You are currently browsing the monthly archive for February 2009.
First, let me be clear…I’m getting a bad rap. Sure Shell has put out public pleas for my return to the blog and decried my lack of correspondence to anyone who will listen but her pleading is all-together misleading. Here are the facts as I see them. 2009 has not started out to be my best year. First there was the gall bladder debacle. My 5-year-old is still saying, “Gee Mom I hope you don’t die from dat bad gaw bwadder.” He doesn’t quite get that the surgery remedied the problem for good. Then of course came my mini-breakdown following the surgery. Apparently anesthesia can have very strange effects on a person as it leaves their system. This information was not mentioned in the long and impressive list of possible complications to surgery. However, trying to do my part in the blog world I signed up for “high speed” satellite service. Cable is not yet available in our very rural area but we do happily have a clear view of the southern sky so we figured we’d give WildBlue a try. Sadly, “high speed” is really an objective term. When compared to getting information via pony express, our satellite is definitely “high speed”. However, it is also true that I could get in the car, drive the five miles to town, and find the information at our public library faster than most things are loading on my new system. As you can imagine, this is not a set-up very conducive to maintaining a blog. Today, in an effort to stop my sister’s harassment, I logged on and got lucky. So far. Anyway, to cut to the chase…I’m not ignoring the blog, I’m not the anti-social slacker Shell would have the world believe. Much like Quasimodo, I am simply a misunderstood yet kind and caring person with less-than-perfect posture. I’ll try to stand up straighter and blog more but I can’t make any promises. – Bea
Chocolate Valentino Cake with Strawberry Cheesecake Ice Cream
Here’s my first Daring Bakers Challenge! I was so tickled over the whole idea of being a daring baker, and I thought the first recipe challenge would be delicious. Totally not true though. In fact, Jim and I each took a bite of the cake and the rest went down the garbage disposal. What a waste of ingredients! It looked pretty though. (sheepish grin)
Anyway, let me start at the beginning of this misadventure. [The February 2009 challenge is hosted by Wendy of WMPE's blog and Dharm of Dad ~ Baker & Chef. We have chosen a Chocolate Valentino cake by Chef Wan; a Vanilla Ice Cream recipe from Dharm and a Vanilla Ice Cream recipe from Wendy as the challenge.]
When I saw how few ingredients were in the recipe for chocolate valentino cake, I thought I’d have it easy for my first challenge. There was a warning in there somewhere about overbeating egg whites, but I just gave it a cursory glance and went on my merry way. Well, let me say, if you make this cake – DO NOT OVERBEAT THE EGG WHITES! My final cake looked so nice coming out of it’s heart shaped pan, but it was too dry to even eat. It literally crumbled. It was really quite gross, to tell you the truth.
My saving grace here though, was the ice cream. That wasn’t a smooth ride either, beginning with the fact that I don’t own an ice cream machine. David Lebovitz has excellent instructions on how to make ice cream without an ice cream machine, but I was being a rebel. I thought it’d be fun to get the kids into the action by doing some “ice cream in a can.” We mixed up some vanilla ice cream, poured it into a small coffee can, put the small can in a larger can surrounded by ice and salt, and proceeded to roll it around the living room for about 15 minutes. We took the lids off anticipating some creamy ice cream and still had nothing but a mixture of yummy ingredients. Attempt #2 wasn’t much better, and by now the kids were sick of rolling the can around so Jim and I sat on the floor and rolled it for a while. Another 20 minutes pass and we take another peek. Ugh. Nothing more than a melted milkshake was going on 
in there. I gave up on the whole thing and poured it into glasses for the kids to drink and the rest went into a container in the freezer. (By the way, the next day it was glorious ice cream!)
The next day, I contritely reread the instructions for making ice cream and started again. This time, I used a wonderful recipe I found at cdkitchen for a cream cheese based ice cream. It turned out to taste remarkably like strawberry cheescake! Yum-o! In between pulling the bowl of ice cream out of the freezer and whipping the heck out of it with my hand-held mixer, I made some strawberry sauce on the stove and cooled it in the fridge. At the end of the whole process (before the ice cream had the chance to harden up too much), I swirled in some of the strawberry sauce. It was a great ice cream, and I’ve bookmarked a few other flavors I’d like to try sometime. It was kind of fun and not difficult at all. Thank you, David Lebovitz!
