tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-63505891238382696082024-03-13T00:45:33.866-04:00court st. kitchenlearning to eat and cook again with celiac diseaseJenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06324102317426906660noreply@blogger.comBlogger25125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6350589123838269608.post-18309558541669395612013-10-25T09:56:00.001-04:002013-10-25T13:32:57.725-04:00Recipe Review: King Arthur's Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Cookies<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I've been putting off doing some true, from-scratch, gluten free baking for a while now. I've been baking for a long time and I have always loved it but this entire world of gluten free baking scares me. Have you seen some of the ingredients? Therefore, I've mostly only baked from mixes up to this point. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As I've mentioned in past posts, among other things, I've made some brownie and cake mixes with mixed results. I've used <a href="http://courtstkitchen.blogspot.com/2013/09/spummy.html" target="_blank">gluten free Bisquick</a> with very mixed results. And, more recently, have played around with Pamela's flour blends and mixes with better results. The <a href="http://courtstkitchen.blogspot.com/2013/09/pamela.html" target="_blank">Pamela's baking</a> has been as close to from-scratch baking as I've gotten up until now.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Enter <a href="http://www.kingarthurflour.com/shop/items/gluten-free-multi-purpose-flour" target="_blank">King Arthur's Gluten Free All Purpose Flour</a>. I bought a box of this shortly after I was diagnosed, way back in June. I used it recently in my <a href="http://courtstkitchen.blogspot.com/2013/10/gluten-free-homemade-mac-cheese.html" target="_blank">mac & cheese</a> but I've really been wanting to get into some of that baking I miss. Ya know, the "throw a couple sticks of butter on the counter to soften and make sure you have enough eggs and brown sugar" kind of baking. At least that's how it goes in my house as I'm always running out of brown sugar and eggs. Why hadn't I dug right into this box of flour? What was I afraid of? King Arthur ruled my baking world prior to my diagnosis. Their catalog comes to my mailbox. I've been to their store a couple times. I only bought King Arthur brand flour. I always referenced their website and cookbooks for recipes. Why did I think they would not come through in my new, gluten free world?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Well, I decided it was time to find out if the King would continue to rule. I knew the <a href="http://www.kingarthurflour.com/shop/items/gluten-free-brownie-mix" target="_blank">brownie mix</a> was amazing. Like, "is this really gluten free?" amazing. Would the <a href="http://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/gluten-free-chocolate-chip-cookies-recipe" target="_blank">chocolate chip cookie recipe</a> be as amazing?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">For the most part, yes. It's pretty darn good. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I read through the recipe and also, the reviews. King Arthur's site is great as they have their staff respond to some of the negative reviews. Usually it's with offers of troubleshooting via their 1-800 number but sometimes they reply with troubleshooting tips right there on the review and that, to me, is invaluable advice. Especially to a new baker or to like me, a new-to-gluten-free baking-baker.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In reading the reviews, I learned that a couple reviewers were having issues with an ever present problem with gluten free baked goods, grittiness. What I loved was one of the descriptions of the residue that the cookies left in your mouth that was described as "microsand". Yes, gluten free food is so much fun to eat and describe. The King Arthur staff left some feedback about the xanthan gum and I had an "a-ha" moment. They're not only one of my favorite 80's band, a-ha moments are very helpful in gluten free baking too. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The directions for these cookies instruct that you refrigerate them for at least an hour or up to 2 days. I get it, I can do that. However, I can see why some may be tempted to skip that step, we want cookies NOW. This does seem to be an integral part of keeping the cookies as grit-free as can be, as I learned from the staffer who commented on the review. I do love to know the reasons as to why I'm doing things and while I understand you can't explain EVERY single step in a recipe, things like this would be good to know. The staffer explained to the reviewer that refrigerating the dough helps to hydrate and activate the xanthan gum, reducing it's grittiness. A-ha. I don't know a lot about xanthan gum and I have a feeling I don't want to know about it. I will investigate that another day. But, now I know the longer I refrigerate the dough, the more I may reduce it's tendency to be gritty. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The cookies were very typical to throw together. You beat the butter with the sugar, add the dry ingredients, add your chips. You have cookie dough. You refrigerate. You bake. You have cookies. The only two things I changed were that I used dark brown sugar and I added about 1/3 cup more of extra chocolate chips since I skipped the nuts. The light brown sugar I had was possibly cross contaminated since my husband had made apple crisp and I don't know if he double dipped with the flour measuring cup he used. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I always have a rule when I bake cookies. You must taste them at every stage of warmth, right out of the oven and right through to room temperature. Here's how it went.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Out of the oven-</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">You could taste a bit of "microsand". Although, I would liken it more to a wheat germ texture. It almost tasted like a sneaky mom threw some wheat germ into the cookie dough to make this treat just a wee bit more healthy for her youngins. The cookies were good though. Very Toll House-ish. Homemade goodness was there, for sure.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Still warm-</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The cookies continued to taste like mom was being sneaky with the wheat germ but now the cookie was firming up and it was really tasting so good. Woo-hoo. Baking from scratch can happen in a gluten free world and taste good. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Room temp-</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I'm definitely making these again and King Arthur is going to at least rule my gluten free chocolate chip cookie world. Wheat germ texture is minimized as it's cooled but still there towards the end of the cookie. The butter flavor is wonderful, it really shines through. I'm not sure these would completely fool anyone who isn't gluten free because of that bit of a wheat germ texture. In every other way they are the real deal though. Soft, chewy, chocolate chippy...so very good! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Making this recipe has given me hope. Every time I play in my new gluten free world and have a little success, I have hope. My world certainly didn't end when I got my diagnosis, not even close. However, for those who know me, they know how very much I loved my world of all things baking. Celiac disease felt like a pretty cruel diagnosis for someone who loved to play with flour as much as I did. I truly enjoyed baking and to know that my hobby was wrecking my insides kind of blows my mind at times. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">However, I am learning that I can still bake. This little experiment here is proof. It's certainly not the best chocolate chip cookie I've ever had and I'm definitely limited to what I can do with my mixer (that I bought at King Arthur, by the way) but time will certainly help me to develop my abilities just as it did with wheat flour baking. It took years for me to learn the basics there so that I could venture off on my own and get creative. I just have to be patient and learn all over again, one basic recipe at a time. One down, many more to go!</span></div>
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Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06324102317426906660noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6350589123838269608.post-19084551640886240042013-10-10T16:30:00.000-04:002013-10-10T16:30:21.502-04:00Gluten Free Homemade Mac & CheeseI was going to just throw together a post on this quickly last week. I had a photo of this dish that I made a month or so ago and thought it was time to share it. Easy, peasy...write it up and publish it.<br />
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Then, I got a hankering for mac & cheese since I'd been thinking about putting it on the blog. I made it last Friday night with the ingredients I had on hand, which were different than the ingredients that I used in the picture I had, and it turned out so wonderfully better! While it looked the same, it tasted SO much better. I'm so glad I waited to write this.</div>
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When I first started playing around to make my tried and true mac & cheese recipe gluten free, I was using corn pasta and Trader Joe's gluten free all purpose flour. I really like corn pasta, a lot. It's most definitely different than wheat flour pasta but I appreciate it for what it is. Much in the way a chicken burger is different than a beef burger but I really like it for what it is...a chicken burger. </div>
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This combo of corn pasta and Trader Joe's gluten free all purpose flour was good. My son does not appreciate homemade mac & cheese, he'd rather have the stuff in the box, but my husband thought the gluten free version was good. He had no problem eating it at all. I even made it when we had friends over for a cookout. They all ate it, even the kids, and I didn't notice anyone leaving it on their plate uneaten. I had been satisfied with that new variation of my favorite recipe until last Friday night. </div>
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I started poking around in the cupboard to see what kind of pasta I had on hand. I had a lot. Trader Joe's, <a href="http://www.sammills.eu/sammillsusa-en.html" target="_blank">Sam Mills</a> and <a href="http://www.wegmans.com/" target="_blank">Wegmans'</a> corn pasta in various shapes. Gluten Fee <a href="http://www.bionaturae.com/gluten-free-pasta.html" target="_blank">Bionaturae</a> pasta which is made with rice, potato and soy in a couple different shapes. <a href="http://www.tinkyada.com/" target="_blank">Tinkyada</a> brown rice pasta in one shape. The Tinkyada was calling to me. No reason, it just was. The only other time I'd used their product was for lasagna. It was hardly noticeable that it was gluten free. At one point my husband said, "I assume this is gluten free because you are eating it?" Yep. Love it when that happens. It's not like I'm kidding anyone because they know I'm not going to cheat so if I'm eating it, it's clearly gluten free but when it's not obvious, it makes me very happy. </div>
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Onto making the recipe. I used the last of the Trader Joe's gluten free all purpose flour a while ago so I was now into my box of <a href="http://www.kingarthurflour.com/shop/items/gluten-free-multi-purpose-flour" target="_blank">King Arthur gluten free all purpose flour</a>. The box is open with a little bit used. I can't recall what I used it for. There's not much gone at all so it was nothing significant so I'm considering this my first time using it. </div>
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Usually I wouldn't tell you what brands to use in a recipe. I will tell you what I use and why but that's only my suggestion. I suppose the brands in this recipe are my suggestions also but I will have you know that using the Tinkyada pasta and the King Arthur gluten free all purpose flour has made the best version of gluten free homemade mac & cheese that I've made yet. </div>
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The Tinkyada pasta had a really good texture for his dish. It was soft without being mushy. Corn pasta tends to be a bit more chewy, I guess you could say. It's good, don't let that description turn you off to it. The softer texture of the rice pasta just seemed to work better with this recipe. </div>
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The King Arthur gluten free all purpose flour made a much smoother sauce than the Trader Joe's gluten free all purpose flour. King Arthur's website does mention that you can bake without "grittiness" so I'm not sure if they do something special to it to lessen that tendency or if it's the combination of flours and starches that they use. At any rate, whatever it is, there was a noticeable difference in the smoothness of the sauce. </div>
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You can most certainly make this without using gluten free ingredients. This was the first mac & cheese recipe I made and it's still the only one I make. I found it in an old Betty Crocker cookbook from the late 80's. My mom bought it and decided she didn't want it shortly after she purchased it so she gave it to me. It's what I started cooking out of in my late teens. There are a few recipes out of the book that I still go to, this being one of them. The book is a disaster, it's been loved a lot over the years and has all the stains, splatters and splashes on the pages to show for it!</div>
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Gluten Free (or not) Mac & Cheese</div>
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Adapted from an old Betty Crocker Recipe </div>
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6.5 ounces of uncooked, gluten free (or not) pasta (1 to 1-1/2 cups)</div>
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1/4 cup butter</div>
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1/4 cup gluten free (or not) all purpose flour</div>
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1 3/4 cup milk</div>
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8 ounces shredded sharp cheddar cheese</div>
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salt and pepper, to taste</div>
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gluten free (or not) bread crumbs (optional)</div>
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additional shredded cheese (optional)</div>
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Preheat oven to 375 degrees.</div>
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Boil the pasta according to package directions to the al dente stage. The pasta will be baked again later so you don't want it to get too mushy with all that cooking. Drain pasta and set aside. </div>
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Melt butter over medium heat. Once it's melted, add the flour and stir until combined. </div>
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Slowly start to add the milk while whisking it in. If you add it all at once it will be hard to get it all incorporated. Once you have the milk all poured in and combined, stir frequently and bring the mixture to a boil, still over medium heat. Once the mixture is boiling, continue to boil and keep stirring constantly for 1 minute. </div>
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Remove from heat and add the shredded cheese. Stir until cheese is completely melted. Add salt and pepper to your liking. I usually just add a little salt to help bring out the flavor of the cheese. </div>
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Add drained pasta to the cheese sauce and stir to thoroughly combine. Once combined, pour into a baking dish. An 8x8 baking dish works well, as does a medium round casserole dish or a medium oval baking dish. You can now top it with gluten free (or not) bread crumbs and/or additional shredded cheese if you'd like to. </div>
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Bake for 25-30 minutes or until bubbly and the top is golden brown. Or, however well done you like the top of your mac & cheese.</div>
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Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06324102317426906660noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6350589123838269608.post-68854698376306704602013-10-02T11:10:00.000-04:002013-10-02T11:17:09.487-04:00Disappointment<br />
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<a href="http://www.blogger.com/null" name="_GoBack"></a>Generally speaking, I'm a pretty
positive person. I try to be happy. I try to find the silver lining when things
don't go my way. I believe things happen for a reason. Even the bad things.</div>
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However, when I'm anticipating something, I tend to expect
the worst. I just had this conversation with a friend and she understood. When
you expect the worst, you are prepared for when it happens. If it doesn't
happen, then you are pleasantly surprised and it's a good thing.</div>
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And so I start the story of my birthday pecan pie.</div>
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I visited a health food store a few towns over in July, a
month after my diagnosis, and spotted a gluten free pecan pie in the freezer
case shortly after I got there. I found a lot of things there that day. So many
things I was overtaken with emotion at one point. I well up with tears when I
feel I've found that things aren't going to be so bad after all because there
are foods or restaurants out there that will allow me to feel like I can eat
normally. Heck, I broke right down into tears in Wegmans this past weekend in
the pasta aisle when I saw that they had gluten free orzo. Not even the health
food store had that. My son was just asking me not a week or two earlier about an
orzo recipe I used to make and how much he loved it and could I make it? I
could, but not for me. And there it was, I cried. It was building up though as
I was seeing all the other wonderful things they also had, and that broke me.
Orzo...sigh.</div>
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Back to the pie. So, pecan pie is my most favorite pie,
EVER. I didn't buy it that day because I don't just randomly buy pie because I
would most certainly randomly eat the whole thing, all by myself. I did keep
this pie in mind for my birthday that was coming up in a couple months.
Especially since the gluten free cakes I've tried since then have really been
hit or miss.<o:p> </o:p></div>
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As my birthday approached I started to become very excited
about the prospect of having pie. I've been back to following Weight Watchers
so I was most definitely ready to treat myself to something indulgent like pie.
I planned it all out. My birthday was on a Saturday so I would go out to the
health food store on Friday and buy my pie. This way, it would not be tempting
me for too long by being in the house for too many days prior to my birthday.
Yay. I was going to have pie. <o:p> </o:p></div>
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Friday morning arrived. I dropped everyone off to where they
needed to be in the morning. I took my cat for her allergy shot, came home,
grabbed breakfast and then headed out. It was pie-buying day. I was already
doing my "expect the worst" thing though. The whole, "They
probably don't even carry the pies anymore" and "I'm going to drive
all the way out there and they'll be out of them" thing. This is what I'm
thinking all the way there. <o:p> </o:p></div>
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I walk in and make a bee-line to the freezer case. They have
the pies. Woo-hoo. They have many pies. See, now I'm happy because I was
expecting that they'd totally be out and they weren't. I spend a lot of time at
the store and find many great things. My negative thinking worked and I'm
pleasantly surprised by my whole pie buying experience.<o:p></o:p></div>
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This is where all positivity ends. <o:p></o:p></div>
<o:p> </o:p><br />
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I pull out the box to prepare the pie on Saturday, the day
of my birthday. I notice in the ingredients that the crust has been made with
garbanzo bean flour. I try not to panic. I have cookies made with garbanzo bean
flour and they're fantastic, as long as I don't think about it too much. You
see, these little beans kind of freak me out. I have seen that some gluten free
products do use garbanzo bean flour in them but they seem to be few and far
between. Ugh. My lovely pecan pie is encased in....gag....garbanzo
beans....gag, sputter...blech....can't handle it. I get ahold of myself and
again, recall the cookies and tell myself that it's going to be okay. Really,
it is. <o:p></o:p></div>
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I bake the pie according to directions and it's taking way
longer to get warm in the center than the box is saying it should. I have found
that when I bake gluten free that it seems it does always take longer than the
the directions usually say but this is just baking a frozen pie. Who knows? I
keep checking it with my thermometer to make sure the middle is warm enough in
case it's not been pre-cooked since I can't find any indication on the box
about that and there are eggs in it. I'm noticing as it's cooking that it's
kind of goopy and runny.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It doesn't seem
to setting up the way pecan pie should be. I pull it out when it is FINALLY
done and let it cool.<o:p> </o:p></div>
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It's time to cut into it and try it. I turn off what seems
to be a broken record player in my head screaming, "garbanzo beans,
garbanzo beans, garbanzo beans", and cut into it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It's so very runny. I use a pie server AND a
spoon to get it onto a plate. What an extremely sorry looking piece of pie.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I sit down with it and muster up enough courage to try it. I
seriously cannot believe that this is the pie that I have been so eagerly
anticipating for two months. It's now in front of me and I feel like I'm on
Fear Factor with a plate of something squiggly that I must eat in order to win
the grand prize.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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First bite goes in. The filling, while very runny, is very
pecan pie-like. The flavor is not bad at all even though the consistency is
severely lacking between it being so goopy and the lack of smoothness that I
can only assume is from the non-wheat flour thickener they must have used. I
tasted it in my apple crisp too. The pecans are wonderful, when aren't they?
Then, there's the crust.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The crust. You know I already have issues with the crust.
What was it that I was not liking about it before I even opened the box? Oh
yeah, GARBANZO BEANS. That broken record player turned right back on and a
streaming chant of those two words were playing full volume. Shhhhhh. I'm
trying to be neutral and give this crust a chance. GARBANZO BEANS, GARBANZO
BEANS, GARBANZO BEANS. Can you hear it? If you could feel the way this crust
felt in your mouth you might be hearing it too. I'm not even talking about my
usual texture issues, this was just gross. It was a mushy I can't describe. I'm
not even really sure what the flavor was. There was no chewing involved. It
just kind of smashed against the roof of my mouth. Even if the dreaded garbanzo
beans were not in this, I would not have been able to handle it. The fact that
they were in it just made it worse. The crust that was on the edge of the pie
tin got nice and crisp and that was not too bad so I have to wonder if the
nature of the filling had something to do with the way the bottom crust baked
up, or failed to bake up.</div>
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Disappointment. <o:p></o:p></div>
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I didn't touch the pie on Sunday. Normally, a pecan pie
would be gone the next day. It would be breakfast and then dessert after lunch
and also dessert after dinner. Gone. I was looking in the fridge Monday evening
and was going to throw it away, something I hated to do but I knew I was never
touching it again. That's when my husband stopped me and let me know that my
son had a piece after his breakfast that morning. Really? He also had a piece
last night after dinner. I can only assume that because he is a growing 13 year
old boy who is constantly hungry that this pie is even remotely appealing to
him. So, the pie is still in my refrigerator. I'm glad someone is enjoying it.
