tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-84604461962302624952024-03-18T02:47:53.175-07:00Baking PowdersAdrianahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14254162646669143078noreply@blogger.comBlogger114125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8460446196230262495.post-85379064536351611292014-08-06T17:50:00.004-07:002014-08-06T17:50:51.498-07:00New Blog, new food series!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
Are you a Baking Powders reader? are you wondering why I disappeared?</div>
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Due to health considerations, my intake of sweets has greatly diminished and my time has been spent making crochet items. I have decided to start a new series in my crochet blog: </div>
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<b>Crocipes. Crochet patterns + recipes. </b></div>
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What's that about? I'll be pairing up a crochet pattern with a new recipe hopefully on a regular basis. The first one will be about lime tarts! </div>
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Would you like to see it? find me at <b>bowtiesfezzes.com</b> or on facebook at </div>
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<b>https://www.facebook.com/bowtiesfezzes</b></div>
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Hope to see you there!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIEJ66b4GE3KVGcVZthFdcBPkInfNigOm6CCf1c1GVFrkjC8mTFQt894819-CSnIzncppBUZkdV3uYEpoxBbPznuaP3gAcADlWxsnnwoaLUBSaFSwXGbRuFmEcNT4KBFaEHSQxjLAYpX4/s1600/two+tarts.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIEJ66b4GE3KVGcVZthFdcBPkInfNigOm6CCf1c1GVFrkjC8mTFQt894819-CSnIzncppBUZkdV3uYEpoxBbPznuaP3gAcADlWxsnnwoaLUBSaFSwXGbRuFmEcNT4KBFaEHSQxjLAYpX4/s1600/two+tarts.jpg" height="640" width="640" /></a></div>
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Adrianahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14254162646669143078noreply@blogger.com61tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8460446196230262495.post-5498040970069096412013-10-06T13:34:00.004-07:002013-10-06T13:34:59.359-07:00Raw brownies and a giveaway<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglPeeLBPKWCGtPYUF6fv1EtoBTumdLt1jAzYcGfHnpRpsuj9THSBVkaSjHLNQmfGQFycqWCJzuZzPNM5lvc5HCxsqJwiVdsyq5i2z75HgR2wNmyH1NpK5Eznx473RyAizxpjRqeUKkRtg/s1600/rawbrowniesprecut.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="428" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglPeeLBPKWCGtPYUF6fv1EtoBTumdLt1jAzYcGfHnpRpsuj9THSBVkaSjHLNQmfGQFycqWCJzuZzPNM5lvc5HCxsqJwiVdsyq5i2z75HgR2wNmyH1NpK5Eznx473RyAizxpjRqeUKkRtg/s640/rawbrowniesprecut.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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It's been a long long time since I last posted here. Months seem to go by as fast as days and the recently gone summer was full of new activities and lots of work. After xmas I took on a new crafty hobby. Knitting and crocheting, which have kept me busy with all sorts of projects for family and friends. Baking has still been a part of what I do, but the continued heat over the last few months has kept my oven turned off to avoid heating our small apartment.<br />
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However, I recently purchased a food processor that needed some use. I had seen many many raw brownie recipes all over the internet and I was certainly curious as to whether or not they would be a suitable alternative to their baked cousin. Turns out they are incredibly flavorful and filling, but not heavy or sugary.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8ChkqPCbXbTgE93hL2YTmpAFVJnxmTiaohSxFw28b_Uzz4e9fnMOZn_LJvETkNqj3j4Tp52bvmq_O_mheVa35TyWWafn0lDCKP7goh60JDvkkBy90mdCgwncY08Xjqf2vbeQRtD_njy4/s1600/lots+of+brownies.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8ChkqPCbXbTgE93hL2YTmpAFVJnxmTiaohSxFw28b_Uzz4e9fnMOZn_LJvETkNqj3j4Tp52bvmq_O_mheVa35TyWWafn0lDCKP7goh60JDvkkBy90mdCgwncY08Xjqf2vbeQRtD_njy4/s640/lots+of+brownies.JPG" width="427" /></a></div>
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These little cubes of joy can be made from whatever ingredients you have in your pantry. Play with the nuts and the dried fruits to achieve the perfect brownie according to your taste. Add protein powder to them to make them post-workout protein bars. In other words, have fun with them.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnRVFIA5b2pm8L7pIuA18l0GCONKXXOOJnEXMA9gadwpBXqZQtWupnBJUOmnYn1v_Hb574x_Xhn2ISSxRRm69qC32cmCLXq2xK_fr5SHzMLf7oqQFuvVJkKZJzmiMYzg7NSfaCy-BuLqM/s1600/raw+brownie+ingredients.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="427" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnRVFIA5b2pm8L7pIuA18l0GCONKXXOOJnEXMA9gadwpBXqZQtWupnBJUOmnYn1v_Hb574x_Xhn2ISSxRRm69qC32cmCLXq2xK_fr5SHzMLf7oqQFuvVJkKZJzmiMYzg7NSfaCy-BuLqM/s640/raw+brownie+ingredients.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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My version of the treat had figs, date pieces, pistachios, walnuts and cocoa powder, along with a little bit of <a href="http://zulka.com/">Zulka</a> pure cane sugar. This recipe is part of the Non GMO month challenge hosted by Zulka. As part of this challenge, one of my readers <b>will receive a free bag of <a href="http://zulka.com/products/">their pure cane sugar</a>. To enter the giveaway, just leave a comment on this post telling me what is your favorite fall recipe to make with pure cane sugar. The giveaway will be closed 10/31/13 at midnight. The winner will be selected at random. </b><br />
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<b>Now for the recipe...</b><br />
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<b>RAW BROWNIES</b><br />
Ingredients<br />
1 cup walnuts (or pecans)<br />
1/2 cup shelled pistachios<br />
1/2 cup dried figs<br />
1/2 cup date pieces (or chopped dates)<br />
1/4 cup cocoa powder<br />
1/4 cup Zulka pure cane sugar<br />
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Preparation<br />
Into a food processor fitted with the cutting blade (not the dough blade), add the figs, cocoa powder and sugar. Process the mixture until you obtain a dark homogeneous paste. Add the date pieces and pulse 5 times until only small bits remain. Add the walnuts and pistachios and pulse a few times until the nuts are chopped but visible chunks still remain. Cover a glass or plastic container in parchment paper and add the raw brownie mixture. Press the down until flat and cut it in squares. Keep in an airtight container for up to a week.<br />
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Enjoy!<br />
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Disclaimer: I received no compensation to host the Zulka giveaway<br />
<b><br /></b>Adrianahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14254162646669143078noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8460446196230262495.post-40228570150264056492013-04-15T16:07:00.000-07:002013-04-15T16:07:09.195-07:00Hazelnut brownies and my war against 'diets'<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlqFvDSdfI4Q4i56GZngjg-8qzZpngDE3-OuaNwuY0KTvRb4Kt_wsyTTEKo3_hg0VmTSv-p5fzR3etSaiww_SRt04kWnQQcZUsLvDgCagIw17Qcrt_HWvtyw-2zn4ZVkS1ehPHkkuf-7E/s1600/hazelnutbrownies.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="428" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlqFvDSdfI4Q4i56GZngjg-8qzZpngDE3-OuaNwuY0KTvRb4Kt_wsyTTEKo3_hg0VmTSv-p5fzR3etSaiww_SRt04kWnQQcZUsLvDgCagIw17Qcrt_HWvtyw-2zn4ZVkS1ehPHkkuf-7E/s640/hazelnutbrownies.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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This is sort of a rant post. Why? Because I'm really sick of hearing about the newest diet that comes out every other year. The Atkins diet, the pineapple diet, the juice cleansing and the latest and most annoying, Paleolithic diet. I will say this right now, before I go on my rant. I am not a nutritionist, I am not a doctor and I have no health training other than reading literature about the chemistry of the human body.<br />
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I do however, have a good friend who is a nutritionist. I have commented with her that I am most certainly against these miracle diets that make you lose weight by eliminating a food group from your diet completely. She agrees. Now, don't take me wrong. If you're vegetarian or vegan and you have moral issues with eating certain foods, I get it. What I don't get is this idea that we should eat like the paleolithic man. Who by the way, wasn't even the same species of human we are.<br />
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Turns out that during the Paleolithic era, humans evolved from Homo Erectus, to the neanderthals and then to Homo Sapiens. Part of the human evolution was diet based. We introduced more foods to our diets and that allowed us to migrate to new regions and survive in periods of the year with less animals (meat) around. Turns out there are about 2000 years of Paleolithic history where humans started agriculture.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3OJPS7wFhceqSIYoUziHcOVbHa0ErFfM49asJM0ymhjP6ctd-vjOp5no_c6ZFm-c5JXbehIJ-E3sA57V0SQgsvB_N6yXuLgxqhuKh9L_jyYdSyBLbWGcnXTJfxeWRriSobMqeNfPDNY0/s1600/browniebatter.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3OJPS7wFhceqSIYoUziHcOVbHa0ErFfM49asJM0ymhjP6ctd-vjOp5no_c6ZFm-c5JXbehIJ-E3sA57V0SQgsvB_N6yXuLgxqhuKh9L_jyYdSyBLbWGcnXTJfxeWRriSobMqeNfPDNY0/s640/browniebatter.JPG" width="428" /></a></div>
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But wait, there's more. The paleo diet wants you to eat like a species of human that was LESS evolved than us. Had less brain capacity and shorter life expectancy. Seriously? am I the only one who finds this utterly ridiculous?<br />
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Anyway, I just don't believe in diets. I have tried them all. The Atkins, which gave me terrible results and meant I had to test my urine for compounds that in excess could be very detrimental to me. Does that sound good to you? The dissociated diet, so not mixing certain food groups with others. And so on and so forth. The result? none of them work. They all made me hungry, cranky and I didn't lose all that much weight.<br />
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You are obviously all free to do whatever you like with your body. I personally stick to eating low processed foods, local farm raised and grass fed animals (in a much lower proportion than veggies and grains) and no junk food. In combination with exercise, about 5 times a week, the result is 24 lbs lost in less than a year. I am not hungry, I am not cranky, I eat brownies, muffins, candy and whatever the hell I want. In moderation. I love carbs, I love grains and legumes. And I'm personally not about to give up any of that for a funky fad diet. I feel better than I have felt in my entire adult life.<br />
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That's my motto folks. Eat when you're hungry, stop when you're full. Exercise. If you want to control your candy/pastry intake, you can establish a rule. When it comes to baked goods, you pretty much don't eat anything you don't bake yourself.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-y1DUvVWA_4aTRu27Lh6mxxH8emaebqX_X9wf1-aEx2nXKV976hwAhn4IiKK_lj553pE5qWuioDtiefEKooiQO_s3P7iOgpneL0u1VS8NLjvwcZK5w4n0I4dREmLU2qfvb81rK3rMffg/s1600/browniecloseup.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-y1DUvVWA_4aTRu27Lh6mxxH8emaebqX_X9wf1-aEx2nXKV976hwAhn4IiKK_lj553pE5qWuioDtiefEKooiQO_s3P7iOgpneL0u1VS8NLjvwcZK5w4n0I4dREmLU2qfvb81rK3rMffg/s640/browniecloseup.JPG" width="428" /></a></div>
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One of my recent food changes has been to use only pure cane sugar. No refined sugar, just raw, turbinado, call it whatever you want. In my opinion, it tastes much better and the texture it gives to baked goods (and oatmeal) is much more interesting. Crunchy and with more depth of flavor. So when Madeleine at <a href="http://zulka.com/">Zulka</a> offered me to review their non-processed sugar, I was happy to do so. These brownies were made with <a href="http://zulka.com/products/">their sugar</a> and they have a slight crunch and almost a molasses flavor. As a disclaimer, I'll warn you that I didn't get any monetary compensation for reviewing this product. I got it for free, I tried it, I liked it and I'm letting you know about it. Pure cane sugar is the only one I've used for a few months now and Zulka is available at all major grocery stores. (Oh, the zip closure is a plus for clumsy people like me).<br />
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As I said before, I'm no doctor. I'm just offering my personal experience as a person who has struggled to lose weight her entire adult life and has managed to do so without going into radical diets. That's my five cents. And here's the recipe for hazelnut brownies. They taste almost like the hazelnut/chocolate spread you find at the store. But without all the junk. Enjoy!<br />
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<b>Hazelnut brownies</b><br />
adapted slightly from Alice Medrich<br />
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1 stick of butter<br />
1/2 cup Zulka, or any other turbinado sugar<br />
3/4 cup dutch processed cocoa powder<br />
2 large eggs<br />
1/2 cup all purpose flour<br />
1/2 cup hazelnuts, chopped, plus a few for decorating<br />
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Preheat your oven to 350 F<br />
Over a boiling water bath, melt the butter along with the sugar and cocoa powder until you have a thick but runny mixture (2nd photo). Remove the mixture from the heat and add two beaten eggs while whisking to prevent any curdling. Add the flour and hazelnuts and mix gently with a spatula. Do not overmix or the brownies will be tough. Pour the batter in a pan lined with parchment paper or aluminum foil. If desired, decorate with a few whole hazelnuts. Bake for 20-30 min until a knife inserted in the brownies comes out clean. Let the brownies cool before slicing. These freeze really well.<br />
<br />Adrianahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14254162646669143078noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8460446196230262495.post-91915678846384320872013-04-07T18:28:00.006-07:002013-04-09T09:30:58.060-07:00Homemade Longhorns/Turtles and a trip to Texas<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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This
post is certainly long long long overdue. But such is the life of a grad
student. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Over
Christmas break I had the pleasure (not kissing ass here) to meet my
boyfriend's family. I could try to find something to complain about regarding
the trip, but it would be quite hard. It's difficult to remember a week so
filled of cooking, eating, talking, laughing and just relaxing. <o:p></o:p></div>
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The
boy's family is all about food when it comes to the holidays. As such, we spent
about 11 hrs making cookies two days before Christmas. Now this might sound
like a nightmare to you. But I got to use a giant kitchen with a kitchenaid and
so many baking supplies you'd think you're at some fancy store. There was a
batch of sugar cookies, a batch of gingerbread men and women, big and small,
chocolate chip cookies and chocolate mint cookies. I made dough and formed into
balls. The boy rolled the sugar cookies and gingerfolks. All said and done, it
was 1 AM and there were more cookies I've seen together in my life. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Come
to think of it, it might be all because the boy is from Texas. And everything
is bigger in Texas, right?. Oh well, those stereotypes that I've come to
realize are so incredibly not true in a lot of ways. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Anyway,
the day before Christmas we made pies. Pecan pie, chocolate pecan pie, pumpkin
pie and cherry pie. On Xmas eve we watched 'A Christmas Story'. (I fell in love
with the movie, btw) and prepped some food for the day of. While eating, of
course. Stuffed mushrooms, some homemade dips, veggies and other snack-y things.
