And now I need to go have some! You can see what the others have been up to here, and learn more about Em who selected this recipe. And I'll leave you with a picture of a cute boy!
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
TWD: Berry Crisps
I'm doing this on my commute so I will post photos and links later. But this was a delicious fruit crisp! It had a great balance of fruit, sugar and topping. We only had a few apples so I used two large rather than four medium. More apples would have filled up the pan nicely but it's just for our little family this week. I used fresh cranberries, the first of the season in fact. It turned out to be a perfect balance with the sugar, apples, ginger and cinnamon. Nobody in the house likes coconut so I doubled the oats in the topping. I probably pulsed them too long in the food processor but everyone loves it. Oh and it's the perfect spur of the moment dessert. We almost always have the fruit on hand. And after a busy weekend I casually mentioned after an equally long day that I needed to bake. My husband groaned, but could not believe I was done in 20 minutes or so. And he even ate some! If there's any left I'll take photos when I get home.
And now I need to go have some! You can see what the others have been up to here, and learn more about Em who selected this recipe. And I'll leave you with a picture of a cute boy!
And now I need to go have some! You can see what the others have been up to here, and learn more about Em who selected this recipe. And I'll leave you with a picture of a cute boy!
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
TWD: Sugar-Topped Molasses Spice Cookies
Awesomeness! I was surprised because of containing a fair amount of ginger, and being quite
spicy the whole family loved them.
Like another TWD Blogger said, "they're like Thanksgiving in a bowl" and I agree with cinnamon, allspice, ginger and molasses. Much to the kids' disappointment we baked up a sheet and rolled the rest into balls:
and bagged them up to be baked for a gift, or for a special guest, to make the house smell good, or just to eat!
Plus, now I feel like I have a tiny headstart on the holiday season by having these gems in the freezer. I added a little bit of shortening, since several bakers talked about the batter spreading, and that tends to really happen at high altitude. My mother-in-law taught me that trick, and she probably learned it from growing up in Lake Tahoe. Thanks for stopping by and happy baking!
spicy the whole family loved them.
Like another TWD Blogger said, "they're like Thanksgiving in a bowl" and I agree with cinnamon, allspice, ginger and molasses. Much to the kids' disappointment we baked up a sheet and rolled the rest into balls:
and bagged them up to be baked for a gift, or for a special guest, to make the house smell good, or just to eat!
Plus, now I feel like I have a tiny headstart on the holiday season by having these gems in the freezer. I added a little bit of shortening, since several bakers talked about the batter spreading, and that tends to really happen at high altitude. My mother-in-law taught me that trick, and she probably learned it from growing up in Lake Tahoe. Thanks for stopping by and happy baking!
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
TWD: Chocolate Caramel Chestnut Cake
I've started a blogging and baking group, called Tuesdays With Dorie. Each week we bake something from "Baking from My Home to Yours" by Dorie Greenspan. It's a gorgeous cookbook, and while I've been following but not baking along with this group for som etime, have been drooling over some of the things they bake. So, an opportunity opened and I'm in!
Unfortunately, not knowing that we can switch up the order of the recipes during November, I baked what is in my opinion one of the most difficult cakes. I would have saved this one for Thanksgiving week, or another special occasion.
Anyway, the recipe was pretty much a fail. I used hazelnut spread instead of the chestnut spread called for in the recipe and chopped hazelnuts instead of the chestnuts I could not find in my grocery store. The cake turned out fine, and tastes like a slightly nutty chocolate cake. I fell in love with the chocolate caramel ganache used for the filling, but would not have added so much butter in the final step. It is very thick in the cake, almost like a candybar in the middle. The last step is the glaze, and this really didn't work for me. It's basic components are cream, sugar and chocolate. The recipe said it was supposed to thicken to a spreading consistency at room temperature and it never did. So, I put it in the fridge and it still didn't thicken enough. When I attempted to glaze the cake, it ran off, leaving a very thin layer on the cake.
We've eaten some of it, but because the glaze did not thicken enough to cover the ganache the cake really doesn't look good enough to share. To say I'm disappointed is an understatement, as this is the first week of something I was looking so forward to. The other recipes for November look fallish and yummy, so next week will be a fresh start-stay tuned!
Stop by here to see what the others have baked up, or to read more about TWD!
Unfortunately, not knowing that we can switch up the order of the recipes during November, I baked what is in my opinion one of the most difficult cakes. I would have saved this one for Thanksgiving week, or another special occasion.
Anyway, the recipe was pretty much a fail. I used hazelnut spread instead of the chestnut spread called for in the recipe and chopped hazelnuts instead of the chestnuts I could not find in my grocery store. The cake turned out fine, and tastes like a slightly nutty chocolate cake. I fell in love with the chocolate caramel ganache used for the filling, but would not have added so much butter in the final step. It is very thick in the cake, almost like a candybar in the middle. The last step is the glaze, and this really didn't work for me. It's basic components are cream, sugar and chocolate. The recipe said it was supposed to thicken to a spreading consistency at room temperature and it never did. So, I put it in the fridge and it still didn't thicken enough. When I attempted to glaze the cake, it ran off, leaving a very thin layer on the cake.
