Thursday, May 28, 2009
Farmer's Market Treats
I made these cake pops to sell. The tasted wonderful, but the chocolate coating started melting because it was so hot. Everyone that saw them was impressed, but I only sold 3, go figure! The recipe is very simple (Thanks Bakerella!) Just bake a cake (any flavor). Using a 13x9 sheet pan is easiest. After it has totally cooled, shred cake into a big bowl. You can use a food processor if you like. Stir in 2 cups of cake icing (any flavor) and mix well. I had to use my hands. form into balls and place on a wax paper-covered sheet pan and pop into the refrigerator until set or freezer. Once everything is nice and firm, take out balls and push sticks in them. Dip them in melted candy coating (any flavor) and let dry standing up. I turned an egg carton upside down, punched holes in it and dried the cake pops on that. Worked wonderfully.
These are Sugar and Spice Donuts I made. I threw away the recipe because I decided I wasn't going to make them again. They were okay, but I have a killer Apple Cider Donut recipe that's much better. These were actually really good the next day after I heated them in the microwave for 30 seconds. I might try another donut recipe or I'll make some scones for this weekend. I have a couple of scone recipes I'm dying to try along with one that was a really good seller last year.
Monday, May 18, 2009
Storms
Here's another shot coming up the driveway. E was really flooring it! The dark clouds were so wicked looking. I was looking for rotation, but never saw anything.
Here is another shot coming up. The storm is already moving closer.
When we got home, we jumped out of the truck and unloaded it. I was able to get this shot in. I wish I had time to adjust the lighting and all, but I wasn't sure how fast the storm was moving. You can really see how wicked the clouds were.
We didn't really get any close lightning with this storm. The worst of it was just north of us. We did, however, get torrential downpours. It poured down for three hours and never stopped raining until Sunday morning. Our driveway was washed out in several spots and water was pouring out of the conduit pipe underneath the electrical meter. Something needs to be done about that because that can cause some serious problems! I wasn't too impressed with the storm, though. I was just in awe over the look of the clouds. I wish I had been home even 15 minutes earlier so I could've gotten some really good pics. Maybe next time!
Thursday, May 14, 2009
Happy Anniversary to Me and Grilled Chicken Pasta
I made a really good (and very simple) pasta dish for lunch yesterday. I didn't take a pic, but the recipe is sooo simple:
Grilled Chicken Pasta
1 grilled chicken breast (seasoned however you wish), chopped
2 cups cooked whole-grain penne pasta
1/2 cup red grapes, cut in half
2 Tbsp celery, chopped
1/2 cup light sour cream
1 Tbsp fresh basil
Salt and pepper to taste
Throw all of the ingredients into a bowl and stir. Enjoy!
I grilled the chicken and boiled the penne while I was getting everything else together. Yesterday I ate it warm and today I heated it up very slightly. It's okay cold, but much better warm. I seasoned the chicken with this new seasoning I got from Tastefully Simple. Oh, how I love Tastefully Simple. It's called Green Tea Peppercorn Seasoning. Divine! I'm having a party next month so I'm going to have to stock up on it since it's just seasonal.
For the basil, I only use fresh basil. You can use 1 tsp dried if you like, but it just doesn't taste the same. There's nothing like fresh basil. We still have a basil plant left from last year. Actually, we now have two. I cut a nice stem off the plant and rooted it. I didn't use any rooting hormones or anything like that. I just cut the stem, put it in a jar full of water and left it in the window sill. We don't get any direct sunlight in the kitchen so it only had indirect light. After a while you'll notice a slime ball growing where it was cut and then a few days later you'll start to see the roots growing. I'm so fascinated with all of this!
Anyway, I have lots to do. I have a lot of baking to do for Saturday and I have so much I need to plant in the garden. Will there ever be enough time to do everything???
Friday, May 8, 2009
Dried Cherry Coffee Cake
Dried Cherry Coffee Cake
2 cups brown sugar
1 cup dried cherries, chopped
2 tsp cinnamon
Batter:
1/2 cup butter, soft
1 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
2 cups sour cream
In a small bowl, combine the brown sugar, cherries, and cinnamon; set aside. In a large bowl, beat the butter and sugar until crumbly. Add egg and vanilla; mix well. Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add the flour mixture and sour cream to the butter mixture, beating just until combined.
Spread half the batter evenly into a sprayed 13x9" baking pan. Sprinkle with half of the reserved sugar and cherry mixture. Repeat layers; cut through batter with a knife to swirl.
Bake at 350 degrees F for 28-33 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes on a wire rack. Cut and serve.
Thursday, May 7, 2009
Coffee Lovers' Coffee Cake II
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
Squirrels Were Harmed in the Making of this Blog
Dixie caught a squirrel the other day. She was very, very proud of herself. She brought her prize home to me so I could congratulate her. She is weird like that. Kind of like a cat. Another weird thing about her is that she won't eat them! She treats it more like a prize, or toy. She sat there for hours with it sitting next to her. When I found out about it, she just picked it up and carried it closer to me.
This is the same dog that caught a mouse and gulped the entire thing without even biting down!! At first I was terrified the thing would scratch her throat going down or tummy, but after I calmed down and realized that it wouldn't be alive that long, I just worried about her having a tummy ache! Such a weird dog!
On another note, I got my first harvest of the season!! I had to thin out the lettuce so I had a bunch of baby lettuce for salads. I need to go out there this evening and do some more thinning if it ever stops raining!! Well, I can't complain too much because we need the rain and the temps have been nice and cool the past week! I love having an actual Spring. I can't stand Virginia Summers!
I made two coffee cakes this weekend, so hopefully I'll remember to grab the recipes and post them this week. I need to make a cake for the coffee shop so I'll probably be working on one the next couple of days. Thursday I have exams and that evening I need to start prepping for the farmer's market on Saturday. So much to do!!