I asked him if he liked it that much and he told me that it wasn't bad. Yet
another gluten free thing that his child of mine doesn't mind. This does make
me feel better knowing that he does have about a 1 in 22 chance of inheriting
this disease from me. He's okay with most of the food. At least someone wasn't
disappointed with my birthday pie!<o:p></o:p></div>
Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06324102317426906660noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6350589123838269608.post-86923622742121598292013-09-26T15:04:00.000-04:002013-09-27T08:51:02.944-04:00Homemade Gluten Free Hamburger Helper<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Do you like Hamburger Helper? It's okay to say, "yes". There's no judgement going on here from my end. I'm doing a whole blog post on it so I have no room to judge. I won't tell anyone if you do say, "yes". Your secret is safe with me.</span><br>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If you did say, "yes", definitely keep reading on. You don't even have to be gluten free. I started making this as a non gluten free recipe and just decided one night that I wanted it so I adapted it to be gluten free, which wasn't hard at all.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I'm not quite sure how my mother ever convinced me to try Hamburger Helper with as picky as I was. She did though and it's now one of those guilty pleasures of mine. When I decided I wanted to eat a little more consciously, this is one of the things I took a look at. We didn't eat it often but when we did, I knew there were absolutely no redeeming qualities about it whatsoever and looked to see if I could change it. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My first move was to replace the Betty Crocker brand with the Annie's brand. Annie's was made with more natural ingredients and I felt better serving it when we did have it. I was buying it at Target and then it disappeared. I would check every time I went in and it never showed back up. I was quite disappointed because it was actually so much better than the Betty Crocker brand. It had a really decent taste to it, no matter how bad it looked in your bowl. I did see it still on the shelves of one of the supermarkets here. However, they wanted over $5 a box for it. There was NO way I was paying that much for a box that had a little itty bit of pasta and a pouch of seasonings in it. No way, no how. I decided to see if I could make it at home. Of course I could.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I made it a few times and again, so much better than the Betty Crocker brand. Who knew in all those years that I'd been eating that brand that there were alternatives out there that were not only better for you, but tasted better too. When you are making it right from the start in your own kitchen, you have control over every ingredient in it and that is a huge plus when you are trying to eat more consciously. I was happy to have found my way to making homemade Hamburger Helper.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Fast forward to my current eating limitations. I hadn't thought about Hamburger Helper of any sort in a while until I had wandered into an odd lot store a couple months ago. They had a gluten free version of it put out by Sam Mills. I love, love, love <a href="http://www.sammills.eu/sammillsusa-en.html" target="_blank">Sam Mills gluten free corn pasta</a> so I grabbed a couple boxes. They were due to expire within the next 6 weeks so 2 were more than enough. We tried it and it was pretty darn good. More like the Annie's brand than Betty Crocker in flavor. I searched around to see if I could find this anywhere else with better sell by dates but it just wasn't happening so I forgot about it.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">That was until this week. I got a craving. I know, a craving for Hamburger Helper? Yeah, it happened. What can I say? I know most people crave things that are much more distinguished than slop like this. Tomorrow I may very well be craving something much more hoity-toity but for now I'm running with the Helper.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I pulled up a search for "homemade cheeseburger Hamburger Helper" and they all came up. They're all very similar but I used this one from <a href="http://food.com/">Food.com</a>:</span><br>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.food.com/recipe/homemade-cheeseburger-macaroni-hamburger-helper-418682" target="_blank">Homemade Cheeseburger Macaroni Hamburger Helper</a> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">-The most obvious, in my case, would be to swap out the regular pasta for gluten free. I used <a href="http://www.deboles.com/products/product.php?prod_id=795&cat_name=wheat_free_corn" target="_blank">DeBoles Corn Pasta</a> and it turned out quite well. I only cooked it for about 8 minutes instead of the suggested 12. It was tender at that point and I didn't want to risk over cooking it to the point where it completely disintegrated. I won't be buying this brand again though as there is no mention of it being GMO free on the box or their website.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">-I used grass fed ground beef. Luckily, we have a store right in our city that sells this for a pretty reasonable price. I always have a few pounds in my freezer for main meal dishes similar to this or to make a few burger patties with. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">-I used organic cornstarch so that I could be sure that the corn was not from GMO sources. It is so hard to avoid food with GMO's in them so when I can, I grab every opportunity to buy ingredients that I know do not have them. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">That's pretty much it. I didn't bother taking a picture of it. We all know what it looks like and we all know it's not pretty. I would like to encourage you to actually try this and I'm pretty sure any picture I could take would only do the opposite. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So, if you are a proud Hamburger Helper lover, a closet Hamburger Helper lover or just a brave soul who is willing to give something new a try, give this a whirl. If someone presented this recipe to you as a one skillet dinner recipe with no knowledge of Hamburger Helper ever existing, it might not sound too bad, right? Maybe? Enjoy!</span></div>
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Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06324102317426906660noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6350589123838269608.post-80792391574364713802013-09-26T08:24:00.001-04:002013-09-26T09:51:21.250-04:00Woodman's of Essex<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I received the phone call about my celiac diagnosis on a Thursday morning. That weekend we were supposed to take a day trip up to Maine. We kind of, sort of eat our way through Maine. Don't get me wrong, we love the ocean, the rocky coast, the lighthouses...all that coastal Maine has to offer. We also love the fried seafood, <a href="http://www.stonewallkitchen.com/" target="_blank">Stonewall Kitchen</a>, <a href="http://www.yelp.com/biz/browns-old-fashioned-ice-cream-inc-york" target="_blank">Brown's Ice Cream</a> and <a href="http://congdons.com/" target="_blank">Congdon's Donuts</a> too. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I contacted one of the places we go to for fried seafood because I saw on a message board somewhere that they will do your fried seafood gluten free. I was ecstatic. I wanted to confirm this though. I was new to all of this and really wasn't sure about much of anything. They got back to me right away and told me that while they can adapt their fried seafood coating to be gluten free that they do still fry it in the same oil as the seafood that's coated with flour and they cannot guarantee anything to be gluten free as flour is "flying in the air" in their kitchen. Hmmph. They fry chicken and other non seafood items in their French fry fryer for those who have shellfish allergies so they weren't able to fry any gluten free seafood in that fryer either. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I was going to go for it since it was only a couple days after my fated phone call. However, It turned out that we did not go up there that weekend. My husband had spent the day before traveling home from a business trip and was much more wiped out than he thought he'd be. I thought I lost my one and only chance to ever have fried seafood ever again. After that point, I was not going to mess with my gluten free diet.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">That was until the next time we decided to go up to Maine. I was searching around online to see, if by chance, there was any hope of finding gluten free fried seafood up that way. There are clam shacks on every corner, it seems, someone had to have gluten free fried seafood. Amazingly enough, I found nothing in Maine but I did find something in Massachusetts. <a href="http://www.woodmans.com/" target="_blank">Woodman's of Essex</a>.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Most people who are into fried seafood, particularly fried clams, and who are also familiar with the Boston area, are aware of Woodman's. We had never been ourselves because there had not been much reason for us to head out that way but, I have had a catered Woodman's clam bake before at a house party. They are reportedly the <a href="http://www.woodmans.com/about/" target="_blank">creators of the fried clam</a>. Parts of the movie <a href="http://www.necn.com/searchNECN/search/v/39579572/woodman-s-clam-shack-goes-hollywood.htm" target="_blank">Grownups was filmed there</a>. It's a not a very fancy place at all located along a road filled with antique stores. And...it has gluten free fried seafood. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In fact, everything on their menu just happens to be gluten free expect for their onion rings, clamcakes and sandwiches. Holy Cow! When I read this I was so flipping happy. I truly thought that I'd never find gluten free fried seafood. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We have been twice now. The first time we went there was shortly after I'd been diagnosed. I was still extremely hesitant about eating out. The <a href="http://www.woodmans.com/restaurants/menus/" target="_blank">menu</a> on Woodman's website made me feel confident about ordering there. I was so very pleased with the ease of ordering and not feeling like I had to worry about getting sick after eating there. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Both times we've been I indicated to the cashier that I was gluten free before placing my order. Because you get both fries and onion rings with your order, you are then asked if you would like double fries or coleslaw instead of the onion rings. I have picked double fries both times. I noticed after the cashier rang in my order that she rang in something on the cash register to indicate that the order was "gluten free". </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When it came time to pick up the order, my plate was separate from the other two plates in our order. They don't use trays, instead they use Budweiser beer boxes for your orders and mine was sitting in it's own box. The person at the pick up counter slid my box forward and told us that it was "gluten free". </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The first visit here this was so very comforting to me. I felt even a little emotional about it all. Someone cared enough to provide such an easy gluten free fried seafood experience for me! Well, for me and everyone else who requires gluten free fried seafood. I guess it wasn't just for me, but it did make me feel very special to be eating something I thought I had to give up forever.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Eating at a place like Woodman's makes you feel "normal". Completely normal. 100% normal. There's really nothing all that different about your plate than that of the person sitting next to you. In fact, because I hate onions SO very much, I'd ask for double fries anyway. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I'm grateful to have Woodman's in my region. It's a little bit of a ride and we have to make a day trip out of it but that is fine by me. If it were much closer I'm afraid I'd be in jeopardy of never losing this extra weight I'm carrying around. If we make it there a couple times a year it will be just perfect. I know they have a Budweiser box with my name on it waiting for me! </span></div>
Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06324102317426906660noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6350589123838269608.post-32750132293452339162013-09-22T19:48:00.001-04:002013-09-22T20:13:47.604-04:00Gluten Free Apple Crisp<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Maple-Apple-Crisp/Detail.aspx?event8=1&prop24=SR_Title&e11=maple%20apple%20crisp&e8=Quick%20Search&event10=1&e7=Home%20Page" target="_blank">This</a> has always been my go-to apple crisp recipe with a bunch of tweaks. I'm not super fond of apple crisp. My idea of dessert does not always include something that has fruit in it, even if the fruit is surrounded with all kinds of not good for you stuff. However, this has enough not good for you stuff that I can tolerate it. </span><br>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I wondered if I could do this gluten free. I figured apple crisp would be one of the easier things to convert since there are easy substitutions for the gluten containing ingredients that it does contain. I gave it a whirl and I do believe I have success. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I had Bob's Red Mill gluten free oats on hand so those were used for the oats. Oats are gluten free but from what I understand, they are almost always processed on the same equipment as wheat so it's very important that if you are using oats to make sure at they are gluten free. I also understand that some people with celiac disease have a hard time tolerating oats as well. I've not found this to be the case so far for myself, luckily.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The flour I used was a mixture of the little bit of Trader Joe's gluten free all-purpose flour I had left and a little bit of King Arthur's gluten free all-purpose flour. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In keeping with the original purpose of my blog of buying more consciously, I did do a few things to go along with that. I used Cabot butter because they are a farmer owned company and free of growth hormones. While the apples I used were not organic, they were <a href="http://redtomato.org/ecoapple.php" target="_blank">Eco-Grown</a> apples. This method uses less pesticides and less toxic ones at that, as I am I understanding from their website. I also used real organic maple syrup. I love that BJ's, my area warehouse store, has this at such an excellent price. I feel very fortunate about that.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If you're not gluten free you can certainly make this with non gluten free ingredients. I did for years. Throw some vanilla ice cream on top and enjoy it, gluten free or not!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Gluten Free Apple Crisp</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Adapted from: <a href="http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Maple-Apple-Crisp/Detail.aspx?event8=1&prop24=SR_Title&e11=maple%20apple%20crisp&e8=Quick%20Search&event10=1&e7=Home%20Page" target="_blank">Maple Apple Crisp at Allrecipes.com</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">- 5 medium apples, peeled, cored and thinly sliced (I slice them and throw them in the baking dish to see how it's filling up and add more as needed)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">- 2 tbsp gluten free all-purpose flour</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">- 3/4 tsp cinnamon</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">- 1/4 tsp nutmeg</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">- 3/4 cup pure maple syrup (not pancake syrup)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">- 1 cup gluten free all-purpose flour</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">- 1 cup gluten free whole rolled oats</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">- 1 cup brown sugar, packed</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">- 1 stick butter (please don't use margarine, the taste will be so much better)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Preheat oven to 375 degrees. </span><br>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Put prepared apples into a large bowl with flour, cinnamon and nutmeg and toss until apples are coated with flour and spices. Place apples into an 8x8 baking dish. Pour maple syrup evenly over apples. Set baking dish aside.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Wipe the apple mixing bowl dry and put the flour, oats, brown sugar and salt into it. Stir together until everything is thoroughly mixed together. Cut butter into about 8 pieces and put the pieces into the bowl. With your hands, get in there and mix it all up until it's completely combined. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Top the apples in the baking dish with the dry mixture. Make sure to evenly cover it, get the corners. Everyone needs their fair share of topping! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Pop this in the oven for about 35-45 minutes, or until the apples are tender. It will get very bubbly but I've not had a problem with the juices flowing over. If you do notice that it looks like that's going to happen, just slip a baking sheet under it.</span></div>
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Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06324102317426906660noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6350589123838269608.post-68026636150818251542013-09-19T11:58:00.001-04:002013-09-19T12:00:38.928-04:00PamelaI first noticed Pamela at Whole Foods. Couldn't help it. Her package of chocolate chip walnut cookies looked wonderful. You could see the cookies through the packaging and they looked pretty fantastic. I passed them by the first couple times I had the need to buy gluten free cookies. When they went on sale, I did finally pick up a package. I didn't dig in right away. As always, I was and still am battling a few (well, more like 10) pounds and was holding out on opening these up. Truth be told, I should have left them at the store. <div><br></div><div>Before I had opened them up, I started reading Elizabeth Hasslebeck's book, "The G Free Diet". She even mentioned Pamela in her book. If I remember correctly she mentioned that even her non-gluten free family members get into her Pamela's cookies. I had a good feeling about this chick, Pamela. </div><div><br></div><div>When I did finally give into the call of the cookies, they were amazing. So much better than any of the other brands of cookies I had tried up to that point. They were a nice size, more than one or two bites. They had some thickness to them. They had a wonderful texture, so wonderful. As you may have noticed by now, I've got a lot of texture issues that are only enhanced now with trying to adapt to the new texture of gluten free foods. I would buy these cookies even if I did not have to eat gluten free, they are that good. </div><div><br></div><div>Moving on...</div><div><br></div><div>I made my way to a natural food store a few towns over and was so thrilled to find a ton of gluten free foods and they were at decent prices. Their sale prices were even better. They were aware of Pamela too. They had her flour blends and mixes on sale. I'd seen these also at Whole Foods but hadn't paid too much attention to them because at the time, I was still hesitant about paying the price for these mixes. </div><div><br></div><div>However, this was the day I got over it and realized that if I were to ever bake again that I needed to accept the fact that it was going to cost more money. Also, I had to accept the fact that it was very likely that I would fail a lot at the beginning and be wasting some of that money I was spending on these ingredients. I opted for the bread mix and flour blend since I have been missing making bread so very much.</div><div><br></div><div>I've had success with the mix. There has been nothing technically wrong with the things I've made with this blend/mix. </div><div><br></div><div>I first made the Amazing Bread recipe from the back of the bag. It was easy to put together. I love that you don't have to knead gluten free bread...no gluten to develop! It rose like I couldn't believe. It looked lovely when it came out of the oven. It looked lovely when I sliced it. It tasted great and had a really decent texture. There was something though, I don't know what it is. The more I ate it, the more I wasn't so sure about it. I can't say it was the taste and I can't say it was the texture. It just wasn't as pleasing as I wanted it to be, I guess. </div><div><br></div><div>I even have a very not-fancy picture of it:</div><div><br></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-NTun5ohkkRM/UjsfK5o849I/AAAAAAAAAvY/oyflCjRw9Lk/s640/blogger-image--678795153.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-NTun5ohkkRM/UjsfK5o849I/AAAAAAAAAvY/oyflCjRw9Lk/s640/blogger-image--678795153.jpg"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">I can't say that I won't make it again and give it another try. I rather think I'd like to make the Cinnamon Bread variation of it that is also on the back of the bag then cut it in thick slices and make French toast with it. That, I think, is what this may be more suited for. Lots of flavor to go along with it.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">I then made the Crispy Buffalo Wings found on the Pamela's website. The website is amazing for recipes. It's broken down really well. You can search by meal, type, product or diet. There are 10 pages of recipes for the bread mix and flour blend! The wings were really good. I tweaked it to use boneless chicken breast tenders and we each picked our own sauce to dip them in once they were done. I actually ate them plain as I thought the flavor of the breading was very good. It was a success but I hate frying so I don't know how soon I'll be making it again. Plus, all that frying does not help that 10 pounds that's stuck to me.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">The third and final thing I've made up to this point is the Fococcia recipe from the website. I touched on this a bit in another post but, I had hoped that this bread recipe would be different from the Amazing Bread recipe because it omitted the eggs that the Amazing Bread recipe required. I really couldn't even tell the difference at all between the two. I put some coarse sea salt on it before I baked it and it wasn't bad. It kind of tasted like a soft pretzel....kind of. I still was not thrilled with the bread. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">At this point, I wasn't sure how I was feeling about Pamela. I loved her cookies (I also tried the swirled shortbread in the meantime) but was having a love/hate relationship with her flour blend that I had bought.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">I had mentioned last week that my husband was having some travel trouble. He was in California. Near where he stays when he goes there is a grocery store called Mother's Market & Kitchen. He tells me I would absolutely love it. I'm sure I would. He asked if I wanted him to look for anything special there when he went this last time. I looked up their ad and saw that they had Pamela's mixes on sale. I looked up the kinds of mixes and blends on the Pamela's website and sent him a list. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">I noticed two things on the website that I had not seen around here. One was a Pizza Crust Mix that looks like a new product and the other was a product called Whenever Bars that came in different flavors, one being Oat Chocolate Chip Coconut. I put these on my list hoping they'd have them. Turns out they did and, they totally have made Pamela my new bestest friend.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">First off, the bars. So good. Another thing I'd totally eat even if I didn't have to eat gluten free. They are so easy to grab in the morning when I haven't had time to feed myself. There's nothing too special about them but they are soft, chocolate-y, coconut-y, oat-y...it's all stuff I'm a huge fan off and I'll be grateful if they show up on the shelves around here. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Now, and I think, more importantly, the Pizza Crust Mix. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Look...</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-FHC1vWvwwu8/UjsfMBWy8dI/AAAAAAAAAvg/QBttFOZiqjc/s640/blogger-image-1809942007.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-FHC1vWvwwu8/UjsfMBWy8dI/AAAAAAAAAvg/QBttFOZiqjc/s640/blogger-image-1809942007.jpg"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Not only is it another not-fancy picture, it is pizza that turned out really, really well. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">I was so nervous to make this. The directions were saying to handle the dough very gently. What if I was a little too un-gentle with it? The pressure. I mixed it all up and set it aside in a warm spot to rise. While the bread mix rose like crazy, this seemed like it hardly rose at all. Was the yeast it came with bad? After 2 hours, I decided to go for it. It did seem to rise some so I figured at least something happened. I divided the dough into two 10 inch pizzas, pre baked as instructed then topped them off and finished baking. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Still very nervous, despite the fact that they looked good, I took my first bite. It was good. Really good! The texture was totally different than that of the bread mix. I suspected that there may be tapioca flour in it based on the Against The Grain copy cat recipe I had made. I checked the ingredients and sure enough, there was some in it. When I got to the end, the crust, I was so happy...it was crunchy! I've not yet experienced crunchy/crusty bread yet unless I've accidentally burnt my bread under the broiler trying to toast it because we still have not gotten a second toaster for me to avoid cross contamination when I want toast. I cannot tell you how happy I am with this pizza crust mix. I did try another brand, I can't even recall the name of it, and it pretty much tasted like a biscuit, not good for pizza. This however, is just lovely. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">I checked the list of ingredients in Pamela's Artisan Flour Blend and they are somewhat similar to the Pizza Crust Mix ingredients. This will be my next purchase from Pamela's line. I'm trying to not get my hopes up too high but I am somewhat hopeful that this blend will produce a bread that is a little more pleasing to me. The little I've played with tapioca flour, I've noticed it does seem to produce a gummy result but I'm hopeful that it being balanced with the other flours that are in the Artisan blend that it will work out to make something that will be just right.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">I will be sure to post my results when I get it and I might even post a not-fancy picture or two! </div> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><br></div>Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06324102317426906660noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6350589123838269608.post-65364524404768632652013-09-13T13:05:00.001-04:002013-09-13T13:07:59.092-04:00Few Friday ThingsApparently today is Celiac Awareness Day. I didn't know we had a day. I knew we had a month but I missed it, wasn't diagnosed yet. I'm not quite sure what I'm supposed to do for this day of a Celiac Awareness. Everyone I know already knows I have it and I'm quite sure at times, are sick of hearing me talk about it when I'm in a bad place and need to vent. I suppose another thing I have to learn, how to celebrate Celiac Awareness!<div><br></div><div>I'd been feeling quite tired this week and feeling very foggy. Yesterday it all kind of hit me...headache, tummy trouble and extreme exhaustion. I did what I had to do, get the other people in my house on their way and did some errands. Then I came home and slept for 3 hours. Do you know what it feels like to admit that? I had gone to bed early (for me) the night before and got 8 hours of sleep. I should not have been tired. However, I sat down when I got home and it was O-V-E-R. I found a great blog shortly after being diagnosed called Gluten Dude. It's my favorite by far as I find myself relating to so many of his posts. One of the first of his I read was a list of "You know you have celiac when" and one was something like "you nap more than a pre-schooler". Yep. I'd been sneaking naps for a longtime. I was a closet napper, too ashamed to let anyone know I'd been sleeping during the day prior to being diagnosed. It's something I'm now more comfortable admitting knowing that my body is fighting an auto-immune disease. I still don't like that I do it but now I feel more validated because now I know there is a reason I'm tired.</div><div><br></div><div>More food happened. </div><div><br></div><div>I made focaccia with my Pamela's bread mix. I'm not thrilled with it. It's not "spummy" like the coffee cake I made but I'm still not loving the texture of the breads this mix makes. This did not have eggs in it like the sandwich bread I made with the mix so I was hopeful for a positive change in texture but it was remarkably the same. I did, however, make something with the leftovers the next night that was much better. I topped it with Italian seasoning and garlic powder and warmed it through in the oven which also toasted it. Then, I topped it with shredded asiago cheese and broiled it until melted. Much better. It definitely needs toasting and something on it to counter what I don't like about it. </div><div><br></div><div>A note also on textures. I don't like a lot of foods because of textures but it's never been breads and cake, usually vegetables and fruits. I have serious oral texture issues. I learned they were called this when my son was diagnosed with sensory integration dysfunction when he was a toddler. We worked through his issues and I'm guessing my pickiness has a lot to do with the fact that my own issues were never dealt with. Oral texture issues or not, GF breads and baked goods are usually different. With that being said, my husband and son both liked the coffee cake and focaccia and had no problems with the texture of either of them. I think I just like good, crusty, artisan bread and that's a tough task when you're dealing with alternative flours. As for cakes, I love a good, homemade, buttery cake...something even regular Bisquick cannot deliver. I will now drop the coffee cake, I'm officially over it. </div><div><br></div><div>I made crisped rice treats today. Notice that I did not make Rice Krispie Treats. Do you want to know why? Because they have malt flavor in them. Do you know what malt flavor has in it? Yeah, gluten. You're getting good at this! I thought Rice Krispie Treats would be a good snack back in the summer when we were going somewhere I needed to bring a dessert. I made a regular dessert and thought this would be good for me and would not scream "GLUTEN FREE" but found I was wrong when I spotted malt in the ingredients. I've made them since with Nature's Path cocoa type of crisped rice cereal but it's not my favorite. I recently found Erewhon Crispy Brown Rice and it's gluten free. However, in keeping with the original intent of this blog, I hate pairing it with the marshmallows that although are gluten free and say so right on the package, also contain all kinds of junk. Right above the words "gluten free" on the marshmallows is the junky ingredient list. Who knew WHITE marshmallows had blue food coloring in them? I'm still trying desperately to find my balance with eating more wholesomely with my limitations, my pickiness, my budget and desire to get this 15 pounds off I've been carrying for far too long.</div><div><br></div><div>This makes 3 whole blog posts this week. I will try to keep going. I feel that this is an outlet for what's in my head without holding anyone hostage in face to face conversation. I thank those of you who are following along. Have a happy weekend!</div>Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06324102317426906660noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6350589123838269608.post-92131802127153417622013-09-10T22:07:00.001-04:002013-09-12T15:49:39.789-04:00SpummyIs that a word? Well, I am making it one.<br />
