“Write a Thank You note every day. If you can’t think of anyone to thank, you haven’t been paying attention” My friend Nancy quoted me that. I don’t know who to attribute it to, but I like it.

And if you think I have too much time on my hands to entertain such ideas, here’s one for you….molded sugars. I have to find a time and reason to make these. Knitting Day?

I wonder if I have time to try some Pumpkin Scones. She talks about dropping the pumpkin amount to adjust for liquid. I am curious if she tried the Cook’s Illustrated trick of pressing the liquid out on paper towels before using in a recipe. I have used that thrick in my pies and breads and it has done the trick for controlling liquid, especially when dealing with fresh roasted pumpkin as opposed to canned. FYI – I posted a comment to her blog (I am such a freak) she said she did not drop the pumpkin amount, but liked the idea of using the paper towels. Samples coming…..I got one of my favorite baking pumpkins from the pumpkin patch last weekend. Greth has gone nuts after I bought him Extreme Pumpkins. He bought 16 pumpkins! Okay, one of them was my baking pumpkin. So be on the lookout for jars of pumpkin butter being given out as little gifties soon as I try to use up all of the large pumpkin.

To go with the scones:

Winter Simple Syrup

1 c water
1/2 c sugar
1/4 c brown sugar
3 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp cardamom
1 tsp allspice
6 cloves
2 cinnamon sticks
2 tsp vanilla paste
1/2 tsp ginger

bring all ingredients to a simmer, whisking constantly to combine
strain through a mesh sieve
chill liquid overnight

This would be lovely in my coffee. I will probably make it with Splenda, though.

Oh! Oh! Oh! I just found a recipe for Cappuccino Chip muffins credited to William Shatner. Again, sounds wonderful for the Knit Day. Now, mind you, I am coming up with all of these ideas. I know one of two things will happen. I’ll either do them and get grief from Kate, or not do them and be disappointed.

[	Tags	|	cake pops, falernum, gingerbread	]
[	Current Mood	|	giddy	]

Saturday was a blast! We are SO doing that again. I will post pictures as soon as I get back to my computer at home and can offload from the memory card.

I think the Halloween haunted gingerbread houses are a new Fall tradition. Thank you for helping me with my inaugural kick-off. I still have to finish mine, though. I will post pictures as soon as I can. For those of you who wanted it, here is the recipe I used for the gingerbread courtesy Nordic Ware:

Old Fashioned Gingerbread

5 cups flour

1 tsp Baking Soda

1 tsp salt

1 tsp cloves

1 tsp nutmeg

2 tsp cinnamon

2 tsp ginger

½ tsp ground black pepper (my notes for next time)

1 cup shortning, melted and cooled

1 cup sugar

1 cup molassas

2 eggs, slightly beaten

In a large bowl, combine flour, baking soda, salt and spices. In the bowl of a electric mixer, combine sugar, shortening, molassas and eggs. Beat on medium speed until smooth and blended, about 3-4 minutes. Reduce speed to medium-low and add flour mixture and beat until blended. For use with the Nordic Ware mold, divide dough in thirds, wrap tightly in plastic and chill for at least 30 minutes. King Arthur Flour did an excellent article showing techniques. Martha Stewart has one, too.

When ready to use, bake at 350 degrees for 22-25 minutes. Since I use the mold, it is baked in the mold, cooled slightly and then turned out. I’m sure it would work well to roll it out to a consistant thickness and cut out shaped out from a template.

Also from Saturday, here is the recipe for Falernum (courtesy The Cocktail Chronicles) I’m thinking I will DEFINATLY make this again. It took a little elbow grease to zest all those limes and grate all of the ginger, but other than that it was easy and a lot faster then most “steep for 30 days” cordials.