The list of Xmas food is gonna sound ridiculous to you. And it might be
ridiculous. But there were a lot of hungry people expecting to eat all their favorite things. There was turkey, of course, along with lots of appetizers,
cornbread stuffing (amazing), potato salad, broccoli salad, roasted ham and
homemade cranberry sauce. I'm sure I forgot something but you get the
idea. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Christmas
was full of food even when it came to gifts. I got a box of Longhorns. What are
longhorns? Same thing as turtles but better. Delicious Texas pecans covered in
chocolate and caramel. The box made it to Oregon but didn't survive the week
after being opened. So for Valentine's day I decided to make some more
longhorns. With dark chocolate, pecans from our friend's tree and homemade
caramel. Here's the recipe. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Homemade
longhorns</b><o:p></o:p></div>
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6 oz
chocolate<o:p></o:p></div>
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1
cup pecans roughly chopped<o:p></o:p></div>
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1/2
cup homemade caramel sauce (recipe follows)<o:p></o:p></div>
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Melt about 80% of the chocolate in a heatproof bowl over boiling water. Once it is all melted, add the rest of the chocolate and check the temperature. You're looking for a temperature of 90F in order to ensure the chocolate has been tempered. This step is optional but it ensures that the chocolate will be nice and shiny as opposed to opaque and gritty once it dries. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Pour enough of the melted chocolate in a mold of your choice to cover the bottom. I used a peanut butter cup mold that makes chocolates of a reasonably small size. You can also try free-hand longhorns and do the whole process in parchment paper. In that case, pour a small amount of chocolate in a rounded shape over parchment paper. </div>
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Once the chocolate is set, add the chopped pecans in each mold</div>
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<o:p> Now add the homemade caramel sauce on top of the pecans. In order for it to be runny it'll have to be slightly warm. This could potentially melt the chocolate but I had no problems with it. If you're afraid this could happen, place the mold with the chocolate in the fridge before adding the caramel. </o:p></div>
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<o:p>Finally, cover the tops with more melted chocolate and let it all set for at least an hour. And you'll have this!</o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0ayTMHds3oxyNlcIXhkyXmNJQB-PH5Z-Eu0rkBy7q0svStYABEEdSx1qpSBLFx11nwO4DOs8IRLd6vZBZ_u4RNmkHMfL0jXl8kUcAmhUdqQKSpodRTL9UNLy3Id6qzJgfeGvWyTKNv7E/s1600/bittenlonghorn.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0ayTMHds3oxyNlcIXhkyXmNJQB-PH5Z-Eu0rkBy7q0svStYABEEdSx1qpSBLFx11nwO4DOs8IRLd6vZBZ_u4RNmkHMfL0jXl8kUcAmhUdqQKSpodRTL9UNLy3Id6qzJgfeGvWyTKNv7E/s640/bittenlonghorn.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<o:p>Oh and here's the recipe for the homemade caramel</o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Homemade caramel sauce</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">1 1/2 cups water</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">1 cup sugar</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">1 cup heavy cream </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Pour the water and sugar in a pot and heat at medium heat until it boils. DO NOT STIR. This is very important. If you stir, you'll evaporate the water before the sugar cooks and will end up with a white goopy paste that doesn't look like caramel. You are aiming to slowly caramelize the sugar (Grignard reaction, for the nerds out there). Let the water evaporate and the sugar cook and do not walk away from it or it'll burn. You can do this without adding water, but this way, the process is slower and the risk of burning it is lower. Once the sugar acquires an amber color, it is ready for you to pour the heavy cream. Now, there's very many tones of amber, you're aiming for something that looks like honey. Once you get to this stage, remove the pot from the stove and add the heavy cream. Do not panic if all the sudden you have a solid blob of caramel surrounded by liquid. And be careful not to splash yourselves with hot caramel. Once you've added the heavy cream, put the pot back in the stove and stir with a whisk until you have an homogeneous mixture. Basically, until the cooked sugar dissolves. You can cook the sauce as little or as much as you want, depending on how thick you want it. Take in account that it'll become thicker when it cools down. Pour in jars and store in the fridge for 2 weeks or the freezer for months. </span></div>
<br />Adrianahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14254162646669143078noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8460446196230262495.post-49545134270113298262012-12-12T17:45:00.001-08:002012-12-12T18:23:45.678-08:00Apple pie and a giveaway<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkhYJ_sbMm8jOZC1-Pm-0ccrXln4Oa8OIhjPjc6_1Te-3RwVjx3QptycVL8jnuqcp95McgzMSSPMrW-1nHQjEvfw2Q7Gw_AHB6op7rZBUOO_OkHy3fbJTXM6lc5OyWdKvu4wj4BN3lNH0/s1600/apple+pie+closeup.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="428" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkhYJ_sbMm8jOZC1-Pm-0ccrXln4Oa8OIhjPjc6_1Te-3RwVjx3QptycVL8jnuqcp95McgzMSSPMrW-1nHQjEvfw2Q7Gw_AHB6op7rZBUOO_OkHy3fbJTXM6lc5OyWdKvu4wj4BN3lNH0/s640/apple+pie+closeup.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Contrary to what a lot of people think, apple pie is almost exclusively an American thing. We don't make pies in Spain, I haven't seen them in Italy, England or France. One wonders how we survive at all.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSgaxm1teJi3ffibUOjgBnJsV-tpEseaFP1AdXgVGL_QRR2beKnaATpX4s9UjJTsFt_NG0WfW9FvXSyr2Y42TjRvkrugrnQKLPSYjdQIsoUxVG8XLbPinNoVH-m5BL2CIe7RuJRcNwUUM/s1600/apple+pie+close.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="428" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSgaxm1teJi3ffibUOjgBnJsV-tpEseaFP1AdXgVGL_QRR2beKnaATpX4s9UjJTsFt_NG0WfW9FvXSyr2Y42TjRvkrugrnQKLPSYjdQIsoUxVG8XLbPinNoVH-m5BL2CIe7RuJRcNwUUM/s640/apple+pie+close.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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So when I went home in October (I know, post long due), I made apple pie to bring to my aunt's. As a tradeoff, she made me the most delicious paella in the world. I won't accept any arguments with that.<br />
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I think the only 'hard' part of making pie is the crust. I swear by Smitten Kitchen's <a href="http://smittenkitchen.com/blog/2008/11/pie-crust-102-all-butter-really-flaky-pie-dough/">all butter crust</a>. The only trick is to work as fast as you can to avoid melting the butter.<br />
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Once you have the crust cooling down in the fridge, get ready to peel and slice about 7-8 medium sized apples. I know most people use granny smith and or McIntosh, however I used Braeburn. Once peeled and chopped, toss the apples with about 1/2 cup brown sugar and the juice of two lemons. This will prevent some of the discoloration you get from apple oxidation.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeKa0jcSLQyuIcKhyU8QxTacxLHzU_PiqEPh9zI9TOboa6bGkLO7zWyu1Ia0k0DGL3mI_TOF6jTV2r3HSWWIZzu290CIq-ke-mehMRG5a2yR_uQ9G3uArJqxPVz2YCXEgLbb5u6hn_qpY/s1600/bowl+of+apples.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeKa0jcSLQyuIcKhyU8QxTacxLHzU_PiqEPh9zI9TOboa6bGkLO7zWyu1Ia0k0DGL3mI_TOF6jTV2r3HSWWIZzu290CIq-ke-mehMRG5a2yR_uQ9G3uArJqxPVz2YCXEgLbb5u6hn_qpY/s400/bowl+of+apples.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Let the apples sit for about 30 min in the sugar/lemon mixture. In the meantime, roll your dough. Once the apples are ready, roll the bottom crust of the pie and place your apples nice and pretty in your pan.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjU4iPgja9cDYYCzIxVucPPGpGTS4d6RlZufG9ULgYw-Mv9Yd-Cnot2bAb144N-0r7CH_uLbLLQ_WrJXXvg_oTi_8O7tcUCHJOd_KoX4yHZkK0-2Ye9sxodW5_iebGc7cqSzIzYQPKmexE/s1600/apples+in+pan.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="295" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjU4iPgja9cDYYCzIxVucPPGpGTS4d6RlZufG9ULgYw-Mv9Yd-Cnot2bAb144N-0r7CH_uLbLLQ_WrJXXvg_oTi_8O7tcUCHJOd_KoX4yHZkK0-2Ye9sxodW5_iebGc7cqSzIzYQPKmexE/s400/apples+in+pan.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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If you're into the lattice top crust, go ahead and cut the rest of your dough in strips. For a tutorial on how to do it best, <a href="http://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/how_to_make_a_lattice_top_for_a_pie_crust/">check this</a>.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1vX4bo7FLbf3Ofwqm6Q2lNNFHDvbPqnIH2blk9XUZUMqbH4yhqilQSsMmohO-Ype1UjVYO-JwFct1wJuPnkzgvdEcrinn916rNV2ypBdU7e9wv9F6oLtFuhKMIoNXz6hLNP-4Tn5i0-Q/s1600/prebake+pie.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1vX4bo7FLbf3Ofwqm6Q2lNNFHDvbPqnIH2blk9XUZUMqbH4yhqilQSsMmohO-Ype1UjVYO-JwFct1wJuPnkzgvdEcrinn916rNV2ypBdU7e9wv9F6oLtFuhKMIoNXz6hLNP-4Tn5i0-Q/s400/prebake+pie.jpg" width="267" /></a></div>
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Now you can bake your pie at 350 F for about 50-60 min or until the apple juices are bubbling.<br />
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<b><u>And now for the giveaway</u></b><br />
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Stephanie from<b> Zinio</b> has offered to give 9 of my readers a<b> free subscription</b> to any of the magazines Zinio has to offer. If this doesn't sound appealing enough, some of their titles are 'Vegetarian times', 'La cucina italiana', 'Taste of Home', 'Eating Well' and many others. All you have to do is<b> leave a comment on this post and let me know what you're baking these holidays. Remember to leave an e-mail contact address. The giveaway deadline is December 20th at 12 AM PT. </b><br />
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For extra entries<br />
Follow me on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Baking-Powders/361091264485">Facebook</a> and leave a comment telling me you did so<br />
Follow me on <a href="https://twitter.com/Baking_Powders">Twitter</a> and leave a comment telling me you did so<br />
Follow me on <a href="http://pinterest.com/nanoadri/">Pinterest</a> and leave a comment telling me you did so<br />
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*This blog post was sponsored by ZinioAdrianahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14254162646669143078noreply@blogger.com31tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8460446196230262495.post-90831249369200684352012-09-12T11:39:00.000-07:002012-09-12T11:57:55.334-07:00Piñata cake and aging<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOYB0kEQi-ZaWjRaFWR70bH4ekmDWseXS4z8f9J600pehcedAcaPdHsb2ShxLJCEzIadWWI8byIL1BIle4BLDiYJYEpdjjZ-cXXVyicMNb4W_eWCsO-mC7CEG15fqYX-ULg44Sl_wz5EI/s1600/pinata+head+closeup2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="636" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOYB0kEQi-ZaWjRaFWR70bH4ekmDWseXS4z8f9J600pehcedAcaPdHsb2ShxLJCEzIadWWI8byIL1BIle4BLDiYJYEpdjjZ-cXXVyicMNb4W_eWCsO-mC7CEG15fqYX-ULg44Sl_wz5EI/s640/pinata+head+closeup2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Next week I'm turning 27. It's a strange feeling. A feeling of comfort. The realization that I'm not anymore in my early 20s and I really like it. I am not the person I used to be a few years ago. And despite the common sayings, I think women do improve with age, just like men do.<br />
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I have recently read 'Winter Journal' from Paul Auster. I can't think of a better time to read such a wonderful autobiography, as now that I'm about to turn a year older. If you have never read any of his novels, I strongly recommend you do. Perhaps you won't like him, perhaps you will fall in love with his words, just like I did a few years ago.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj79bpoVec92LiJzMkkE_z_ZlidKST-nFN6lJz2oo1-L3OFJ2XYeXBodehBC0mmV3CZ4TbZU_MxigXrD22LfWySsPkvDpiyKK_2uHdPN146MthyphenhyphenBVfUSLNy_xY5c92aC_og_AE_75uMuzs/s1600/pinata+cake.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj79bpoVec92LiJzMkkE_z_ZlidKST-nFN6lJz2oo1-L3OFJ2XYeXBodehBC0mmV3CZ4TbZU_MxigXrD22LfWySsPkvDpiyKK_2uHdPN146MthyphenhyphenBVfUSLNy_xY5c92aC_og_AE_75uMuzs/s640/pinata+cake.jpg" width="564" /></a></div>
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I'm a picky reader, that's for sure. Growing up with two much older sisters, one of whom is a librarian, certainly shaped my taste for literature. But style aside, the wonderful thing about this book, it's the way in which it conveys the idea of aging as a learning process. In a way. I doubt Mr. Auster intended for it to be a lesson type book. But the comfort with which he embraces the winter of his life, is contagious.</div>
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I am nowhere near close to that winter. And yet I am glad to look back and see that I've slowly evolved into the human being I am today. I am glad to look into the future and know that constant evolution is normal, necessary and beneficial.</div>
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In a way, my palate has evolved quite a bit as well. When I made this cake (for the boy's labmate, who was about to return to Mexico), I realized how much my sweet palate has changed. This cake is quite simple. Plain white cake with a raspberry preserve filling. Topped with cream cheese frosting mixed with a good amount of food coloring. There's nothing wrong with that. And I will, not modestly, say it was delicious.</div>
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And yet it's not my type of thing. Granted, that's irrelevant, since the cake was for her and not for me. Not to say I didn't enjoy it. But I also realized that the sweet-toothed-little-girl who loved to eat cake at any occasion, is long gone. Me, I am more the type of more subtle sweetness. Muffins, biscotti, pies without tons of sugar and homemade ice cream are more my type of thing. I blame age. I blame my newly acquired taste for spicy food and the drive to make baked savory delights instead of sugary cakes.</div>
