Thursday, June 10, 2010
27 Candles
Thanks for the birthday wishes Finn,
I, too, hope we can get together soon. I would also appreciate some candy if you are able to catch a ferry boat in my direction. Although, you're looking pretty eastside in those shades...Everything alright? Are you making a bid for a 'new' kind of attention now that Coby's on the scene? I gotta tell you, I've been there...cute younger sister...time to go covert.
When the brownie buzz wears off, and you're in the mood for something really crazy, try this cake on for size. Atley dug it. Even if his dad did fork into half his piece. (That, he was not too pleased about).
The Recipe is from Perfect Baking, by Flo Braker (I bet she frequently laments that first 'r' in Braker)
Auntie Sach's 27th Birthday Cake
For the Sponge:
1 cup flour
7 Tbsp sugar PLUS (Flo's emphasis) 7 Tbsp sugar PLUS 1 Tbsp sugar
7 large eggs, room temp
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp cream of tarter
Position rack in lower third of oven and preheat to 300 degrees.
Get out a 9 (or 10 or 12--although decrease baking time slightly) springform pan. DO NOT grease the pan.
Sift together flour and 7 Tbsp sugar
Separate the eggs.
With a hand mixer, whip the yolks on high speed for 3 to 5 min. Add vanilla and whip another 15 seconds. Should be thick, pale yellow, and have increased in volume.
Whip the egg whites (Make sure your beater is absolutely clean) for 40 seconds (ish). Sprinkle on the cream of tarter and 1 Tbsp sugar. Whip again at medium speed for 5 min, or until the whites appear glossy and stiff, but not dry.
Add the yolks and fold in with a spatula.
Sprinkle on half of the remaining 7 Tbsp sugar and fold with a spatula to incorporate. Add the rest of the remaining sugar and fold again.
Add the flour/sugar mixture in thirds, folding after each addition.
Bake for 55 to 60 min, or until the top is golden.
Invert the pan on a wire rack to cool--so the cake is upside down. (Make sure the cake pan is resting on the rack, not the cake itself). Let cool for 2 hrs.
Cool another hour, right side up, on the counter.
Remove from the pan by sliding a thin metal spatula or knife around the perimeter of the pan to loosen the cake. I also had to slide my knife beneath the metal bottom, after removing the springform sides, to loosen off the bottom.
Cream Filling
Whip 2 cups heavy cream with 1/4 tsp vanilla and 1 Tbsp sugar (more if you like it sweeter).
Melt 2 ounces chocolate. Put the chocolate in a bowl and add 1/2 a Tbsp water. Stir to a smooth paste. Add half of the whipped cream and stir with a spatula.
You know have both chocolate whipping cream and vanilla whipping cream to fill you cake.
Ganache
Heat 1/2 a cup whipping cream until it just starts to bubble. Remove from heat and pour over 4 ounces of chopped dark chocolate. Let cool and then use to spread.
I cut the cake into three layers, filled it, then topped it with ganache.
Over the top, I know, but heck, Finn, I was like, whatever.
Peace Out,
Auntie S.
Thursday, June 3, 2010
Birthday Brownies
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
Buckwheat Waffles
Rach-
Finn is a little put out with you right now - he fully expects you to hop on the ferry on Thursday morning and pop over to Chilliwack for your birthday celebration. He was quite disconcerted to find out that the only participation he will have in your special day is card-making and well wishing. His almost-3-year-old egocentricity is in full-swing.
I still have a bag of buckwheat flour, just waiting to try your buckwheat bread recipe. In the meantime, I made buckwheat waffles. They turned out amazing, the best whole grain waffle I've made. I followed this recipe. My only changes (I couldn't resist a little tinkering) were to swap maple syrup with the sugar and to use whole wheat pastry flour in place of the all purpose. I doubled the recipe and served them with a raspberry sauce and more maple syrup. Yum.
My exciting find while making this recipe was a whim I had to use my hand-held immersion blender to beat the egg whites. My trusty soup puree-er and baby-food mashing side-kick came into use again. Inspired with this discovery, I successfully whipped up a cup of whipping cream later on in the day. One more piece in my lazy cook arsenal.