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Introducing, "Spummy", the combination of spongey and gummy that describes a fair amount of gluten free baked goods. </div>
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If you read my post from yesterday, yes...that does make 2 blog posts in a row...don't get used to it though, I had a gluten free Bisquick coffee cake in the oven. It smelled wonderful as I typed away. My son came home from school, smelled it and exclaimed, "apple crisp?". I made him keep guessing, since he was wrong, and then told him it was coffee cake when he guessed every other fall dessert. There was excitement in the air, I tell you. I'd been craving cinnamon something for a while now. A couple days ago it was cinnamon rolls. Then, after I saw this recipe, I wanted coffee cake. In between it was all the fall recipes starting to float around that all inevitably have cinnamon in them. It was finally THE day. The day I was going to have a cinnamon baked good.</div>
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One reason I made it was for dessert. I was going to make a nice dinner for the family since my husband had been traveling since late last week. He'd had a nightmare of an ordeal at the airport and there was now no way he was making it home for dinner. Now, I had to figure when was appropriate to dig in. Did I wait until he came home later and have some with him for a snack? As the day went on it seemed more and more it'd be a midnight snack if I waited, his 1 hour layover ended up turning into about 7 hours. My son and I decided to just dig in...we wait for no one when it comes to cake.</div>
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It looked lovely. Nice streusel topping. I cut into it and the cake had risen nicely, had a good looking crumb and color. The texture looked good. It did not crumble to pieces when I cut it or tried to get that first piece out that can be troublesome. You know what this is all leading up to, right?</div>
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Spummy. </div>
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How can something that looks so much like the real thing taste so much not like the real thing? Oh dear. Where do I begin?</div>
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To start off, many of the reviewers on the official Bisquick website indicated that this cake needed moisture. I took their word for it. That Betty Crocker yellow cake I mentioned in yesterday's post was so terribly dry, I knew they were onto something. A majority of the reviewers added oil and sour cream to the cake and some substituted agave for the sugar. I did not have agave so I couldn't do that. I thought about maple syrup instead but decided to just use my regular sugar. I did add additional oil and sour cream. I read through the posts and decided on an amount based on what most were saying, a quarter cup of each. I baked it an additional 10 minutes or so as some indicated it would need and mine did, it was jiggly at the end of the recipe's stated bake time range. Are these modifications where I went wrong? It could be, but everyone who did this gave it 4 and 5 stars. </div>
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My son took the first bite and said that the "cinnamon stuff" was good. Well, yeah...cinnamon stuff is always good. My first bite consisted mostly of cake. Um, not so good. It's so indescribable. There was no taste and again with the vanilla that it called for and again using Nielsen Massey and a little extra that I let splash over the measuring spoon like the yellow cake I had made. The texture seemed like it wanted to be normal. It almost was and then you realize it isn't the more you chew. You keep wanting it to be because as you are chewing this flavorless, spummy cake, you are looking at the piece of it on your plate and it's inconceivable as to how something that looks like "that" can possibly taste and feel like it does in your mouth.</div>
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I think the Bisquick I've been hoarding will be kept strictly for pancakes and garlic cheddar biscuits. This girl is done experimenting with things that I would have never used Bisquick for before I went gluten free. It's time to start using from scratch recipes for things like coffee cake. It's really not much more work in the end and I'm hopeful that it will taste better. I never really used Bisquick for too much before because the end product was never very pleasing to me so I'm not really sure why I was expecting something spectacular out of it gluten free.</div>
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Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06324102317426906660noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6350589123838269608.post-1211072481212066872013-09-10T15:47:00.001-04:002013-09-10T16:32:51.168-04:00Summer's End<div>Well, I made it through my first summer gluten free. Also, blog free. My intention, of course, was to blog more frequently but with all the summer goings on, it didn't happen since I'm not yet back in the habit of getting on here and getting it done.</div><div><br></div><div>Over the summer I started to do a little baking so I'm building my confidence with that. It's been nothing complicated and a lot of it has started with a mix or pre blended flour but it's a start. Can I tell you I have 5 boxes of gluten free Bisquick in my house right now? I'm kinda hoarding it because it helps me. This is not my preferred method of baking AT ALL but it fulfills my need to whip up some pancakes that taste like pancakes, especially when you use buttermilk in the recipe. Currently, as I type this, I have the gluten free Bisquick coffee cake recipe in the oven with a bazillion tweaks that I mixed and matched off of the recipe reviews. We'll see what happens with that. Some of the other things I've played with this summer are:</div><div><br></div><div>-The first thing I made with the gluten free Bisquick was their garlic cheddar biscuits. They turned out so nicely. A little tiny bit gritty but there was so much flavor otherwise, it was easy to overlook the small flaw in the texture. </div><div><br></div><div> -I bought Pamela's Bread Mix and made a loaf of bread. It turned out pretty decently. I think it needs something though...can't quite put my finger on what bothered me about it after eating a couple slices of it. I love Pamela's website. The recipes are broken down by flour blend/mix and you can make a lot of things with each type they make. I'm looking forward to playing with this blend/mix more. </div><div> </div><div>-I love King Arthur's brownie mix. A lot. Enough said.</div><div><br></div><div>-I made a Betty Crocker yellow cake mix. It was very dry. It was flavorless...even though it was a yellow cake mix and you still had to add your own vanilla to it. I use Nielsen Massey vanilla so it's real vanilla and it's good quality and I always splash a bit extra over the measuring spoon and it still had no flavor. (That's a lot of and's)</div><div><br></div><div>-I made biscuits using the Bakewell Cream biscuit recipe with Trader Joe's all-purpose gluten free flour. This definitely needs some work but it was edible. As I'm learning, gluten free baked goods tend to be very dry. Lots of oil and eggs seem to be used to help counter this. I'd like to play more with this because I love the Bakewell Cream recipe for biscuits.</div><div><br></div><div>-I did also make a recipe from Gluten Free on a Shoestring website at the beginning of the summer and had posted it here. I took it off when I noticed the font was screwed up. I never got back to fixing it, I was having a lot of difficulty with it and was aggravated with the thought of doing it completely over. It was for a copycat of Against the Grain rolls. They were pretty good and I've made them again since. I will probably make them again. The only thing I don't like is the amount of fat in them but you can't have it all, right?!?</div><div><br></div><div>I managed to not gluten myself too much this summer. I did get sick a few times and I'm pretty sure I figured out the culprits each time. It's a hard thing because gluten hides in the trickiest of places. Restaurants are well meaning having gluten free items on their menus yet do not fully understand the major impact cross contamination can have on someone who has celiac disease. Different varieties of the same food can have different gluten statuses. Do you know how confusing Milky Ways are? Don't eat the original, but the the caramel and dark are okay. I can't figure out why but I sure learned there is a difference after I did some more thorough research AFTER eating the original. I thought I had it right BEFORE but it never hurts to double check again before you eat. Lesson learned. </div><div><br></div><div>I had an endoscopy in August to follow up the blood work which showed the antigens that indicated I have celiac. Seems at one time an endoscopy was the "gold standard" for celiac diagnosis but from what I've been reading, more doctors are not leaning towards that school of thought as much anymore. My doctor was going back and forth on whether or not to do one, we did already have it scheduled before the blood results came in so she said we might as well go ahead. She was able to see "blunting" of the villi during the scope, indicating celiac damage. She also found minor esophagitis. This was a surprise to me as I've never had a problem with heartburn. The biopsies she took did come back showing celiac so I guess that I am totally and completely official. Gold standard and all. </div><div><br></div><div>I successfully went on vacation. We had planned this trip prior to my diagnosis and to be honest with you, had I known I was going to have this, I probably would not have planned to go. I was so worried I would not find anything I could eat for a reasonable price. I'm super picky too, on top of everything. A lot of challenges. I brought tons of gluten free bars with me and had a few on me at all times but only found a few instances in which I had to use them instead of a meal. I ate a lot of baked potatoes at Wendy's during the week for quick lunches and I will forever be grateful that there was a Wendy's about a mile each way out of our hotel so no matter which direction we headed out, we were not far from one. (We went to Vegas and stayed on the strip) I found a lot of the staff were super helpful at the places that were not Wendy's. I don't think I got sick. I know, how could I not know. Well, there is a thing called TMI so I will keep it to myself but what did happen, I don't think could really be attributed to what I ate since it was early in the trip and before too much restaurant food that could be suspect. This trip really boosted my confidence with eating out. It did require a lot of planning and also, a lot of patience from my family but we made it happen without too much inconvenience. I had pizza, pasta, burgers, fries and a lot of baked potatoes...one every day!</div><div><br></div><div>That's a quick summary of my summer. I won't promise too much here as to when I'll blog again but do know that my intention is that there will be less time in between blogs this time around. Fall is here and the baking bug has bit me but so has the "I need to lose some weight" bug. Perfect timing. I'll see what I can come up with for the next blog, somehow these two worlds have to collide! </div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div><br></div>Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06324102317426906660noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6350589123838269608.post-42018754722030257922013-06-21T09:49:00.001-04:002013-06-21T10:00:50.681-04:00Things Are Changing At Court St. KitchenWow. It's been a very long time since I've blogged. I've wanted to. I've not stopped with what my intent was when I started to blog. I've still been seeking out a way to feed myself and my family in a better way while doing it cost consciously. <div><br></div><div>However, things changed. I lost my oomph. I suppose this is common with blogging, in some ways. You get this grand idea to blog and then, after a while, it becomes like everything else...another thing to do in a day. Thinking of something to make, making it, photographing it, blogging it, editing the blog, publishing it...blah, blah, blah. It's time consuming, yeah, but I really did enjoy doing it. Something was different though. I did not only not want to do this anymore. I lost my oomph for a lot of things. </div><div><br></div><div>For the last 8 months I've been under the care of a gastroenterologist. I've had issues since I was a teenager and it was just casually diagnosed as IBS with no direction given at the time. I had a pretty bad flare a couple years ago that I sought medical help for and was given some direction at that time. Last summer things hit hard. I waited it out figuring it was just another flare. I think my doctor did too because what ended up to be such a simple and quick diagnosis took 8 months. </div><div><br></div><div>I received a phone call yesterday morning from my GI, who sounds very much like Heidi Klum when she speaks. This is all I can think of when I listen to her. She doesn't look like her but she is definitely the most glamorous doctor I've ever seen, by far. So, you add that to the voice and it's kind of hard to believe she deals with THAT end of the body all day long! She was calling to give me the results of some blood work. Blood work she hadn't realized we hadn't done yet in all our time together, along with an endoscopy that's yet to be done, before she sent me on to Beth Israel hospital in Boston since she couldn't figure me out with the one obscure finding that did show up in one of the many tests I've done since October 2012.</div><div><br></div><div>"Jennifer dear, you have Celiac." "This is why you are having problems." "I am so sorry we did not do this sooner."</div><div><br></div><div>What a flood of feelings. I don't even know if deep inside I knew I had it all along. I did know that eating gluten free definitely made me feel better. I did know that while my GI symptoms did correspond with the GI symptoms of Celiac, that they were maybe not as severe as other have them. I did know that I have experienced a lot of the other non-GI symptoms of Celiac since I was a teenager, including the recent exhaustion and fatigue that led me to stop blogging. I just didn't want to self-diagnose. I did not want to jump on the trendy band wagon of "needing" to be gluten free for no particular reason other than it was what the current diet trend was at the time. </div><div><br></div><div>Today is the day I've woken up with the full knowledge that I have Celiac Disease. I'm still processing it all but boy, oh boy, does this throw a curve ball into my eating and the point of this blog. Essentially, it should not be that hard to incorporate all the things I'm striving for into a gluten free diet. However, I'm not a veggie loving girl and I'm picky as all get out which means that I will struggle my way through this whole process. </div><div><br></div><div>I did start to experiment with a gluten free diet towards the beginning of May. Up until a couple days ago, I'd only bought pre-made gluten free food. I've been 100% overwhelmed with the thought of gluten free baking. The ingredients are expensive and from what I've tasted from commercially made gluten free baked goods, home baking could definitely be a challenge with limited equipment to manipulate these strange ingredients into tasting AND feeling like the real deal. </div><div><br></div><div>That is where I think I will be changing the direction of this blog a little bit. I will still incorporate the original premise of the blog into my entries but I will be working, for the most part, with gluten free foods. I will always love baking with wheat flour but will be saving it for my family and for occasions when we can take it with us to share with others. For now, I am content with the fact that I cannot have gluten. I know how I feel when I eat it and how I feel when I don't. It's not worth feeling like that when there are alternatives out there. Even if there were not such good alternatives, I still don't think it would be worth it to feel like that. This is what I am saying now, my first full day as a diagnosed Celiac. Talk to me 6 months, 1 year, 5 years, 20 years from now...I'm sure I'll be singing a different tune and screaming at someone to just give me a piece of REAL, crusty artisan bread or making someone's life really miserable because I want a piece of real cake but I, and whoever is in my way, will cross that bridge when we come to it!</div><div><br></div><div>I've got some rolls that I made the other nite so I hope to throw together a post about them soon. They're interesting, that's for sure. Until then...thanks for stopping by and reading! </div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div> </div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div><br></div>Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06324102317426906660noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6350589123838269608.post-45019634483769471112011-11-09T12:30:00.000-05:002011-11-09T12:30:11.235-05:00Holiday Season Is Upon Us<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This is the time of year in which many cultures and religions celebrate many holidays.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Typically, when holidays are celebrated there is a meal at the center of the celebration that brings people together.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Even in our 3 person family, we use food to celebrate the holidays.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This brings food to the forefront of an awful lot of thought for me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Because I do love to bake and cook, I like to break out those recipes that I shouldn’t eat all year long.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It also gives me a great excuse to play in the kitchen and to try recipes I’ve stashed away all year waiting for a reason to try them.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This year I am not in a good place with my weight.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While I’m not brave enough to share the actual numbers of my weight with you, I will say that as of the typing of this blog that I am 8 pounds above the top range of what I would ideally like to be.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That top range number is not even where I like to be but rather a warning number for myself that I need to set the fork down more often than I am picking it up.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I don’t know what happened.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Usually summer is my nemesis.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The loose schedule of the summer leads me to places I should not be going with my food consumption.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have learned this over the years and I managed to get through summer only 2 pounds above my high range weight.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I considered this an accomplishment because at the end of last summer I was 12 pounds above that number.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I think relief set in after I saw that and I relaxed a little too much once fall set in.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Last week I was exactly where I was at the end of last summer…12 pounds above that high end number.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The number that is supposed to keep me from getting in any worse shape.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I now find myself just a couple weeks before Thanksgiving with weight to lose and holiday food to prepare and eat.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have been doing very well with staying on track and am in a very good state of mind regarding my food.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I know miracles will not happen and prefer the slower weight loss (did I just say that?) because I do know that ultimately weight lost in the proper (slow) way tends to stay off longer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Therefore, I need to figure out what is going to happen Thanksgiving day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Today I planned my Thanksgiving meal.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s nothing fancy, I guarantee you, but it helps me to have a plan so I can decide how to tackle it regarding my weight and my preference of trying to do it in a more natural way.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Here’s what I have planned:</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Turkey</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Mashed Potatoes</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Gravy</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Stuffing</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Butter Rolls</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Apple Turnovers</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Something Pumpkin</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">See, nothing special at all.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, I need to look further and figure out how I can best keep all of this low in points for my Weight Watcher’s plan and on budget for my eating “more conscious” plan.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I’ve done some research and here it goes…..</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><u>Turkey</u></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">While turkey is the easiest as far as Weight Watchers goes, it’s a hard go when it comes to being more conscious.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I’ve done some looking around online and have found that there are no conscious turkey farms that are too close by.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Even if there were some close by, we are talking anywhere from $3.49 a pound to $4.99 a pound.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I do pay these prices for some of the meat that we buy but it is usually boneless and I can buy it in smaller amounts so it’s easier to handle financially.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I found that the average Thanksgiving turkey is 12-16 pounds.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>With those prices you are looking at anywhere between $41.88 (for a 12 pound turkey at $3.49 a pound) to $79.84 (for a 16 pound turkey at $4.99 a pound).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I know, I know…they’re free-range, organic, better for the environment and the farmer’s health.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I visited a <a href="http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=natick%20organic%20farm&source=web&cd=1&sqi=2&ved=0CCYQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.natickfarm.org%2F&ei=KbW6TsjnCqTO2AXi-8HIBw&usg=AFQjCNHNvDalkKA-P2TDjALMgPTtPBTAWw">community organic farm</a> on a field trip with my son last year and I was so loving the vibe of the place.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This farm is about 50 minutes from my home, which I’d be willing to drive if the price was right.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, they say they have few turkeys at less than 16 pounds and their members get first choice at turkeys so I would not be guaranteed a smaller turkey if I were to order one.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So let’s say that I have to get an 18 pound turkey at $4.50 a pound.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>$81.00.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Say I have to take a 20 pound turkey.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>$90.00.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I’m all for doing what I can to eat better and help the environment and keep the earth healthy but jeez Louise!!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>With all that said, I am buying a turkey from a local supermarket.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Maybe I will just have to settle with buying from a smaller, very local chain to feel better about my purchase.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At least I’m not going to a big chain.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Does it make much difference?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Probably not but I think that is all I will be able to do as far as my turkey goes this year.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><u>Mashed Potatoes</u></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">At Thanksgiving I like to break out the <a href="http://www.tenprimesteakandsushi.com/recipes.php">Death by Butter mashed potato recipe</a>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Check it out.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I saw it on a local show that reviews restaurants.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Butter, cream, asiago cheese, more butter.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s absolutely amazing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If I had my choice to die of anything, it would indeed be by these potatoes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Since my weight is not going to go anywhere but up if I make these, I will be passing these up this year.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was going to try to modify it but it is the butter that makes these what they are.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I will probably do the skinny mashed potato thing where you boil the potatoes in chicken broth then mash them with some of the chicken broth.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’d like to “fancy” them up a bit so perhaps some I will look to the other recipe for that.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Asiago is such a strong tasting cheese that a little can go a long way.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I always buy organic potatoes and chicken broth so this is very easy to work with my plan to be more conscious.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><u>Gravy</u></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I don’t make gravy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You know how some things you have the knack for and some you do not?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Well, gravy is in my “do-not-have-the-knack-for” list.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We are very lucky to have Willow Tree Farm in this area and they sell their <a href="http://www.willowtreefarm.com/gravy">gravy</a> at a close by supermarket.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s not all those conscious things I want it to be but it is at least local.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A ¼ cup of their gravy has 30 calories and 1.5 grams of fat.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It tastes much better than the jarred and canned gravy I have bought in the past.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s $0.99 for a 2 cup tub of it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">How can this girl who can’t make gravy go wrong?</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><u>Stuffing</u></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This is not an issue for me as I don’t eat it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I will make homemade bread for the stuffing and buy as many organic ingredients that I can find for it which usually isn’t too hard.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The chicken broth, as I mentioned above, I always have on hand.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Celery is often reasonable.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I will have to see what else my boys will want in it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They are always willing to try a new recipe with different ingredients. Once we decide on a recipe, I will better know how well I can do with this one but so far, I feel good about it.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><u>Butter Rolls</u></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Rolls, rolls, rolls.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This has always been the highlight of any holiday meal for me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Bread is one of my huge weak spots.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Because this is one thing I really enjoy, I will make what I want the way it is supposed to be made.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The recipe is out of a bread machine cookbook that I have from over 10 years ago and it is just what is says it is…a buttery roll.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">These have eggs, sugar and of course butter in them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>All those things that make a roll taste so wonderful.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What I am going to do is make the smallest batch of these with organic sugar, local eggs and maybe even organic butter. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I will not be making these in a bread machine but the good thing about the bread machine cookbook is that for each recipe they have the ingredient amounts for small, medium and large loaves or batches of dough for rolls.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The small makes 8, which is plenty for the 3 of us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That means I will eat 2 of these. If we each have 2 with dinner there will be 2 leftover and I will just let the boys have the extra 2 with their leftovers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I usually make the “large” which makes 16 rolls so we have enough for all our leftovers through the weekend.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><u>Apple Turnovers</u></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">On a whim I bought a box of puff pastry at Trader Joe’s a while ago.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I had no real plans for it but had read how good it was and since it was a frozen product, I bought it so I’d have it on hand to play with when the mood struck me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Just recently I saw a recipe for apple turnovers in a Prevention Magazine email newsletter.