I really had fun being a part of the Daring Bakers Challenge, and I’m looking forward with some nervous anticipation to March’s challenge. It’s cool stepping out of my comfort zone to do something like this, even if it didn’t turn out the way I’d hoped. Maybe I’ll try it again sometime and carefully, cautiously whip my egg whites.
Recipe: Chocolate Valentino Cake by Chef Wan
(chosen by Wendy of WMPE’s blog and Dharm of Dad ~ Baker & Chef)
16 ounces (1 pound) (454 grams) of semisweet chocolate, roughly chopped
½ cup (1 stick) plus 2 tablespoons (146 grams total) of unsalted butter
5 large eggs separated
Put chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl and set over a pan of simmering water (the bottom of the bowl should not touch the water) and melt, stirring often.
While your chocolate butter mixture is cooling. Butter your pan and line with a parchment circle then butter the parchment.
Separate the egg yolks from the egg whites and put into two medium/large bowls. Whip the egg whites in a medium/large grease free bowl until stiff peaks are formed (do not over-whip or the cake will be dry). With the same beater beat the egg yolks together. Add the egg yolks to the cooled chocolate. Fold in 1/3 of the egg whites into the chocolate mixture and follow with remaining 2/3rds. Fold until no white remains without deflating the batter. {link of folding demonstration}
Pour batter into prepared pan, the batter should fill the pan 3/4 of the way full, and bake at 375F/190C
Bake for 25 minutes until an instant read thermometer reads 140F/60C. Note – If you do not have an instant read thermometer, the top of the cake will look similar to a brownie and a cake tester will appear wet.
Cool cake on a rack for 10 minutes then unmold.
Recipe: Strawberry Cheesecake Ice Cream
2 eggs – beaten
1 cup sugar
1 cup half-and-half or light cream
8 ounces cream cheese – softened
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon vanilla
2 cups whipping cream
1/2 cup strawberry ice cream topping
In a heavy medium-size saucepan, combine eggs, sugar and half-and-half. Cook and stir over medium heat for about 12 minutes till thickened and bubbly. Cover and chill mixture for 1 hour. Beat the cream cheese till it’s smooth. Gradually beat in the cooled egg-sugar mixture. Stir in the lemon juice and vanilla. Stir in the whipping cream. Freeze in a 4- or 5-quart ice cream freezer according to the manufacturer’s directions. When mixture is frozen, remove the dasher. Stir in the strawberry ice cream topping with a long handled spoon till marbled, but not thoroughly mixed.
Recipe: Strawberry Ice Cream Topping/Sauce
1 pint strawberries, cleaned and stemmed
1/3 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
Cut about 1/3 of the strawberries in half. In a saucepan over medium high heat, combine strawberries, sugar and vanilla. Cook, stirring occasionally, until sauce thickens, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat. With a potato masher, mash berries to desired consistency. Store in refrigerator.
We cannot recommend this book enough! Have you seen it? We’re not sure who likes it more – us or our kids. It is truly an awesome little book.
Here’s a review by Elizabeth Kennedy at About.com’s Guide to Children’s Books:
“In honor of the inauguration of Barack Obama, the 44th President of the United States, it seems appropriate to highlight Change Has Come: An Artist Celebrates the American Spirit. Effectively combining the words of Barack Obama and the drawings of award-winning artist and children’s book illustrator Kadir Nelson, this is a small, yet powerful, book. The quotations stress change, the importance of voting, the need to work together, and the fact that, “Together, ordinary people can still do extraordinary things.” Kadir Nelson’s “spontaneous drawings” complement the words of Obama. While published by the young readers imprint of Simon & Schuster, this is definitely a book for all ages, not just children.”
Lentil Sausage Soup
Got your number 2 pencil handy? You’re about to get the run-down on lentils. There’ll be a quiz later, so pay attention.
Lentils are legumes rich in protein, starch, and an excellent source of vitamins. They are low in fat. They have an abundant supply of B vitamins, especially niacin, which makes lentils particularly beneficial for reducing cholesterol, excessive stress, and promoting general well-being of the nervous system. They are also a good source of fiber.
So, after all that, why have I never eaten lentils? There’s simply no good reason, but those days are over. I picked up a bag of lentils at the store today and thought I’d give them a trial run with a hearty lentil soup. I’ll tell you, if knowing how good the little lentil is for me wasn’t enough, this soup has definitely turned me into an admirer. It is delicious and good for me – can’t go wrong with that combination.
