Saturday, January 19, 2013
BJP January 2013
After successfully completing (but not successfully blogging, unfortunately) the Bead Journal Project in 2011, and failing at the Bead Journal Project last year (I never even completed one month, as I bit off WAY more than I could chew, both time-wise AND cost-wise), I'm back at it again this year with a third try.
My theme this year is sea life, and my goal was to make shaped bead pieces that were all under 3" square...unfortunately I think my first piece may have ended up a bit bigger, whoops!
This is my great white shark, air jaws style. It has two jump rings on the back so it can be used as a bracelet - which is my plan for all of my pieces this year - but I didn't want it to be permanently a bracelet so I can create a display case for all 12 pieces at the end of the year.
Great White Shark breaching is definitely something I want to see in person the next time we visit South Africa - which may be later this year!
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
February Bead Journal Project
Well, it's not February anymore, but I did finally finish my Bead Journal Piece for February, and I *might* have enough time to get March's completed by the end of the month now that I am finished with the package I have been working on since we got back. :)
Here is the February Bead Journal Project Piece:
This is supposed to be a protea flower. The King Protea is South Africa's national flower, but we didn't get to see any king proteas in bloom while we were there - too late in the season. But we did see a few other protea flowers, mostly pink and orange ones. They grow on very very large bushes, and they were all over Table Mountain in Cape Town and at the Cape of Good Hope nature reserve. It ended up being a lot harder to bead than I imagined (harder than last month's penguins, for sure!).
Here is the original sketch that I made, you can see the finished flower didn't come out quite as I had envisioned it. I hope it actually looks like a protea!
Project Notes:
Size 11 delica seed beads in opaque pearl butterscotch yellow, pastel pink, pink, hot pink, watermelon, limeaid, lime green, aloe green, and forest green
3mm swarovski crystals, XILION Bicone Palace Green Opal
4mm swarovski crystals, XILION Bicone Light Emerald
5mm swarovski crystals, XILION Bicone Fern Green
leftover quilter's cotton
size D Nymo thread with size 10 beading needles
backing: dark green ultrasuede
Eventually I am going to attach a pin back to this, but I didn't have a good-quality pin back on hand and wanted to finish this before too much later in March! I think I am going to give it to my mom, as she has a collection of pins (mostly antiques, but not all) and she loves protea.
I do have the beads for March's project as well as the sketches completed, so I will get straight to work! Hard to believe that in another week it will be time to order the beads for April! :D
Here is the February Bead Journal Project Piece:
This is supposed to be a protea flower. The King Protea is South Africa's national flower, but we didn't get to see any king proteas in bloom while we were there - too late in the season. But we did see a few other protea flowers, mostly pink and orange ones. They grow on very very large bushes, and they were all over Table Mountain in Cape Town and at the Cape of Good Hope nature reserve. It ended up being a lot harder to bead than I imagined (harder than last month's penguins, for sure!).
Here is the original sketch that I made, you can see the finished flower didn't come out quite as I had envisioned it. I hope it actually looks like a protea!
Project Notes:
Size 11 delica seed beads in opaque pearl butterscotch yellow, pastel pink, pink, hot pink, watermelon, limeaid, lime green, aloe green, and forest green
3mm swarovski crystals, XILION Bicone Palace Green Opal
4mm swarovski crystals, XILION Bicone Light Emerald
5mm swarovski crystals, XILION Bicone Fern Green
leftover quilter's cotton
size D Nymo thread with size 10 beading needles
backing: dark green ultrasuede
Eventually I am going to attach a pin back to this, but I didn't have a good-quality pin back on hand and wanted to finish this before too much later in March! I think I am going to give it to my mom, as she has a collection of pins (mostly antiques, but not all) and she loves protea.
I do have the beads for March's project as well as the sketches completed, so I will get straight to work! Hard to believe that in another week it will be time to order the beads for April! :D
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
Trip Tank
When we went on our trip, I of course had to take a knitting project along! Not only were we going to be spending hours on planes, and in airports, we were also going to be driving. I don't really do much knitting just to sit and knit, I have to be watching something on TV/DVD, listening (to a podcast, music, radio, anything!), or stuck somewhere with nothing else to do (riding in the car, sitting at the doctor's office, waiting in line...).
I actually bought a project and yarn specifically for the trip, because I wanted something that would take me several hours to knit but not take up a lot of space *or* take too much concentration (so lace was out). I thought about taking the final sleeve for the project that I wanted to wear on the trip but didn't get finished, but decided against it *just* in case something might happen to it - heck, I've spent so much time on the rest of it I don't want to ruin the whole project because I don't have backup yarn to knit the other sleeve! And I *do* still really want to finish it and be able to wear it...
I have been oogling Army Of Knitters' patterns for a while now, so I decided to buy the pattern for Erquy. I ordered yarn - a bamboo-cotton blend - from Elann. I did get most of the knitting done on the trip, but I didn't quite get it finished. I was really glad to have it along, though.
Back view:
I'll either end up wearing this over a white cami or my swimsuit, but alas, not for months and months as the weather here is still dreadful...
You can see the rest of my notes on Ravelry.
I actually bought a project and yarn specifically for the trip, because I wanted something that would take me several hours to knit but not take up a lot of space *or* take too much concentration (so lace was out). I thought about taking the final sleeve for the project that I wanted to wear on the trip but didn't get finished, but decided against it *just* in case something might happen to it - heck, I've spent so much time on the rest of it I don't want to ruin the whole project because I don't have backup yarn to knit the other sleeve! And I *do* still really want to finish it and be able to wear it...
I have been oogling Army Of Knitters' patterns for a while now, so I decided to buy the pattern for Erquy. I ordered yarn - a bamboo-cotton blend - from Elann. I did get most of the knitting done on the trip, but I didn't quite get it finished. I was really glad to have it along, though.
Back view:
I'll either end up wearing this over a white cami or my swimsuit, but alas, not for months and months as the weather here is still dreadful...
You can see the rest of my notes on Ravelry.
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
January Bead Journal Project
My first Bead Journal Project for 2011 is finished! :D It's a little bit late, but then I was away for three weeks and it took me a week to catch up, and I still had to decide on my size and shape for this year and only then did I realize I needed to order beads too! Yikes!
Without further ado, here is the finished January Bead Journal Project piece:
Penguins! African Penguins, to be exact. These were sketched from pictures taken at Boulder's Beach. I love penguins, and the African penguin is really cute. They make funny sounds, sometimes it sounds like they are really making music! The penguins are just as cute in the wild as they are at the zoo...even cuter! I really love penguins, so seeing them in the wild at Boulder's Beach was amazing. :D
Here it is with the inspiration/project sketch page:
Project Notes:
Size 11 and 15 Delica seed beads in opaque black, white, blue grey, transparent matte teal green, ceylon beige, and lined light aqua
leftover quilter's cotton
size D Nymo thread with size 10 beading needles
backing: blue costume suede
I'm really pleased with the way this turned out, as I wasn't really sure how to finish the piece and couldn't find any resources that were very helpful. Eventually I just ended up slip stitching it to some blue costume suede stuff I had lying around, and then stuck a picot edge around it.
One of the reasons I chose the oval format was because I figured it would be very versatile, and for the penguins I decided to go with a bracelet finish. And of course I didn't think to take a picture of the bracelet on my arm. I will have to do that and create a photo collage, which was my initial plan...and then I decided that was taking too long so I'd better just put something up!
I'm hoping I can get February's finished before too far into March - I actually had January's finished a full week ago, but it took me a week to take and edit pictures and get this post up - I know, I'm such a slacker - and while I did get February's sketches finished and prepared the fabric, I haven't actually started beading yet as I have desperately been trying to finish up items for a package (still not done - this package is consuming my life!). And now wouldn't you know I need to order the beads for March! Maybe I can get February finished before the beads get here. :)
I'd love to hear your feedback, this is my first bead embroidery piece and while I think it turned out pretty well for a first attempt I would love any suggestions you might have!
Without further ado, here is the finished January Bead Journal Project piece:
Penguins! African Penguins, to be exact. These were sketched from pictures taken at Boulder's Beach. I love penguins, and the African penguin is really cute. They make funny sounds, sometimes it sounds like they are really making music! The penguins are just as cute in the wild as they are at the zoo...even cuter! I really love penguins, so seeing them in the wild at Boulder's Beach was amazing. :D
Here it is with the inspiration/project sketch page:
Project Notes:
Size 11 and 15 Delica seed beads in opaque black, white, blue grey, transparent matte teal green, ceylon beige, and lined light aqua
leftover quilter's cotton
size D Nymo thread with size 10 beading needles
backing: blue costume suede
I'm really pleased with the way this turned out, as I wasn't really sure how to finish the piece and couldn't find any resources that were very helpful. Eventually I just ended up slip stitching it to some blue costume suede stuff I had lying around, and then stuck a picot edge around it.
One of the reasons I chose the oval format was because I figured it would be very versatile, and for the penguins I decided to go with a bracelet finish. And of course I didn't think to take a picture of the bracelet on my arm. I will have to do that and create a photo collage, which was my initial plan...and then I decided that was taking too long so I'd better just put something up!
I'm hoping I can get February's finished before too far into March - I actually had January's finished a full week ago, but it took me a week to take and edit pictures and get this post up - I know, I'm such a slacker - and while I did get February's sketches finished and prepared the fabric, I haven't actually started beading yet as I have desperately been trying to finish up items for a package (still not done - this package is consuming my life!). And now wouldn't you know I need to order the beads for March! Maybe I can get February finished before the beads get here. :)
I'd love to hear your feedback, this is my first bead embroidery piece and while I think it turned out pretty well for a first attempt I would love any suggestions you might have!
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Christmas Poinsettia
So for Christmas this year I really wanted to make "package ties" to dress up the presents for all of my aunts and uncles. So I decided to make poinsettia tsumami kanzashi pins. These took FOREVER, but I am really please with how well they turned out. I made 10 - and I didn't make one for myself. I have extra fabric but I don't have any more crystals, and poinsettias aren't really my thing anyways.
Each flower required six green petals, six large red petals, and six small red petals. I also used six flat-back swarovski crystals, 3 of 4.6-4.8mm light topaz and 3 of 3.8-4.0mm light topaz. The six small red petals were folded more complexly than the bottom petals; all 18 petals were cut in 2" squares from silkessence - the green fabric was textured but the red fabric was smooth.
Each flower required six green petals, six large red petals, and six small red petals. I also used six flat-back swarovski crystals, 3 of 4.6-4.8mm light topaz and 3 of 3.8-4.0mm light topaz. The six small red petals were folded more complexly than the bottom petals; all 18 petals were cut in 2" squares from silkessence - the green fabric was textured but the red fabric was smooth.
Friday, January 28, 2011
BJP Plans...I'm baaaaaaaaaack :D
Three weeks away...it's hard to come back from nice warm sun and beaches to cold and snow.
I've finally decided on my Bead Journal Project's form for 2011. Each of my pieces will be an 1.5 x 4" oval, which I am going to finish by turning into either a bracelet or a hair clip, depending on the month and what I feel like doing.
I have also decided on my theme for January, although I am very behind (almost a full month!) and I have to order a few beads, so I might go ahead and plan for February at the same time.
I've finally decided on my Bead Journal Project's form for 2011. Each of my pieces will be an 1.5 x 4" oval, which I am going to finish by turning into either a bracelet or a hair clip, depending on the month and what I feel like doing.
I have also decided on my theme for January, although I am very behind (almost a full month!) and I have to order a few beads, so I might go ahead and plan for February at the same time.
Sunday, December 19, 2010
But for a plan...
I've been trying to come up with a plan for my Bead Journal Project for next year (which isn't so very far away!).
Right now I am thinking either of 1" hexagons (I would link 6 into a bracelet, 2 for earrings, and the the last 4 as a necklace center) or a 1" x 3" oval (as either a bracelet or hair clip, depending on the month).
I've also considered themes, but I think the problem is that I have too many good ideas for themes. Ie: video games, fairy tales, sea life, Africa, flowers, ...
So I'm not sure if I will do a theme at all or if I will just do whatever I feel like on a month-by-month basis. Although I do have to admit, it would be super fun to end up with a whole collection based on a theme at the end of the year!
Right now I am thinking either of 1" hexagons (I would link 6 into a bracelet, 2 for earrings, and the the last 4 as a necklace center) or a 1" x 3" oval (as either a bracelet or hair clip, depending on the month).
I've also considered themes, but I think the problem is that I have too many good ideas for themes. Ie: video games, fairy tales, sea life, Africa, flowers, ...
So I'm not sure if I will do a theme at all or if I will just do whatever I feel like on a month-by-month basis. Although I do have to admit, it would be super fun to end up with a whole collection based on a theme at the end of the year!
Sunday, December 12, 2010
Lost my marbles...er...beads
Last year in January I stumbled upon Robin Atkins' blog, Beadlust. I was somewhat familiar with Robin Atkins from articles and projects in various bead magazines that I own (it's no small number...). From her blog, I learned about the Bead Journal Project that she had started, but alas! I was too late to join in for 2010. So I kept it in the back of my mind all year, thinking that I wanted to sign up for 2011.
Well, I did!
Which is compeltely crazy, because I know I am going to start the year off behind. Also, the only bead embroidery I have done is on a piece that was mainly regular embroidery, but which I thought could benefit from the addition of beads. Although I have pleanty of experience with other types of beadwork.
I have yet to decide on the size and shape of my bead journal pages...I want something small enough that I will be able to complete the challenge, but I also want it to be useable. So, I need to be able to turn it into jewelry or hair accessories. Or maybe patches. I don't really wear pins, so that is out.
I am kind of debating between doing a hexagon-shape and an oval-shape. And I'm contemplating what kind of a theme I want to use. I know I want to push myself to do more design, as that is one of the things that I have really missed since silver jewelry, but I'm not sure whether to focus on color (or, the use of color - push myself to use colors I don't normally use, like pink) or on a theme (like nature? adventure?). Whatever it is, it needs to be broad enough that I won't get bored.
I'll definitely update once I get the details figured out. I'm really excited for this project...even if it is a little crazy to add more things to my already full schedule!
So, what shape do you think I should do? And what kind of theme? I'd love to hear your ideas! :D
Well, I did!
Which is compeltely crazy, because I know I am going to start the year off behind. Also, the only bead embroidery I have done is on a piece that was mainly regular embroidery, but which I thought could benefit from the addition of beads. Although I have pleanty of experience with other types of beadwork.
I have yet to decide on the size and shape of my bead journal pages...I want something small enough that I will be able to complete the challenge, but I also want it to be useable. So, I need to be able to turn it into jewelry or hair accessories. Or maybe patches. I don't really wear pins, so that is out.
