Author Archives: Kris Baker

Tuesday in Texas – Labor On!

04 Tuesday Sep 2018

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from Kris B.

Last Monday brought with it the beginning of another school year and my return to work after being away from school for three and a half months.  Yesterday, the Labor Day holiday, was ‘a day set aside to honor the American labor movement and the contributions that workers have made to the strength, prosperity, laws, and well-being of the country.”  With all of that, work has been in the forefront of my mind.

I, like most educators, often hear, “Teachers are so lucky because they only have to work nine months out of the year.”  Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy having my summers off, but I wouldn’t necessarily call having them off “lucky.”  First of all, teachers also only get paid for nine months a year.  For most that nine month salary is divided over a twelve month period.  If I want to get paid for twelve months, I have to work twelve months, just like most others.  Almost no one gets paid for doing nothing!  And, during those nine months that teachers are working, our workdays are 14-16 hours a day, maybe more.  All of that time may not be spent at school.  If we are lucky, we can grade or prep at home on the couch in our pajamas with dogs curled up beside us.  I am not complaining about my job; I’m simply stating that with almost every scenario in life, there is much more to it than what  may appear on the surface.

All that said, I do love my job.  Getting to the place where I can do something I love every day, well every day for nine months a year, took a lot of a different kind of work to get to this place.  Last Monday I posted this photo on Facebook with the comment that I now have been a professor as long as I was a student…26 years.  

A friend exclaimed, “You went to school  fourteen years of school beyond high school?!”  (I resisted the urge to say, “No.  Four of them were ninth grade.  I’ve learned that sarcasm doesn’t become me.). Seriously,  I hadn’t thought about it quite like that before, but I guess I do.  Admittedly, the last few years I was only doing research and taking clarinet lessons, but I was still a student; I still was under the spell of a grade at the end of the semester.  Those twenty-six years of being a student are what allow me to now spend every day doing work that makes me happy down to my core.  There were many occasions during that time of being a student where it would have been much easier to throw in the towel and do something else.  Academia, particularly at the doctoral level, is not a place where people always play well with others!  But thankfully, all that is now twenty-six years behind me and I feel blessed to be where I am doing what I do.

I am often asked what I teach.  My response is that I am a professor of music theory.  With a blank stare on the face of the questioner, again comes “so what do you teach.”  I used to go into this long discourse about what music theory is, unintentionally making the one who asked me the question very sorry for having done so.  Lately though, I’ve reconsidered my answer.

For many academics, their expertise in a specific field is how they define themselves.  “I am a biologist that also teaches.”  It has taken me awhile to realize that though all of my training is as a musician and I do teach music, at heart, I am a teacher first.  Music is simply the vehicle through which I came to teaching.  For me, teaching is much more than imparting targeted knowledge; its about equipping students with tools that will enable them to become creative thinkers and problem solvers.  It’s also about being a positive role model.  It’s about being an example in showing respect and compassion for every person in the classroom.  It’s about demonstrating the power of disciple and the power of forgiveness.  It’s about explaining the importance of both success and failure.  It’s about knowing when to talk and when to listen.  It’s about being a caring person.  That’s the real work I do.  That’s the work that all of us should do no matter the job we have.

I feel much more fulfilled when a student remembers me for having let them cry in my office after they broke up with a boyfriend or their parents kicked them out of the house than when they remember augmented sixth chords.  Though I am happy when my students go on to fulfill their dreams in music, I’m equally happy for the ones who have no dreams, the ones who stop by to see me before they make a choice that has only one final outcome.  Trying to give hope to someone who has never known hope is the real work, it’s the most challenging work anyone can do.  

And it’s work we all must do if we want a world that is happier and healthier. 

It doesn’t matter whether you are a teacher, a grocery sacker, a doctor, a truck driver, a homemaker or anything else, respect and compassion for all those we encounter is the most important work that any of us can do.  The hours are grueling; it’s a 24/7 job.  The pay may not be good. But, the rewards are immeasurable!

Food for Though Friday – Looking Forward

31 Friday Aug 2018

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And here we are…the last day of August, already a week into the new school year.  It’s crazy how quickly summer has come and gone.  On the surface it may look like we were slackers here at Sifted Together as we did not bake and post on our regular schedule over the summer months.  Travel and heat interfered with our routine.  Rather that taking something we enjoy and stressing about getting it done when the odds were not in our favor, we opted to be gentle with ourselves and work on a schedule that didn’t steal our joy.

Though our ovens were idle during these past couple months, our minds were not.  We have spent a lot of time thinking about what we do here, how we  do it, and why.  With all of that thinking, has come renewed energy.  We are ready to jump into fall with two feet….and lots of recipes as well!

We have been writing together for almost four years.  During that time, what we are has evolved.  We began writing under the name Pixels, Plates, and LOLs. There we shared all kinds of our personal favorite recipes, a little about photography, and a little about ourselves.  After two years, we realized that baking is our shared love…and that we both favor King Arthur Flour baking products.  So, on our second anniversary, we changed our blog title to its current name, Sifted Together.  The one thing that has not changed is that this shared endeavor is not only about food, it is, and always has been, about friendship.  Though we met because of our mutual interest in photography, it was much more than that that drew us to become friends.  As we wrote in our earliest blog posts, on the surface we appear to have very little in common.  What we have grown over the past five years proves that the obvious is not the most important thing.  Here are a couple of posts that share our beginnings.

Pixels, Plates and LOLs: And So We Begin…

Sifted Together: The First Ingredient

So where are we now?

We still love baking. But let’s face it.  Food blogs are a dime a dozen.  We’re not complaining about too much food, mind you.  Food is most certainly a good thing!  And more importantly, we still like each other!  We have the best time deciding on and discussing recipes, sharing our successes and failures both in the kitchen and in life, and just being friends.  Truly, t is our friendship that is the unique aspect of Sifted Together.  (Where else can you be amused by the Cinnamon Star Bread Duet?)  During our summer baking hiatus, we realized that what we need to do here is share not only how a cake’s ingredients are sifted together, but also how the secret ingredients of an unlikely friendship have also been sifted together.

