tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-65549095675642707552024-02-18T22:27:19.415-05:00Super G's PotpourriGretelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16850951892715843743noreply@blogger.comBlogger39125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6554909567564270755.post-85287048264859284212020-10-14T21:20:00.001-04:002020-10-14T21:20:17.705-04:00Eat Food, Not Too Much, Mostly Plants<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKJN7CLfV_C34it9d3GtCZP26klKFcHqw5bk3nUXz48JcdrkLeeAps-BCHKco7bPLXfBfBZeovOkVtWuoYV0MNrEMQOqkxa6RMHKRCmDTzw87qWoG_p6ouPL1ap579Rmc_fhPzS5v3_42s/s2048/IMG_4240.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="332" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKJN7CLfV_C34it9d3GtCZP26klKFcHqw5bk3nUXz48JcdrkLeeAps-BCHKco7bPLXfBfBZeovOkVtWuoYV0MNrEMQOqkxa6RMHKRCmDTzw87qWoG_p6ouPL1ap579Rmc_fhPzS5v3_42s/w442-h332/IMG_4240.jpg" width="442" /></a></div>The title of this post is from Michael Pollan's <u><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Defense-Food-Michael-Pollan/dp/1594133328">In Defense of Food</a>,</u> which I read years ago, but it's stuck in my head ever since. My relationship with food has been somewhat complicated for most of my life. I went on Weight Watchers for the first time as a teenager, and have gained and lost hundreds of pounds over the past 25 years. I was at my thinnest (as an adult) when I got married in 2005, though I was still probably 15 pounds over where WW would put my goal weight. I was at my heaviest just over a year ago, on my 40th birthday.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU2PrE3PZXQ3dmSrrkqUHvO-WJf4WCJvpj4UBR56mWrwpBhaLBLF2OphYmr2Hn5CprYJ2_UlRi0H8iQE7rdaZNIfHRhiDZvN41urTCjl7hcsRFAPeADBRXXUK6yJHxyDufEoo2roiQoRjy/s471/107609520_10223148137040530_2673933826800739694_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="471" data-original-width="465" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU2PrE3PZXQ3dmSrrkqUHvO-WJf4WCJvpj4UBR56mWrwpBhaLBLF2OphYmr2Hn5CprYJ2_UlRi0H8iQE7rdaZNIfHRhiDZvN41urTCjl7hcsRFAPeADBRXXUK6yJHxyDufEoo2roiQoRjy/w198-h200/107609520_10223148137040530_2673933826800739694_n.jpg" width="198" /></a></div><p></p><p></p><p>I felt really beautiful on my wedding day. I loved that I could walk into stores and find clothing in my size. I felt healthy. I was also pretty stressed out leading up to my wedding -- I was a fairly new teacher in NYC, and my husband was in school and working.</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuKQLIVCcPWo6bZ3v0EK1A1HCMLmpzAI3bq8B5Htk-SV_JRfJu3fdfzv-JEwD-DeZIH_4w8z7AST8MhMkC1xyCpXrsF1seeziIaJ95AJu8-edFuS9sdoFRztDUauy1AljIxUWwWv_aq5ja/s2048/IMG_0017.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuKQLIVCcPWo6bZ3v0EK1A1HCMLmpzAI3bq8B5Htk-SV_JRfJu3fdfzv-JEwD-DeZIH_4w8z7AST8MhMkC1xyCpXrsF1seeziIaJ95AJu8-edFuS9sdoFRztDUauy1AljIxUWwWv_aq5ja/w150-h200/IMG_0017.jpg" width="150" /></a></div>On my 40th birthday, I did not feel beautiful, but I felt happy. My gorgeous little girl was happy to celebrate with me. My friends threw me a party. It was really relaxing and fun. I don't know that I have a point with this comparison, just sort of taking note of the extremes.<p></p><p></p><p>At this point, I've been stuck for the past year. I'd like to lose weight, but I haven't really committed to anything. Because of COVID, we've been trapped in our apartment for most of the past 7 months. The government has been... well... pretty much a dumpster fire. It's been stressful to say the least. I'm also really conscious that I want to set a good, healthy example for my little girl. So far, she has a good relationship with food and with her body, and I'd like to keep it that way.</p><p>So what do I do? Well, I'm starting with food. I'm going back to basics: "Eat food, not too much, mostly plants." Tonight's dinner was pork chops, but most of my plate was broccoli, arugula salad, and a baked potato. And everything on my plate was something that my grandmother would have recognized. That's another of Pollan's tips. I didn't do a great job before dinner today, but I'm trying to keep in mind that I am a work in progress.<br /></p><p></p><p>I'll also mention that the arugula salad was AMAZING. I got arugula from my CSA today, and it was so fresh and delicious! This summer was the first time I've ever done a CSA, and I've been getting delicious produce from <a href="https://gardenofevefarm.com/" target="_blank">Garden of Eve</a>. I'm a big fan.<br /></p>Gretelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16850951892715843743noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6554909567564270755.post-55794582371485928142011-01-02T08:21:00.003-05:002011-01-02T08:55:29.418-05:00Comfort Food<div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div>As a kid, I felt like the term <i>comfort food</i> was frequently misapplied. I found nothing particularly comforting about mashed potatoes. Fried chicken and meatloaf weren't terrible, but the announcement that that was dinner didn't fill me with a sense of well-being or anything. I always thought <i>comfort food</i> should apply solely to Chocolate Cake or Apple Betty or maybe Ice Cream. Perhaps my penchant for chocolate cake and ice cream is the reason that, this New Year's, I've started out on a diet again. <div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div>Having recently read Michael Pollan's <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Defense-Food-Eaters-Manifesto/dp/1594201455">In Defense of Food</a>, I am rethinking my approach to this year's gastronomical adventure. I don't want to fill up on low-fat this, and no-carb that. I would like, as he so elegantly puts it, to: "eat food, not too much, mostly plants." So, some of the things I plan to eat hardly look like diet food. They look a lot more like comfort food. I am following <a href="http://www.weightwatchers.com/">Weight Watchers Online</a>, but mostly for how much to eat, not really for what to eat.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div>Anyhow, all of this brings me to this recipe that I simply must share with the world. Over the holidays, my step-mom gave my sister <a href="http://www.shazaminthekitchen.blogspot.com/">Shazam</a> and me a stack of old cookbooks. So, I've been perusing them looking for things I'd like to try out. Well, I was paging through one called <a href="http://search.barnesandnoble.com/used/product.asp?ean=2698182722308">Italian Cooking Made Easy</a> and I ran across this meatloaf recipe.</div><div><br /><div><br /></div><div><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-hd0EgF1WfGC3dj6xL4G7SsqF3Mo7NOH9s7ZvyGm4zq27J8f8nVOyCfJm-EOpKHl-Jf6o12sACFaDppPpayOQl62M7kOSgay4xVNp7_7rG6gCOOSrcb31aRvrS6hbLKuikD_xGKZs6zIX/s400/100_0904.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5557583501858566418" /></div></div><div>This meatloaf is comforting. It's delicious. It's not anything like the meatloaf I grew up eating. And, it's easy. So, without further ado:</div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#6600CC;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#6600CC;">Meat Loaf (Polpettone)</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#009900;"><a href="http://search.barnesandnoble.com/used/product.asp?ean=2698182722308">Italian Cooking Made Easy - Ted and Jean Kaufman</a></span></span></div><div>4 slices Bread, trimmed</div><div>1/2 c. Sherry wine</div><div>1 1/4 lb. Veal, chopped *</div><div>3/4 lb Beef, chopped *</div><div>2 Eggs</div><div>1 Onion, grated</div><div>1 clove Garlic, crushed *</div><div>1 Tbsp Parsley, minced</div><div>Salt and Pepper to taste</div><div>2 Tbsp Tomato Sauce</div><div>1 cup Tomato Sauce, seasoned</div><div><br /></div><div>1. Soften the bread in wine.</div><div><br /></div><div>2. Mix bread and everything else except for the 1 c. of tomato sauce in a big bowl. Blend well.</div><div><br /></div><div>3. Grease a loaf pan (I used non-stick spray) and sprinkle it with bread crumbs.</div><div><br /></div><div>4. Turn in the meat mixture.</div><div><br /></div><div>5. Bake at 350 for about an hour and a half.</div><div><br /></div><div>* The original recipe also called for ground pork, but I just couldn't find any. Blame the giant blizzard that hit Brooklyn last week. So I upped the amount of veal and beef. Also, they called for 1/2 a clove of garlic, but I just couldn't waste the other half of the clove! And I served it with oven fries, green beans and salad. They suggested spaghetti, but I'm just not that Italian.