluffy and just begged to be licked off the paddle attachment (is there a better name for that?). I obliged and licked away.

My only regret with this banana cake was not adding chocolate chips. I thought as I was mixing the batter that this would be wonderful with some chocolate chips thrown in but I resisted and stuck to the recipe. Too bad because they would have given this cake the little kick it needed.

So last week was the Nevada Bar. Thanks for all the well wishes. It pretty much sucked, but at least it is over. I will again be out of the loop this week. As you read this I will be in Holland with my brothers and sister. Here are some of the shenanigans we got into two years ago.

Maybe we'll behave better this time since we are older and more mature.

I'm thinking not.

Thanks to Mary of The Food Librarian for picking this week's awesome recipe. Head on over to her blog for the recipe and to see all the other wonderful things she bakes. Also check out the blog roll at Tuesdays with Dorie to see what all the other bakers did this week. I bet you $20 that someone put chocolate chips in this cake. If so, send a slice to Holland so I can enjoy it.

TWD: vanilla ice cream and a lesson in karma

2009-07-28T06:00:00.000-07:00

Do you believe in Karma? Pete made me a nice dinner and while he was cleaning up I decided I was going to make my vanilla ice cream. He was heading out to the BBQ to hang the utensils back on it when he yelped and started talking about the pain in his foot and leg. Oh, the pain was intense. It was really hurting. He demanded I stop what I was doing so he could show me exactly how he hit the door so I could understand how much he hurt. I went to the door and he reenacted his injury while I made faces and laughed at him. He continued to exclaim about the pain. I told him he was always in pain because he can't walk two feet without tripping, falling, or banging into something. (Seriously, we live on the second level and he trips running up the stairs at least every other day.) This is his life. I went back to the kitchen to get my ice bath ready for the custard still making fun of him about his injury. I was shoveling ice out of the freezer with a cup when a stray ice cube escaped and fell five feet onto my toe. OUCH! Oh the pain. I screamed and cried a little and couldn't stop talking about my pain and how much it hurt. I was yelling about feeling it in my heart because whenever I smash/bang/hit a finger or toe the pain always goes to my heart. I snuggled myself against Pete's chest and said, "Do you think this is Karma? Because I do." He laughed and asked for a full reenactment of the accident so I explained what I was doing and how the ice cube fell five feet onto my toe. He laughed at me but still cuddled me and kissed my head. So that will teach me to laugh at Pete when he hurts himself. Next time (trust me there will be a next time) I'll just give him some cuddles and ask for a reenactment with a straight face.

Here is a picture of the ice bath that caused all the pain. Stupid ice bath. So worth it though for the delicious ice cream.

Being on a budget I couldn't bring myself to spend the extra money on a vanilla bean. I think it would of made this ice cream that much better. It was so creamy and delicious. Everyone over here loved it.

Our favorite treat this past week has been rootbeer floats with homemade ice cream. So delicious. Nothing like a creamy rootbeer float after a long day at work.

Charlie, aka Chubby, enjoyed the ice cream too. Pete and I were trying to see if we could lift him with one arm. I cannot. Pete can. He's a hefty boy, that Charlie. Let it be a warning that if you eat all that ice cream pictured above you could look like this. Next thing you know people will be lifting you up to see if they can hold you with one arm. Never fun.

Thanks to Lynne of Cafe LynnyLu for picking out this week's treat. Great pick. Check out her website for the recipe. Also, head on over to Tuesdays with Dorie to check out what all the other ice cream makers did this week.

While you are enjoying browsing all the wonderful blog posts this week I will be sitting in some cold drafty conference room in Las Vegas taking the Nevada State Bar Exam. Be jealous. I will comment and return comments when I rejoin the world of the living on Thursday night. I so cannot wait till Thursday night.

TWD: raspberry blanc-manger (aka hoof dessert)

2009-07-21T06:00:00.000-07:00

This week's recipe, raspberry blanc-manger was chosen by Susan of Sticky, Gooey, Creamy, Chewy. Check out her site for the recipe. I wish I could tell you how much I loved this but I didn't and it was all gelatin's fault. Ugh. Gelatin. So gross. Why must you smell like what you are? I don't think I've ever cooked with gelatin before. Just made jello which has fruit flavorings masking the icky smells. I was hesitant to use gelatin from the get go because all I can think of is some disgusting rendering plant (I saw one on Dirty Jobs with Mike Rowe and it was the dirtiest job ever) and hooves. Lots and lots of hooves. Makes me shudder. I sent Pete out with my grocery list and asked him to try to find agar-agar, a nice seaweed alternative but alas he came home with gelatin. I didn't want him to have to make a separate trip to Whole Foods so I decided I would pony up and use it. Pun totally intended. Poor pony. I managed to forget about the origin of gelatin until I warmed it in the mircowave and was hit with a nose full of gelatin "bouquet." Good lord, it smells like hooves. YUCK! So now this dessert just grosses me out. I don't care that it has whipped cream, sugar, almond meal, and raspberries. It's got hooves in it.

I decided I would be a big girl and give it a try. I will concede that it is good and I would like it so much more if I hadn't used gelatin. I didn't let Pete in on any of my insane bias against this poor dessert and he had some and thought it was yummy. He said he could really taste the almonds (not hooves) and really liked the raspberries in it. Even though I thought it was pretty, this is not a dessert I will be making again. I should have made the raspberry sauce but I really didn't want to dirty the blender. A bit lazy this week.

It was one of those baking adventures when it seemed like everything I did created a mess. I had my photography stuff set up on the dining room table with the window open and as I was mixing and stirring my milk/gelatin/almond meal mixture in my icebath the wind blew over my cardboard display and knocked over my beer which went all over the table and Dorie's book. Somehow Dorie's book and beer don't seem like the perfect pair. Messy. Pete being the best husand ever came to my screams and mopped up my mess.

Here is a look at my kitchen after making this "simple" dessert:

A bit of a mess. Pete looked at it and said "not it." Pete and the nannies had a lazy Sunday morning. Charlie is all splayed on Pete's lap to showcase the full extent of his chub. He was also giving me eyes letting me know that he likes Pete THIS much more than me. Whatever, fatty.

And of course, pretty Willa. So tired. Her life is tough. We really work her hard around here. That mess above, yeah, she totally cleaned it.

Make sure you head on over to Tuesdays with Dorie and check out everyone else's raspberry hoof dessert, oops I mean blanc-manger. I'm sure the other bakers have wonderful stories to tell that are a bit more grown-up than mine.