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Their emphasis was on portion control since it was still using puff pastry and sugar in the recipe.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Portion control is my issue.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>With having puff pastry on hand and a recipe for apple turnovers, I now have a solution for my portion issues.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When I cut a pie we get about 6 slices out of it and it’s gone in a day with the 3 of us eating it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> Knowing myself, I</span> feel that having a dessert that is already baked in an individual portion will help me with portion size since I cannot cut it too large, it’s the size it is.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sure, I could eat more than 1 but I am less likely to this way.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The apples I will be using for these are from a farm in Northborough, MA so they are local.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They are not organic but their website says they use integrated pest management.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This method controls the way in which they use pesticides so that they do not use as many of them…as far as I understand.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Trader Joe’s puff pastry has 5 ingredients in it that are completely recognizable; flour, butter, salt, sugar and water.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Pepperidge Farms puff pastry has 8 ingredients in it which include hydrogenated vegetable shortening and high fructose corn syrup.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><u>Something Pumpkin</u></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Something pumpkin? What is this?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Since I do not like pumpkin, I don’t consider this an issue for myself.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I let the boys figure out what they want and then I make it for them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I have canned organic pumpkin in my cupboard right now so that is about all I know about what I can do for this part of the meal right now.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Typically they ask for pie but I would like to see if I can do something a little different this year for them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It will likely still be pie but there are a lot of pumpkin pie variations out there and I want to play with something new!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There’s my breakdown of how I plan for this holiday dinner to go down.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I know I can do it; I have in the past and plan to this year.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sometimes the 3 day weekend after the holiday itself is harder than the day of the holiday.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What I have to remember is a saying that one of my favorite Weight Watcher’s leader said one year:</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It’s a holi-<strong><u>DAY</u></strong>, not a holi-<strong><u>WEEK</u></strong>.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">With that, I will leave you to consider what you might do this holiday season to help yourself out with your goals and priorities.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Happy Thanksgiving!</span></div>Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06324102317426906660noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6350589123838269608.post-56824610769861951692011-11-06T12:16:00.000-05:002011-11-06T12:16:34.303-05:00Cranberry Raisin Walnut Beer Bread<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WEkm7OcKgZ8/Tra_krTnb-I/AAAAAAAAAt0/fZVKFmq60zY/s1600/DSCN2776.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="210" ida="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WEkm7OcKgZ8/Tra_krTnb-I/AAAAAAAAAt0/fZVKFmq60zY/s320/DSCN2776.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I’ve been making beer bread for about a year now.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In case you haven’t tried it and are wondering, it’s wonderful.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s as easy as can be and tastier than you’d imagine for something that takes such little effort.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The coup de gras of this bread is the butter you put on top.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You see, you melt a bunch of butter (salted is my choice) and you pour it all over the bread before it bakes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This results in the most fabulous buttery, salty crust E-V-E-R!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The recipe is simple enough and you can find a bunch of results when you search on Google for a recipe for it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The basis of all of them is pretty much the same.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You will find one with self-rising flour and one without that adds a healthy dose of baking powder to compensate for not using self-rising flour.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There are many variations of this recipe-some savory and some sweet.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I have no idea if this particular version of this bread is out there, I haven’t looked.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am sure I am not the first person though to think of putting dried fruit and nuts into this bread.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It seems a good combination.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The tart of the cranberries, the sweet of the raisins, the crunch of the nuts along with that crust…did I mention how amazing the crust is?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yeah, I am sure I have.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Here is the recipe.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Not sure who to credit it back to, as I said, it’s all over the internet.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So I suppose I can just say:</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Adapted from: </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.google.com/search?sourceid=navclient&ie=UTF-8&rlz=1T4TSHB_enUS339US339&q=beer+bread+recipe">Google Search “Beer Bread Recipe"</a></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">3 cups all-purpose flour</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1 tbsp baking powder</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1 tsp salt</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1/4</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> cup sugar</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">12 ounces beer</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1/2 cup dried cranberries</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1/2 cup golden raisins</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1/2 cups toasted walnuts, coarsely chopped*</span></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1/4 cup salted butter, melted and cooled</span></div></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Preheat oven to 375 and grease a loaf pan very well.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Put flour, baking powder, sugar and salt into mixing bowl.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Whisk dry ingredients together to incorporate baking powder, sugar and salt into the flour.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Have you ever eaten something and gotten a mouthful of un-mixed-in baking powder or soda?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If not, let me tell you...it’s not good.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Crack open the beer and pour it right into the dry ingredients…don’t take a sip, you won’t have enough for your recipe.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Mix thoroughly.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Add all the dried fruits and nuts into the batter and stir until they are evenly mixed in.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Pour all of this into your prepared loaf pan and smooth out the top of the loaf.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Take your melted butter and pour it evenly all over the top of the unbaked loaf.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You may need to get a pastry brush to even it out a little.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Don’t worry if some of it drips down between the batter and the pan.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Pop this baby in the oven for about an hour.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The crust will start to turn a lovely golden brown color and I use the toothpick test to check to see when it’s done…if your toothpick comes out clean, you’re done!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Cool in the pan for a little bit, about 15 minutes or so.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Turn out onto a cooling rack and try to resist cutting into it until it is cool.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">*You can toast your nits in the oven or the stove top.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I choose the stove top because I tend to forget when they are in the oven.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">To toast on the stovetop:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Put nuts in a skillet and stir over low to medium heat until they are toasted.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It doesn’t take too long and you want to be sure that you watch them carefully as it doesn’t take long for them to start to burn.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">To toast in the oven:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Heat oven to 350.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Put nuts on a baking sheet and keep an eye on them, stirring every few minutes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Again, it doesn’t take too long just make sure you pull them out before they go too far!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Here are my usual notes about what I used:</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Sugar</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As in the previous post for the pizza sauce, I used <a href="http://www.wholesomesweeteners.com/brands/Wholesome_Sweeteners/Fair_Trade_Certified_Organic_Sugar.html">Wholesome Sweeteners Organic Sugar</a>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Their website is finally back up so you can check them out now.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have not noticed any change in anything I’ve used this product with.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I really am glad I made the switch.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Butter</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I’ve recently switched to Cabot butter instead of buying the BJs brand of butter.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As with the Cabot cheeses I’ve used in previous recipes, I can find this for a good price at a small grocery store nearby. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Cabot is a farm co-op and their farmers pledge to keep hormones out of their milk.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Flour</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I usually use King Arthur, as you may know if you’ve read previous baking posts on my blog.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, with the new Wegman’s in the area, I have been buying 2-5lb bags of their unbleached flour each time we go there.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Until the end of the year they are only $0.99 at this new store.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They limit it to 2 per customer so I will keep buying 2 bags each time we go until the end of the year and will then switch back to my beloved King Arthur flour.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Dried Fruits and Nuts</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As much as I would like to say these are all organic, they are not.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Have you seen how expensive nuts are lately?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They are not cheap.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’ve never even looked for organic nuts but I am guessing Whole Foods has them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Even so, I have a hard time forking the money over for them at BJs in a club pack so I am quite sure I’d gasp at the price of organic nuts!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As for the dried fruits, I don’t usually pick these out.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I do not like dried fruits to snack on or in baked goods so my husband usually picks out what he wants to put in his nightly snack of a mix of nuts, dried fruits and chocolate chips.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Dried fruit, other than raisins, can get expensive just like nuts can.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I will look into it next time I go shopping and see how it compares.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If it’s not a big jump in price, I may make the switch.</span></div>Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06324102317426906660noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6350589123838269608.post-87429202781278312522011-10-28T13:13:00.000-04:002013-09-19T13:33:09.818-04:00Sweet Pizza Sauce<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Hellooooooooo.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am back.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I never really left but just found it hard to blog in the summer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The fall came and I fell off track horribly with my eating, gained a bit of weight and have been resisting making anything that I felt was blog-worthy. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br>
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Although this may seem like a very un-blog-worthy recipe, I felt like I had finally found my go-to pizza sauce and wanted to share it with you.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br>
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Let me preface this recipe with a story about a little pizza place in my hometown called <a href="http://www.pizzaovenlockport.com/prosite/home">Pizza Oven</a>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Anyone who is reading this who has been away from Pizza Oven, like myself, is likely drooling at the thought of this little hole in the wall pizza joint. A trip back home is not complete without getting a tray pizza and a bucket of wings and sharing it with my mom, step-father, brother and step-grandfather.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s one of the most gluttonous moments I have each year.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I eat as much of that pizza as I can that night and I don’t care.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Those who know Pizza Oven know what I am speaking of.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br>
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Pizza Oven has a very sweet sauce.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One in which I’ve been trying to mimic for years.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I add sugar to my sauce and while it’s sweet, it does not have the something special about it that Pizza Oven’s sauce has.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have never been able to figure out what it is that makes their sauce tastes like it does.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have had a discussion with my friend Michele about this and while both of us do a lot of tinkering in the kitchen, we can’t crack the secret.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br>
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I am not going to say that this recipe is a clone for Pizza Oven but it is the closest I have ever come to making a sweet sauce that doesn’t just taste like I added a bunch of sugar to some canned tomato product.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br>
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I made the sauce and used it the same day and really enjoyed it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s actually a Papa John’s copycat recipe.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I know, I know…chain pizza?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I love Papa John’s and while there was never one really close to us, there was one that was close enough but it has closed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There are still a couple around but are too far to drive for take-out, even this one we used to use was pushing it as far as distance.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The sauce seemed to mimic Papa John’s very well.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I had tried to mimic their dough as well and I felt quite happy with the result.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br>
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Next day I needed a quick lunch so I took a <a href="http://www.flatoutbread.com/products/flatout-wraps/flatout-light/light-original/">Flat-Out</a> wrap and made a pizza with it and used some of the leftover sauce.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Topped it with some sliced up leftover sausage and mozzarella cheese and had myself a little pizza.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As I sat there and ate my pizza I could not help but notice how the flavor of the sauce had developed over night in the fridge.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There were certain bites that were very reminiscent of Pizza Oven.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Even on a light Flat Out wrap.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br>
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I then made another pizza with the sauce on a beer bread crust.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I had seen a <a href="http://deedeesdelights.blogspot.com/2011/10/bbq-chicken-pizza-with-beer-crust.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+DeeDeesDelights+%28Dee+Dee%27s+Delights%29">blog</a> using the beer bread recipe as pizza crust and thought it was a brilliant idea.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Quick and easy…no kneading, no rise time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I had told my husband how the sauce was reminding me of Pizza Oven and as he started to eat the pizza on the beer bread crust, he did not think so.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then, somewhere during his second piece, he declared that he understood what I was saying.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br>
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There is something about this sauce that <em>almost</em> gets it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There has to be enough of the sauce in the bite of pizza as well as the cheese being just right.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s going to take a lot of tweaking to make any pizza taste like Pizza Oven but I feel like I at least have a start with this sauce.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As anyone who’s had the pizza knows, their crust is a bit different too and I feel like that maybe even more of a challenge than the sauce.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>No, I will likely never make a perfect Pizza Oven clone but if I can manage a bite or two of a homemade pizza that brings me to the oblivion I feel when I eat Pizza Oven, I’ll take it for now until we get back home to get the real deal.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br>
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Sweet Pizza Sauce</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br>
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Adapted from:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> <a href="http://www.blogger.com/goog_352745624"> </a></span><a href="http://www.pizzamaking.com/forum/index.php/topic,994.0.html">pizzamaking.com’s message boards</a> (which is Todd Wilbur’s copycat recipe for Papa John’s sauce)</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br>
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1 28 ounce can of tomato puree</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">3 tbsp sugar</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">3 tsp olive oil</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">3/4 tsp lemon juice</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">3/4 tsp salt</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">3/4 tsp oregano</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1/8 tsp basil</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1/8 tsp thyme</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1/8 tsp garlic</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br>
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It’s as easy as putting all these ingredients into a saucepan, mixing them up, bringing them all to a boil over medium heat and then lowering the hear and simmering for 15-20 minutes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br>
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-b2gZRnQNShQ/TqrgmmUazVI/AAAAAAAAAtY/CODY7QaZyMc/s1600/DSCN2740.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" ida="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-b2gZRnQNShQ/TqrgmmUazVI/AAAAAAAAAtY/CODY7QaZyMc/s320/DSCN2740.JPG" width="320"></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br>
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Now, I used it right away.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Of course I let it cool a little before I put it on the raw pizza dough.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, if you read all my blah, blah, blah above you will know that I preferred the more developed flavor of the sauce after it had sat in the fridge overnight.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br>
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">(If you looked at the recipe in the link I provided for where I got the recipe from, you will notice that they added water to the recipe.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I did not forget to include it, I left it out.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I felt that once I had the other ingredients together that I liked the consistency of the sauce.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I felt that adding water to it would have made it way too thin.)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br>
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As always, a few notes about the ingredients:</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br>
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-L6QL0zG2roE/TqrgwZvL9hI/AAAAAAAAAtg/QMRNoam15JA/s1600/DSCN2739.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" ida="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-L6QL0zG2roE/TqrgwZvL9hI/AAAAAAAAAtg/QMRNoam15JA/s320/DSCN2739.JPG" width="320"></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br>
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Tomato puree</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br>
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I could do a whole year’s worth of blogging about Wegmans but I will keep this short and tell you that I used Wegmans Organic Tomato Puree and cannot be happier that I now have a Wegmans close enough to be able to use their products.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I usually use Muir Glen which I find at Trucci’s for about $2.69-$2.89 a can.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Wegmans brand is $1.69 so I am thrilled.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have about 6 cans of it in my cupboard right now.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is the base ingredient for any sauce I make since I can’t do any chunk at all in my sauce.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m just way too picky for my own good.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br>
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Sugar</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br>
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I had mentioned a while back in one of my blogs that I had spotted organic sugar at BJs Wholesale Club.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At the time I hadn’t quite convinced myself that it was worth it but have since changed my mind.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What brought me to my decision was that the sugar is unbleached and it’s fair trade.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Buying it at a wholesale club makes it much more affordable...if they did not have it, I would not be buying it.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br>
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Olive Oil</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br>
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There’s nothing too special about the oil I used but I did want to note that I’ve been keeping my olive oil in the fridge.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This calls for planning ahead to use it so it can un-solidify or else you have to run the bottle under warm water which, in my opinion, is wasteful of water and the heating oil it takes to heat the water...cold temps are here so I’m super aware of our usage of the heating oil because that bill when they fill the tank up is a killer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I had done some reading about cooking oils and feel better keeping olive oil in the fridge so it does not go rancid as quickly.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sometimes it takes me a long time to get through a bottle and I’d always just kept it on my counter.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’ve just started to dabble in learning about oils/fats-what’s good, what’s not so good.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I find it all a little overwhelming since everything we once thought about saturated fats is now being called out as maybe not as true as was once thought.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At any rate, as well as a few other things, I did take from my reading this tip about olive oil in the fridge.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06324102317426906660noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6350589123838269608.post-20544140859388737232011-08-10T11:48:00.000-04:002011-08-10T11:48:09.367-04:00Roasted Garlic Pain a l’Ancienne<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-vCpngmQBc6U/TkKk_wjGqhI/AAAAAAAAAso/VDMRoWAKDtQ/s1600/DSCN2600.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="343" naa="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-vCpngmQBc6U/TkKk_wjGqhI/AAAAAAAAAso/VDMRoWAKDtQ/s400/DSCN2600.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Bread.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What can I say, I love it the most of all foods.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I love the simplicity of the ingredients and how from those very simple ingredients, you can create an amazing array of very different types of bread.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I first made this bread last year and I was quite excited with the results, as well as the small amount of work involved.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s a crusty bread with a soft interior.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It sits for a while in the fridge so it gains a lot of flavor while it’s fermenting.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I decided to make up a batch of this again after being inspired by something I bought at a supermarket bakery not too long ago.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was craving good, crusty bread and spotted a bag of goodness that would surely hit the spot.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They were called breadsticks but were fatter…more like the mini baguettes that this recipe makes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They had hunks of roasted garlic and while the bag did say that it had olive oil and sea salt also, I didn’t notice how either was incorporated into the bread.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was that garlic that made this bread memorable.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So it was to be.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I knew the recipe had to be a crusty, chewy type of bread.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I poked through cookbooks and everything was a 2+ day process.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I wanted bread now.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, since I knew the wait would be worth it, I sucked it up and started the Pain a l’Ancienne.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I had roasted the garlic in anticipation of replicating the bread I had bought and decided to put the whole heads in the freezer just to help preserve them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Turns out, it was a good idea for another reason too.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As anyone who has roasted garlic knows, the end result is a soft clove that easily squeezes out of the bulb.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Kneading this fragrant, mushy loveliness into the bread would have been a mess so I was thrilled that I was a step ahead of myself without even knowing it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I generally am not so keen to thinking ahead like that.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I will post the recipe next however, as to how to do the garlic…I can only tell you what I did.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I had 3 small-ish to medium-ish heads of garlic.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I cut off the tops and drizzled some olive oil over them, making sure some got down in the cloves.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I then wrapped the cloves in a double layer of foil and baked them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I used a moderately hot oven…I think it was about 400 degrees…and just let them cook till they seemed to be done.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>These were not huge cloves so it took maybe 30-45 minutes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I would say roast your garlic for about 30 minutes then peek inside your packet and see if the cloves are looking brown and poke at them to see if they have softened.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Another note on the garlic, even though I did freeze the cloves after they had been roasted, some did still “mush” into the dough instead of staying as whole cloves that could easily be seen in the bread.