TWD: Carrot Spice Muffins

So, I’ve been feeling very stressed lately with so much stuff going on.  In order to combat this I decided last weekend that I would stop baking with TWD.  I just haven’t been able to keep up since we had our baby.  Well, then I saw the recipes for August and I decided that I might be able to make some of them.  I wasn’t going to stress about it, but I was going to try to make them if I felt inclined to do so. 

When I was looking at this week’s recipe I saw that I actually had all the ingredients on hand already.  And really, how long can muffins take to put together?  They usually take more time to bake than to assemble.  That was definitely true this week.  This week’s recipe was Carrot Spice Muffins chosen by Nancy of The Dogs Eat the Crumbs.  I really enjoyed these muffins.  They turned out exactly as Dorie described them.  They will be a nice breakfast treat for the week. 

Now, I can’t guarantee that I’ll make next week’s recipe.  I happened to take a day off this past Friday which gave me a three day weekend.  That extra day is what really gave me the time to bake.  With having the traditional two day weekend next week anything is up for grabs.  It won’t help either that next Saturday is our 5 year wedding anniversary!  I can’t believe how those 5 years have flown.  I’ll do my best to make the postings, but like I said earlier, there are no guarantees.  If you would like the recipe please visit Nancy’s blog.  Enjoy!

TWD: Blueberry-Brown Sugar Plain Cake

I finally got the opportunity to do some baking this weekend!  Having a colicky baby really doesn’t give a person much time to do anything but breathe.  Good thing the colic seems to be getting a little better, or maybe we are just getting better at calming our baby.  Who knows, either way it was nice to be able to get in the kitchen again.

This week’s recipe for TWD was a blueberry-brown sugar plain cake chosen by Cindy of Everyday Insanity.  I’m glad this recipe was chosen this time of year when blueberries are in season.  They were even on sale this week at the grocery store.  They are so delicious I almost feel bad using them for baking in place of frozen ones.  I feel as though the only thing that will do them justice is just a bowl, nothing else, just plain blueberries.  A bowl of pure summer.  Oh well, the plainess of this cake helped the blueberries shine without anything special. 

The only funny thing about this cake is that it calls for an 11×7 inch pan.  It’s only funny because I was going through my kitchen this past week and I came across this pan.  I think it came in a set we received for our wedding.  What an odd size I thought, 11×7, I’ve never seen a recipe call for a pan of this size.  Oh well though I thought, it’s a nice size for coating things and for baking small fillets of fish.  Then when I was making a casserole this week it actually called for this 11×7-inch pan.  I was shocked!  Then when I came to this recipe, it again called for this 11×7-inch pan.  Two times in one week!  Up until know I don’t think I’ve used this pan more than two times, now I had to use it twice in one week.  It’s funny how things work isn’t it?

The best thing in life

I have never been that type of girl who oohed and aahed over babies.  I was never one of those girls who dreamed of getting married and starting a family.  In fact, I always thought that I would be well into my 30s when I got married.  It was just not something  I pictured when I thought of my future.  And kids, well, they were definitely a maybe, not a necessity.  There was so many other things I wanted to experience.

Well, my life is quite different from the life I pictured for myself when I was younger.  Now I’m 27, I have been married for 5 years and have a baby.  And you know what?  I wouldn’t change any of it.  Even during the hours of crying and fussing, also known as colic, I wouldn’t change any of it.  I have been so blessed. 

It has taken some hard work and I’ve gone through some rough patches, but now I see why.  I could have given up at many points, but I just kept on going.  Sometimes I didn’t even know why, there just seemed to be some invisible force keeping me going. 

Now I know what it was pushing me towards.  It was pushing me towards the best thing anybody can experience in their life.  The smile of their child. 

TWD: Brown Sugar Bundt Cake & Something Special

Whew…it’s been a long time since I’ve posted.  At the same time though, it feels as though it was only yesterday.  You see, that is because little Eric decided to make his appearance.  It wasn’t as though I didn’t know it was coming.  He was born a day before his due date, so it wasn’t even completely unexpected.  It’s just been a lot of work.  Eric is a good baby, but he is a little colicky.  So, a good chunk of my time is spent trying to calm him.  Oh well though, it won’t last forever.

