Mix It Up Monday – Have Your Drink and Eat It Too!

10 Monday Sep 2018

Posted by Kris Baker in Mix It Up Monday

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Tags

Bundt, Bundt cake, cake, coffee, King Arthur Flour, pumpkin, pumpkin spice, rum, rum cake

fromTracey G.

Caribbean Rum Cake from King Arthur Flour

I’ve had this Caribbean Rum Cake from King Arthur Flour on my to-make list for a LONG time. It was the last in the Year of the Bundt series they did, and I never had any rum around, and it was something I never remembered to buy, lol. Last Christmas on a whim, I asked my Mom-in-Law if they had any rum laying about, since they host more gatherings and whatnot, and she did! So, instead of the traditional borrowing sugar, I borrowed rum!

But then, I never seemed to have a chance to make it, it kept slipping through the cracks, so when I saw that a cake week was coming up – I knew immediately it would be this cake I was making! Finally!

The funny thing, though, is I am not a rum fan, lol. I prefer my Pina Coladas and any other tropical-style drinks, virgin. I don’t like the alcohol taste. (I’m more of a beer drinking girl!) So, for me to make this cake was kind of funny, a huge leap of faith and also an experiment in whether I’d be wasting a bunch of ingredients!

I am happy to report that I actually LOVE this cake! Oh my goodness, it’s yummy! I did make one minor addition to the syrup – instead of just adding vanilla, I also snuck in a little more butter rum flavor as well… The longer this cake has sat, the better this cake has gotten! Unfortunately, Jeremy’s not a fan of it, he doesn’t like rum, and even it being in cake-form isn’t enough to help! So, that unfortunately leaves it all to me! Yikes! I will have to find a way to share this thing, somehow, because it’s a lot of cake when it’s just for one person!

The ingredients are super simple, the only extra items I needed to get was the rum and the instant vanilla pudding (usually I have the pudding on hand, but had used my last package as an impromptu dessert one night!).

CAKE

King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
sugar
3.4-ounce box instant vanilla pudding mix (not sugar-free)*
baking powder
salt
unsalted butter
vegetable oil
milk
large eggs
rum, plain or spiced
vanilla extract
butter-rum flavor, optional
almond flour, for dusting baking pan, optional

SYRUP

unsalted butter
water
sugar
salt
rum, plain or spiced
vanilla extract

So, this would be a great cake for a cocktail party, it’s dessert and cocktail all in one! Seriously though, the rum is cooked in both instances, so I’m sure the majority of the alcohol has evaporated, but they do provide a non-alcoholic variation as well. I was actually going to go with that option, but threw caution to the wind and decided to give the true version a chance first! I am interested too in trying the non-alcoholic version though, as it just relies on the Butter Rum Flavoring, which I absolutely adore (reminds me of the Brach’s Butterscotch Candies, my all-time favorite things besides their Bridge Mix, lol), and maybe Jeremy might like it better that way! When I do make it, I’ll report on whether it’s just as good, better or the same!

One little side note, while I was getting the batter in the Bundt pan, I had the song “Rum And Coca Cola” by The Andrew Sisters (another favorite of mine, I love The Andrew Sisters!) in my head, and told Kris I felt like I should’ve had a 50’s-style flouncy apron and high heeled shoes on with a cigarette in one had while the spatula was in the other, lol. It was a very strange feeling!

from Kris B.

Pumpkin Espresso Bundt Cake

Rain, slightly cooler temperatures, and pumpkin flavored anything and everything lining the grocery store shelves are certain indicators that fall may actually arrive here in Texas. I am not one of those who gets excited on September 1 when Starbucks begins serving Pumpkin Spice Lattes. I’m not a Starbucks fan to begin with; I am faithful to my sugar-free vanilla latte with almond milk and an extra shot from Dunn Bros. coffee. I’m not sure why I’m not a PSL fanatic; I love coffee and an I love pumpkin and its typical accompanying spices. I guess you really can’t teach an old dog, or an old coffee addict, new tricks.

Cake, however, is another story.

When I found this recipe for Pumpkin Espresso Bundt Cake on the King Arthur Flour website, it immediately went into the “must make” file. Pumpkin, coffee, pumpkin spice, and cinnamon…how could it be bad? It was almost like finding the perfect purse. Not too big, but big enough. The right number of pockets. The color I’ve been looking for. The perfect strap length. You understand the feeling. All of the pieces come together in a perfect combination.

This is a bundt cake layered with spicy goodness.