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am going to experiment next time and unwrap all the cloves from the head, toss them in a mix of olive oil and salt, then roast them on a pan at a high temp for shorter time to hopefully get that great carmelization going without mushing them too much.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We’ll see how it works out…this is a work in progress!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Roasted Garlic Pain a l’Ancienne</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">adapted from <a href="http://books.google.com/books/about/The_bread_baker_s_apprentice.html?id=yHGBOXSNogsC">The Bread Baker’s Apprentice by Peter Reinhart</a> (an awesome book!)</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">6 cups bread flour</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2 1/4 tsp salt</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1 3/4 tsp instant yeast</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2 1/4 cups plus 2 tbsp-3 cups of ice cold water (40 degrees)</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">roasted garlic cloves, amount depends on your garlic tolerance-the 3 heads I used worked out nicely (seen notes above)</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In a mixer bowl, combine the flour, salt and yeast.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Add 2 1/4 cups water and continue to mix.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You want the dough to be sticky yet not too sticky.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It should pull away from the sides of the bowl but be stuck to the bottom.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is where you start to use your best judgment and add water if you feel it’s needed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Once you get the right consistency, knead the dough in your mixer for 5-6 minutes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The dough will now ferment in the fridge overnight.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Put it in a large, oiled bowl then spritz the top of the dough with non-stick spray and cover it with plastic wrap.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I made this in the early afternoon so after about 3 hours in the fridge, when the dough was a little more firm from being cold, I kneaded in the garlic.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Put the dough on lightly floured surface, or you can even work it in while it’s in the bowl if you don’t mind the awkward work.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Knead small amounts of your garlic cloves in at a time until you have them all in there and evenly distrusted.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Put the dough back in the oiled bowl, spray the top again, cover it and throw it back in the fridge.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">After the dough has risen in the fridge overnight, take it out and let it rest at room temperature for a few hours.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The dough should be doubled from its original size- the size it was before you put it in the fridge.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">At some point while the dough is warming up to room temperature, you will want to get your oven preheated.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You will need to use a pizza stone for best results as well as some steam.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The oven needs to be at least 500 degrees, or as high as your oven will go…mine goes to 550.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Preheat your stone for a while, the better part of an hour.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Your oven may get to the set temperature but you want the stone to be heated through and from what I’ve read, that takes longer than the oven to preheat.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As for the steam, there is a lengthy section in the book as to how to duplicate a steam oven that a bakery typically has.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I forgo most of this.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Would my bread maybe turn out better if I followed every last detail?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yeah, it probably would.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, when I have tried to follow it all, I’ve not noticed enough difference to warrant the work.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What I do is put a heavy duty sheet pan filled with hot water on the rack under my stone.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I place this in the oven, very carefully, shortly before I am about to put the bread in…about 15 minutes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You will just want to keep an eye on the pan to make sure that the water does not evaporate away completely.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When you are ready to bake, you will want to work with this dough very gently so that you do not deflate it any more than possible.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have a hard time with that, I usually don’t have the patience but I try my best and work quickly but as gently as I can.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Divide the dough into 6.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Although I don’t have the patience for gentle handling, I do for even portions so I weigh the whole amount and divide it by 6 then portion it out that way.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Shape the dough into baguettes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The book does not give a length; mine were about a foot long.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Put a few slashes in the top of the loaves with a very sharp knives so the sides don’t blow out as the expand in the oven.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As for how to get these onto the stone…I use a pizza peel and parchment paper.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have had too many things stick to my peel no matter how much flour or semolina I’ve used so I now automatically use parchment on the peel and slice it all onto the stone.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Be careful, of course.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You are working with a very hot oven, steam and paper.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It could be a recipe for disaster if you don’t take your time and be cautious!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I bake 3 loaves at a time just for ease of maneuvering.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Bake these for 8-9 minutes then take a look at them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If they are not browning evenly, very carefully rotate the loaves.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If you’ve used parchment this is fairly easy to do, just turn the whole lot of them on the paper.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Continue baking these for another 10-15 minutes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You want the internal temperature of the loaves to be 205 degrees…check it just like you’d check a roast.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It takes the guess work out of whether or not it’s done.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Cool these and then enjoy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We had some as-is with dinner last night and tonight we are having shaved steak sandwiches with them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There are fresh tomatoes from the garden and marinated mozzarella in the fridge just waiting to turn these loaves into yummy sandwiches.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If you can bear anymore blather from me, here are a couple notes about the ingredients used:</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Flour</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As always, <a href="http://www.kingarthurflour.com/shop/items/king-arthur-unbleached-bread-flour-5-lb?utm_source=frooglecom&utm_medium=cse&utm_campaign=shopping&ctype=2&gclid=CJCd7MuIxaoCFQmD5Qod83QENg">King Arthur</a> is the brand that I used.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Yeast</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I buy my yeast in bulk at BJs.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Its <a href="http://www.kingarthurflour.com/shop/items/saf-red-instant-yeast-16-oz">SAF</a> brand and it’s SO much cheaper than buying those little packets.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The yeast keeps wonderfully in the freezer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Once I open the vacuum packed bag it comes in, I dump it into a freezer zip bag then put that bag into another freezer zip bag just to keep it as fresh as possible.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’ve had luck with yeast keeping for a very long time like this, at least a year or more.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Garlic</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I found organic garlic at Trader Joe’s.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I didn’t really think I’d find organic but was very happy that I did.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was not that much more at all than the non-organic.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I think it was about $0.50 a pound difference.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The package was way less than a pound and while I did not do all the math, I know it was a minimal difference in cost between the two.</span></div>Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06324102317426906660noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6350589123838269608.post-62486144216188163492011-07-13T15:06:00.005-04:002013-09-19T13:32:45.841-04:00Ice Cream<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-l3ijPW4-GYQ/Th3R3kFbp-I/AAAAAAAAAsg/nVkaQCI0PvM/s1600/DSCN2554.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" m$="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-l3ijPW4-GYQ/Th3R3kFbp-I/AAAAAAAAAsg/nVkaQCI0PvM/s400/DSCN2554.JPG" width="400"></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br>
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It’s been a little bit…well, maybe a long bit….since I posted.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Summer has arrived and as a stay at home mom, that means my days are filled now with keeping an 11 year old busy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My posts may be few and far between over the next couple of months but I am still here and will be more active with the blog once the fall arrives when I don’t feel so badly sitting in front of a computer instead of hanging with my boy.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br>
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">For now, I give you ice cream.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br>
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It’s a long story as to how I came to buy an ice cream maker.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I essentially bought it to save money and to make my own low fat ice cream creations.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br>
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Two problems with that.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br>
</div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">1.<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></span>It’s expensive to make your own ice cream.</span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">2.<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></span>Low fat, homemade ice cream tastes terrible.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br>
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So the thing sat in my cupboard for about 10 years, getting no use at all.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Last year I pulled it out, sucked it up and made a couple batches of ice cream that defied the reasons why I bought an ice cream maker in the first place.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I spent the money and calories on the ingredients and made some pretty decent ice cream.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br>
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This year I pulled the thing back out when I had mistakenly bought a half gallon of whole milk…I thought I was grabbing chocolate.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I don’t usually buy whole milk so I saw it as an opportunity to make something with it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After years of using skim, whole milk is just not appealing to us for drinking so I had to do something with it as I did not want to waste it.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br>
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I knew I had seen a recipe for chocolate ice cream using only whole milk but when it came time to find it, I couldn’t.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In my inbox sits a “recipe” folder.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is where I put emails from the blogs and recipe sites I follow that I would like to someday make.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Today it has 710 emails in it. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am a recipe hoarder and I need help.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Therefore, I could not find what I was looking for…even after doing a search in that folder alone.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br>
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I started hunting online for a replacement recipe.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I found one that looked promising.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It had 2 cans of sweetened condensed milk in it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Ah-ha.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I knew I had some stashed in my cabinets from holiday baking that I never got around to using.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As long as the date was still good on it, I’d used that.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I found 1 can of it and while the date was still good, it was only 1 can.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br>
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Back to the searching.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I found a recipe but it sounded horrible.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Cornstarch Ice Cream.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Told ya.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Doesn’t that conjure up images of powdery goo?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Well, it did for me but once I started looking more into, it seemed this recipe was onto something.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You could use cream, half and half, or any type of milk.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A variation I found showed even using coconut milk.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yay.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I had everything for it and people liked it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Now, I just had to figure out how to do chocolate.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The original recipe I had in mind was chocolate and that is what I wanted.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>With a little looking I found a couple recipes that used the basics of this one with the addition of either cocoa or melted chocolate.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And so it was, I made my ice cream.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was good.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was very good considering the nature of the ingredients.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The next day I made vanilla and we put berries into it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The vanilla was good too. I used my <a href="http://www.kingarthurflour.com/shop/items/vanilla-bean-paste-4-oz">Nielsen-Massey Vanilla Bean Paste</a> in it so it had lovely black specs in it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Had I finally found ice cream that didn’t cost a lot to make and wasn’t as bad for me as the more typical kinds made with cream?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yeah, I think I did.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br>
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Here is a picture of some I made the other day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s chocolate with organic unsweetened flaked coconut and chopped Marcona almonds.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Never mind my bad photography skills.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s something I’m still working on and I have to admit, I’ve been itching to blog this since I discovered it and just wanted to get a somewhat in-focus picture…nothing fancy, just one to show what it looks like.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br>
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Here are the links to everything I used to get this stuff made.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I used the New York Times recipe as stated to make the vanilla.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For the chocolate I had found 2 recipes, only one of which I bookmarked. I took the two chocolate as well as the original vanilla and did my own thing after comparing them all. I will update the blog if I do come across the other chocolate one again. Goodness knows, I looked and looked for it this afternoon...I did want to link it and give it credit for the inspiration.</span><br>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/01/dining/011mrex.html">New York Times recipe for Cornstarch Ice Cream</a></span><br>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><a href="http://tastyplanner.com/recipes/chocolate-cornstarch-ice-cream">Chocolate Cornstarch Ice Cream</a></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br>
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Here is what I did for my own chocolate:</span><br>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">2 1/2 cups milk</span><br>
<span style="font-family: Arial;">1/2 cup sugar</span><br>
<span style="font-family: Arial;">3 tbsp cornstarch</span><br>
<span style="font-family: Arial;">pinch of salt</span><br>
<span style="font-family: Arial;">4 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips</span><br>
<span style="font-family: Arial;">2 tsp vanilla extract</span><br>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">As for how to make this chocolate version...I used the instructions for the NYT vanilla ice cream. When the base was done cooking, I put the 2 tsp of vanilla in and stirred in the chocolate chips until they were melted. I then continued to follow the NYT instructions.</span><br>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">If you are adding anything chunky to the ice cream, fold it in after it has been churned and then turn it into the container you will store it in while in the freezer.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br>
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Here are some notes about the ingredients I used:</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br>
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Organic Whole Milk</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I had originally bought Horizon Organic that day when I picked up the wrong type of milk. For the coconut batch I used BJs in-house brand of organic whole milk.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Even though organic milk costs more than non-organic, it’s still way less than buying whole cream.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br>
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Sugar</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I used regular white (non-organic) sugar but I may change that.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Recently BJs has started to carry organic sugar.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’ve had it in my hands a couple times but have always put it back on the shelf.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I think though, if they still have it when I go again, that I will buy it for my ice cream making.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br>
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Cornstarch</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I had Argo brand on hand the day I made this for the first time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I knew it was likely ripe with GMO corn but I used it anyway.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I had bought it way before I made my discoveries and since it’s something I hardly use, I had a ton of it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As I realized this would be a recipe that I make again and again, I decided to see if I could find organic cornstarch…I knew that would probably be the only way to know for sure that I was not using GMO corn.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I did find organic cornstarch at Whole Foods and of course it was about 3x the price of Argo but I bought it anyway.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The funny thing is, Whole Foods had Argo sitting right next to the organic as well as another common brand whose name escapes me right now.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have to see if Argo is non-GMO but I have a feeling it is not, I know that there have been some protests of Whole Foods due to them letting some GMO products in.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I still love them though.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I know I’m very fortunate to have one near me with all the “better” choices that they do still provide. I have emailed Argo asking them about the GMO thing and will post the response on Court Street Kitchen's Facebook page.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br>
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Chocolate</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I used Nestle semi-sweet chips, again, because it’s what I had on hand the first time I made it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As I continue to make chocolate ice cream, I will definitely be upping the quality of the chocolate.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br>
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">That’s about it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I think this is a great recipe because it makes homemade ice cream more do-able for us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I don’t have to go out to buy anything special for it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When I want ice cream, I just have to make sure my churning bowl is frozen and trust me, that’s enough of a challenge for me let alone having to make a special trip just to get everything I need for a recipe.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You can add whatever you want to this ice cream to make it your own.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am loving my coconut almond variation and I have a million ideas in mind for future batches.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The possibilities with these base recipes are endless and I love that…whatever you are in the mood for can be easily done.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am off now to enjoy a little bowl of frozen coco-nutty-almond goodness and to ponder my next variation.</span></div>Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06324102317426906660noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6350589123838269608.post-883314986377047282011-06-21T12:07:00.000-04:002011-06-21T12:07:45.071-04:00Beer Biscuits<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6hvEHFnRPzg/TgDATUQ0LMI/AAAAAAAAAsc/k1EczXIEn2o/s1600/DSCN2531.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" i$="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6hvEHFnRPzg/TgDATUQ0LMI/AAAAAAAAAsc/k1EczXIEn2o/s400/DSCN2531.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Over the last year I have grown very fond of beer bread.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s simple enough to make and tastes amazing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This past weekend we grilled out and I wanted to make either beer bread or biscuits to go along with it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I asked my son what he thought we should have and he said, “what about beer biscuits”?</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I thought about it and decided that it seemed feasible so I searched for a recipe online.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The first one that came up was a <a href="http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/paula-deen/bubbas-beer-biscuits-recipe/index.html">Paula Deen recipe</a> that required a baking mix, like Bisquick.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I really wanted to make the biscuits from scratch if I could.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I did have Trader Joe’s Multigrain baking mix in the cupboard but I’ve often been disappointed in the way baking mix biscuits turn out.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I noticed that Paula’s recipe used 12 ounces of beer so I looked at my go-to biscuit recipe and that called for 12 ounces of milk.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Perfect.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’d use my biscuit recipe and replace the milk with beer.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The wonderful thing about beer bread is that after you put the batter into the loaf pan, you pour melted butter on top of it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’ve seen different amounts for the butter but I generally use ¼ cup of butter on top of the loaf.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This makes the crust the best part of the bread.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It browns up and tastes salty.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s really good.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Really, really good.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I wanted to emulate this on the biscuits as well.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After I cut the biscuits, I dipped the tops into melted butter.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Since I used unsalted butter, I wanted to be sure that the outsides of the biscuits had that salty taste like the bread does when I used salted butter on it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I decided to put a sprinkle of salt on the top of each biscuit after I placed it on the baking sheet. I used ground pink salt crystals thinking it would add a bit of color to the tops of the biscuits.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">All in all, these biscuits were great.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They did not brown up quite the way the beer bread does but that did not matter in all in regards to taste.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They still had that buttery and salty taste to them that the beer bread does.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They also tasted like beer…something that I’ve never really noticed with beer bread.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I would venture to guess that the much shorter baking time allows the beer taste to stay intact with the biscuits.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The bread takes about an hour to bake whereas the biscuits cook for about 10 minutes.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">For the biscuits, I based what I did on the <a href="http://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/bakewell-cream-biscuits-recipe">Bakewell Cream biscuit recipe</a> but I would not hesitate to substitute beer for the milk/cream in any biscuit recipe.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Before the recipe, here are a few notes on the ingredients I used:</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.kingarthurflour.com/">King Arthur Flour</a></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As you may know by now if you’ve been following my blog, this is the flour I use in my kitchen.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s unbleached and I love that the company is employee-owned.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.newenglandcupboard.com/bakewell-cream.php">Bakewell Cream</a></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I picked this up last summer after seeing it time and time again at the <a href="http://www.kitterytradingpost.com/">Kittery Trading Post</a>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s similar in nature to baking powder.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have only used it for biscuits at this point but would like to experiment with it for other baked goods in the future.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Shortening</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The back of the Bakewell Cream tin calls for shortening while the King Arthur recipe I’ve linked calls for butter.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I followed the back of the tin and used <a href="http://www.spectrumorganics.com/?id=87">Spectrum Organic non-hydrogenated shortening</a>.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Beer</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I used Molson Canadian for this.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We are not beer drinkers and only keep it on hand to bake with.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Butter</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I finally bought organic butter.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I found <a href="http://www.horizondairy.com/our-products/butter/salted">Horizon Organic butter</a> at BJ’s Wholesale a couple weeks ago and it had an “instant rebate’ on it so I decided that it was the best time to try it out with the price that it was.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The only problem was, it was unsalted and I usually buy salted butter.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That is fine though, adding salt is easy enough.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Beer Biscuits</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Adapted from:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> <a href="http://www.blogger.com/goog_1957069795">Bake</a></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/bakewell-cream-biscuits-recipe">well Cream Biscuits</a></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">4 cups all-purpose flour</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">4 tsp Bakewell Cream</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2 tsp baking soda</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1 tsp salt</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1/2 cup shortening</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">12 ounces cold beer</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">For dipping:</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1/4 cup butter</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">salt (optional, use if using unsalted butter for dipping)</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Preheat oven to 475 degrees.