I am kind of debating between doing a hexagon-shape and an oval-shape. And I'm contemplating what kind of a theme I want to use. I know I want to push myself to do more design, as that is one of the things that I have really missed since silver jewelry, but I'm not sure whether to focus on color (or, the use of color - push myself to use colors I don't normally use, like pink) or on a theme (like nature? adventure?). Whatever it is, it needs to be broad enough that I won't get bored.
I'll definitely update once I get the details figured out. I'm really excited for this project...even if it is a little crazy to add more things to my already full schedule!
So, what shape do you think I should do? And what kind of theme? I'd love to hear your ideas! :D
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
Blog Re-do
So, I have decided that I am not a very good blogger. In an attempt to improve, I am officially re-starting! But this time, I have a plan! Well, sort of...
This is what I have planned for the immediate future:
Projects for next year (yes, already thinking about 2011...yikes!)
A recap of projects from this year (most of which I was too lazy/busy to post...sigh. Like I said, start-over!)
Favorite bloggy links! =)
A new layout (maybe)
And my Christmas gifts, which I made, but which I won't post until after Christmas, just in case (I don't think anyone would be likely to find this, but you never know!)
We will see where this goes from there.
I am going to "limit" this blog to creative endeavors of all kinds - knitting, sewing, beading, making, cooking, and all sorts of fun things like that. :)
Now I am off to finish Christmas cards and do some stitching...
This is what I have planned for the immediate future:
Projects for next year (yes, already thinking about 2011...yikes!)
A recap of projects from this year (most of which I was too lazy/busy to post...sigh. Like I said, start-over!)
Favorite bloggy links! =)
A new layout (maybe)
And my Christmas gifts, which I made, but which I won't post until after Christmas, just in case (I don't think anyone would be likely to find this, but you never know!)
We will see where this goes from there.
I am going to "limit" this blog to creative endeavors of all kinds - knitting, sewing, beading, making, cooking, and all sorts of fun things like that. :)
Now I am off to finish Christmas cards and do some stitching...
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Oh fall...
I really am not a huge fan of fall. Or winter, either, come to think of it. But, for some reason, fall is the worst. Maybe because summer is so warm and then fall feels so much colder. And also the days get shorter and darker. Not to even mention the allergies from ragweed and all those moldy leaves....yep, fall is not my favorite.
It doesn't help that I am always cold, even during the summer (well, not when I am outside, which is rare - stupid allergies - but even when I am inside, especially at the office).
So I thought it would be a good idea to make myself a list of all the things I have to look forward to doing (and getting done) this fall!
Doing:
Open Water Certification Dives for SCUBA =D
Boston trip
Halloween decorating!
Preparring for large January trip
Getting done:
Travel accessories for South Africa
Dress to wear in South Africa
Swimsuit to wear on vacation (maybe)
Kanzashi Christmas presents
More Christmas stuff
Baby presents for people
Soup Weather! :D
Sweaters! Not like I ever get any knitting finished, *grumbles*, but still...
Hm...I am sure there are other things. I'm too tired and can't think right now. Good time to order beads. Hmm...maybe not.
It doesn't help that I am always cold, even during the summer (well, not when I am outside, which is rare - stupid allergies - but even when I am inside, especially at the office).
So I thought it would be a good idea to make myself a list of all the things I have to look forward to doing (and getting done) this fall!
Doing:
Open Water Certification Dives for SCUBA =D
Boston trip
Halloween decorating!
Preparring for large January trip
Getting done:
Travel accessories for South Africa
Dress to wear in South Africa
Swimsuit to wear on vacation (maybe)
Kanzashi Christmas presents
More Christmas stuff
Baby presents for people
Soup Weather! :D
Sweaters! Not like I ever get any knitting finished, *grumbles*, but still...
Hm...I am sure there are other things. I'm too tired and can't think right now. Good time to order beads. Hmm...maybe not.
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
Knitting Meme and Updates
So, recently I have been in finish-whatever-stuff-I-have-lying-around-the-house-unfinished (which is, admittedly, a lot), plus I ended up making a peeps banner for Easter (so cute). So here is what I have finished:
• Perler bead lemmings (for my cube)
• Polymer clay lemmings (also for my cube)
• Peeps banner (to hang around my shelf, with Peeps plushies) for Easter
And here is what I still have to finish:
• Super Mario World magnets (for my cube)
• Ma's shawl
• Narwhal Plushies
• Catan dice box
But in the meantime, since I haven't done any knitting in a while (makes me so sad :( I tried casting on for fingerless gloves for my Ravelympics project, but the pattern ended up being way too big, even with smaller needles, so I had to frog =( ), I found this meme and felt like doing it. ^^
Instructions: Bold for stuff you’ve done, italics for stuff you plan to do one day, and normal for stuff you’re not planning on doing.
•Afghan (on my bed atm...largest needles I have ever used)
•I-cord (strawberry tops)
•Garter stitch
•Knitting with metal wire
•Shawl (my first "big" project was my wedding shawl)
•Stockinette stitch
•Socks: top-down
•Socks: toe-up (I cast on once but got bored...should try again though!)
•Knitting with camel yarn (camel...ew?)
•Mittens: Cuff-up (I don't like mittens)
•Mittens: Tip-down
•Hat (one of my first projects was a red hat with grey snowflakes that I charted)
•Knitting with silk (not finished yet...sigh)
•Moebius band knitting
•Participating in a KAL (Yay! SKC and LNL! And a shawl KAL!)
•Sweater (first sweater was okay, my riding cardi is great, Syd's sweater is almost 2/3 done)
•Drop stitch patterns
•Knitting with recycled/secondhand yarn (first sweater)
•Slip stitch patterns
•Knitting with banana fiber yarn (bananas are yummy)
•Domino knitting (=modular knitting)
•Twisted stitch patterns
•Knitting with bamboo yarn (I love bamboo yarn!!!! Like silk, but...affordable!)
•Two end knitting
•Charity knitting
•Knitting with soy yarn
•Cardigan (NOT a cardi person but I want a "jacket" to wear at work so I have yarn for one...)
•Toy/doll clothing (Little Mermaid doll with clothes almost finished, plus a bunch of baby toys for friends kids)
•Knitting with circular needles (Circular needles == love for shawls!)
•Baby items (does a giraffe toy count? :P)
•Knitting with your own handspun yarn
•Slippers
•Graffitti knitting: knitting items on, or to be left on the street
•Continental knitting
•Designing knitted garments
•Cable stitch patterns (first sweater and gloves)
•Lace patterns (love!)
•Publishing a knitting book
•Scarf (three scarves so far but I'm kind of burnt out)
•Teaching a child to knit
•Knitting to make money
•Button holes
•Knitting with alpaca (mmmmmmmmsoft)
•Fair Isle knitting sometime =)
•Norwegian knitting
•Household items: dishcloths, washcloths, tea cosies… (dishcloths were my first project, and I made one lace doily)
•knitting socks- or other small tubular items- on two circulars
•Dying with plant colours
•Knitting items for a wedding (for MY wedding!)
•Olympic knitting
•Knitting with someone else’s handspun yarn
•Knitting with dpns (nothing to be afraid of)
•Holiday related knitting
•Teaching a male how to knit
•Bobbles
•Knitting for a living
•Knitting with cotton (first fiber I knitted with)
•Knitting smocking
•Dying yarn (little purse and purple gloves)
•Steeks (scary!)
•Knitting art
•Fulling/felting
•Knitting with wool
•Textured knitting
•Kitchener BO
•Purses/bags (little tiny beaded purse)
•Knitting with beads (fun!)
•Swatching (generally useless?)
•Long Tail CO
•Entrelac Knitting and purling backwards (I hate entrelac)
•Machine knitting
•Knitting with self-patterning/self-striping/variegating yarn
•Stuffed toys (yay for elephants giraffes and fish)
•Knitting with cashmere (If I could afford it)
•Darning
•Jewelry knitting with synthetic yarn
•Writing a pattern
•Gloves
•Intarsia
•Knitting with linen
•Knitting for preemies
•Tubular CO
•Freeform knitting
•Short rows
•Cuffs/fingerless mitts/armwarmers
•Pillows
•Knitting a pattern from an online knitting magazine
•Rug
•Knitting on a loom
•Thrummed knitting
•Knitting a gift
•Knitting for pets (um, no.)
•Shrug/bolero/poncho
•Knitting with dog/cat hair (Um. EW!!!!)
•Hair accessories
•Knitting in public (at a bowling alley :P among other places)
Well, that was fun. Now I want to knit, but it is late and I am tired.
• Perler bead lemmings (for my cube)
• Polymer clay lemmings (also for my cube)
• Peeps banner (to hang around my shelf, with Peeps plushies) for Easter
And here is what I still have to finish:
• Super Mario World magnets (for my cube)
• Ma's shawl
• Narwhal Plushies
• Catan dice box
But in the meantime, since I haven't done any knitting in a while (makes me so sad :( I tried casting on for fingerless gloves for my Ravelympics project, but the pattern ended up being way too big, even with smaller needles, so I had to frog =( ), I found this meme and felt like doing it. ^^
Instructions: Bold for stuff you’ve done, italics for stuff you plan to do one day, and normal for stuff you’re not planning on doing.
•Afghan (on my bed atm...largest needles I have ever used)
•I-cord (strawberry tops)
•Garter stitch
•Knitting with metal wire
•Shawl (my first "big" project was my wedding shawl)
•Stockinette stitch
•Socks: top-down
•Socks: toe-up (I cast on once but got bored...should try again though!)
•Knitting with camel yarn (camel...ew?)
•Mittens: Cuff-up (I don't like mittens)
•Mittens: Tip-down
•Hat (one of my first projects was a red hat with grey snowflakes that I charted)
•Knitting with silk (not finished yet...sigh)
•Moebius band knitting
•Participating in a KAL (Yay! SKC and LNL! And a shawl KAL!)
•Sweater (first sweater was okay, my riding cardi is great, Syd's sweater is almost 2/3 done)
•Drop stitch patterns
•Knitting with recycled/secondhand yarn (first sweater)
•Slip stitch patterns
•Knitting with banana fiber yarn (bananas are yummy)
•Domino knitting (=modular knitting)
•Twisted stitch patterns
•Knitting with bamboo yarn (I love bamboo yarn!!!! Like silk, but...affordable!)
•Two end knitting
•Charity knitting
•Knitting with soy yarn
•Cardigan (NOT a cardi person but I want a "jacket" to wear at work so I have yarn for one...)
•Toy/doll clothing (Little Mermaid doll with clothes almost finished, plus a bunch of baby toys for friends kids)
•Knitting with circular needles (Circular needles == love for shawls!)
•Baby items (does a giraffe toy count? :P)
•Knitting with your own handspun yarn
•Slippers
•Graffitti knitting: knitting items on, or to be left on the street
•Continental knitting
•Designing knitted garments
•Cable stitch patterns (first sweater and gloves)
•Lace patterns (love!)
•Publishing a knitting book
•Scarf (three scarves so far but I'm kind of burnt out)
•Teaching a child to knit
•Knitting to make money
•Button holes
•Knitting with alpaca (mmmmmmmmsoft)
•Fair Isle knitting sometime =)
•Norwegian knitting
•Household items: dishcloths, washcloths, tea cosies… (dishcloths were my first project, and I made one lace doily)
•knitting socks- or other small tubular items- on two circulars
•Dying with plant colours
•Knitting items for a wedding (for MY wedding!)
•Olympic knitting
•Knitting with someone else’s handspun yarn
•Knitting with dpns (nothing to be afraid of)
•Holiday related knitting
•Teaching a male how to knit
•Bobbles
•Knitting for a living
•Knitting with cotton (first fiber I knitted with)
•Knitting smocking
•Dying yarn (little purse and purple gloves)
•Steeks (scary!)
•Knitting art
•Fulling/felting
•Knitting with wool
•Textured knitting
•Kitchener BO
•Purses/bags (little tiny beaded purse)
•Knitting with beads (fun!)
•Swatching (generally useless?)
•Long Tail CO
•Entrelac Knitting and purling backwards (I hate entrelac)
•Machine knitting
•Knitting with self-patterning/self-striping/variegating yarn
•Stuffed toys (yay for elephants giraffes and fish)
•Knitting with cashmere (If I could afford it)
•Darning
•Jewelry knitting with synthetic yarn
•Writing a pattern
•Gloves
•Intarsia
•Knitting with linen
•Knitting for preemies
•Tubular CO
•Freeform knitting
•Short rows
•Cuffs/fingerless mitts/armwarmers
•Pillows
•Knitting a pattern from an online knitting magazine
•Rug
•Knitting on a loom
•Thrummed knitting
•Knitting a gift
•Knitting for pets (um, no.)
•Shrug/bolero/poncho
•Knitting with dog/cat hair (Um. EW!!!!)
•Hair accessories
•Knitting in public (at a bowling alley :P among other places)
Well, that was fun. Now I want to knit, but it is late and I am tired.
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Saucy Satay
Forgive the stupid title. -_-
The January 2010 DC challenge was hosted by Cuppy of Cuppylicious and she chose a delicious Thai-inspired recipe for Pork Satay from the book 1000 Recipes by Martha Day.
I am not a big fan of pork. I will eat it, on occasion (read: when the only other choice is chicken). However, I resolved to try it again after seeing a yummy-looking recipe in the December issue of Cooking Light magazine. And, happily enough, this months' Daring Cooks challenge also contains pork, since pork chops seem to come in packs of four, and there are only two of us.
Raw pork with marinade...yeah I didn't take any pics of the marinade by itsef :(
Mixing the marinade wasn't bad, and happily enough I had all of the spices required on hand (shocking, I know).
I have been using my iron skillet to cook all of my meat recently, and I love it. It tastes better this way.
While I was waiting for the pork to marinade, I went ahead and mixed up a recipe of sweet and sour dipping sauce (see: Daring Cook's June Challenge(Dumplings) for the recipe), because that is my husband's favorite. I was going to make a black pepper dipping sauce and the peanut dipping sauce, as well, but I didn't have all of the ingredients for either of those, so I decided just to stick with the one. Which I also didn't take pictures of. Gah. -_-
Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm....
I ended up cooking it for a little bit longer than the recipe recommended because they were still pink inside. :( I "pan fried" them because it is winter and charcoal grills don't work very well when it is cold outside! They still turned out really well.
They're making me hungry!
Pork Satay with Peanut Sauce
My notes in italics
Satay Marinade Ingredients
1/2 small onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed I substituted 2 tsp minced garlic
1 T ginger root, chopped (optional) (2 cm cubed) I subsituted 1 tsp ground ginger
2 T lemon juice (1 oz or 30 mls)
1 T soy sauce (0.5 oz or 15 mls)
1 tsp ground coriander (5 mls)
1 tsp ground cumin (5 mls)
1/2 tsp ground turmeric (2-2.5 mls)
2 T vegetable oil (or peanut or olive oil) (30 mls) I used olive oil
1 pound of pork (loin or shoulder cuts) (16 oz or 450g)
Directions
1)I prefer to chop my onions, garlic and ginger really fine then mix it all together in a medium to large bowl.