I found the original recipe for this soup at Food Network. It’s an Ina Garten (Barefoot Contessa) recipe, but I altered it a little bit here and there, mainly from necessity due to missing ingredients. I couldn’t be happier with the outcome though. I halved the original recipe, too – it still made a soup pot full of hearty soup. If I was feeding more than just my family, I’d follow the original amounts because I’m sure leftovers wouldn’t hang around the fridge very long. Paired with a nice loaf of wheat bread, this makes a great meal.
Recipe: Lentil Sausage Soup
8 oz. lentils, dried
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 large onion, diced
1/2 Tbsp. garlic, diced
1 tsp. kosher salt
1/2 tsp. freshly ground pepper
1/2 tsp. dried thyme
1/2 tsp. chili powder
1 1/2 c. celery, chopped
1 1/2 c. carrots, chopped
1 1/2 qt. chicken broth
2 Tbsp. tomato paste
1 lb. bulk mild Italian sausage
parmesan cheese, to garnish bowls of soup
In a large bowl, cover the lentils with boiling water and allow to sit for 15 minutes. Drain.
In a large stockpot over medium heat, heat the olive oil and saute the sausage, onions, garlic, salt, pepper, thyme, and chili powder for 20 minutes, or until the vegetables are translucent and tender. Add the celery and carrots and saute for another 10 minutes. Drain any extra fat from cooking the sausage. Add the chicken stock, tomato paste, and drained lentils, cover, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer uncovered for 1 hour, or until the lentils are cooked through and tender. Check the seasonings. Serve sprinkled with grated Parmesan.
Pasta with Mascarpone Cheese and Homemade Pesto
I have had two containers of mascarpone (I love that word!) cheese sitting in my fridge for a week or so, and since I’ve never cooked or baked with it before, I’ve been looking for a good way to use it. I found this recipe and thought we’d all enjoy it since we are big fans of alfredo sauce and pesto sauce. I kind of hoped it would be the perfect combination of both. I made my own pesto sauce, which was fun and easy to do, then mixed it in with some mascarpone and pasta water. I found that the dish wasn’t nearly salty enough, but sprinkling some extra parmesan cheese over the top helped with that. The mascarpone made a very rich sauce for the pasta, but we all definitely like alfredo better. In fact, neither of the kids liked this much, and I think Jim and I agree that the pesto sauce mixed with the pasta water would suit us more. I’ve got enough leftover pesto to freeze and try it that way another time.
Recipe: Pasta with Mascarpone Cheese
16 oz. package of pasta
8 oz. mascarpone cheese
pesto sauce, recipe follows
salt and pepper, to taste
Cook pasta in boiling salted water according to package directions; reserve 1/2 cup of the cooking water, then drain well. In a large bowl, combine hot pasta, mascarpone cheese and reserved cooking water; toss well to combine. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve pasta immediately in bowls accompanied with a dollop of pesto.
Homemade Pesto Sauce
The last time I bought pesto from the deli section of the grocery store, we were really disappointed with it. It was bitter, gritty, and had a lot of tough stems in it. Overall, it was a huge bust and we ended up barely eating dinner that night. When I saw the recipe that used the mascarpone cheese and homemade pesto, I was happy to pull out the blender to make my own. I think I got a little too eager with the pulsing button though, because it came out a bit smoother than I would have liked. It smelled so great while it was whirling around in there! I’m looking forward to trying it with some pasta all on its own. It’d also be great with chicken.
Recipe: Homemade Pesto Sauce
3 c. fresh basil leaves
1 1/2 c. shelled walnuts
4 cloves peeled garlic
1/4 c. grated parmesan cheese
1 c. olive oil
salt and pepper, to taste
In a food processor or blender, blend together basil leaves, nuts, garlic, and cheese. Pour in oil slowly while still mixing. Stir in salt and pepper.
Homemade Honey Roasted Peanut Butter
Okay, inspired by Joy the Baker, I knew I HAD to try my hand at making homemade peanut butter. It is so unbelievably easy that I can’t believe I’ve never even thought to do it before. It’s delicious too! I had the best peanut butter sandwich with this stuff, and I think it would be really good for dipping apples. (I believe I mentioned my lack of fondness for biting into an apple – this would totally work for me.) It’s really fast and really good. Try it and see.