Here are the changes and additions you will see here beginning in September. 

Oh wait…September’s is tomorrow!

Here come the changes!

  • We are moving are feature Food Friday posts to Mondays – Mix It Up Mondays.  We’ll continue to include the monthly King Arthur Bakealong recipe as well as a mix in this rotation.  We think this will work better with our various weekly routines.
  • You’ll get our quirky perspectives on love, life, the universe, and whatever else creeps into our brains in alternating mid-week  Tuesday in Texas and What’s Up Wednesday in Michigan.
  • Fridays will be our fun days.  We’ll share some of our favorite things.  You’ll learn more about our long distance friendship than you may want to know.  And, we’ll invite you all to share some of your favorites with us.  Our goal is to share life with each of you in a real, raw, and often humorous way.

A big thank you to all of you who stop by each week to see what we are up to.  Your comments on the blog posts and Facebook links, as well as the private messages that you send, mean a lot to us.  If we can help one person find a reason to smile, then our mission has been accomplished.  And a bonus if your bellies are full and happy!

Stop back by on Monday for some delicious breakfast recipes!

Thank you again for joining us on this journey!

Tracey and Kris

 

Food Friday – A Taste of Alaska

17 Friday Aug 2018

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Alaskan Sourdough Bread Mix

Earlier in the summer I spent twelve days in Alaska.  This was a bucket list trip for me.  Even though it was intended as a “once in a lifetime” trip, I had no real must-do’s or must see’s.  My goal was to be present and open to whatever the moment brought.

When I got home and was searching the King Arthur Flour website for the rest of our 2018 Sifted Together monthly mixes, I found the Alaskan Sourdough Bread Mix.  I chuckled and then hit that ADD TO CART button.  I laughed because while in Alaska, I had no idea Alaskan Sourdough was “a thing.”  What is it?  And, how did I miss it while I was there?

Looking back, I think I know how I missed that Alaskan sourdough is a thing.  When I left on my trip, I was three months into my Weight Watchers journey.  All of my friends who had been on cruises before warned me to be prepared to gain wight while I was gone because food on the ship would be delicious and plentiful.  Though I didn’t want to deprive myself of enjoying the eating part of this adventure, I also did not want to undo all of the work I had done. I made a promise to myself that I would be mindful and intentional about what I consumed while away.  Fortunately, in addition to all the less than “waist-friendly” choices that were offered onboard the ship, both fresh fruit and veggies were available almost around the clock.  It was relatively easy to make good choices!

If you are wondering, I ate three satisfying meals a day and I had dessert with dinner every night; I never felt that I had deprived myself in any way and I actually lost a pound and a half while on vacation.  I’m sure that walking almost 200 flights of stairs during the seven days on the ship and the almost non-stop adrenaline rush that I had going on helped with that, I think.

Also, when we were in port, though many local restaurants were suggested to us, I did not take time to stop and eat while on shore.  There were too many things  to see and do besides eat.  And, I’m not a seafood, or reindeer, eater so it was easy to pass and wait for meals back on the ship. 

I was mesmerized by the amazing sunrises and sunsets.

The wildlife.

The highlight of my trip was overcoming an intense fear of heights to take a helicopter ride to and walk on a glacier.

All of the blues were rich, abundant, and beautiful!

I guess this is how I missed the Alaskan Sourdough Bread!

All that to say that food and eating is not where my thoughts went first while in Alaska.  That, in and of itself, is a change in habit for me!  As I said, seeing and doing were the more appealing options.

So back to the Alaskan Sourdough Bread…

I had to look up exactly what it is, how it differs from other sourdough breads.

I found this exact statement on several different websites, ultimately tracing it back to Wikipedia.

The sourdough tradition was carried into Alaska and the western Canadian territories during the Klondike Gold Rush. Conventional leavening such as yeast and baking soda were much less reliable in the conditions faced by the prospectors. Experienced miners and other settlers frequently carried a pouch of starter either around their neck or on a belt; these were fiercely guarded to keep from freezing. However, freezing does not kill a sourdough starter; excessive heat does. Old hands came to be called “sourdoughs”, a term that is still applied to any Alaskan old-timer.

Here is another interesting read, followed by a few recipes, if you haven’t read enough about sourdough already.

And now to King Arthur Flour ‘s mix for Alaskan Sourdough bread…

First of all, though sourdough is used as a leavening agent instead of yeast, this mix using regular yeast.  The sourdough flavor comes from a dehydrated rye flour starter.  

In addition to the mix and the included yeast packet, the following ingredients are added:

  •  1 TBS vegetable oil
  • 1 1/4 cup warm water

Though dough can be mixed and kneaded by hand, using the dough hook on a stand mixer, or in a bread machine set on the dough cycle.  The instructions say that the bread’s first rise, in which the dogs should double, is about an hour.  Mine took about an hour and a half to double.

After the first rise, the dough is shaped.  It can either be made as two small loaves that are baked on a baking sheet or one larger extra crusty loaf that is baked in a dutch oven.  I chose the latter.  Once placed on the pan of your choice, the dough again rises until it has doubled, 30 minutes to an hour.  Again, mine was took the maximum amount of time.  

The baking instructions are slightly different for the loaves baked on the sheet and the one done in the dutch oven.  The dutch oven version is placed in a cold oven to begin the baking.  The other is placed in a preheated oven.  Be sure to follow the appropriate instructions!

I can’t compare the taste of this bread to true Alaskan Sourdough Bread, but I can say that it is a tasty, chewy, crusty bread that stands up to whatever you want to put on it – butter, peanut butter, or your favorite sandwich meat.  Or, it is delicious perfectly plain, which is how most of our loaf was eaten!

If you want that unique sourdough taste without the responsibility of caring for a starter, this mix is the perfect solution!

On another note, the photograph used in the background with the bread is the work of a talented photographer I met in Skagway, Alaska.  His name is Barrett Hedges, of Bearhead Photography.  Though I took a lot of my own photos, I wanted an image that summed up my Alaska experience in case mine didn’t turn out well.  And, I am always happy to support a fellow artist!  Take a moment to visit his gallery of images.  They show Alaska at its finest!