</div>Gretelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16850951892715843743noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6554909567564270755.post-31897701509437163382010-09-01T17:26:00.003-04:002010-09-01T17:31:32.407-04:00September's BookWell, it's September 1st! And without further ado, let me announce the first book I'm reading this school year. It's called <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Red-Squad-Esther-Broner/dp/030745584X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1283376603&sr=8-1">The Red Squad</a> and it's by E. M. Broner. I found it on the library's "Summer Reading" shelf, so perhaps it'll be in your local library as well. It's copyright 2009, so it should be available in local book stores as well. I'll let you know how it goes. Read along if you'd like.Gretelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16850951892715843743noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6554909567564270755.post-74640257994926550952010-08-28T00:11:00.003-04:002010-08-28T00:20:07.966-04:00Book ClubSo.... I love to read. I've always loved to read. I can't remember not reading whenever I had free time. But, since I started teaching, I have trouble making time for it during the school year. So, in an effort to fit in some much needed stress relief in the upcoming school year, I am making a commitment to read some books just for pleasure. And there is nothing about books that is more fun than talking about them with other people who've read them. So, here's the plan:<div><br /></div><div>I'm going to post a book title on the first of each month. Then, I'm going to get a copy of the book and read it. On the 28th of the month, I'm going to post a review / list of questions about the book. If you want to join the book club, all you need to do is </div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>1) Log on and check out what book we're going to read</div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>2) Read the book</div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>3) Email your thoughts / responses to the questions to me at <span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>greteljohnson@gmail.com any time before the first of the following month. </div><div><br /></div><div>I'll post your thoughts as I get them, so that everybody in the club can read what everybody else thinks. I'm happy to take suggestions on books or formats. Just email them to me.</div>Gretelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16850951892715843743noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6554909567564270755.post-78278771953738880612010-08-10T18:43:00.003-04:002010-08-10T18:50:24.749-04:00Birthday Cake!<div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div>The best thing about getting another year older is, without a doubt, an excuse to make and eat birthday cake. So this year, like many others, I trawled the web for the best-looking cakes I could find. I came across <a href="http://www.recipelink.com/cookbooks/2000/0688162975_1.html">this one</a> which was made for Julia Childs's 85th birthday. <div><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeg17xj7RPxrcnn9C87TIZrSV0X4b6hdVw68-FZDgbAc9GHyCTptubfMKGbjsZsRyKTUJOVLxhcu6fHt3wYWSA74EDhTNT3mg5JcDvoKrzw4EadxrZ-bGH2NoNBY1-tbUnuMquSzibHLAZ/s400/IMG_0229.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5503916590181823634" />So I made it! TA - DAAAAA!!!!</div><div><br /></div><div>The Extra-Medium Dude helped me out. He stirred and taste-tested everything. It's 4 layers of chocolate almond cake with chocolate raspberry mousse between the layers and it's covered with chocolate ganache with almonds and a milk chocolate lattice forming the finishing touches.</div><div><br /></div><div>After taste-testing, the Extra-Medium Dude declared it the best cake he ever had or would ever have.</div><div><br /></div><div>Happy birthday to me!</div>Gretelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16850951892715843743noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6554909567564270755.post-8917660006982215052010-08-07T14:05:00.003-04:002010-08-07T14:23:40.260-04:00I DID Dare to Bake<div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyb_UvJJFDa2Sjye89p1K6P9qfsY5SaVsx_QV989LSQ-LjAkLu1OJ3XpYyYXpM18zd3AVuGV1Aku6lYMOyXokkjVf62LFuEJ3uEiM1JwRcJ5XLI8aQNiBH5eMmI0IDtXW-5dj2lxvd2TrS/s1600/IMG_0160.jpg"><br /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div>So.... I know it's been forever, but I did do the Daring Baker Challenge for July. I even took pictures!<div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEVYGFk6__C15TTXxNB9qLFmBB_hojdrvVZy57YcgGZGUkOxls4unqXNOwGw2iB-g120ZLtyjHXapqte8HMp2gru91oTAZn5xSh6vOzKgscx0kgwtw45s0F4AdaBrtSCHwAi6A4sPLmR8i/s400/IMG_0157.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5502732461636636258" /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(68, 34, 0); line-height: 14px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">The July 2010 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Sunita of Sunita’s world – life and food. Sunita challenged everyone to make an ice-cream filled Swiss roll that’s then used to make a bombe with hot fudge. Her recipe is based on an ice cream cake recipe from Taste of Home.</span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(68, 34, 0); line-height: 14px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(68, 34, 0); line-height: 14px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyb_UvJJFDa2Sjye89p1K6P9qfsY5SaVsx_QV989LSQ-LjAkLu1OJ3XpYyYXpM18zd3AVuGV1Aku6lYMOyXokkjVf62LFuEJ3uEiM1JwRcJ5XLI8aQNiBH5eMmI0IDtXW-5dj2lxvd2TrS/s400/IMG_0160.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5502732487650758610" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px; color: rgb(0, 0, 238); font-family: Georgia, serif; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; " /></span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(68, 34, 0); line-height: 14px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); font-family: Georgia, serif; line-height: normal; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><br /></span></span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(68, 34, 0); line-height: 14px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">I was staying with my mom for a week when I made this cake, and that was kind of fun, because I had a humongous kitchen to play in and plenty of freezer space. I'm not at all sure how I would've pulled it off in my itty-bitty kitchen at home. I also had three extra willing taste testers as I finished each layer.</span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(68, 34, 0); line-height: 14px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;color:#442200;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;">So, to create this ridiculously decadent dessert, I made two Swiss Rolls (for those of you who grew up with Hostess products, think giant Ding Dongs), sliced them and then made a layer of vanilla ice cream, a layer of fudge sauce and a layer of chocolate ice cream. I think if I had it to do over again, I would double the ice cream recipes. The center of my cake didn't quite even out, so the picture of the slice looks a little funny. But I can't imagine doing this one again.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;color:#442200;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;color:#442200;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;">Many thanks to my friend Elizabeth, who had a barbecue, where I brought this cake to be devoured. I'm sure if I did manage to make it in my tiny kitchen, I would have to eat almost the whole thing. This way, I just had a piece.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;color:#442200;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;color:#442200;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;">And the best thing about this challenge was a friend of mine who was at the barbecue. As soon as she tried the ice cream cake, she said, "Gretel, will you marry me???" Now that's cake.</span></span></div>Gretelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16850951892715843743noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6554909567564270755.post-48851220539985216792010-03-30T20:54:00.002-04:002010-03-30T21:28:22.666-04:00Holiday favorites!<div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div>Ok, so technically it's not my holiday. But every year, I think of my Mom, who used to give my sister and I grape juice and Matzo to celebrate Passover. I don't like grape juice or Matzo, but it was a fun little tradition. And, when I got older, I went to a Seder meal with friends and learned that there is much yummier food involved in this holiday. And my FAVORITE traditional passover food by far, is the coconut macaroon. I love coconut, and I've been meaning to try making these cookies for years.<div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div>So, today, as I was looking around for something to bake while I'm on Spring Break, I found a bag of coconut in my cupboard. Guess what recipe was on the back? That's right: Coconut Macaroons! And they were easy and delicious and I'm definitely making them again. (But they're not kosher.)</div><div><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 360px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9AN-ylyXz-oYoTcHsU1SCssrqWV5Ld7aM5OuV9fJCnyuYJh3t1UHEgLlRbNseIOH8KnUxh05JUpfIlEmrReuuuDQAJx2nIjirQS7S8bD7qDaEVdf2KU11x0iGqOm_FACdLZib554NeJQQ/s400/IMG_0058.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5454603490244709250" /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#993399;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">Coconut Macaroons</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000099;">(From the Baker's Angel Flake Sweetened Coconut bag)</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000099;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">1 bag (14 oz) sweetened Angel Flake coconut</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000099;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">2/3 cup granulated sugar</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000099;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">1/4 tsp salt</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000099;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">6 Tbsp flour</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000099;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">4 egg whites</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000099;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">1 tsp almond extract</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000099;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000099;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Pre-heat oven to 325 degrees. Mix together the coconut, sugar, salt and flour. Then, mix in the egg whites and almond extract. Drop the mixture by rounded spoonfuls onto greased and floured cookie sheets. Bake for 20 minutes. Remove from cookie sheet immediately.