Happy New Year!

Sorry, I've kind of fallen off lately. I've been busy at home and at work as well as been sick. I'm trying to catch up with my reading of your blogs. I love reading (& drooling over) them and if its a choice between reading yours or posting something on mine, you win, I lose! While I enjoy blogging I still have a waaaaaaaaays to go before I'm happy with the quality of my blog, writing, and photos. I do think that I am progressing with my baking and am moving out of my comfort zone which I'm thrilled about. Just wish I could cut out eating so late. Oh, well, guess I better dust off the treadmill. (I'm hoping to find a Wii Fit)

With all that said and out of the way I wanted to take a moment to wish YOU the Happiest of New Years and may 2009 be filled with good health, yummy food, prosperity, and ease of mind! I know it's been a rough year for many.

Be safe!
~ingrid

Happy Holidays!

For those of you that celebrate Christmas, I hope this one is the merriest!

Changes, changes, changes!

I went ahead and purchased my own domain today. Sorry if things are kooky for the next few days. I am not certain what to expect or how much things will change but I'm thinking it should be for the better (& easier). I'm not what you would call computer savvy......Juliaaaaaaaa! But I have been fortunate in that Julia from a Dozen Flours has in the past helped me with answering questions and such. I'm hoping she takes pity on me and will help again! I'm also counting on YOU to throw in your two cents with helpful info from your own experiences and computer "know how". Hopefully there won't be too many bumps and that the change is an improvement. Keep your fingers crossed that I haven't just made a huge mistake and wasted $10! :-)

An award....Thank you, Duckie!

This award means: "This blog invests and believes the PROXIMITY - nearness in space, time and relationships! These blogs are exceedingly charming. These kind bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in prizes or self-aggrandizement. Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. Please give more attention to these writers! Deliver this award to eight bloggers who must choose eight more and include this cleverly-written text into the body of their award."

I received this award almost two weeks ago and I apologize that it's taken me so long to thank The Blonde Duck from the blog A Duck in Her Pond and to pass it along to ALL of you!  I know it says chose 8 bloggers but it talks about propagating friendships and how better to do that than by passing it along to all of YOU!

LiveJournal Tags: awards

Greenies, just in time for Christmas!

Greenies are a play on Brownies and Blondies.  They are made using pistachios that you've pulverized in the food processor and the batter has a few drops green food coloring added to enhance its slightly green color. I originally saw this recipe months ago on The Crepes of Wrath.   Sydney actually called them White Chocolate Marshmallow Pistachio Brownies.  Is there anything in that name that wouldn't propel you to give them a try ASAP?  I don't know what took me so long but I'm happy Jalen and I took the time to make them.  Besides saying they were moist and tender, it's hard to describe their taste and texture properly, so, I won't.  Hopefully, my photos will encourage you to give them a try!    I didn't add the green food coloring so they aren't very green.

I almost forgot to tell you.  The pistachios I used were from Oh,Nuts that I received free from them several months ago.  I never opened the package and had them stored in the freezer! 

LiveJournal Tags: greenies,white chocolate,chocolate,marshmallows,pistachios,oh nuts

Overnight Eggnog Coffee Cake with Nog Drizzle

In an earlier post this week I mentioned making this cake along with homemade marshmallows.  I didn't want it to get passed up in case you guys missed my updates to that previous post so I'm giving it its own!   Here's the recipe and photos which I first drooled over on The Recipe Girl.

 

Did I mention this cake was perfectly moist and dense? Both the drizzle and the topping were amazing!  The nog drizzle would be a tasty addition to  any eggnog treat or just by the spoonfuls!

Sorry about the above crappy photo.  I improved it as best I could using Picasa.

Please check out the updates and additional photos I added to my two previous posts!  Thanks and THANK YOU for all the lovely and encouraging comments.  You guys really do ROCK! 

LiveJournal Tags: eggnog,coffee cake

Here's what kept me busy tonight~UPDATED

I hate melting white chocolate, white candy melts, and almond bark! Basically anything white that needs to be melted!  Tonight I made white chocolate "snowflakes"  that I sprinkled with blue sanding sugar.  In theory it was easy. In practice it was (feel free to insert a curse word here) not easy. I don't curse but if I did let's just say that I would have used every one I knew!  It took me three hours to only make about 30 of them.  It wasn't so much the melting of the chocolate that was making me crazy but the  keeping it melted.  That and the consistency.  It was either too running (over did the paramount crystals) or it was firming up too quickly (not enough) in the squeeze bottle.

I made 29 "snowflakes"  and a "letter" for two of her teachers.  I only needed 20 of the "snowflakes" but made 28 for just in case.  I've already had  four casualties so I'm thankful I didn't stop when I hit 21!  I am planning on baking a batch of cupcakes and placing a lovely "snowflake" on each one.  Babygirl will take them to school for Friday's Christmas party.  She's supposed to be bringing apples slice and will but I think these will be more fun!  If you've been wondering what's up with the quotes around the word snowflakes it because those have to be the lamest snowflakes I have ever seen!  Some look like crosses, there are a few that look like blue bugs, I had two that looked like anchors and three of the four casualties were ones that I gave to  the kids to eat. NO amount of sprinkles were saving those!