Food for Thought Friday – Abundance

10 Friday Aug 2018

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from Kris B.

The word abundance simply means a large quantity of something.  It comes with no positive or negative connotations one way or the other.  As a society, however, we almost always attach abundance as a descriptor to positive things – abundant joy, an abundance of blessings, health in abundance, and the all-encompassing abundant life.  Don’t get me wrong; I’m all for abundant joy, health, and blessings, but abundance can also come in the form of illness, struggles, and sadness.  It’s just that we don’t normally say that a person is filled with abundant sadness, though such a statement is perfectly correct.  This is probably not the place for a semantic discussion about abundance, though that could prove interesting. 🙂

So why did I even bring this up?

Summer, which is defined by teachers as the season that comes to an end when school starts, is winding down.  Its days are no longer in abundance.  And, the crops in our summer garden also are no longer in abundance either.  In fact, we have pulled the last of the cucumber vines and pepper plants.  Now its time to plant for fall…and hope for an abundant crop.

Our garden did fairly well this summer despite a stretch of extremely hot temperatures.  We had an abundance of celery, cucumbers, red peppers, a few tomatoes, spinach, kale, and lettuce of all kinds.  So, was that abundance all good?

The thing about fresh produce is that when it’s ready to be picked, it’s also ready to be eaten.  And even the healthiest of eaters can only eat so many vegetables.  Let’s just say that we didn’t plan our planting very well.  We had tons of cucumbers, which is a good thing because I love them.  I’ll eat them on salads and sandwiches.  I’ll eat them as a snack.  But this year, there were even too many for me to eat fresh so I made A LOT of pickles.  Pickles are good too, but again, they have to be made when the cucumbers are ready, not necessarily when it is convenient for you to make them.  So, the night before I left for twelve days in Alaska, I was making pickles.  And while I was gone on that trip, Weber texted and said there were more cucumbers.  He too got to make pickles!

And then there are those leafy greens…

The biggest lesson that we learned from our garden this summer is that one can indeed have too much lettuce!  We have always been big salad eaters.  A side salad with lunch and dinner is the norm at our house.  And since we’ve been following Weight Watchers, we’ve been eating more main course salads.  You would think that with all this salad eating, an abundance of lettuce would be a good thing.  Not necessarily.  We learned that there is such a thing as an overabundance of lettuce.  Even with eating as much as we could and giving it away, or at least trying to, (Apparently out friends are not as fond of salad at every meal as we are.), we still had lettuce that went to seed before it was eaten.

Note to self…stagger the planting of lettuce next year!

This brings me back to my thoughts on semantics…abundance and overabundance…

Is abundance a good thing and overabundance a negative?

That works with my lettuce scenario.  An abundance of lettuce is good, an overabundance, not so much.  But, it still doesn’t work with negative things.  Neither an abundance or overabundance of sadness is good.  And is there really such a thing as an overabundance of happiness or joy?

Something to think about…and while you do, may your lives be filled with just the right amount of all the things you need…cucumbers, lettuce, and happiness!

Food for Thought Friday – The Creative Desert

20 Friday Jul 2018

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First of all, thank you all for your patience and understanding while we have been on our unplanned, but much-needed hiatus.  This was a case of it being important for us to listen to that small voice inside.

It’s hard to know when it is appropriate to soldier on through challenging circumstances and when it’s OK to say, “It’s just not happening.”  I knew that I was going to be away from home for three weeks and in a state of having an inflated perception of my ability to get things done, I thought that I could work ahead and have all three week’s posts done before I left.  That didn’t happen.  Then I thought that I could at least write a “food for Thought” post or two while I was gone.  I probably could have, but once my head was in vacation mode, I didn’t want to do it.  It’s as simple as that…I just didn’t want to do it.  So, I didn’t.

Early on, Tracey thought that she would go solo for these weeks.  Again, it sounded like a good idea at the time, but the reality of picking up my slack, once the time came, was not so appealing.  As a gift to ourselves, we took some time off.

Now we are back…

…sort of.

As I am writing this, our outside thermometer reads 110 degrees (feels like 120 thanks to the humidity).  I am most grateful for air conditioning during this dangerously hot heat!  Tracey is not quite as warm up in Michigan, but temperatures even in the 80s when you don’t have air conditioning can be seriously uncomfortable.  The last thing that either of us wants to do in these conditions is stand in a hot kitchen and warm things up even more by baking.

That said, we are back to regular weekly posting, but for the next few weeks, we will be alternating “Food for Thought posts with simple and cool mix recipes.  

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I mentioned above that our time off has been a needed break from our normal rhythm.  

It is a scary feeling when you have zero desire to do the things that have always fed your heart and soul.  Since I returned from Alaska, I have had no real desire to pick up my camera.  And though I haven’t minded fixing meals, I haven’t really wanted to bake either.  The baking thing probably has to do with the fact that because I am still trying to lose a few more pounds, I don’t want to eat what I bake.  Since I am not teaching this summer, I can’t pawn all of those calories off on students and colleagues.  The lack of interest in my camera, I can’t really explain.  All I know is that not wanting to do either of these things is not a feeling that I like at all.  Creating something, anything, photos or cookies or knitted toys, is what makes me feel most alive.  Photography and cooking are the avenues that much of my “recreational” creativity takes.  I say it this way because as a musician, you’d think that my entire world is all about creativity in making beautiful music, which at the core is true, but at the end of the day, music is my job.  Don’t get me wrong; I love my job, but it is a job and thus has the limitations and responsibilities that come with almost any type of job.  As much as I don’t like to, if the job requires it, I have to play Pachabel’s Canon in D at weddings and Amazing Grace at funerals.  After so many times, trust me, there is not much creativity left in doing so.  Not that the performances are bad, it’s the intent with which they are executed.  This is an undesirable, but unavoidable, side effect that comes from working in the arts.  It is the reason that I have no desire to become a paid photographer.  Photography then becomes a job.  And I already have one of those!