TWD: brioche plum tart

2009-07-14T06:00:00.000-07:00

Dear Plums,

I'm writing to express my anger at you for ruining my brioche tart. Sure you look pretty and have a nice color but you didn't taste good. You lied to me pretending you were going to be all sweet, but then, after all my hard work, you were mushy and tart. I just wanted you to know that I like peaches way more than you. I'll never use you in a brioche tart again. I will forever call this recipe "brioche should have been peach tart" in spite. I hope you realize the extent of my dissapointment. Thanks for nothing. Stupid Plums.

One other thing, why are you the only fruit that doesn't have a jam at the grocery store? I think that is very telling, Plums.

Love, Kim

Despite the lameness of the plums, Pete was super sweet and couldn't stop talking about how it looked so professional and pretty. He adored the brioche but didn't like the lame plums. I want to make this again with really sweet and juicy peaches, that I think I would love.

Pete and I spent the weekend dog/house sitting for my brother and sister-in-law. They are the owners of two beautiful great danes, Cash and Zoe. Here, Willa is apologizing to Cash because she stuck in her tongue and pulled out a plum from his piece of brioche tart.

She was not forgiven. Cash pouted for the rest of the day. What do you do with a face like this? This is what I looked like after tasting my tart, minus the enormous jowls (I hope).

Thanks to Denise of Chez Us for picking this week's recipe. Head on over to her blog to get the recipe. Make sure to stop by Tuesday's with Dorie and see what all the other bakers did. I'm sure they had better luck with their fruit choices.

Cash, Willa and Zoe send their kisses.

deep thoughts with cash

2009-07-12T19:37:00.000-07:00

Mmmmmm....bunnies.

TWD: tribute to katharine hepburn brownies (aka frowny brownies)

2009-07-07T06:00:00.000-07:00

Mmmmm...brownies. I love brownies. Homemade brownies, brownies from a box, brownies made in the microwave, I really don't discriminate against brownies. There really isn't a better treat than a yummy brownie and a cold glass of milk. I have renamed these "frowny brownies." Why? Check out the picture below. Is that brownie not frowning? He looks like a little grumpy gremlin. He is cranky because I wouldn't share my milk with him.

Grrrrrrr. He is a real grump. Someone should just eat him and put him out of his misery.

Another reason you could call these frowny brownies is that if you eat more than just one you will have a tummy ache. Tummy aches = frowns. Pete's comment this morning was "if I eat more than one of these I'll vomit." Precious. He is a joy to bake for.

I made these exactly as the recipe says. No modifications for me this week. I didn't want to buy instant coffee so I used a small amount of instant espresso powder instead, but I don't count that as a modification. I put the cinnamon in and after tasting these guys I wish I could take the cinnamon out. Not a fan of the chocolate and cinnamon flavor.

The frowny brownie is also excellent with a little ice cream. (A sneak peak at a future recipe.) Ice cream will turn your frown upside down. Another thing that will make you smile are the animals. They took a break last week from their celebrity status on my blog. But they are back and cuter than ever.

First is Charlie. His looks are deceiving. He is a true frowny brownie. One of his favorite activities is biting me.

Little Willa could never be frowny. She always has a smile on her face. (I realized after I took her photo that Willa was sporting some eye boogers. My apologies, I usually wipe her face. She is very embarrassed.)

Thanks to the TWD logo contest winner, Lisa, from Surviving Oz for picking out these treats. Check out her blog for the full recipe. To check out some more frowny brownies go to Tuesdays with Dorie and look what all the other bakers did this week.

hamburger buns

2009-07-06T06:00:00.000-07:00

I've been trying to make my own bread to save a little money and stick to our budget. This week, for the second time I made homemade hamburger buns. These suckers are yummy. An added bonus of making buns is Pete running around the house yelling "I love your buns," while giggling. I take that as a double compliment.

This recipe is from The Gourmet Cookbook.

ingredients:

2 cups whole milk (I used skim)

1/4 cup warm water (105º - 115ºF)

2 packages (5 teaspoons) active dry yeast

1/4 cup plus 1/2 teaspoon of sugar

1/2 stick (4 tablespoons) unsalted butter, cut into tablespoons and softened

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

1 tablespoon of salt

6-6 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

equipment:

heavy duty stand mixer with paddle attachment and dough hook (or strong arms)

3 inch round cutter

process:

Bring milk to bare simmer in a small pan over moderate heat. Remove from heat and let cool to 105º - 115ºF.

While milk is barely simmering, stir together warm water, yeast and 1/2 teaspoon of sugar in mixer bowl until yeast dissolves. Let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes. If it doesn't foam you got yourself a loser so toss it and start again.

Add butter and remaining 1/4 cup sugar to yeast mixture and mix with paddle attachment on low speed until just combined. Add warm milk and mix until butter is melted, then toss in the lightly beaten eggs and mix until well combined. Add salt and 4 cups flour and mix, scraping down sides of bowl as needed, until flour is just incorporated. Increase speed to medium and beat until well combined, about 1 minute.

Switch to the dough hook (I often have to take it away from Pete who likes to use it to pretend he is Captain Hook) and beat in 2 cups of flour at medium speed, scraping down sides of bowl once or twice, until dough pulls away from sides of bowl, about 2 minutes; if necessary, add additional flour, 1 tablespoon at a time. (Both times I've added the additional flour.) Beat for five more minutes. Dough will be sticky.

Transfer dough to lightly oiled bowl and flip it to coat with oil. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and let rise is a warm draft-free place until doubled in size, about 2 1/2 hours.

Butter two large baking sheets. Punch dough down (this is a great way to get rid of some pent up aggression). Turn out onto lightly floured surface and roll out into a 14-inch round (about 1/2 inch thick) with a floured rolling pin. Cut out as many rounds as possible with cutter and transfer to greased baking sheets, arranging them about 3 inches apart to allow for expansion.

Gather and reroll scraps and cut some more.

Cover buns loosely with oiled plastic wrap and let rise in warm draft-free area until they hold a finger mark when gently pressed, 1 1/2 to 2 hours.

Put racks in upper and lower thirds of oven and preheat oven to 375ºF.

Bake buns, switching position of sheets halfway through baking, until tops are golden and bottoms are golden brown and sound hollow when tapped, 14 to 20 minutes. Transfer to rack to cool completely.

Makes approximately 20 buns. I like to put my extra buns in bags and freeze them. Last up to a month in the freezer.

These are perfect for hamburgers and sandwiches.

