Batter up...a baking tutorial

Finally! Glorious California sun is back! And with that, who'd want to be stuck indoors baking all the time?!

Here's my solution: Six-week Date-Bran Muffin batter in the fridge!

Remember those chopped dates* from previous post? Well, this is their first stop....

Gather the following ingredients:

Cream together in a heavy-duty mixer:
1c. shortening (butter-flavor is best - don't give me dirty looks! Crisco is now trans-fat free!)
2 c. sugar (14 oz)
5 t. baking soda

Then slowly add 2 c. boiling water (this is where you have to put a towel over your mixer because it will splash and get really messy but it's so worth it afterwards).

Just when you think you can't possibly add any more liquid, add 1 Quart of buttermilk (do this slowly too - you may want to stop using the mixer at this point and use a wire whip to get this incorporated).

Pour liquid mixture in a large mixing bowl.

In a separate bowl, measure out 5 c. all-purpose flour (1 lb., 4 oz) and 1 Tblspn salt.
Slowly add this to the liquid mixture, using the wire whip to mix together.

In yet another large separate bowl, mix together:
4 c. All-Bran cereal (the kind that looks like short, straight noodles)
2 c. bran flakes
2 c. chopped dates (10 oz)*

Add this to the liquid/flour mixture (this time, use a spatula and ditch the wire whip).


You can now either put it in a large plastic tub to store in the refrigerator for up to 6 weeks or you can scoop some out to bake up some fresh muffins. The bran flakes will continue to absorb the liquid so don't be alarmed if you take the batter out tomorrow and it looks thicker - it will only taste this much better to let the flavors develop overnight before baking.

Bake at 375 degree oven for 20 minutes or until golden brown.



Make sure to label the container when batter will expire.

So go impress your family and make up this batter ahead of time and just scoop and bake the next time you need something fresh and hot in the morning.

Note:  No need to further mix the muffin mixture once it's in the plastic container.  Doing so will only toughen the batter.

Chopping Day

You read that right -- Chopping, not shopping.

Chopping, as in chopping up old candy bars (from Halloween)...
...and dried fruit (those are not cockroaches). It's one of those labor-intensive jobs that require a separate day from baking.

Today, it was that kind of day.

I had confiscated my kids' Halloween chocolate bars shortly after they ate all they could and froze the candy bars for safekeeping. Until today.

These nasty things don't need to be in here.

Out they go! (yes, you just got to see a close up shot of the inside of my trash bin).

Here's my nice collection of chopped things: golden raisins, assorted Halloween chocolate bars and dates.

In the next few days, you'll see what these can be transformed into!

Coaxing Spring

A month after Christmas and we finally put away all or Christmas decorations.

I'd like to think this is what the rains in California grew on my door :-)

A good friend helped me make this. Total cost (after using numerous coupons) was about $30. Prettier and bigger than a pre-made one at Michael's. The itty bitty bird house was in the dollar bin section at Michael's - transformed with a bit of borrowed paint from another friend.

When we got home yesterday from a matinee (everyone had the same idea too; the theater was packed!), a humming bird with bright raspberry-pink head was flying around near the door. My daughter was hoping that he was trying to make a nest inside the little bird house hanging from the wreath. Wouldn't that be a welcomed addition to the wreath?!

More things to make when it's raining

Yes, we Californians are whiners. We can't take more than a couple of days of rain. Everyone is in a horrible mood. Now I totally understand why coffee became so popular in Seattle.

Found this pot of herbs at Trader Joe's! Much cheaper than buying them separately at a grocery store. This culinary pot has mint, oregano and thyme. I also bought a container of basil.



Here's what I made with the oregano (the red pesto) and the basil (classic pesto recipe).


Red pesto just has garlic, sundried tomatoes, parmesan/romano cheese, fresh oregano and olive oil (no pine nuts). It's great on hot pasta or as bruchetta topping.

EDIT: Forgot to add that you also have to put in a few fresh tomatoes with the red pesto :-)

What to do when it's raining

Make apple pie filing:

Mmmmmm, can you smell it? Using up the last of the organic Fuji apples my aunt and uncle gave us, along with that Saigon cinnamon I recently got at Costco. Go get some - it's really good!


Then I used some of that pie filling to layer in between the cake and crumbs of this great Crumb Cake recipe. Look at that thick layer of crumb topping! Just like the crumb cakes I used to eat at Old Ebbit Grill in Washington, DC.

Go ahead and double click the photo - you might just get a whiff of that fresh-baked crumb cake!


Gigi's Nothing Crummy about this Crumb Cake (adapted from Nick Malgieri and Martha Stewart's recipes)

Crumb Topping
Melt 1 c. butter (2 sticks), set aside and allow to cool slightly

Combine the following in a large bowl
2 1/2 c. all-purpose flour (10 oz)
1 c. brown sugar (8 oz)
2 tsp cinnamon
- pour melted butter over mixture and mix until large crumbs form; set aside

In a medium bowl, sift together:
3 c. all-purpose flour (12 oz)
1 c. sugar (7 oz)
1 Tblsp PLUS 2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp. salt

In another bowl, whisk together:
2 lg. eggs
1 c. milk (non-fat ok to use)
4 T. vegetable oil
1 Tblspn PLUS 1 tsp vanilla
- Fold in the dry ingredients until JUST combined - do not overmix!
- Spread batter in a greased/floured 8x8 or 9x9 squre baking pan;
- Spread 1 c. of canned or homemade fruit filling (*optional*; peach and apple work best);
- Top with crumb topping, making sure crumbs are evenly distributed
- Bake at 325 degrees, for 45-50 minutes or until crumb topping are slightly golden and toothpick inserted in batter comes out clean.
- Let cool then dust with powdered sugar.

Enjoy!

Yarn Crafts

Lots of crocheting going on at my house:

Rose scarf pattern found on Lion Brand Yarn webpage:


Heart pillows and crocheted flower pillows inspired by this creative blogger.



Heart pillows are cut from fleece and yarn is worsted weight yarn.

To make pillows, create a heart template then cut out fleece. Sew with yarn using a large needle, making uniform blanket stictches all the way around. Leave opening for stuffing. Stuff heart pillow firmly then close up the edge. Using a crochet hook, crochet single crochets all the way around, adding extra sc on the curved part of the heart, on the blanket stitches. For the next row, do scallops in this manner: *sc, sk 1 sc, on the next sc, do 5 dc, sk sc, then repeat from * pattern all the way around.

Would that be stealing?

Last week I put out a bunch of donation items on our curb for a local charity to come and pick it up. A friend came by and asked to put some stuff out she wanted to get rid of and so she left it on our front yard. I left shortly after to pick up the kids - I was back in less than an hour and half the stuff she put out was taken! We live in a "good" neighborhood so this was totally unexpected. Granted, the stuff was bound for donation but it was supposed to go to the needy and not neighbors seeing something they wanted! I really think they should have come to the door and asked me for it and not just take it - it's not like I had a "free" sign on the stuff.

When I put the rest of the donations outside, one of the yard maintenance people did come to my door and asked to take the bookcase. I let him - he asked and figured he could use it. Throughout the day though, stuff started to slowly disappear from the pile. Someone even had the nerve to open up the boxes and sort through stuff they wanted. By the time the charity truck arrived later that afternoon, only a few boxes remained. I feel sorry for the needy - they didn't get what I intended for them to get.