This lack of inspiration and motivation is even scarier when your partner in crime is in the same creative rut that you find yourself.  Usually, Tracey and I can coax one another out of this desert, but this time we are in it together.  What we have discovered this week is that we are trying some new things to get the creative juices flowing again.

Tracey has been working on her cookie decorating skills.  And she is doing an awesome job!  Maybe she’ll share some photos here in the next week or two.  I think trying something new helps to revive your spirit.  This may be because when you are first learning new skills, the progress is much faster and much more obvious than when you are working to fine tune and perfect “old” skills.

I also played with cookie decorating this week.  I have A LOT of room for improvement. 🙂  It’s something that I have always wanted to learn to do, but have never taken the time to try.  Let’s just say that I will not be sharing photos anytime soon!  At least now I have cookies and royal icing in the freezer so I can practice anytime.

While I was traveling these past few weeks, I most missed playing my guitar.  Guitar playing is not part of my real job.  Lol!  I am a true beginner so it in no way feels like work.  Practicing guitar is, however, a means to creative expression for me.  Here, like with Tracey’s cookie decorating, I feel progress quickly so I am inclined to keep practicing.

Hopefully the motivation to bake and take photos will return soon.  I miss them, but not enough to do anything about that…yet.

Like in all things, we need to follow our instincts.  I trust that this hiatus from the things that occupy a big part of my life and really do shape who I am will cause a return of these things to their right place when the time is right.  And again they will bring joy.  Until then, I look forward to becoming a better guitar player!

Thanks for reading!

Kris

Food Friday – Versatile Pie: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner or Dessert!

23 Saturday Jun 2018

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Zucchini (and Bacon) Frittata

It’s squash season and our diet is full of all things zucchini and yellow summer squash!

When it comes to summer meals, I am all for one dish dinners that are quick, easy, and don’t heat up the kitchen too much.  In years past, quiche with almost any kind of veggie filling has been go-to summertime dinner.  But, quiche, with its pie crust and heavy cream filling, though tasty, is not particularly weight loss friendly.  This year’s substitute for that quiche is the frittata.  Honestly, I find it equally as delicious and much more kind to my waistline!

This particular recipe is a little labor intensive, but it is definitely worth it.  Set the A/C a few degrees lower and go for it!  The day I made it, the thermometer on our patio read 105 degrees.  I have no regrets!

Ingredients:

The first step is to shred about two pounds of squash.  I did it in about 30 seconds using the food processor.  You can use all zucchini, all yellow summer squash, or combination of the two.  I used the a combination.  Once you have shredded your squash of choice, place it in a colander stir in the salt.  Place a heavy bowl on top of the squash and let it drain for about an hour.  You may also want to give it a few good squeezes.  The goal is to remove as much liquid as possible before cooking.

While the squash is draining, dice the onions.  If you wish to add bacon, this is also the time to cook it.  I used four slices of thick-cut uncured bacon. Set the cooked bacon aside.  Leave 2 TBS of the bacon drippings in the pan.

Once the squash has drained, mix in the onions.  Saute this mixture either in olive oil or the reserved bacon drippings.  Cook the mixture for about 20 minutes.  The veggie volume will greatly diminish!

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.

Once the veggies are done, in a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, cheese, and flour.  Stir in the veggies (having drained off any excess liquid), and cooked bacon.

Drizzle one tablespoon of olive oil into a 9 or 10 inch round oven safe pan.  I used a cast iron skillet.  Pour the mixture into the pan spreading it evenly.  Bake it for 20-25 minutes until the top is golden brown.

That’s it!

I cut mine in to eight servings.

I am glad that I added the bacon to this recipe.  Without it, I think that it might have been a little bland.  Notice there are no herbs or spices.  If I were to make this recipe with veggies only, I would likely add a little garlic and maybe some red pepper flakes.

This is a super flexible recipe!  Use broccoli or spinach.  Add ham.  Experiment with herbs and spices.  Most importantly, enjoy!

 

from Tracey G.

No-Bake Fresh Strawberry Pie

Where to begin with this No-Bake Fresh Strawberry Pie recipe saga, how about here:

A week ago in a galaxy kitchen far, far away…

My temperamental kitchen sink drain/run of pipe decided it was a good time to clog up. Now it does this about twice a year, due to the poor plumbing job when the house was built (which Jeremy curses every time he has to fix said drain clogs), too long of a run of pipe and gravity is NOT on its side. Usually a bit of muscle get is it going. Well, we thought after the industrial-strength drain eater cleaner, it seemed to be ok. Nope, about a day or so later, we were back at the beginning again. Long story short after practically tearing apart the kitchen, pipes etc, we were good to go. Although there’s still a bit of a problem with the parts at the sink that I had to work around until new could be acquired.

Whew, ok, where was I? Oh right, the saga…

Well, this ” sink drain development” set me behind, and I mean REALLY behind in my Food Friday preparations. So much so that it was Friday morning when I finally got to get started on the recipe. But of course it’s one that needs to set up for about 2 hours (well, they do say that you can eat  it right away if you like/want, but I had photos to think of, so set up time was a good thing), and I knew there was no way it would be ready in time for photos and then posting, so I told Kris I’d be most likely posting on Saturday.

I had first seen this recipe in the Spring issue of Sift, and it calls for one baked 9-inch pie shell, so I used their Single Pie Crust recipe I’ve used many times. But when I looked up the recipe online, it had a different title (the “No-Bake” part added), different crust (although they list you can use a traditional crust in the “Tips From Our Bakers” section, which is what I did), a different amount of berries (2 lbs. instead of 1 lb., along with different sugar amount) and an extra option added for thickening – the KAF Pie Filling Enhancer, instead of just the corn starch listed in magazine.  Well, ok, good thing I got 2 lbs of strawberries!

I got my pie crust made, but let me tell you – I opted to try the “Stand Mixer Method” as talked about in this post from KAF’s blog, Flourish, entitled – “How To Make Pie Crust In Your Stand Mixer: Easy Does It”. And out of everything that went wrong for me along this recipe’s journey, this went so right! It was a great way to bring it together, and super easy! Unfortunately, myself and Pie Pastry have a long-standing love/hate relationship. Just when I think I have it mastered, it laughs at me and says “Oh no you don’t, take that! Ha!!” and becomes a mess to work with, as it did this time. I have no idea what I did wrong, likely not enough water – but let’s just say it became a “pat-in-the-pan” style crust.