Mmmm...did someone say hamburger? Yummy. I'm in love with the american grill style boca burger at the moment. It's there, under all that lovely cheese.

Nothing like homemade buns for a tasty dinner. Everyone loves buns (wink, wink)!

TWD: perfect party cupcakes

2009-06-30T06:00:00.000-07:00

This past week Pete's parents, Robin and Dave, were in town visiting from Montana. They got to sample a bit of last week's the Yummy. I also made darling Dave the crownies because he's been talking about those ever since he saw the pictures of Pete enjoying them so much. I figured while they were in town I should make the perfect party cake as they could help consume it so I wouldn't eat it all. As you can see I went totally crazy and made perfect party cupcakes. For some reason I was overwhelmed by the thought of making a multilayered cake. I figured cupcakes would be so much easier. Um, yeah, not so much easier. Cupcakes were probably just as much work with a lot more pans and utensils dirty. The only change I made to the cake recipe was adding vanilla instead of lemon extract. When I went to the cupboard to grab out the lemon extract I found the bottle bone dry. I have some vague recollection of realizing I needed more months ago and I must have put it back in the cupboard so as not to forget to get more. Good plan. It really worked. So that was the reason for the vanilla. And I'm ashamed to say I left the empty bottle of lemon extract in the cupboard again. Not quite sure why. I did put it in front this time to remind me I need more. I could actually write it down on a grocery list but that would be too easy.

While my first batch of cupcakes were in the oven, I decided I would also make a batch of baby cupcakes. So one more pan got dirty. I had a little trouble with the baby cupcakes. They were yelling at me to get them out of the oven, being all coy and telling me that they were finished baking. Do not trust baby cupcakes. They lie. They were not done. I had to pick each of them up off the cooling rack and stick them back in the pan and back into the oven. Good thing I taste tested one or two of them or I wouldn't have caught them in their lies. They went back in for a few more minutes. One or two were still a little undercooked but the majority were good.

I had the fantastic idea of filling my cupcakes with the raspberry preserves. My pastry tube has a tool for piping in filling. I only have one word to describe this process, MESSY. Raspberry preserves were on the counter, the floor, me and the dog. Not so much in the cupcakes though. I had to bite two or three before I found one worthy to photograph. So Pete and the in-laws came home to half eaten cupcakes. Nothing says I love you like a half eaten cupcake.

They were sweet enough to bring me home some raspberries for decorating and the cute plate above. I love presents. Everyone thought the cupcakes were delicious. I did too. The frosting was one of the best I've had. Some butter cream frosting is so sweet it makes my teeth hurt. This was just right. I would make these again and I think I would like to make it as a cake.

Over the past few days Pete and I took his parents to Napa where we did some (or a lot) of wine tasting. Mmmmm...wine.

We took them to Sam's in Tiburon to enjoy some seafood and bloody mary's on the water. Both were delicious.

We went for a hike in Tiburon and enjoyed some views of San Francisco, the bay and San Quentin. Those prisoners have some great views.

Pete showed us all what a true Montana boy looks like. Isn't he cute? All in all a very good visit. Pete and I will miss them. We sent them off with some crownies and cupcakes and a lot of wine. They should have a pleasant drive home.

Thank you Carol for picking out a delicious treat this week. Check out her blog mix, mix... stir, stir for the recipe. Head on over to Tuesdays with Dorie to check out what all the other bakers did this week. I'm thinking I'm probably not the only one that made cupcakes.

TWD: coconut-roasted pineapple dacquoise (aka the Yummy)

2009-06-23T06:00:00.000-07:00

Despite the name which I find difficult to pronounce and to remember this recipe was a winner. I also don't enjoy typing dacquoise, for some reason my fingers become all dyslexic, so I have renamed this the Yummy. The Yummy made the top 5 of the TWD recipes so far and it might even be number one. When I read the recipe I was a bit unsure of whether I would like it or not but really how can you go wrong with meringue, white chocolate ganache, roasted pineapple and coconut. You really can't, unless you hate any of the above and if that is the case, I'm sorry, your loss. My only complaint with this recipe was all the steps and the numerous hours of chilling. Luckily I read the recipe a couple of times before I started to bake otherwise I would be huddled on the floor of my kitchen rocking back and forth mumbling "too much chilling, don't have time for chilling." Which is completely possible considering my mental state of late.

This was a two day baking extravaganza. I made by meringues on Saturday and I made the beginnings of the white chocolate ganache on Saturday night before I went to bed. That way it had plenty of time to chill. I woke up early Sunday morning to roast the pineapple and assemble this bad boy. I must say that after last week's curdled custard incident I was WAY MORE ATTENTIVE (I was so attentive it deserves capitalization) this week and made sure that I didn't curdle my white chocolate ganache. It also helped that I used the hand mixer which made it impossible for me to walk away and forget it. It is also very difficult to hand mix, hold the bowl and read a book, so the ganache had my full attention. It turned out perfect. I love the white chocolate ganache. I want to write it love poems and marry it and have little white chocolate ganache babies or not because I would probably eat them. My pineapple roasted up fine and I might have over-toasted my coconut but it didn't taste burnt so I figured no harm done. I assembled my Yummy and tried my best to coat the sides but my meringue edges were far from straight so it was more of a puddling of ganache on the serving plate. Did anyone else have a ton of ganache left over? I've been dipping strawberries in it, grabbing spoonfuls, putting it on brownies, etc. Here's a shot of the Yummy cold chillin' in the fridge.

I decided I would serve the Yummy at a Father's Day lunch with my dad and my brother, Derek. Nothing like serving a dessert for 12 to 3 people. At least I didn't have to worry about running out.

My dad LOVED this dessert. I'm so glad that he did since it was Father's Day and it was his gift. He went back for seconds and thirds, not to mention his repeated tastes of extra ganache.

My pretty big brother, Derek, also liked it. He said it was the best recipe I've made so far. He and his gorgeous wife are often the recipients of my extra desserts, so he speaks with authority on the subject.

As I said before, my darling dad thought this recipe was to die for. Good thing Derek was there with his awesome Heimlich skills to save him. What? Aren't you supposed to squeeze the person around the rib cage to get them to stop choking? Such comedians these two. I'm just glad I got to spend some time with them and they ate the Yummy. This would have been a lot for me to eat all by myself. Pete was out of town this weekend so no good shots of him eating.

After all that baking Willa and I were exhausted. This is how the little one spent her lazy Sunday. Tough life.