Falernum #8

·             6 ounces Wray & Nephew Overproof White Rum

·             zest of 9 medium limes, removed with a microplane grater or sharp vegetable peeler, with no traces of white pith

·             40 whole cloves (buy fresh ones — not the cloves that have been in your spice rack since last Christmas)

·             1 1/2 ounce, by weight, peeled, julienned fresh ginger (I grated mine)

Combine these ingredients in a jar and seal, letting the mixture soak for 24 hours. Then, strain through moistened cheesecloth, squeezing the solids to extract the last, flavorful bits of liquid.

Add:

·             1/4 teaspoon almond extract*

·             14 ounces cold process 2:1 simple syrup (two parts sugar to one part water, shaken in a jar or bottle WITHOUT HEAT until all the sugar is dissolved)

·             4 1/2 ounces fresh, strained lime juice

Shake it all together and serve.

* Chad Solomon from Pegu Club suggested adding some toasted almonds to the soak, in addition to using the almond extract. This sounds like a fine idea, and may be part of falernums 9, 10 and 11.

I still like the cake pops. I saw them first at Amy Atlas Events. She does an AMZING spread and had the cutest brownie pop in the shape of Jack-o-lanterns and ghosts. I am looking for an excuse (and the time!) to make them, just because they call out to me.

http://therecipegirl.blogspot.com/2008/10/pumpkin-cake-pops.html Here’s instructions on how top make them with pumpkin cake. Yumm…..

[	Tags	|	halloween;	]
[	Current Mood	|	crazy	]

( oh, MAN! The pictures didn't paste! Bummer!!!!)

Yes, I can do something besides chocolate. http://www.thekneadforbread.com/2008/10/04/spinach-feta-bread/

Then I found http://tamiskitchentabletalk.blogspot.com/2008/09/frankenmallows.html

Does that count as chocolate? Or just a whole lotta fun for Halloween. How cute!

For the more ghoulish, I found these http://blog.evite.com/evite/2008/10/graveyard-muffi.html.  I think I need to throw an adult Halloween party!

The recipe is posted on an Evite, so here it is pasted in:

Graveyard Muffin recipe

The spirits are already up to no good on October 31st, so why not get in on the fun? Unearthly and dark, poisonous purple spookily transforms these innocent pumpkin muffins. Skeletons dredged up from the underworld and a marshmallow ghost drive home the creepy theme. As a twisted surprise, the frosting will stain mouths a dark violet hue.

But fear not, the eerie effect is temporary. And parents can rest assured, these graveyard treats are not all that menacing. In fact, there’s just half a cup of brown sugar in the batter, which has a nice pumpkin flavor that strikes a balance between ghostly and good-for-you. So instead of letting your little ones fall into sugar comas on Halloween, offer them a festive treat that befits the occasion and pleases the adults as well.

Graveyard Muffins

The trick to frosting that dyes your mouth (known as “mouth rot”) is to start with a white icing, like the cream cheese version here, and use generous amounts of very dark food coloring. I used Wilton’s Concentrated Paste in violet (it also comes in black and orange), which is sold at Michael’s, Wal-Mart, Jo-Ann Fabrics and Sur La Table. For the skeleton decoration, I found a skeleton garland at Michael’s and cut it into pieces.

Muffins

• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
• ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
• 1½ teaspoons baking soda
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 15-oz. can cooked pumpkin puree
• ½ cup buttermilk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 eggs
• ½ cup brown sugar, plus extra to create “dirt”
• ½ cup unsulfured molasses
• ¼ cup vegetable oil

Cream Cheese Frosting

• 2 packages cream cheese, room temperature
• 4 tablespoons butter, room temperature
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• Violet food coloring (such as Wilton’s Concentrated Paste)

Decorations

• Marshmallows to create “ghosts”
• Red gel (such as Wilton’s Sparkle Gel) to create eyes
• Plastic skeletons

Heat oven to 375º. Line muffin tin with 12 paper liners. Sift flour, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, baking soda and salt in a large bowl. In another large bowl, whisk together pumpkin puree, buttermilk, vanilla, eggs, brown sugar, molasses and vegetable oil. Add dry ingredients to wet in three additions, and mix thoroughly. Divide batter among muffin cups, and bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until tester comes out clean. Let cool.

