Back to work

I returned to work Monday. Time becomes limited for my trial and error experiences in the kitchen. I thought that I would be waiting till June for my next vacation which will be a traveling one so the opportunities to bake are few and far between when Myrtle Beach's shoreline beckons, when what to my wondering eyes should appear....but a vacation log sheet that shows I have one in the middle of May!!!!! Whoa Hoo!!!!!!



A few people at work now know that I have this site so I will try to be politically correct in my views of work and workplace stuff. If I should say something that you don't understand, please note that I vent in many ways but.....I really and truly love my job and all the people that I work with. My motto has and will always be that I AM AN ACTRESS AND MY LIFE IS MY STAGE..... hope you like the show and remember that any extra cash I earn comes from the generous tips you wonderful people will drop in my cake pan as you leave, Hee Hee!



The one disappointment I encountered today was that as I returned to work from lunch I thought that a wonderful finish to the ham and cheese that I had to eat in a wheat hotdog bun( let's just say that I was rushing home on lunch and grabbed the first bread item I could find) would be a butterfinger quake from the pretzel place at the mall. Oh horrors!!! They were out of butterfinger pieces. Had to settle for a twist of chocolate and vanilla soft-serve instead.

Maple Oatmeal Scones and a sad goodbye

Today I tweaked a recipe for maple oatmeal scones. Here it is:

Preheat your oven to 425

Mix together
1 egg yolk, save egg white to brush on top of scones before baking
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 Tbls pure maple syrup (none of that Aunt Jemima stuff)
set aside

In food processor mix
1 1/2 c flour
1/4 c old fashioned oats (there I go being sneaky with the healthy grains)
2 tsp cornstarch
1 1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/3 c sugar, white
process to blend than add
6 Tbls unsalted butter, cold and cut into chunks
process to cut butter in, about 7 -9 pulses

add your liquid mixture and process just till blended and dough comes together, not too much.

Turn this out onto a floured silpat and knead 4-5 times. Form a circle about 6-7 inches in diameter and about 1 1/2 inches high. Cut this disc like a pie into 8 triangles and put these on a silpat lined cookie tray, (I swear by silpat....nothing sticks to this stuff!!!!!)

Brush tops with beaten egg white you saved at beginning and then sprinkle tops with demerara cane sugar crystals.

Bake for 15-18 minutes till golden brown. Cool on wire rack and enjoy with a cup of coffee or tea.

Just the right sweetness to take off the edge of sadness as we bid farewell for a time to our adopted son Ross. Okay, we didn't actually adopted Ross, he is the son of close family friends. His mom and dad have been friends with my husband since school days. Ross has spent many nights with us for dinner, helping John work on cars or clean garage, and tease and torment Meghan like a big brother does.

He leaves this afternoon for boot camp as he begins 6 years with the US Navy. We will miss him tremendously but wish him well on his quest to become a diver. Can't wait for him to finish all his training so that we will be able to stay in touch with the internet.... until then his laughter and quick smiles will be what we think of. Take care of this wonderful young man Uncle Sam and please keep him safe.

cooking experiences for today

Tropical Paradise scones

1 1/2 plus 2Tbls of flour

1/4 plus 2 tsp sugar

2 tsp baking powder

pinch of salt

1/3 c coconut

Mix the above together than add

2/3 c of white chocolate chips and macadamia pieces

fluff this than you add

1/2 c heavy cream

1/2 c lime juice

1 tsp lime zest, grated

roll( I pat with my hands) on a well floured silpat pad and cut with a biscuit cutter (see hint below)

put on another silpat lined cookie sheet and brush top with melted butter and dust with sugar.

Bake in 375 degree preheated oven for 15 to 20 minutes until lightly browned around edges.

Cool on rack.

HINT: If you don't have a biscuit cutter, I use a small tin can that I removed the top and bottom lids and washed well. Tuna cans stink but the tomatoe sauce ones don't smell.

As I tasted the scone (a good cook always tastes their work before the masses get their hands on them.....sometimes its the only taste I get:) it was not too sweet and the lime flavor comes through in the after taste. I'll keep it a secret that there is any coconut in it..... my family doesn't really care for it, but hey, if their not allergic(which they aren't) what they don't know won't hurt them.

Coconut isn't the only food ingredients that I sneak into my dishes. I'll use brown rice in place of white and whole wheat pasta for casseroles. Call it my contribution at improving their health.

I also rolled my truffles today. I mixed up a new flavor, white chocolate lemon truffle that I will roll in toasted crushed pecans tomorrow.