CAKE

pumpkin purée
eggs
vegetable oil
brown sugar
granulated sugar
vanilla extract
King Arthur White Whole Wheat Flour
baking powder
baking soda
pumpkin pie spice
cinnamon
salt

FILLING

brown sugar
espresso powder
cinnamon

The cake batter is mixed in a single bowl. In a separate bowl, the filling ingredients are combined. The cake is assembled by alternating layers of batter and filling in a 10 cup well-greased bundt pan. Make sure you know exactly how big your bundt pan is! My “standard” looking pan is 14 cups. Yep, I know this because I made a cake awhile back that looked more like a crueller than a bundt cake because there was not enough batter in that recipe to fill the pan. I intended to buy a smaller bundt pan at that point, but never managed to remember that when I was in a place to do so. It crossed my mind about the time that I reached into the cabinet for the pan to make this cake!

Fortunately, my cathedral bundt pan is 10 cups. And how appropriate for all of those people who worship the union of pumpkin spice and espresso! 🙂

Here are a few words from King Arthur Flour about bundt cakes and their pans.

For finishing, this recipe calls for a glaze consisting of granulated sugar, hot brewed coffee, and optional rum to be brushed over the warm cake so that it soaks in. I’m not a fan of this kind of glaze so I opted for a more standard powdered sugar glaze that is added after the cake is completely cooled. I used 1 cup of powdered sugar and 3-4 TBS of hot strong brewed coffee. Between the thicker obvious glaze and the cathedral shape of the pan, the glaze didn’t run off the cake in a pretty way, but let me tell you, don’t judge a cake by the its looks! This cake is one of the best pumpkin recipes I’ve ever had. That’s saying a lot because not only am I faithful to my sugar-free vanilla lattes with almond milk and an extra shot, I am also faithful to my mother’s recipe for pumpkin bread. I will make no other pumpkin treat in the fall but that. Until now…If this “cheating” weighs heavily on my heart, I may try adding this recipe’s filling as a layer to my mom’s pumpkin bread, but that is a personal loyalty thing having nothing whatsoever to do with this recipe. It is fantastic just as it is!

And the best part?

The Pumpkin Espresso Bundt Cake pairs perfectly with my vanilla latte! It is indeed possible to have your drink and eat it too! 🙂

And, just to make you smile on a Monday, take a few minutes to watch this video! It captures the true joy of cake baking!

Friday Favorites: Our 9 Favorite Movies

07 Friday Sep 2018

Posted by Tracey Somos-Gehring in Friday Favorites

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from Tracey G.

In honor of September being the ninth month, we decided our Favorite Movies post would be nine movies each! We plan on doing (or attempting it anyway ?) a post every month of “X amount” of things that correspond to the month number. This should be interesting!

And now our first one… ?

It’s been awhile since I’ve watched a movie just for me – or I should say as an adult, lol. Once Harry was born, I really didn’t have the time like I’d used to – and now what movies I did (and still do!) watch are mostly kid movies. Which, that’ll have to be a whole post unto itself because there’s been a lot that I’ve really enjoyed!

I have a pretty decent sized movie collection, variety of old VHS (that I slowly but surely want to replace with DVD’s) and lots of DVD’s. I have a criteria before I buy a movie though, it has to be one I want to watch over and over and not get bored with it, lol. There are few on my list that I don’t own, but now that I think about it – I should!

Practical Magic – I loved the book and I love the movie with Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman, I swear I can recite the lines right along with them!
Enchanted – I can’t help it, it’s enchanting! I love the scene where Amy Adams sings while cleaning up the New York apartment, and all the various “street” and “city” critters come to help!
Gladiator – I’ve loved Russell Crowe forever, and I love him even more in this movie, I can watch this story over and over and I still enjoy it.
Titanic – Yep, I love Leo and Kate in this story, even though I know the ship sinks (a line Jeremy is fond of teasing me about as to why I’d want to watch a movie where we know how it ends) I just flat-out love the story of Rose and Jack!
Ever After – This has to be one of my all-time favorite Drew Barrymore movies and I’m guaranteed to teary-eyed at the same parts EVERY SINGLE TIME, I mean you think I’d be prepared by now…
50 First Dates – I had never been much of a Adam Sandler fan in his early career, but when I saw a couple of his comedies and then THIS movie came along, I was hooked. And add in Drew Barrymore and it’s even better in my opinion!
The Patriot – There is something about this movie, gets me every time. I love period stories (see Gladiator above) and anything dealing with the Revolutionary War, I’m in. Toss in Heath Ledger (taken from us way too soon), and I’m all set.
A Knight’s Tale – This wasn’t an ordinary Knight’s tale, lol, I was instantly enamored of the way the film makers blended a medieval storyline with contemporary rock music! It was unexpected, but very, very cool. Oh yeah, and Heath Ledger.
Snow White: A Tale of Terror – This isn’t your childhood story of Snow White, lol. This is probably more like how the original one went before it was Disneyed up, lol. We all know that the original “fairy tales” were a lot darker than we’ve been presented with! But Sigourney Weaver kicks butt as the Evil Queen and I love that the 7 Dwarfs are actually a den of thieves (some with hearts of gold), one of my favorite movies from way back!