Many thanks to Andrea from Andrea in the Kitchen for picking this awesome recipe. My dad sends many extra thanks. Check out her blog for the recipe. Head on over to Tuesdays with Dorie to see what kind of shenanigans all the other bakers got into this week.

A Shameless Plug for a Good Friend - Bellybou Designer Maternity Boutique Online Grand Opening

2009-06-18T09:30:00.000-07:00

My good friend from high school (we just had our ten year high school reunion) has opened a darling designer maternity boutique, Bellybou, in Roseville, California. I visited once and was blown away by how cute her and her partners' store is. Let's just say after looking at all the darling baby clothes and super cute maternity clothes you'll want to be pregnant. Little baby shoes get me every time. My friend also happens to be pregnant with twin boys at the moment so she is great advertising. It also helps that she is the most gorgeous pregnant woman you have ever seen.

See what I mean. Her store has just opened their online business and they need help getting the word out. So, if you have baby showers you are attending or someone you know is pregnant (or you're pregnant) and you're looking for that perfect gift, visit them at www.bellybou.com. I'm sure you won't be disappointed.

Here is Bellybou's little blurb:

Hey Everyone!! Wanted to tell you about a fun new maternity and baby boutique that's just opened their webstore!! It's at www.bellybou.com and it's got a great selection of designer maternity denim, and designer maternity brands you can't find in your chain maternity stores! It also has a fun selection of hip baby clothes and all the newest baby accessories! It's a Sacramento Maternity boutique but now they are able to offer more than just Roseville Maternity, with the webstore they've made stylish maternity clothes available to everyone! So check them out at www.bellybou.com and help spread the word!

To entice you to check out their store here is a coupon they are offering for the month of June.

My friend is still thinking of names for her twin boys due in early September. Any ideas?

TWD: honey peach ice cream

2009-06-16T06:00:00.000-07:00

I scream, you scream, we all scream for curdled ice cream! Isn't that how it goes? Doesn't everyone want a little curdle with their ice cream? If not, you've come to the wrong place. I really don't like making custard. I will continue making it to broaden my horizons and conquer my demons. Damn you custard. Half the time I spill the milk on me, the counter, the floor and sometimes the dog, when I "temper" my eggs. This time I tempered them just fine but something happened to my custard on the stove. I stirred and stirred and it continued to look gross. This may have been due to the fact that I'm easily bored when I have to constantly stir something so I was reading my book at the same time. So I have to admit, I was only paying about 5% attention to my custard, but I was stirring. After my arm got tired I quit stirring and gave up. I pronounced my custard as done as it was ever going to get and took it off the stove.

I was lucky and got some peaches with my farm vegetables we have delivered to our home once every two weeks. These babies were pretty. I did some fast talking and got them out of their clothes and I was even able to get a couple pictures of them in the nude.

So sexy. I then proceeded to chop them up and boil them. Let's just say they were none to pleased. I didn't save any to add into the ice cream as chunks. I don't do chunks. Chunks are known to make me gag. So no chunks. I mixed my peach and honey puree with the curdled custard and threw that slop in the fridge to cool. It was taking forever to cool so I gave it an ice bath. I put it all in my ice cream maker and walked away with my fingers crossed hoping that it wouldn't turn into unappetizing curdled ice cream. It didn't. It looked normal. And it hasn't killed me yet so I think it's okay.

I had the animals test it first and I then waited 24 hours to see if they keeled over. Kidding. Charlie adores ice cream. If he hears the spoon hit the bowl he waddles as fast as he can into the room and jumps on your lap yowling for a bite. He got his own little cone. Such a delicate eater that Charlie.

This one on the other hand is far from delicate. She got Charlie's leftovers and let's just say that I'm lucky to have my fingers. She liked the ice cream too and especially loved the cheap cones her dad bought. No fancy cones for us, we had to stick to our budget.

This is a great summer ice cream. Now all we need is summer and it would be perfect. We all loved it. Thanks to Tommi at Brown Interior for picking a winner. Head on over to TWD to check out what all the other bakers/ice cream makers did too.

TWD: parisian apple/apricot/peach/nectarine tartlets

2009-06-09T06:00:00.000-07:00

This week's recipe was fabulous and it took barely anytime to make. So nice to be able to whip up a delicious dessert in less than an hour. We took a trip to the local farmer's market to pick up some produce for the tartlets. I decided I would make apple, apricot, peach and nectarine tartlets. So we could have ourselves a little tasting extravaganza. Any ideas of which one of the above fruits was the winner? I'm sure the suspense is just killing you.

The apple tartlet was good. But the husband, Pete, and I both thought it was the least tasty of the bunch.

Second, from the bottom in the taste test was the nectarine. This may have been due to a dud nectarine. A better tasting happier nectarine probably would have been delicious. This is my fault because I picked this poor sad tasteless nectarine out of a giant pile of probably tastier nectarines. Or maybe it is the farmer's fault because he brought lame nectarines to the market.

Third, was the apricot tartlet. Very tasty. The apricot was nice and ripe. I left the skin on because it was so thin but it would probably be prettier without it. It has a nice tart taste that went really well with the brown sugar and puff pastry. But it was not the winner.

The winner in taste was the white peach. It is the loser in looks though. Our mom's were right when they told us looks weren't everything. The peaches tried to make a run for it soon after I put them in the oven. I'm sure they were screaming about how hot it was and to get them the hell out of there. One managed to escape all the way across the cookie sheet. The other three couldn't break free of the puff pastry and instead decided they would mash it all up as payback. The peach was delicious. I have to give thanks to Pete because he picked that one out of the big peach pile.

There are actually two winners. The peach in taste but the tiny bite-size tartlets win the most fun to eat award. I had left over puff pastry and some apple and apricot and didn't want to waste it. These were gone in a couple of minutes.

Here is the whole family enjoying each of the tartlets. The only presentable one is Willa. Charlie was yowling and angry at being forced to participate in a family portrait. Damn teenagers. I couldn't stop laughing at Charlie's attitude and Willa's facial expressions and poor Pete was dodging claws trying to position Charlie in less than 10 seconds. So no great family picture of us all enjoying our tartlets. I tried.

But Willa adored the apricot tartlet. Her face is too much. Pete and I ended up eating the four tartlets for dinner on Saturday night. Nice and healthy. I kept telling myself that I was eating fruit so it had to be healthy. Willa got a treat for being such a good sport. Charlie was grounded.

