September 2011 Daring Baker Challenge = FRESH, FLUFFY, FRENCH

I was so thrilled when the challenge this month was Croissants, As they are on my baking bucket list (see for yourself). So I finally had an excuse to make them. Although, it would've been easier in a cold-weather spell.... Can't wait to try this again in the winter, now that I have done it once, I can learn from my mistakes. Not that there were many mistakes, They tasted AMAZING.

Thanks for the great Challenge Sarah!

Blog-checking lines: The Daring Bakers go retro this month! Thanks to one of our very talented non-blogging members, Sarah, the Daring Bakers were challenged to make Croissants using a recipe from the Queen of French Cooking, none other than Julia Child!



In the recipe notes, Sarah included a link to a Julia Child video on YouTube, which was VERY helpful, and pretty entertaining. I had just watched Julie and Julia a few days before I got this challenge also! Great Timing.



As Usual, I'm going to send you to the Daring Kitchen website to find the pdf file of this months challenge. Sarah included a ton of step by step photo's that were very helpful.




My Croissants didn't last long at all. We ended up eating half of them right after they were done baking, and then the rest for breakfast the next morning. I can't wait to make these again! Again, Thanks Sarah for giving me a reason to finally make Croissants!

Adventures in Canning - STRAWBERRY JAM - (first and second attempts)

My Actual First Attempt at Canning, resulted in Strawberry sauce rather than jam. It was delicious, but I had a few issues with it:

1. More Sugar than fruit. I know the pectin needs the sugar to set up, but REALLY... The recipe called for 2 1/2 cups of crushed strawberries, and 3 1/2 cups of Sugar. All you could taste was strawberry flavoured sugar.
2. That was really my only problem with it. I should have bought more jars than the 4 that came with the caning kit, but that is totally my mistake.

So from my first attempt, I learned a lot, and got a pretty yummy strawberry sauce (that was incredible on ice cream)




While I was home, my mom and I attempted making Strawberry Jam for a 2nd time:




The 2nd Attempt was sooooo much better. We used the no sugar needed Pectin, Which calls for 1 cup of unsweetened Apple Juice. To keep on the home-made theme, We pulled out my mom's pain-in-the-ass-to-clean Juicer and used Fresh Apple juice straight from the source in our jam, as well as one grated apple to up the pectin content in the jam.

This time, it was actually jam!!!! and omg it is delicious. I don't know if I will buy jam at a store ever again.

The Farmers market is about to start up here again, There is finally no snow (although it has rained for a week straight), and the grass seemed to turn green over night, the trees have leaves and I can finally put my tomato plants outside. I planted Zucchini in the ground, and My Rhubarb plant has already taken over the flower bed. The break from Winter is finally here!!!
And the Miracle of No Snow on May Long weekend happened... I can't really remember a May Long where it didn't snow, so it really is a miracle...

Also, I found some Raw cashews, so in the next few days, I'm going to try this recipe from Joy the Baker

Enjoy the sunshine/break in the rain if you can, before we know it, it will be winter again. Soak it up while its here

May 2011 - Daring Baker Challenge - MARQUISE ON MERINGUE

May has been a CRAZY month. CRAZY! It is basically the start of horse shows for the summer. Guess what my job is? Getting everything ready to go to the horse show... And we take everything but the kitchen sink. Once everything is set up, all the curtains are hung and the coffee pot is plugged in and working... It Looks REALLY good - So all my hours of packing and organizing aren't totally wasted. Plus, I get to play real life Tetris - Fitting all the set up stuff into horse trailers - and still having room for the horses.

When I first got this months challenge, I was a little intimidated... It called for 11 egg yolks and 2 whole eggs... And we are only 2 people! But It also gave me a change to go and buy some rum, which I would usually be too cheap to buy and go for the wine that is on sale for $5.99... Major Dilemma... Although, Obviously since I'm writing this post, the Alcoholic in my won out, and I bought a bottle of rum AND the wine that was on sale...