And in closing, let me just say this is by no means all of my faves, this list was culled from a HUGE favorites list, lol. It needed to be pared down to just 9, it was a struggle let me tell you! But, it also provides me with lots more favorite movie lists! (Books will be just as difficult!!)

from Kris B.

I have to start by saying that movie watching is not my “go to” form of entertainment. I haven’t seen most of the blockbuster movies. In fact, I may be the only person who has not seen all of the Harry Potter movies even once, forget multiple times. This probably makes me culturally illiterate. So be it. Lol!

My biggest problem with watching movies is that when I finally settle down and sit still in a dark place, I tend to fall asleep. When my girls were little and we’d go to the theater to see a movie, the girls’ would call it “mom’s $7 nap.” (Movie tickets were cheaper back then! Now, with all the home movie viewing possibilities, I do a little better with staying awake. Sometimes for me to see an entire movie, though, I do have to hit rewind a time or two.

My other issue with movies, probably because my down-time seems so limited, is that I am picky about what I will watch. I don’t like violence of any kind. I don’t like movies that are scary or depressing. I don’t like science fiction and fantasy. I know. You are probably thinking, no wonder she doesn’t see very many movies; she is too darn picky! I like movies that either make me think or make me happy. Bonus if they do both! Confession here: I am a sucker for chick flicks.

I was surprised that when I began writing down my list, I actually had more than nine from which to choose. 🙂 I had to do some thinking when are began culling my list.

All that said, here is my list of my nine all-time favorites.

84 Charing Cross Road – It’s about books. It’s about letter writing. It’s about human relationship. It stars Anne Bancroft. All of these are things that speak to me. I was so taken by this movie that when I went to London for the first time, I had to find 84 Charing Cross Road. It was a Pizza restaurant in 1998. The movie, based on a true story, takes place between 1949 and 1968. I was crushed, but life goes on.
It’s Complicated – This movie, starring Meryl Streep (one of my favorite actresses) and Alec Baldwin, whose characters are a long-divorced couple, is about their ongoing relationship that is, well, complicated. The movie came out in December of 2009, right after I had gotten divorced. Like the characters in the movie, Jane and Jake, my relationship with my ex was also complicated so this movie spoke deeply to me. It’s one of those that made me both think and laugh.
August Rush – A passion for music is the thread that weaves this story together, a thread that weaves through my life as well.
Immortal Beloved – The less familiar details of Ludwig von Beethoven’s life are chronicled in this movie based on Beethoven’s personal letters.
The Sound of Music – I Think that my attitudes about movie going may be genetic. This is the one and only movie that I ever went to with my mother. It had just been released and I was five years old. I watched it again in 2005 when my youngest daughter was cast in the role of Liesel in the stage production of this show and I was the property manager for that production. The fact that it is about how music brings people together doesn’t hurt either.
Where to Invade Next – The title of this film is misleading. I am a fan of most of Michael Moore’s documentary movies as they shed light on many of the social issues facing the world today. In this optimistic and really gentle movie, Moore travels to other countries “invading” their lifestyle and looking for the positives that he can bring back home.
To Kill A Mockingbird – I am generally not a fan of books that become screenplays; this one is an exception.
Vision – This is a German film, with subtitles, that chronicles the life of Hildegard of Bingen, a 12th century Benedictine nun. The movie shows the strength of a woman in a time when this was overlooked.
Christopher Robin – I had to amend my list after seeing this movie a few weeks ago. I am a lifelong fan of Winnie the Pooh and the writings of A. A. Milne. Simply stated, this is a movie about rediscovering that childlike joy in life that is often snatched away by adulthood. This movie is beautiful and provocative.

Just for fun, after compiling my list of nine favorite movies, I did an online search for IMDB’s “must see” movies.

If you are curious, here is their list of 40 movies you must see before you die.

Let’s just say that either I am going to live forever, or I have a lot of movie watching to do! I have seen ten of these…maybe.