Thank you Jessica from My Baking Heart for picking out a delicious and easy-peasy recipe this week. Check out her blog for the recipe. Also head on over to TWD to check out all the variations the other bakers did this week. Or you can stay here and stare at Willa's face and smile. Your choice.

cinnamon raisin bread

2009-06-04T06:00:00.000-07:00

Recently, in an effort to save some money I thought it would be interesting/fun/different to make our own bread. The store bought bread we usually buy is upwards of $4 to $5 for a loaf. I can use that money instead to buy one bag of flour and make several loaves of bread. Lately, I've been craving cinnamon raisin bread. When we were grocery shopping I saw the cinnamon raisin bread in its pretty bright red bag and thought, yummy. I figured cinnamon raisin bread would be a good first attempt at making bread.

I used the recipe out of Joy of Cooking.

Ingredients:

1 package (2 1/4 teaspoons) active dry yeast

3 tablespoons of warm (105º to 115ºF) water

Mix yeast and water together in a large bowl or bowl of heavy-duty mixer (Kitchenaid) and let stand for five minutes until yeast dissolves.

Add:

1 cup whole or low-fat milk, warmed to 105º to 115ºF (I used skim)

5 tablespoons of melted unsalted butter

3 tablespoons of sugar

1 large egg

1 teaspoon of salt

Mix by hand or on low speed for about a minute. Gradually mix in:

2 cups of bread flour

Slowly add until the dough is moist not sticky:

1 1/2 to 2 cups all purpose flour

Knead for about 10 minutes by hand or with the dough hook attachment of the Kitchenaid on low to medium speed until the dough is smooth and elastic.

Transfer the dough to an oiled bowl and turn it over once to coat. Loosely cover with plastic wrap and let rise for 1 1/2 to 2 hours or until doubled in volume.

While the dough is rising place 1/2 cup raisins in a small saucepan with enough cold water to cover by 1/2 inch and bring to a boil. Drain well and let cool. Stir together 2 tablespoons of sugar and 2 teaspoons of cinnamon.

Grease an 8 1/2 x 4 1/2 inch loaf pan. Punch dough down. Roll the dough into an 8-inch-wide rectangle about 1/2 thick. Brush the surface of the dough with 1 1/2 teaspoons of melted butter. Sprinkle all but 2 teaspoons of the cinnamon mixture over the dough and spread the raisins evenly over the surface. Starting from one 8-inch side, roll up the dough and pinch the seam and ends closed. Place seam side down in the pan. Cover loosely with oiled plastic wrap and let rise until doubled in volume, 1 to 1 1/2 hours.

Preheat the oven to 375ºF. Whisk together and brush over the top of the loaf 1 egg and a pinch of salt. Sprinkle the top of the dough with the remaining cinnamon mixture. Bake until crust is deep golden brown and the bottom of the sounds hollow when tapped, 40 to 45 minutes. Remove loaf from the pan onto a cooling rack. While the bread is still hot, brush the top with: 2 teaspoons of melted butter. Let cool completely before slicing.

This was very good. The best part is the top crust with the cinnamon sugar on it. Next time I have to roll the bread a bit tighter to prevent that big hole in the top. Other than that, very yummy. Better than the store bought brands.

TWD: cinnamon squares

2009-06-02T06:00:00.000-07:00

I can't say I've ever had a dessert that mixes chocolate and cinnamon. If I have my brain has effectively blocked any memory. Which wouldn't be abnormal because I often forget things that happened five minutes ago. Sometimes I can't remember if I told the husband something so two minutes later I tell him again. He loves it. When I first saw the name of this week's recipe I was thinking of some sort of cinnamon bar and just kind of thought, ugh. When I read the recipe my attitude didn't really change. I would love to say that when I tasted a bite of the cinnamon cake the clouds parted, the sun beamed down on me and angels sang, but I would by lying. This dessert smelled great while baking and looked pretty all frosted, but I didn't love the taste. I must admit I'm still eating it though. This explains more about my lack of self control when it comes to sweets and is not such a good gauge as to how much I liked these. I've made my self sick eating Peeps and everyone knows those don't actually taste good.

Some slight modifications I made to the recipe were: skim milk instead of whole milk just because I didn't want to have to spend extra money on whole milk and I used semi-sweet mini chips for the filling because the bittersweet chocolate was more expensive. It's all about saving money.

I told the husband about how popular his photos were last week. He demanded that I take a bunch of photos of him eating the cinnamon squares again this week. Okay, not really. I begged him and promised to do the laundry and dishes if he would eat a piece for me while I photograph him. He was sweet enough (and really didn't want to do the dishes) to comply. Does anyone want a bite?

Willa does. I didn't even have to beg her. Look at her. She is already licking her chops just thinking about a bite of sweet cinnamon cake with chocolate frosting.

Sorry, little one. No cinnamon cake for you. You have to stick to pine cones. Much healthier.

Her and the husband eat alike. He taught her everything he knows. Even how to lick a plate clean.

He has good manners.

Thanks to Tracey of Tracey's Culinary Adventures for picking this week's recipe. Head on over to her blog for the recipe and to look at all her pretty pictures and great recipes. Check out TWD to see whether the other bakers loved/hated/wanted-to-marry/disliked/lusted-after/abhorred the cinnamon squares and what fun modifications (probably more exciting than using skim milk) they made to the recipe.

dal - chilean style

2009-05-31T07:23:00.000-07:00

Driving home from work on Friday I was listening to NPR and they were discussing the "How Low Can You Go" challenge where chefs were asked to submit recipes for delicious meals for four people that cost less than $10. I caught the tail-end of the segment but heard Valerie Gaino from Pichilemu, Chile discussing her Chilean style dal. It sounded too good to not try. Go here for the NPR story and the recipe.

Ingredients:

3 cups of lentils

2 cups of chopped potatoes

2 chopped carrots

3 chopped tomatoes

1 hot pepper (I used a jalapeno)

1 small onion chopped

2 cloves garlic chopped

16 ounces tomato sauce (I used the 15 oz can)

1 tsp cumin

a little beer or sherry (I used red wine)

a little red vinegar

olive oil

1/2 cup chopped cilantro

salt and pepper to taste  

First, precook the lentils following the directions on the package. Once done drain and set aside. Or if your Trader Joe's has the precooked lentils (with the refrigerated veggies) use those and you can skip this whole step. It might make the price of ingredients for this meal go up a bit.

While, the lentils are cooking you can go ahead and dice the onion, garlic, pepper, potatoes and carrots.

Heat a large (at least 5 quarts) pot on the stove and add olive oil to coat the bottom. Saute onions, garlic, pepper and cumin.