I'll let you get the recipe from the Daring Kitchen site, you can check everyone's amazing ideas out there too. Mine did not go so smoothly, But I got some OK pictures. (My camera seems to be back on board with focusing again!)

Blog-checking lines: The May 2011 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Emma of CookCraftGrow and Jenny of Purple House Dirt. They chose to challenge everyone to make a Chocolate Marquise. The inspiration for this recipe comes from a dessert they prepared at a restaurant in Seattle.

Things I changed:

• I used Rum instead of Tequila (I bought the mickey instead of the expensive big bottle)
  
• I made hazelnuts with tails instead of spiced nuts (inspired by Bourbonnatrix)
• I burnt my caramel sauce, so just subbed in Chocolate sauce I had in the cupboard... Although, I also burnt my sugar syrup for the hazelnuts with tails too
• I didn't search the city for Dutch Processed Cocoa Powder, so I just didn't dust my Marquise with it. I'm a rebel like that.
  

I'm not in love with this dessert, just because of the huge egg content and It was really complicated to make and get it right (which i didn't really do anyway). But It was yummy and I'm glad I tried it. I can definitely see it as a restaurant dessert instead of a homemade one. The boyfriend doesn't like meringue so I got to finish his (since it is one of my favourite childhood treats) and He finished my Marquise. It was a little too rich for me.

I am going to hold onto the caramel and spiced nut recipes, because I do want to attempt them again sometime in the future. After seeing Bourbonnatrix's plated dessert in the Forums, I HAD to try to make her tailed hazelnuts instead of the spiced nuts. It is something I have NEVER done, and have never seen before, So I wanted to challenge myself with that.
I only made 2 big meringues for our dessert. With the rest I made myself some meringue cookies like I always harass my mom to make for me. I don't have a blow torch like the recipe said to use, So I used the Broiler. I would've used Boyfriend's blow torch out of the garage, but he took it with him to work, So I didn't get to play with fire.


Here are my hazelnuts growing tails. To make these, make a sugar syrup (don't ask me, I burnt mine, so google it, You'll probably find someone who didn't burn their sugar syrup). Stick a toothpick or a skewer into the nut, swirl it around in the syrup and then stick the end of the skewer under something heavy and let gravity get to work. Make sure you cover under where you are hanging your nuts to dry (hehehehe) Because you get this: (ignore the mess on my counter, I didn't have time/energy to clean up)

This challenge isn't so much a "Baking" challenge. Apart from my meringue I didn't use the oven. I (well, my stand mixer) whisked egg Yolks into submission (and egg whites and whipped cream)

I put it all together, and my Freezer Froze it... see:
Also, I may have whipped my cream (that sounds dirty somehow) too much, So it was kind of lumpy in my Marquise, which was kind of a happy accident. We actually ate it while it was still frozen- instead of thawing it like instructed, and it tasted a lot like Ice Cream.



I tried cutting a pretty square cube out of my frozen Marquise, but it just wasn't happening. I kind of salvaged it into an Octagon thing (see above). So for the 2nd plate I grabbed my large biscuit cutter and made a circle one (much easier!)
Since I burnt my caramel sauce, I just subbed in the chocolate fudge sauce. On the blue plate, I attempted to draw hearts, but they just ran together and made a big chocolate puddle. So with the white plate, I just dropped the sauce randomly over the whole thing.




I definitely learned a lot of new skills with this challenge, Thanks Emma and Jenny, and all the other Daring Bakers for the inspiration. Can't wait for the June Challenge.

(these are the meringue kisses I made with the left-over meringue I had... SOOOOOO yummy!)

I'm back.... I took Ava home to meet/visit my parents/grandparents/Horses... And my mom and I made many yummy things, which I will try and post later this week... (sorry, no recipes today)

While visiting my grandparents, My grandpa tried to trade their dog for Ava, until I told him that she isn't really house trained yet, and she leaves big puddles everywhere... My grandma gave me my birthday card (read:money), and I got her to give me her dill pickle and anti-pasto recipes... and ended up with a whole cookbook, because she said she never uses it anymore.