Now onto the recipe of the week, Brown Sugar Bundt Cake, chosen by Peggy of Pantry Revisited.  I would post a picture, but my cake didn’t exactly turn out picture-worthy.  The top half stuck in the cake pan, but that didn’t affect the taste.  I followed the recipe as is, I just think that my pears were a little too ripe and so a little too moist.  It is really good.  It is a very nice mid-morning snack between feedings.  If you want the recipe please visit Peggy’s blog.  Enjoy!

TWD: Honey Nut Brownies

I know it’s a little late, but that’s better than never right?  That’s how this nesting thing seems to work.  Some days I do nothing but sit on the couch, but other days I am as busy as a bee.  That’s what happened tonight.  I made dinner, cleaned up after dinner, made these brownies, did the dishes from the brownies and then proceeded to clean both the microwave and sink while these were baking.  I think the nesting thing is only popular as a way to keep pregnant women from going completely crazy.  When nesting at least you feel like you are doing something.  Otherwise I feel like I am just sitting around waiting to pop.  This way, it keeps my mind occupied. 

This week’s TWD recipe was Honey Nut Brownies chosen by Suzy of Suzy Homemaker.  At first I was very uncertain about these “brownies”.  There isn’t much chocolate at all in them.  In fact, there is more nuts and honey than chocolate.  In the end though these brownies came together very nicely.  I only made a half batch and I substituted chocolate chips in place of the nuts since I don’t really care for nuts in my brownies to begin with.  These turned out to be very good though.  They are rather cake-like, and I have to say that I really like the chocolate chips in them.  I don’t know if I would make them over traditional brownies, but it they were worth trying.  If you want the recipe, please go over to Suzy’s blog.  Enjoy!

TWD & Extras

Do the last few weeks of pregnancy seem to drag on for ever or what?  I feel like the past couple weeks have taken forever and I’m sure the next few will only be slower as I grow increasingly uncomfortable.  I seemed to have “popped” in the past month or so and my belly is definitely huge.  I could take it until recently. I was even exercising regularly until about 2 weeks ago.  Then the belly took over and I have succumbed to the couch.  I get winded just walking!  It’s horrible.  I haven’t ever felt so out of shape.  Oh well, it won’t be forever, it’ll just seem like it. 

Now for the recipe of the week.  This week’s recipe was Citrus Currant Sunshine Muffins chosen by Lauryn of Bella Baker.  I had all intentions of making these, but as I stated earlier, getting off the couch has become a challenge.  So, although I do intend on making these soon, it was not on the agenda this past week.  So please visit Lauryn’s blog to see the recipe and her review of the muffins. 

Instead, I did end up making the French Pear Tart chosen a while back.  We went over to another couple’s house for dinner on Saturday night and we brought dessert.  Everyone did enjoy the tart.  I’m shocked that the canned pears worked so well.  I added a little almond extract just to add another hint of almond and it really accented the pears nicely.  Overall, it was very good. 

Now, here is an update on the nursery.  We have it pretty much finished.  I just need to put a small lamp in the room.  Otherwise, I hope the baby enjoys it.  The paintings turned out really nice and everything is organized…for now.  Here is also a picture of me.  From the front I don’t look bad, but when I turn to the side its another story.  (Please don’t mind the pants, as any pregnant women would tell someone, you don’t care so much about how it looks when you’re pregnant compared to how you feel.)

 

 

TWD: Corniest Corn Muffins

This is going to be a quick post, just like how easily this week’s TWD recipe comes together.  This week’s recipe was Corniest Corn Muffins chosen by Jill of My Next Life.  I actually made this quite a while ago to go along side some chili.  My husband and I really enjoyed this recipe.  We prefer northern style corn bread, which tends to be on the moister and sweeter side of things than southern style cornbread.  This recipe fulfills that.  It was also easy because I already had everything I needed on hand.  So, if you like cornbread, you need to try this recipe.  Go on over to Jill’s blog to get the recipe.

Enjoy!

TWD: Chocolate Pots de Creme

Oh my gosh, I can’t believe it is finally my time to pick a recipe!  I have been baking with the group since almost the beginning, but I didn’t have a blog for the first couple years.  You see, my good friend Caitlin of Engineer Baker introduced me to the group when she first started in it, and if you look at the member list, she is one of the originals.  When I first met Caitlin, my baking repertoire pretty much consisted of chocolate chip cookies and boxed cake/brownie mixes.  Now I’ve baked over 150 of the recipes from Dorie’s cookbook!  Wow…it’s hard to believe how far I’ve come.  I’m no longer scared of pies and I can actually make pie dough from scratch.  Something I had never done finding this group.  Caitlin and this group have really helped me overcome my fear of modifying recipes and of messing up.  I’ve learned that not every recipe turns out as expected, some for the better and some for the worse.