2) Cut pork into 1 inch strips.
3) Cover pork with marinade. You can place the pork into a bowl, cover/seal and chill, or place the whole lot of it into a ziplock bag, seal and chill.
Cooking Directions (continued):
4) If using wooden or bamboo skewers, soak your skewers in warm water for at least 20 minutes before preparing skewers. I couldn't find my skewers until after the meat was cooked...anyways, I don't know how to pan-fry meat on a stick!
5) Gently and slowly slide meat strips onto skewers. Discard leftover marinade.
6) Broil or grill at 290°C/550° F (or pan fry on medium-high) for 8-10 minutes or until the edges just start to char. Flip and cook another 8-10 minutes. I ended up cooking them longer because they weren't done after 20 minutes.
And this is the Peanut Sauce Recipe I didn't end up using:
Peanut Sauce
3/4 cup coconut milk (6 oz or 180 mls)
4 Tbsp peanut butter (2 oz or 60 mls)
1 Tbsp lemon juice (0.5 oz or 15 mls)
1 Tbsp soy sauce (0.5 oz or 15 mls)
1 tsp brown sugar (5 mls)
1/2 tsp ground cumin (2.5 mls)
1/2 tsp ground coriander (2.5 mls)
1-2 dried red chilies, chopped (keep the seeds for heat)
1) Mix dry ingredients in a small bowl. Add soy sauce and lemon, mix well.
2) Over low heat, combine coconut milk, peanut butter and your soy-lemon-seasoning mix. Mix well, stir often.
3) All you’re doing is melting the peanut butter, so make your peanut sauce after you’ve made everything else in your meal, or make ahead of time and reheat.
Conclusion
This is something I might actually make again, with more dipping sauce choices. And possibly different marinades, as well. I thought the pork was good even without the sweet and sour sauce. My husband liked them too (but he likes all meat so that isn't terribly surprising!)
The January 2010 DC challenge was hosted by Cuppy of Cuppylicious and she chose a delicious Thai-inspired recipe for Pork Satay from the book 1000 Recipes by Martha Day.
I am not a big fan of pork. I will eat it, on occasion (read: when the only other choice is chicken). However, I resolved to try it again after seeing a yummy-looking recipe in the December issue of Cooking Light magazine. And, happily enough, this months' Daring Cooks challenge also contains pork, since pork chops seem to come in packs of four, and there are only two of us.
Raw pork with marinade...yeah I didn't take any pics of the marinade by itsef :(Mixing the marinade wasn't bad, and happily enough I had all of the spices required on hand (shocking, I know).
I have been using my iron skillet to cook all of my meat recently, and I love it. It tastes better this way. While I was waiting for the pork to marinade, I went ahead and mixed up a recipe of sweet and sour dipping sauce (see: Daring Cook's June Challenge(Dumplings) for the recipe), because that is my husband's favorite. I was going to make a black pepper dipping sauce and the peanut dipping sauce, as well, but I didn't have all of the ingredients for either of those, so I decided just to stick with the one. Which I also didn't take pictures of. Gah. -_-
Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm....I ended up cooking it for a little bit longer than the recipe recommended because they were still pink inside. :( I "pan fried" them because it is winter and charcoal grills don't work very well when it is cold outside! They still turned out really well.
They're making me hungry!Pork Satay with Peanut Sauce
My notes in italics
Satay Marinade Ingredients
1/2 small onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed I substituted 2 tsp minced garlic
1 T ginger root, chopped (optional) (2 cm cubed) I subsituted 1 tsp ground ginger
2 T lemon juice (1 oz or 30 mls)
1 T soy sauce (0.5 oz or 15 mls)
1 tsp ground coriander (5 mls)
1 tsp ground cumin (5 mls)
1/2 tsp ground turmeric (2-2.5 mls)
2 T vegetable oil (or peanut or olive oil) (30 mls) I used olive oil
1 pound of pork (loin or shoulder cuts) (16 oz or 450g)
Directions
1)I prefer to chop my onions, garlic and ginger really fine then mix it all together in a medium to large bowl.
2) Cut pork into 1 inch strips.
3) Cover pork with marinade. You can place the pork into a bowl, cover/seal and chill, or place the whole lot of it into a ziplock bag, seal and chill.
Cooking Directions (continued):
4) If using wooden or bamboo skewers, soak your skewers in warm water for at least 20 minutes before preparing skewers. I couldn't find my skewers until after the meat was cooked...anyways, I don't know how to pan-fry meat on a stick!
5) Gently and slowly slide meat strips onto skewers. Discard leftover marinade.
6) Broil or grill at 290°C/550° F (or pan fry on medium-high) for 8-10 minutes or until the edges just start to char. Flip and cook another 8-10 minutes. I ended up cooking them longer because they weren't done after 20 minutes.
And this is the Peanut Sauce Recipe I didn't end up using:
Peanut Sauce
3/4 cup coconut milk (6 oz or 180 mls)
4 Tbsp peanut butter (2 oz or 60 mls)
1 Tbsp lemon juice (0.5 oz or 15 mls)
1 Tbsp soy sauce (0.5 oz or 15 mls)
1 tsp brown sugar (5 mls)
1/2 tsp ground cumin (2.5 mls)
1/2 tsp ground coriander (2.5 mls)
1-2 dried red chilies, chopped (keep the seeds for heat)
1) Mix dry ingredients in a small bowl. Add soy sauce and lemon, mix well.
2) Over low heat, combine coconut milk, peanut butter and your soy-lemon-seasoning mix. Mix well, stir often.
3) All you’re doing is melting the peanut butter, so make your peanut sauce after you’ve made everything else in your meal, or make ahead of time and reheat.
Conclusion
This is something I might actually make again, with more dipping sauce choices. And possibly different marinades, as well. I thought the pork was good even without the sweet and sour sauce. My husband liked them too (but he likes all meat so that isn't terribly surprising!)
Monday, December 28, 2009
New Year, New Goals
So I thought this year I would do New Year's goals. I had something really clever to say here, but it seems to have escaped me (temporarily).
2009 was pretty good - both love and I got jobs. And we moved from the "student apartment" into a much much much MUCH better apartment. And we are saving and planning on a trip to South Africa or New Zealand sometime in the next year. And oh! We started exercising in May and haven't stopped yet, so that is a pretty nice achievement too. :)
One other side note - I got a new camera for Christmas!!! YAY!! We still want a DSLR but those are expensive so in the meantime Fishy got me a nice camera to replace the one that died. ^_^
Joint Goals:
1) Cook 1 meal/food item a month, translating the recipe to Afrikaans and speaking Afrikaans while cooking
2) Cook 1 male/food item every two months from a different country. Make them gluten-free.
3) Program together on a project for at least one hour a week (or do screencasts/tutorials/etc)
4) Yay, exercise!
5) 4 MAKE/Instructables/similar projects in the year
6) Arts!
7) Go places! Do things! Have fun!
Solo Goals:
1) Knitting. Lots of knitting.
2) Finish butterfly needlepoint already!
3) Make 1 card a month (or more)
4) Make 1 iris pattern for Mom per month (or more)
5) Daring Cooks/Daring Bakers
6) Make 1 new craft a month
7) Sewing! - soft circuits, dance costume, halloween costume, and random stuff!
8)
9)
10)
Yes, I know the last three are blank...but, I think that every year that New Year's resolutions should total 10 (aside from the fact that it is especially fitting this year, with it being 2010 and all :P), but I am not sure what the last three will be. Yet. =) Most of my longer-term goals are already listed in the 101 in 1001 post. So when I think of something else, I will add!
Happy New Year, world!
2009 was pretty good - both love and I got jobs. And we moved from the "student apartment" into a much much much MUCH better apartment. And we are saving and planning on a trip to South Africa or New Zealand sometime in the next year. And oh! We started exercising in May and haven't stopped yet, so that is a pretty nice achievement too. :)
One other side note - I got a new camera for Christmas!!! YAY!! We still want a DSLR but those are expensive so in the meantime Fishy got me a nice camera to replace the one that died. ^_^
Joint Goals:
1) Cook 1 meal/food item a month, translating the recipe to Afrikaans and speaking Afrikaans while cooking
2) Cook 1 male/food item every two months from a different country. Make them gluten-free.
3) Program together on a project for at least one hour a week (or do screencasts/tutorials/etc)
4) Yay, exercise!
5) 4 MAKE/Instructables/similar projects in the year
6) Arts!
7) Go places! Do things! Have fun!
Solo Goals:
1) Knitting. Lots of knitting.
2) Finish butterfly needlepoint already!
3) Make 1 card a month (or more)
4) Make 1 iris pattern for Mom per month (or more)
5) Daring Cooks/Daring Bakers
6) Make 1 new craft a month
7) Sewing! - soft circuits, dance costume, halloween costume, and random stuff!
8)
9)
10)
Yes, I know the last three are blank...but, I think that every year that New Year's resolutions should total 10 (aside from the fact that it is especially fitting this year, with it being 2010 and all :P), but I am not sure what the last three will be. Yet. =) Most of my longer-term goals are already listed in the 101 in 1001 post. So when I think of something else, I will add!
Happy New Year, world!
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Sooooooooooooup
lol, "Suuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuusan"
Yeah I watch too many kids movies. XD
Without Further Ado...
The October 2009 Daring Cooks’ challenge was brought to us by Jaden of the blog Steamy Kitchen. The recipes are from her new cookbook, The Steamy Kitchen Cookbook.
The challenge was Vietnamese Pho, and also Chocolate Wontons. I didn't want to make my own wonton wrappers for the dumplings (I can't eat normal wrappers :P) so I didn't do the dessert dumplings. Maybe the next time I make Chinese dumplings from scratch I will save some of the dough and try them, though...they did look yummy!
There were three variations of the soup: chicken, beef, or vegetarian. I went with the standard chicken, but I only used chicken broth and didn't add any chicken breast. Is it weird that I like chicken broth but hate chicken?
Unfortunately, I didn't end up with any pictures becauuuuuuuse....my camera is broken! D: It actually broke for real when I tried to take pictures for this challenge. And I want a really really good camera (read: Digital SLR) so I don't want to spend $100+ on a camera temporarily..but I might anyways because I don't know when I will actually be able to bring myself to spend $1000+. :\ Why does my stuff have to break? There is so much stuff I want/need and nearly all of it is over $1000!!!! But before I spend that much I need to save...enough to go to SA ($7000+) and enough to have a happy buffer (not sure how much that is...hm...) just in case.
Okay, moving on to the soup. I actually didn't modify the recipe much, aside from not putting in chicken breast.
Ingredients - Vietnamese Pho:
As usual, comments will appear in italics
For the Chicken Pho Broth:
2 tbsp. whole coriander seeds Biltong spice!
4 whole cloves
2 whole star anise
2 quarts (2 liters/8 cups/64 fluid ounces) store-bought or homemade chicken stock
1 whole chicken breast (bone in or boneless)Ew, chicken >.<
½ onion
1 3-inch (7.5 cm) chunk of ginger, sliced and smashed with side of knife
1 to 2 tbsps. sugar
1 to 2 tbsps. fish sauce
1 lb. (500 grams/16 ounces) dried rice noodles (about ¼ inch/6 mm wide)
Accompaniments:
2 cups (200 grams/7 ounces) bean sprouts, washed and tails pinched off
Fresh cilantro (coriander) tops (leaves and tender stems)
½ cup (50 grams/approx. 2 ounces) shaved red onions
½ lime, cut into 4 wedges
Sriracha chili sauce
Hoisin sauce
Sliced fresh chili peppers of your choice
Directions:
1.To make the Chicken Pho Broth: heat a frying pan over medium heat. Add the coriander seeds, cloves and star anise and toast until fragrant, about 3-4 minutes. Immediately spoon out the spices to avoid burning.
2.In a large pot, add all the ingredients (including the toasted spices) and bring to a boil.
3.Reduce the heat to medium-low and let simmer for 20 minutes, skimming the surface frequently.
4.Use tongs to remove the chicken breasts and shred the meat with your fingers, discarding the bone if you have used bone-in breasts.
5.Taste the broth and add more fish sauce or sugar, if needed. Strain the broth and discard the solids.
6.Prepare the noodles as per directions on the package.
7.Ladle the broth into bowls. Then divide the shredded chicken breast and the soft noodles evenly into each bowl.
8.Have the accompaniments spread out on the table. Each person can customize their own bowl with these ingredients.
Conclusion:
The end result was very good. I might make slight changes if I make it again, but it reminded me a lot of Thai food, actually. I've never had Vietnamese food before, so this was a fun challenge, and making the soup itself wasn't too difficult, or time consuming, which was nice. :) Since I have a job now and all!
Yeah I watch too many kids movies. XD
Without Further Ado...
The October 2009 Daring Cooks’ challenge was brought to us by Jaden of the blog Steamy Kitchen. The recipes are from her new cookbook, The Steamy Kitchen Cookbook.
The challenge was Vietnamese Pho, and also Chocolate Wontons. I didn't want to make my own wonton wrappers for the dumplings (I can't eat normal wrappers :P) so I didn't do the dessert dumplings. Maybe the next time I make Chinese dumplings from scratch I will save some of the dough and try them, though...they did look yummy!
There were three variations of the soup: chicken, beef, or vegetarian. I went with the standard chicken, but I only used chicken broth and didn't add any chicken breast. Is it weird that I like chicken broth but hate chicken?
Unfortunately, I didn't end up with any pictures becauuuuuuuse....my camera is broken! D: It actually broke for real when I tried to take pictures for this challenge. And I want a really really good camera (read: Digital SLR) so I don't want to spend $100+ on a camera temporarily..but I might anyways because I don't know when I will actually be able to bring myself to spend $1000+. :\ Why does my stuff have to break? There is so much stuff I want/need and nearly all of it is over $1000!!!! But before I spend that much I need to save...enough to go to SA ($7000+) and enough to have a happy buffer (not sure how much that is...hm...) just in case.
Okay, moving on to the soup. I actually didn't modify the recipe much, aside from not putting in chicken breast.
Ingredients - Vietnamese Pho:
As usual, comments will appear in italics
For the Chicken Pho Broth:
2 tbsp. whole coriander seeds Biltong spice!
