I think that the meringues I made the day before yesterday came out fabulously, just take a look at them.
And, after I tried to take them off the sheet.
The remnants tasted really good, but obviously things didn't go as planned, so, I'll try again, maybe next week and then we'll see...
Dear Red States:
We've decided we're leaving. We intend to form our own country, and
we're taking the other Blue States with us. In case you aren't aware,
that includes
split will be beneficial to the nation, and especially to the people of
the new country of New California.
To sum up briefly: You get
get stem cell research and the best beaches. We get the Statue of
WorldCom. We get Harvard. You get Ole' Miss. We get 85 percent of
two-thirds of the tax revenue, you get to make the red states pay their
fair share.
Since our aggregate divorce rate is 22 percent lower than the Christian
Coalition's, we get a bunch of happy families. You get a bunch of single
moms. Please be aware that Nuevo California will be pro-choice and
anti-war, and we're going to want all our citizens back from
once. If you need people to fight, ask your evangelicals. They have kids
they're apparently willing to send to their deaths for no purpose, and
they don't care if you don't show pictures of their children's caskets
coming home. We do wish you success in
turn up, but we're not willing to spend our resources in Bush's
Quagmire.
With the Blue States in hand, we will have firm control of 80 percent of
the country's fresh water, more than 90 percent of the pineapple and
lettuce, 92 percent of the nation's fresh fruit, 95 percent of
quality wines, 90 percent of all cheese, 90 percent of the high tech
industry, most of the
sequoias and condors, all the Ivy and Seven Sister schools plus
will have to cope with 88 percent of all obese Americans (and their
projected health care costs), 92 percent of all
100 percent of the tornadoes, 90 percent of the hurricanes, 99 percent
of all Southern Baptists, virtually 100 percent of all
televangelists, Rush Limbaugh,
Additionally, 38 percent of those in the Red states believe Jonah was
actually swallowed by a whale, 62 percent believe life is sacred unless
we're discussing the war, the death penalty or gun laws, 44 percent say
that evolution is only a theory, 53 percent that Saddam was involved in
9/11 and 61 percent of you crazy bastards believe you are people with
higher morals then we lefties.
Finally, we're taking the good pot, too. You can have that dirt weed
they grow in
Peace out,
Blue States
I signed up to bake for a local Christmas Faire where they sell Christmas items that people make and it's next weekend, so, I'm trying to decide what to make, but I don't want to go by what I like, since I won't be the one eating it!
Today, I was planning to go to a local festival, but when those plans fell through, I decided to bake! The above that you're looking at is a Torani Vanilla Cake with a delicate chocolate hazelnut frosting.
Cake:
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
2 1/2 cups flour
1 cup milk
1 tbls vegetable oil
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp Torani vanilla syrup
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and spray 2 round cake pans with nonstick spray. In a large mixing bowl, combine sugar and eggs, either whipping with an electric mixer for 1 minute or with a whisk (my preferred method) 200 times. Add all other ingredients and whip well. Pour into cake pans and bake for 30-40 minutes or until top is golden and a stick stuck in the middle comes out clean.
Frosting:
1/2 cup non-hydrogenated shortening (I use Spectrum brand)
1/2 stick salted european butter (I think the salt adds to the end result flavor, so, don't use unsalted butter)
4-41/2 cups powdered sugar
1 tbsp milk
3 tbsp chocolate hazelnut spread (I use Stonewall Kitchen brand, available at Sur La Table and other similar stores, but Nutella will work), plus more for layering.
Beat all ingredients together with an electric mixer, scraping down sides occasionally.
To assemble cake:
Remove first layer from the pan, place it on a plate and cut off top with a serrated knife. Spread the first layer with chocolate hazelnut spread (not frosting) and place the second layer on top of it. Start frosting on the sides with a butter knife and spread a generous amount on top, you'll probably still have some let over.
Two baking posts in one day!
Cheesecake is my absolute favorite dessert and the dinner I was making tonight seemed to pair perfectly, so, cheesecake it is!