Recipe: Homemade Peanut Butter
1 1/2 c. honey roasted peanuts
pinch of salt, optional
Place peanuts in bowl of your food processor with the blade attachment. Process peanuts for about 4 minutes. You will see them gradually turn to a shiny paste as the oil is released from the peanuts. (My photo is from about 3 minutes into the process – the peanut butter is just starting to get shiny.)
Store in an airtight container in the fridge. Microwave for about 30 seconds to soften before serving. (I also tossed in an extra handful of peanuts after it was smooth and shiny to make some chunky peanut butter. Awesome!)
Banana Graham Cracker “Cake”
So Bea, Dani, and I and all 8 of our kids spent the weekend at Grandy and Poppy’s house. We don’t all get to spend that much time together in one place so it’s always a crazy, noisy treat. The kids LOVE it. My kids especially, because Dani and Bea live 5 minutes from each other and their kids go to school together, but my babies are stuck being hours away from their cousins. Like I said, there are 8 of them – here is the run-down of ages – 10, 9, 8, 8, 6, 5, 4, and 4. There’s always a short period of time every year when we have one at every age, like stepping stones. They are the best kids when they’re all together. You rarely hear arguing – they split off into twos and threes one minute and are just one rowdy crowd the next.
Anyway, Mom had made us a favorite dessert from when we were kids. For lack of a better name, we’ll just call it banana graham cracker cake. Just a taste brings back lots of memories. This is definitely best the day after it’s made when the crackers aren’t crunchy any more, but you have to realize that the bananas are going to discolor some by then. Mom’s never dipped them in anything because the cake has never been around long enough to worry about it. You’ll have to decide for yourself how unattractive you find a browning banana and go from there. This is really fast and simple and comes straight from Grandy’s kitchen.
Recipe: Banana Graham Cracker “Cake”
4 sleeves of honey graham crackers (we’ve never tried the chocolate graham crackers, but I bet it’d be good)
bananas, sliced into rounds
vanilla buttercream frosting (recipe follows)
chocolate sauce for drizzling on the top, optional
Spread one layer of graham crackers in the bottom of a 9×13″ baking pan. Coat with a layer of vanilla buttercream frosting; then bananas. Continue layering the three ingredients until you have as many layers as you want – Mom usually does 4 layers. End with graham crackers coated with frosting. Chill in refrigerator until ready to serve.
Recipe: Vanilla Buttercream Frosting
1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature
3 1/2 c. powdered sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
4 Tbsp. milk (or more, depending on the consistency you want)
Having saved the best for last, we have a sweet chocolate cake made by Evie. This was made as a surprise for Poppy to help celebrate his retirement. You can find her baking instructions below.
Evie’s Sweet Chocolate Cake
Recipe: Evie’s Chocolate Cake
1 1/3 c. water
1/2 c. vegetable oil
3 eggs
box of chocolate cake mix
We just did the box instructions, but instead of putting it in a regular cake pan we put it in a heart shaped cake pan.
I thought I’d share some of the things I’ve done over the last week that have made me feel a little greener. I know they’re all baby steps, but I feel good about being more conscious of what I’m using and buying.
The first thing I changed after reading about and signing the Kid-Safe Chemicals Act was to commit to buying safer cleaning products. As I finish using up the products I have, I’m going to buy the great cleaning supplies by Seventh Generation. I’ve already bought their all-purpose cleaner and I love it! No fumes, non-toxic, biodegradable – and the best part is this – on the back where you usually find a warning label about what to do if a cleanser is accidentally ingested, it simply says to drink plenty of water. That’s it! No calling poison control or seeking medical attention immediately. Just drink plenty of water. It’s frankly so startling to me that I haven’t made this change before. What took me so long? Not that I plan on leaving the cleaning supplies laying around for anyone to “accidentally ingest,” but it’s still good to know that they’re safer products for my family to be around.
Sam and I have also decided that he won’t pack juice boxes in his lunchbox anymore. He’s got small reuseable water bottles that we can fill every day instead. Even though he’s been taking the traditional box of juice, which is biodegradable, the straws are not. It’s cool that he wants to be more earth-friendly.
Another step we’ve taken is to buy some cloth napkins on the clearance rack at Target. I only bought two packs, so we’ll only get to use them a couple times a week, but that one small step will add up for our family. We have drastically cut down on our paper towel usage since buying a bunch of dishcloths and dish towels. We’ve hardly used a paper towel since, which is really great, so I’m hoping we’ll get there with the paper napkins eventually.