</span></span></div>Gretelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16850951892715843743noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6554909567564270755.post-84751259310275157592010-01-30T13:24:00.007-05:002010-01-30T13:51:03.591-05:00One of the latest projects<div style="text-align: left;">So, this post should be about the January Daring Baker challenge, but.... I didn't get it done yet, so you'll just have to wait. Instead, let me share with you what has been happening in my kitchen: SAUCES!!!! That's right, I've moved into chapter 2 of the Julia Child cookbook. The rest of my group is involved in doing other things, so I'm soldiering on alone.</div><div><img style="text-align: left;display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px; " src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlOkyVKiDM6YDgqmjY8g13xyhlgR8wNbneGAcZkuvIXoipoTImQiIP5AscDdCHqrk2erFVI7VT9r7ZAjovlHXWb8ZrZleAVd4qes6B1IftLZMLgrlycGN6LvC39-phHI1TH4b3KrP1fYMl/s400/P1090003.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5432601656256243554" /><div style="text-align: left;">The thing is, sauces don't photograph well all by themselves. And they're even less fun to eat without anything else. So I've been coming up with things to put them on. Since the first sauce was a bechamel and I'd made one of those before, It wasn't too hard. I just made this terrific spinach lasagna recipe that I'd done before with the daring bakers. It's got homemade spinach noodles, thin layers of bechamel and marinara sauce, and parmesan cheese.</div><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRSEqCpiWaPAD1cFPkKdmHE1BwMGCmlcqYMPky57g2kyjrc_ZoW9no60cnxovTNMsWznSX1bWBOULoBGHC1ZcYQNA789V2_aruDju74zjsyQ8ea6Ci4-IiimVKEQFN9vfoIVSFy6mnzLea/s400/P1090011.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5432601667611820146" />As much as I love this particular recipe, I had a little trouble with Julia's bechamel. It had a nice thickness, but it wasn't quite smooth. I think my burner was up a little high. I did a little better with the veloute sauce. I'd never heard of a veloute, and I'd certainly never eaten one. </div><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMwcd3vNu8HPZUH1si5ibqmDMon7CXiJw7S0FbEL4ivjhIII7lQUJxtxiL-QL9caZHAxtNUgXL8fpQJmXJwgl4BRS3yCOWF12JZidWYm3GggiVHU_bZoWhAurx8gKT5LwDONgNRGrp8xiq/s400/P1120018.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5432606147314942562" /><div>Basically, it's just like a bechamel except, instead of milk, you use a white stock. I served it over poached chicken and asparagus. It was AMAZING! And it was only 2 points per half cup according to Weight Watchers. The Tummy liked it too. This week, I'll be attacking the Mornay sauce. Wheeee!!!</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div>Gretelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16850951892715843743noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6554909567564270755.post-2054494031797343282010-01-02T20:49:00.006-05:002010-01-02T21:36:53.632-05:00Back in the big city<div style="text-align: left;">I just got back to Brooklyn last night. The Tummy and I were in Michigan, visiting family, for 10 days. We had a wonderful time and lots of fun, but we are very happy to be home and definitely ready to start up a brand new year.</div><div><br /></div><div>Like everybody else, New Year's fills me with hope. I always make resolutions, some of them more ambitious than others. This year, the Tummy and I discussed ways we could eat healthier and we came up with a plan: we're cutting way back on meat. Now, meat is yummy and doesn't have to be unhealthy, but it is just part of a balanced diet, and we weren't getting enough veggies last year. Besides, it's an easy way to make sure that the Tummy doesn't have to go back on cholesterol meds. So we've decided we're not going to eat meat more than twice a week. Tonight I made some roasted vegetable pitas and some of the big JC's potato leek soup. And to make the sauce for the pitas, I used this little stowaway from my luggage:</div><div><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsXdgRTW37qWWlQ-gZ0dLrwHf___aZPsN_pLUTvVTZoueVo-bhuIQMVNHEm9he9D0lqwNVVOgZ5YzUTGolRlhAsXaK7OcLDgKOThdYLRbvYJ5rLMvsAaauudKkIVhMxktdNT3EGk_IQZEY/s400/P1020002.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5422334518420352594" /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div></div><div>That's right. I brought back horseradish from my dad's garden. Now, I had never prepared horseradish before, but my step-mom said that I should peel it and throw it into the food processor with some vinegar and salt and then stand back, because the fumes would be powerful. I was a little bit unsure, and I was looking for more specific directions, so I consulted Joy of Cooking. It said to peel it, dice it, and throw it into the food processor with vinegar and salt. Hmmmm.... So I tried it.</div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg13PDicJYyjyPsSP9XgwU0r5WX3BrBbnIjWWQDUTsHQyRT0fe1x9pHbI_nAcm1rS7XhUVsAvQ_ACTF4Z1LTdJBn6WK8Y-XsGpH_Z0Lf73pNq2_6GYPqG8ctMrdBwUBSgKX8zQaY4TuLtGH/s400/P1020004.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5422334523906476210" /></div><div>Ta-Da!!!!</div><div><br /></div><div>And then I threw it together with some other stuff to make the dressing for my roasted veggie pitas and dinner was served.</div><div><br /></div><div><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNVZB6SBZTy-LVW4m2zXO2a7avHxyCF0MxzbpCFjU0CAQHkBHceU_Njrfys-npYXBdy-q6NBiXdo9z2ches3xOBnUuxD4P3nNrJgELyAPrRN2dfe5i-AGA59yQQQaW-U_pwJYVV7qm7woC/s400/P1020008.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5422334533332754818" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px; " /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-large;">Gretel's Horseradish</span></div><div>5 oz peeled, diced fresh horseradish root</div><div>4-5 Tbsp cider vinegar</div><div>1 tsp salt</div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-large;">Roasted Veggie Pitas</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFCC00;">Adapted from <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Low-Fat-Ways-Cook-Soups-Stews/dp/0848722140/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top">Lowfat Ways to Cook Soups & Stews</a></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#33CCFF;">Sauce</span></div><div>1/2 oz feta cheese crumbled</div><div>2 Tbsp Greek yogurt</div><div>2 Tbsp skim milk</div><div>1 tsp prepared horseradish</div><div>dash of pepper</div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#33CCFF;">Veggies</span></div><div>1 cup zucchini slices</div><div>1 cup green pepper</div><div>1/2 tsp dried oregano</div><div>1/8 tsp salt</div><div>1 1/2 tsp olive oil</div><div>2 plum tomatos, quartered</div><div>1 medium onion, cut into 8 wedges</div><div>3 cloves garlic, minced</div><div><br /></div><div>Mix the ingredients for the sauce together in a small bowl and set aside. Toss the filling ingredients together in a larger bowl and then spread in a single layer on a broiler tray coated with cooking spray. Broil for 10 minutes, then scoop filling into 4 pita halves. Divide sauce evenly. Serves 2.</div>Gretelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16850951892715843743noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6554909567564270755.post-51624548269612535072009-10-22T21:38:00.002-04:002009-10-22T21:50:55.618-04:00Soupe Au Pistou<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1FXo8L5dYjiWTi7HCgD0LoscXJmpW_uowOgVHL_3-fzkQnRKL5Gde2N7p6cziGN6WAdV-RFej0lY5dj7EKDKs3sOBgTOhK6f-GX16BzMHUKVHP6qz1a8sTpn3u3aOVvRleITTf0eyCO4s/s1600-h/Soups+024.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1FXo8L5dYjiWTi7HCgD0LoscXJmpW_uowOgVHL_3-fzkQnRKL5Gde2N7p6cziGN6WAdV-RFej0lY5dj7EKDKs3sOBgTOhK6f-GX16BzMHUKVHP6qz1a8sTpn3u3aOVvRleITTf0eyCO4s/s400/Soups+024.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5395606883569717714" border="0" /></a><br />Ooops! This post is quite late. I actually made this soup a week and a half ago. I've already eaten it. It was delicious. It's like the happiest possible version of Campbell's Minestrone. (I happen to love Campbell's Minestrone.) This is comforting, happy soup. The Tummy was not so thrilled with it because of the beans, so I got it all to myself. It made me feel all warm and healthy and happy.<br /><br />I thought the pistou would be tricky, but it wasn't and it added soooooo much flavor and happiness to the soup. I mean, tomatoes and cheese! It's like pizza soup! Anyway... 2 enthusiastic thumbs up!Gretelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16850951892715843743noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6554909567564270755.post-70547076603028487762009-10-07T21:31:00.003-04:002009-10-07T21:51:52.596-04:00Potage Veloute Aux ChampignonsSo, let me first say that I have been a fan of mushrooms my entire life. I mean, they have ALWAYS been my favorite vegetable. So, when it was my turn to again pick a soup, I felt drawn to the Cream of Mushroom, even though I grew up with casseroles that made me a little afraid of it. (Sorry, Mom.) I knew that Julia would find a way to make it wonderful. And oh... did she ever...<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgb_1tAYRFfLwOHAMnxJTwSeAQukwwuptV16oCENZAqAvDSRyLEkJurFIQPAcqv8dKoLJyyMECwRPBqe3_8yL5UC4m6S9pXEmqHW3aRhtrBX1jKw8QsuYWzGYBXsNO7B7a8BLe1hTrDTzyn/s1600-h/Soup+006.