Add a bit of beer or sherry. Since we were out of beer and I can't think of a time we've ever had sherry in the house I used some of the red wine that was sitting on the counter.

Add the cubed potatoes and the carrots to the pot.

Add water to the pot to just cover the potatoes. I think next time I make this (there will definitely be a next time) I may use veggie broth instead of water for a bit more flavor.

Add the chopped up tomatoes and bring to a boil. Allow to simmer until the potatoes are soft.

Once the potatoes are soft add the precooked lentils and the can of tomato sauce.

Salt and pepper to taste. You may also want to add a little bit more wine/beer/sherry or some hot sauce if you like it hot. The husband loves spicy so I added some sriracha. You can also add a bit of red wine vinegar if you think it is too sweet. I added just a splash. My dal had a bit too much liquid (I was a bit short on the lentils) so I let it simmer on the stove for 10-15 minutes.

Add the chopped cilantro and take it off the heat. Let sit for a couple of minutes and then serve. This would be perfect with some warm naan. I did not think ahead to make some fresh naan so we had this with some pita pockets we found in the freezer. Still yummy. This recipe was simple to make and tasted delicious. I think it will be even better the next day. The best part was that it really was inexpensive. Thank you, NPR, for making my Friday evening stuck in traffic worth it.

TWD: chipster-topped brownies (aka brookies or crownies)

2009-05-26T06:00:00.000-07:00

This week's Tuesdays with Dorie recipe was the chipster-topped brownie. What is a chipster-topped brownie you may be asking? A chipster-topped brownie is a brownie with chocolate chip cookie on top. You may ask, is it worth it? Hell yes it is. Yummiest brownie/cookie ever.

The husband found Dorie's name for this sweet too much of a mouthful (literally - see below and you'll see what I'm talking about) and took it upon himself to rename them. These are now known as either a brookie or a crownie. The husband is partial to crownie. He has repeatedly asked this weekend if he can have a crownie. How can I say no?

The husband was sweet enough to volunteer to show everyone how a crownie should be eaten. First, you gaze at the crownie a little cross-eyed and let it know just how much you want it in your belly.

Second, you shove the biggest possible bite of crownie in your mouth while making a slightly strange face. The strange face is to let everyone know just how much you love that crownie.

Third, you try to chew the giant bite of crownie.

Fourth, you make sure you lick every last bit of crownie off your fingers. It is way too good to waste.

Fifth, you wipe your mouth of crownie crumbs and show off your cherubic cheeks in a cute grin.

Sixth, oops you notice you made a bit of mess and have some crownies crumbs on your shirt.

What did you expect? You can't waste crownie crumbs. It is perfectly acceptable to eat crownie crumbs off your shirt.

As you can see the husband adored these. As did I. Thanks Beth for picking out this great treat. The husband sends extra thanks. Check out Beth's blog Supplicious for the full recipe and check out TWD to take a look at what all the other bakers did with the crownie.

TWD: mango bread

2009-05-19T06:30:00.000-07:00

Mangos in bread. Weird. I'm sure that is what people said when the first person made banana bread. Who was that? I would like to meet him or her and give them a big kiss. Back to the mangos. I don't think I've ever cut a mango before. I went at it like an avocado, but it really didn't want to separate from its pit. After making a mangled mess of my first mango I realized I would have to google. Nothing like googling "how to cut a mango." Thank you YouTube for teaching me the correct way.

The husband was gone this weekend helping his little (at 6' 4" really not so little) brother move in to his new apartment in Seattle. So I was all alone; just me, Willa and Charlie. I'm really not a good home aloner. I'm fine until it starts getting dark and then I think the boogeyman is outside my window and ghosts are in the house. A minimum of three lights are left on throughout the house so I can see if a ghost/zombie/boogeyman is coming. Not quite sure what I'll do if I actually ever see something. I'm giving myself the heebie-jeebies just thinking about it.

Back to the mango bread. I made this in the mini-loaf pans for ease of giving it away. Erin from Dog is My Sous Chef warned me that the bread was overwhelming gingery but I ignored her and put the whole amount in. Verdict - a bit too gingery. Next time I would reduce it. Erin is always right. I did like the cubed chunks of mango in the bread. It's pretty when sliced.

Since the husband was gone I also didn't go to the grocery store. I have a phobia of going to the grocery store by myself. I despise it. When I go I just want to cry. Something about having to look at my list and navigate the aisle with a cart all alone overwhelms me. This means that the husband and I do our grocery shopping together. I think of it as good quality time. There were no golden raisins in the house and there was no way in hell I was going to the grocery store so I tried to think of something else I could add to the bread. I was looking in the cupboard and saw white chocolate chips and thought, "yummy." I only put white chocolate chips into two of the four loaves just in case my "yummy" was actually "yucky." I must say the white chocolate chip loaves were the tastiest.

The mango bread was good. Not great. The husband is now home and he really liked it. But he really likes everything. He's good that way. I think if I had some mangos hanging around I would make this again. Especially now that I actually know the appropriate technique for cutting one. Thanks Kelly from Baking with the Boys for picking this week's recipe. Check out her blog for the recipe and go to TWD to check out all the other bakers.

To escape the ghosts in my house I went and stayed with my sister-in-law and brother for one night this weekend. Willa got to hang with the cousins, Cash and Zoe. Willa and Cash are non-stop play. Here Cash is trying to tempt Willa to run around with him. Willa is more interested in finding worms.

He finally got her to run around with him. Here they are facing off. Just a bit of a size difference.

And good old Zoe. She is the most loving dog ever (if she knows you). If you get a kiss from Zoe it means you are super special. I just love Zoe kisses.

On a side note, does anyone want a cat? I even tied a bow around him to entice you. Charlie drove me crazy this weekend. He loves the husband. He puts up with me. He was missing the husband and decided that he would cry about it. ALL NIGHT LONG. He never quit. Meowing and yowling up and down the hall. When I locked him out of the bedroom he spent an hour scratching and yowling at the door. I got no sleep.

So here he is. All cute and wrapped up and ready for his forever home. Any takers?

a day of wild turkeys

2009-05-17T19:04:00.001-07:00

Willa and I went on a hike early Saturday morning. This weekend it has been hot. Too hot. Even at 7:30 a.m. when we headed out it was already warm. When we came to the top of one hill we found the elusive wild turkey. Wild turkeys are very rare in our parts and it is a real treat to come across them. Some people can spend years hiking the hills and never come across the great wild turkey.