OK Rach, Have a great day on Thursday. Your card may make it to you next week, it might be a record. Might.
Friday, May 28, 2010
Chicken Tortilla Soup
I have a bowl of flour and yeast sitting in my pantry waiting to be sourdough starter - Thanks for the post, I have been wanting to try sourdough for awhile but needed a push. Mike loves anything sourdough - I have to confess that I'm on the fence, but am hoping to be won over by a homemade product.
The rainy weather had me craving soup this week. Grey skies, combined with a bag of 5 avacados, and the cilantro growing like a weed in my little garden, pointed me in a Tex-Mex direction. This soup recipe is a template - it's very versatile and can be tailored for one's pantry. This was last night's version:
In a soup pot with maybe a tsp of canola oil I sauteed 1 roughly diced onion, 2 cloves garlic, and the tip of a jalapeno (optional). I also threw in half a sliced tomato (leftover) and 2 other roughly chopped tomatoes. I added in one large chicken breast. I stirred the vegetables and flipped the chicken breast once to brown.
Then I added approximately 2 litres of chicken stock (I use msg and salt-free powdered chicken soup base because it's easy to have in my cupboard - this chicken would taste great with homemade stock).
Seasoning (you could substitute taco seasoning instead of the following):
I added 1/2 tsp cumin, 1 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp ground pepper, and about 1/8 tsp of ground chipotle pepper (1 tsp ground chili pepper would work instead).
Oh, and I had about 1 cup of leftover tomato sauce so I added that too. I let this whole mixture simmer for about 45 minutes.
I then removed the chicken and shredded it. I used my hand-held blender to puree the vegetables (again, I do this because Mike hates any texture, you could chop the veggies finely and skip this). I seasoned the soup with more salt and pepper to taste, added a shot of garlic powder to boost the garlic flavour, and added the chicken, 2 cups of corn and 2 cups of cooked black beans.
To serve: This is the fun part, everyone can add their own topping according to preference. I even leave out the beans sometimes and let people add their own.
Toppings we like:
- cilantro (you love it or hate it. I love it!)
- shredded cheese
- sour cream
- tortilla or corn chips - I cut up strips of tortillas, brush with oil and broil them for a few minutes
- sliced avacados- my favourite
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
100% Whole Wheat Sourdough Bread
I have been a negligent sister of late, which is why I’m giving you a particularly juicy post. Don’t expect a lot of words, here. It’s 8:11 on my kitchen clock. It’s been some time since we’ve lived together but you might remember that I’m not exactly a barrel of sunshine in the wee hours. And when one starts one’s work day at 10:00 at the earliest, that makes 8:00 the equivalent of 6:00. So instead of feeling guilty for sitting here in a tattered green robe with no inclination of brushing my hair for at least another hour, I’m pleased by ---kettle boiling---my early rise and this industrious start to the day. Oh, and there’s Caleb, doing a monkey dance in purple underwear. This is my world.
1 and 3/4 cups flour
1 cup warm water
¼ tsp active dry yeast
½ cup water
¼ cup flour
Cover and refrigerate for three more days.
Bread:
Preferment:
½ your starter
½ cup water
1 cup flour
Combine these ingredients. Let the preferment sit at room temperature from 8 to 12 hours. It should be bubbly and have risen noticeably.
5 cups whole wheat flour
3 tsp salt
3 Tbsp honey
3 Tbsp olive oil
2 cups water (you may need to add an extra ¼ cup water if dough is too stiff)
Monday, May 24, 2010
Mojito Monday
Rach-
How was your long weekend?
Mine was great.
Mike and I capped it off with a pitcher of Mojitos ala Bryan. I added some raspberries to my glass, just because I'm like that.
Oh, and the mint leaves? They're growing in a pot on my sundeck. So yes, the Campbell deck is officially open for good times 2010.
Thursday, May 20, 2010
1) 2 sleeping babes
2) 1 cup of tea
3) 1 homemade date square
3) 6 chapters into my latest library hold arrival - The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo (the first chapters are awesome if you are into who-dunnits)
OK, I can't waste anymore precious, precious 'nap' time.