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgb_1tAYRFfLwOHAMnxJTwSeAQukwwuptV16oCENZAqAvDSRyLEkJurFIQPAcqv8dKoLJyyMECwRPBqe3_8yL5UC4m6S9pXEmqHW3aRhtrBX1jKw8QsuYWzGYBXsNO7B7a8BLe1hTrDTzyn/s400/Soup+006.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5390040288628771250" border="0" /></a>This was such unbelievably good soup that I really wanted to drink the whole pot of it. I made it with shallots and cremini mushrooms, and it had such a wonderful, rich flavor that I literally could not stop eating it. Ordinarily, I give the Tummy dibs on leftovers, but I'm totally hoarding this soup. Wow. All I can say is MMMMmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm...Gretelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16850951892715843743noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6554909567564270755.post-65443959085163362882009-09-27T18:34:00.004-04:002009-09-27T18:51:43.931-04:00Soupe A L'Oignon<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj07uvWKbKGXFFJzCUsALpbvDPzMWsDj0cNOLgVx4gN4nePJTmsffGvoTTzYMg16Laub6-p97zaAyR0mGqkQQYlrumpPLk3DVcYM1bhEkz2y59XEzFD0yL9akFSJHX6J6PO7VACpTUyDoYR/s1600-h/Soups+013.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj07uvWKbKGXFFJzCUsALpbvDPzMWsDj0cNOLgVx4gN4nePJTmsffGvoTTzYMg16Laub6-p97zaAyR0mGqkQQYlrumpPLk3DVcYM1bhEkz2y59XEzFD0yL9akFSJHX6J6PO7VACpTUyDoYR/s400/Soups+013.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5386280648774819266" border="0" /></a>Onion soup makes me think of college. The Distillery used to make some yummy onion soup and it was all cheesy and warm and perfect for those rainy or snowy afternoons. So, when Tracy chose this recipe this week, I was excited because I knew I already liked it.<br /><br />Last week, some of you may have noticed, I did not post. Julia and I were having a bit of a tiff. See, I made this garlic soup with poached eggs, and I just couldn't get myself together to buy the groceries on the day that I made it. So, while I'd practiced poached eggs the day that I bought them from the farmers' market, and they were good, I didn't get the soup made until two days later and by then, my eggs weren't fresh enough to poach well. Plus, I think that my dried sage and thyme were a little old and not so flavorful. My parsley was fresh and ended up dominating the flavor, so it tasted like parsley soup with some egg in it. I ate a bowl. The Tummy ate half of one. And we threw the rest out.<br /><br />But THIS week, I knew I liked onion soup, so I put on my pearls and got to work. Wow! This is a fantastic recipe. It's a cold, rainy day, and the soup tasted better than I remember the Distillery's being. I think it was the wine and the cognac. In any case, Julia and I have made up, and I'm back on board. Now, pouting about a difference of opinion over some garlic soup seems childish, and I promise I won't miss any more weeks. In an effort to make amends, here is a photo of the garlic soup, which I didn't post last week.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiY9BtUgotq0DNMXgOYkZIH0tcXQFqHigBB3dgnTEojFaex68BnCIYrbM7t9m3wgSNY00SNfm63Jod-lZOzQh-p9ozzwCjI-T7n5DZQs8u9eNByeQM8ZH7JGVoiU6qljbQTIn8mQIv5_usT/s1600-h/Soups+009.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiY9BtUgotq0DNMXgOYkZIH0tcXQFqHigBB3dgnTEojFaex68BnCIYrbM7t9m3wgSNY00SNfm63Jod-lZOzQh-p9ozzwCjI-T7n5DZQs8u9eNByeQM8ZH7JGVoiU6qljbQTIn8mQIv5_usT/s400/Soups+009.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5386280639024215154" border="0" /></a><br />Check out <a href="http://www.tastiersansgluten.blogspot.com">Tracy</a> and <a href="http://www.shazaminthekitchen.blogspot.com">Mary's</a> soups as well!Gretelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16850951892715843743noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6554909567564270755.post-37160419791414492232009-09-13T08:51:00.004-04:002009-09-13T09:33:29.682-04:00Mastering the Art of Life<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7DCkgA6rYfaX4eCLAzpke_cM7tqjRPyfARnmJTfjpi9IgN9b2SO7yOrfP6e4laMC7mVKf_SJP2hb9hK4Op7CEYZE3RRlrjPE1QKbxA4DCLKJdS5BBpTpuGDc2xkUs_rSVMWj19ICaDO86/s1600-h/Potage+Parmentier+004.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7DCkgA6rYfaX4eCLAzpke_cM7tqjRPyfARnmJTfjpi9IgN9b2SO7yOrfP6e4laMC7mVKf_SJP2hb9hK4Op7CEYZE3RRlrjPE1QKbxA4DCLKJdS5BBpTpuGDc2xkUs_rSVMWj19ICaDO86/s400/Potage+Parmentier+004.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5380942407009918210" border="0" /></a><br /><br />You'd think that, with the start of a new school year, I have more than enough to work on right now. But, if I'm going to be working harder than I was all summer, I've decided I need to play harder too! And what better place to play than in my kitchen?<br /><br />I've wanted a copy of <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Mastering-Art-French-Cooking-One/dp/0375413405/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1252848350&sr=8-1">Mastering the Art of French Cooking</a> by Julia Child, Louisette Bertholle and Simone Beck since I saw the <a href="http://www.foodnetwork.com/chefography/ina-garten/index.html">Chefography of Ina Garten</a> a few years ago. Ina, "the Barefoot Contessa" taught herself to cook by working her way through it. Then, I read <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Life-France-Julia-Author-Child/dp/B002LNCDWC/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1252848494&sr=8-3">My Life in France</a> by Julia Child and I learned about how she (like Ina) got into cooking later in life and just worked at it like a diligent scientist. And then <a href="http://www.moviefone.com/movie/julie-and-julia/26129/main?sem=1&ncid=AOLMOV00170000000020&otim=1252848588&spid=34054009">Julie and Julia</a> came out, and I went to see it, and I found the story charming. (I thought it was a great idea for a movie, but Meryl really steals the show.) Combine those things with my 30th birthday this summer and wanting to get more serious about doing the things I like well, and you have all of the ingredients for my latest challenge to myself.<br /><br />We are starting our own little cooking group. When I say "we," I mean my sister, Mary, over at <a href="http://www.shazaminthekitchen.blogspot.com">Shazam in the Kitchen</a>, and my friend Tracy, over at <a href="http://www.tastysansgluten.blogspot.com">Tasty Sans Gluten</a>, and myself. We are VERY busy women who live in different cities... er..... areas, and we are going to try one new Julia Child recipe each week.<br /><br />We started with Potage Parmentier (Leek and Potato Soup). It was simple, delicious and not very difficult at all. So... without further ado:<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(51, 51, 255);font-size:180%;" >Potage Parmentier</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0);font-size:85%;" >Mastering the Art of French Cooking</span><br />1 lb peeled potatoes, sliced<br />1 lb thinly slice leeks<br />2 quarts of water<br />1 Tb salt<br />4 - 6 Tb whipping cream<br />2 - 3 Tb parsley<br /><br />Simmer the vegetables and salt in the water, partially covered, for 40 - 50 minutes. Then puree with an immersion blender* and correct seasoning. Set aside uncovered until ready to serve. Just before serving, reheat to a simmer, remove from heat and stir in cream by spoonfuls. Pour into bowls and decorate with parsley.<br /><br />*Julia recommends using a food mill instead of a blender for textural reasons.Gretelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16850951892715843743noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6554909567564270755.post-63953512424695071102009-08-27T15:01:00.003-04:002009-08-27T15:16:05.075-04:00Dobos Torte<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6Cs-M-IXXYo0oOiHvmZQnbtPOvQsAazQSYUqaNgSE8comHsYlFB1xSaY0arCs9DMcudXSO7k1ucjrTLgXZhLWl22b-J-qQ1lWQ3cHz4oG05g9mdvwz1j98-cKj51xzfio6McHTowPDA5y/s1600-h/Dobos+Torte+003.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6Cs-M-IXXYo0oOiHvmZQnbtPOvQsAazQSYUqaNgSE8comHsYlFB1xSaY0arCs9DMcudXSO7k1ucjrTLgXZhLWl22b-J-qQ1lWQ3cHz4oG05g9mdvwz1j98-cKj51xzfio6McHTowPDA5y/s400/Dobos+Torte+003.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5374722619547489410" border="0" /></a><br /><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">The August 2009 Daring Bakers' challenge was hosted by </span><a href="http://www.aspoonfulofsugar.net/wp/"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Angela of A Spoonfulof Sugar</span></a><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"> and </span><a href="http://www.notquitenigella.com/"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Lorraine of Not Quite Nigella</span></a><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">. They chose the spectacular DobosTorte based on a recipe from Rick Rodgers' cookbook Kaffeehaus: ExquisiteDesserts from the Classic Caffés of Vienna, Budapest, and Prague.<br /><br />This torte was SO yummy! And, I had the perfect occasion for it. We ate it for dessert at a picnic for my 30th birthday. We sat around all day, grilled bratwurst and burgers, played frisbee and euchre and ate cake! The only problem I had making this cake was that the buttercream was absurdly soft. But after chilling it for a while, it held up alright.<br /><br />All the Daring Bakers are posting their tortes today. You should check out the </span><a href="http://thedaringkitchen.com/member-blogs"><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">rest</span></a><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"> of them</span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">.