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However, the cake didn't make it to the end of our weekly joint group meeting with another lab. Some folks had seconds. Some had thirds. So by all means, do make it. With or without frosting. With or without coloring. If you can, use homemade preserves. If you like very sugary frostings, up the sugar and down the cream cheese.</div>
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By the way, in case you hadn't realized yet. This cake is an attempt to mimic a pinata donkey. We couldn't have a pinata party in our conference room, so we settled for the cake. I hope you enjoy it. Donkey or not.</div>
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<b><u>Pinata cake or white cake with raspberry preserves and cream cheese frosting</u></b></div>
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<b>White cake</b></div>
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from Leite's Culinaria</div>
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<li class="ingredient" itemprop="ingredients" style="line-height: 20px; list-style: none; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="ingredient-n">2 1/2</span> <span class="ingredient-unit">cups</span> <span class="ingredient-name">unbleached all-purpose flour</span>, plus more for the pans</span></li>
<li class="ingredient" itemprop="ingredients" style="line-height: 20px; list-style: none; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="ingredient-n">1</span> <span class="ingredient-unit">teaspoon </span><span class="ingredient-name">baking soda</span></span></li>
<li class="ingredient" itemprop="ingredients" style="line-height: 20px; list-style: none; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="ingredient-n">1</span> <span class="ingredient-unit">teaspoon </span><span class="ingredient-name">baking powder</span></span></li>
<li class="ingredient" itemprop="ingredients" style="line-height: 20px; list-style: none; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="ingredient-n">1/2</span> <span class="ingredient-unit">teaspoon </span><span class="ingredient-name">kosher salt</span></span></li>
<li class="ingredient" itemprop="ingredients" style="line-height: 20px; list-style: none; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="ingredient-n">16</span> <span class="ingredient-unit">tablespoons (2 sticks)</span> <span class="ingredient-name">unsalted butter</span>, softened, plus more for the pans</span></li>
<li class="ingredient" itemprop="ingredients" style="line-height: 20px; list-style: none; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="ingredient-n">2</span> <span class="ingredient-unit">cups</span> <span class="ingredient-name">granulated sugar</span></span></li>
<li class="ingredient" itemprop="ingredients" style="line-height: 20px; list-style: none; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="ingredient-n">4</span> <span class="ingredient-unit">large</span> <span class="ingredient-name">eggs</span></span></li>
<li class="ingredient" itemprop="ingredients" style="line-height: 20px; list-style: none; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="ingredient-n">1</span> <span class="ingredient-unit">cup</span> <span class="ingredient-name">buttermilk</span>, or 1 cup whole milk mixed with 1 teaspoon lemon juice</span></li>
<li class="ingredient" itemprop="ingredients" style="line-height: 20px; list-style: none; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="ingredient-n">2</span> <span class="ingredient-unit">teaspoons</span> <span class="ingredient-name">vanilla extract</span></span></li>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Preheat the oven to 350F. Butter and flour your pans (either 2 9 inch round pans or a large 13x9). In a large bowl, sift the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. In a separate bowl, using a hand or stand mixer, cream the butter and the sugar until fluffly and slightly pale. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing until combined. Add half of the buttermilk or milk/lemon mixture to the cake and mix until combined. Mix in half of the sifted ingredients and then the rest of the buttermilk. Finally, add the rest of the dry mixture and mix until combined. Do not overmix or the cake will be dense. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 20px;">Pour the batter in the pans and bake for 20-30 min until a cake tester comes out clean. Let the cakes cool in the pan for about 10 min, then remove from the pan and cool in a wire rack for about 1 hr. </span></div>
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<b style="line-height: 20px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Raspberry preserves</span></b></div>
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<span style="line-height: 20px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I prepared this the exact same way as the <a href="http://bakingpowders.blogspot.com/2010/08/blackberry-jam-or-how-simple-things-can.html">blackberry jam</a>.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 20px;">12 ounces cream cheese (for a sweeter frosting 8 ounces)</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 20px;">2 cups confectioners sugar, sifted (for a sweeter frosting, 3 cups)</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 20px;">Before combining the ingredients, make sure all of them are at room temperature. With a hand mixer, start by creaming the cheese and the butter together. Once the mixture is homogeneous start adding the confectioners sugar slowly and keep beating until the frosting is fluffy but has enough body to be piped. For coloring, divide the frosting in bowls and add food coloring as desired. Transfer to piping/ziploc bags and decorate as desired. </span></div>
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Adrianahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14254162646669143078noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8460446196230262495.post-32722590423875676302012-08-22T12:28:00.002-07:002012-08-22T12:28:20.273-07:00Fresh strawberry ice cream<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6fxKaB-VXglFNQj8AsjAXasVPh6Y_knvGoEuDh-OsDqwfluAF95zl-DhTgfN19vmy17s4NfqxvhW1IwiYLiSfKgcqA8_PkYNx0eTTDRRdcXpikSlYM1iXS_whT6U4zXPoK01IIMXSXZw/s1600/strawberry+ice+cream+ball.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="638" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6fxKaB-VXglFNQj8AsjAXasVPh6Y_knvGoEuDh-OsDqwfluAF95zl-DhTgfN19vmy17s4NfqxvhW1IwiYLiSfKgcqA8_PkYNx0eTTDRRdcXpikSlYM1iXS_whT6U4zXPoK01IIMXSXZw/s640/strawberry+ice+cream+ball.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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I remember from high school philosophy, the importance placed on the topic of 'tempus fugit'. In other words, time flies. It seems like summer started yesterday and it's left us by today. The brevity of the seasons in the pacific northwest, has a clear impact on the fruit season.<br />
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All this talk is just a reflection of how fast time seems to go by. The boy and I moved in together almost two months ago, but it really feels like much longer than that. In a good way. It's been two months of happiness and extraordinary food.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEie9uoBP3kkmj-t7I2qSiQjwzfY3mSSu6SbAVdG477wSq6A4i7A6LC2c_bWbuxgmbN7x_Y7IfEGg3XKLsrDLP7Y6wBZJpg8MePWtzjEVFj7HeOTok4W-7QVuYoXieNX-IMLvRuR9svI5Ls/s1600/strawberry+ice+cream+scoop+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEie9uoBP3kkmj-t7I2qSiQjwzfY3mSSu6SbAVdG477wSq6A4i7A6LC2c_bWbuxgmbN7x_Y7IfEGg3XKLsrDLP7Y6wBZJpg8MePWtzjEVFj7HeOTok4W-7QVuYoXieNX-IMLvRuR9svI5Ls/s640/strawberry+ice+cream+scoop+3.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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The weekend after we moved, we went berry picking at Sauvie Island. The island is paradise by the city. It originates from the confluence of the Columbia and the Willamette rivers and it's full of farms and lovely beaches. If you live around the area or are visiting Portland, I highly recommend a visit to the farms. There's produce available for picking at all times of the year.<br />
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We went picking a bit too late for strawberry season. There didn't seem to be any strawberries left and nobody was bothering to find any. However, the boy saw a few unpicked precious red jewels and devoted himself to finding all the ones that were left. Words can't describe the taste of those strawberries. Tiny, intensely red and delightfully sweet. However, they were a bit bruised and they weren't gonna make it to the next day in good shape.<br />
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That's when I opened 'the perfect scoop' and found one of David's recipes. A combination of strawberries, heavy cream and sour cream. The tartness of the sour cream and the sweetness of the strawberries are a pairing made in heaven. Just like he says in the book, this is best when freshly churned. Unfortunately, the sour cream seems to make it a bit icier than other ice creams when it has been in the freezer for a while. But don't worry, it really won't last you long.<br />
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Strawberry sour cream ice cream<br />
From '<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Perfect-Scoop-Sorbets-Granitas-Accompaniments/dp/1580088082">The perfect scoop</a>'<br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px;">1 pound fresh strawberries, rinsed and hulled</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px;">3/4 cup granulated sugar</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px;">1 tablespoon vodka or kirsch (I didn't add it, but I bet it'd be great)</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px;">1 cup sour cream</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px;">1 cup heavy cream</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px;">1/2 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice</span>
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1. Slice the strawberries and toss them in a medium bowl with the sugar and vodka or kirsch, if using. Stir until the sugar begins to dissolve and all of the strawberries are coated. Let stand at room temperature for 1 hour, stirring occasionally. At this point your strawberries will release all their wonderful juices. So be patient and don't skip this step. </div>
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2. Pulse the strawberries and their liquid with the sour cream, heavy cream, and lemon juice in a blender or food processor until almost smooth, but still slightly chunky.</div>
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3. Refrigerate mixture for at least one hour. Freeze in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions.</div>
Adrianahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14254162646669143078noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8460446196230262495.post-878970958652245222012-08-13T09:20:00.000-07:002012-08-13T09:20:58.733-07:00Zucchini and corn frittata<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I am in love with spicy food. There. I said it. I know for all of you who probably have been eating spicy food their entire lives, that's no big deal. However growing up in Spain, spicy food wasn't the most common thing on earth. Even though Barcelona is a very cosmopolitan city, 'exotic' food restaurants haven't been widespread until very recently. </div>
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So 4 years ago, when I moved to the US, a whole new world of foods opened for me. Literally. I lived a block away from an Indian restaurant and two blocks away from the most amazing Thai place. I could grab Chinese food across the street from work. I even got to eat free hot wings every Wednesday at the MIT bar. But still, spicy food wasn't my favorite. </div>
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Don't get me wrong. I liked the flavor, but the heat would give me the most terrible heartburn for hours at a time. I tried really hard when I switched jobs and I got to enjoy homemade Indian food made by my labmates. It was delicious. Painfully delicious. So still, I would try to avoid any dish on a menu that had more than one spicy 'flame' next to it. </div>
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Then I met the boy. The boy is a Texan. He's far from any stereotype you can associate with his origins, but he really likes spicy food. On our first date he made me the most unbelievably amazing chicken mole (his mole sauce is out of this world good) and on the following ones, every time we ate out, there was something spicy involved. So I fell in love with spicy food. Chili, Thai stir fry and hot fried rice are common things on our dinner menu and I crave spice daily. </div>
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This frittata is not quite as spicy as I'd like it. (Funny huh?). But that can be solved by adding a few more jalapenos or maybe some habanero. Hot or not, it's delicious. The zucchini is tender and the corn kernels pop in your mouth as you chew. It's the perfect way to use your summer harvest and the recipe came from the fabulous Shutterbean. </div>
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<b>Spicy zucchini and corn frittata</b></div>
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<b>Ingredients</b></div>
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<b>And obviously... eggs! 8 of them. </b></div>
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I used a yellow onion and 2 jalapenos, the original recipe used red onion and only once spicy pepper. Next time I think I'll add a habanero. Chuck your corn and slice the onion, jalapeno and zucchini. </div>
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Preheat your oven broiler. </div>
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In a large skillet (broiler resistant), sautee the onion until almost translucent, about 3 min, then add the jalapeno and cook for another 2-3 minutes. Add the zucchini and corn and cook until tender 7-10 min. In the meantime, beat your eggs in a bowl with a pinch of salt. Once the veggies are cooked, add your eggs and cook for about 4 min or until the top of the eggs is still runny but the frittata comes off the sides of the pan. At this point, transfer your pan to the oven and broil for about 3 minutes or until the top of your frittata is golden brown and delicious. Serve warm or at room temperature. We served it with sour cream and scallions.<br />