Moving on…. I got the pastry shell baked, fairly successfully. I had a few cracks here and there, but nothing I’d worry about, ugly but oh well, ugly food can still taste good!

Now, on to the berry part. I prepped the berries as stated in the recipe. You then pull about 1 1/2 cups out and place in a saucepan, along with your sugar and thickener of choice. I chose to use the Pie Filling Enhancer as I had some that I wanted to use up that had come from a defective batch to KAF’s standards. They had initiated contact with me about it, refunded my money and attached alternate usage instructions for it. I figured this would be a good project to use up the rest of it for. Unfortunately, it didn’t offer a totally clear thickening, mine’s a bit cloudy. But again, it still tastes good!

So, you cook the 1 1/2 cups of berries in the saucepan along with the other filling ingredients (but not the lemon juice), until they thicken, then add in your lemon juice. After that, you stir the whole mix into the rest of the fresh berries and place in the pie shell. As I said before, they state you can eat it now, while warmish or refrigerate for a couple hours to set up. I felt that there weren’t enough berries, maybe I cut them too small, but it seemed to look under-filled – I think next time I’ll get one more pound of berries! The more the merrier I say!

As the saga continued, I had some more trouble when it came time photograph it – of course right? Everything else has had a hitch, why not this part too? While taking it out of the refrigerator,  I managed to break the crust further, lol. I did hide that area for the photo though, I’ve had enough issues with the making of this recipe and wanted something that looked decent!

I have to say though that I really loved this pie and will make it again. I used to love our Big Boy Restaurant’s Fresh Strawberry Pie and this is way better, lol. Maybe because I made it myself and I can eat as much as I want??? It’s so super easy, I swear Harry could make it without help, as long as there were no setbacks such as I dealt with along the way!

If you get some fresh berries – do try this pie! I love that it has a few crust idea alternatives along with the one they utilize in the online recipe. The one in the online recipe is a true pat in the pan crust! Not one that should be rolled out and decided to be difficult, lol. I wish now I’d have tried that one first! Could have saved me a step! 😀

 

Mix It Up Friday : Seeing Double – Double Duty Scone Mix & Double Chocolate Cookies!

15 Friday Jun 2018

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from Kris B.
French Toast Scone Mix Bread

In our Mixed Up Friday post last month, Tracey and I had both made scones from King Arthur Flour mixes.  We mentioned that on the King Arthur website were suggestions for ways to use these mixes to make things other than scones.  Since I had a lonely box of French Toast Scone Mix sitting in my pantry, I figured I would give one of those alternative options to scones a try.

My choices were pancakes, coffee cake, shortcake, muffins, and bread.  All the choices sounded good.  I’ll be honest and tell you that I opted for the bread because it was the least offensive with regard to calories.  Rather then following the directions on the box for scones, instead, to the mix is added:

  • salt
  • vegetable oil
  • milk
  • an egg
  • optional white sugar

The optional is 2-3 tablespoons in case you want a sweeter bread.  I did add two tablespoons of sugar not so much for the added sweetness, but because I hoped it would help to create a “crisper” bread crust.  As I always do, I also used almond milk instead of cow’s milk.  That substitute is 1:1.

The dry ingredients are whisked together in a mixing bowl.  In a separate bowl, or mixing cup with pouring spout, the oil, milk, and egg are whisked together and then added to the dry ingredients.  The batter is then poured into a greased 9X5 loaf pan and popped in a 375 degree oven for 50-60 minutes.  The most difficult part of this recipe is remembering to tent the bread during the final 15-20 minutes of baking!

This mix’s french toast flavor comes from cinnamon and nutmeg, as well as cinnamon chips.  I will say that the smell of this stuff baking is almost as good as eating it!

To me, the final product was lighter, not as dense, as most sweet breads that I have made in the past. It is possible that using almond milk contributed to the lighter texture.  The bread also seemed a bit oily to me.  I am tempted to try this recipe again, but next time substituting unsweetened applesauce for the oil.  Like the milk substitution, applesauce for oil is also 1:1.  Because the flavor of this mix is wonderful, working with it to get what I want is really a no-brainer!

And if you want French Toast Scones, follow the directions on the box and enjoy!  I have never been disappointed by any of King Arthur scone mixes!

from Tracey G.

Essential Goodness Double Chocolate Cookie Mix

What can I say? This has to be one of the easiest things I’ve ever done/made! The EG Double Chocolate Cookie Mix is crazy simple! The only ingredients I contributed was 6 tbsp of butter and 1 large egg. That’s it.

The box states it can make 12-14 large cookies, that’s if you form the dough into 1.5″ balls. I used a smaller scoop, about a teaspoon size. (I actually used this one I treated myself to recently in preparation for Christmas cookie baking: Teaspoon Cookie Scoop) It made about 3 dozen fun little cookies.

As for the final outcome? They’re super yummy – think brownie in a cookie form! That’s what they taste like to me. I was really pleased with them and this mix. This mix also has various other treats you can make with it, and they can be found here on the Essential Goodness Double Chocolate Cookie Mix Product Page.

I can safely say it would be a handy and tasty mix to have hanging about the pantry for sure!!

Food Friday – Cake, Anyone?

02 Saturday Jun 2018

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from Kris B.

Banana Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Frosting

Don’t let the healthy sounding nature of bananas and peanut butter fool you.  These cupcakes are pure decadence!  I have always been a yellow cake and chocolate frosting kind of girl when it comes to cupcakes, but these put my old favorite to shame!  All I can say is yum…and, try them!