4 whole cloves
2 whole star anise
2 quarts (2 liters/8 cups/64 fluid ounces) store-bought or homemade chicken stock
½ onion
1 3-inch (7.5 cm) chunk of ginger, sliced and smashed with side of knife
1 to 2 tbsps. sugar
1 to 2 tbsps. fish sauce
1 lb. (500 grams/16 ounces) dried rice noodles (about ¼ inch/6 mm wide)
Accompaniments:
2 cups (200 grams/7 ounces) bean sprouts, washed and tails pinched off
Fresh cilantro (coriander) tops (leaves and tender stems)
½ cup (50 grams/approx. 2 ounces) shaved red onions
½ lime, cut into 4 wedges
Sriracha chili sauce
Hoisin sauce
Sliced fresh chili peppers of your choice
Directions:
1.To make the Chicken Pho Broth: heat a frying pan over medium heat. Add the coriander seeds, cloves and star anise and toast until fragrant, about 3-4 minutes. Immediately spoon out the spices to avoid burning.
2.In a large pot, add all the ingredients (including the toasted spices) and bring to a boil.
3.Reduce the heat to medium-low and let simmer for 20 minutes, skimming the surface frequently.
4.Use tongs to remove the chicken breasts and shred the meat with your fingers, discarding the bone if you have used bone-in breasts.
5.Taste the broth and add more fish sauce or sugar, if needed. Strain the broth and discard the solids.
6.Prepare the noodles as per directions on the package.
7.Ladle the broth into bowls. Then divide the shredded chicken breast and the soft noodles evenly into each bowl.
8.Have the accompaniments spread out on the table. Each person can customize their own bowl with these ingredients.
Conclusion:
The end result was very good. I might make slight changes if I make it again, but it reminded me a lot of Thai food, actually. I've never had Vietnamese food before, so this was a fun challenge, and making the soup itself wasn't too difficult, or time consuming, which was nice. :) Since I have a job now and all!
Sunday, September 27, 2009
*puff*
Trying to come up with witty titles for this post...all I'm getting is stuff like "puff the magic dragon" or "huff and puff and bloooooooow your house down"...so...yeah. -_-
The September 2009 Daring Bakers' challenge was hosted by Steph of A Whisk and a Spoon. She chose the French treat, Vols-au-Vent based on the Puff Pastry recipe by Michel Richard from the cookbook Baking With Julia by Dorie Greenspan.
For those wondering, vols-au-vent translates loosely to "flys/flying in the wind". Which makes me think of wind kisses, which I now want to make, but I digress.
I only made a "normal" version of puff pastry. I am trying to lose weight and become more fit in general so I am trying to eat more healthily, and I am pretty sure that puff pastry falls under the category of "bad food". >.<
I have made puff pastry before, when I made croissants for French class in high school (it was "market day" :P and I was the only person who actually baked...but that is not unusual), so making the puff pastry wasn't terribly difficult. It was, however, rather time consuming.
Oh, and my lovely camera is kinda broke again (well, it breaks off-and-on so sometimes I can get one or two pictures, sometimes I can't get any...very annoying, I think I need to invest in a new one) so I don't have many pictures, and I don't know how good the pictures are because I was trying to take them before the camera died again, lol. Not conducive to artistic photography...not that I am ever very good at that. :\
I only made five vol-au-vent shells, and am saving (and freezing) the rest of the puff pastry to make pie shells for my husband...he really wants a pie with meat and vegetable stew in it. *shrug* And depending on how much dough I have left after that, I might make either croissants or general puffs to fill with custard or whatever...
I filled one of the vol-au-vent shells with strawberries and whipped cream, and the other four with tuna salad (Syd's request) for lunch today.
I don't really have a lot of comments on this challenge, it was fairly straight-forward. Beating butter with a rolling pin is kind of fun. ^_^
Without furthur ado, here is the recipe:
Vols-au-Vent
As usual, annotations, if any, are in italics
Forming and Baking the Vols-au-Vent
Yield: 1/3 of the puff pastry recipe below will yield about 8-10 1.5” vols-au-vent or 4 4” vols-au-vent
In addition to the equipment listed above, you will need:
-well-chilled puff pastry dough (recipe below)
-egg wash (1 egg or yolk beaten with a small amount of water)
-your filling of choice I used strawberries and whipped cream, and tuna salad
Line a baking sheet with parchment and set aside. Yay, I don't have to ruin my new tray! I <3 parchment paper!
Using a knife or metal bench scraper, divided your chilled puff pastry dough into three equal pieces. Work with one piece of the dough, and leave the rest wrapped and chilled.
On a lightly floured surface, roll the piece of dough into a rectangle about 1/8 to 1/4-inch (3-6 mm) thick. Transfer it to the baking sheet and refrigerate for about 10 minutes before proceeding with the cutting.
(This assumes you will be using round cutters, but if you do not have them, it is possible to cut square vols-au-vents using a sharp chef’s knife.) For smaller, hors d'oeuvre sized vols-au-vent, use a 1.5” round cutter to cut out 8-10 circles. For larger sized vols-au-vent, fit for a main course or dessert, use a 4” cutter to cut out about 4 circles. Make clean, sharp cuts and try not to twist your cutters back and forth or drag your knife through the dough. Half of these rounds will be for the bases, and the other half will be for the sides. (Save any scrap by stacking—not wadding up—the pieces…they can be re-rolled and used if you need extra dough. If you do need to re-roll scrap to get enough disks, be sure to use any rounds cut from it for the bases, not the ring-shaped sides.)
Using a ¾-inch cutter for small vols-au-vent, or a 2- to 2.5-inch round cutter for large, cut centers from half of the rounds to make rings. These rings will become the sides of the vols-au-vent, while the solid disks will be the bottoms. You can either save the center cut-outs to bake off as little “caps” for you vols-au-vent, or put them in the scrap pile. The caps are so cute!
Dock the solid bottom rounds with a fork (prick them lightly, making sure not to go all the way through the pastry) and lightly brush them with egg wash. Place the rings directly on top of the bottom rounds and very lightly press them to adhere. Brush the top rings lightly with egg wash, trying not to drip any down the sides (which may inhibit rise).This is difficult If you are using the little “caps,” dock and egg wash them as well.
Refrigerate the assembled vols-au-vent on the lined baking sheet while you pre-heat the oven to 400ºF (200ºC). (You could also cover and refrigerate them for a few hours at this point.)
Once the oven is heated, remove the sheet from the refrigerator and placea silicon baking mat (preferred because of its weight) or another sheet of parchment over top of the shells. This will help them rise evenly. Bake the shells until they have risen and begin to brown, about 10-15 minutes depending on their size. Reduce the oven temperature to 350ºF (180ºC), and remove the silicon mat or parchment sheet from the top of the vols-au-vent. If the centers have risen up inside the vols-au-vent, you can gently press them down. I did poke the centers down, once in the oven and once after they were completely done. Continue baking (with no sheet on top) until the layers are golden, about 15-20 minutes more. (If you are baking the center “caps” they will likely be finished well ahead of the shells, so keep an eye on them and remove them from the oven when browned.)
Remove to a rack to cool. Cool to room temperature for cold fillings or to warm for hot fillings.
Fill and serve.
*For additional rise on the larger-sized vols-au-vents, you can stack one or two additional ring layers on top of each other (using egg wash to "glue"). This will give higher sides to larger vols-au-vents, but is not advisable for the smaller ones, whose bases may not be large enough to support the extra weight. I only did one layer...
*Although they are at their best filled and eaten soon after baking, baked vols-au-vent shells can be stored airtight for a day.
*Shaped, unbaked vols-au-vent can be wrapped and frozen for up to a month (bake from frozen, egg-washing them first).
Michel Richard’s Puff Pastry Dough
From: Baking with Julia by Dorie Greenspan
Yield: 2-1/2 pounds dough I only made a half recipe, because I didn't have that much all-purpose flour...and because Syd is the only one who can eat the dough, so I will have to make my own for the meat pies
Ingredients:
2-1/2 cups (12.2 oz/ 354 g) unbleached all-purpose flour
1-1/4 cups (5.0 oz/ 142 g) cake flour
1 tbsp. salt (you can cut this by half for a less salty dough or for sweet preparations)
1-1/4 cups (10 fl oz/ 300 ml) ice water
1 pound (16 oz/ 454 g) very cold unsalted butter
plus extra flour for dusting work surface
Mixing the Dough:
Check the capacity of your food processor before you start. If it cannot hold the full quantity of ingredients, make the dough into two batches and combine them. I do not have a food processor, I mixed by hand. It was fine, if a bit cold from the ice water!
Put the all-purpose flour, cake flour, and salt in the work bowl of a food processor fitted with a metal blade and pulse a couple of times just to mix. Add the water all at once, pulsing until the dough forms a ball on the blade. The dough will be very moist and pliable and will hold together when squeezed between your fingers. (Actually, it will feel like Play-Doh.)
Remove the dough from the machine, form it into a ball, with a small sharp knife, slash the top in a tic-tac-toe pattern. Wrap the dough in a damp towel and refrigerate for about 5 minutes.
Meanwhile, place the butter between 2 sheets of plastic wrap and beat it with a rolling pin until it flattens into a square that's about 1" thick. This was fun! Take care that the butter remains cool and firm: if it has softened or become oily, chill it before continuing.
Incorporating the Butter:
Unwrap the dough and place it on a work surface dusted with all-purpose flour (A cool piece of marble is the ideal surface for puff pastry) with your rolling pin (preferably a French rolling pin without handles which I don't have, so I used a normal rolling pin...it was fine), press on the dough to flatten it and then roll it into a 10" square. Keep the top and bottom of the dough well floured to prevent sticking and lift the dough and move it around frequently. Starting from the center of the square, roll out over each corner to create a thick center pad with "ears," or flaps.
Place the cold butter in the middle of the dough and fold the ears over the butter, stretching them as needed so that they overlap slightly and encase the butter completely. (If you have to stretch the dough, stretch it from all over; don't just pull the ends) you should now have a package that is 8" square.
To make great puff pastry, it is important to keep the dough cold at all times. There are specified times for chilling the dough, but if your room is warm, or you work slowly, or you find that for no particular reason the butter starts to ooze out of the pastry, cover the dough with plastic wrap and refrigerate it . You can stop at any point in the process and continue at your convenience or when the dough is properly chilled.
Making the Turns:
Gently but firmly press the rolling pin against the top and bottom edges of the square (this will help keep it square). Then, keeping the work surface and the top of the dough well floured to prevent sticking, roll the dough into a rectangle that is three times as long as the square you started with, about 24" (don't worry about the width of the rectangle: if you get the 24", everything else will work itself out.) With this first roll, it is particularly important that the butter be rolled evenly along the length and width of the rectangle; check when you start rolling that the butter is moving along well, and roll a bit harder or more evenly, if necessary, to get a smooth, even dough-butter sandwich (use your arm-strength! I did not have any problems with this being difficult to do, although I have been weight lifting, my arms have always been weak. Trying to change that, though. Maybe it is working? ).
With a pastry brush, brush off the excess flour from the top of the dough, and fold the rectangle up from the bottom and down from the top in thirds, like a business letter, brushing off the excess flour. You have completed one turn.
Rotate the dough so that the closed fold is to your left, like the spine of a book. Repeat the rolling and folding process, rolling the dough to a length of 24" and then folding it in thirds. This is the second turn.
Chilling the Dough:
If the dough is still cool and no butter is oozing out, you can give the dough another two turns now. If the condition of the dough is iffy, wrap it in plastic wrap and refrigerate it for at least 30 minutes. Each time you refrigerate the dough, mark the number of turns you've completed by indenting the dough with your fingertips. It is best to refrigerate the dough for 30 to 60 minutes between each set of two turns.
The total number of turns needed is six. If you prefer, you can give the dough just four turns now, chill it overnight, and do the last two turns the next day. Puff pastry is extremely flexible in this regard. However, no matter how you arrange your schedule, you should plan to chill the dough for at least an hour before cutting or shaping it.
Final Conclusion:
Well, Syd really liked the puff pastry, he thought that turned out really well. I thought it looked like it turned out well, but I obviously can't actually try it. *shrug*
I think these would be good with chocolate or pumpkin mousse. But I still can't eat them so...whatever.
The September 2009 Daring Bakers' challenge was hosted by Steph of A Whisk and a Spoon. She chose the French treat, Vols-au-Vent based on the Puff Pastry recipe by Michel Richard from the cookbook Baking With Julia by Dorie Greenspan.
For those wondering, vols-au-vent translates loosely to "flys/flying in the wind". Which makes me think of wind kisses, which I now want to make, but I digress.
I only made a "normal" version of puff pastry. I am trying to lose weight and become more fit in general so I am trying to eat more healthily, and I am pretty sure that puff pastry falls under the category of "bad food". >.<
I have made puff pastry before, when I made croissants for French class in high school (it was "market day" :P and I was the only person who actually baked...but that is not unusual), so making the puff pastry wasn't terribly difficult. It was, however, rather time consuming.
Oh, and my lovely camera is kinda broke again (well, it breaks off-and-on so sometimes I can get one or two pictures, sometimes I can't get any...very annoying, I think I need to invest in a new one) so I don't have many pictures, and I don't know how good the pictures are because I was trying to take them before the camera died again, lol. Not conducive to artistic photography...not that I am ever very good at that. :\
I only made five vol-au-vent shells, and am saving (and freezing) the rest of the puff pastry to make pie shells for my husband...he really wants a pie with meat and vegetable stew in it. *shrug* And depending on how much dough I have left after that, I might make either croissants or general puffs to fill with custard or whatever...
I filled one of the vol-au-vent shells with strawberries and whipped cream, and the other four with tuna salad (Syd's request) for lunch today.
I don't really have a lot of comments on this challenge, it was fairly straight-forward. Beating butter with a rolling pin is kind of fun. ^_^
Without furthur ado, here is the recipe:
Vols-au-Vent
As usual, annotations, if any, are in italics
Forming and Baking the Vols-au-Vent
Yield: 1/3 of the puff pastry recipe below will yield about 8-10 1.5” vols-au-vent or 4 4” vols-au-vent
In addition to the equipment listed above, you will need:
-well-chilled puff pastry dough (recipe below)
-egg wash (1 egg or yolk beaten with a small amount of water)
-your filling of choice I used strawberries and whipped cream, and tuna salad
Line a baking sheet with parchment and set aside. Yay, I don't have to ruin my new tray! I <3 parchment paper!
Using a knife or metal bench scraper, divided your chilled puff pastry dough into three equal pieces. Work with one piece of the dough, and leave the rest wrapped and chilled.
On a lightly floured surface, roll the piece of dough into a rectangle about 1/8 to 1/4-inch (3-6 mm) thick. Transfer it to the baking sheet and refrigerate for about 10 minutes before proceeding with the cutting.
(This assumes you will be using round cutters, but if you do not have them, it is possible to cut square vols-au-vents using a sharp chef’s knife.) For smaller, hors d'oeuvre sized vols-au-vent, use a 1.5” round cutter to cut out 8-10 circles. For larger sized vols-au-vent, fit for a main course or dessert, use a 4” cutter to cut out about 4 circles. Make clean, sharp cuts and try not to twist your cutters back and forth or drag your knife through the dough. Half of these rounds will be for the bases, and the other half will be for the sides. (Save any scrap by stacking—not wadding up—the pieces…they can be re-rolled and used if you need extra dough. If you do need to re-roll scrap to get enough disks, be sure to use any rounds cut from it for the bases, not the ring-shaped sides.)