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Adrianahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14254162646669143078noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8460446196230262495.post-62674939333673468102012-08-02T11:54:00.002-07:002012-08-10T09:49:50.240-07:00Fig newtons (and giveaway)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I'm not quite sure what to tell you about today. I'll tell you that summer is going by too fast but somehow it barely feels like summer. Oregon has rewarded us with a week of warmth, only to have rain and gray days to follow.<br />
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On days when it's 65 degrees (yes, you heard right) and miserable outside, it seems like everyone's pace is much slower than usual and few of us feel motivated enough to smile. On those days, I'm glad I can get in the kitchen and bake something. The oven keeps the apartment nice and warm in the evening, as if it really were hot outside.<br />
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These cookies were, surprisingly, a breeze to make. The dough needs to rest overnight in the fridge, but it takes about 10 min to put together and it's the easiest dough you've ever rolled. This said by someone who really hates rolling dough. The filling is even simpler. Dried figs, a bit of water, period.<br />
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Yes, I know what you're thinking. Why would I make these at home when I can buy a box of Fig Newtons at the grocery store for a couple bucks?. Well, just like with <a href="http://bakingpowders.blogspot.com/2012/04/thin-mint-copycat-version-2.html">Thin Mint cookies</a>, the homemade version is better. Far better. The cookie is softer and more buttery and the filling is just plain clean fig taste. They really are worth the little effort they involve.<br />
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Before the recipe, I'd like to announce a <b>giveaway from</b> <a href="http://www.foodonthetable.com/"><b>Food on The Table</b></a>. For those of you who aren't familiar with it, Food on The Table is a web and mobile service that creates meal plans and generates grocery lists according to your tastes/needs. After indicating food preferences/dietary restrictions, you'll be able to choose from a variety of recipes and Food on the Table will automatically build a grocery list for you. Moreover, their service will tell you which grocery stores on your area have sales on those items in your list. </div>
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<strike>Sound good? Well then,<b> to enter the giveway</b>, all you have to do is <b>leave a comment</b> telling me which store sold cookie/candy/cake, you like making home versions of. For <b>extra entries</b>, follow <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Baking-Powders/361091264485">Baking Powders on Facebook </a>, or post about this giveaway on Twitter. Please leave a separate comment for the extra entries and indicate your FB/twitter name. You can enter until Thursday August 9th at midnight. The winner will be chosen and published on Friday August 10th. Good luck!</strike><br />
<br />
<b>AND THE WINNER IS... ANDREAMC!</b><br />
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<b>Fig Newtons</b><br />
Adapted from Faux Martha<br />
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2/3 cup all purpose flour (more if needed)<br />
6 tbsp softened unsalted butter<br />
1/4 cup sugar<br />
1/2 tsp baking soda<br />
2 egg yolks<br />
1 tsp vanilla extract<br />
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For the filling:<br />
1 cup dried Black Mission figs<br />
1/4 cup water<br />
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For the dough</div>
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With a stand mixer or hand mixer, cream the butter and sugar until fluffy. Add the two egg yolks and vanilla and beat to combine. In a bowl, sift together the flour and baking soda. Incorporate the flour mixture into the wet mixture, mixing with a spatula. At this point, depending on how warm your butter is, the dough might be really soft and very sticky. If this happens, you can add a bit more flour until the dough is soft and elastic but doesn't stick to the sides of the bowl. On the contrary, if the dough doesn't come together, you can add a tablespoon of water at a time and mix it in until the dough comes together. At this point, cover your dough with plastic wrap and let it rest in the fridge overnight. </div>
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For the filling</div>
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In a food processor, combine the figs and water and process until you get a paste. If your figs are very dry you might need a bit more water. I didn't have any booze around, but I'm sure some bourbon or rum would go perfectly well with those figs. </div>
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Preheat the oven at 350 F. </div>
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Once the dough has rested, roll it to about 1/4 inch thickness and cut it into 3 1/4 inch strips. I'm not to concerned about perfect shapes, so I made a couple of them a bit wider. The only trick here is to work quickly. Since it's a soft dough, the more time you spend rolling it, the stickier it will get. I rolled mine between two pieces of parchment paper to make my life easier and then left the dough in the fridge for 5 min before adding the filling.</div>
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Spread the filling in the center third of your dough strips. Fold the sides of the dough over the filling and place them upside down on a cookie sheet (so the seam is facing the sheet). Cut the dough to form your cookies, as long or as short as you want them. Bake the cookies for 10-12 min or until golden brown. Once cold, store them in an airtight container. Mine didn't last at all, but I think you don't want to keep them for more than 4 days anyone as the dough softens up overtime. </div>
Adrianahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14254162646669143078noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8460446196230262495.post-25642539339960587002012-07-16T12:30:00.000-07:002012-07-16T12:33:02.291-07:00Baked oatmeal<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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As you can see, my frequency of posting is a variable with no control. As usual, that doesn't mean I'm not baking as much as I possibly can. I recently moved in with my boyfriend, with whom I share the passion for food and cooking. Over the past few months, he's turned me into a spicy food lover and I've convinced him that there's many pastries worth making at home. He's the cooking master, I'm the baking master. Really, we're not masters at all, but we like to pretend. One of our favorite things is homemade weekend breakfast/brunch. We try not to repeat recipes, but ever since we tried this baked oatmeal, we've been making it over and over. With tons of summer fruit available, it's a quick, healthy way of eating a hearty breakfast.<br />
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One of the times we made this, I took pictures of the process. So you're about to see the boy at work. Or at least his hands.<br />
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<b>Baked oatmeal</b><br />
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2 bananas sliced + 1 1/2 cup of blueberries (or any combination of fruit you can think of that will roast well)<br />
1/4 cup brown sugar<br />
1 cup rolled oats (not quick cooking)<br />
1/2 teaspoon baking powder<br />
1 teaspoon of cinnamon<br />
1 egg<br />
1 cup unsweetened rice milk (or some other milk you like best)<br />
1 teaspoon vanilla extract<br />
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<b>Step 1:</b> Spread about 3/4 of your fruits (for us, all the bananas and 1 cup of blueberries) on the bottom of an 8x8 inch roasting pan coated with some butter or non-stick spray. Roast your fruits at 375 F for 15-20 minutes. This batch is blueberries + bananas, we've also done just bananas and we tried peaches as well. I bet you could try with apricots, nectarines or strawberries.<br />
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<b>Step 2:</b> Combine oats, sugar, baking powder, salt and nuts and spread on top of the still hot roasted fruit.<br />
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<b>Step 3:</b> In a bowl, mix the egg, vanilla extract and milk and pour it over the fruit and oats.<br />
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<b>Step 4:</b> Add the remainder of the fruit on top and bake at 375 for 30 minutes or until the oatmeal is set.<br />
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This keeps well for about a week in the fridge, although I doubt it'll last that long.<br />
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<br />Adrianahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14254162646669143078noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8460446196230262495.post-58211852393808245622012-05-28T18:13:00.003-07:002012-05-28T18:13:56.562-07:00Easter egg cupcakes<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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This post is remarkably late, as Easter was a while ago. However, these are vanilla cupcakes with chocolate frosting, which are just great for any occasion. Quite moist and delicious. I made these for a 'Jewster' party. The party that one of my friends organizes every year. The name comes from the idea of joining Passover (as her future husband is jewish) with Easter. It really is all about food, friends, a few adult-type Jello shots and lots of laughs.<br />
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Here's the recipe for this delicious cupcakes. Whether you add eggs or not, I think they're great for any party.<br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Vanilla cupcakes</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, softened</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">1 3/4 cup granulated sugar</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">4 large eggs</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">1 cup whole milk</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">2 3/4 cup all-purpose flour</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">1/2 teaspoon salt</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Position a rack in the upper third of the oven and preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line two cupcake pans with paper liners and set aside.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">In a small bowl, whisk together milk and vanilla extract and set aside. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. It will take about 5-8 minutes with a hand mixer, which is all I have. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition until thoroughly incorporated. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Add the flour mixture and the vanilla milk mixture in three batches, starting and ending with the flour. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Divide into the lined cupcake pan and bake for 25 minutes. Allow to cool in the pan for 10 minutes and then remove to cool completely. Once cool the cupcakes are ready for frosting. </span></div>
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<b>Chocolate frosting</b></div>
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<b>(Makes a thick very chocolaty frosting, not so easy to pipe but very spreadable). </b></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 22px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">1 cup (8 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature</span></span><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 22px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">2 cups powdered sugar</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">1/2 cup cocoa powder</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit; line-height: 22px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">1 teaspoon vanilla extract</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 22px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, melted and cooled</span></span>
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<span style="line-height: 22px;">Start by mixing the chocolate and butter with a hand mixer. Add the vanilla extract. In a bowl, combine the powdered sugar and cocoa powder. Add the sugar-cocoa mixture to the chocolate-butter mixture and mix until combined. The mixture should be fluffy. </span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 22px;">Enjoy</span></div>
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<br />Adrianahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14254162646669143078noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8460446196230262495.post-65374228390525614862012-04-27T22:39:00.000-07:002012-04-27T22:39:39.556-07:00Thin mint copycat, version 2<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I did it again. One more year I made my own Thin Mints, instead of buying them from the Girl Scouts. You must think I'm a terrible person. Truth of the matter is, homemade ones taste better. And I think I'm still a bit disappointed with the fact that the cookies come from a factory.<br />
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Before moving to the US, almost 4 years ago, I thought the Girl Scouts made the cookies at their own houses and then sold them in stands. Then I moved to America and discovered that was certainly not the case.<br />
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At any rate, these involve quite a bit of work but they're delicious... and this year I adapted a different recipe, which turned out OK, although I would've liked a crispier cookie.<br />
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<b>Homemade thin mints</b><br />