Meanwhile, beat cream cheese, butter and vanilla in a large bowl until fluffy. Gradually beat in sugar. Add food coloring, a little at a time, until dark purple color is achieved. Cover and refrigerate about 15 minutes.

Spread frosting over pumpkins and decorate with skeletons and marshmallow ghosts. Sprinkle brown sugar over muffins to create “dirt.”

Makes 12

Posted by Grace on October 8, 2008 in Food and Drink

While on Ravelry, I found this avatar. Almost as good as the bumper sticker: “Frodo failed, Bush got the Ring”

Great news! I am 95% sure I will not be going to North Carolina this weekend. I am bummed I won’t get the see Jeanmaire and Axel. It was looking unlikely I was going to be able to ride at the equestrian games. The kicker is not having some babysitting place for Frick and Frack. I feel like I’ve been given three days I didn’t have. I’m even thinking about cleaning up my craft room and doing some stained glass. I saw some awesome decorations at the Waterford Festival and want to make them at home. I can make them better, cheaper!

Speaking of Waterford, I went last weekend and I feel like I need to apologize to Erci. I am the source of Melissa’s energy and I feel like I need someone to put the brakes on me to slow down and notice the details. Take a look at the lyrics for “Slow me Down” by Emmie Rossen and you have an idea of the best advice to me. Except she’s asking someone else to save her. I believe in saving myself. When I remember. When I slow down long enough to realize I need saving. Oh! Something fun to do!

[	Tags	|	baking, beef, breakfast, crockpot, halloween	]
[	Current Mood	|	restless	]

I was thinking this morning I needed a good crock pot recipe. Tuesday evening both O & M bring home envelopes STUFFED with papers from school. In an attempt to tame the paper tiger loose in my house, I have declared Tuesday evening Paper Night. Greth can do Back to School Night, I am dealing with papers, calendars and commitments. Great night for a crock pot meal, eh? How about Asian short ribs? Too bad I found this 24 ours after I needed it. Next week, then.

Here’s one for weekends and lazy days. Eggs Benedict with asparagus and brie. Yumm. Much easier than making hollandaise. I can do hollandaise, but not in short order before 2pm. I’m not much good before noon.

I SO have to make these Wicked Witch Cupcakes. They are included here so I can find them. Halloween here we come! (Can you tell I finally learned how to hyperlink? I’m so happy!)

Today is the kind of day I dread. I’m bored and restless. I keep looking around for something to catch my interest or imagination…usually it does NOT include work. I end up feeing restless having accomplished nothing all day.

My kitchen was hopping this weekend. I didn't get to go horseback riding, but some things are more important .Mal had a friend over (and I picked up season 4 of Grey’s Anatomy) so it seemed like a perfect time to make cinnamon rolls for Saturday breakfast. (http://shinyumbrellas.blogspot.com/2008/09/cinnamon-rolls-cinnabon-style.html)

Scott made a comment about the rolls at Cinnabon being too sweet, so I cut the sugar in half. The frosting was a bit heavy on the cream cheese, too. Next time I will cut that, too.. They turn out fantastic! I make the dough in the bread machine and roll them out, but let them do their second proofing in the refrigerator overnight. That way I can let them come to room temp as the oven heats and have fresh rolls in the morning without having to get up 3 hours before everyone else. I don’t DO morning very well.

 Today I found this (http://thursdaynightsmackdown.com/2008/09/14/cinnamon-cardamom-rolls/) I love cardamom. I think I will have to try these next. What makes a brioche dough a brioche dough? Inquiring minds want to know.