Using a ¾-inch cutter for small vols-au-vent, or a 2- to 2.5-inch round cutter for large, cut centers from half of the rounds to make rings. These rings will become the sides of the vols-au-vent, while the solid disks will be the bottoms. You can either save the center cut-outs to bake off as little “caps” for you vols-au-vent, or put them in the scrap pile. The caps are so cute!
Dock the solid bottom rounds with a fork (prick them lightly, making sure not to go all the way through the pastry) and lightly brush them with egg wash. Place the rings directly on top of the bottom rounds and very lightly press them to adhere. Brush the top rings lightly with egg wash, trying not to drip any down the sides (which may inhibit rise).This is difficult If you are using the little “caps,” dock and egg wash them as well.
Refrigerate the assembled vols-au-vent on the lined baking sheet while you pre-heat the oven to 400ºF (200ºC). (You could also cover and refrigerate them for a few hours at this point.)
Once the oven is heated, remove the sheet from the refrigerator and place
Remove to a rack to cool. Cool to room temperature for cold fillings or to warm for hot fillings.
Fill and serve.
*For additional rise on the larger-sized vols-au-vents, you can stack one or two additional ring layers on top of each other (using egg wash to "glue"). This will give higher sides to larger vols-au-vents, but is not advisable for the smaller ones, whose bases may not be large enough to support the extra weight. I only did one layer...
*Although they are at their best filled and eaten soon after baking, baked vols-au-vent shells can be stored airtight for a day.
*Shaped, unbaked vols-au-vent can be wrapped and frozen for up to a month (bake from frozen, egg-washing them first).
Michel Richard’s Puff Pastry Dough
From: Baking with Julia by Dorie Greenspan
Yield: 2-1/2 pounds dough I only made a half recipe, because I didn't have that much all-purpose flour...and because Syd is the only one who can eat the dough, so I will have to make my own for the meat pies
Ingredients:
2-1/2 cups (12.2 oz/ 354 g) unbleached all-purpose flour
1-1/4 cups (5.0 oz/ 142 g) cake flour
1 tbsp. salt (you can cut this by half for a less salty dough or for sweet preparations)
1-1/4 cups (10 fl oz/ 300 ml) ice water
1 pound (16 oz/ 454 g) very cold unsalted butter
plus extra flour for dusting work surface
Mixing the Dough:
Put the all-purpose flour, cake flour, and salt in the work bowl of a food processor fitted with a metal blade and pulse a couple of times just to mix. Add the water all at once, pulsing until the dough forms a ball on the blade. The dough will be very moist and pliable and will hold together when squeezed between your fingers. (Actually, it will feel like Play-Doh.)
Remove the dough from the machine, form it into a ball, with a small sharp knife, slash the top in a tic-tac-toe pattern. Wrap the dough in a damp towel and refrigerate for about 5 minutes.
Meanwhile, place the butter between 2 sheets of plastic wrap and beat it with a rolling pin until it flattens into a square that's about 1" thick. This was fun! Take care that the butter remains cool and firm: if it has softened or become oily, chill it before continuing.
Incorporating the Butter:
Unwrap the dough and place it on a work surface dusted with all-purpose flour (A cool piece of marble is the ideal surface for puff pastry) with your rolling pin (preferably a French rolling pin without handles which I don't have, so I used a normal rolling pin...it was fine), press on the dough to flatten it and then roll it into a 10" square. Keep the top and bottom of the dough well floured to prevent sticking and lift the dough and move it around frequently. Starting from the center of the square, roll out over each corner to create a thick center pad with "ears," or flaps.
Place the cold butter in the middle of the dough and fold the ears over the butter, stretching them as needed so that they overlap slightly and encase the butter completely. (If you have to stretch the dough, stretch it from all over; don't just pull the ends) you should now have a package that is 8" square.
To make great puff pastry, it is important to keep the dough cold at all times. There are specified times for chilling the dough, but if your room is warm, or you work slowly, or you find that for no particular reason the butter starts to ooze out of the pastry, cover the dough with plastic wrap and refrigerate it . You can stop at any point in the process and continue at your convenience or when the dough is properly chilled.
Making the Turns:
Gently but firmly press the rolling pin against the top and bottom edges of the square (this will help keep it square). Then, keeping the work surface and the top of the dough well floured to prevent sticking, roll the dough into a rectangle that is three times as long as the square you started with, about 24" (don't worry about the width of the rectangle: if you get the 24", everything else will work itself out.) With this first roll, it is particularly important that the butter be rolled evenly along the length and width of the rectangle; check when you start rolling that the butter is moving along well, and roll a bit harder or more evenly, if necessary, to get a smooth, even dough-butter sandwich (use your arm-strength! I did not have any problems with this being difficult to do, although I have been weight lifting, my arms have always been weak. Trying to change that, though. Maybe it is working? ).
With a pastry brush, brush off the excess flour from the top of the dough, and fold the rectangle up from the bottom and down from the top in thirds, like a business letter, brushing off the excess flour. You have completed one turn.
Rotate the dough so that the closed fold is to your left, like the spine of a book. Repeat the rolling and folding process, rolling the dough to a length of 24" and then folding it in thirds. This is the second turn.
Chilling the Dough:
If the dough is still cool and no butter is oozing out, you can give the dough another two turns now. If the condition of the dough is iffy, wrap it in plastic wrap and refrigerate it for at least 30 minutes. Each time you refrigerate the dough, mark the number of turns you've completed by indenting the dough with your fingertips. It is best to refrigerate the dough for 30 to 60 minutes between each set of two turns.
The total number of turns needed is six. If you prefer, you can give the dough just four turns now, chill it overnight, and do the last two turns the next day. Puff pastry is extremely flexible in this regard. However, no matter how you arrange your schedule, you should plan to chill the dough for at least an hour before cutting or shaping it.
Final Conclusion:
Well, Syd really liked the puff pastry, he thought that turned out really well. I thought it looked like it turned out well, but I obviously can't actually try it. *shrug*
I think these would be good with chocolate or pumpkin mousse. But I still can't eat them so...whatever.
Friday, August 28, 2009
The fatest cake you will ever eat?
The August 2009 Daring Bakers' challenge was hosted by Angela of A Spoonful of Sugar and Lorraine of Not Quite Nigella. They chose the spectacular Dobos Torte based on a recipe from Rick Rodgers' cookbook Kaffeehaus: Exquisite Desserts from the Classic Caffés of Vienna, Budapest, and Prague.
Since there was no way Syd and I were eating this on our own (and I don't even think I want to make a gf-version for me...but we will see), I decided to make a half recipe, even though we are maybe going to share this with a couple of friends for a (belated) birthday. Although birthday girl's husband is kind of being a jerk at the moment, so...maybe not. He is not deserving of cake. He is more deserving of a good punch in the nose. :3
I haven't changed this recipe much (shocking!). The cake layers themselves aren't terribly fattening, it is mostly the buttercream frosting that does it. :P Although there is rather a lot of sugar as well.
So, a Dobos Torte is a tart/cake/torte that originated in Hungary. It consists of three essential parts:
multiple layers (5 here, but can be more) of sponge cake,
Sponge cake layers
(dark) chocolate buttercream icing,
Chocolate buttercream
and caramel wedges on top.
Caramel covered sponge cake wedges
I beat the eggs for the recommended amount of time, and they seemed to come out better than some of the other eggs that I have beaten previously.
Egg whites and yolks mixed, before adding the flour
I kind of estimated the amount of batter to use for each layer, so I hope my layers are thick enough. They didn't burn or anything, and they look good. They also smell good. Too bad I can't eat them. :(
Batter spread in circles...it was hard to get an even thickness
I grated my chocolate instead of chopped it. I used half a baker's chocolate bar leftover from making ystervarkkies.
Finely ground chocolate, castor sugar all measured out
I think I may have over cooked the carmel juuuuuuuuust a bit, ooops. I was doing laundry. ^^' I should not mutlitask while daring kitchening!
Icing the cake was the fun part!
You can see the layers!
And the finished cake! It was kind of hard to get the wedges to stand up and look nice without nuts underneath propping them up. Oh well, I still think the final effect is nice.
It looks good enough to eat! ^_^ ...I hope
I'll post pics of the insides of the cake once I see them. :P
Here is the Recipe: My notes are in italics
Dobos Torte
Equipment
•2 baking sheets I did this with only one..
•9” (23cm) springform tin and 8” cake tin, for templates I made a template out of paper myself, and traced it onto the parchment paper and waxed paper...
•mixing bowls (1 medium, 1 large)
•a sieve
•a double boiler
•a small saucepan
•a whisk (you could use a balloon whisk for the entire cake, but an electric hand whisk or stand mixer will make life much easier)
•metal offset spatula
•sharp knife
•a 7 1/2” cardboard cake round, or just build cake on the base of a sprinfrom tin. Making my own
•piping bag and tip, optional
Prep times
•Sponge layers 20 mins prep, 40 mins cooking total if baking each layer individually.
•Buttercream: 20 mins cooking. Cooling time for buttercream: about 1 hour plus 10 minutes after this to beat and divide.
•Caramel layer: 10-15 minutes.
•Assembly of whole cake: 20 minutes
Sponge cake layers
I made half a recipe..
•6 large eggs, separated, at room temperature
•1 1/3 cups (162g) confectioner's (icing) sugar, divided
•1 teaspoon (5ml) vanilla extract
•1 cup plus 2 tablespoons (112g) sifted cake flour (SUBSTITUTE 95g plain flour + 17g cornflour (cornstarch) sifted together)
•pinch of salt
Chocolate Buttercream
also half a recipe
•4 large eggs, at room temperature
•1 cup (200g) caster (ultrafine or superfine white) sugar
•4oz (110g) bakers chocolate or your favourite dark chocolate, finely chopped
•2 sticks plus 2 tablespoons (250g) unsalted butter, at room temperature.
Caramel topping
Halved this one as well...are we seeing a pattern here? :P
•1 cup (200g) caster (superfine or ultrafine white) sugar I found this as Superfine Baker's Sugar
•12 tablespoons (180 ml) water
•8 teaspoons (40 ml) lemon juice
•1 tablespoon neutral oil (e.g. grapeseed, rice bran, sunflower)
Finishing touches
•a 7” cardboard round Making this myself, couldn't find a 4" round :P
•12 whole hazelnuts, peeled and toastedNo nuts in my house!!!
•½ cup (50g) peeled and finely chopped hazelnutsNo nuts
Directions for the sponge layers:
NB. The sponge layers can be prepared in advance and stored interleaved with parchment and well-wrapped in the fridge overnight.
1.Position the racks in the top and centre thirds of the oven and heat to 400F (200C).
2.Cut six pieces of parchment paper to fit the baking sheets. Using the bottom of a 9" (23cm) springform tin as a template and a dark pencil or a pen, trace a circle on each of the papers, and turn them over (the circle should be visible from the other side, so that the graphite or ink doesn't touch the cake batter.)
3.Beat the egg yolks, 2/3 cup (81g) of the confectioner's (icing) sugar, and the vanilla in a medium bowl with a mixer on high speed until the mixture is thick, pale yellow and forms a thick ribbon when the beaters are lifted a few inches above the batter, about 3 minutes. (You can do this step with a balloon whisk if you don't have a mixer.)
4.In another bowl, using clean beaters, beat the egg whites until soft peaks form. Gradually beat in the remaining 2/3 cup (81g) of confectioner's (icing)sugar until the whites form stiff, shiny peaks. Using a large rubber spatula, stir about 1/4 of the beaten whites into the egg yolk mixture, then fold in the remainder, leaving a few wisps of white visible. Combine the flour and salt. Sift half the flour over the eggs, and fold in; repeat with the remaining flour.
5.Line one of the baking sheets with a circle-marked paper. Using a small offset spatula, spread about 3/4cup of the batter in an even layer, filling in the traced circle on one baking sheet. Bake on the top rack for 5 minutes, until the cake springs back when pressed gently in the centre and the edges are lightly browned. While this cake bakes, repeat the process on the other baking sheet, placing it on the centre rack. When the first cake is done, move the second cake to the top rack. Invert the first cake onto a flat surface and carefully peel off the paper. Slide the cake layer back onto the paper and let stand until cool. Rinse the baking sheet under cold running water to cool, and dry it before lining with another parchment. Continue with the remaining papers and batter to make a total of six layers. Completely cool the layers. Using an 8" springform pan bottom or plate as a template, trim each cake layer into a neat round. (A small serrated knife is best for this task.)
Directions for the chocolate buttercream:
NB. This can be prepared in advance and kept chilled until required.
1.Prepare a double-boiler: quarter-fill a large saucepan with water and bring it to a boil.
2.Meanwhile, whisk the eggs with the sugar until pale and thickened, about five minutes. You can use a balloon whisk or electric hand mixer for this.
3.Fit bowl over the boiling water in the saucepan (water should not touch bowl) and lower the heat to a brisk simmer. Cook the egg mixture, whisking constantly, for 2-3 minutes until you see it starting to thicken a bit. Whisk in the finely chopped chocolate and cook, stirring, for a further 2-3 minutes.
4.Scrape the chocolate mixture into a medium bowl and leave to cool to room temperature. It should be quite thick and sticky in consistency.
5.When cool, beat in the soft butter, a small piece (about 2 tablespoons/30g) at a time. An electric hand mixer is great here, but it is possible to beat the butter in with a spatula if it is soft enough. You should end up with a thick, velvety chocolate buttercream. Chill while you make the caramel topping.
Directions for the caramel topping:
1.Choose the best-looking cake layer for the caramel top. To make the caramel topping: Line a jellyroll pan with parchment paper and butter the paper. Place the reserved cake layer on the paper. Score the cake into 12 equal wedges. Lightly oil a thin, sharp knife and an offset metal spatula.
2.Stir the sugar, water and lemon juice in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil over a medium heat, stirring often to dissolve the sugar. Once dissolved into a smooth syrup, turn the heat up to high and boil without stirring, swirling the pan by the handle occasionally and washing down any sugar crystals on the sides of the pan with a wet brush until the syrup has turned into an amber-coloured caramel.