Alright, I'm lying. Turkeys are like pigeons around our house. We usually can't go for a walk up in the hills without running into a pack/flock/herd/gaggle/gang of them. I think I'll go with the term gang of turkeys, only because one time I saw two rival turkey gangs going at it in a field. Even in the condo development we live in the turkeys like to come and visit and leave their stinky tar like poop behind. Since Willa and I were approaching the gang of turkeys this tom turkey decided he had to show us who was boss, hence the upright tail feathers. I tried to get closer but I scared them and they all ran off gobbling into the trees.

Speaking of turkeys. Here are a few shots of my favorite sister-in-law's Great Danes, Cash and Zoe, and of course the biggest turkey of them all, Willa.

Willa is running away from Cash. Their relationship reminds me a lot of Lennie and the rabbits. Cash is so sweet but so giant he sometimes doesn't realize that he could easily crush little Willa.

"I will hug you and squeeze you and pet you. Come here Willa, let me love you."

Zoe is too dignified to play in chasing the rabbit game with Cash. Here she is looking like the sweet turkey she is.

TWD: tartest lemon tartlets

2009-05-12T06:30:00.000-07:00

Who wants a tart lemon tartlet? "We do, we do," Willa and Charlie yell with excitement. Really this is what they look like when they are excited. Their little faces are the picture of unadulterated excitement over lemon tartlets. Okay, I'm lying. These two were excited about lemon tartlets but their excitement was overshadowed by the tiff they were in. Little Willa spent the weekend with her cousins (two huge and beautiful great danes) and left Charlie home alone to meow and yowl in anguish. While away on her adventure at her cousins' house Willa discovered that if she dug in the grass she would find a tasty little treat almost as yummy as lemon tartlets, WORMS. Oh, how the little one loved eating all those yummy worms. When Willa came home to the poor and lonesome Charlie she gave him her usual lick greeting. All was well in the house until Willa began digesting all those delicious worms. Let me be the first to tell you that worm farts are nasty. Really nasty. So in the picture above, Charlie is just too annoyed with Willa (and me for making him sit next to her) and her bodily functions to be that excited over lemon tartlets and little Willa isn't super excited because she still has a belly full of worms.

Now I hope I haven't totally grossed you out that you are rapidly clicking to get off my blog. I promise no more talk about dog farts.

Even though the animals weren't displaying their true excitement over the tartest lemon tart I was. I love lemon desserts. Lemons are just pretty and colorful and make me want to smile (see the picture above). Even though I utterly failed with my tartlets for the chocolate cream tart I decided that I would give the tartlet pans another shot. I can't let those tartlet pans beat me. I made the sweet tart dough with the addition of ground almonds. This time I baked them for the same amount of time as Dorie recommends for a large tart. When I took them out of the oven they looked good but I still had to make the filling, fill the tartlets and bake again before I would know whether the tartlets would come out of their pans.

I made the filling in the blender per Dorie's suggestion. I was a bit worried it would groan, smoke and curse at me for making it do its job of actually grinding something up. My blender is a major wimp and sometimes sputters and whines making a milkshake. It ground up the lemons and sugar no problem. I was so proud. It only grunted a little when I added the rest of the ingredients but it worked hard (did what it was made to do) and made a nice smooth filling. After filling my six tartlets I still had a bunch of the lemon filling leftover so if I make this again I think I'll just half the filling recipe. I baked the filled tartlets for less time due to the small amount of filling in each tartlet. They all bubbled over and made a bit of a mess. These tartlets weren't so pretty when I pulled them out of the oven. Due to the bubbling overflowing filling I hoped and prayed that I could get the tartlets our of their pans. I am glad to inform everyone that my tartlets came out of the pans. After the first tartlet came out of its pan I squealed with excitement and did a happy jig and scared little Willa. I made some whipped cream and piped it on and then zested a little lemon peel over the tart. Much cuter than what it looked like straight from the oven.

Just look at my perfect little tartlet shell. The tartest lemon tart looks good but the real question is did it taste good. The husband said it was his favorite so far. Which I found surprising because he likes his chocolate. I thought it was yummy and refreshing. It reminded me of what a lemon bar would taste like if it was going to black tie event. A bit more polished and primped but it still has the basic goodness of the lemon bar from next door.

Anyone care for a bite?

Charlie: You're disgusting Willa. Just leave me alone already.

Willa: I said I was sorry. I made you a lemon tart why won't you forgive me.

Charlie: Because my nose still burns, dog.

Willa: It's not my fault. The worms did it. I love you. Have a bite of fart, oops I meant tart. Ah, Charlie come back I was just teasing.

Thank you Babette for picking such a refreshing choice for this week. Head over to her blog, Babette Feasts for the recipe. You should also go check out what the rest of the TWD bakers did with their tarts.

Song of the week chosen because of the word lemon in its title:

puppy cookies

2009-05-10T19:49:00.001-07:00

Sit. Stay. Down. Rollover. My pup, Willa, will do anything for a treat, except balance one on her nose for a cute picture. Not going to happen. The whole thing just confuses the poor little one. One of her favorite treats are these homemade peanut butter cookies. These cookies are easy to make and have only four ingredients.

puppy cookies:

2 cups whole wheat flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

1 cup peanut butter

1 cup skim milk

Combine flour and baking powder in one bowl. Mix the peanut butter and milk together (I used the kitchenaid) and slowly add the dry ingredients. Mix until the dry ingredients are incorporated. The dough will be pretty dry.

Place the dough on a lightly floured surface and knead to gather the last bits of dry ingredients. Roll the dough out to 1/4 inch thickness and cut with a cookie cutter. Dogs are really not particular on what shape you use, as long as they get a cookie they are happy.

Place the cookies on a greased baking sheet and bake at 375º for 20 minutes or until lightly brown. Cool the cookies on a wire rack. You can store them in an airtight container or just feed them to your pup. Depending on the size of your cookie cutter this recipe makes on average 30 large bones. I unfortunately do not have a bone cookie cutter so Willa gets flowers but she also gets a lot more than 30 cookies.

Willa says...YUMMY!

thai pizza

2009-05-06T20:18:00.001-07:00

The husband keeps on begging me to make thai pizza. It is one of his favorite dinners. He really loves the peanut sauce and would eat it with a spoon if he could. This recipe has evolved from various peanut sauce recipes I found on the web and different thai pizzas I've had in the past. It might not be authentic but we love it.