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Combine flour, Bakewell Cream, baking soda and salt in bowl.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Using a whisk is great for this.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Using a pastry cutter or your fingers, work shortening into the dry ingredients until most has been incorporated.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You will want to leave a few small, pea-sized pieces so that you know you have not worked it in too much.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Slowly pour beer into the mixture and stir until it combines and all comes together.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Lightly flour your counter and dump out your ball of biscuit dough.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Knead it a few times to bring it completely together.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At this point you will roll or pat the dough out to about 3/4 inch thick.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I hate to use biscuit cutters so what I do is pat it into a rectangle, 3/4 inch thick.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I then take my dough scraper and cut the rectangle in half, then half again so that I have 4 quarters.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I then cut each quarter into 2 squares for a total of 8 square shaped biscuits.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Melt 1/4 cup butter into a bowl that is big enough for you to dip the biscuit into.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Let it cool just a bit.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While it’s cooling, prepare your baking sheet.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You can lightly grease it or line it with parchment.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I prefer parchment, especially with this extra step of buttering the biscuits before you bake them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Carefully pick up each biscuit and gently dip the tops into the melted butter.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s okay to let some of the butter drip down the sides of the biscuit but do let most of the excess drip off.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After all biscuits have been dipped and placed on baking sheet, top each with a sprinkle of coarse salt if you have used unsalted butter.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Bake the biscuits in the preheated 475 degree oven for 5 minutes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After five minutes have passed, turn off the oven and leave the biscuits in the closed-up oven for an additional 5-10 minutes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I needed to keep mine in there for the whole 10 minutes because they are fairly large but definitely check them after 5 to make sure they are not browning too much.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Let these cool just a little bit before you dig in and enjoy.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Makes 8 big biscuits</span></div>Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06324102317426906660noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6350589123838269608.post-49232877213650264422011-06-17T12:19:00.000-04:002011-06-17T12:19:50.208-04:00Cake<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It's a simple title, I know. But when a food looks like this, do you really need to say a whole lot about it?</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-OEn4o7Im9F8/Tft918QRG8I/AAAAAAAAAsY/gqlrtCfg__c/s1600/DSCN2379.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" i$="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-OEn4o7Im9F8/Tft918QRG8I/AAAAAAAAAsY/gqlrtCfg__c/s400/DSCN2379.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I have never had a lot of success with making cakes from scratch.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Perhaps that is because I grew up with cake-mix cakes and continued to make into my adult life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’ve tried many homemade cake recipes and while some taste good, I can’t ever recall one that tastes GREAT.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I really love cake. You can see that my first couple posts on this blog are about cake. Cake soothes me. Sounds silly, I am sure, but when I bite into cake, it makes me forget the world around me. I don't make it often as I eat way too much of it when it's around but I usually keep a couple cake mixes in my cupboard. Recently though, I've not felt very good about using them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Since I have made cakes from scratch, I see what goes into them and it’s quite simple.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When I look at the ingredient list of a cake mix I see a lot of mystery ingredients.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Take a look for yourself:</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><em>Supermarket Brand Name Chocolate Cake Mix:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>sugar, enriched bleached wheat flour (flour, niacin, reduced iron, thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid), vegetable oil shortening (partially hydrogenated soybean oil, propylene glycol mono- and diesters of fats, mono and diglycerides), cocoa powder processed with alkali, dextrose, leavening (sodium bicarbonate, dicalcium phosphate, sodium aluminum phosphate, monocalcium phosphate), contains 2% or less of: modified food starch, wheat starch, polyglycerol esters of fatty acids, salt, partially hydrogenated soybean oil, cellulose gum, xanthan gum, maltodextrin, artificial flavors.</em></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What’s a diester?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What’s a polyglycerol ester of fatty acids?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I looked a few of the ingredients up and still can’t tell you what they are.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I know that my cake recipes never asked me to hunt down those ingredients.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I kept putting off buying a Trader Joe’s (Trader Josef’s) cake mix because of the price.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I know I mention price a lot and I do hope that you don’t think that I am cheap.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If you read the <a href="http://courtstkitchen.blogspot.com/2011/06/moment-of-unsettledness.html">previous post</a> you may understand where I am coming from when I mention the cost of food products that I discuss in my posts.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You see, a Trader Joe’s cake mix costs $2.99.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You can get a brand name cake mix at Target or Walmart for usually less than $1.50.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s twice as much.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yes, I do know we are talking $1.50 versus $3.00 and not $150 versus $300 but it still all adds up.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Well, one day I did it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I bought that chocolate Trader Joe’s cake mix.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was worth every one of the three dollars that it cost. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I opted to use the ½ cup of butter instead of the ½ cup of oil.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It also calls for 3 eggs and water.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was as easy as making any other cake mix but the results were amazingly different.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This cake resembled what I had always longed for in my attempts at homemade cakes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was not fluffy like a regular cake mix but dense, in a good way.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It had a great, deep chocolate flavor.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It tasted to me what cake should taste and I now know that spending the $3 to ensure that I have a homemade tasting cake with the ease of a mix is well worth it.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Q_F2a_KhLiY/Tft83PUBzlI/AAAAAAAAAsU/10e03F4xOvM/s1600/DSCN2370.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" i$="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Q_F2a_KhLiY/Tft83PUBzlI/AAAAAAAAAsU/10e03F4xOvM/s400/DSCN2370.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Here are the ingredients in the Trader Joe’s chocolate cake mix:</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><em>Trader Joes Chocolate Cake Mix:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>sugar, unbleached enriched flour (wheat flour, niacin, reduced iron, thiamin mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid, may contain malted barley flour, enzymes, ascorbic acid), cocoa (processed with alkali), cornstarch, leavening (sodium bicarbonate, sodium acid pyrophosphate), soybean oil, salt, buttermilk, natural vanilla flavor.</em></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">See how many fewer ingredients are in it?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Everything besides the cornstarch are ingredients I’ve used in homemade cake mixes and I love that it uses unbleached flour, unlike the brand name mix.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s simple and it tastes absolutely amazing.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I topped my cake mix with a basic chocolate frosting, something along the lines of this <a href="http://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/super-simple-chocolate-frosting-recipe">recipe</a>. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Trader Joe’s does make a frosting mix as well. However, I have no problems with making my own frosting so I don’t usually buy frosting unless I am taking whatever it is I’ve frosted somewhere where it will be sitting outside since it’s a little more stable than homemade in warmer weather.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If you are like me and cakes are one of your weaker areas or you just need a quick to make dessert, I hope you will consider trying Trader Joe’s cake mix next time you have a need for cake. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If you do not have a Trader Joe’s around, I know that Dr. Oetker makes an <a href="http://www.oetker.us/en/product/organics/organic-cake-mixes">organic cake mix</a>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’ve never tried them but the ingredient list is similar to Trader Joe’s and there’s that added bonus that it is all organic.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’d love to hear if anyone has tried the Dr. Oetker brand because they have a couple more flavor choices than Trader Joe’s…ya know, in case I ever get sick of yellow or chocolate.</span></div>Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06324102317426906660noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6350589123838269608.post-22214808266003074632011-06-14T11:53:00.002-04:002011-06-14T13:47:37.553-04:00A Moment of Unsettledness<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I’m not sure where to start with this post.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s about what’s been going through my mind as far as making more conscious food shopping practical.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s hard to say certain things online without people knowing the tone of your voice, body language and look on your face.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I fear coming across in a negative way when that is not my intent at all.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Please know that in this post that I am just sharing with you some of the thoughts that I’ve encountered along the way and how they tie into each other.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Pre-Thanksgiving 2009 I was listening to <a href="http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&cd=1&sqi=2&ved=0CCUQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.npr.org%2F&ei=tX33Ta20M8ja0QHohtSaCw&usg=AFQjCNHhzJGMjiBCI0LXeXoQy8CoK_dhVg&sig2=a6kgoKfYoFkYp2hPimY5sQ">NPR</a> as I was doing errands one day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I listened intently as they talked with an author who described how he had tried to get into a meat processing plant to witness what goes on to bring meat to our table.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He spoke of how he was refused access and this left him wondering what they did not want him to see.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This all was leading the conversation to the turkeys that end up on our tables during the holidays.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The interview resonated with me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’ve always loved food…making it, buying it and eating it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And while I have given some thought in the past about where it comes from, I had never let it be more than a passing thought.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I had mentioned this interview in a comment on a friend’s Facebook saying that I could not recall who the author was.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was told that it was likely <a href="http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&cd=1&sqi=2&ved=0CCgQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.michaelpollan.com%2F&ei=1n33TffVHIao0AHo8dS2Cw&usg=AFQjCNHrcrVw5h4xb-3vR5c8fcKylMM93g&sig2=4YPqk3dxGAtUY2Ms2ihyJg">Michael Pollan</a>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was also given some other suggestions as to things to read and watch regarding this whole area of interest.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This is the short path of what lead me to my current thoughts on buying food.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You see, I read Pollan’s <a href="http://michaelpollan.com/books/the-omnivores-dilemma/">book</a> and I watched the documentaries that were suggested.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It all bothered me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I wasn’t sure what I could do about it in my own situation but I decided to take it seriously enough and investigate to see what I could change about the way my family ate.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I’ve always been a bargain shopper.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This was also true of my grocery shopping.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I would thrive on clipping and printing coupons then pairing them up with all the grocery store ads and seeing what I could get for the least amount.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’d walk out of the grocery store feeling vindicated.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After all, I had just paid next to nothing for the things I had acquired.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But what was it that I had acquired?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I never questioned that until I started to learn what I now know.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">One of the first things I did was email a farm close by and ask them about the eggs they had for sale.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For years I had driven by this farm noticing the “eggs” sign out front but was always too afraid to pull in.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was a farmhouse with horses to the side and a bunch of little buildings in between the two.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I searched for them online and luckily they had a website with contact information.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I emailed them and received a reply a few days later indicating how to purchase their eggs.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was easy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One of the buildings held a refrigerator full of their eggs; you dropped your $2.50 in the basket next to the fridge and took a dozen with you as you left.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Easy enough.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I now had a source for local, free range eggs.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This inspired me to keep looking for ways to change.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Next, I had the<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>hard task of going from coupon shopping to walking into Whole Foods, Trader Joe’s and the natural food sections of the grocery stores I had always used and consider purchasing things that were not on sale and that I did not have a coupon for.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was a tough transition.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I’ve been going into Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s ever since we moved to an area that had these two stores, which was 1997.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Because I love the entire idea of food it never bothered me to at least go look at what these two stores had even if I felt I could not afford it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We’d walk out of these stores with a few snacky things and in the case of Trader Joe’s, a few grocery items as their prices really aren’t that bad at all.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But you have to remember, I was an ad/coupon shopper so it was still sometimes a stretch for me to buy those few things at Trader Joe’s.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My husband and I would kind of chuckle as we looked at the prices on some of the items, mostly at Whole Foods.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Who shopped like this?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Well, the wealthy, of course.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After all, most of the Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s in my part of the country were in more affluent communities than the one I lived in.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We would comment on how the parking lot at one Whole Foods was like a “who’s who” of luxury cars.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What I would always notice at both stores though was that there were people who seriously did all their grocery shopping there.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It amazed me that people would spend that kind of money on their food when they could be doing what I was doing at the time.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Well, all that changed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was a slow transition though, that’s for sure.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At one point while I was reading and watching all the things that fueled my yearning for change, I heard the word “elitism” mentioned.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I wish I could recall where I had heard it but I do remember the context.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Whomever it was, was referring to the way in which I had felt when I would go into one of these stores in an affluent community, look at all the expensive cars in the parking lot and see cartful’s of expensive groceries being purchased.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I felt these people were, if not elite, more elite than I was.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I don’t live in that type of community, a Toyota sits in the driveway of our very modest 1200 square foot home as our one and only family car and I only bought a few things that were very likely on sale at those stores.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Unfortunately, there are many more people out there with thoughts of that like the “old” me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And while I reevaluated the way in which I thought about food and found that I was able to make some changes, I do understand that there are people who just cannot financially make the switch, even to just an item or two.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is where I feel a lot of unrest.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Because I had heard that word “elitism” and had at one time felt what they were talking about, I had a hard time getting over the fact that I was buying more and more of my groceries that were all those things-organic, non-GMO, antibiotic-free, free-range.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This of course was costing me more and was redirecting me to the Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s world of stores.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I never even used a cart in the past at these stores because I bought so little and now, here I was, using a cart and filling it to some extent.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s still not a full cart, at least at Whole Foods it is not, but the fact that I am buying enough for it to be too much to hold or put in a hand basket was making me uncomfortable.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I would walk out of Whole Foods with mixed feelings…I can see a particular visit there in<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>my head as I type this.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was thrilled I had just bought wholesome things for my family yet on the other hand, I felt as if I had done something wrong by spending money the way I had done that day.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As time passed and I became more comfortable that our grocery bill was just going to be higher in order to accommodate what I believed in, I had no issues with doing what I was doing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I felt a peace about it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I knew my place.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was NOT elite in any sense of the word.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I just had made a realization that the “cheap” food I used to feel so proud of buying was just that, cheap food.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My grocery bill may have been pretty low but at what cost?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How was the cheap food I was buying affecting my family, the environment, the animals, the farmers?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I felt like the things I made the decision to change were beneficial in many ways and it was worth the extra investment.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s been a while now that I’ve had a good comfort level.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, I found myself feeling uncomfortable not too long ago.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’ll tell you my story if you’ll give me just a bit more of your time.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This is where things get tricky in my mind and I hope not to offend in any way, shape or form.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When I said that the community I live in is not affluent, I meant it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s a large city, nearly 100,000 people of all religions, ethnicities and soci-economic levels.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I love the diversity of my city as I feel like my son is growing up in an environment in which he judges no one for what they look like, what they believe in or how much money they have.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He’s had a great range of friends over the years and I see him make no judgment whatsoever of the people he meets and that makes my heart very happy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While I do not make any judgments of the people I see on a daily basis in my community, I cannot help but notice things.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I see people who are struggling for everything they’ve got and feel badly that things are that way for them.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">At the beginning of this month I was out meeting a friend.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My son had a half day so I knew that my time was limited for errands when I got done with my meet-up.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I needed to go to Price Rite at some point that week and I was already about half way there at our meet-up spot but would I make it over to the school on time to pick up my son?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He normally takes the bus which would get him home later and leave me more time but needed to bring a project home with him so I was going right to the school to pick him up.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I decided to try it, why not?</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I pulled into the parking lot and it was jam-packed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I wasn’t expecting that as it was not early morning, was not quite yet lunchtime and was not a weekend day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was concerned that once I grabbed the few items I needed (dried pineapple and banana chips for the snack mix my husband makes for himself every night) that the lines would be so long that I would not get out of there on time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then, it occurred to me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was the first day of the month.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Price Rite is, I suppose, a discount type of grocery store.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am not sure if that’s what they’d like to be called or not.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If you are familiar with Sav-A-Lot or Aldi’s, it’s along the lines of those stores.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I love Price Rite and have found it a vital part to my grocery shopping just as much as the higher end Whole Foods is.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Because it is a store that costs less than the bigger chains, it is always packed at the first of the month and this is where I meet my discomfort head-on.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Please know that I am not uncomfortable with people who shop there.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Without going into too much detail, I can say that I truly understand what it’s like to know what the first of the month shopping means to a family who receives benefits.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I know that stores like Price-Rite, Sav-A-Lot and Aldi are very helpful not only to people who receive benefits, but for those that have to or choose to carefully manage every penny of their food budgets.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I love this store because while their offerings for the things I look for are few and far between, their prices are amazing on what I do find; like free-range beef for $3.99 a pound!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>With that being said, I will continue.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I walked in and the store was buzzing with customers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Even though I only had a few things to get, I grabbed a shopping cart and went up and down most of the aisles as I love to see what’s new there.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have found so many fantastic and unexpected things there over time and that day I did find more than what was on my shopping list including organic skim milk.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As I proceeded to the checkouts, I got in line behind two women who had what looked to be about a 3 year old little boy sitting in the seat part of the cart.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The line was barely moving and as I stood there I couldn’t help but notice their cart.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is where I fear I will sound critical.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am not, I am observing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Just about everything in the cart besides a bag of Granny Smith apples was processed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Now, don’t get me wrong.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In my own cart I had a couple bags of Nathan’s French fries.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I love these things and I love that Price Rite has them for such a crazy low price.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We eat them a couple times a month and I don’t feel badly about it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I know the potatoes are not organic and that’s one vegetable that I insist on buying organic when I buy them in the produce section but I allow myself to indulge in my frozen French fries once in a while. (I just had to clarify that I am not a snob when it comes to processed food.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I still buy it and I probably always will buy it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, there is not as much of it in my cart as there used to be.)</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Back to the customers in front of me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have no idea if these people were at Price Rite on that particular day for a reason or not.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I did not notice how they paid for their groceries and it’s none of my business.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I feel though that their cart is an example of how those who have to budget for food in a very serious way get trapped into buying cheap, processed food.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Again, I have no idea if they were buying that food because it fit into their budget or they just had a preference for junk food.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I will say that their cart was not the only cart in the store that day that looked like that, I just happened to get a good look at it because I was standing behind them for so long in line. And while I know I should not ever assume, I can only guess that someone in that store that day was shopping that way because it was what they could afford.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This is where my uncomfortable feelings come into play.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After watching <a href="http://www.kingcorn.net/">King Corn</a> and <a href="http://www.foodincmovie.com/">Food, Inc</a>. I learned how government subsidized corn is turned into a multitude of ingredients that are then turned into processed foods.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This whole topic would fill up another blog post and then some as it is so involved so I will not go into too much detail about it now as this is already a long post.