<br /></span></div>Gretelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16850951892715843743noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6554909567564270755.post-39295324710637751742009-08-24T11:32:00.002-04:002009-08-24T11:41:09.094-04:00New Year's ResolutionsI know it's not New Year's for most people, but for teachers, there's a similar vibe at the beginning of September. So, this time of year, I tend to make resolutions. I started the first one today because I've got exactly two weeks before I have to be back at work. I thought maybe implementing my resolutions one at a time would be easier than trying to do everything on the same day. So, today, I started running. I'm trying to start going to the gym 5 days a week. It's ambitious, I know, but I've got this gym membership and, darn it, I'm going to use it. So, today I ran 2.18 miles in 30 minutes.<br /><br />And now, for part II. I'm going to get my apartment clean if it kills me. And, with the amount of dust I'm kicking up, it might. So... here goes nothing.Gretelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16850951892715843743noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6554909567564270755.post-58291851010940393522009-08-13T12:09:00.002-04:002009-08-13T12:16:02.322-04:00Germs!As the youngest of a big family, I'm familiar with watching germs spread from one kid to another. And as a teacher, I know that I'm going to get a bad cold once or twice a year. And I know lots of people who stock up on hand sanitizer and Airborn as if they were magical talismans against illness. I don't put much faith in all that. Generally, during cold and flu season, I drink lots of water, get some extra sleep and eat lots of fruits and veggies. I trust my immune system, and it does ok.<br /><br />But this is the off season! I don't come into contact with sneezing, coughing, drippy children in the summertime. I hang out with the Tummy and the Medium Dude. So, I let down my guard. Which explains why, when the Tummy came down with a head cold, I immediately caught it. Grumble, grumble, grumble...Gretelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16850951892715843743noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6554909567564270755.post-8660004117659707292009-08-11T14:37:00.003-04:002009-08-11T15:10:06.607-04:00Thirty!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9VNK7LFPzUY3ZpjplNmA1Mfgw-IgJs1cYg1c7OBUtLQ-26BJBtf41SwfU1luk1AD9ndoltC2-_d7lkeOaVfH58hwcKgPxxpwgyPm63ZiZQ7j7JpNSXT_PFUo7w9V0hRMKcJ2patPtG0u3/s1600-h/Cupcakes+004.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9VNK7LFPzUY3ZpjplNmA1Mfgw-IgJs1cYg1c7OBUtLQ-26BJBtf41SwfU1luk1AD9ndoltC2-_d7lkeOaVfH58hwcKgPxxpwgyPm63ZiZQ7j7JpNSXT_PFUo7w9V0hRMKcJ2patPtG0u3/s400/Cupcakes+004.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5368778773648214594" border="0" /></a>Yesterday was my birthday. I turned 30. And the best part of having a birthday, in my opinion, is the excuse to eat birthday cake! This year, I had a little barbecue in the park with some of my friends on Saturday. I wanted to make sure I had enough of everything to go around, so in addition to cake, I made birthday cupcakes.<br /><br />Now, because the Tummy flies so frequently, he has a lot of miles to use up. One thing he uses them for is subscribing to magazines. So I have this subscription to Bon Appetit magazine that I almost never use. (I generally look through it and drool, but that's about it.) And that's where I found this AMAZING recipe. I could not believe they were so easy and so good. And, although the original recipe called for vanilla bean, I used vanilla extract, because it's cheaper. They were still wonderful. I'll definitely be making them again.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" >Vanilla Bean - Coconut Cupcakes with Coconut Frosting</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(51, 102, 255);font-size:85%;" >Bon Appetit, </span><span style="color: rgb(51, 102, 255);font-size:85%;" >April 2009</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">REDUCED COCONUT MILK<br />2 (13-14 oz) cans unsweetened coconut milk<br /><br />CUPCAKES<br />2 cups all-purpose flour<br />2 1/4 tsp baking powder<br />1/2 tsp salt<br />3/4 cup unsalted butter<br />1 1/3 cups sugar<br />3 large eggs<br />1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract (or seeds from a split vanilla bean)<br />1 cup reduced coconut milk ( see above) room temperature<br /><br />FROSTING<br />1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature<br />2 1/2 cups powdered sugar<br />1/3 cup reduced coconut milk (see above) room temperature<br />1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract (or seeds from a split vanilla bean)<br />1/8 tsp salt<br />1 1/2 cups sweetened flaked coconut, lightly toasted (for garnish)<br /><br />DIRECTIONS:<br /> REDUCED COCONUT MILK - In large, deep saucepan, boil coconut milk over medium-high heat for 25-30 minutes or until reduced to 1 1/2 cups. Remove from heat. Cool completely. Chill in small, covered container. This can be made up to 2 days ahead.<br /><br /> CUPCAKES - Preheat oven to 350. Line muffin cups with paper liners. Whisk together dry ingredients. In separate bowl, beat butter until smooth. Then, add sugar and blend (about 2 minutes). Add eggs one at a time, beating and scraping sides after each addition. Add vanilla. Add half the dry ingredients. Add coconut milk and beat just until blended. Add remaining dry ingredients and mix just until blended. Divide batter among muffin cups and bake about 20 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pans for 10 minutes. Then, remove from pans and cool completely.<br /><br /> FROSTING - Beat butter until smooth. Add everything else except the flaked coconut. beat until light and fluffy. Frost cupcakes and then sprinkle with toasted coconut.</span><br /></span></span>Gretelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16850951892715843743noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6554909567564270755.post-41510640228048699082009-07-27T23:01:00.004-04:002009-07-27T23:13:12.976-04:00July Cookies<strong><em>The July Daring Bakers' challenge was hosted by Nicole at <a href="http://sweetendingz.blogspot.com/">Sweet Tooth</a>. She chose <strong>Chocolate Covered Marshmallow Cookies</strong> and Milan <strong>Cookies </strong>from pastry chef Gale Gand of the <a href="http://www.foodnetwork.com/" title="The Food Network">Food Network</a>.<br /><br />I did this month's challenge with my sister, the fabulous Mary at <a href="http://www.shazaminthekitchen.blogspot.com">Shazam in the Kitchen</a>. She and I worked very hard on both sets of cookies. We decided that they weren't exactly difficult, but they were time-consuming.</em></strong><br /><strong><em><br />These are the Milan cookies, which were good, but not actually as good as a bag of storebought ones and a whole lot more work.<br /><br /></em></strong><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgE_IuB-mOpl58PDdhJ1FwdHCms3tzJu5X9jChYOBlLM7of6NZ42vB2zQD2Tl902rUtU5pzhyu60AWH58SpPjEW3gfbIXYxchXcNukZlk_VSUt4epH53QJeEtiYeDifmjNpFp0yKWCkdlI_/s1600-h/Summer+Vacation+2009+019.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgE_IuB-mOpl58PDdhJ1FwdHCms3tzJu5X9jChYOBlLM7of6NZ42vB2zQD2Tl902rUtU5pzhyu60AWH58SpPjEW3gfbIXYxchXcNukZlk_VSUt4epH53QJeEtiYeDifmjNpFp0yKWCkdlI_/s400/Summer+Vacation+2009+019.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5363341634015659858" border="0" /></a><br />And these are the chocolate-covered marshmallow cookies, which were a TON of work and which I might have liked more if I liked marshmallows more.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiB8F3VnxiJxcu2I1gMVLp9EOeLEvvU1LBpQNPiBTYrWQn2o4gCtYtLqegrFxL5OONYzlwyW78PaVcoG1_SZqsuryiBDJOqSRojVP72NBKOuaSfzSC6oCd-kA6YX3UAG9BFlQ1NYlwT_CkS/s1600-h/Summer+Vacation+2009+022.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiB8F3VnxiJxcu2I1gMVLp9EOeLEvvU1LBpQNPiBTYrWQn2o4gCtYtLqegrFxL5OONYzlwyW78PaVcoG1_SZqsuryiBDJOqSRojVP72NBKOuaSfzSC6oCd-kA6YX3UAG9BFlQ1NYlwT_CkS/s400/Summer+Vacation+2009+022.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5363341630867339538" border="0" /></a><br />I'm glad I did the challenge. I'd never done anything like this before, and, like all the Daring Bakers' challenges, they made me unafraid of cookie recipes and ready to try some new techniques. Plus, I got to spend some time cooking with my big sister, which was awesome.<br /><br />Check out the other <a href="http://thedaringkitchen.com/blogroll/bakers">Daring Bakers.</a>Gretelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16850951892715843743noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6554909567564270755.post-6109897841980677302009-05-27T21:32:00.004-04:002009-05-27T21:49:42.702-04:00At LAST!I've been meaning to post. I did the Daring Bakers' challenges for the last two months but I keep forgetting to post. So, this month, I just barely remembered. The pictures are not very good, and certainly don't do this strudel justice.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4HdgTFFRuFX1iCqB2pvPGpHQrNeH5wzReJ5jXiVRByJIMNTqZ-F1H6u75BwSTP20E5ZYhKQktfNtnoP5z86SNY04QOPSw_DB2wYmV4MtV0zL4UdRKlUVkk1P3Jtkd7gtyuYwCmiQM0lDC/s1600-h/Strudel+001.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4HdgTFFRuFX1iCqB2pvPGpHQrNeH5wzReJ5jXiVRByJIMNTqZ-F1H6u75BwSTP20E5ZYhKQktfNtnoP5z86SNY04QOPSw_DB2wYmV4MtV0zL4UdRKlUVkk1P3Jtkd7gtyuYwCmiQM0lDC/s400/Strudel+001.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5340685629767616274" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9yG3P9tv1AB3O72ZFWTJRKdUZJk-oY9Z3EStBDBXY9vqdcx_kWgAOz91cLcLdFJzgAEsZx1n1Z6FzoN76jrvZAK7tX1vWFwxPa4R6zCE2tGdCG1cCSNm8TQcyPL4C7FhNpcWHJ1HNGyZj/s1600-h/Strudel+002.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9yG3P9tv1AB3O72ZFWTJRKdUZJk-oY9Z3EStBDBXY9vqdcx_kWgAOz91cLcLdFJzgAEsZx1n1Z6FzoN76jrvZAK7tX1vWFwxPa4R6zCE2tGdCG1cCSNm8TQcyPL4C7FhNpcWHJ1HNGyZj/s400/Strudel+002.