Adapted from Baking Bites<br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;"><strong style="color: #333333; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-center;">Homemade Thin Mints</strong></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; text-align: -webkit-center;">2 1/4 cups all purpose flour</span><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; text-align: -webkit-center;">1/4 cup </span><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; text-align: -webkit-center;">unsweetened cocoa powder</span><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; text-align: -webkit-center;">1/2 tsp salt</span><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; text-align: -webkit-center;">1 cup white sugar</span><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; text-align: -webkit-center;">1/2 cup butter</span><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; text-align: -webkit-center;">1/3 cup rice milk</span><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; text-align: -webkit-center;">1/2 tsp vanilla extract</span><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; text-align: -webkit-center;">1 tsp peppermint extract</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; text-align: -webkit-center;"><br /></span></span><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px;">In a bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients. In another bowl, cream butter and sugar and then add both extracts. Add the dry ingredients to the wet and mix to combine. Let the dough rest for 1 hr in the fridge and then roll and cook with cookie cutters. Bake at 375 F for 13 minutes.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px;">To make the chocolate coating, melt about 1 lb of chocolate chips and add a few teaspoons of peppermint extract. To taste, that is. Dip the cooled cookies in the melted chocolate and place in a cooling rack. Wait until the chocolate is set and enjoy! </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px;">These are best kept in the fridge to avoid chocolate melting, but you should eat them quickly as the chocolate will crack and lose flavor after days in the frige. </span></span></div>Adrianahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14254162646669143078noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8460446196230262495.post-86678759261567091682012-04-01T14:28:00.001-07:002012-04-01T14:28:51.033-07:00Easy peasy yogurt chocolate waffles<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Breakfast in 15 min, how does that sound? it can really happen.<br />
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I have been house and catsitting for a friend over the past week. He, unlike me happens to have a waffle maker. So the other morning I wanted waffles for breakfast. Unfortunately, I didn't have milk. Is that a problem? No!.<br />
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These waffles are made with yogurt, in my case, non-fat. They have no added fat and yet they have great flavor. I've made them twice now, plain, with cocoa powder and with very thin apple slices mixed in the batter. They all worked really well.<br />
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<b>Yogurt chocolate waffles</b><br />
(Makes 10 waffles, with 4 x 4 rows of 'pockets')<br />
<br />
2 cups all purpose flour<br />
2 tablespoons cocoa powder (for plain waffles omit this)<br />
1 cup yogurt<br />
1 cup water<br />
2 eggs<br />
2 teaspoons baking powder<br />
1 teaspoon baking soda<br />
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In a bowl, combine the yogurt, water and eggs. Whisk until smooth. In a separate bowl combine the dry ingredients. Add the dry ingredients to the wet and mix until just combined. Cook in your waffle iron according to the manufacturer instructions.Adrianahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14254162646669143078noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8460446196230262495.post-86182253543931991042012-02-24T16:46:00.003-08:002012-02-26T14:44:10.339-08:00Meringues<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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It's been many many months since my last post. I almost have no idea what to tell you, if there's any of you out there that still read this blog. What can I say, grad student life doesn't give you much time for blogging. Still, I've tried to keep the baking up, even if I fail at the picture-taking part.<br />
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Anyway! I had a few friends over a couple weeks ago and since I was using egg yolks to make vanilla ice cream, I put the whites to use by making meringues. These babies are ridiculously easy to make. Unfortunately, the pictures don't make them justice, but they were cute. In fact, you can even make surprise meringues. See that white looking guy at the back of the picture? white on the outside, chocolate in the inside. How? just coat your piping bag with the regular meringue, by applying a bit of meringue to the bag, squeezing it and then opening it back again. Then add your chocolate meringue mix carefully to the bag, so you don't wipe off the white from the sides. Pipe your meringues normally and you'll have surprise meringues!<br />
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How do you make these you ask?<br />
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<b>Meringues</b><br />
<br />
4 egg whites<br />
A pinch of cream of tartar<br />
1 cup regular granulated sugar<br />
1/4 cup cocoa powder (for the chocolate ones)<br />
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In a clean dry bowl, either glass or metal (not plastic since fats tend to stick to it and any sort of fat will deflate your egg whites) add your whites, the cream of tartar and the sugar. Set the bowl over a double boiler and start whisking your whites with a hand mixer at low speed (or a whisk) until the sugar is completely incorporated and the mixture has thickened a bit. Remove from the heat, change the mixer speed to high and continue beating the eggs until they form stiff peaks. About 10 minutes. Now you can either pipe the meringue as it is or add chocolate to it.<br />
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To incorporate the cocoa powder, just sprinkle it over the whites and get it mixed with a folding movement, from bottom to top while turning your bowl. Be gentle with the whites or they will deflate. I didn't completely incorporate the cocoa and had a few streaks still showing. I think that looks prettier!<br />
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For a better idea on this whole beating eggs business, Alton Brown shows you how, here:<br />
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<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QOFgQ8Zoi5o">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QOFgQ8Zoi5o</a>
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To bake the meringues, pipe them, using a piping bag or a ziploc bag on to a tray covered with parchment paper. They don't really 'bake' they just dry, so your oven will be at a very low temperature, 200 F. However, your meringues will spend about 2 hrs in the oven in order for this process to occur. The meringues are done once they separate easily from the parchment paper.<br />
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Eat by themselves, with ice cream or your topping of choice, and enjoy!<br />
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<br />Adrianahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14254162646669143078noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8460446196230262495.post-42879422729725715002011-09-08T20:54:00.000-07:002012-02-26T14:44:26.924-08:00Raspberry chocolate ice cream<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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And there we go... once again, an entire month without posting! Oh the grad student life! </div>
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Well, I've been so cramped with studying that I really don't have a ton to tell you. We're moving our lab to a new one (yay!) next week. The weather in Oregon is crazy hot, which doesn't help my daily running. But it invites you to eat some of this delicious ice cream. </div>
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Today I have to keep it short, more studying needed for very important tests at the end of the month. But do make this ice cream please! you won't regret it! It's creamy and refreshing all at the same time. </div>
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Raspberry chocolate ice cream</div>
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Adapted from 'The Perfect Scoop'</div>
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2 cups heavy cream</div>
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3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder</div>
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5 ounces semisweet chocolate</div>
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1 cup whole milk</div>
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3/4 cup sugar</div>
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5 large egg yolks</div>
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pinch of salt</div>
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1/2 tsp vanilla extract</div>
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1 cup frozen crushed raspberries (freeze them after picking and crush them once frozen so they break into the little red balls)</div>
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Warm the cream and cocoa powder in a medium sauce pan and whisk to blend the cocoa. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat and add the chocolate while whisking until you get a smooth mixture. Set it aside and let it cool. </div>
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In another pot, warm up the milk and sugar to almost a boil and the mixture it to the beaten egg yolks slowly not to curdle them. Bring the mixture back to a pan and cook for about 5 minutes (to make sure the eggs are not raw). Remove from the heat and strain if necessary. </div>
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Mix the cream and the milk blends together and let them cool in the fridge for at least 2 hours. Freeze according to your ice cream maker instructions and right at the end of the process, add the crushed raspberries. </div>
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<span id="goog_960634655"></span><span id="goog_960634656"></span>Adrianahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14254162646669143078noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8460446196230262495.post-51220283464182523192011-08-03T11:02:00.000-07:002011-08-03T11:02:40.452-07:00Blueberry-raspberry crisp<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Hi all! </div>
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How's your summer going so far? Mine, mind you, is awesome. </div>
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I guess summer activities are directly related to the level of hotness in the area you live. The pacific northwest is behaving quite well this week and there's been a lot of going out. Up here, we have to take advantage of the days when it doesn't pour out. </div>
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But I guess one of the advantages of the rainy weather is that, in summer, you have local berries to pick. And that's what we did a couple weekends ago in Sauvie Island. For those of you who come visit or live around the area, I'd highly recommend a visit! There's tons of things to do and berry picking is so much fun. </div>
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Plus... Blueberries and raspberries for 1.80 a pound? Yes please and thank you. You'll see a good amount of berry recipes around here soon. Some of my raspberries got squeezed on the way back home, so I had to make jam. What a tragedy huh?. The rest of them went to the freezer, to this crisp and to a delicious chocolate-raspberry ice cream I'll be posting soon.<br />
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This crisp is just ridiculously easy to make. And 'healthy'. Only 1/2 stick of butter! And it's soooo good for breakfast...<br />
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<b>Blueberry-raspberry crisp</b><br />
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1 cup fresh or frozen raspberries<br />
2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries<br />
1 cup sugar<br />
1 cup brown sugar<br />
1 cup old-fashioned oats<br />
1/2 stick of butter<br />
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For the filling:<br />
Combine the raspberries and blueberries with the 1 cup of sugar. Toss it all together and let it sit in the fridge for about an hour so the berries let go of some of their juices.<br />
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For the topping:<br />
Melt the butter in the microwave and combine with the brown sugar and oats.<br />
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Assembly:<br />
Preheat your oven to 350 F.<br />
Pour the berries and juice on a pie or squared pan. Top with the oat mixture and bake for 45 min, until the top is crispy and the berry juice is bubbly.<br />
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Eat hot or cold (I prefer hot and you can reheat leftovers in the microwave).<br />
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Enjoy!Adrianahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14254162646669143078noreply@blogger.com19tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8460446196230262495.post-73933881687690108552011-07-25T19:41:00.000-07:002011-07-25T19:41:36.392-07:00Strawberry 'pi' and bbq's<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I know guys. Once again, long time no see. I don't know who told me that summer was a more relaxed time for grad students. But whoever it was. Lied!<br />
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After 3 intense weeks of teaching 3 days a week while trying to keep my research up, I've been focusing on getting as much done in the lab as possible. I'm going to a conference in November and I desperately need good data for a poster!<br />
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But! I've had some time to relax. And when the weather is nice in Portland, which I can guarantee you, isn't always (even in summer), I've been going to bbq's quite often. Whether it's at my friend's Katie's house or it's an invite from lab neighbors, I always bring something with me. To my labmate's barbecue, I brought strawberry pie. In nerdy form, with a big PI symbol on the crust.<br />