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The end result is inexpensive, processed food.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><a href="http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xdaq9g_food-inc-too-broke-to-eat-well-junk_shortfilms">There is a scene in Food, Inc. that shows a family who is torn between inexpensive fast food and buying fresh food at the supermarket.</a> The father is on diabetes medicine as it is and that costs the family a lot of money.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The cameras follow them into the supermarket as the kids look at broccoli and the family determines that they cannot afford it and end up at a fast food drive through ordering a meal for less money than buying food to make a dinner at home. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I find this all very frustrating.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At a time in our country where the cost of healthcare is such a heated topic, our government is subsidizing these “raw material” type of crops instead of helping out more farmers with the cost of growing wholesome produce that would ideally in turn drive down the cost to the consumer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I walk into Price Rite and they have an excellent and well-priced produce section but even so, a bag of apples still costs more than a box of processed snacks.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I see this and certainly others see it too and that’s what ends up in the carts of an awful lot of people because it’s more affordable.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So here I was settling into the peace of my decisions only to question it all as I left Price Rite that day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I knew I would not be turning back to my old ways but it left me feeling badly that making more conscious decisions has to cost more money.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We don’t exclusively shop “consciously” because we cannot afford to.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I feel good about the point in which I’ve reached with our shopping decisions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yet, I know that there are those who can’t even begin to consider any of this as an option.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Meanwhile, our government pumps money into farm subsidies that continue to turn out foods that are seemingly cheap yet have the possibility of harming the health later on of those who are eating them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There’s a saying I heard along the way, “pay now or pay later”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For myself I know that it’s hard to pay “now” and I know for a lot of others, it’s impossible.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I have no real conclusion here as I wrap this up but I did want to put out there some of the things that I have encountered and continue to encounter as I venture on here with this newer way of shopping.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This particular topic of getting over the guilt-like feelings of what I buy will be an on-going battle for me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I come from a place where there was never a lot and while things are more comfortable now in my adult life, I still clearly recall money struggles and how you do what you have to do with what you have….sometimes there is no choice.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I can only hope that in my lifetime that we see a gradual change towards more affordable food options for everyone. </span></div>Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06324102317426906660noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6350589123838269608.post-51920646078423520672011-06-10T09:51:00.000-04:002011-06-10T09:51:37.517-04:00S’mores Brownie Bites<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-bt3Gv_SEDRk/TfIfPhBCdYI/AAAAAAAAAsA/R9UbwKKJ7UU/s1600/DSCN2503.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-bt3Gv_SEDRk/TfIfPhBCdYI/AAAAAAAAAsA/R9UbwKKJ7UU/s400/DSCN2503.JPG" t8="true" width="400" /></a></div><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It’s nearly S’mores season.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What I like best about S’mores is the chocolate.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I will sneak pieces of the chocolate as we’re making them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Isn’t it always about the chocolate?</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I like to make S’mores brownies more than the real thing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I suppose that’s because there is a brownie involved and that means a higher ratio of chocolate.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I decided I needed to try out my new silicone brownie bite pan and what better way than S’mores brownies?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Especially since I had recently purchased everything that I needed for them to come together.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Here’s the rundown on the ingredients and how they fit into my kitchen plan:</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-XxwzfI4Co-E/TfIeFEnVGDI/AAAAAAAAAr8/H1l2TmODs4k/s1600/DSCN2460.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="167" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-XxwzfI4Co-E/TfIeFEnVGDI/AAAAAAAAAr8/H1l2TmODs4k/s400/DSCN2460.JPG" t8="true" width="400" /></a></div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Trader Joe’s Reduced Guilt Brownie Mix</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This is TJs version of the No Pudge brownie mixes that you simply combine with a container of fat free yogurt.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>According to the ingredient label there’s nothing funky in this mix.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s all stuff you’d put in brownies if you were making them from scratch.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Trader Joe’s Fat Free Chocolate Yogurt</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The brownie mix calls for fat free vanilla yogurt but I saw the chocolate and decided it would possibly add more chocolate flavor to the brownies.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As far as I am aware, TJs dairy products are produced with milk that has not been treated with hormones.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">New Morning Organic Graham Crackers</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I purchased these earlier this week at Whole Foods because they were on sale.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’d never bought organic graham crackers before; I usually just buy whatever is least expensive when I go to buy a box of them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The price seemed fair and although there are fewer crackers in this pack than the conventional brands, I felt it was worth it to try them while they were on sale to see if this was something I’d be willing to make the change to.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Kraft Jet Puffed Stackermallows</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I am guessing I really don’t need to say much about these!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They are what they are.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have a hard time resisting marshmallows because there are always so many flavor and shape variations.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This gets me thinking of how I can incorporate them into my baking and I buy anything new that I see so I can come home and play with it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When I took a look at the size and shape of these, I knew they’d work well with what I had been brainstorming about for my brownie bites.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">All in all, I feel pretty decent about this recipe. I know it's a lot of sugar but<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was able to pull together some ingredients from each of my areas of focus to make something that turned out well.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s got organic ingredients in it and also, as Trader Joe’s puts it, some “reduced guilt” ingredients!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Here’s the recipe.</span><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">S’mores Brownie Bites</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1 box of No Pudge or Trader Joe’s Reduced Guilt brownie mix</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1 container of yogurt (as required for the brownies)</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">about 3 to 4 sheets of graham crackers</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">24 Stackermallows of 12 regular marshmallows, halved</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Get your pan prepared.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I used a brownie bite pan that I found at Christmas Tree Shop.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If you do not have something similar to this, you may use an 8x8 pan and just cut your brownies up after they are done.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In either case, grease your pan.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I used cooking spray and with the bite pan and to make sure all edges were coated, I took my finger and spread the spray around inside eat “bite”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-oSth_ebNkI8/TfIfapadB8I/AAAAAAAAAsE/3bi9LlwYUow/s1600/DSCN2474.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="275" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-oSth_ebNkI8/TfIfapadB8I/AAAAAAAAAsE/3bi9LlwYUow/s400/DSCN2474.JPG" t8="true" width="400" /></a></div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">After pan is greased, line each “bite” opening, or the bottom of your 8x8 pan, with graham crackers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The perforation lines on these graham crackers were practically non-existent and that’s why mine look so very uneven.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For the “bite” pan, I broke each sheet into 4 pieces.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then, I took each of the 4 pieces and broke them in half.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For the 8x8 pan, just line it the best you can by breaking the pieces to fit the pan.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It doesn’t have to be perfectly covered.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-RJ_MARu_GJk/TfIfo0cMqKI/AAAAAAAAAsI/tZT2bQRe7Do/s1600/DSCN2476.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-RJ_MARu_GJk/TfIfo0cMqKI/AAAAAAAAAsI/tZT2bQRe7Do/s400/DSCN2476.JPG" t8="true" width="400" /></a></div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Prepare brownies as directed on package with the container of yogurt.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If you’ve never used this kind of brownie mix before don’t worry as you see it not coming together.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Persist with your mixing and it will eventually transform into a nice, thick brownie batter.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Drop 1 tbsp of batter into each of the “bites” or pour all the batter over the graham crackers and evenly spread it out.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ag79zfZFMPg/TfIf1ylV0cI/AAAAAAAAAsM/xlEhEWMnSyo/s1600/DSCN2480.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="267" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ag79zfZFMPg/TfIf1ylV0cI/AAAAAAAAAsM/xlEhEWMnSyo/s400/DSCN2480.JPG" t8="true" width="400" /></a></div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Time to bake them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“Bite” pan:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I baked them at 350 for about 12-15 minutes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was quite sure that I should not use the broiler with the silicone pan so I took the pan out of the oven when they were done.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I let them cool a little bit until I was able to successfully pop them out of the pan in one piece.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I then laid them out on a cookie sheet.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I topped each brownie with a Stackermallow (or, 1 half of a regular marshmallow) and put the pan under the broiler.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>BE CAREFUL!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Marshmallows brown extremely fast.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I used the middle rack in my oven, had the broiler on high and kept a very close eye on it the entire time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I maneuvered the pan around as they broiled so that the marshmallows would evenly brown.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-oYwWFmjzFA8/TfIgHk4BBNI/AAAAAAAAAsQ/QZB0Ph40TDM/s1600/DSCN2494.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-oYwWFmjzFA8/TfIgHk4BBNI/AAAAAAAAAsQ/QZB0Ph40TDM/s400/DSCN2494.JPG" t8="true" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">8x8 pan:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Bake as indicated on the brownie package.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A few minutes before the brownies are due to be done, pull the pan out and evenly top the brownies with the marshmallows.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Put the pan back in the oven and continue to bake for the last few minutes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If the marshmallows are not brown to your liking, turn the broiler on.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As with the bites, BE CAREFUL!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Broil the marshmallows until they are your desired brown-ness.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I would recommend using the middle rack as I did with the “bite” pan and also maneuvering it around so that the marshmallows brown evenly, if needed.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-jOiLUzWdYDI/TfIdKj_ta_I/AAAAAAAAAr0/QsIS0vcPmlc/s1600/DSCN2498.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-jOiLUzWdYDI/TfIdKj_ta_I/AAAAAAAAAr0/QsIS0vcPmlc/s400/DSCN2498.JPG" t8="true" width="400" /></a></div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"> </div>Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06324102317426906660noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6350589123838269608.post-10877963464616853692011-05-22T13:13:00.001-04:002011-05-22T15:35:09.822-04:00Are You Ready For The Summer?<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As I type this, it is a rainy and gloomy Sunday afternoon.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We are working on a patio this weekend, hopeful that the summer-like weather will eventually show up.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is still only spring here but it’s been a cool, rainy one here in New England.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The boys are out getting some vinyl rain gutters to install on the overhang that is above the future patio so I have a few minutes to myself.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I decided to take a peek at an email I received this past week from Good Guide about sunscreens.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I wanted to take a look to see what we had from last year so I can see if it’s still on the list at Good Guide and to see if I need to pick some up when I run out later for the few random sunny days Mother Nature is granting us. </span><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I received a similar email last year and took quite a look at it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>During the summer we slather ourselves with sunscreens and it made sense to take a good look at exactly what it is we are covering our bodies with all summer long.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As I took a look at the list I was at first discouraged.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A lot of the brands were not readily available local and were expensive when I searched for them to order online.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">However, there was some hopeful news as I scrolled down the list some more.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Neutrogena and Coppertone were on the list after some of the ones that just were not going to happen for us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Last year we ended up buying Coppertone.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For the price and availability, it made the most sense for us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I think we will be using up the last of the Coppertone we have from last year and I will check out the Neutrogena at BJ’s Warehouse Club when I go next time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I noticed that BJ’s had Neutrogena last time I was there but it hadn’t even crossed my mind to pick some up with how cool and rainy it’s been.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I want to check prices as well.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Even though the Neutrogena is in a club pack at BJ's, it may still not be less expensive than Coppertone at a discount store. The overall rating at Good Guide is so close between the two brands that I will end up buying what is less expensive.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Here’s the link for Good Guide.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If you have some time, take a look around at the other areas of the site.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I found it quite interesting to look up some of the things that we use.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I will be doing another post in the future on taking the conscious idea outside of the kitchen and looking at what we use to clean our houses. For now though, at least poke around this sight and see what you think about the sunscreen you typically use and see if maybe you can make a healthier choice for yourself and your family.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We all know not using sunscreen at all is dangerous in and of itself but if we can make a more conscious choice about the chemicals we apply to avoid one problem, we can possibly prevent other problems down the line at the same time!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><a href="http://www.goodguide.com/categories/184733-sun-care##products">Good Guide Best Suncare Products Ratings</a></span></span></div>Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06324102317426906660noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6350589123838269608.post-32212766224883286052011-05-20T10:59:00.001-04:002013-09-19T13:31:27.561-04:00I Don't Like Chili...<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">…but I make it anyway.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My son and husband really like it, especially my son.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I usually just make the recipe out of the Betty Crocker cookbook I have that is about 25 years old.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They tell me it’s good, I take their word for it.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br>
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Last week I found myself poking through my cabinets looking for items to donate through the Post Office’s annual food drive.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We bought some big white cabinets to put in the garage recently for the overflow of what will not fit into the kitchen cabinets.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I shop, I cram the food in those cabinets and I forget what is lurking on those shelves.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While I was in there looking for donations, I saw that I had all the makings for chili.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I knew that in the freezer I also had some chopped onion and some pre-cooked ground beef.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Even with it being mid-May, I decided to make chili anyway.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s not like the weather is acting like mid-May.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was kind of like big-bowl-of-hot-chili type of weather that day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was decided-the boys would be eating chili for dinner that night.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br>
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I wanted to try something different this time other than my go-to Betty Crocker recipe.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I love Betty and her cookbook shows how much I love her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Its pages are stained and stuck together from drips and drops of this and that that have splattered onto them over the years.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Last week when I pulled it from the bookshelf the cover officially came off all the way, it’s been hanging for quite some time now.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Her recipes are basic and more times than not, come out very well so Betty has had a lot of use in this house.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br>
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I started searching online for a basic chili recipe.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While I had all the makings for chili, sometimes chili recipes do have a lot of things in them that are not standard pantry items in my kitchen.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Most of them had a couple of things that I did not have so I decided to mesh together what I did have and call it my own.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br>
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When Simon came home from school I had him taste what I had concocted.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He gave me an almost thumbs up but he felt it needed more “something”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We added a few more things and he was about 99% there of giving me a total thumbs up…he wanted more spice.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I told him we’d hold off on more spice because his father may not want it THAT spicy and that he could always add some hot sauce to his own bowl if he felt the need.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br>
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I had not intended on including this in my blog as it was a last minute thing that came to me that afternoon.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I took no pictures as I was preparing it or after we served it up that night.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, as I got to thinking about it, this was a healthy recipe in which I was able to use some conscious ingredients in.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(I don’t know what to call those ingredients-does conscious work for you?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s working for me right now but I feel like there should be a better word for them.)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>On the day I was about to use the last of the chili for them for dinner that nite, I decided to snap a picture and post it here.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The chili is cold in the bowl and I didn’t want to put the cheese ON it because it would be hard to get it back off and if I left it on the cold chili, it would surely melt right into it when I warmed it up for them and I wasn’t sure how that would be.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That’s the story behind the picture…just thought I’d share that with you too!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br>
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Onto the chili….</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br>
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The ingredients that were used in this that were more conscious were:</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br>
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.naturesourcebeef.com/Home.aspx">NatureSource Ground Beef </a></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I buy this at <a href="http://www.bjs.com/">BJ’s</a> in a 2 pound package for $6.49.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It says it is antibiotic free and humanely raised.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I know there is no real official definition for “humanely raised” so to be honest with you, I don’t know how much that means to me on this package.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It does appear NatureSource is an entity of a <a href="http://www.nationalbeef.com/Home.aspx">big beef company</a> but I at least figure that some of the initiatives that they claim to take are at least a step in the right direction.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The beef is 85/15 which is a higher fat percent than I prefer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, I use this beef when I need to brown beef for things like chili, tacos, lasagna, etc. because I can then drain off the fat that’s cooked out of it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Also, while it’s still in the colander, I run hot water over it to rinse off any residue.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As the water is running over the beef, I stir it around to make sure that I get off as much as possible.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>On page 2 of <a href="http://www.foodsafety.wisc.edu/assets/pdf_Files/Reducing%20Fat%20in%20Ground%20Beef.pdf">this</a> document you can see some numbers as to how much you can reduce the fat by doing this technique.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br>
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.cento.com/product/centoproducts.html">Cento San Marzano Organic Peeled Whole Tomatoes</a></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I bought these at <a href="http://www.priceritesupermarkets.com/">Price Rite</a>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have to do a posting about Price Rite because on the surface it is a discount supermarket that one would never suspect they’d be able to find some conscious item in.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There’s not a lot but if you look hard enough you will find a few things there and save yourself more than a few bucks by buying them there<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The can of tomatoes I had on hand also had organic basil in it as did all the diced or whole tomato products I found in my cupboard that day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Since I do not eat chili I was not sure if basil was the way to go but I figured since I was doing my own thing anyway, my chili was going to have a hint of basil in it…it was either that or not make it and I already decided to make it.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br>
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.fullcirclefoods.com/Products/Grocery.aspx">Full Circle Organic Tomato Paste</a></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I find this brand at a couple of local supermarkets, Trucci’s and Foodmaster for those who are close by.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s almost seems a sort of a generic organic brand, I guess?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Maybe not but it is usually less expensive than the more recognizable organic brands out there…at least that’s what I’ve noticed with the tomato and cereal products they offer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br>
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And finally, the recipe itself.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I suppose I need to give it a name?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That had not occurred to me until I just now came to the part of typing it out.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I suppose I will be real original and call it Court St. Kitchen Chili.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I know this will be a part of our kitchen though as my husband did tell me that it was the best chili I’ve made thus far.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So, that will be it…the chili that will be made in the kitchen at Court St. from now on.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br>
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Court St. Kitchen Chili</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br>
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1 pound uncooked ground beef</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1 cup chopped onion</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1 tsp crushed garlic (I used Trader Joe’s jarred crushed garlic)</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1 28 ounce can tomatoes (use what you’ve got…it all cooks down anyway whether they’re whole or diced…you just have to help with whole ones along the way by mashing them down some)</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1 6 ounce can tomato paste</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1 1/2 to 2 tbsp chili powder (add to your taste)</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1 tsp oregano</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1 tsp cocoa powder</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1 bay leaf</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">pinch of hot pepper flakes (add to your taste)</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1 to 2 tsp hot pepper sauce (add to your taste)</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">salt and pepper (to your taste)</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2 cans red kidney beans, drained</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br>
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Brown ground beef in large pan over medium heat.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When it’s done you can drain it or drain and rinse it as I mentioned above.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Return the drained beef to the pan, add onion and garlic.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Cook until onions start to turn translucent.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Add the next 9 ingredients and stir to combine (everything excpet the beans).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Bring this mixture to a boil, reduce heat to simmer, cover and cook for about 90 minutes…do at least this, if you need to let it go a little longer, so be it. Stir this occasionally as it simmers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Add both cans of drained kidney beans to the mixture, turn the heat up a bit and cook through until the beans have warmed through.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br>