The Dill pickle and anti-pasto recipes are the key to the story.... Because this year, I want to learn to can.
When I was little, during the day, a few days a week, I used to go to my grandma's house while my Mom was at work. and we used to do cool things, like work in the garden, or make yard dolls, or learn to knit/crochet, and watch the Golden Girls. My grandparents used to have this really awesome garden too, and I would help pick weeds or pick the vegetables... or sneak away to the raspberries and eat a bunch before I got caught. And I remember getting to help pick the cucumbers for making pickles. I never got to really help can, In fact, i don't think she even let me near the kitchen when she was canning... I'm kind of clumsy and don't mix well with boiling water i guess...
BUT I got to put the dill in the jars, and I remember the smell of the fresh dill and garlic, and then getting to bite into the crunchy pickles after they were all done and canned.

So this year, I am learning to can

And while on my hunt for coconut oil a few days ago, I saw a home canning kit for only $20... For Serious... only $20... to buy all the stuff individually would be at least $50
So guess what I'm going to do one day really soon...

Make Jam

...you thought I was going to say pickles didn't you? And I would, but, the home canning kit came with 4 tenny jam-sized jars, and since I don't really know what im doing, then I figure I should start somewhere easy.... with Jam

Look at my early birthday present: It's so pretty! Thanks Grandma!!! (and I even have enough birthday money left over to put some gas in my car!)



Recipes you have to look forward to in the near future:

• Black Forest Cake (checked it off the bucket list finally!)
• Meringue kisses (convinced my mommy to make them for me)
• My Daring Baker Challenge (will post it on April 27th... Its not that awe inspiring though)
• And I'll think of some more for you

Take care!! and Enjoy the nice weather if you got it... I think we have snow in the forecast again this week... Or as I'm beginning to call it: Canadian Rain... the kind of snow that almost melts right away, but still sucks because its snow'


ALSO: I tried a grapefruit curd version... and the lemon lime one is much better!!

Coconut Bread

Until I found this recipe on Sweet Savory Planet, I had never heard of Coconut Oil... But I knew I had to try this bread, so I went on a search, a hunt... A quest is probably more accurate to be honest.
After checking at 3 different stores, I finally found it in the 3rd one. I really didn't want to have to go to a health food store, Because I have a really long list of things I want and not a lot of money for them, and not a lot of will power against my own will sometimes. Luckily Superstore had it in their health food/organic/save-the-earth section. I kind of had to dig to find it, but I found it...

It is weird stuff. Really hard... REALLY REALLY hard, and you have to melt it to use it, so it adds an extra step, But It adds a whole different level of flavor too. I did a little google-ing and found this site... If you want more info, just do some google-ing of your own... TONS of links pop up.

(in the picture below, you can see Wilson's head. He was catching some sun comming through the windows... and trying to get me to drop something on the floor that he could snatch up)

Coconut Bread
(adapted from Sweet Savory Planet)

1 cup sweetened coconut (grated, shredded, flakes, whatever works for you, I used shredded)
2 cups All Purpose Flour (I took out about 2-3 TBSP of the flour and added in some Milled Flax seed)
1/2 cup white granulated sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 TBSP baking Powder
1/4 cup Virgin Coconut Oil (melted, so it is liquid and not rock-solid)
1 cup unsweetened coconut milk
1 egg
1 tsp. Vanilla

Preheat Oven to 350 F
Prepare the loaf pan by greasing the pan and the flouring (pay close attention to the corners)
sprinkle a little coconut on the bottom of the loaf pan.
Mix the coconut, flour, sugars, and baking powder in one large bowl
In another bowl, add in the coconut oil, coconut milk, egg, and vanilla and mix together well.
Add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix until just blended.
Pour into the prepared loaf pan
Bake at 350 for about an hour until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.



Cool in the loaf pan for about 10 minutes, and then transfer to a wire rack to continue cooling.



You can toast the coconut also, But I prefer the un-toasted.

This bread is amazing with the Lemon-Lime Curd used as a spread on top... Laura at Sweet Savory Planet is a genius!!!!



