Feb 18, 2010 | Uncategorized
Last night we took the kids to see
STOMP.
Wow!
Those performers must take their vitamins!
They performed for 2 solid hours, without an intermission.
Dancing, Drumming, Jumping, Juggling,
I think we have all been looking at things in a different way since the show. Everything can make music!
Jac woke up and said “Mommy, is STOMP on again tonight? I REALLY liked the girl with the pretty hair that looks like the girl in Ratatouille.”
If you live in Arkansas you have one more chance to see them (tonight!)
Feb 17, 2010 | Uncategorized
Okay, I’m going to admit it…
I used to be a pastry chef at a 5 star restaurant…
BUT, I can’t make an angel food cake to save my life.
My grandma always made us an angel food cake for our birthdays if we were near her house, smothered with lemon glaze and with a candle and fresh flowers from her yard stuck in the hole in the middle.
ALWAYS perfect.
I had been given the Ratio cookbook by Michael Ruhlman for my birthday from a dear friend and found that it had an angel food cake recipe in it. He says that the secret to a good angel food cake is not overbeating your egg whites (not into a meringue like I usually do, but to a soft peak and still pourable stage.)
Okay, I did that perfectly. Bought a new angel food pan at a garage sale and used it. Fresh farm eggs. Okay, I didn’t have cake flour and used regular flour (could that be the problem?)
I also was impatient as it was Valentine’s day and the kids wanted dessert, so I only let it cool for an hour, when the recipe said one and a half hours. (Maybe that was it?)
ANYWAY…
It looked lovely in the pan baking, rose up and browned perfectly.
When I took it out and turned it over to cook it started shrinking…
When I turned it out it broke and then flumped over to the side. Ew.
I also made fresh lemon curd from the Ratio cookbook which was divine, but note to self,
don’t mix an eggy cake like Angel Food with eggy lemon curd. Too much of a good thing.
I’m going to make a lemon tart tonight maybe.
Does anyone have suggestions on making a great Angel Food cake?
The recipe I used was:
Angel Food Cake
12 oz egg whites (9-11 egg whites)
12 oz sugar
4 oz cake flour
3 fingered pinch of salt
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
1T fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon vanilla
*If you want the directions let me know and I’ll post them.
Feb 12, 2010 | Uncategorized
My kids are nutty!
Today they are out of school for a teacher’s work day (again, yes, one day of school this week!)
This is what I hear coming from the living room…
Let’s play “Ancient Egyptians come to life”!
Okay! Cool! I’m a mummy. (As he makes himself a coffin out of the couch pillows) Where is your tomb?”
You have to be King Tut. You’re the youngest.
NO!
But King Tut was cool. He was a young boy king.
Well, OK then.
Do you want to be a vizier, mummy maker, priest, or slave?
Hmmmm
I think I’ll be an assassin who killed the king.
(Great.)
Talk about how they will mummify him ensues, but it’s gross and I won’t repeat it. (Well, mummification is gross!)
You have to be Cleopatra, Emily. She’s that pretty queen in the sand. (huh?)
No, I want to be the vizier who is secretly plotting the overthrow of the pharaoh.
Now the pharaoh is bossing everyone around. The plot is thickening as they plan the assasination…
Okay, now where would you like your coffin to be?
Oh my!
Okay, mom! Come in the museum!
I go in…
Three exhibits.
One King Tut complete with a plate that tells his history.
One is an upper class Egyptian lady.
One labeled “Hired Assassin” complete with frozen heart.
One large black lab, a.k.a. “King Mutt.”
I leave then hear.
“What does it say?” I hear them whisper. “I don’t know, we only read hieroglyphics!”
Feb 12, 2010 | Appetizers & Snacks, Recipes, Uncategorized
I LOVE sesame sticks. They are so expensive though, and not as easy to find here as I’d like them to be. I can get them in bulk at Whole Foods, but it’s a 20 minute drive to get there (and they are still expensive!)
I found this recipe online at RedChiles (a really cool food blog!) and tried it this past weekend.
They are great!
So EASY and CHEAP to make!
I doubled the recipe, and didn’t have the chili pepper powder to add. Plus added a few things which I’ll list on my recipe below. (My recipe also reflects the doubling and extra stuff…)
Next batch I make I’m not going to put as much garlic powder either, they were SOOO garlicky (and this coming from a major garlic lover!) I guess you can add any flavorings you prefer, or cheese…
Sesame Sticks
Ingredients:
- 1 cup Oats
- 2 cups all purpose flour*
*I used about 1 cup of flour and 1/2 cup of baby rice cereal plus 1/2 cup of wheat germ)
- 8 Tbsp Butter
- 1/2 cup Sesame seeds (I think I added a bit more for fun)
- 4 tsp garlic powder (Next time I’ll only use 1 or 2)
- 2 tsp sugar (I might leave this out too, just because I’m trying to watch sugars)
- Salt per taste
- 1 tsp Baking Powder
- 1 cup water
Method:
- Preheat the oven to 325 F.
- Coarsely powder the oats (I used a small food processor,) then take a bowl and add the rest of the dry ingredients including sesame seeds and mix well.
- Melt the butter and add to the above mixture. This will form a bread crumb like consistency.
- Add water little by little and knead to stiff dough. Keep it aside for 30 minutes.
- Divide the dough into smaller portions.
- Then take small balls of dough and place it in between 2 greased waxed-paper sheets. Apply pressure and make it into flat disc. Remove the top cover and with the tip of your hands flatten the dough and make it as flat as possible. (I used a rolling pin.)
- Using a knife or pastry cutter to cut into small strips. Repeat this process with the remaining dough as well.
- Place the strips on a greased cookie sheet. Bake for about 10-15 minutes until they are light brown.
- Turn them over and bake for another 10-15 minutes. Allow to cool before snacking!
Yields: 80 sticks
Feb 10, 2010 | Recipes, Sweets, Uncategorized
I’ve always wanted to try this recipe from The Little House Cookbook. (Remember from Little House in the Big Woods when Ma helped Laura and Mary make this candy?)
Molasses-On-Snow Candy
For 3/4 lb. of candy you need:
Dark molasses, 1 cup
Brown Sugar, 1/2 cup
Fill pie pans full of clean snow and keep outside until time.
Combine molasses and brown sugar in saucepan (2 qt.) don’t use smaller as it will boil up.
Bring to a boil. On medium heat cook, stirring frequently to prevent burning.
After 5 minutes you can test using a drop in a glass of hot water to see when it forms a firm ball.
(I just use a candy thermometer and wait til it gets 245 degrees F. Remove from heat. Pour into 2 small
heatproof pitchers (I didn’t have any so used my measuring cup, which didn’t work all that great.)
Fetch pans of snow and pour hot syrup onto cold surfaces. When hardened break into bite sized pieces!
I was thinking it would taste like maple syrup candy, but it really doesn’t. Sort of like a hard caramel, pretty good but sticks to your teeth! 🙂