 I had a moment of weakness last Friday. Forgive me. Work let me out early, I was job and child-free. I went to the bookstore. I’ve been hearing a lot about a baking cookbook. It sounds just up my alley. Good, over-the-top baking that doesn’t get too out there. Amazing, but grounded in reality. I bought it. I have so many cookbooks already. My own and those of my mothers. I do not NEED another cookbook. I wanted it. Badly. Now I can join in Tuesdays with Dori and enjoy baking exploration.

 My nephew’s birthday was this weekend. He was in town for a conference so he was away from home for his birthday. Kaf and I scooped him up from the end of his conference and had a small celebration at my house. I made him a cheesecake from Cook’s Illustrated. The funny part was I gave him a Redskins tee shirt for his birthday. I told him that anyone named after my father had to have one. It was a moral imperative. I bought a size that will fit my brother. I know my nephew who has only known Dallas as his home will never wear it. Even if his aunt bought it for him.

Footnote: all leftovers came to my office so I didn’t have to sit around and try not to eat it. I am everybody’s new best friend. Show up with cinnamon rolls on Monday and feel the love.

[

Current Mood

|

discontent

]

In the middle of cramming to get some whacked out shows to tape, I had to take a Sanity break at my usual morning haunts. I found an intriguing non-dairy ice cream for Robin,

http://www.loveandoliveoil.com/2008/09/chocolate-coconut-milk-ice-cream.html

 and then searching more I found some lovely cruets.

http://www.thefoodsection.com/foodsection/2008/09/cool-cruets.html

I must confess that I picked up some candy corn at the store last night to make my yearly candy corn flowers to decorate my kitchen with. A hold-over from my Southern Living at Home days. Kate teases me endlessly about my Martha moments, but they are cute and the kids love to eat them once I let them. Sort of a teaser for the Christmas Gingerbread House.

This weekend my SCA Equestrian practice has been cancelled. I think I will still g to the stable and take a lesson. If for no other reason than getting out of the house, into the outdoors and getting my slug butt moving. Moving in a saddle is even better! I really want to start riding again. I need to start riding again. I need a horse. Maybe I’ll see if there’s a stable I can work off some of the cost of lessons. Do I have any more time than money? I don’t think so. Therein lies my conundrum.

[

Current Mood

|

aggravated

]

I need chocolate. Seriously. Serious Chocolate.

Karen sent this: http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/2008/09/brownie-in-mug-crockpot-recipe.html

That got me to thinking…and looking and I found this: http://bakingblonde.wordpress.com/2008/09/07/intense-chocolate-shock-cookies/

Don’t forget this tidbit:

5 MINUTE CHOCOLATE MUG CAKE

4 tablespoons cake flour(that's plain flour, not self-raising)
4 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons baking cocoa
1 egg
3 tablespoons milk
3 tablespoons oil
3 tablespoons chocolate chips(optional)
a small splash of vanilla essence
1 coffee mug

Add dry ingredients to mug, and mix well
Add the egg and mix thoroughly.
Pour in the milk and oil and mix well.
Add the chocolate chips (if using) and vanilla essence, and mix again.

Put your mug in the microwave and cook for 3 minutes at 1000 watts. The cake will rise over the top of the mug, but don't be alarmed!

Allow to cool a little, and tip out onto a plate if desired.

EAT! (this can serve 2 if you want to feel slightly more virtuous).

And why is this the most dangerous cake recipe in the world? Because now we are all only 5 minutes away from chocolate cake at any time of the day or night!

Mwaahhaaahhaaahhaaahhaaa!

Chocolate. Serious chocolate.

I’ve lost my soul. Greth swapped out the hard drive on the laptop. You know the one with my resume, my cooking program, my iTunes library, my loaded Microsoft Office Software. Can I find the software and/or the authoring license codes? Do you think I keep a clean house? At work:, yes. At home: not on your life. Nachman spent the rained-out Saturday copying files for me and generally acting at the computer-god-for-the-rest-of-us he is. I repayed him by making dinner (roasted chicken with magic potatoes) I think I also owe him chocolate cake.