See? Small things that have the potential to make a difference. How cool is that? Have you made any baby steps on your way to going green? We’d love to hear about them!
Grilled Apple and Swiss Sandwich
And now to totally get off topic, I have to tell you about this crazy lunch discovery I made today. I may be the only one who didn’t know about the love a granny smith apple has for swiss cheese. Well, today I found out. I made myself a grilled apple and swiss cheese sandwich and I’ll surely be making it again. I’m not a huge fan of grabbing an apple and eating it out of hand, but this is one way I can definitely enjoy a crisp apple that doesn’t involve baking in any way, shape, or form. Try it, if you never have. You’ll be pleasantly surprised.
Recipe: Grilled Apple and Swiss Sandwich
Butter two slices of whole wheat bread, on one side. (Or lightly brush with olive oil.)
Assemble your sandwich in a heated skillet: bread, shredded swiss cheese, granny smith apple slices, more shredded swiss cheese, bread. Cook to golden brown on both sides. Serve immediately.
I just wanted to share this month’s selection for my library book club. The book is A Girl Named Zippy: Growing Up Small in Mooreland, Indiana by Haven Kimmel. This is one of the most charming books I’ve ever read – in fact, I’ve read it twice – once several years ago, and again for book club. Kimmel writes with a voice of such childish innocence, yet you never feel like it’s forced or gratuitous. It’s just genuine. And laugh-out-loud funny! I’ve also read the follow-up to Zippy, called She Got Up Off the Couch: And Other Heroic Acts From Mooreland, Indiana. Written in the same style as her first 
memoir, Kimmel continues to share stories about her childhood. These books are just plain endearing. I really think you’d enjoy them both.
***And, in case you’re keeping track, I’m making salted fudge brownies for tonight. Any excuse to make these again is okay by me!***
Pulled Pork Barbeque Sandwich
Don’t you love putting something in the crock pot, living your life, then coming home to find amazing aromas drifting through your kitchen? That’s what you’ll get with this pork barbecue. I managed to fit 5 pounds of pork shoulder into my crock pot, which pretty much hit its capacity. We got about 15 sandwiches out of that 5 pounds of meat. (I didn’t change the amounts of barbecue sauce and I didn’t feel like I was skimping on it with the sandwiches at all.)
This turned out really well. It was a pretty big hit with everyone at our parents’ house this weekend, with the exception of Grandy. No explanation there – she’s weird. (Love you, Mom!)
After coating the pork with the barbecue mixture, put the lid on the crock pot and leave it alone for 8-10 hours on low. Take the pork out and shred it with two forks, which is terribly tedious and really the only drawback to this whole recipe. Return the pork to the barbecue mixture and continue cooking for another hour on high to thicken the barbecue mixture a little bit, then serve with some really good, thick rolls because otherwise you’ll be eating it with it fork like Dani and Bea did. (Is it just me, or is that weird?) If you’ve got your favorite potato chips to go with your sandwich, all the better. Poppy always makes sure there are Hartley’s chips at their house, so we were set. He’s awesome. And the sandwich was pretty good too.
Recipe: Pulled Pork Barbecue Sandwich
(from Good Housekeeping)
1 medium onion, chopped
1/2 cup ketchup
1/3 cup cider vinegar
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup tomato paste
2 Tbsp. sweet paprika
2 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
2 Tbsp. yellow mustard
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
4 pounds boneless pork shoulder blade roast, cut into 4 pieces
12 sandwich rolls
In 4 1/2- to 6-quart slow-cooker pot, stir onion, ketchup, vinegar, brown sugar, tomato paste, paprika, Worcestershire, mustard, salt, and pepper until combined. Add pork to sauce mixture and turn to coat well with sauce.
Cover slow cooker with lid and cook pork mixture on low setting as manufacturer directs, 8 to 10 hours or until pork is very tender.
With tongs, transfer pork to large bowl. Turn setting on slow cooker to high; cover and heat sauce to boiling to thicken and reduce slightly.
While sauce boils, with 2 forks, pull pork into shreds. Return shredded pork to slow cooker and toss with sauce to combine. Cover slow cooker and heat through on high setting if necessary.
Spoon pork mixture onto bottom of sandwich buns; replace tops of buns. Serve sandwiches with pickles, potato chips, and hot sauce if you like.