Now onto the recipe I have chosen for the week, Chocolate Pots de Creme.  When I originally calculated when I was going to pick my recipe for the week it looked like it was going to be in late spring or early summer.  Then I was planning on picking one of my stand-by recipes, the Strawberry-Rhubarb Double Crisp.  With this being late winter/early spring though and so good strawberries and rhubarb are harder to find for us living in the north, I had to change my mind.  For the past few years I have been playing around with different recipes for chocolate creme brulee.  Two years ago, my husband took me out to a nice dinner for my birthday at one of my favorite restaurants, the Water City Grille.  The restaurant’s dessert special that evening was chocolate creme brulee.  I had never had that, so I ordered it and it was amazing.  A week later, the restaurant closed it’s doors in anticipation of losing a lot of its patrons when the theater next by also closed its doors.  It was a very sad day for me and that then set me on my quest for a recipe for chocolate creme brulee.  I’ve come across quite a few recipes, most of which though are rather strange and include things like corn starch or chocolate syrup.  These did not make the cut.  I did eventually develop my own recipe after modifying Dorie’s regular creme brulee recipe.  It’s good, but it doesn’t always come out as it should.  So, I’ve been meaning to try this recipe and seeing how it compares to creme brulee.

This recipe has all the same ingredients and techniques used when making creme brulee, except that you do not carmelize sugar on top (we’ll discuss this later).  The recipe comes together very easily and I did not have any trouble.  The pots de creme came out beautiful and creamy.  They taste deceptively light, although after eating one ramekin one feels rather full.  It is hard to put your spoon down after one bite.  I also decided to carmelize some sugar on the top of some of them and make them into a creme brulee style dessert.  They were delicious.  I think I am going to throw my long sought after recipe for chocolate creme brulee out the window and just make these next time.  They seem so sophisticated, but they are so simple.  I really hope that you do try them.  The recipe is below if you so desire.

Chocolate Pots de Creme (from Dorie Greenspan’s Baking: From my home to yours, pg. 390-391)

Ingredients:

4 oz. bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped

1 1/2 cups heavy cream

1 1/2 cups whole milk

1 large egg

5 large egg yolks

1/4 cup sugar

Pinch of salt

Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 300degrees F.  Line a large roasting pan with a double thickness of paper towels, then put eight 4-oz custard cups, ramekins, espresso or pot de creme cups in the pan.  Fill a teakettle with water and put it on to boil; when the water boils, turn off the heat.

Put the chopped chocolate in a 2-quart glass measuring cup or a large heat-proof bowl.  Bring 1/2 cup of heavy cream to a boil.  When the cream is just at a boil, pour it over the chocolate and wait for 1 minute.  Using a rubber spatula and starting in the center of the bowl, gently stir the cream and chocolate in ever-widening concentric circles until the ganache is smooth; set aside.

Stir the remaining 1 cup cream and the milk together in a small saucepan and bring to a boil.

Meanwhile, in a large glass measuring cup or bowl, whisk the egg, yolks, sugar and salt together until pale and slightly thickened.  Still whisking, drizzle in a little of the hot liquid – this will temper, or warm, th eggs so they won’t curdle.  Whisking all the while, slowly pour in the remaining liquid.  Finally, slowly whisk the egg mixture into the ganache, stirring gently to incorporate.

With a spoon, skim the foam off the top of the custard, then pour the custard into the cups.  Pour enough hot water from the teakettle into the roasting pan to come halfway up the sides of the cups.  Cover the top of the pan snugly with plastic wrap, poke two holes in two opposite corners and very carefully and steadily slide the setup in the oven. (Personal note: the plastic wrap melted in the oven for me, so cover with something more heat proof like a lid or foil.)