3.The top layer is perhaps the hardest part of the whole cake so make sure you have a oiled, hot offset spatula ready. I also find it helps if the cake layer hasn't just been taken out of the refrigerator. I made mine ahead of time and the cake layer was cold and the toffee set very, very quickly—too quickly for me to spread it. Immediately pour all of the hot caramel over the cake layer. You will have some leftover most probably but more is better than less and you can always make nice toffee pattern using the extra to decorate. Using the offset spatula, quickly spread the caramel evenly to the edge of the cake layer. Let cool until beginning to set, about 30 seconds. Using the tip of the hot oiled knife (keep re-oiling this with a pastry brush between cutting), cut through the scored marks to divide the caramel layer into 12 equal wedges. Cool another minute or so, then use the edge of the knife to completely cut and separate the wedges using one firm slice movement (rather than rocking back and forth which may produce toffee strands). Cool completely.
Assembling the Dobos
1.Divide the buttercream into six equal parts.
2.Place a dab of chocolate buttercream on the middle of a 7 1/2” cardboard round and top with one cake layer. Spread the layer with one part of the chocolate icing. Repeat with 4 more cake layers. Spread the remaining icing on the sides of the cake.
3.Optional: press the finely chopped hazelnuts onto the sides of the cake.
4.Propping a hazelnut under each wedge so that it sits at an angle, arrange the wedges on top of the cake in a spoke pattern. If you have any leftover buttercream, you can pipe rosettes under each hazelnut or a large rosette in the centre of the cake. Refrigerate the cake under a cake dome until the icing is set, about 2 hours. Let slices come to room temperature for the best possible flavour.
End Notes:
While a bit time consuming, this wasn't terribly difficult, but it looks impressive. I have no idea how it tastes, however!
I will add a review here once we have had the cake with the birthday girl and people...either tonight or tomorrow night. Yep.
That was fun! ^_^
Since there was no way Syd and I were eating this on our own (and I don't even think I want to make a gf-version for me...but we will see), I decided to make a half recipe, even though we are maybe going to share this with a couple of friends for a (belated) birthday. Although birthday girl's husband is kind of being a jerk at the moment, so...maybe not. He is not deserving of cake. He is more deserving of a good punch in the nose. :3
I haven't changed this recipe much (shocking!). The cake layers themselves aren't terribly fattening, it is mostly the buttercream frosting that does it. :P Although there is rather a lot of sugar as well.
So, a Dobos Torte is a tart/cake/torte that originated in Hungary. It consists of three essential parts:
multiple layers (5 here, but can be more) of sponge cake,
Sponge cake layers(dark) chocolate buttercream icing,
Chocolate buttercreamand caramel wedges on top.
Caramel covered sponge cake wedgesI beat the eggs for the recommended amount of time, and they seemed to come out better than some of the other eggs that I have beaten previously.
Egg whites and yolks mixed, before adding the flourI kind of estimated the amount of batter to use for each layer, so I hope my layers are thick enough. They didn't burn or anything, and they look good. They also smell good. Too bad I can't eat them. :(
Batter spread in circles...it was hard to get an even thicknessI grated my chocolate instead of chopped it. I used half a baker's chocolate bar leftover from making ystervarkkies.
Finely ground chocolate, castor sugar all measured outI think I may have over cooked the carmel juuuuuuuuust a bit, ooops. I was doing laundry. ^^' I should not mutlitask while daring kitchening!
Icing the cake was the fun part!
You can see the layers!And the finished cake! It was kind of hard to get the wedges to stand up and look nice without nuts underneath propping them up. Oh well, I still think the final effect is nice.
It looks good enough to eat! ^_^ ...I hopeI'll post pics of the insides of the cake once I see them. :P
Here is the Recipe: My notes are in italics
Dobos Torte
Equipment
•2 baking sheets I did this with only one..
•9” (23cm) springform tin and 8” cake tin, for templates I made a template out of paper myself, and traced it onto the parchment paper and waxed paper...
•mixing bowls (1 medium, 1 large)
•a sieve
•a double boiler
•a small saucepan
•a whisk (you could use a balloon whisk for the entire cake, but an electric hand whisk or stand mixer will make life much easier)
•metal offset spatula
•sharp knife
•a 7 1/2” cardboard cake round, or just build cake on the base of a sprinfrom tin. Making my own
•piping bag and tip, optional
Prep times
•Sponge layers 20 mins prep, 40 mins cooking total if baking each layer individually.
•Buttercream: 20 mins cooking. Cooling time for buttercream: about 1 hour plus 10 minutes after this to beat and divide.
•Caramel layer: 10-15 minutes.
•Assembly of whole cake: 20 minutes
Sponge cake layers
I made half a recipe..
•6 large eggs, separated, at room temperature
•1 1/3 cups (162g) confectioner's (icing) sugar, divided
•1 teaspoon (5ml) vanilla extract
•1 cup plus 2 tablespoons (112g) sifted cake flour (SUBSTITUTE 95g plain flour + 17g cornflour (cornstarch) sifted together)
•pinch of salt
Chocolate Buttercream
also half a recipe
•4 large eggs, at room temperature
•1 cup (200g) caster (ultrafine or superfine white) sugar
•4oz (110g) bakers chocolate or your favourite dark chocolate, finely chopped
•2 sticks plus 2 tablespoons (250g) unsalted butter, at room temperature.
Caramel topping
Halved this one as well...are we seeing a pattern here? :P
•1 cup (200g) caster (superfine or ultrafine white) sugar I found this as Superfine Baker's Sugar
•12 tablespoons (180 ml) water
•8 teaspoons (40 ml) lemon juice
•1 tablespoon neutral oil (e.g. grapeseed, rice bran, sunflower)
Finishing touches
•a 7” cardboard round Making this myself, couldn't find a 4" round :P
Directions for the sponge layers:
NB. The sponge layers can be prepared in advance and stored interleaved with parchment and well-wrapped in the fridge overnight.
1.Position the racks in the top and centre thirds of the oven and heat to 400F (200C).
2.Cut six pieces of parchment paper to fit the baking sheets. Using the bottom of a 9" (23cm) springform tin as a template and a dark pencil or a pen, trace a circle on each of the papers, and turn them over (the circle should be visible from the other side, so that the graphite or ink doesn't touch the cake batter.)
3.Beat the egg yolks, 2/3 cup (81g) of the confectioner's (icing) sugar, and the vanilla in a medium bowl with a mixer on high speed until the mixture is thick, pale yellow and forms a thick ribbon when the beaters are lifted a few inches above the batter, about 3 minutes. (You can do this step with a balloon whisk if you don't have a mixer.)
4.In another bowl, using clean beaters, beat the egg whites until soft peaks form. Gradually beat in the remaining 2/3 cup (81g) of confectioner's (icing)sugar until the whites form stiff, shiny peaks. Using a large rubber spatula, stir about 1/4 of the beaten whites into the egg yolk mixture, then fold in the remainder, leaving a few wisps of white visible. Combine the flour and salt. Sift half the flour over the eggs, and fold in; repeat with the remaining flour.
5.Line one of the baking sheets with a circle-marked paper. Using a small offset spatula, spread about 3/4cup of the batter in an even layer, filling in the traced circle on one baking sheet. Bake on the top rack for 5 minutes, until the cake springs back when pressed gently in the centre and the edges are lightly browned. While this cake bakes, repeat the process on the other baking sheet, placing it on the centre rack. When the first cake is done, move the second cake to the top rack. Invert the first cake onto a flat surface and carefully peel off the paper. Slide the cake layer back onto the paper and let stand until cool. Rinse the baking sheet under cold running water to cool, and dry it before lining with another parchment. Continue with the remaining papers and batter to make a total of six layers. Completely cool the layers. Using an 8" springform pan bottom or plate as a template, trim each cake layer into a neat round. (A small serrated knife is best for this task.)
Directions for the chocolate buttercream:
NB. This can be prepared in advance and kept chilled until required.
1.Prepare a double-boiler: quarter-fill a large saucepan with water and bring it to a boil.
2.Meanwhile, whisk the eggs with the sugar until pale and thickened, about five minutes. You can use a balloon whisk or electric hand mixer for this.
3.Fit bowl over the boiling water in the saucepan (water should not touch bowl) and lower the heat to a brisk simmer. Cook the egg mixture, whisking constantly, for 2-3 minutes until you see it starting to thicken a bit. Whisk in the finely chopped chocolate and cook, stirring, for a further 2-3 minutes.
4.Scrape the chocolate mixture into a medium bowl and leave to cool to room temperature. It should be quite thick and sticky in consistency.
5.When cool, beat in the soft butter, a small piece (about 2 tablespoons/30g) at a time. An electric hand mixer is great here, but it is possible to beat the butter in with a spatula if it is soft enough. You should end up with a thick, velvety chocolate buttercream. Chill while you make the caramel topping.
Directions for the caramel topping:
1.Choose the best-looking cake layer for the caramel top. To make the caramel topping: Line a jellyroll pan with parchment paper and butter the paper. Place the reserved cake layer on the paper. Score the cake into 12 equal wedges. Lightly oil a thin, sharp knife and an offset metal spatula.
2.Stir the sugar, water and lemon juice in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil over a medium heat, stirring often to dissolve the sugar. Once dissolved into a smooth syrup, turn the heat up to high and boil without stirring, swirling the pan by the handle occasionally and washing down any sugar crystals on the sides of the pan with a wet brush until the syrup has turned into an amber-coloured caramel.
3.The top layer is perhaps the hardest part of the whole cake so make sure you have a oiled, hot offset spatula ready. I also find it helps if the cake layer hasn't just been taken out of the refrigerator. I made mine ahead of time and the cake layer was cold and the toffee set very, very quickly—too quickly for me to spread it. Immediately pour all of the hot caramel over the cake layer. You will have some leftover most probably but more is better than less and you can always make nice toffee pattern using the extra to decorate. Using the offset spatula, quickly spread the caramel evenly to the edge of the cake layer. Let cool until beginning to set, about 30 seconds. Using the tip of the hot oiled knife (keep re-oiling this with a pastry brush between cutting), cut through the scored marks to divide the caramel layer into 12 equal wedges. Cool another minute or so, then use the edge of the knife to completely cut and separate the wedges using one firm slice movement (rather than rocking back and forth which may produce toffee strands). Cool completely.
Assembling the Dobos
1.Divide the buttercream into six equal parts.
2.Place a dab of chocolate buttercream on the middle of a 7 1/2” cardboard round and top with one cake layer. Spread the layer with one part of the chocolate icing. Repeat with 4 more cake layers. Spread the remaining icing on the sides of the cake.
4.
End Notes:
While a bit time consuming, this wasn't terribly difficult, but it looks impressive. I have no idea how it tastes, however!
I will add a review here once we have had the cake with the birthday girl and people...either tonight or tomorrow night. Yep.
That was fun! ^_^
Monday, August 24, 2009
I really need to be better at updating ._.
I updated my 101 in 1001 list, finally. I had been slacking in updating (and in posting about what I have done, as well!).
We took my Dad up to the Neil Armstrong Museum for his birthday, one of the places on our list, so I can check off one of the "visit 10 places in Ohio"...next stop: who knows? Maybe someplace over labor day weekend.
Also, I am in the process of looking for a job, but I was not anticipating the economy being this bad, and have only even managed to get one interview (yes, ONE interview in almost 9 months!!! T_T) so that is a bit out of my control. :( The "get a credit card" is also out of my control, because neither of us have credit history and so we CAN'T get a credit card and we don't really feel like freezing $5000 for a year. Argh. Maybe if I can find a job.
But we did finally start working on our Budget App, using MVC (which is cool) and NHibernate (which is cool but NHibernateRepository is causing problems, which is not cool).
I have also been studying for the MCTS, and am currently through chapter 11 so I should be taking the test by the end of next month, then I can go on to study the services book and the web app book as well. Then I can be a MCP too! ^_^
I have also been crafting a lot lately, making cool stuff for Syd's cube and for our new apartment which is love. <3 I recently made fish decals for the bathroom, and they are awesome. I am dying to do the study but I am going to have to order stuff from Amazon first. White walls get kinda boring after a while, and we don't even have any art or photos up yet (and last week I broke the only photo frame we had out! D:). Also I am knitting on a hoodie (Riding to Avalon by Connie Chang Chinchio, from Interweave's KnitScene, Fall 2008) for the SKC KAL...I really wanted to knit the Apres Surf Hoodie (same designer) but Elann.com is all out of the yarn I wanted to use in the color...and the original yarn is discontinued and I can't find the color I want in a yarn that I want (I don't want an all or mostly wool yarn because I do not want the Apres Surf Hoodie to be too hot).
There are so many things that I want to do but I just end up either not having the time to do or not having the money to do. It is kind of frustrating, actually. This mostly includes electronic projects from Make, Instructibles, and Switch Craft, but also includes anything that requires a sewing machine or button machine. :P
Yeah so I should stop wasting time and finish coloring in my shrinky dinks. Yep.
Coming later this week: Daring Baker's August Challenge! Which has yet to be baked! ^^'
We took my Dad up to the Neil Armstrong Museum for his birthday, one of the places on our list, so I can check off one of the "visit 10 places in Ohio"...next stop: who knows? Maybe someplace over labor day weekend.
Also, I am in the process of looking for a job, but I was not anticipating the economy being this bad, and have only even managed to get one interview (yes, ONE interview in almost 9 months!!! T_T) so that is a bit out of my control. :( The "get a credit card" is also out of my control, because neither of us have credit history and so we CAN'T get a credit card and we don't really feel like freezing $5000 for a year. Argh. Maybe if I can find a job.
But we did finally start working on our Budget App, using MVC (which is cool) and NHibernate (which is cool but NHibernateRepository is causing problems, which is not cool).
I have also been studying for the MCTS, and am currently through chapter 11 so I should be taking the test by the end of next month, then I can go on to study the services book and the web app book as well. Then I can be a MCP too! ^_^
I have also been crafting a lot lately, making cool stuff for Syd's cube and for our new apartment which is love. <3 I recently made fish decals for the bathroom, and they are awesome. I am dying to do the study but I am going to have to order stuff from Amazon first. White walls get kinda boring after a while, and we don't even have any art or photos up yet (and last week I broke the only photo frame we had out! D:). Also I am knitting on a hoodie (Riding to Avalon by Connie Chang Chinchio, from Interweave's KnitScene, Fall 2008) for the SKC KAL...I really wanted to knit the Apres Surf Hoodie (same designer) but Elann.com is all out of the yarn I wanted to use in the color...and the original yarn is discontinued and I can't find the color I want in a yarn that I want (I don't want an all or mostly wool yarn because I do not want the Apres Surf Hoodie to be too hot).
There are so many things that I want to do but I just end up either not having the time to do or not having the money to do. It is kind of frustrating, actually. This mostly includes electronic projects from Make, Instructibles, and Switch Craft, but also includes anything that requires a sewing machine or button machine. :P
Yeah so I should stop wasting time and finish coloring in my shrinky dinks. Yep.
Coming later this week: Daring Baker's August Challenge! Which has yet to be baked! ^^'
Saturday, August 15, 2009
More seafood!