We've eaten some of it, but because the glaze did not thicken enough to cover the ganache the cake really doesn't look good enough to share. To say I'm disappointed is an understatement, as this is the first week of something I was looking so forward to. The other recipes for November look fallish and yummy, so next week will be a fresh start-stay tuned!
Stop by here to see what the others have baked up, or to read more about TWD!
Sunday, October 18, 2009
Math
Conner: Mom, what does a 9 and a 10 make?
Me: 910. (we've been working on reading numbers)
Conner: No it's not, it's 19!
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry
Me: 910. (we've been working on reading numbers)
Conner: No it's not, it's 19!
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry
Sunday, October 11, 2009
Chatter
Conner: "How many sleeps until school?"
Me: "Two. I'm glad you like school so much."
Conner:"Yeah that's because of recess."
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry
Me: "Two. I'm glad you like school so much."
Conner:"Yeah that's because of recess."
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry
Saturday, October 10, 2009
First Snow!
SSWC09 Durango, CO
That's Single Speed World Championships which Rob raced in September.
I raced, hiked, had some beer, ate bacon, and then fell down, got stitches and drove home the next day. Bacon? Sure. After the 3rd or 4th beer station, there was a guy who had a giant pan full of bacon. If you wanted bacon, you were encouraged to drink a shot of Jack Daniels. Luckily, I was able to get away from him without the whiskey, but I did have a few pieces of meat. The story is best told in photos
The one and only DeJay Birtch. 2007 NUE National Single Speed Champion. Somewhere there is an interview of me conducted by DeJay which kind of scares me. Notice the camera on his helmet.
While talking with Birtch we were spotted by the NUE 2008 Single Speed National Champion John "Fuzzy" Mylne. I met him in Tahoe last year, and had a few PBR's with him. (yes, I do idolize both of these guys, but not as much when they are dressed like this.)
The first real hike-a-bike of the race. It looked like this for awhile.
Nothing fancy here, BUT you have to see the riders/hikers accending to the top of the ridge. See em'?
After making it to the top of the ridge, we encountered the 3rd? beer station. No roads anywhere near here, so I don't know how the keg made it up there.
My favorite shot. If you LOOK real close, you will see the train of riders coming up the ridge. Look in the middle of the photo. I was killing it seeing that all these folks were behind me!
On top of the ridge looking west toward the town. The lake you see is actually on top of a plateau, and main street is near the base of the "haystack" looking mountain you see in the distance. The lake is approximately 1000' higher than the town. (according to some locals)
Hope you enjoyed.
Fyi- Fuzzy and DeJay are the type of riders who get paid good money to ride bikes, that is their job. Some of the most interesting riders I have ever met. Here is more info you want it.
http://www.ninerbikes.com/fly.aspx?layout=team&taxid=247
I raced, hiked, had some beer, ate bacon, and then fell down, got stitches and drove home the next day. Bacon? Sure. After the 3rd or 4th beer station, there was a guy who had a giant pan full of bacon. If you wanted bacon, you were encouraged to drink a shot of Jack Daniels. Luckily, I was able to get away from him without the whiskey, but I did have a few pieces of meat. The story is best told in photos
The one and only DeJay Birtch. 2007 NUE National Single Speed Champion. Somewhere there is an interview of me conducted by DeJay which kind of scares me. Notice the camera on his helmet.
While talking with Birtch we were spotted by the NUE 2008 Single Speed National Champion John "Fuzzy" Mylne. I met him in Tahoe last year, and had a few PBR's with him. (yes, I do idolize both of these guys, but not as much when they are dressed like this.)
The first real hike-a-bike of the race. It looked like this for awhile.
Nothing fancy here, BUT you have to see the riders/hikers accending to the top of the ridge. See em'?
After making it to the top of the ridge, we encountered the 3rd? beer station. No roads anywhere near here, so I don't know how the keg made it up there.
My favorite shot. If you LOOK real close, you will see the train of riders coming up the ridge. Look in the middle of the photo. I was killing it seeing that all these folks were behind me!
On top of the ridge looking west toward the town. The lake you see is actually on top of a plateau, and main street is near the base of the "haystack" looking mountain you see in the distance. The lake is approximately 1000' higher than the town. (according to some locals)
Hope you enjoyed.
Fyi- Fuzzy and DeJay are the type of riders who get paid good money to ride bikes, that is their job. Some of the most interesting riders I have ever met. Here is more info you want it.
http://www.ninerbikes.com/fly.
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