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5340685633588412802" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><strong><em>The May Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Linda of make life sweeter! and Courtney of Coco Cooks. They chose Apple Strudel from the recipe book Kaffeehaus: Exquisite Desserts from the Classic Cafés of Vienna, Budapest and Prague by Rick Rodgers.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: normal;font-family:arial;" ><span style="font-size:100%;">This was not a terribly difficult recipe, but rolling it up was a little tricky for me. I will definitely be doing it again, though, because HOLY COW was it good! I not only couldn't stop eating it, but I gave some away to a friend and he couldn't stop eating it either. It's almost like pie, only it wasn't too sweet. And the walnuts were fantastic in it. I'm a strudel fan now. YUMMY!!! I'm so glad I tried this one.</span></span><br /></em></strong>Gretelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16850951892715843743noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6554909567564270755.post-33212401574096420902009-02-28T17:58:00.005-05:002009-02-28T18:37:56.307-05:00Daring Bakers<span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">The February 2009 challenge is hosted by <a href="http://wmpesblog.blogspot.com/">Wendy of WMPE's blog</a> and <a href="http://www.dad-baker.blogspot.com/">Dharm of Dad ~ Baker & Chef.</a> 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.</span><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0JzRQulJJJgNSkVjFD5Ix02VNtV2WUNhhxaRYzX0MgkE7yVmAPmpFI2d0UqyrT13ybaAx2TGRl5jq8BX2ULbqaXQC608WEzQup5Kh7qUfQ62SXEboi6nBQJWaeWWoQNwvQhfrUgaLTkOG/s1600-h/Chocolate+flourless+007.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0JzRQulJJJgNSkVjFD5Ix02VNtV2WUNhhxaRYzX0MgkE7yVmAPmpFI2d0UqyrT13ybaAx2TGRl5jq8BX2ULbqaXQC608WEzQup5Kh7qUfQ62SXEboi6nBQJWaeWWoQNwvQhfrUgaLTkOG/s400/Chocolate+flourless+007.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5307996020409478450" border="0" /></a><br />These cakes are really yummy. They're light and delicious and chocolatey. The ice cream I made wasn't so good. I couldn't get my freezer cold enough to freeze my ice cream maker's cooling thingie, so it wouldn't set up. I ended up freezing it, but it had little shards of ice in it. The flavor was good, though. I made it cinnamony.<br /><br />I like the little heart-shaped pan I used, and I thought it was kinda cute doing the two hearts in chocolate and vanilla just like the Tummy and me. It made a nice Valentine's dessert.Gretelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16850951892715843743noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6554909567564270755.post-35919997703903451012009-01-29T11:06:00.006-05:002009-01-29T12:13:07.761-05:00Daring to Bake in the New Year!I was a little worried about how the Daring Baker challenge for January would fit in with my New Year's resolutions. But just as I began to really sweat over the possible ways to dispose of some enormous cake or dozens of doughnuts, I read the challenge and was delightfully suprised!<br /><div><div><br /><div>This month's challenge is brought to us by Karen of <a href="http://bakemyday.blogspot.com/">Bake My Day </a>and Zorra of 1x umruehren bitte aka <a href="http://kochtopf.twoday.net/">Kochtopf</a>. They have chosen Tuiles from The Chocolate Book by Angélique Schmeink and Nougatine and Chocolate Tuiles from Michel Roux.<br /></div><br /><div>Now, Tuiles are light and the perfect dessert for someone who is watching her waistline. They are 1 point on Weight Watchers, and the challenge was to pair them with some kind of fruit! Fruit is HEALTHY! Now I was excited.<br /></div><br /><div>The recipe is quite simple and is at the end of this post. But, basically, you have to make the batter, chill it, and then spread it thinly into a stencil. You bake it and then shape the still warm cookies. And they're thin and delicate and lovely.<br /></div><br /><div>So first, I had to make a stencil.</div><br /><div><br /></div><br /><p><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5296755758845276642" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzBOykm6ddwNx41bN6evhEYYotFUUxtaH-kKSxmix4UZCYbds5OuRp3BvVTwaWy2795Xtj7MklrWJG_4ZX54huu4qVcPagRozSltDVHUEJeWxU0W5q1BF-ZopCOuXdjRmi-HNhCJ2LP-V0/s400/Tuiles+001.jpg" border="0" />I chose to make it flower-shaped, and I used a heavy-ish plastic folder, because I wanted it to have a little bit of weight.</p><br /><p>I used food coloring so that some of my flowers were white/uncolored, some were pink and some were orange. Then, I spread the batter thinly into the stencil (trickier than it sounds, but you get the hang of it). After they baked, I took them off of the cookie sheet immediately and used some juice glasses I have to shape them.</p><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5296757130709173954" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlyPwxlhFGUOHiZdP1nc1x3By1j88cjOvF2oEdYdraiKrPc9O0E2D9UO9fk4DeuCxeFbli_nr5zmFcoXJHxuSxvHPLawxV6AvOFSa6rx2OD-9ahT04hKIgZWj_Zpkn8RUpO3N2a1DpaVjS/s400/Tuiles+004.jpg" border="0" />Some of my tuiles did not survive this process:</div><br /><div><br /></div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5296757138725500994" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLMxVYlw99-iXXyfuWlxeL0yqLhhFCdK03E0umTh85UAmnenGDtBoCS9F6kUhxjc9xU1OCVeXXprSJV4qSfpIc6Rfo67nTwfbEV1I7qdr3-6FOtNNYVWwsSWV2jYorVlh9f57sCHVWL3fp/s400/Tuiles+003.jpg" border="0" />But I was very happy with the ones that did:<br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5296757136946875938" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8a8LyPj4UfO2EiD9eSDOEDhzIh6orNIpGV0FhrvjUEgH6nWNxCeei-k-SNXRx8UVpD6mwKV8Z2EvKi1s37ZLv2bEN0pTi0VgGCrA5CVShFtvVQBewIs7npUtQz_1A5c-XHBASST4xkgaN/s400/Tuiles+005.jpg" border="0" />Then, I had to pair them with something fruity! Now, I'm in Brooklyn and it's wintertime. I don't eat a lot of fruit in winter. And I didn't want anything super-sweet. I wanted to stay light and low-calorie. Hmmm.... winter... not too sweet.... high in fiber.... CRANBERRIES!!!!</div><br /><div></div><br /><div>So I bought some frozen cranberries and 3 small cans of mandarin oranges and improvised a very simple relish by chopping the cranberries, mixing in the oranges and 3/8 of a cup of sugar.</div><br /><div></div><br /><div>My completed tuiles:</div><br /><div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5296759074417343026" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUjFNYTco7uW-jV2SbndoY2PLrEq3RI_Uz3EYn2cpf-AkY7AMedHXgpTtdyYW4GImYh6duh2HAofq-GP2umy19frqcVTaetxh8wgnHfadBxtfVBXFFJSitOdEy3hx2qOde6UMpFe_opnQI/s400/Tuiles+010.jpg" border="0" />I LOVED this recipe. It was not too difficult, and a very interesting challenge. It felt more like a craft project than cooking, but there was a tasty product at the end. And best of all, I didn't feel guilty after eating more of these than I should've. I will make these again! In fact, I can't wait until someone I know has a bridal or baby shower. These are the perfect cookies for some very girly luncheon. They are light and pretty and girly. I wanted to eat them with my mom.</div><div> </div><div>Now go! Check out the other <a href="http://daringbakersblogroll.blogspot.com/">daring bakers</a>! See what fabulousness they came up with. And the recipe, as promised, is below.<br /><br /></div><div>This recipe is taken from a book called “The Chocolate Book”, written by female Dutch Master chef Angélique Schmeinck.<br /></div><div>Yields: 20 small butterflies/6 large (butterflies are just an example)<br /></div><div>Preparation time batter 10 minutes, waiting time 30 minutes, baking time: 5-10 minutes per batch<br /></div><div>65 grams / ¼ cup / 2.3 ounces softened butter (not melted but soft)<br />60 grams / ½ cup / 2.1 ounces sifted confectioner’s sugar</div><div>1 sachet vanilla sugar (7 grams or substitute with a dash of vanilla extract)</div><div>2 large egg whites (slightly whisked with a fork)</div><div>65 grams / 1/2 cup / 2.3 ounces sifted all purpose flour</div><div>1 table spoon cocoa powder/or food coloring of choice (I used food coloring.)</div><div>Butter/spray to grease baking sheet</div><br /><div>Oven: 180C / 350F</div><div> </div><div>Using a hand whisk or a stand mixer fitted with the paddle (low speed) and cream butter, sugar and vanilla to a paste. Keep stirring while you gradually add the egg whites. Continue to add the flour in small batches and stir to achieve a homogeneous and smooth batter/paste. Be careful to not overmix. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes to firm up. (This batter will keep in the fridge for up to a week, take it out 30 minutes before you plan to use it).</div><div> </div><div>Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or grease with either butter/spray and chill in the fridge for at least 15 minutes. This will help spread the batter more easily if using a stencil/cardboard template such as the butterfly. Press the stencil on the bakingsheet and use an off sided spatula to spread batter. Leave some room in between your shapes. Mix a small part of the batter with the cocoa and a few drops of warm water until evenly colored. Use this colored batter in a paper piping bag and proceed to pipe decorations on the wings and body of the butterfly.Bake butterflies in a preheated oven (180C/350F) for about 5-10 minutes or until the edges turn golden brown. </div><br /><div>Immediately release from baking sheet and proceed to shape/bend the cookies in the desired shape. These cookies have to be shaped when still warm, you might want to bake a small amount at a time or maybe put them in the oven to warm them up again. (Haven’t tried that). Or: place a bakingsheet toward the front of the warm oven, leaving the door half open. The warmth will keep the cookies malleable.If you don’t want to do stencil shapes, you might want to transfer the batter into a piping bag fitted with a small plain tip. Pipe the desired shapes and bake. Shape immediately after baking using for instance a rolling pin, a broom handle, cups, cones….