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This makes a fairly thick chili so if you’d like, you can save some of the drained kidney bean…hmmm…what would you call it…juice?!?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If you need to thin the chili down at all, add a tbsp or two at a time and get it to the consistency that you prefer.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br>
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We got about 6 servings so that made 3 meals for the ones who eat chili at our house.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was great to have the leftovers in the fridge for a quick meal on the days that afterschool activities bring us home right at dinnertime.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Just make sure that you cover the bowl if you warm it up in the microwave as it spatters and makes a mess of the inside of the oven.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span>Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06324102317426906660noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6350589123838269608.post-23815225487315226762011-05-16T10:23:00.002-04:002011-05-16T10:34:26.298-04:00The BBQ Chicken Pizza That Inspired The Blog<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-gXeiSwSkjuA/TdEvPS1V2DI/AAAAAAAAArs/f6V6zZEc0-c/s1600/DSCN2027.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" j8="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-gXeiSwSkjuA/TdEvPS1V2DI/AAAAAAAAArs/f6V6zZEc0-c/s400/DSCN2027.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This is the very meal that motivated me to document our family’s attempts in the kitchen to be more aware of our food.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As I used each ingredient I thought about where it came from and how it fit into my current way of thinking about food.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This meal did not meet the challenge of being good in the sense of being lower fat but I feel like it was good in most of the other things I try to achieve while cooking.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I sort of winged this recipe.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I pulled the crust recipe out of a no-knead cookbook I had borrowed from the library and then topped it with things that I’ve been making bbq chicken pizza with forever.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I usually do a honey wheat dough for bbq chicken pizza but was loving the idea of making a no-knead dough for it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> I took the recipe from a book called</span> <a href="http://search.barnesandnoble.com/used/results.aspx?r=1&usedpagetype=usedisbn&pean=9780393066302&cm_mmc=Google%20Product%20Search-_-Q000000630-_-My%20Bread-_-9780393066302">My Bread : The Revolutionary No-Work, No-Knead Method</a>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> The recipe</span> was never intended to be crust but I made it into crust anyway.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I had all the other ingredients on hand so it was just a matter of waiting for the dough to do its thing and then throwing it all together to make a pizza.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Below is what I used and how I prepared it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After the “recipe” I’ve explained the components I used and what I was thinking as I was using them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It felt like I had found that balance that I was looking for.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was aware of the ingredients and why I chose them and while it was not exactly helping me with maintaining my weight with the cheese and the oil used to grease the pan, I was still able to work it into my food plan for that week.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">You will have to forgive my lack of exact amounts.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I didn’t write anything down but rather added until it looked “right”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Start with the lower amount I’ve listed and if it doesn’t look “right” to you, add more!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1 batch pizza homemade dough</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">leftover rotisserie chicken or cooked chicken breast/thighs…whatever you prefer, 1 large breast or a couple thighs should be enough</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1/4-1/3 cup barbeque sauce</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">4 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled up or cut up</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">6-8 ounces of shredded cheese, your choice but should be a good melting cheese (cheddar, cheddar/mozzarella mix, Mexican blend, etc.)</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Preheat oven to 425</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Grease a 15x12 cookie pan very well.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Press out dough to cover bottom of baking sheet.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-qVB9cbtegEc/TdEtPT5qukI/AAAAAAAAArY/drOjf8Y0F6Q/s1600/DSCN2020.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" j8="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-qVB9cbtegEc/TdEtPT5qukI/AAAAAAAAArY/drOjf8Y0F6Q/s400/DSCN2020.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Prebake crust until the dough has just started to set…it should not turn brown.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I would say it should take about 10 minutes or so, keep an eye on it and pull it out when the dough no longer looks wet and sticky.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(At this point you may want to check to make sure the crust is not sticking too badly to the pan.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Use a metal spatula to kind of lift the crust.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If it is sticking, very gently but firmly slide the spatula between the pan and crust to dislodge it and spray some cooking spray underneath the lifted curst to help ensure it does not stick during the second baking.)</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Spread desired amount of barbeque sauce onto prebaked crust.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Top with desired amount of chicken and bacon pieces then start to cover with the cheese.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Again, start with a bit and put on as much as makes you happy.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-hHHmszBCPP8/TdEuuABakiI/AAAAAAAAArg/Xb7w4Q9Wb6A/s1600/DSCN2021.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="286" j8="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-hHHmszBCPP8/TdEuuABakiI/AAAAAAAAArg/Xb7w4Q9Wb6A/s400/DSCN2021.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Put pizza back into the oven and bake until the cheese is melted and the crust starts to brown a little bit on the edges.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Depending on the amount of toppings you put in it, it could range from 15-25 minutes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Again, keep an eye on it…I am going on my memory for these times!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Let it cool for a few minutes before cutting into it, you’ll want to let the cheese set up a bit so it doesn’t pull off as you drag the pizza cutter through it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I cut this into 8 pieces but you can make them smaller if you’d like.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">How this recipe got me thinking:</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Dough:</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I made it from scratch so I felt like that was a better budget choice than buying pre-made dough at the supermarket.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The flour I used was <a href="http://www.kingarthurflour.com/flours/">King Arthur</a>, which is a New England company so it almost felt “local” since I do live in New England.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I also like that they are an employee owned company.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am not sure of the exact structure of that situation but somehow it seems that if you own a stake in the business for which you work, that the work environment may be that much better…maybe?!? <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Chicken:</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Usually when I make bbq chicken pizza I just make it with a cooked chicken breast but this time I did have some leftover rotisserie chicken to use.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I don’t normally buy rotisserie chicken mostly because I grocery shop early in the day and I feel it will not keep well enough for dinner time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This chicken that I bought was at BJ’s Wholesale Club.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was a <a href="http://www.purelyallnatural.com/">Harvestland</a> brand rotisserie chicken and there was a coupon for it in the monthly coupon booklet from BJ’S.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I think the whole chicken cost me about $4 and I managed to get about 3 meals from it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This brand of chicken has no antibiotics in it so that fit into the conscious category.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I got 3 meals from it so I felt that budget wise, it was good.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Barbeque Sauce:</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The kind I used was <a href="http://www.bbqsaucereviews.com/trader-joes-bold-and-smoky-kansas-city-style-barbecue-sauce-55/">Trader Joe’s Kansas City Style</a>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I felt good about this ingredient because there was no high fructose corn syrup in it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was really surprised at how many bbq sauces have this as their first ingredient.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Our old favorite, <a href="http://www.sweetbabyrays.com/">Sweet Baby Ray’s</a>, has it and we decided to give it up, as much as we loved it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Not only does the Trader Joe’s brand have a really good looking ingredient list, it tastes really good too.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Price wise, it’s about $2.50-$3 a bottle which is more than I used to spend on bbq sauce but the fact that there’s no HFCS in it and it tastes really good makes it worth it to me.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Bacon:</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I love bacon.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I love bacon a lot.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I can’t convey to you how much I love it but I can tell you that I eat it just about every day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Because of how much of it that I eat, I started to be concerned about the nitrites/nitrates in bacon.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have found <a href="http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/6138578/w_sliced_dry_rubbed_all_natural_uncured.html">“W”</a> brand bacon at Trader Joe’s that is nitrite free and tastes really good.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>On top of that, it’s about the same nutritionally as the center cut bacon I used to buy. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The price of this bacon is about $5 per package, a price I’d never thought I’d pay for bacon.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was buying <a href="http://www.kraftrecipes.com/Products/ProductInfoDisplay.aspx?SiteId=1&Product=4470002268">Oscar Mayer’s</a> center cut bacon at BJ’s in a 3 pack for about $10-$11 but decided that with how often I use bacon that the price of this nitrite free is worth it.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Cheese:</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I used <a href="http://www.cabotcheese.coop/">Cabot</a> shredded Monterrey Jack cheese.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There are organic cheeses out there but I’ve yet to buy any.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I really like Cabot because they are another New England company and they are also employee owned in a sense with being a dairy cooperative.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’ve checked their website and they have their farmers pledge to not use antibiotics or growth hormones in their milk.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When I can, I always choose Cabot over other brands because of these reasons.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I stock up on it when it’s on sale and have recently found a grocery store close by that has a really good everyday price on Cabot.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There it is.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The pizza that inspired me to blog.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I tend to go in spurts regarding how motivated I feel to make better choices and as I pulled dinner together that night, it occurred to me that I didn’t even really have to go out of my way to make it happen for this meal.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was already buying the bacon, the chicken was a good deal, I had been buying Cabot ever since we took a trip to VT in the fall and visited their stores, we happen to really like the Trader Joe’s sauce so we always have it on hand and I have been making my own pizza dough for years.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I do wish every meal came together like this did and I also wish it would have been a little friendlier for me and my weight issues.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have made bbq chicken pizza on my pizza stone which requires no oil and also with reduced fat cheddar and it tastes just fine.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, this no-knead dough could not be baked on my pizza stone due to its consistency and I did not have any reduced fat cheese in the fridge that night.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I know it could have been organic all the way but this is where I find my balance.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I chose things that were affordable for us and every ingredient that I used somehow fit into one of the areas that I am trying to be more aware of…local, antibiotic-free, homemade, and on and on.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I’ll say it again-balance.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That is what I am trying to do here at court st. kitchen and this meal was, for me, a direct hit.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span>Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06324102317426906660noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6350589123838269608.post-32887072561523153402011-05-15T16:47:00.000-04:002011-05-15T16:47:04.646-04:00Rootbeer Birthday Cake<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As I mentioned in my “Welcome” post, I have made a Root Beer Cake.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I knew this was what my son wanted but it seemed his birthday came up way too quickly and I was caught off guard.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A day or two before his birthday, I was hunting down what I needed to do to make such a cake and what I needed to get it done and I still really had no idea what I was going to do.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I finally settled on using this recipe for inspiration:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> <a href="http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Root-Beer-Float-Cake-II/Detail.aspx">Root Beer Float Cake II</a></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I had already picked up a white cake mix in anticipation of making this cake so that is the main reason I settled on this one.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As I read through the comments that were left by users, I spotted an incredible idea!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After the cake has baked, poke holes in the cake and drizzle a root beer glaze over the entire cake so that it falls down into the holes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>All of a sudden the uncertainty as to how I was going to make this cake disappeared.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I would make the cake as the recipe indicates but add some root beer flavor to enhance the root beer-y-ness of the cake.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As a super-duper bonus, poke this cake and add the root beer glaze because who doesn’t love sugary goodness dripped down into their cake?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then, for the frosting, I would use a white frosting recipe that I love from King Arthur and enhance it with the root beer flavoring that I used in the cake.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Viola!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The cake that I have been so unsure of was coming together in my head.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It didn’t quite live up to the expectations that I had for it but all in all, it was decent enough.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was still cake after all and there are few cakes that I have not found worth eating!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Root Beer Cake</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Adapted from:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> <a href="http://www.blogger.com/goog_1827947226">Root Beer Float Cake II</a></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1 box white cake mix</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1-1/4 cups root beer</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">1/4 cup safflower oil</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2 whole eggs</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1/2 tsp. Lorann Oils Root Beer Flavoring</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Mix the cake mix with root beer, oil and eggs as directed on the back of the box.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Bake the cake as directed on the back of the box.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Root Beer Glaze</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Adapted from the comments at: <a href="http://www.blogger.com/goog_1827947234">Root Beer Float Cake II</a></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1 cup powdered sugar</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">1/2 cup root beer</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Whisk root beer and sugar together.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Add more root beer if needed to get a good consistency.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You do not want it too runny but also do not want it so think that it will not pour out and fall into the holes in the cake.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Root Beer Frosting</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Adapted from: <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Easy Buttercream from <a href="http://www.kingarthurflour.com/shop/items/king-arthur-flour-bakers-companion-cookbook">The King Arthur Baking Companion</a></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">5-1/3<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>tbsp butter</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1/3 cup vegetable shortening</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1/8 tsp salt</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">4 to 5 cups powdered sugar</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2 tsp vanilla</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1/4 to 1/3 cup root beer</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Beat butter, shortening and salt together in large bowl until combined.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Beat in about half of the powdered sugar and mix until combined.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Add vanilla and half of the root beer and mix until combined.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Mix in remaining powdered sugar until combined and then add root beer by little bits and beat until you get desired consistency which should be fluffy and spreadable.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Putting the cake together:</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">After cake has cooled, poke rows of holes about a ½ to 1 inch apart.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This doesn’t have to be fancy, just consistently spaced apart.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Evenly pour the glaze over the entire cake so that it falls down into the holes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Use an offset spatula if necessary to help the glaze along its way.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Top cake with frosting being carful as the top of the cake will be moist if you frost it right after the glaze step.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You don’t want it to start to crumble and get all kinds of crumbs into your frosting.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Well, you might want that to happen…who am I to say?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It will still taste just as yummy, that’s for sure!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I decorated the cake with root beer barrels.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I had also considered getting the Haribo gummy cola bottles to decorate with but as I unfolded my plan to my son, he suggested root beer barrels so that’s what I did.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I also picked up some glitter glaze to decorate the cake with.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As you can see, the cake is not fancy by any means.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am not a huge fan of making cakes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Let me correct that, I do like to make cake because I like to eat cake…very much.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I just don’t like all the tediousness of making them look amazing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I don’t have the ability or patience to do so.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Just as I said the crumbs won’t do anything to the taste of the cake if you happen to get some in your frosting, a plain and very homemade looking cake will still taste just as good as one looks like it came out of a bakery.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Good:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I used a few “better-for-you” ingredients.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The eggs come from a farm that is near my home.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The chickens run free around the farm so while I am not completely sure that they are organic because I do not know what the farmer feeds them, they are definitely free range.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I used fats that were non-hydrogenated and that were also non-solvent expressed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I recently ran across the subject of solvent pressed oils and it kind of bothered me a bit.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Bad:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Cake mix with lots of ingredients that are not found in cakes you make from scratch.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Root beer with high fructose corn syrup.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Artificial root beer flavoring.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Lots of sugar.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Butter that is not organic or made from grass fed dairy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have not yet been able to bring myself to justify the price of that…yet.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Perhaps it will come down the line but for now, I am all right with regular butter.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The glitter glaze was a last minute purchase for the cake and I knew nothing glittery was going to be natural but bought it anyway.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-aie02b8iZ1w/TdA6cZVoLlI/AAAAAAAAArM/0429IaDZUvw/s1600/DSCN2250.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" j8="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-aie02b8iZ1w/TdA6cZVoLlI/AAAAAAAAArM/0429IaDZUvw/s400/DSCN2250.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Conclusion:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This was a once-in-a-while type of recipe.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I will not make this again for a very long time so with how often we will be eating it, I feel like the “bad” things are not that “bad”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If I made this on a regular basis I would certainly take into consideration the cake mix, root beer, flavoring and butter.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For Simon’s birthday though, we enjoyed it…mystery ingredients, high fructose corn syrup, glitter glaze and all!!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></span>Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06324102317426906660noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6350589123838269608.post-63070086870077025962011-05-06T09:59:00.001-04:002011-05-06T10:17:03.931-04:00Welcome to Court St. Kitchen<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I’ve been itching to blog for a while now and even made a feeble attempt at it last year <a href="http://bakingandcookinghitsandmisses.blogspot.com/">here</a>. I found that I enjoyed blogging but I was not quite sure of my direction as I did it. This new, and hopefully, improved blog is my attempt at blogging with a more distinct idea.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When I step into my kitchen I find myself pulled in many directions. I love to bake. I like to cook. I am trying to maintain a 65 pound weight loss. I want to be aware of where my food has come from and how it’s come to be in my kitchen.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Phew. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The balance I try to maintain in the kitchen can be tricky. My love of baking and like of cooking is what lead to my need to lose 65 pounds. For the most part I make food that is better for us but I still love to bake and cook “real” versions of all the foods that got me into trouble.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My most recent concern is that of where my food has come from. This, I have to say, is even more tricky than balancing what I do in my kitchen to ensure that I do not gain back my 65 pounds. I often find myself in a complete “fail” when it comes to this but I have changed a lot of things that make me feel like I am at least making an attempt to be more conscious of my food and the road it’s taken to get to my plate.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I will explore all of this in my blog entries and share with you how I am trying to maintain this balance. I hope that you will bear with me as I hone my blogging and photography skills…neither are very polished but with practice, I hope that my blogs will become more and more enjoyable to read!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Thanks for stopping by and I hope that you will be back to see how I’m doing with my balancing act! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">By the way….today I am making my son’s birthday cake. Last year it was a completely homemade chocolate peanut butter monster of a cake and it was something I was so proud that I made from scratch. This year, he wants a root beer cake. It’s SO the opposite of last year. A white cake mix, root beer with high fructose corn syrup…ugh. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">However, for the frosting I am using Spectrum Organic Non-Hydrogenated Shortening that is made from mechanically expressed organic palm oil. I am also using eggs that I purchased from a <a href="http://sunraylea.homestead.com/">farm</a> that is 1.16 miles from my house. Oh yeah, I am also using expeller pressed safflower oil as well. This is an example of my balance. I could have made better choices overall and here’s what my thought process has been about this cake:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">-I could make the cake from scratch but as I hunt for root beer cakes, most are based with a cake mix. I could have gotten an organic cake mix or one, like from Trader Joe’s, that didn’t have a lot of mystery ingredients in it. However, when I made my trek to Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s last weekend it had not even crossed my mind. I’d have to drive 13 miles back to get there so it seemed like not the best idea since I was just there and I only needed a cake mix. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">-I could have stopped off at the natural food section of one of the local supermarkets but the cost of their natural food items are ridiculously over-priced and I have a hard time handing over the money for them. I always walk through those sections when I go in there for something else and it really sickens me that with most items, they are MORE expensive than Whole Foods, who is of course notorious for their higher than average prices.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">-The root beer bothers me because I have really tried to cut out high fructose corn syrup. However, the same thing applies. I could have used cane sugar soda but to buy it locally would cost way more than I care to spend and while I suppose my trip to WF’s and TJ’s would not only be for cake, but for root beer too, it still seemed an awful lot of travel for 2 items! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">You can see that it’s a balance. I want to find myself in the middle. I cannot be that person who shops exclusively with all those buzz words…organic, non-gmo, grain-fed, etc. because of the sheer cost of it all. However, when and where I can…and apparently, when I happen to think of it as in the case of the cake…I try to make the “better” choice. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This cake is an example of what I try to do and I have to say that usually I do fare a bit better than the choices I ended up making. It won’t be good for me as far as watching my weight and the cake mix and soda are not my first choice in ingredients but I was able to at least pull out my “better” choice shortening to make the frosting with.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I will post some pictures of the cake after it’s made and we cut into it. I will probably do a post about the making of it. As <s>bad </s>“not-good-for-you” as it is, I am excited to be making it. I saw the idea at Allrecipes.com and knew as soon as I saw it that I’d use that as an inspiration to do my own thing with it. </span>Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06324102317426906660noreply@blogger.com0