Crust:
3/4 box of Reduced Fat Nilla Wafers
5 tbls butter or margarine, melted
1 egg
Grind the cookies in a food processor and in a bowl (you can do it in the food processor, I don't because I use my mini food processor) add the butter and egg and combine well, press into a tart pan. I baked it for about 20 minutes at 350, but it may take more or less time in your oven.
Filling:
2 containers fat free cream cheese (you can use full fat, I just use the fat free because I personally can't tell the difference)
1/2 cup sugar
1 tbls good vanilla extract
2 tbls light sour cream (again, I just can't tell the difference)
Whip in a stand mixer or with a hand mixer very well, being sure to get all the lumps out and pour over crust. Bake for 20-30 minutes at 350. Once it's done baking, take off the outside of your pan and refrigerate tart for at least 1 hour. (or until ready to serve)
The top of mine cracked, it still tastes wonderful and presentation isn't the most important thing, I do know that if you put water in another container in the oven, it won't crack, but I forgot.
Just in case you were curious, the meal that preceded this wonderful dessert was just as wonderful, risotto! Risotto has a reputation for being tedious to make, but it also has a reputation of being worth the wait. =) I didn't take a picture of it, because I browned the garlic (I like it better that way) so it wasn't pretty and white, but rather brown, it was still insanely good! Here's that recipe.
1 cup arborio rice
2-3 tbls EV olive oil
1 shallot, chopped fine or minced
2 cloves garlic, chopped fine or minced
1 cup white wine, warmed*
5 cups no-chicken broth (or vegetable broth), warmed*
About 1/2 cup Parmigiano Reggiano, grated**
1/2 stick butter, sliced
Start by heating your oil in a large, heavy pan, then add the shallot and garlic and cook until golden, remove shallot and garlic with a slotted spoon, set aside. Add the rice and fry until translucent, add the wine and add the shallot and garlic back to the pan. Cook on low medium heat (on my stove, it's 3) until wine is absorbed, then add a ladle of broth and cook until almost absorbed. Continue this until the rice is cooked and the broth is gone, about 20 minutes. When you've added the last ladle of broth, cook until almost absorbed, then add the cheese along with the butter, stir to combine and take it off the heat for 3-4 minutes and serve warm, with cheese on top.
*If you've never made risotto, I'll clue you in, the wine and broth need to be warmed because cold liquid would shock the rice and it wouldn't cook evenly.
**Preferably with a Microplane, as it gives it a fluffy texture.
I am not a big fan of Starbucks, everything has so much fat and sugar, I just don't think a coffee and a tiny scone is worth it, but I am intrigued by their new line of healthier fare, which I'm sure you all have heard about, the oatmeal I could do without (5 bucks for an instant oatmeal packet?!) but I couldn't help but love the idea of the granola bars and the berry stella, but when checking out the nutr. info, I don't think that that granola bar is worth it either, so, I made my own, Oatmeal Raisin Stellas.
2 cups maple oat base (recipe follows)
1 tbsp butter or margarine, melted (I use Promise)
1 tbsp canola oil
1 tbsp grade A maple syrup
few sprinkles of cinnamon
2 eggs
1/2 cup golden raisins
1/4 cup dried cherries, chopped
Combine all of your ingredients in a bowl and put the mixture in either a casserole dish or disposable star shaped foil pans and bake in a 300 degree oven for about 15 minutes, depending on your oven. If using a casserole dish, wait for it to cool and cut into bars, if using foil pans, you can pop them out of the pans within a few minutes of taking them out of the oven.
Variations:
-If you prefer a chewier texture, you can also add a 1/4 cup honey, agave, or brown rice syrup.
-Add chocolate chips instead of the dried fruit and omit the cinnamon. (this variation is best if you also follow the chewy variation)
-Add pistachios, keep the dried cherries and omit the raisins and cinnamon.