</div><br /><div> </div>Gretelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16850951892715843743noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6554909567564270755.post-68542149553080456192008-12-29T10:42:00.004-05:002008-12-29T11:15:08.248-05:00Yule Log and other holiday treats...It's Daring Baker time again!<br /><br /><strong>This month's challenge is brought to us by the adventurous Hilda from Saffron </strong><strong>and Blueberry and Marion from Il en Faut Peu Pour Etre Heureux.</strong><br /><strong>They have chosen a French Yule Log by Flore from Florilege Gourmand</strong><br /><strong><br /></strong><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxg934o8JEX3P9ih3yTUHXj1KG54nJiFwSuemDXGKb2wc7joTSU17dghgR389s1gaBm4SQLS_cixu3gQOu2n5Jt6YUfCqrpY7Jnxbnnm_x_LskwtoXkEByUSiIXuZ-xwObhe0kphLgk-oe/s1600-h/holiday+004.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxg934o8JEX3P9ih3yTUHXj1KG54nJiFwSuemDXGKb2wc7joTSU17dghgR389s1gaBm4SQLS_cixu3gQOu2n5Jt6YUfCqrpY7Jnxbnnm_x_LskwtoXkEByUSiIXuZ-xwObhe0kphLgk-oe/s400/holiday+004.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5285241855952215730" border="0" /></a><br /><strong><span style="font-weight: bold;">Since this dessert was all frozen, it presented some unique challenges. My refrigerator and freezer are... well... tempermental. Really, they're just old. And I have trouble with custards, so my creme brulee did not turn out v</span></strong><strong><span style="font-weight: bold;">ery well. But all in all, this dessert was DELICIOUS.<br /><br /></span></strong><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfiOfBnfgzuYhAEvV49FIk7FvZGpHW4HKzYmBVXrlV3ttwxviq3K3ODnfVg80Pib5rXOoVL1TcgOTFW7F2G6aBe5VjiWrGcpsrPoBc_TvkHbPMPqkttDKdmetLciLFjqoM6Fo6UqEZMLTU/s1600-h/holiday+010.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfiOfBnfgzuYhAEvV49FIk7FvZGpHW4HKzYmBVXrlV3ttwxviq3K3ODnfVg80Pib5rXOoVL1TcgOTFW7F2G6aBe5VjiWrGcpsrPoBc_TvkHbPMPqkttDKdmetLciLFjqoM6Fo6UqEZMLTU/s400/holiday+010.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5285241860094462050" border="0" /></a><br /><strong><span style="font-weight: bold;">There are SIX yummy layers to this frozen masterpiece. From the bottom up, we have the almond dacquoise biscuit, the cinnamon-milk ganache insert, dark chocolate mousse, the praline feuillete (crisp) insert, (more mousse), the frozen vanilla creme brulee, (more mousse) and the dark chocolate icing.<br /><br /></span></strong><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4eVTwlTUU7lRGxWIM2r3IsnpwN3MaC3TLyJ8gX6y2PKzROBLDXSZz-rgXn7U-dviL3aR8sT1U4z6TDeoGurh4enOiVg-x04wv-GeKZ01WEcrjUqTtULztvRXGuyKsuIgU5osNEKTZ1dA9/s1600-h/holiday+012.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4eVTwlTUU7lRGxWIM2r3IsnpwN3MaC3TLyJ8gX6y2PKzROBLDXSZz-rgXn7U-dviL3aR8sT1U4z6TDeoGurh4enOiVg-x04wv-GeKZ01WEcrjUqTtULztvRXGuyKsuIgU5osNEKTZ1dA9/s400/holiday+012.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5285241869053371634" border="0" /></a><br /><strong><span style="font-weight: bold;">What a fun holiday challenge! And let me tell you, after a piece of this, your chocolate craving is taken care of for a while. Ah.....<br /><br />Be sure to check out the other <a href="http://daringbakersblogroll.blogspot.com/">Daring Bakers</a>!</span></strong><br /><br /><strong><span style="font-weight: bold;">But, since I couldn't leave well enough alone, and since I finished this challenge halfway through the month, I went on and made other holiday treats. Like lots and lots of fruitcake...<br /><br /></span></strong><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRItrB51NImRXlq31uIudLtznH-AInTSwDqF0G8JR3m_cDD97Wi9WYNaCV7oA8a48CLKsJ2wJW7VlpIALB1MjmPoLF2yRCm06oRUxRxz92jNsslorbDizVa_oAac0ust3c3E0Zn7trAmRy/s1600-h/holiday+001.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRItrB51NImRXlq31uIudLtznH-AInTSwDqF0G8JR3m_cDD97Wi9WYNaCV7oA8a48CLKsJ2wJW7VlpIALB1MjmPoLF2yRCm06oRUxRxz92jNsslorbDizVa_oAac0ust3c3E0Zn7trAmRy/s400/holiday+001.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5285244968446377826" border="0" /></a>And tons...<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRH9IGo7vCMOc522uRMoNqvYk7DxO1u0AKLaA9BzeL-8miRug2wzZyuCaMsAe2Gx4Yi9-GefrREtWr30Q3RbIgFOlBwdOu1R9Ri1YMy7puUF6CUL1xwoxPlf09i-0X-KyMOzgckcBCAzVn/s1600-h/holiday+015.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRH9IGo7vCMOc522uRMoNqvYk7DxO1u0AKLaA9BzeL-8miRug2wzZyuCaMsAe2Gx4Yi9-GefrREtWr30Q3RbIgFOlBwdOu1R9Ri1YMy7puUF6CUL1xwoxPlf09i-0X-KyMOzgckcBCAzVn/s400/holiday+015.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5285244978458236386" border="0" /></a>and tons of cookies...<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgoNS0oIEH_ttR2C3m2WJEAMr-ZqNSeYH33M7YGMCtp4SxlR8Dh0GsEAlLWEXQSJ2XPrf6FejYJkeajRX9DB0MQbF4RRNBOArnDBk0CHbtJGZChanPUt2MFr-mbfcw7G7mSt0vBzsvwC4M/s1600-h/holiday+013.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgoNS0oIEH_ttR2C3m2WJEAMr-ZqNSeYH33M7YGMCtp4SxlR8Dh0GsEAlLWEXQSJ2XPrf6FejYJkeajRX9DB0MQbF4RRNBOArnDBk0CHbtJGZChanPUt2MFr-mbfcw7G7mSt0vBzsvwC4M/s400/holiday+013.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5285244972676885714" border="0" /></a>And now, after the Tummy and I have done nothing but eat and eat and eat, we are ready to put the New Year's Resolutions to the test and not over-indulge like this any more. Oh, but it was fun while it lasted...Gretelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16850951892715843743noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6554909567564270755.post-11393709359387588472008-11-29T12:08:00.003-05:002008-11-29T12:29:14.948-05:00Caramel CakeIt's that time of the month again. That's right, it's Daring Bakers Post Day.<br /><br />This month, our challenge was hosted by <a href="http://culinarycuriosity.blogspot.com/">Dolores</a>, assisted by <a href="http://blondieandbrownie.blogspot.com/">Alex</a> and <a href="http://forayintofood.blogspot.com/">Jenny</a> and <a href="http://glutenagogo.blogspot.com/">Natalie</a>. They chose a Caramel Cake with Caramelized Butter Frosting by Shuna Fish Lydon. You can find the recipe <a href="http://blogs.kqed.org/bayareabites/2006%20%C3%A2%C2%80%C2%A6%20he-recipe/">here</a>.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6grRYx-FpFFXwapncxrJFiTGUAKalyQAvMbhPc3vkH3zggihXPs2Yxl3B2-AjQI_DrLlNAo957XZpj1CXevwurC200mmx5tVIqMLmIYbuSl9xIz7xmG8b9LyHnsLC0hlus8offZ093FqS/s1600-h/cake.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6grRYx-FpFFXwapncxrJFiTGUAKalyQAvMbhPc3vkH3zggihXPs2Yxl3B2-AjQI_DrLlNAo957XZpj1CXevwurC200mmx5tVIqMLmIYbuSl9xIz7xmG8b9LyHnsLC0hlus8offZ093FqS/s400/cake.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5274130963879587442" border="0" /></a>My picture turned out pretty awful, but the cake was pretty good. I was a little concerned about how sweet this would be after reading other people's reactions. Since the challenge was just making the cake and the frosting, I figured, why not add stuff that's NOT sweet. So, I layered the cake and put a layer of 80% cocoa dark chocolate ganache in the center. Then I toasted some pecans and sprinkled the over the ganache in the middle and over the entire cake. All of my official tasters agreed that the ganache filling and the pecans helped to cut the sweetness. Overall, this was not their favorite cake, because of how sweet it was, but I didn't have any leftovers I couldn't get rid of.<br /><br />Challenge completed. What's next?Gretelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16850951892715843743noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6554909567564270755.post-1839593777610343922008-10-29T20:50:00.005-04:002008-10-29T21:45:29.481-04:00Wait wait!!! I dare to bake!It's still Wednesday, right? I've had a marathon day and just got home. And then I realized that it's daring bakers' posting day. So, fortunately, I already have the challenge done. This month, we made pizza! The challenge was hosted by Rosa of <a href="http://www.rosas-yummy-yums.blogspot.com/">Rosa's Yummy Yum Yums</a> and you can find the dough recipe we used there.<br /><br />I made six pizzas and invited the Composer and Shrek the Medic over to eat with the Tummy and I. It's helpful to have a couple of big guys around when there's a lot of pizza to eat. The dough turned out pretty well, I thought. I'm not a huge thin crust fan, but it got rave reviews.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAUU5APkw3hlyZ_bw_cJgVM_G_zTN89EbTCQBjXnrNNA3-RbYWld45WEHRJod1DUh-JkmjbyGk-un2MQmIu3d-cC5zduRsf1vCfU8i6KwzHZ72ckfEgYYR1U6Mzkep3HdsIvBJKijQhiLc/s1600-h/pizza+001.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAUU5APkw3hlyZ_bw_cJgVM_G_zTN89EbTCQBjXnrNNA3-RbYWld45WEHRJod1DUh-JkmjbyGk-un2MQmIu3d-cC5zduRsf1vCfU8i6KwzHZ72ckfEgYYR1U6Mzkep3HdsIvBJKijQhiLc/s400/pizza+001.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5262755518754811810" border="0" /></a><br />It was a little too wet to toss effectively, though Shrek got a good one in.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixx15GLC9-RTfeUe9B1DH6Ha5FSS9bclrN2Fl2_Q6SQt9d7SmSWLVjllV-X9qRWZyf3ChyphenhyphenIVKb0l1TZDCLSq__1QbhL7PwYJYzd7TgHLrv8_VcntH2-HO8M-tnGaM51j4ck0D8ESApJeX0/s1600-h/pizza+003.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixx15GLC9-RTfeUe9B1DH6Ha5FSS9bclrN2Fl2_Q6SQt9d7SmSWLVjllV-X9qRWZyf3ChyphenhyphenIVKb0l1TZDCLSq__1QbhL7PwYJYzd7TgHLrv8_VcntH2-HO8M-tnGaM51j4ck0D8ESApJeX0/s400/pizza+003.