The banana flavor is all in the cake.  The ingredients are:
  •  butter
  •  sugar
  •  eggs
  • ripe bananas
  • honey
  • yogurt or buttermilk
  • vanilla extract or banana flavor, optional
  • baking powder
  • baking soda
  • salt
  • cinnamon
  • ground nutmeg, optional
  • flour
  • King Arthur Flour Cake Enhancer, optional, for moist texture

I followed the recipe as written using vanilla rather than the banana flavoring.  I do love bananas, but banana flavoring?  Not so much.  I feel like using two good-sized ripe bananas gave the cupcakes plenty of banana flavor.  The cinnamon and nutmeg are  a perfect enhancement to that flavor.

I also used yogurt rather than buttermilk.

Because I am always looking to try something new, whether it be a recipe or a product, I ordered the optional King Arthur Flour Cake Enhancer that the recipe suggests.  Its purpose is to help create a more moist product and top increase the shelf life of your baked goods.

From the King Arthur website:

“And what IS Cake Enhancer, exactly? It’s rice starch, polyglycerol ester, and mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids – complicated looking words, but nothing to be afraid of. These fatty acids come from vegetable fats, and act as emulsifiers, allowing fats and liquids to combine more easily. They also serve as stabilizers and texture enhancers. Widely used in commercial baked products, they keep baked goods fresh and soft, and help cakes stay light and fluffy.”

The banana cupcakes definitely had a great texture.  Unfortunately, since I have never made this recipe before, I have no means of comparison with and without the Cake Enhancer.  I am going to try it on a tried and true recipe and see if I can see or taste a discernible difference.

And then there is the frosting!  How can you go wrong with peanut butter anything?

  • confectioners’ sugar
  • peanut butter, creamy or chunky
  • vanilla extract
  • salt, optional, to taste
  • milk or half & half

This frosting is perfect for these banana cupcakes.  But I have to say, it would probably be equally as tasty on a chocolate cupcake as well.  And maybe even my favorite yellow cake.  All that to say that it is a really good frosting!  This from a person who does not normally enjoy frosting.

Honey roasted peanuts are used as a garnish.  The instructions say to dip the freshly frosted cupcakes into the peanuts.  Because frosting, the noun and the verb form of that word, and I are not the best of friends, I was not going to dip the cupcakes!  I was proud of myself for getting fairly neat swirls of frosting on the top of the cupcakes.  Turning them upside down was not a risk I was willing to take!  I opted to sprinkle the crushed peanuts on top instead.

The printed recipe says that it makes a dozen cupcakes.  I got fourteen and that was with over-filling a couple of places in the pan and leaving a little extra batter in the bowl for my husband to enjoy. 🙂  I could easily have gotten fifteen, and maybe even sixteen, cupcakes from this recipe.

Confession: I made enough frosting to cover only three of the cupcakes.  I put the rest of the unfrosted cupcakes in the freezer.  I may eat them as is, or pull them out as needed and again make smaller batches of the frosting.

Because I found this recipe so delicious, I am going to work on a “redux” to see if I can bring its calorie count down a little.  If I am successful with that, I will share it in a later post!

For now, may your June be full of sunshine and cake!

from Tracey G.

King Arthur Flour’s Original Cake Pan Cake

I had planned a different cake for this week, one I’ve been wanting to make, KAF’s Caribbean Rum Cake. I had the recipe printed out ready to go, as it was my last one to make in their Year Of The Bundt series from a year ago or so. But then, somehow I saw this one, again, for Cake Pan Cake. I’ve looked at it before in passing, but never really gave it serious attention. I noticed they even have a post about it on their Flourish Blog, that they shared as THE recipe to share to mark their 225th Birthday.

What caught my attention was that it’s one that emerged from WW2 era, concocted during the time when ingredients were subject to rations. So, this cake has no eggs, milk or butter. (When I told Jeremy that before I made it, his comment was “oh, so therefore not good”) This something my grandmother would have made. I’d actually bet money on it!

The other wonderful thing about this cake is, if you wanted, you can mix it right in the pan. I chose the updated version, where you mix dry in one bowl, and wet in another, then combine. I also liked the fact I could do this by hand – no mixer required. And, it was fast to come together, I believe I told Kris that it wasn’t much more effort than making a cake from a mix! The “frosting” is a simple ganache of chocolate chips and half and half. And honestly, this would be good without it too! The whole of this recipe is so simple and fast, it will make a nice recipe for those times when you want or need something fast and simple, with ingredients you generally have already in your pantry!

CAKE

ICING

  • semisweet chocolate chips
  • half & half

I used a square pan, but you could use a round pan too. They suggest cutting it into 16 pieces, and I at first thought – “No! That’s too small!” – but really, it’s not. It’s good sized piece for this cake. Just right actually. Granted, I could always eat more chocolate cake, but this size works nicely. It’s moist and chocolatey without being overly sweet.

After Jeremy’s comment that it can’t possibly be good with no milk, eggs or butter – he changed his tune quickly when he tasted it. Both of my boys were extremely complimentary of this cake, and that’s a pretty good stamp of approval! I had to limit seconds until I could get the photo of it taken! It won’t last long around here, I even had a piece for brunch with my coffee!!

This is one recipe you have to try – it’s one of the easiest and yummiest things I’ve made! In fact, I plan on teaching Harry how to make it – he could just dust it with powdered sugar and call it done and it would still be yummy.

As Kris mentioned wanting to try a redux on her recipe, I want to try it on mine too. I’d like to try swapping some of the vegetable oil for applesauce. The recipe, as made, and cut into 16 pieces, clocks in at 220 calories. I want to see if I can do a bit better than that, BUT not compromise the cake! I will definitely let you know what happens when I do!

Food Friday – Good Morning!

18 Friday May 2018

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Low-fat Fruit and Bran Muffins

Good morning!  Well, it may not be morning right this minute, but we are doing our best this week to share some recipes that will help to make your mornings good!

Breakfast is my favorite meal.  And breakfast baked goods are some of the best – doughnuts, coffee cakes, cinnamon rolls.  And we won’t even talk about pancakes, waffles, and french toast.  Unfortunately, these morning baked goods can also be some of the highest in calories.  Who knew that degree of deliciousness and caloric content are directly proportionate. 🙂  And muffins, a breakfast staple, are some of the worst offenders when it comes to “not the best choice” as far as nutrition goes.