I am blessed with a family that loves to try new flavors, nothing has been listed as off limits so far with the exception of 3 things, liver and onions, corned beef, and sushi.....all because I won't fix them....too distastful for me.

I'm now on an India-inspired quest. I have a friend at the store, Meena M., that will bring me in the most awesome vegetarian dishes from her indian background and let me tell you, after one smell I was in love. The spices, the colors, the heat flavor.....oh my I can't wait to try to make some at home. Meena was so sweet.... one day I asked for a recipe for my daughter to make one of her dishes for school (they were studying India) and Meena not only gave me the recipe but also brought me in the cumin seeds for the dish. Now I need to reciprocate with something that a strict vegatarian can enjoy. Any suggestions for a baker like me?

I realize this pic has nothing to do with my day but I thought I would post me and my husband , John, on the bike riding for the Teddy Bear Run for Firelands Hospital and Fischer Titus Hospital last year. I don't spend my entire life in the kitchen. I do get out and have fun.

Today I made raspberry scones, ok if you can get past the pink color. The recipe called for raspberry syrup which changed the color of the dough to bright pink. I did add some white chocolate chips to the dough and sprinkled sugar on top before baking, sugar freak that I am, plus my addicition to chocolate always makes me look for ways to add some extra to baked goods. I also mixed up the base for cappuchino truffles and fire/ice truffles. I will try a lemon pecan scone tomorrow.

Chocolate chip cookies for my husband, John, tonight. He is feeling under the weather and really needs some pampering and special care. I've tried so many different recipes for these, even one that you add a small box of instant pudding, but I think I will bake the recipe on the back of the bag.

cranberry scones

The Cape Cod Cranberry scones were very good. But I think that I may have chopped the cranberries up to much. Next time I will leave some whole so that they will cook and explode in the scone.

Tomorrow I take my mother to visit her aunt in Bluffton. Chance of rain, hope it is a small chance. May need to stop at Deitches(sp) for a treat while passing through Findlay.

Going to try the cinnamon praline scone on Thursday. I will also be making cappuchino truffles and fire n ice truffles. Got to spoil my selling specialist at the store, it's specialist appreciation week and I plan on bringing treats to them every day with the exception of Sunday.

Week ending 3/21/09

Ah vacation at last! While it will be spent around the house and locally, it still is a break from work. Daughter is is school doing practice tests for the OGT, husband in at work and I have a full cupboard for baking scones and making truffles plus a stack of new books to read from the library. Life doesn't get much better than this. I baked a white chocolate lemon shortbread cookie yesterday. It is crisp, lemony with a surprise of sweet chocolate......delicious. I need to take some to my mom and her aunt, they will enjoy them.

This is the week that I am committed to starting my walking again and to trying new recipes. I had to laugh yesterday as I thought "Didn't I just do all the dirty dishes? Why do I have half the sink full of them again? " Then I realized that my kitchen is a kitchen that an amateur cook/baker lives in. There will always be dirty dishes. I can live with that. Cooking and baking help me release my stress, it's the way that I show my family how much I love them, and it opens up new worlds that I may never see but I can taste.

This week I plan on making cappuchino truffles, maple syrup scones, chocolate chip scones (for my little sister....she loves them) and to try a few recipes for dinners for my family like a sweet buffalo wing night. Last night was Stuffed Taco Pasta Shells, which we all love. We had a dear friend, more like an adopted son, over for dinner last night. Ross has enlisted in the Navy and leaves for basic training next week. We will miss him so much, Ross is always in a great mood and quick to smile. He helped us teach Meghan how to ride a dirt bike and how to play eucher.
I hope that he will be safe and keep in touch with us.

SCONES SCONES SCONES

I am on a mission to master the scone. Doesn't sound to hard, does it, but I have baked some that are delicious and some not so...... I googled scones and came up with a site that lists sones of just about every flavor so why not try each recipe. I started with one that I had the ingredients on hand, banana macadamia, these came out a little rubbery, not flaky like the chocolate chip scones that my little sister begs me to make for her.

I'll be trying Cape Cod Cranberry Saturday.

I can't believe how much time it takes to keep up on a blog. Geez! I am writing while watching tv and have to say that those Banner Mattress commercials really irritate me with that annoying back ground noise in it. It sounds like my cell vibrating and I keep checking to see if any one is calling me, only to realize its that commercial AGAIN!!!!

Survivors on..... haven't seen any sodes yet so..... got to go