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5262755525258864082" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEha66BQQPPsTKHT6G95hxdbPKCbecIzhk69okjfRguxxqQ532S7n_52zfW4anr8ntHD4L4c-wRQmKO1VmnvtEgA_RPa1DeOjHF37JuXHQ913TTW9rxGBEehPyilO2jds-h7jsCHUTAx8EEW/s1600-h/pizza+002.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEha66BQQPPsTKHT6G95hxdbPKCbecIzhk69okjfRguxxqQ532S7n_52zfW4anr8ntHD4L4c-wRQmKO1VmnvtEgA_RPa1DeOjHF37JuXHQ913TTW9rxGBEehPyilO2jds-h7jsCHUTAx8EEW/s400/pizza+002.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5262755519654243826" border="0" /></a><br /><br />I ended up rolling it out, which worked pretty well. Then, I topped two of them with tomato sauce, mozzarella and bacon. Shrek and the Tummy both preferred these, labeling them the "Manly" Pizza.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmENvZIrqftlXNmkqkJBCUhvDfSnlWToOONFY9NLmThLchuqqcjNfQw-iDFQkpZlgYC8-eDjt5d4og78YW6y7n76RABFhRgW6jOlw8plsyjkqDYyIP50Y5DC4fWNlTmijU5Ri3UOb3xDDB/s1600-h/pizza+004.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmENvZIrqftlXNmkqkJBCUhvDfSnlWToOONFY9NLmThLchuqqcjNfQw-iDFQkpZlgYC8-eDjt5d4og78YW6y7n76RABFhRgW6jOlw8plsyjkqDYyIP50Y5DC4fWNlTmijU5Ri3UOb3xDDB/s400/pizza+004.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5262755533985227698" border="0" /></a><br />The Composer and I opted for the Goat cheese and veggie pizza.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrLAD2ugRZhwBDO8g5kMS9cG6YiXUKiDn8C4KIOdiCzdIphJc0YgwTDgz-Q3hYvUUvzyNolzQzcyz9c8FawtMZcFY3YIV7qd0Um1C64cZsk-uoi6G4KppqurttHCmBVxi1OGtHP6kIT8a1/s1600-h/pizza+006.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrLAD2ugRZhwBDO8g5kMS9cG6YiXUKiDn8C4KIOdiCzdIphJc0YgwTDgz-Q3hYvUUvzyNolzQzcyz9c8FawtMZcFY3YIV7qd0Um1C64cZsk-uoi6G4KppqurttHCmBVxi1OGtHP6kIT8a1/s400/pizza+006.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5262755540736523442" border="0" /></a><br />I found this recipe online, but I don't really have a good source for it. I lost the page. It's been a chaotic month.<br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">Goat Cheese and Veggie Pizza</span></span><br />2 already baked thin pizza crusts<br />1/4 cup olive oil<br />3 garlic cloves, minced<br />3 cups (packed) baby spinach leaves (1 1/2 to 2 ounces)<br />1 1/2 cups thickly sliced mushrooms (5 to 6 ounces)<br />1/2 cup drained roasted red peppers from jar, cut into thin strips<br />1/2 cup paper-thin red onion slices<br />8 large fresh basil leaves, cut into thin strips <span style="font-family:Times New Roman;font-size:100%;"><br />1 5-ounce package soft fresh goat cheese, coarsely crumbled </span> <h2><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;font-size:100%;"><b>Preparation</b></span></h2><h2 style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;font-size:100%;">Preheat oven to 425°F. Place pizza crust on large baking sheet. Mix olive oil and minced garlic in small bowl. Using pastry brush, brush 2 tablespoons garlic oil evenly over crust. Top with spinach leaves, the</span><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;font-size:100%;">n sprinkle with sliced mushrooms, roasted red peppers, red onion slices, fresh basil, and crumbled goat cheese. Drizzle pizza evenly with remaining garlic oil. </span></h2> <p><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;font-size:100%;">Bake pizza until crust is crisp and cheese begins to brown, about 18 minutes. Transfer pizza to board. Cut into wedges and serve warm. </span></p>Then I made a dessert pizza with the last two. I sorta tweaked this recipe that I found on the same pizza web page:<br /><h2 style="font-weight: normal;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEZs2qV_pQSAzXIs31O3IkosX_vxOj9IwIhA-6BLhRudDnENUdSQhFzheNhRY4SxY1WNe4BazMB3OWqq1v384MT_s8BhWcJ5ka2pPJ6U9pRnUgQNC76AZEqSf6__MGe_xSJZa7jiwH_Opv/s1600-h/pizza+007.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEZs2qV_pQSAzXIs31O3IkosX_vxOj9IwIhA-6BLhRudDnENUdSQhFzheNhRY4SxY1WNe4BazMB3OWqq1v384MT_s8BhWcJ5ka2pPJ6U9pRnUgQNC76AZEqSf6__MGe_xSJZa7jiwH_Opv/s400/pizza+007.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5262756519821658066" border="0" /></a></h2><h2><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM9pJZ5crEiDmOH5mcYR2XXRA6zxeZp0t5EDpscQtIgVDfYNYoJLnTAFit0XrAp5fqIstlEs6XomAgkbQnnn-h10IwWvZ0gpSsit3WMIksRVaNwf8J7g5xDDjlGisvx8TV5vG6GbNiydva/s1600-h/pizza+010.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM9pJZ5crEiDmOH5mcYR2XXRA6zxeZp0t5EDpscQtIgVDfYNYoJLnTAFit0XrAp5fqIstlEs6XomAgkbQnnn-h10IwWvZ0gpSsit3WMIksRVaNwf8J7g5xDDjlGisvx8TV5vG6GbNiydva/s400/pizza+010.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5262756521159035234" border="0" /></a></h2> <p style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-size:130%;"> Cherry Cheese Dessert Pizza</span><br /></span></p><p style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;">2 pizza doughs<br />8 ounces Cream Cheese<br />1/2 cup Sugar<br />2 large Eggs<br />1 teaspoon Vanilla<br />42 ounces Dark Morello Cherries </span></p> <p><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;font-size:100%;">Directions:</span></p> <p><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;font-size:100%;">Roll out the pizza dough and put on a 16 inch </span><a href="http://www.cdkitchen.com/recipes/recs/36/CherryCheesePizza66721.shtml#%23" target="_blank"><span style="font-family:verdana! important;font-size:100%;color:#0000ff;"><u>pizza</u></span></a><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;font-size:100%;"> pan. Bake 15 minutes at 350 degrees F. Blend the cream cheese, sugar, eggs, and vanilla together until well blended. Pour into the pie crust and bake an additional 10 minutes. Cool until cold and top with the cherry pie filling. Top with whipped cream, if desired.</span></p>I think the dessert pizza was my favorite to eat, but I really enjoyed making all of them. It was a lot of fun to get the chance to be creative with toppings. Check out my big sister's fabulous pizzas over at <a href="http://www.shazaminthekitchen.blogspot.com/">Shazam in the Kitchen</a> and all the other <a href="http://daringbakersblogroll.blogspot.com/">Daring Bakers</a>. What a great group to belong to!Gretelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16850951892715843743noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6554909567564270755.post-27862282754653908232008-08-31T14:29:00.005-04:002008-08-31T14:51:49.394-04:00Eclairs!I just realized I'd forgotten to post about the August Daring Baker's Challenge! See, they've been baked and eaten so long ago that it slipped my mind. With the school year starting, I decided to get them out of the way early. So as soon as we packed up Medium Dude and brought him back to his mom, I bought my butter and cream and chocolate and I made...... ECLAIRS!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiNxlW7uCz2SVY6_zm6AAJgNuEUU-i2qIhAt0iZxhDbTaILn-WnvGzOdSwanQT-9fLVqXvmuliFPK7oLI1eks5AkvpU570i8jV3Y2-FRT1h_LuM1K80f42aVCx9I658TgT8PnJye_5aE1O/s1600-h/Eclairs001+%284%29.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiNxlW7uCz2SVY6_zm6AAJgNuEUU-i2qIhAt0iZxhDbTaILn-WnvGzOdSwanQT-9fLVqXvmuliFPK7oLI1eks5AkvpU570i8jV3Y2-FRT1h_LuM1K80f42aVCx9I658TgT8PnJye_5aE1O/s400/Eclairs001+%284%29.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5240754824865421058" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Our hosts this month were <a href="http://www.antoniotahhan.com/">Tony Tahhan</a> and <a href="http://whatsforlunchhoney.blogspot.com/">MeetaK</a>, and we made <strong>Chocolate Éclairs by Pierre Hermé. </strong>I used the Pate a choux recipe and the chocolate glaze from <a href="http://whatsforlunchhoney.blogspot.com/">here</a>, but I decided I didn't want to do chocolate and chocolate, so I made a coconut pastry cream. I found that recipe <a href="http://cakeonthebrain.blogspot.com/2008/05/fresh-berry-tarts-with-coconut-pastry.html">here</a>.<br /><br />The first batch of eclairs came out a wee bit underdone. They looked fine coming out of the oven, but after I let them cool for a minute, they looked like this:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCAQr_g8ng330Q2K0IrrpL8-ile8a6T5rXgqD3rydXdJOPxb__tQY9kc65UCAxQ32TQfBt6pDfxZucYlTi5fCb3PkxvmQvlKsL73tKmVaTRa3gCmReUB3SrFCKzTPfkfHBwKQ7hdhFN4Tr/s1600-h/100_0732.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCAQr_g8ng330Q2K0IrrpL8-ile8a6T5rXgqD3rydXdJOPxb__tQY9kc65UCAxQ32TQfBt6pDfxZucYlTi5fCb3PkxvmQvlKsL73tKmVaTRa3gCmReUB3SrFCKzTPfkfHBwKQ7hdhFN4Tr/s400/100_0732.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5240753579183019858" border="0" /></a><br />So I started over. The next batch worked much better, but if I did them again, I would be sure to make them a little smaller. They were a little bit messy to eat and probably more eclair than anyone should eat in a single sitting.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUzWpHciHBeAlvi-1KzqrW_3kDgCgKySOUMvh8c5fHObKT0LjA38SHtOLVyMVauf-dZ48XCxHtsczUMw2cTt5AFa07l9SjBb7k7yel7w9ozhfxuNQJDSj4I5imZUa9P9APNersQUxQUU8C/s1600-h/Eclairs001+%281%29.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUzWpHciHBeAlvi-1KzqrW_3kDgCgKySOUMvh8c5fHObKT0LjA38SHtOLVyMVauf-dZ48XCxHtsczUMw2cTt5AFa07l9SjBb7k7yel7w9ozhfxuNQJDSj4I5imZUa9P9APNersQUxQUU8C/s400/Eclairs001+%281%29.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5240754144963780210" border="0" /></a>The Tummy and I thoroughly enjoyed this challenge! Can't wait for September's! Be sure to check out the other <a href="http://www.daringbakersblogroll.blogspot.com/">daring bakers</a>. Their eclairs look amazing.Gretelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16850951892715843743noreply@blogger.com7