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Making pie crust tends to be a pain in the ass, but it's well worth it. For those of you who have never made it, I took step by step pictures of the process. Here it goes...<br />
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PIE CRUST<br />
(makes 2, 9 inch crusts, top and bottom)<br />
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour<br />
2 sticks of butter, cold<br />
4 tablespoons very cold water<br />
2 teaspoons salt<br />
4 tablespoons sugar<br />
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STRAWBERRY FILLING<br />
1.5 lbs strawberries<br />
1/2 cup sugar<br />
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First cut your cold butter, and it's very important that you keep it cold, in about half an inch cubes.<br />
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Then add the flour, salt and sugar...</div>
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With a pastry cutter, a fork or your hands (making sure you do it fast to not warm up the butter), combine them together until you get small pebbles and the mixture looks similar to this...</div>
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Now split the dough in half, make two balls with it and cover them with plastic wrap. Let the dough rest for at least 1hr in the fridge. In the meantime, wash, hull and slice 1.5 lbs of strawberries and toss them together with 1/2 cup of sugar. </div>
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Now you can roll the dough. I do it between two pieces of plastic wrap because I hate having dough stick to my table. But you can sprinkle your working surface with flour and give it a go. Now you can cover the bottom of your pie dish with half of the crust. </div>
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Now add the strawberries...</div>
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And the other half of the crust... (mine looks stiff because I let it rest in the fridge for a while)...</div>
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And finally, bake at 450 F for 1 hr... </div>
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Enjoy! </div>
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<br />Adrianahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14254162646669143078noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8460446196230262495.post-84079027315276673042011-07-02T11:28:00.000-07:002011-07-02T11:28:21.796-07:00Homemade caramel sauce<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimBcWY4aTh6ACwAaweJyWYaxRgaB8TJxc0voSL_QfvNq8jGrc0bpLcNmVmZj03LILRQXC4U0R6MvR0p96a9kD_MtfasndhWd_0Jwdyz4wLhLsHmd4Hn9c-ILOvDhrQhSQxFtJthvs5G0w/s1600/caramel+sauce+and+jar.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimBcWY4aTh6ACwAaweJyWYaxRgaB8TJxc0voSL_QfvNq8jGrc0bpLcNmVmZj03LILRQXC4U0R6MvR0p96a9kD_MtfasndhWd_0Jwdyz4wLhLsHmd4Hn9c-ILOvDhrQhSQxFtJthvs5G0w/s640/caramel+sauce+and+jar.jpg" width="428" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">Yay! summer's here. And I'm still teaching, but I will have more time to post recipes that I made centuries ago and I just didn't have time to write about. Remember the <a href="http://bakingpowders.blogspot.com/2011/05/mint-ice-cream-with-andes-chunks-and.html">ice cream </a><a href="http://bakingpowders.blogspot.com/2011/05/home-made-vanilla-ice-cream.html">recipes</a> I posted... well, kind of long ago, but not really. Well, this caramel sauce goes perfect with it. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">But let's start by the summer story. What are you guys up to this summer? I have a giant list of books to read, just like last summer. So far I'm down 3 out of 15 on the list. I've definitely fallen in love with Paul Auster, just a bit more than I had so far. But I'm also working on the classics. The American ones. I wonder why noone ever told me that 'The catcher in the rye' was such a wonderful book. </div><br />
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<div style="text-align: justify;">What are you guys reading this summer? Are you going on vacation? One of my old friends from Boston is visiting me soon. I can't wait for him to be here so we can eat our way through Portland. But I have promised him tons of ice cream, so I better start working on filling the freezer with new recipes. To pair with it, this amazing caramel sauce.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">I bet you've read all over the internet how terribly hard it is to make caramel sauce. Not true! It's a matter of patience and you can master it quite easily. Plus, it only has 3 ingredients!</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Homemade caramel sauce</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">1 1/2 cups water</div><div style="text-align: justify;">1 cup sugar</div><div style="text-align: justify;">1 cup heavy cream </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Pour the water and sugar in a pot and heat at medium heat until it boils. DO NOT STIR. This is very important. If you stir, you'll evaporate the water before the sugar cooks and will end up with a white goopy paste that doesn't look like caramel. You are aiming to slowly caramelize the sugar (Grignard reaction, for the nerds out there). Let the water evaporate and the sugar cook and do not walk away from it or it'll burn. You can do this without adding water, but this way, the process is slower and the risk of burning it is lower. Once the sugar acquires an amber color, it is ready for you to pour the heavy cream. Now, there's very many tones of amber, you're aiming for something that looks like honey. Once you get to this stage, remove the pot from the stove and add the heavy cream. Do not panic if all the sudden you have a solid blob of caramel surrounded by liquid. And be careful not to splash yourselves with hot caramel. Once you've added the heavy cream, put the pot back in the stove and stir with a whisk until you have an homogeneous mixture. Basically, until the cooked sugar dissolves. You can cook the sauce as little or as much as you want, depending on how thick you want it. Take in account that it'll become thicker when it cools down. Pour in jars and store in the fridge for 2 weeks or the freezer for months (don't worry, it won't last that long).</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
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</div>Adrianahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14254162646669143078noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8460446196230262495.post-84908846550751866902011-05-22T20:52:00.000-07:002011-05-22T20:55:53.381-07:00Mint ice cream with andes chunks and a dear blogger friend<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiS29__48epJdnqzhhlLzLmNm7qAhAT0sLBRIphm0sGaV7sd9L6Q68q8Pa71CDo8KK_EfwHA3k6ugzDqYB3rV41GxC2XuPgoQ9d_Zll0D71z_5FWDBOZ7Tj6Ue26kvLygmaeHkD5xXIthc/s1600/mint+ice+cream+bowl.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiS29__48epJdnqzhhlLzLmNm7qAhAT0sLBRIphm0sGaV7sd9L6Q68q8Pa71CDo8KK_EfwHA3k6ugzDqYB3rV41GxC2XuPgoQ9d_Zll0D71z_5FWDBOZ7Tj6Ue26kvLygmaeHkD5xXIthc/s640/mint+ice+cream+bowl.jpg" width="556" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Today I'm gonna tell you about my dearest blogger friend. Her name is Maria and she's the author of <a href="http://remena-nena.blogspot.com/">Remena Nena</a>. I met Maria over a year ago, when all we had in common was that we were both Spaniards from the same region (Catalonia). Nowadays, she's one of my best friends. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">It all started with a few e-mails here and there. Then a recipe together and lots of conversations on gmail talk. Packages sent back and forth from Boston to Vilanova (Spain). Constant facebook commenting and now our latest obsession, the 'whatsup' application. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">We talk about pretty much anything, congratulate each other on school progress, plot evil plans to feed our friends with tons of sugar, cream and butter and talk about boys (a lot). We laugh, cry, complain, tell secrets and share our stories. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">As I mentioned, there's quite a bunch of packages that have gone from Spain to the US and viceversa in the last year. They have contained things like hazelnuts, sprinkles, baking cups, cookie cutters and the last of Maria's crazy ideas, two ice cream cookbooks. She's a more than generous girl and once she heard I'd gotten an ice cream maker, she couldn't resist sending me 'The Perfect Scoop' and 'Ben & Jerry's Homemade Ice cream and dessert book'. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I obviously couldn't wait to use them and made mint ice cream from Leibovitz's book. But before I give you the recipe, let me try to convince you that you should check <a href="http://remena-nena.blogspot.com/">Maria's blog</a>. Because she's just awesome.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Now for the recipe.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b>Mint ice cream with andes chunks</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">A bit adapted from '<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Perfect-Scoop-Sorbets-Granitas-Accompaniments/dp/1580088082">The perfect scoop</a>'</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">For the mint ice cream:</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="line-height: 1.6em; margin-bottom: 1.8em; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 18px;">1 cup whole milk<br />
3/4 cup sugar<br />
2 cups heavy cream<br />
Pinch of salt<br />
2 cups lightly packed fresh mint leaves<br />
3 large egg yolks</span></div><div style="line-height: 1.6em; margin-bottom: 1.8em; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 18px;">I also added a bit of peppermint extract, because after steeping the mint in the milk, I thought the mint flavor wasn't strong enough. I was wrong and it was plenty once frozen. But, I must say that, even though you wouldn't think so, the result of mixing the two, was quite awesome. The mint leaves gave the ice cream a fresh flavor and the peppermint has a minty aftertaste that makes it amazing to the palate. I added a teaspoon of the extract, however, you can omit this and I'm sure the result will be great. </span></div><div style="line-height: 1.6em; margin-bottom: 1.8em; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 18px;">For the 'chunks':</span></div><div style="line-height: 1.6em; margin-bottom: 1.8em; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 18px;">8 Andes chocolate mints chopped </span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 1.8em; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 18px;">To make the ice cream:</span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 1.8em; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 18px;">In a pan, warm up the milk, sugar and mint. Once the mixture is steaming, cover with a lid and let the mint steep in the milk for 1hr. I'm not sure you can appreciate it, but my milk was slightly green afterwards.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhj0FZgeBqRJpSeq7zxbsyTUSEtx0enuCsB_55weO5aiKwm5sxYtRk29y-KiYykdP-EWVTaG9xI-dOEBMCoZziNJqM-pkwtpwe1N0Ax74ht2ymV6mT8Y1m97LZ2cB0ojm1U-z7M5_bTb5c/s1600/mint+ice+cream+mint+milk.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhj0FZgeBqRJpSeq7zxbsyTUSEtx0enuCsB_55weO5aiKwm5sxYtRk29y-KiYykdP-EWVTaG9xI-dOEBMCoZziNJqM-pkwtpwe1N0Ax74ht2ymV6mT8Y1m97LZ2cB0ojm1U-z7M5_bTb5c/s640/mint+ice+cream+mint+milk.jpg" width="428" /></span></a></div><div style="margin-bottom: 1.8em; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><br />
</span></span></div><div style="line-height: 1.6em; margin-bottom: 1.8em; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">S</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">t</span>rain the mint from the milk and bring it back to the pan. While warming up the milk, beat the three egg yolks in a bowl. Once the milk is hot, add the milk mixture to the eggs while continuously whisking. Then bring the mix to the pan and cook until it's thick enough to cover the back of a spoon (or a few minutes at 175 F). Add the heavy cream to the mixture and let it cool in the fridge for at least an hour before freezing. Freeze according to your ice cream maker manufacturer instructions. Once the mix is frozen, add the chopped andes and let the ice cream harden in the freezer.</span></div><div style="color: #555555; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', Verdana, 'Bitstream Vera Sans', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.6em; margin-bottom: 1.8em; margin-top: 0px;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiulkzAfGfQzKVyrYR6dQzA41gMWBt68nf_aWNf3Uy7jHqM4jmX3kARGCTnn2NjQ7xmln_7Rti9le7FrZWmYlWv3kZJzJjT1BWUxWMd7q6kmJG9oToaj815tIt8Nlvc-nwzxd3FWuVXudM/s1600/mint+ice+cream+mint.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiulkzAfGfQzKVyrYR6dQzA41gMWBt68nf_aWNf3Uy7jHqM4jmX3kARGCTnn2NjQ7xmln_7Rti9le7FrZWmYlWv3kZJzJjT1BWUxWMd7q6kmJG9oToaj815tIt8Nlvc-nwzxd3FWuVXudM/s640/mint+ice+cream+mint.jpg" width="408" /></a></div><br />
</div><div style="color: #555555; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', Verdana, 'Bitstream Vera Sans', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.6em; margin-bottom: 1.8em; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div>Adrianahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14254162646669143078noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8460446196230262495.post-41220696140130518712011-05-08T16:36:00.000-07:002011-05-08T16:36:16.710-07:00Home made vanilla ice cream<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPnUac0J1HD5YUS5iYlVdInjhcxe2ulSHHOtFuDo9HETmoCVA63cSdjiWHC0j1vFqTxKkYAm17qd0JiBmPY4Ht0xg2iC-gytZ3E25NNfIJ_4oh-Yf_7BwA34Pe_PhsbVBJL2XWlXkUjHA/s1600/vanilla+ice+cream.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPnUac0J1HD5YUS5iYlVdInjhcxe2ulSHHOtFuDo9HETmoCVA63cSdjiWHC0j1vFqTxKkYAm17qd0JiBmPY4Ht0xg2iC-gytZ3E25NNfIJ_4oh-Yf_7BwA34Pe_PhsbVBJL2XWlXkUjHA/s640/vanilla+ice+cream.jpg" width="428" /></a></div><br />
I have a confession to make. I love making ice cream! You guys might remember me mentioning that I bought an ice cream maker. Well. I can guarantee you it's been put to use! 3 batches in a week and a half. Not bad huh?<br />
<br />