My goal this week was to try to find a delicious tasting muffin that would not break the “relatively healthy for you” bank.  I found King Arthur Flour’s Low-fat Fruit and Bran Muffins.

The basic ingredients are:

  • milled flax seeds
  • 100% bran cereal (not flakes)
  • skim milk
  • applesauce
  • brown sugar
  • salt
  • oil
  • an egg
  • unbleached all-purpose flour
  • baking powder
  • raisins
  • dried apricots
  • shredded carrot

That’s a wholesome list of ingredients.  I did make a few substitutions.  I used almond milk instead of skim milk, olive oil, and dried pears instead of the apricots because I already had the pears.

The wet ingredients are mixed together and then , in a separate bowl, the dry ingredients.are combined.  The wet ingredients are then added to the dry.  All can be easily mixed with a spoon.  The batter is the scooped by 1/4 cupfuls into 12 prepared muffin tins.  (I got 14 muffins and my tin was filled to the top before baking.)

The Low-fat Fruit and Bran Muffins have a slightly chewy texture.  They are not overly dense, but definitely don’t have the same texture as a muffin batter made with more fat and sugar.  In my opinion, this makes them seem more filling, more meal-like.  I have eaten a muffin with my morning coffee and been satisfied until lunchtime.  Granted, I am getting up a little later than I do during the school year (7:30 seems decadent compared to 5 am) so breakfast and lunch are a little closer together. 🙂

If I make this recipe again, the one thing that I will definitely do is add a touch of cinnamon.  The recipe calls for no added flavor – spices or extracts.  I do think that there is plenty of room in the basic recipe to customize it to your particular liking – variations in the choice of fruits and flavorings.

If you make these muffins, please share your customized recipes!

Wishing you all a summer filled with good mornings!

For those who are interested, each muffin is 6 Weight Watchers points.

King Arthur Flour’s Low-fat Fruit and Bran Muffins

 

Roasted Strawberry Cream Cheese Rolls

My wonderful partner in crime, Kris of course, gifted me with the latest edition of KAF’s Sift Magazine a few weeks ago. As soon as I saw it, right on the front cover was this photo of these wonderful looking rolls, cinnamon roll-esque, not with cinnamon filling but strawberry filling – I knew I HAD to make these. I would have made them regardless if I was making them for our Food Friday, but making them for this was much more fun!

I present to you King Arthur Flour’s Roasted Strawberry Cream Cheese Rolls. I think what grabbed me even more than the photo that had me drooling, was the fact that it says “Roasted Strawberry”, I’ve never roasted strawberries. I was intrigued. And then, as if I needed more of an incentive, you can use either fresh OR frozen berries! This is something that can be made year-round, not just during strawberry season since frozen berries are acceptable.

The ingredient list looks lengthy, but it’s really not. Most items are likely already in your pantry:

DOUGH

  •  milk
  •  cream cheese
  • unsalted butter
  •  granulated sugar
  • large egg
  •  active dry or instant yeast
  •  salt
  •  King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour

FILLING

  •  fresh or frozen strawberries
  •  granulated sugar
  •  Instant ClearJel
  •  ground cinnamon
  •  grated orange peel (zest)

FROSTING

  •  cream cheese
  •  confectioners’ sugar
  •  vanilla extract
  •  milk or cream

I actually did this in 2 days, not because it was long and complicated, but because of time constraints I was working with, it just was easier for me. So, I roasted the berries one day, took them to the point just before thickening them and popped them into the fridge, to be finished the next day. And it worked well!

The only out of the ordinary ingredient is KAF’s Instant ClearJel. I happen to have it around because once I tried it for other projects, I’ve grown to really appreciate a thickener that’s instant – no heat required.

And cheated a bit, as I used was my latest acquisition from KAF, the Orange Citrus Oil. I used it in place of the of the orange zest called for in the berry filling. Worked wonderfully! (I now have the trio as I already have the Lemon Oil and Lime Oil, they have come in handy so many times and little goes a long way!)

So it was really easy to pull together, I roasted the berries and got the filling mixed up in a jiffy, the dough was easy to prepare as well. The dough was also really easy to work with, nice texture and it behaved beautifully. I hate it when I have to argue and fight with a dough I need to do certain things!

Once I patted (then I used my rolling pin because it actually was quicker!) the dough into the prescribed shape, I slathered the filling on and rolled it up.

Now, after you get that done, it’s time to cut the rolls. I had a super sharp knife, but still wish I’d gotten some dental floss to use to cut them, less mushing. And I wish I’d known about the idea (I read it in the reviews after the fact!) to refrigerate the roll for a bit BEFORE cutting – less smushing out of the filling.

Once they’re cut and in the pan, you let them rise for about an hour, then bake! While they’re baking, I mixed up the frosting in a small bowl. After they come out of the oven, you let them cool to lukewarm then put the icing on. I think mine were a bit too cool, as it really didn’t “melt” a bit, but that’s ok – tastes just fine!

I absolutely love these rolls, they are so yummy! The roasted berries are a wonderful thing, I wasn’t sure about what they would  bring to the party, but they are definitely a star guest! Wow, they add all kinds of yummy goodness. Jeremy is already asking for more and has all kinds of ideas for fillings, I’m in trouble I think…

 

Food Friday – No-Knead to Fear Making Bread

12 Saturday May 2018

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from Kris B.

Peasant Bread

And here we give you what you should have gotten last week…:-)

I love bread.  Almost any kind of bread.  For many, homemade bread carries with it the notion that it is a difficult and time-consuming task.  Nothing is further from the truth.  Think about it.  Every culture has some kind of bread as part is its basic diet.  This is because these breads are easily made from staple ingredients.

King Arthur Flour’s recipe for Peasant Bread (originally from Alexandra Stafford’s book Bread Toast Crumbs) is a simple no-knead bread recipe that makes a perfect everyday bread.  It consists of only five ingredients:

  • all-purpose flour
  • kosher salt
  • sugar
  • yeast
  • water

It is also necessary to coat your baking pan with butter or some other cooking spray to prevent sticking.