Well, I certainly seem to be on a seafood kick recently! Between pan-frying cornbread battered fish, making fish and spinach quesadillas, and the last daring cook's challenge of Skate with Traditional Flavors Powdered, I think I have eaten more seafood in the last two months than...well...in the entire rest of my life combined! o.0
Not that that is a bad thing. I really like seafood. :)
So this months daring cooks challenge is ALSO seafood. This time, cuttlefish (and once again, a kind of fish that is not easily accessible in the middle of the midwest)!
This month's daring cooks challenge was hosted by Olga of Las Cosas de Olga and Olga's Kitchen. She chose a Spanish dish called Rice with mushrooms, cuttlefish and artichokes by José Andrés, a well-known Spanish cook.
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Here's all of the ingredients..
So first I started the sofregit cooking. That wasn't too hard, just a couple of tomatoes (chopped), and onion (chopped), some garlic (chopped), bay leaves, and spices.
Tomatoes and spices and onions oh yum!
While that was cooking away (and smelling mighty good!), I learned how to cut artichokes. I don't think I have ever EATEN artichoke before, much less cooked with it. So, that was definitely an experience.
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Interesting...
I need a better knife. And now I need to clean my kitchen, and I just cleaned today! D:
And then I de-stemmed and gilled the portobello mushrooms. I have never done that before either, but it was kind of fun. Mushroom gills are soft. ^_^
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Mushrooms!
Anyways, so then I took out the shrimp and ran half of it under cold water to thaw, removed the sofregit from the stove, and heated up olive oil and started cooking the shrimp.
And it was at this point that...my digital camera died. T_T Noooooooooooooo....So, sorry, no pictures of the finished dish. ^^'
Once the shrimp had been sitting in the oil for a bit, I threw in the mushrooms and artichoke hearts, and a couple of bay leaves, and sauteed that for a while.
Then, I added white wine, mixed that up for a bit, and then added the entire amount of sofregit. I didn't make a terribly large amount, to begin with...
After letting that sit for a bit, I added the water and brought that to a boil. Once it was really boiling, I added the rice, and boiled that for five minutes.
I substituted tumeric for saffron. I could actually find saffron, but I wasn't going to spend $16 on it, and I already had tumeric.
Then the rice boiled for another 8 minutes and sat until we decided to eat.
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Rice and shrimp!
I was going to make some delicious Spanish dessert to go with this, but I either didn't have the ingredients for things or my husband wasn't hungry for them. And I didn't really want to run to the store, so...no dessert. I'll have to make dessert another night. :P (I was debating between arroz con leche, which Syd doesn't really like but I do, churros, flan, and custard...sigh...but my milk went bad!)
Anyways, here is the official recipe, with my changes in italics.
Rice with mushrooms, cuttlefish and artichokesExcept I used shrimp instead
Cooking time: 45 minutes
Ingredients (serves 4):
As I was serving only 2, I made a half recipe, but it still served more than two :P
•4 Artichokes (you can use jarred or freezed if fresh are not available)
•12 Mushrooms (button or Portobello)
•1 or 2 Bay leaves (optional but highly recommended)
•1 glass of white wine
•2 Cuttlefish (you can use freezed cuttlefish or squid if you don’t find it fresh)or shrimp...seafood is hard to find in the midwest, and cuttlefish are too cute to eat anyways!
•“Sofregit” (see recipe below)
•300 gr (2 cups) Short grain rice (Spanish types Calasparra or Montsant are preferred, but you can choose any other short grain. This kind of rice absorbs flavor very well) – about 75 gr per person ( ½ cup per person) Please read this for more info on suitable rices.I used sushi rice because that was the only short-grained rice I could find
•Water or Fish Stock (use 1 ½ cup of liquid per ½ cup of rice)
•Saffron threads (if you can’t find it or afford to buy it, you can substitute it for turmeric or yellow coloring powder) I tok the tumeric option, saffron is too expensive
•Allioli (olive oil and garlic sauce, similar to mayonnaise sauce) - optionalOptional, so I didn't make this, I don't have a mortar and pestle...gosh, some people have everything!
Directions:
1.Cut the cuttlefish in little strips. Thaw the shrimp
2.Add 1 or 2 tablespoon of olive oil in a frying pan and put thecuttlefishshrimp in the pan.
3.If you use fresh artichokes, clean them as shown in the video in tip #7. Cut artichokes in eights.
4.Clean the mushrooms and cut them in fourths.
5.Add a bay leaf to thecuttlefishshrimp and add also the artichokes and the mushrooms.
6.Sauté until we get a golden color in the artichokes.
7.Put a touch of white wine so all the solids in the bottom of the get mixed, getting a more flavorful dish.
8.Add a couple or three tablespoons of sofregit or the whole batch of sofregit and mix to make sure everything gets impregnated with the sofregit.
9.Add all the liquid and bring it to boil.
10.Add all the rice. Let boil for about 5 minutes in heavy heat.
11.Add some saffron thread to enrich the dish with its flavor and color. Stir a little bit so the rice and the other ingredients get the entire flavor. If you’re using turmeric or yellow coloring, use only 1/4 teaspoon.
12.Turn to low heat and boil for another 8 minutes (or until rice is a little softer than “al dente”)
13.Put the pan away from heat and let the rice stand a couple of minutes.
Sofregit (a well cooked and fragrant sauce made of olive oil, tomatoes, garlic and onions, and may at times different vegetables such as peppers or mushrooms)
I also made a half-recipe of this
Cooking time: aprox. 1 hour
Ingredients:
•2 tablespoons of olive oil
•5 big red ripe tomatoes, chopped
•2 small onions, chopped
•1 green pepper, chopped (optional)
•4 or 5 garlic cloves, chopped
•1 cup of button or Portobello mushrooms, chopped (optional)
•1 Bay leaf
•Salt
•Touch of ground cumin
•Touch of dried oregano
Directions:
1.Put all the ingredients together in a frying pan and sauté slowly until all vegetables are soft.
2.Taste and salt if necessary (maybe it’s not!)
Because I did not make the optional part of this recipe, the Allioli, I am not including the recipes for that here.
Final Verdict
I have decided that I don't really like artichokes, and they taste kind of like cooked broccoli. Ew.
However, overall this dish was very good. I think it might have been better if I had been able to use fish stock, but I definitely liked it with the shrimp.
Syd thought it was good, too. =)
Not that that is a bad thing. I really like seafood. :)
So this months daring cooks challenge is ALSO seafood. This time, cuttlefish (and once again, a kind of fish that is not easily accessible in the middle of the midwest)!
This month's daring cooks challenge was hosted by Olga of Las Cosas de Olga and Olga's Kitchen. She chose a Spanish dish called Rice with mushrooms, cuttlefish and artichokes by José Andrés, a well-known Spanish cook.
.jpg)
Here's all of the ingredients..So first I started the sofregit cooking. That wasn't too hard, just a couple of tomatoes (chopped), and onion (chopped), some garlic (chopped), bay leaves, and spices.
Tomatoes and spices and onions oh yum!While that was cooking away (and smelling mighty good!), I learned how to cut artichokes. I don't think I have ever EATEN artichoke before, much less cooked with it. So, that was definitely an experience.
.jpg)
Interesting...I need a better knife. And now I need to clean my kitchen, and I just cleaned today! D:
And then I de-stemmed and gilled the portobello mushrooms. I have never done that before either, but it was kind of fun. Mushroom gills are soft. ^_^
.jpg)
Mushrooms!Anyways, so then I took out the shrimp and ran half of it under cold water to thaw, removed the sofregit from the stove, and heated up olive oil and started cooking the shrimp.
And it was at this point that...my digital camera died. T_T Noooooooooooooo....So, sorry, no pictures of the finished dish. ^^'
Once the shrimp had been sitting in the oil for a bit, I threw in the mushrooms and artichoke hearts, and a couple of bay leaves, and sauteed that for a while.
Then, I added white wine, mixed that up for a bit, and then added the entire amount of sofregit. I didn't make a terribly large amount, to begin with...
After letting that sit for a bit, I added the water and brought that to a boil. Once it was really boiling, I added the rice, and boiled that for five minutes.
I substituted tumeric for saffron. I could actually find saffron, but I wasn't going to spend $16 on it, and I already had tumeric.
Then the rice boiled for another 8 minutes and sat until we decided to eat.
.jpg)
Rice and shrimp!I was going to make some delicious Spanish dessert to go with this, but I either didn't have the ingredients for things or my husband wasn't hungry for them. And I didn't really want to run to the store, so...no dessert. I'll have to make dessert another night. :P (I was debating between arroz con leche, which Syd doesn't really like but I do, churros, flan, and custard...sigh...but my milk went bad!)
Anyways, here is the official recipe, with my changes in italics.
Rice with mushrooms, cuttlefish and artichokesExcept I used shrimp instead
Cooking time: 45 minutes
Ingredients (serves 4):
As I was serving only 2, I made a half recipe, but it still served more than two :P
•4 Artichokes (you can use jarred or freezed if fresh are not available)
•12 Mushrooms (button or Portobello)
•1 or 2 Bay leaves (optional but highly recommended)
•1 glass of white wine
•2 Cuttlefish (you can use freezed cuttlefish or squid if you don’t find it fresh)or shrimp...seafood is hard to find in the midwest, and cuttlefish are too cute to eat anyways!
•“Sofregit” (see recipe below)
•300 gr (2 cups) Short grain rice (Spanish types Calasparra or Montsant are preferred, but you can choose any other short grain. This kind of rice absorbs flavor very well) – about 75 gr per person ( ½ cup per person) Please read this for more info on suitable rices.I used sushi rice because that was the only short-grained rice I could find
•Water or Fish Stock (use 1 ½ cup of liquid per ½ cup of rice)
•Saffron threads (if you can’t find it or afford to buy it, you can substitute it for turmeric or yellow coloring powder) I tok the tumeric option, saffron is too expensive
•Allioli (olive oil and garlic sauce, similar to mayonnaise sauce) - optionalOptional, so I didn't make this, I don't have a mortar and pestle...gosh, some people have everything!
Directions:
1.Cut the cuttlefish in little strips. Thaw the shrimp
2.Add 1 or 2 tablespoon of olive oil in a frying pan and put the
3.If you use fresh artichokes, clean them as shown in the video in tip #7. Cut artichokes in eights.
4.Clean the mushrooms and cut them in fourths.
5.Add a bay leaf to the
6.Sauté until we get a golden color in the artichokes.
7.Put a touch of white wine so all the solids in the bottom of the get mixed, getting a more flavorful dish.
8.Add a couple or three tablespoons of sofregit or the whole batch of sofregit and mix to make sure everything gets impregnated with the sofregit.
9.Add all the liquid and bring it to boil.
10.Add all the rice. Let boil for about 5 minutes in heavy heat.
11.Add some saffron thread to enrich the dish with its flavor and color. Stir a little bit so the rice and the other ingredients get the entire flavor. If you’re using turmeric or yellow coloring, use only 1/4 teaspoon.
12.Turn to low heat and boil for another 8 minutes (or until rice is a little softer than “al dente”)
13.Put the pan away from heat and let the rice stand a couple of minutes.
Sofregit (a well cooked and fragrant sauce made of olive oil, tomatoes, garlic and onions, and may at times different vegetables such as peppers or mushrooms)
I also made a half-recipe of this
Cooking time: aprox. 1 hour
Ingredients:
•2 tablespoons of olive oil
•5 big red ripe tomatoes, chopped
•2 small onions, chopped
•
•4 or 5 garlic cloves, chopped
•
•1 Bay leaf
•Salt
•Touch of ground cumin
•Touch of dried oregano
Directions:
1.Put all the ingredients together in a frying pan and sauté slowly until all vegetables are soft.
2.Taste and salt if necessary (maybe it’s not!)
Because I did not make the optional part of this recipe, the Allioli, I am not including the recipes for that here.
Final Verdict
I have decided that I don't really like artichokes, and they taste kind of like cooked broccoli. Ew.
However, overall this dish was very good. I think it might have been better if I had been able to use fish stock, but I definitely liked it with the shrimp.
Syd thought it was good, too. =)
Friday, August 7, 2009
Geek Crafts
I am jobless. Still. So, being bored, I have started crafting things for my nice new apartment. I haven't gotten very far yet, but I am working on it and I have a few things "in the works" that I will share once they are finished.
Anyways, Syd wanted Mario magnets for his cube (after I made him tetris magnets), so he can "play" Mario during work. I looked into various options, but he wanted them small (so I couldn't needle point them on plastic canvas as I did the tetris magnets, and he thought the perler bead option would be too big as well, plus we don't have an iron anyways...need one, though) so I ended up making them out of shrinky dinks. And it took FOREVER. Even though they are small, coloring all of those pixles is kind of annoying. Cutting out the pixel edges is even worse. And then it took forever to find magnets that would fit on the back of the shrinky dinks and yet not be too strong that they would stick to the fridge rather than to the shrinky dinks (the shrinky dinks were not damaged, just the glue came off). But, anyways, here they are!
I am rather proud of this set.
I totally want to make another one just for me.
Except it took me oooooh two months to make them. I don't think you could pay me to make another set. Even if you paid me! Which you can't. Because Mario is Copyright Nintendo, of course. Although tons of people do. :\ Am I missing something, or what?
Although, now I kind of want to make a smaller set for myself. Just the power ups. Or maybe just mario and peach and the fish...or...argh. Now I want one too! :P I also am contemplating making earrings and/or a bracelet.
So that was for husband's work..."work" haha. >.>
Anyways, for our nice new apartment I made...coasters! And, not just any coasters, no. STARGATE coasters!
And that was before I knew Think Geek had official Stargate coasters. Sigh. When I have a job, I will happily spend all of my paycheck at think geek. They also have SGC shirts. Yes, I love Stargate. <3 I wish it was real. :(
Anyways, those are not all of the projects I have lined up but I am on a budget (no job *sniff*) and I am also trying to study for the MCTS and do all of the housework and laundry so Syd doesn't have to. <3
Anyways, Syd wanted Mario magnets for his cube (after I made him tetris magnets), so he can "play" Mario during work. I looked into various options, but he wanted them small (so I couldn't needle point them on plastic canvas as I did the tetris magnets, and he thought the perler bead option would be too big as well, plus we don't have an iron anyways...need one, though) so I ended up making them out of shrinky dinks. And it took FOREVER. Even though they are small, coloring all of those pixles is kind of annoying. Cutting out the pixel edges is even worse. And then it took forever to find magnets that would fit on the back of the shrinky dinks and yet not be too strong that they would stick to the fridge rather than to the shrinky dinks (the shrinky dinks were not damaged, just the glue came off). But, anyways, here they are!
I am rather proud of this set.
I totally want to make another one just for me.