*Update:  On Thursday night besides making the cupcakes and dipping my homemade marshmallows, I also made truffles.  OH>MY>GOODNESS!  These are (for me) THE BEST I've eaten.  They were sooooo good.  I don't know how many I ate but I would have eaten more had I not sent most of them to babygirl's class party.  I've mentioned before but I don't like milk chocolate.  I'll eat a dark chocolate truffle if offered one but I'll pass on candy bars, chocolate ice cream, or cake.  Once in awhile I'll make brownies but when I do I'll usually add something like cream cheese,  peanut butter,  Oreos, or maybe mint to the batter.  The recipe for the truffles that I used was from Elle's blog, Elle's New England Kitchen.  I'll be making these truffles again very soon.  Really they deserve their very own post.  They are much to good to be a side note.

LiveJournal Tags: truffles,chocolate,marshmallows,white chocolate,cupcakes

Real quick.... UPDATED 12/20

I did it!  I made homemade marshmallows .  Some of you may be scratching your head thinking, okay?   So, what's the big deal?  Well, the big deal is this....before I started reading and blogging I was a "scaredy cat" baker afraid of trying anything new other than a doctored up cake or cookie mix.  Now there isn't anything wrong with that!  There are some darn good, terrific even, desserts that start off with a mix.  (no one ever said, "Hey, you used a mix!"  The person I know with the most discerning palate is one of my 12 yr old twins!) The thing was I wouldn't make anything from scratch and all my cakes were basically sheet cakes.  I played it safe.  While, I am not yet in the same realm as a Daring Baker, I am getting out of my comfort zone.  Here are several first for me.  DUH, homemade marshmallows ( if it didn't work out it's homemade fluff!)!  For the first time I (successfully?) used gelatin sheets.  I also  boiled sugar to a "soft ball" state and knew it was there because I dusted off my candy thermometer and used it for the first time! Yay, me! 

My marshmallows are setting in the pan right now.   The recipe I used calls for them to sit uncovered for 10 to 12 hours, over night in my case.  I'm assuming so it builds a "skin".  In the morning I'll take some photos of the pan filled with all that gooey wonderfulness!   I hope to have time to cut them up and take more photos before I have to take the Twins to baseball practice (7-9).  Unfortunately, I'm not a "drop and go" mom so, I'm there with them until practice is over.   And then it's cook , clean the mess up, bath times ( have I told you guys Devon broke his hand?  He did!  So bathing for him is a chore which involves lots of shouting to me for help.)study some, and than prodding them along to bed.  Ok, now that I've typed that out I know I'm not updating this until Wednesday at the earliest but do check back to see my photos.  I'm going to dip half of my batch in white and dark chocolate.  Eyebrows just went up, right, when you read white chocolate.  LOL!  Yes, I've learned a thing or two, several, and bought real white chocolate.  I'm not scared!  No, sirree! 

Ok, ok, last thing, I also made tonight, The Recipe Girl's Overnight Eggnog Coffee Cake with Nog Drizzle. (now that's a mouth!)  The recipe calls for the batter to be made the night before and baked in the morning.  FYI, the batter was bowl lickin' good! So, I have that to finish up as well!  Gotta run it's 12:15 am and I have to be up in a little more than 6 hours! YIKES!

*UPDATE:  I updated the links.  The marshmallow recipe I used was from the blog Brownie Points.  I found the recipe by googling the words "marshmallow recipe".  I read quite a few before settling on that one. 

I was surprised to learn how many of you haven't tried to make your own marshmallows.  If I can YOU can.  I've posted a picture so that you know I'm not pulling your leg.  You ain't getting those at no grocery store!  :-) I didn't dip them in chocolate yet because I was busy tonight working on something for Babygirl's class which is why there aren't more photos.  More on that later.  It hasn't helped that the past two mornings it has been foggy and tomorrow's not supposed to be any better.  Figures! I will try to  get everything done tomorrow but who knows.  I have cupcakes to bake for Babygirl's class AND she's sick, oh, and my father's coming in from NYC for the weekend!  I'm going to be the walking dead for the next several days.

Wait 'til you hear this......no one in my house really liked the marshmallows!  Yes, you read that correctly. The sitter was the only one who said they were good.  Before you start the "well at least she liked them" I should tell you she's very polite, she could have been lying.  I'm hoping once I dip them in the chocolate the kids will like them better. I'm going to package most of them up as treats for the neighbors and the teachers.  From what the kids mentioned they thought they tasted plain. 

LiveJournal Tags: marshmmallows,chocolate