Maple oat base:
2 cups oats
1 tbsp butter or margarine, melted (I use Promise)
1 tbsp canola oil
1 tbsp grade A maple syrup
few sprinkles of cinnamon
Combine all of the wet ingredients with the oats, sprinkle on the cinnamon, pour onto a baking sheet and bake in a 300 degree oven for 30 minutes, stirring at the 15 minute point.
Update: Photos are now working!
Today is my birthday! I had such a great day, but, I'll tell you about that in a minute. Anyway, last night, I was bored and decided to use up some apples and pears i had left by making an Apple Pear Tart, I personally thought it was good, but not great (the dough was too cookie-eey) but dad and Hil have already eaten the whole thing, so, they liked it. =)
Today, I enjoyed a fabulous birthday, Dad and I went to a nearby garden and took some photos (but there weren't a ton of good flowers), then we headed over to the Dem HQ to get an Obama sign for our neighbor and No on 8 (you know what 8 is if you live in CA) signs for both of us because we have sucky Republican neighbors on the other side and they have declared sign war, so, we're in. After hitting the Dem HQ, we went to Whole Foods for our usual food fix, while we wee there we had lunch, some yummy vegetable soup and a grilled provolone sandwich on parmesan bread, so good! We got lots of great food, including some aged asiago and crazy good Parmigiano Reggiano to use for a risotto this week and Dad has decided that the bulk bins are his friends, so, he loaded up on rice and dried black beans and of course his usual vegan cookies and garlic chips. After shopping, he dropped off our things at home and picked up Mark and Hil and went out to dinner to Chili's and then went to see W, we really enjoyed it, in my opinion, the height of the film was Josh Brolin and Elisabeth Banks, they were so good in their roles.
After we came home, I cleaned out the pantry and fridge and organized everything and I currently have some Maple granola in the oven, yum!
Goodnight!
And, it is here! My camera came yesterday and I spent ALL DAY waiting for it to be finished charging, but, once it did, whoa, was it fun! I think I've already grasped how to use it, which I think is pretty good. =) I just love this camera, the shutter speed is awesome, the quality perfect, and it's like the flash lightly illuminates instead of washing out the subject, it's just so cool! We also stopped at Petsmart and got the picture we had taken of Maisy last week, I've posted that picture along with some that I've taken with my new camera in my gallery. Enjoy!
Update: The camera is now sitting in a warehouse in LA, so, it will be in my hands tomorrow!
I've done it! I found a way to avoid the dreaded camera bag! There are female friendly camera bags out there, like Jill-e, but most of the Jill-e bags are not also animal friendly, so, I had to go it alone on this one, I'd read in some forums that women were using makeup bags to keep their cameras and lenses safe while in their purses, so, I went out shopping today for the perfect bag/makeup bag combo. Failed first at Old Navy, found one bag I liked, but, wasn't the most practical, then we headed over to Marshall's and got lucky, found this cute brown Liz Claiborne messenger bag!
It has one big pocket, a smaller pocket, a pocket that is the perfect size for my iPhone, and 2 small zippered pockets that will be great for things like memory cards.
After finding this perfect bag, I went over to Target and found a perfect makeup bag that will fit my camera body and my 18-70 mm lens attached, I just could not have had a luckier day!
So, I'm off to revel in my happiness! Oh and just tracked my camera on FedEx's site, it's currently in Fort Worth, TX and should be here tomorrow, yay!
Alright, it's 12:30 in the AM, so, don't fault me if this sounds stupid! How cool would it be if you could buy inserts that would turn a cute purse into a cute, protective camera bag rather than buying one of those hideous bags obviously made for those attempting fashion suicide, I think it'd be awesome, I figure, if I were to cut open the lining on the bottom of a purse and add in a thin layer of padding, then sew in sections to keep everything organized, I could just do it myself! Ok, grabbing said purse right now (yes, I'm a self starter), results to come!
I'm a baker, photographer, health nut (except while baking!), avid liberal, and everything in between.
email me at ktshadley AT gmail DOT com