I've always been an ice cream lover, which is dangerous enough. But home made product is so much better that I'm gonna start running daily again! The texture, the brightness of the flavors and the chance to make it to my own taste can't be beaten by any commercial ice cream.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZVnoJcN319y7M6wCpswzZeG7Es-7Rkc-VZl_Ys3Z-mW_eLS1SOcyMvBGPH81ssrP9Dyc-VW0nFxERARsoUhbFmMfRgzuPIIyEh7YK3OQWH2skFwq-cRGA2YfH8j4hd26uG2fyf6z_qqY/s1600/scoops.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="428" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZVnoJcN319y7M6wCpswzZeG7Es-7Rkc-VZl_Ys3Z-mW_eLS1SOcyMvBGPH81ssrP9Dyc-VW0nFxERARsoUhbFmMfRgzuPIIyEh7YK3OQWH2skFwq-cRGA2YfH8j4hd26uG2fyf6z_qqY/s640/scoops.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />
And the best part is that I love the making. It's such a calming process. Slow, but steady. The flavors coming together. So far I've made vanilla and mint, which was also used for a chocolate, mint ice cream cake. The next batch will probably be pistachio. I honestly see no end to this. I want to try to make every flavor, with every topping, swirl, fruit and nut I can imagine.<br />
<br />
Do you guys make ice cream at home? if so, what's your favorite flavor? I'm considering making a list of 'to do flavors'. I'd love your ideas!<br />
<br />
Vanilla Ice cream<br />
Adapted from 'The joy of cooking'<br />
<br />
1 1/2 cups of milk<br />
2 cups heavy whipping cream<br />
3 egg yolks<br />
1 cup of sugar (or more if you'd like)<br />
1 vanilla bean or 2 teaspoons high quality vanilla extract<br />
Mini chocolate chips (optional)<br />
<br />
If using a vanilla bean, scrape the seeds into the milk, if not, just heat up the milk and the sugar in a pot, making sure it doesn't boil. In a bowl, whip the eggs. Once the milk mixture is hot, add the milk to the eggs. To avoid curdling them, add a bit of milk while mixing with a whisk, so you temper the eggs, then add the rest of the hot milk. Bring the mix back to the pot and cook at 175 F with constant stirring. You want to make sure your mixture cooks at, at least, 160 F for 5 min so your eggs aren't raw anymore (this is the safe egg cooking temperature according to McGee). Joy of cooking suggests cooking it at 175 F and that's what I did. Continue cooking the mixture until the custard coats the back of a spoon. Get of the heat and add the heavy cream. If you are using vanilla extract, this is the time to add it. Let the mixture cool and freeze according to your ice cream maker instructions.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2jpTby5BAZTLuORdNJQbM_X6Yi2OU1s6ImbjAkFAs4twfNurJBp-Zl6XxvVRJpc6gUMQqYtjDW5NH-xOi-jE4jJIAuXXoyh0LFvOL9o78aOtMpryHqHhLoPutMBO9AAm3n1jmMXs-vUQ/s1600/bowlspoon+vanilla+ice+cream.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="428" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2jpTby5BAZTLuORdNJQbM_X6Yi2OU1s6ImbjAkFAs4twfNurJBp-Zl6XxvVRJpc6gUMQqYtjDW5NH-xOi-jE4jJIAuXXoyh0LFvOL9o78aOtMpryHqHhLoPutMBO9AAm3n1jmMXs-vUQ/s640/bowlspoon+vanilla+ice+cream.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>Adrianahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14254162646669143078noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8460446196230262495.post-58478801441167284762011-04-26T20:24:00.000-07:002011-04-26T20:24:40.630-07:00Mascarpone cheesecake and hiking fun<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4YMeX-Dm07mRYChHRMRPRv0Z7BIvPX13UfsuIVo6ALJrJU9lbI4CSqPWxJiTk9KvPjd8y3XwvhoeQwq_xcAivDJe96-dnJctJdtOiW5YwyAaypVzAk8cp0fTGbdO4rwdUT4ZM3Gywl4c/s1600/cheesecake.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4YMeX-Dm07mRYChHRMRPRv0Z7BIvPX13UfsuIVo6ALJrJU9lbI4CSqPWxJiTk9KvPjd8y3XwvhoeQwq_xcAivDJe96-dnJctJdtOiW5YwyAaypVzAk8cp0fTGbdO4rwdUT4ZM3Gywl4c/s640/cheesecake.jpg" width="428" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">I can't believe I'm doing such a terrible job at keeping the blog going. And I'm really sorry guys. Because I have actually been baking quite a bit. But apologies aside, I'm back again. If you wonder what I've been doing, teaching has been a huge part of it, but I've also had quite a few adventures in Portland. I moved, from downtown to SE. I love it here. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWtbj6W72RjRMeSfYsaahhOW97LXdIdZ_Opq8YmIjCSWT4D6FpYDXFx4sknl8-26SW8ElJbARJUyAbXoujWAFCG13N1RMwwlPcw5nkXERBcHbiXhhGrfFfVLX4v00kyQI3M-uNndauEE0/s1600/making+cheesecake.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWtbj6W72RjRMeSfYsaahhOW97LXdIdZ_Opq8YmIjCSWT4D6FpYDXFx4sknl8-26SW8ElJbARJUyAbXoujWAFCG13N1RMwwlPcw5nkXERBcHbiXhhGrfFfVLX4v00kyQI3M-uNndauEE0/s640/making+cheesecake.jpg" width="428" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The dangers of SE include amazing food places. Like 'Fire on the mountain', 3 blocks away, or 'Screen door', 5 blocks away. Sigh. I also got a bike! And I fell from it, day 1, after sticking my wheel on the railroad tracks. Minor issue, hurt knees but unhurt ego! I also... BOUGHT AN ICE CREAM MAKER!. First batch will happen today. Oh lord, dangerous!</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggeTFJ0ePH8_if_ekHkNnjobSJyX9RwX7BKC_mNPAiWGdWgDTvsRCN_T_DL4CwXyj8N-fhEEM6XNVI6ZOCm3mrhud3wOY3uSrY5fJHGAiKGkWwTZHma7VyS7KTFG8c16BthNC0YqDZtRw/s1600/cheesecake+slice.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="624" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggeTFJ0ePH8_if_ekHkNnjobSJyX9RwX7BKC_mNPAiWGdWgDTvsRCN_T_DL4CwXyj8N-fhEEM6XNVI6ZOCm3mrhud3wOY3uSrY5fJHGAiKGkWwTZHma7VyS7KTFG8c16BthNC0YqDZtRw/s640/cheesecake+slice.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">And last but not least, I went hiking and celebrated 'jewster'. We'll talk about 'jewster' in a future post. The hike was a 12 mile! hike at Eagle Creek. Wonderful experience. The downside is that you have to do the 12 mile route if you want to see the waterfalls, but it's totally worth it. Even if on the way back your feet completely disagree.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1QekhaHZlsi0rypqqWMwp2yEaZrCKZ7wAr9O2LAShEHNJincjGPeNclQX82Dvn9l0v69_UjtKHKKTXPy7dr1wS2ILYc1dNjdx9OEMbO4mYlVF649YpQZX_aolFQMGWW8G776N5m4T67I/s1600/DSC_0107.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1QekhaHZlsi0rypqqWMwp2yEaZrCKZ7wAr9O2LAShEHNJincjGPeNclQX82Dvn9l0v69_UjtKHKKTXPy7dr1wS2ILYc1dNjdx9OEMbO4mYlVF649YpQZX_aolFQMGWW8G776N5m4T67I/s640/DSC_0107.JPG" width="428" /></a></div><br />
This is the great waterfall you're rewarded with at the end of the hike. But on the way you find gorgeous things like this...<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPVkqxWEwRdiESoBOi_NWwLiA6nSZ96Q5UK1ARQx-ao_z3a_A7PaYrS_0n2rHFVvuLPAB9NanSZYuDiVgAdvmRydgcEd4eI1w3qeZlaHQ4m5vYdZWYHotW2t7tFNiFdW_NBeUppS5r1ys/s1600/DSC_0070.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPVkqxWEwRdiESoBOi_NWwLiA6nSZ96Q5UK1ARQx-ao_z3a_A7PaYrS_0n2rHFVvuLPAB9NanSZYuDiVgAdvmRydgcEd4eI1w3qeZlaHQ4m5vYdZWYHotW2t7tFNiFdW_NBeUppS5r1ys/s640/DSC_0070.JPG" width="428" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Well, without further delay, here's the recipe for the cheesecake!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Mascarpone cheesecake (adapted from Gourmet)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><span class="fullpost"><span style="font-style: italic;">For the crust</span><br />
1 1/2 cup graham cracker crumbs<br />
5 T butter, melted<br />
1 T sugar<br />
<span style="font-style: italic;"><br />
For the filling</span><br />
20 oz cream cheese (2 1/2 eight-ounce packages), softened<br />
8 oz mascarpone cheese at room temperature (about 1 cup)<br />
3/4 cup sugar<br />
3 large eggs<br />
1 tsp vanilla<br />
2 tsp fresh lemon juice<br />
a dash of salt</span><br />
<br />
<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="fullpost"><i>To make the crust.</i>Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 350°F. Butter bottom and side of a 9-inch springform pan or in my case, a pie pan. (easier to take to your friends house)<br />
<br />
Whisk graham cracker crumbs and sugar in a small bowl and then stir in melted butter to moisten all the crumbs. Press the mixture onto the bottom and about half ways up the sides of the springform pan. Bake for 10 minutes. Let it cool.<br />
<br />
<em>For the cheesecake:</em><br />
Beat cream cheese, mascarpone, and sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer at medium high speed until fluffy, 3 to 5 minutes. Add the eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Add vanilla, lemon juice, and salt and mix at low speed until combined. Pour on top of the cooled crust, being careful not to disturb it. Bake for about an hour, until the edges separate from the pan and the top is slightly browned. Let it cool in the fridge at least for 3 hrs. </span></div>Adrianahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14254162646669143078noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8460446196230262495.post-37336824431327082552011-03-29T21:55:00.000-07:002011-04-03T22:24:03.509-07:00Birthday cake and the 100th post<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqkuQwTfRd2NgRokUvzGe6-hTOfl8kuR7iuA7aVYcFSAML3nK06Gjq4UL-9sBSVgS6FFHbPBBghczWjikghdR6W2KSHjndFNGRfPeL_6UlVTzTdy2d5P-JolA7biprBruzT6knAaJjmYI/s1600/chocolate+cake.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqkuQwTfRd2NgRokUvzGe6-hTOfl8kuR7iuA7aVYcFSAML3nK06Gjq4UL-9sBSVgS6FFHbPBBghczWjikghdR6W2KSHjndFNGRfPeL_6UlVTzTdy2d5P-JolA7biprBruzT6knAaJjmYI/s640/chocolate+cake.jpg" width="466" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">Wow. I made it to the 100th post. I must admit that the frequency of posting has been quite low lately, but grad school doesn't leave much time for more. I have indeed been baking quite a lot, there's just no time for pictures or posts, which, believe me, I'm really sorry about.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">This delicious cake wasn't made to celebrate the 100th post or my own birthday, it was the celebration cake for my labmate and friend Chris. He made it clear, chocolate cake with chocolate frosting. So that it is. A simple, moist and delicious cake, with just a few great ingredients and that you can make in no time.</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVyAisDYBip0uCAlgP-iWqJhFivJPOEwCRf4-7_RbFNLShJVXiA6zR-l6atNnlPQr_hhCIQ3AJjsewzk0xZi7bADtwFoKTjEPTREHQa8iwBLAVH6bzaPJcE9brujgXDnhNuN8S6dPsyDk/s1600/slice+of+cake2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVyAisDYBip0uCAlgP-iWqJhFivJPOEwCRf4-7_RbFNLShJVXiA6zR-l6atNnlPQr_hhCIQ3AJjsewzk0xZi7bADtwFoKTjEPTREHQa8iwBLAVH6bzaPJcE9brujgXDnhNuN8S6dPsyDk/s640/slice+of+cake2.jpg" width="428" /></a></div><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">The chocolate cake is from Hershey's and the frosting was a homemade concoction. You can bake it in layers, squared, round, whatever you like. I even considered putting some marshmallows on top and torching them. (Too bad I ran out of gas). I think you'll enjoy it. </div><br />
<b>Chocolate cake</b><br />
<br />
2 cups sugar<br />
2 sticks of butter<br />
3/4 cups cocoa powder<br />
1 3/4 cup all purpose flour<br />
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder<br />
2 eggs<br />
1 cup milk<br />
1/2 cup vegetable oil<br />
2 teaspoons vanilla extract<br />
1 cup of freshly brewed hot coffee (the original recipe calls for a cup of boiling water).<br />
<br />
<br />
Cream the butter and sugar and add the vanilla extract. Mix in the eggs and oil. In a bowl, combine the dry ingredients. Alternate the addition of dry ingredients and milk, beginning and ending by the dry. Bake for about 35 min at 350 F.<br />
<br />
<b>Chocolate frosting</b><br />
<b><br />
</b><br />
1 stick of butter<br />
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar<br />
1 teaspoon vanilla<br />
1/2 cup cocoa powder<br />
1/2 cup milk<br />
<br />
Cream the butter until very fluffy, add the vanilla, powdered sugar and cocoa powder, finally add the milk until the frosting is creamy, you might need less than 1/2 cup. Use the frosting the same day is made.Adrianahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14254162646669143078noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8460446196230262495.post-14324030512763945122011-03-07T21:11:00.000-08:002011-03-11T23:51:29.498-08:00Buttermilk pound cake and a hello after a while<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZtRsueJSh9tUQk1WZEkj_ufNXHzeH9K0JhhAr9kzNGuQAYeR6jxyo9Yx_-KblXNCzKuqYr70MiADYFR9hcagvknErqPYtOCoZ4FhkH1gOUVRC7s1CeoUqqCW4b8DVxBIk610alTJgru8/s1600/slice+of+poundcake.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZtRsueJSh9tUQk1WZEkj_ufNXHzeH9K0JhhAr9kzNGuQAYeR6jxyo9Yx_-KblXNCzKuqYr70MiADYFR9hcagvknErqPYtOCoZ4FhkH1gOUVRC7s1CeoUqqCW4b8DVxBIk610alTJgru8/s640/slice+of+poundcake.jpg" width="482" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">Hi all!</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Wow. Over a month without a word. I'm sorry guys. I'm sorry I haven't said hi in a while but mostly I'm sorry I don't even have time to bake. But hey! the term is over in 2 weeks and I'm planning on doing some spring break baking! </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">How have you been? I'd love to tell you a bunch of stories, but I really can't write for too long. I'll tell you that I went to my first conference ever up at the base of Mount Rainier. It was full of snow, white, beautiful, cold and fun. We listened to a lot of interesting talks, had a snowball fight, went on a little hike and made smores. Not bad huh? </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The rest of my time has been pretty much grading, going to class, studying and doing lab work. Sounds terrible but it's not all that horrible when you like what you do. I also like sweets, very much. So I made buttermilk poundcake, because I love buttermilk and because poundcake is perfect to power up your study. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/26/magazine/26food-t-001.html">recipe</a> is from the New York Times, but I found it at <a href="http://17andbaking.com/2010/04/28/buttermilk-pound-cake/">Elissa's</a> blog. I halved the recipe because I wasn't using a bundt cake pan, instead I used a shell shaped one and two ramekins for individual cakes. The cake is moist, crumbly, tangy and delicious. Make it, takes no time, it's good for you! (well, maybe not). </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrOh4u13NMbred6R-phU0bKT9D_3l2Wv8IZw9JXaa-V2_DNXOl2S3oaJ3ISXVsgL9R0hHPZGsPCbnIpRvYdU-jbATys_Yu_440pETqWxaA4iL9HHv0dtXuFbyuHon28kdtizxDVPeQ7qU/s1600/buttermilk+poundcake.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrOh4u13NMbred6R-phU0bKT9D_3l2Wv8IZw9JXaa-V2_DNXOl2S3oaJ3ISXVsgL9R0hHPZGsPCbnIpRvYdU-jbATys_Yu_440pETqWxaA4iL9HHv0dtXuFbyuHon28kdtizxDVPeQ7qU/s640/buttermilk+poundcake.jpg" width="476" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Buttermilk Pound Cake</div><div style="text-align: justify;">1 1/2 sticks butter</div><div style="text-align: justify;">1 3/4 cups flour</div><div style="text-align: justify;">1 cup granulated sugar</div><div style="text-align: justify;">1/2 teaspoon baking soda</div><div style="text-align: justify;">1/2 teaspoon baking powder </div><div style="text-align: justify;">2 large eggs</div><div style="text-align: justify;">1/2 cup buttermilk</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Preheat your oven to 350 F</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Cream together butter and sugar. Add the eggs and mix until combined. In a separate bowl, mix the dry ingredients. Alternate the addition of dry ingredients and buttermilk to the wet mix, starting and ending with the dry mix. (I did 1/3 dry mix, 1/2 buttermilk and so on). </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Bake for an hour and then let the cake rest. This cake is even better the day after baked, I promise it's worth the wait!<br />