Bake the custards for 35-40minutes, or until the tops darken and the custards jiggle a little only in the center when tapped or lightly shaken.  Gingerly remove the roasting pan from the oven and place it on a cooking rack.  Allow the custards to rest in their warm bath for 10 minutes, then peel off the plastic wrap and transfer the cups from the water (careful – they’re still hot) to a cooling rack.  Refrigerate when they reach room temperature.  When the pots de creme are cool, cover them tightly with plastic wrap or their little lids.

(Personal note: When serving time came, I carmelized a little sugar on the top of them in the same fashion as creme brulee.)

Enjoy!

And finally, this post wouldn’t be complete without a cat update.  This past week my husband and I decided it was time to try to figure out the car seat.  So, when Rosie wasn’t expecting it we grabbed her and quickly put her in it.  Here’s a picture of it before she realized what had happened.  I think we can handle getting a baby in the seat if we can handle a cat.

TWD: Chocolate Oatmeal Drops & Great Grain Muffins

I have so much going on, yet I am at a loss for words.  My brain is just moving too fast to think of something witty or for a story today.  It could also be caused by the spaciness that pregnancy has given me.  I swear I would forget my head if it wasn’t attached to my body right now.  I have lists everywhere so I don’t forget what I’m supposed to do.  Oh well, only 6 weeks to go.  Oh my gosh…ONLY 6 WEEKS TO GO!  I’m not ready.  At least the odds are with me right now that I’ll probably be a little late being that most first pregnancies are, but watch, since I’m not ready my little one will decide to make  its debut early.  Isn’t that how it works?  You aren’t ready, but they are.  Oh well.  I guess I’ll just have to wait and see. 

Onto the recipe of the week, Chocolate Oatmeal Drops.  I’ve been wanting to make these cookies for quite some time.  They sound really good.  They are like an oatmeal brownie almost.  I don’t think I did something wrong, but I probably should have refrigerated the dough before baking them.  My dough was really runny, so my cookies spread out really far.  So, instead of normal sized cookies that have a decent thickness, mine are like brittle crepes.  They are very thin and fragile.   At least they taste good though.  If I make these again I’ll have to try refrigerating the dough for a while before baking.  If you would like the recipe please check out Caroline and Claire’s blog at Bake with us. 

I also want to do a quick post of the Great Grain muffins, which was the recipe of the week two weeks ago.  I did make these, I just didn’t manage to post about them.  I liked them, although they are slightly bland.  They are not as substantial as I was expecting, which was nice.  I didn’t really want a very dense muffin.  They go well with jam though and make a very nice mid-morning snack.  Mine turned out very much like the picture for a change. 

And on a final note, Bonkers is not taking to the nursery very well.  She is trying to claim anything she can.  The bedroom used to be her room, and now she is barely allowed in it.  So, here’s a picture of her trying to claim the little swing before we swiftly kicked her out of it.  She’s been moping around now.  I think this transition is going to be very difficult on her.  Hopefully she does okay though, she is such a sweet kitty.

TWD: Nutty Chocolatey Swirly Sour Cream Bundt Cake

Wow, this week’s TWD recipe is quite the mouthful.  It was the Nutty, Chocolatey Swirly Sour Cream Bundt Cake.  It was chosen by Jennifer of Cooking for Comfort.  I was really uncertain as to whether or not I was going to make this because I just don’t think we need an entire bundt cake to ourselves for the week.  But, I knew that my husband was going cross-country skiing this Saturday and he could always bring it along.  There’s nothing like a bunch of hungry people who had just gone skiing to help you demolish your baked goods. 

I made the cake exactly as Dorie stated.  It came together easily, but I had some problems getting the filling into two areas.  The batter was quite thick and hard to spread and there just wasn’t enough of it to make an indent in on the top and then cover up the remaining filling.  So, I just made an indent and crossed my fingers that the batter would bake up around it.  And it did for the most part.  Overall, the cake was well received.  This cake really reminds me of my mother-in-law’s coffee cake recipe except with a few extras in the filling.  The orange zest added a nice flavor too in the batter and really lightened it up. 

The skiing group also enjoyed the cake.  I wish I could have went skiing with them, but I am having a hard time tying my shoes now.  So, I’ve decided to stop skiing until my feet come back into view.  Here’s a picture of me currently, I am 30 weeks (6.5 months) along.  I really can’t complain.  I thought I would be a lot larger at this point.  Hopefully the pregnancy continues this way.

If you would like the recipe, please visit Jennifer’s blog.  Thanks and enjoy!