I will definitely be trying the coconut oil in other baked goodies now... and Same with the coconut milk. Its a whole different layer of flavour, and I can't wait to use it in baking again. Every time I've used Coconut milk, it has been for something Savory, like Marinating shrimp skewers (BTW, I'll post some really yummy BBQ recipes in the summer, when there isn't 4 feet of snow on the ground)

January 2011 Daring Baker Challenge (FINALLY) -Biscuit Joconde Imprime/Entremet

After my Wisdom Tooth surgery... extraction of all 4, which were all severely impacted, I never expected to feel as crappy as I did, and for as long as I did... I actually still cannot open my jaw. I expected to be out of it for a few days, and then weak for about a week.... NOT out of it for nearly 2 weeks, and weak for who knows how long yet.
Since I am still off of work because of the teeth, I took advantage of being able to go home and visit my parents while my mom had a day off... And she was going to help me complete my February challenge, while I have the time to do it, before work gets crazy (because of making up for all the days i was off for the surgery). While I was waiting for her to wake up, I made my January challenge, for a few reasons: a)i really wanted to try the technique and i was bummed when i wasn't going to be able to do it on time, b)she had all the ingredients I needed, c)i had the time to do it
and so here it goes:

The January 2011 Daring Baker's Challenge was hosted by Astheroshe of the blog accro. She chose to challenge everyone to make a Biscuit Joconde Imprime to wrap around an Entrements dessert

Now, I know what you're thinking... "A WHAT?" And i honestly can't help you pronounce anything French... Basically, its a pretty sponge cake that you can wrap around another "cake" the "entremets" which is usually made of layers... the dessert should be free-standing, so the layers should be able to hold themselves up like mouses and gelee's and what have you.
My original plan (pre-surgery), was to make my "entremet" (inside cake) of Banoffee pie kind of style. However, my mom didn't have the essential ingredient condensed milk, so i had to figure out something different. We ended up filling it with a thick Vanilla pudding... but it wasn't so freestanding, and I would defiantly not recommend using pudding... I should have stuck to my idea of making chocolate mouse with the egg yolks i had left over from the sponge/paste layer.
I don't have any pictures of it cut, I saved it in the fridge for my parents to have on their anniversary tomorrow. Still unsure of how the pudding will work out.

My mom and I were surprised at exactly how easy this was to make, and we will defiantly be trying this again.


So, here are my pictures and the short description of what i did/what i learned. You can find the recipe on the Daring Kitchen website... defiantly download the pdf file if you can, It had amazing resources and helpful hints in there.
I chose to make the chocolate paste for 2 reasons... a)my mom didn't have any food colouring, but she had cocoa, and b)because it seemed like the easiest option... and Easy is always a good option when you don't really have any idea what you are making.

I drew the path through the paste with my fingers... next time i will probably use a pastry comb (if i can find one), or something that will make smaller squiggles than my fingers.
I made the sponge recipe first, just because that was the order they were in on the pdf file, and it was nerve racking... It didn't look right until the very end. I'm very glad that I stuck to my gut, and followed the directions as closely as possible... OH, 2 more things... We didn't have room in the freezer for the paste with my finger squiggles in it, so I just went outside (its January, i live in a giant freezer) and put it in my car for 20 minutes. AND I cut the paste recipe in half... and i still have more than enough.. But made the full sponge recipe, and it just barely covered. It worked out quite well to be honest.

Above is the sponge batter on top of my finger squiggles... Just before baking. and Below is after (and flipped over to show the pattern that became of said finger squiggles. I didn't have any trouble with the edges burning like a few people seemed to have on the forums. In fact, it turned out nearly perfect. AT least because i think i was expecting complete doom.


And then here is my finished pudding cake... We ended up tying a ribbon around it to try and get it to hold together at the seams, and I'm pretty sure it worked, I haven't asked my mom yet if there is vanilla pudding all over her fridge yet though.

Here is my finished product:

Again, I learned a TON from this challenge, and both me, and my mom will be making this again. It is much easier than it seems... even if i still can't pronounce it.