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This post is part of <a href="http://sweet-as-sugar-cookies.blogspot.com/2011/03/sweets-for-saturday-8.html">'Sweets for a saturday #8'</a></div>Adrianahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14254162646669143078noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8460446196230262495.post-26743109455498319922011-02-02T22:17:00.000-08:002011-02-02T22:20:39.775-08:00Homemade thin mints and my students<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWAvkxCcn4QD0Eqv4YVRk4bBJvXywq-CQ0hCzG-9QwTwLOHCbmXU_MUW_dIgQNZOMJNwbkdsP1KeMkM2pL20toJV7SyovXLZsllgyxPnL3Otwa7hCPz0eVdItf6JK88F6v4TWao5Jr_-Y/s1600/bittenthinmint.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 0em; margin-right: 0em;"><img border="0" height="525" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWAvkxCcn4QD0Eqv4YVRk4bBJvXywq-CQ0hCzG-9QwTwLOHCbmXU_MUW_dIgQNZOMJNwbkdsP1KeMkM2pL20toJV7SyovXLZsllgyxPnL3Otwa7hCPz0eVdItf6JK88F6v4TWao5Jr_-Y/s640/bittenthinmint.jpg" width="650" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br />
I'm gonna repeat myself. Just because I know I've already mumbled about teaching and students and such things. Well, you know, when you're a PhD student, life is quite limited to labs, classes, teaching and a little bit of fun social life.<br />
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Truth is, teaching is a big part of what I want my future to look like. Professor Bon? hopefully!. In the meantime, I devote my Monday and Wednesday nights to teaching general chemistry. It's certainly an interesting experience. You know those shows about colleges (like Community), in which there's a character who is the stereotypical student of some kind? I have them all.<br />
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There's the ones who are in college just because mum and dad wanted them to be, there's the mom with two kids who goes to school full time while she works full time, there's the already PhD who is back in school because he wants to go to med school. Prom queen, army guy, funny guy, dorky boys. I've had them all. And they are all great in their own way. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPMS9VzmtXpl5zS_mDVERg_mHhhFOEmJZ4fvH_AIqoWGBLpbvsBwPAQ3zOxBjIiR9C44QTbMloia1yLiQbjRXootlgoO4Wt2WtjeWbj2NIhXv-jsjz2h8Rged_pjQCsWkEPUwxPvWoEq4/s1600/thinmints.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 0em; margin-right: 0em;"><img border="0" height="508" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPMS9VzmtXpl5zS_mDVERg_mHhhFOEmJZ4fvH_AIqoWGBLpbvsBwPAQ3zOxBjIiR9C44QTbMloia1yLiQbjRXootlgoO4Wt2WtjeWbj2NIhXv-jsjz2h8Rged_pjQCsWkEPUwxPvWoEq4/s640/thinmints.jpg" width="650" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">Teaching is probably the most rewarding experience one could have. It's also one of the toughest ones. When T.A evaluations come, you see nasty comments (probably from that one student who yelled at you in class and called you an idiot), that make you feel terrible. Just until you read the good ones. Those make it all worth it. The long hours of grading, the class preparation, the late nights teaching when you've been at work for over 12 hrs. It all pays off. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Today I was having a terrible day. One of those in which everything seems terrible. Then a few of my students tried to make me laugh. They tried really hard, goofing around and cracking jokes. And by the end of lab, I was in the best mood I've been in, all week. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Teaching is as good as these cookies. The home made version of the infamous girl scouts cookie, but cheaper, healthier and tastier. My friend Chase loves them to death. Since we pounded an entire box while playing cribbage a few days ago, I decided to make him a batch. He loved them and so will you. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Homemade thin mints</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="http://www.101cookbooks.com/archives/000095.html">Adapted from 101 cookbooks</a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">For the cookies</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #993300;"><span style="color: black;">8 ounces/1 stick of butter</span></span></div><div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #993300;"><span style="color: black;">1 cup of powdered sugar</span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #993300;"><span style="color: black;">1 teaspoon of vanilla extract</span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #993300;"><span style="color: black;">1 cup of cocoa powder </span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #993300;"><span style="color: black;">3/4 teaspoon of fine grain salt </span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #993300;"><span style="color: black;">1 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour</span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #993300;"><span style="color: black;">For the chocolate coating</span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #993300;"><span style="color: black;">12 ounces of chocolate chips</span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #993300;"><span style="color: black;">Peppermint extract</span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #993300;"><span style="color: black;"><br />
</span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #993300;"><span style="color: black;"><br />
</span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #993300;"><span style="color: black;">Cream the butter, vanilla extract, salt and powdered sugar. Add the cocoa powder and mix well. Finally stir in the flour and mix until just combined. Don't overmix or your cookies will be hard. Place the dough in the freezer for about 30 min. Then roll it between two pieces of parchment paper, to about 1/8 in thickness. This dough is soft. My kitchen was hot and it kept getting too soft to cut and place in the baking sheet without it getting weirdly shaped. To prevent that, I rolled the dough and put it in the freezer for about 2 min before cutting shapes with the cookie cutter. That way they kept shape and were easier to handle. Also, you want to roll a bit of dough at a time, or again, it'll get soft and it'll be hard to handle. </span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #993300;"><span style="color: black;">Bake the cookies at 350 for about 10 minutes or until you can smell them. They burn fast, so be careful. </span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #993300;"><span style="color: black;"><br />
</span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #993300;"><span style="color: black;">Once the cookies are baked, let them cool completely so they harden, otherwise they'll break when you try to coat them (10 min in the freezer will shorten the cooling time). Melt the chocolate in a double boiler and then add the peppermint extract to your taste. You don't want to add it before since heat could alter the flavor (this doesn't happen with oils, only extracts) . I'm a big fan of microwaving chocolate, but you want to keep it warm while you coat the cookies and a double boiler works best for that. Dip the cookies one at a time. I still have to perfect the coating technique. I threw them in the chocolate, coated both sides and then using two forks, removed the excess chocolate (specially the one that sticks at the bottom). It's a matter of practice, my first cookies were extremely coated. Place the coated cookies in a piece of parchment paper and let them cool so the chocolate hardens. Once again, the freezer does the trick in a few minutes. Store in the fridge to prevent the chocolate from melting. </span></span></div>Adrianahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14254162646669143078noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8460446196230262495.post-4366984586331585842011-01-16T21:05:00.000-08:002011-01-16T21:05:33.555-08:00Apple pie poptarts and my labmates<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTArn_Ys_D1Lguvk83-lFXWORL2i3zGYqgL56FwCWx_sPp86HTXysxuT6o1cGQ509iNENP0DdIhjXi18Js1C3676b-x_BNS9b7-aPw2aQfiO9rCSWpB9ZUsiDiI3p22rr95dsC1b6GUYM/s1600/apple+pie+poptarts.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 0em; margin-right: 0em;"><img border="0" height="427" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTArn_Ys_D1Lguvk83-lFXWORL2i3zGYqgL56FwCWx_sPp86HTXysxuT6o1cGQ509iNENP0DdIhjXi18Js1C3676b-x_BNS9b7-aPw2aQfiO9rCSWpB9ZUsiDiI3p22rr95dsC1b6GUYM/s640/apple+pie+poptarts.jpg" width="650" /></a></div><br />
Have I mentioned how much I love my labmates? Very much. You know, when you start in a new lab, with a new project, doing stuff you've never done before, things look a little scary. Every little step is full of questions like how should I do this, is this ok, is it gonna work? .<br />
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I'm a super lucky gal. I have fantastic labmates who are more than willing to help me every step of the way. They answer my questions, they teach me their tricks and they do it with a smile on their faces. We're a bunch of happy people sharing a tiny space. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYz-eLhvQ5PHD04Z_RIjzlTopoOaubHmUhh6bkphFYj2J_ca4A3sF-oTfeiarZF-bXZKirzwTZluCwrjSygNSbR_sSIA-0kxDKXr40ZbsGWFionzs4RqwN5_t57OFr0mqMFIV9FFw9-KE/s1600/filling+square+pic.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 0em; margin-right: 0em;"><img border="0" height="650" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYz-eLhvQ5PHD04Z_RIjzlTopoOaubHmUhh6bkphFYj2J_ca4A3sF-oTfeiarZF-bXZKirzwTZluCwrjSygNSbR_sSIA-0kxDKXr40ZbsGWFionzs4RqwN5_t57OFr0mqMFIV9FFw9-KE/s640/filling+square+pic.jpg" width="650" /></a> </div><br />
But please, don't you think for a second that all we do is work. We do work, but we seriously have too much fun. I usually define our dinamics as a 'shit show'. And excuse my vocabulary, but we're just plain ridiculous. Take for instance the other day, when I was trying to filtrate some stuff and I couldn't reach the filter. There comes my labmate with two large cans and puts one underneath each one of my feet so I can reach. And obviously, two seconds later, the boss shows up and starts laughing at me and says 'ok, we're getting you a stool'. (I did get it!).<br />
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That's just one example of ridiculousness. I think our singing is pretty funny too. I share my primary workspace with two very manly guys. Well, they both sang Whitney Houston the other day. I almost dropped what I was carrying.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi02U-J0rJx-XBAST9F4sMjN_XZ9j6-r3rXzBYfPEdDTSEIVr2o_v6DnHAFKrgTEnMQMVmLw2eTcaw1bFwuU-9Updz1P8hk49HZJaEWrwtLehfR82EUP34pZokReDdYdV0H5Y8dkeU-VJY/s1600/brushed+poptart.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 0em; margin-right: 0em;"><img border="0" height="429" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi02U-J0rJx-XBAST9F4sMjN_XZ9j6-r3rXzBYfPEdDTSEIVr2o_v6DnHAFKrgTEnMQMVmLw2eTcaw1bFwuU-9Updz1P8hk49HZJaEWrwtLehfR82EUP34pZokReDdYdV0H5Y8dkeU-VJY/s640/brushed+poptart.jpg" width="650" /></a></div><br />
All in all, I love these guys. I have tons of fun with them and they help me a lot. That's why when C mentioned the other day, how disappointed he was that his mum didn't make apple pie this past thanksgiving, I had an idea. I thought I could make him apple pie in a portable way. And the result are these delicious 'poptarts'. Basically apple pie crust with apple pie filling in a nice cute shape. Pretty and delicious. I bet your coworkers will be happy if you make them!<br />
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Apple pie 'poptarts'<br />
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For the crust<br />
1 1/4 cups flour<br />
1 stick of butter, cold and cubed<br />
1/8 cup really cold water<br />
1 tablespoon sugar<br />
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Mix the butter with the flour and sugar until pebbles form. Use either your hands or a pastry cutter. If you do it with your hands, work fast so the butter doesn't melt. Add the cold water and mix well until you form a homogeneous dough. Refrigerate the dough for at least an hour. Once cold, roll the dough to a thickness of about half a centimeter. Cut in rectangles of the same size. You can make them as big or as small as you want.<br />
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For the filling<br />
2 large or 3 medium granny smith apples<br />
1/2 cup brown sugar<br />
1 tablespoon cinnamon (I like it a lot)<br />
2 tablespoons of butter, softened<br />
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Combine all the ingredients in a bowl. If the butter doesn't spread homogeneously, heat the mixture in the microwave for a bit. Make sure your filling is cold when making the poptarts.<br />
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For the poptarts<br />
Preheat your oven to 350F <br />
Place the filling (about 2 tablespoons for the size I made) on top of one of the sides of the poptart. Cover with the other side. Seal the edges with the help of a fork and make three cuts in the tarts to release the steam. Brush the tarts with egg wash. Bake for 20-25 minutes until the tarts are golden brown and oozing with juices. Enjoy warm or cold!Adrianahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14254162646669143078noreply@blogger.com17