Peanut sauce recipe:

1 cup peanut butter

1/4 cup soy sauce

1 to 2 teaspoons sriracha hot chili sauce (or any form of chili sauce) or more if you like heat

2 tablespoons dark brown sugar

1 to 1 1/2 limes, juiced

1/4 cup chopped peanuts

2 to 3 tablespoons of cilantro (I love cilantro so I use a lot)

1 to 2 cloves of garlic

1/2 to 2 teaspoons of red pepper flakes (depending on how much heat you want)

1/2 cup coconut milk

1 teaspoon of sate seasoning (I use the sate seasoning from Penzey's Spices)

Put all the ingredients in a food processor or blender and mix until smooth. Taste and add more chili sauce if necessary. I usually end up adding more chili sauce, red pepper flakes and coconut milk based on taste. This makes a boat load of peanut sauce so I split it up and freeze the extra for next time I make the pizza.

The toppings on this pizza are pretty flexible. Due to my undying love for cilantro I sprinkle the pizza with some of this chopped deliciousness. I also like to add chopped cucumber, green onions, red bell pepper, garlic and shredded carrots for pretty colors.

I usually make my own pizza dough but any store bought pizza dough would work fine. Assembly is pretty simple. I lay a thin layer of the peanut sauce and then a little bit of mozzarella cheese. I throw all the toppings on there including shrimp marinated in the sate seasoning. After all the toppings are on I sprinkle more mozzarella on top to hold them all on.

Bake at 500º for 10-15 minutes. It all depends on how well done and crunchy you like your pizza. Slice, serve and enjoy.

TWD: tiramisu cake (or why I shouldn't be a cake decorator when I grow up)

2009-05-05T06:30:00.000-07:00

Mmmm...cake. I love cake. I can't say I've ever had tiramisu before which has a lot to do with soggy lady fingers. Just writing that gives me the gag reflex. Who would name a cookie lady fingers? Back on topic, I really had no expectations going into this. I just wanted some cake. The only thing I was concerned about was the coffee taste. After college and law school you would think I would have developed a taste for coffee. Not the case. I still think it tastes like dirt. I do love the smell of fresh ground coffee beans and the smell of coffee shops. How is it that something that smells so good going into the coffee pot smells so bad when you have to empty the grounds?

I found espresso powder with my BFF, Erin, from Dog Is My Sous Chef after spending the afternoon at work filling out lengthy and tedious applications to take the Nevada Bar. I just want to curl up under my desk and cry. I can't believe we have to take another bar exam. Yuck. The bar exam is much worse than soggy bread products. I'd eat a lot of nasty soggy lady fingers if it meant no exam.

I also picked up some chocolate covered espresso beans because the husband likes them to snack on (chocolate covered dirt anyone?). The cakes came out fine. I don't think my oven is level though since they were both a bit lopsided. I have yet to find the energy to find the level and see what is up with the oven. Someday, just not today or tomorrow or this week.

I might have overwhipped my whipped cream. I do like making butter. Here is the cake slowly being assembled. I think next time I will add a bit more of the espresso syrup. I went a bit light due to my coffee aversion.

I had big ideas for how awesomely I would decorate my cake. It would be the best decorated tiramisu cake ever. I always have these great visions and when it comes time to execute something always goes just a bit wrong. I saved some of the frosting to pipe on top but only enough to make five poorly placed blobs. I then delicately placed (okay, smooshed ) a chocolate covered espresso bean in each blob of frosting. I was laughing a bit at the looks of my cake and decided I would sprinkle (more like drown) my cake with some cocoa powder. I need to work on my sprinkling technique. Here is a picture of a slice of my cake. Not the best decorated cake ever but the husband lovingly lied and told me it was pretty. He wouldn't look me in the eyes though. He has to be one of the worst liars ever. Which comes in handy.

The verdict on the cake is that the husband likes it enough to "eat it again." I thought it was okay. I made the cake on Sunday and we had our first piece on Sunday night. I did try it again last night and thought it was much better. I just liked it. Didn't love it and probably wouldn't make it again unless the husband asked nicely and promised me something pretty. Thanks to Megan of My Baking Adventures for choosing this week's recipe. Check out her blog for the recipe and also stop by TWD to check out all the other bakers' pretty cakes.

It rained this weekend. Pretty much all weekend it was misting, as can be seen from the photos taken off our balcony. The picture on the left just doesn't show the mist well enough so to add some drama I added a rain action to the picture on the right to make it look like it was actually raining. Maybe once or twice it looked like that. Mostly just mist.

The animals are showing how we spent the majority of this past weekend. Charlie's new favorite sleeping area is our bed. Here he is lying against freshly washed bedding while Willa snuggles in her dog bed. Although we bought her the big dog bed at Costco she just lies in one little section. Our pup hates any sort of inclement weather and despises getting misted or rained on. So she was happy inside. No fun hikes this weekend. Lots of naps.

Song I was dancing to this week as I decorated (or uglified) my cake:

Lessons Learned - Matt & Kim

saturday morning filled coffee cake

2009-05-02T10:40:00.000-07:00

The husband and I woke up early this morning. When I looked outside and saw cloudy skies and wet pavement I decided something warm and buttery would be perfect for breakfast. The husband is from a small north-eastern town in Montana. When we were in college at the University of Montana in Missoula we would often make weekend trips to his hometown to visit his parents. We would often wake up on Saturday mornings at his parent's house to the smells of cinnamon and butter. This was enough to drag us out of bed so we could enjoy the fresh out of the oven coffee cake made by his sweet mom. So this morning the idea of coffee cake got into my head and I decided to make my mother-in-law's recipe with a few tweaks. Here it is. Enjoy.

Filled Coffee Cake (adapted from my mother-in-law's recipe):

the cake:

1 1/2 cup flour

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 sugar

1/2 buttermilk

1/2 unsalted butter (at room temp)

1 egg

1/2 tsp vanilla

the filling and topping:

1/2 cup unsalted butter (at room temp)

1 cup dark brown sugar

1 cup chopped nuts (I used pecans)

2 tsp cinnamon

1/3 cup flour

Preheat oven to 350º.

Cream butter and sugar until fluffy. Add the egg, buttermilk and vanilla until incorporated. Whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet. Mix until just incorporated.

To make the filling and topping hand mix the butter, brown sugar, cinnamon and flour until you have course crumbs and clumps. Add the chopped nuts and hand mix until just incorporated into the crumbles.

Layer half of the cake batter in an 8x8 buttered pan. Sprinkle a little less than half of the topping and then layer with the rest of the batter. Sprinkle the rest of the crumb topping on top of the cake. Bake for 30-35 minutes.