Except it took me oooooh two months to make them. I don't think you could pay me to make another set. Even if you paid me! Which you can't. Because Mario is Copyright Nintendo, of course. Although tons of people do. :\ Am I missing something, or what?
Although, now I kind of want to make a smaller set for myself. Just the power ups. Or maybe just mario and peach and the fish...or...argh. Now I want one too! :P I also am contemplating making earrings and/or a bracelet.
So that was for husband's work..."work" haha. >.>
Anyways, for our nice new apartment I made...coasters! And, not just any coasters, no. STARGATE coasters!
And that was before I knew Think Geek had official Stargate coasters. Sigh. When I have a job, I will happily spend all of my paycheck at think geek. They also have SGC shirts. Yes, I love Stargate. <3 I wish it was real. :(
Anyways, those are not all of the projects I have lined up but I am on a budget (no job *sniff*) and I am also trying to study for the MCTS and do all of the housework and laundry so Syd doesn't have to. <3
Monday, July 27, 2009
Cookies!
The July Daring Bakers' challenge was hosted by Nicole at Sweet Tooth. She chose Chocolate Covered Marshmallow Cookies and Milan Cookies from pastry chef Gale Gand of the Food Network.
July Daring Bakers Challenge - Mallows and/or Milan Cookies
This month's challenge, hosted by Nicole of Sweet Tooth, was mallows and/or milan cookies, both recipes by Gale Gand of the Food Network.
I chose to make the mallows, as I thought both Mom and Syd would enjoy them. So this months challenge is a lesson in...how to bake when you don't have stuff. :P
"Normal" butter and flour...
Butter and gf-flour
I made one recipe of "normal" shortbread cookies for Syd, and one recipe of gf-shortbread cookies for Mom and me. Well, that isn't technically true. I actually made half recipes of each, because the recipe said one batch makes about two dozen cookies. So I made a half batch, and ended up with....way more than two dozen cookies per batch. Three-dozen circular cookies, four dozen (or so) heart cookies, AND half a dozen fishy cookies. Granted, I did use the 1" circular cutter rather than the 1 1/2" cutter, as that is what I had (the recipe called for a 1" or 1 1/2" cutter, by the way). And since I don't actually have a mixer, I "sanded" the butter and flour by hand. Once per batch. Ow.
One batch of dough has been sanded...
The second batch, sanded!
Awww aren't they so cute and little?
Syd's cookies
My crumbly cookies
The gf-dough was a little bit crumbly, it wanted to crack and fall apart, but somehow I made it work, and the cookies turned out fine. Syd liked them, anyways...>.>
The marshmallow insides could be made from scratch or you could just use store-bought marshmallows. I decided to *try* to make my own. I have tried before, with Mom (to make marshmallow peeps :P) but have always failed. Marshmallows are evil.
Mmmmmmmmmmarshmaaaaaaaaaallows
But...I think these turned out okay. Which is surprising, because my old candy thermometer is messed up, and the new one didn't submerge all the way into the syrup. :(
And I used my little hand mixer for the marshmallows, I think it would have been easier with a large mixer. But they are so expensive. :\
Cookies ready for marshmallows
I piped the marshmallows on the cookies with my pastry tip (which I bought to make churros but still haven't made XD) and a plastic bag (no, I don't have pastry bags or decorating bags or anything...siiiiiiiiiigh)...unfortunately, by the time I was on my second tray of cookies the marshmallows had gotten hard and I had trouble piping them out. And then I got a phone call that I had to take (not taking phone calls is NOT an option when you are looking for a job!!!) so then the marshmallows were even more stiff. I tried to save them so I will have homemade marshmallows that are not on the cookies, but the marshmallow goo may have been too set up already. We'll see..
My cookies with marshmallows...
Syd's marshmallow cookies..you can see the marshmallow started to set up while I was piping so these don't look as nice as mine.
Yay chocolate! I had a whole bunch of chocolate glaze leftover, even after glazing the cookies that didn't get marshmallow put on them!
Cookie dripping with liquidy chocolate...
Of course, I did my cookies first to avoid contamination.
My cookies, dipped
Then, I did Syd's. :)
Syd's cookies, after dipping.
The recipe: With my notes/changes/etc in italics
Mallows(Chocolate Covered Marshmallow Cookies)
Recipe courtesy Gale Gand, from Food Network website
Prep Time: 10 min
Inactive Prep Time: 5 min
Cook Time: 10 min
Serves: about 2 dozen cookies if you say so...
• 3 cups (375grams/13.23oz) all purpose flour For gluten-free, I subsituted all-purpose gf flour in the same amount, plus 3 tsp Xanthan Gum
• 1/2 cup (112.5grams/3.97oz) white sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 3/8 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 12 tablespoons (170grams/ 6 oz) unsalted butter
• 3 eggs, whisked together If I made this again, I would add a little extra egg or water to the gf-recipe, it might help it stick together better
• Homemade marshmallows, recipe follows
• Chocolate glaze, recipe follows
1. In a mixer with the paddle attachment, blend the dry ingredients. or by hand..
2. On low speed, add the butter and mix until sandy. Still by hand...
3. Add the eggs and mix until combine. Whew!
4. Form the dough into a disk, wrap with clingfilm or parchment and refrigerate at least 1 hour and up to 3 days.
5. When ready to bake, grease a cookie sheet or line it with parchment paper or a silicon mat.
6. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
7. Roll out the dough to 1/8-inch thickness, on a lightly floured surface. Use a 1 to 1 1/2 inches cookie cutter to cut out small rounds of dough.
8. Transfer to the prepared pan and bake for 10 minutes or until light golden brown. Let cool to room temperature.
9. Pipe a “kiss” of marshmallow onto each cookie. Let set at room temperature for 2 hours. Don't let your masrshmallows get too stiff. I wasn't sure if mine were going to set up at all, but I ended up waiting too long and it was really hard to pipe out the second half..
10. Line a cookie sheet with parchment or silicon mat.
11. One at a time, gently drop the marshmallow-topped cookies into the hot chocolate glaze. Don't leave them in too long or the marshmallow will melt!
12. Lift out with a fork and let excess chocolate drip back into the bowl. I used a chocolate fork, which is one thing I actually have. Well, kind of have. It's plastic, not metal :(
13. Place on the prepared pan and let set at room temperature until the coating is firm, about 1 to 2 hours.
Note: if you don’t want to make your own marshmallows, you can cut a large marshmallow in half and place on the cookie base. Heat in a preheated 350-degree oven to slump the marshmallow slightly, it will expand and brown a little. Let cool, then proceed with the chocolate dipping. But that is no fun!
Homemade marshmallows:I followed this pretty exactly
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/4 cup light corn syrup
• 3/4 cup (168.76 grams/5.95oz) sugar
• 1 tablespoon powdered gelatin
• 2 tablespoons cold water
• 2 egg whites , room temperature
• 1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1. In a saucepan, combine the water, corn syrup, and sugar, bring to a boil until “soft-ball” stage, or 235 degrees on a candy thermometer.
2. Sprinkle the gelatin over the cold water and let dissolve.
3. Remove the syrup from the heat, add the gelatin, and mix.
4. Whip the whites until soft peaks form and pour the syrup into the whites.
5. Add the vanilla and continue whipping until stiff.Don't recommend doing this with a hand mixer. It's not easy.
6. Transfer to a pastry bag. With a pretty tip!
Chocolate glaze:Yeah I didn't change this one either
• 12 ounces semisweet chocolate
• 2 ounces cocoa butter or vegetable oil
1. Melt the 2 ingredients together in the top of a double boiler Yay I have a double boiler! or a bowl set over barely simmering water.
Final Comments:
I couldn't get the chocolate to set up, despite following the recipe. So I ended up putting the cookies in the freezer. Hey..whatever.
Syd really liked his cookies.
I thought they were icky. However, Mom liked my cookies (she also eat gf), so..maybe it was just me. I didn't like the buttery shortbread (plus gf dough has a weird grainy texture) with the combination of the sweet marshmallow and the chocolate. Ew.
But they were pretty.
Oooh, chocolatey oustide..
...marshmallowy cookie insides!
July Daring Bakers Challenge - Mallows and/or Milan Cookies
This month's challenge, hosted by Nicole of Sweet Tooth, was mallows and/or milan cookies, both recipes by Gale Gand of the Food Network.
I chose to make the mallows, as I thought both Mom and Syd would enjoy them. So this months challenge is a lesson in...how to bake when you don't have stuff. :P
"Normal" butter and flour...
Butter and gf-flourI made one recipe of "normal" shortbread cookies for Syd, and one recipe of gf-shortbread cookies for Mom and me. Well, that isn't technically true. I actually made half recipes of each, because the recipe said one batch makes about two dozen cookies. So I made a half batch, and ended up with....way more than two dozen cookies per batch. Three-dozen circular cookies, four dozen (or so) heart cookies, AND half a dozen fishy cookies. Granted, I did use the 1" circular cutter rather than the 1 1/2" cutter, as that is what I had (the recipe called for a 1" or 1 1/2" cutter, by the way). And since I don't actually have a mixer, I "sanded" the butter and flour by hand. Once per batch. Ow.
One batch of dough has been sanded...
The second batch, sanded!Awww aren't they so cute and little?
Syd's cookies
My crumbly cookiesThe gf-dough was a little bit crumbly, it wanted to crack and fall apart, but somehow I made it work, and the cookies turned out fine. Syd liked them, anyways...>.>
The marshmallow insides could be made from scratch or you could just use store-bought marshmallows. I decided to *try* to make my own. I have tried before, with Mom (to make marshmallow peeps :P) but have always failed. Marshmallows are evil.
MmmmmmmmmmarshmaaaaaaaaaallowsBut...I think these turned out okay. Which is surprising, because my old candy thermometer is messed up, and the new one didn't submerge all the way into the syrup. :(
And I used my little hand mixer for the marshmallows, I think it would have been easier with a large mixer. But they are so expensive. :\
Cookies ready for marshmallowsI piped the marshmallows on the cookies with my pastry tip (which I bought to make churros but still haven't made XD) and a plastic bag (no, I don't have pastry bags or decorating bags or anything...siiiiiiiiiigh)...unfortunately, by the time I was on my second tray of cookies the marshmallows had gotten hard and I had trouble piping them out. And then I got a phone call that I had to take (not taking phone calls is NOT an option when you are looking for a job!!!) so then the marshmallows were even more stiff. I tried to save them so I will have homemade marshmallows that are not on the cookies, but the marshmallow goo may have been too set up already. We'll see..
My cookies with marshmallows...
Syd's marshmallow cookies..you can see the marshmallow started to set up while I was piping so these don't look as nice as mine.Yay chocolate! I had a whole bunch of chocolate glaze leftover, even after glazing the cookies that didn't get marshmallow put on them!
Cookie dripping with liquidy chocolate...Of course, I did my cookies first to avoid contamination.
My cookies, dippedThen, I did Syd's. :)
Syd's cookies, after dipping.The recipe: With my notes/changes/etc in italics
Mallows(Chocolate Covered Marshmallow Cookies)
Recipe courtesy Gale Gand, from Food Network website
Prep Time: 10 min
Inactive Prep Time: 5 min
Cook Time: 10 min
Serves: about 2 dozen cookies if you say so...
• 3 cups (375grams/13.23oz) all purpose flour For gluten-free, I subsituted all-purpose gf flour in the same amount, plus 3 tsp Xanthan Gum
• 1/2 cup (112.5grams/3.97oz) white sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 3/8 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 12 tablespoons (170grams/ 6 oz) unsalted butter
• 3 eggs, whisked together If I made this again, I would add a little extra egg or water to the gf-recipe, it might help it stick together better
• Homemade marshmallows, recipe follows
• Chocolate glaze, recipe follows
1. In a mixer with the paddle attachment, blend the dry ingredients. or by hand..
2. On low speed, add the butter and mix until sandy. Still by hand...
3. Add the eggs and mix until combine. Whew!
4. Form the dough into a disk, wrap with clingfilm or parchment and refrigerate at least 1 hour and up to 3 days.
5. When ready to bake, grease a cookie sheet or line it with parchment paper or a silicon mat.
6. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
7. Roll out the dough to 1/8-inch thickness, on a lightly floured surface. Use a 1 to 1 1/2 inches cookie cutter to cut out small rounds of dough.
8. Transfer to the prepared pan and bake for 10 minutes or until light golden brown. Let cool to room temperature.
9. Pipe a “kiss” of marshmallow onto each cookie. Let set at room temperature for 2 hours. Don't let your masrshmallows get too stiff. I wasn't sure if mine were going to set up at all, but I ended up waiting too long and it was really hard to pipe out the second half..
10. Line a cookie sheet with parchment or silicon mat.
11. One at a time, gently drop the marshmallow-topped cookies into the hot chocolate glaze. Don't leave them in too long or the marshmallow will melt!
12. Lift out with a fork and let excess chocolate drip back into the bowl. I used a chocolate fork, which is one thing I actually have. Well, kind of have. It's plastic, not metal :(
13. Place on the prepared pan and let set at room temperature until the coating is firm, about 1 to 2 hours.
Note: if you don’t want to make your own marshmallows, you can cut a large marshmallow in half and place on the cookie base. Heat in a preheated 350-degree oven to slump the marshmallow slightly, it will expand and brown a little. Let cool, then proceed with the chocolate dipping. But that is no fun!
Homemade marshmallows:I followed this pretty exactly
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/4 cup light corn syrup
• 3/4 cup (168.76 grams/5.95oz) sugar
• 1 tablespoon powdered gelatin
• 2 tablespoons cold water
• 2 egg whites , room temperature
• 1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1. In a saucepan, combine the water, corn syrup, and sugar, bring to a boil until “soft-ball” stage, or 235 degrees on a candy thermometer.
2. Sprinkle the gelatin over the cold water and let dissolve.
3. Remove the syrup from the heat, add the gelatin, and mix.
4. Whip the whites until soft peaks form and pour the syrup into the whites.
5. Add the vanilla and continue whipping until stiff.Don't recommend doing this with a hand mixer. It's not easy.
6. Transfer to a pastry bag. With a pretty tip!
Chocolate glaze:Yeah I didn't change this one either
• 12 ounces semisweet chocolate
• 2 ounces cocoa butter or vegetable oil
1. Melt the 2 ingredients together in the top of a double boiler Yay I have a double boiler! or a bowl set over barely simmering water.
Final Comments:
I couldn't get the chocolate to set up, despite following the recipe. So I ended up putting the cookies in the freezer. Hey..whatever.
Syd really liked his cookies.
I thought they were icky. However, Mom liked my cookies (she also eat gf), so..maybe it was just me. I didn't like the buttery shortbread (plus gf dough has a weird grainy texture) with the combination of the sweet marshmallow and the chocolate. Ew.
But they were pretty.
Oooh, chocolatey oustide..
...marshmallowy cookie insides!
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