In a mixing bowl, all of the dry ingredients are whisked together.  Lukewarm water is then added to form the dough.  This dough is a very sticky dough.  Fortunately it is left to rise in the mixing bowl so there is no need (no pun intended) to handle as it’s stickiness would make that difficult.  The dough rises until it is doubled in bilk, 1 to 1 1/2 hours.  Mine took only an hour.

After this first rise, the dough is transferred to a 3 quart (or 2 one 1 quart) oven-safe pan or bowl.  During its short second rise, 10-20 minutes, the oven is preheated to 425 degrees.  The dough is ready to go into the oven when it is almost doubled.  It bakes at 425 degrees for 15 minutes.  The temperature is then reduced to 375. The large single loaf bakes for 20-25 minutes and the two smaller loaves for 17-20 minutes.

The loaf in the photo is the single large loaf.  For my family, it makes no sense to make two loaves.  Bread disappears quickly!

The Peasant Bread is a basic loaf, but that makes its quite versatile.  It’s soft and chewy texture makes a nice sandwich bread, garlic toast to accompany soup or salad, a nice snack with a little butter, or, as I first had it, a fantastic piece of toast with peanut butter!

Well actually, I cheated a bit.

I am still working hard to shed some extra pounds.  My love of both bread and peanut butter can easily derail that effort!  This bread recipe has no fat in it.  That helps. And, my friend Joni introduced me to an awesome peanut butter substitute, PB2 Powdered peanut butter.  I know what you are thinking.  How can that substitute for the real thing?  Trust me.  I am serious about my peanut butter.  Usually I make it myself, but I am willing to go this route for a while.  It really is pretty good!  2 TBS or powder mixed with a TBS of water.  Because homemade peanut butter lacks the oil found in commercial peanut butters, the texture and consistency of the PB2 is not a whole lot different from what I’m used to.  And it’s 50 calories for a 2 TBS serving as compared to 180 calories in the same size serving of regular peanut butter.

There is also a PB2 variety with chocolate.  Mix this with a little frozen whipped topping and you have a tasty low-calorie dip for fruit.

Sorry for the diversion.  Back to the Peasant Bread…

It’s easy and it’s delicious!  Try it.

from Tracey G.

No-Knead 100% Whole Wheat Bread

So, I’m on this wanting to eat well kick, not diet necessarily, just better fuel going in. I usually buy a really low-calorie bread for my sandwiches, like 35-calories-per-slice kind of thing when I’m trying to watch what I’m eating. Honestly though, it tastes like how I imagine cardboard would taste – like nothing. With wanting to eat better, I decided there has to be something I can make at home – that way I know what’s going in and I can slice it how I want it. That brought me to a mission, to see what I can find that’s reasonable in calories, and, offers some nutritious benefits.

After searching around King Arthur Flour website, I found quite a few that sounded good, but this recipe, No-Knead 100% Whole Wheat Bread, had the lowest calories per slice (120), and offered a super easy preparation. That cinched it for me, this was what I was making. I could easily keep myself in bread for my sandwiches and my new favorite lunch before or after I hit the treadmill: toast spread with peanut butter, sprinkled with cinnamon and then topped with banana slices. It’s got all kinds of goodness!

The recipe is close to a batter-style bread, and it’s a dump it all together combining of the ingredients, and then mixed up in your mixer. You run it for 3 minutes, then dump it into your well-cooking-sprayed pan. Next it rises for an 1 to 1 1/2 hours and then you bake! Yay!

Ingredients include:

  •  lukewarm water
  •  orange juice
  •  melted butter or vegetable oil
  •  molasses, maple syrup, dark corn syrup, or brown sugar corn syrup
  •  instant yeast
  •  Baker’s Special Dry Milk or nonfat dry milk (if you don’t have any dry milk on hand, you can use lukewarm milk for the water and dry milk)
  • teaspoons salt
  • 3 cups King Arthur White Whole Wheat Flour

Well. Huh. This did not go as planned at all. I’ve made it 3 times now and all three have turned out looking like bricks of banana bread. The first two I thought were operator error – I used regular whole wheat flour, instead of the White Whole Wheat Flour it calls for (more on that a bit farther down). That’s what happens when you don’t pay attention to the recipe you’re reading. Ugh. So, I dug into the reviews and it sounded like I was letting them rise too much – then when they hit the oven, they rise and then deflate. Ok, must be the regular whole wheat flour I used – that was my solution to this problem.

But let me say right here though – I really liked how it tastes, it’s not pretty by any means, but tastes pretty darned good.

Anyway, after the first two loaves, I read the recipe again, and even read their blog post dedicated to this bread (click here for that post). That’s when I noticed I used the “wrong” flour. Ok! That’s what happened, yes, I can turn this fail around! I grabbed the last bit of my White Whole Wheat Flour and started a third loaf. Yep, my third attempt.

Maybe I should be of the mind “three strikes you’re out” with this because once again, a brick shape, but I’m not. I’m fairly positive that I definitely let this one over-proof as it kind of overflowed the edges of the pan. This is a new thing for me because it doesn’t rise like a regular loaf, and you’re not supposed to let it get as high as you would a regular loaf – so I was in new territory for me here, not used to looking for different rising criteria, and this one qualified as a bit different! So, I’m fairly confident that contributed to the fails today.

I want to like this bread, I want to make this bread and have it turn out like their photo of how it should look. So, I know as soon as I get some more White Whole Wheat Flour I will be back into the laboratory kitchen to try again. However many times it takes to get a win with this darn recipe!

I’d also love to be able to say “make this now! It’s easy and turns out perfect!”, but I can’t because it hasn’t yet for me. It’s so ridiculously easy, if you can mix up a quick bread, you can do this one too. But, it’s the rise that seems to be fussy, although their blog post on it shows it doing beautifully. So, it depends on how adventurous you’re feeling or if you’re a gambler, lol. It has great taste even if it doesn’t rise to the occasion for me, but that  doesn’t mean it won’t for you! If you try it – let me know, I’m curious as to the results you get!

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