It’s fun to see that we didn’t have any overlaps in our favorites list! But that diversity in no way dampens the fact that we’d be totally happy to grab a beverage (coffee!) sit down, watch a movie and share a bucket of popcorn (or two) together! ?

Leave us a comment and let us know what your all-time favorite movies are. If you happen to watch one from our lists that you haven’t seen before, we’d like to know about that as well.

Happy Friday!

Tuesday in Texas – Labor On!

04 Tuesday Sep 2018

Posted by Kris Baker in Life Happens, Tuesday In Texas

≈ 2 Comments

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!

Mix It Up Monday – Start Your Day Off Right!

03 Monday Sep 2018

Posted by Tracey Somos-Gehring in Mix It Up Monday

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Tags

bagels, baking, bread, easy, everything bagels, KAF Everything Bagel Topping, King Arthur Flour, water bagels

from Tracey G.

Water Bagels from King Arthur Flour (shown here with Everything Bagel Topping)

I love bagels. They are one of my all-time favorite bread products. Half of the fun of going down to my mom-in-law’s was to get to go to Einstein’s or Bruegger’s Bagels to get some of the tasty treats – because as much as I’ve loved Lender’s (which is all I have access to where I live up here in the wilds of Northern Michigan, lol), they just aren’t the same as those types of place’s tastes and textures.

I used to make bagels at home, but they never quite filled the bill either, they were just lacking that “bagel magic”, they tasted like regular old rolls. So, I’d given up making them. Then, I ran across the King Arthur Flour recipe for Water Bagels – I was intrigued. It uses Non-Diastatic Malt Powder. What?!? Was that the missing link in my bagel-making adventures? Could one ingredient be all that was needed to get that real bagel flavor as close as I could at home? So, I bought some from KAF. It turned out to be a very small investment in really BIG bagel quality and flavor!

Since then I’ve been making them until the weather said I must take a break when summer came along. I’ve made a cinnamon-raisin version, plain, asiago cheese bagels, and my all-time favorite, the Everything Bagel. And let me say – that although it might sound like a lot of steps, it really isn’t. They are easy, and it’s a fairly quick process to get them from beginning to eating them coming out of the oven! I will forever make my own now! They freeze well too!! I slice them in half, then wrap them, individually, in plastic wrap and pop into a freezer bag. To use, I thaw for about 30 seconds in the microwave, then toast them as desired. Perfect!

The ingredients are really basic, the only different item is the non-diastatic malt powder or they list that you can use instant malted milk powder (all this malt talk has me wanting an ice cream shop chocolate malt!). But here’s a breakdown of the ingredients:

DOUGH

active dry yeast or instant
lukewarm water
instant malted milk powder or non-diastatic malt powder
sugar
salt
King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour

WATER BATH

water
instant malted milk powder or non-diastatic malt powder
sugar

It’s a very simple process, mix your dough and let it rise. When it’s risen sufficiently, you transfer to a lightly greased work surface. At this point, I get my oven heating and my water bath started (I just use a large deep skillet and it works great!) You divide your dough into 16 pieces (good thing they freeze well, because it makes a fairly big batch!). Roll each into a ball, then start forming your bagels! They recommend poking your hole in it with your index finger, then twirling it on your fingers – this works really well, to get a large enough center hole so you don’t have a bagel “bun” after they’ve baked. Mine still aren’t always pretty and perfect looking – but toppings help hide that! KAF has a great blog post on making and shaping bagels it shows you here: How To Put The Hole In The Bagel: And Other Good Bagel Stuff

Now you can top them anyway you like, I brush my freshly boiled bagel with egg white first then add my toppings. I have recently bought some dehydrated minced garlic and some onion to make a couple more of my favorite flavor bagels! I even have plans on making a blueberry version!

The possibilities are endless once you make this recipe the first time and see just how easy it is – I’ve so many ideas I can’t wait to try once it’s back to Baking Weather here! They are easy and absolutely delicious, I can honestly say I will never every buy bagels again!!

from Kris B.

Breakfast Sandwich Pizza

Two of my favorite things wrapped up into one amazing package – breakfast and pizza! Because breakfast is my favorite meal of the day, I’m always on the lookout for something new and different…and easy…to try. Though I love sweet breakfast treats like muffins and coffee cakes, I need something with protein to carry me through my long mornings. So, when the breakfast category comes around in our recipe rotation, my search goes directly to a savory breakfast selection.

This recipe for Breakfast Sandwich Pizza works like any traditional pizza recipe; you make the crust and then you top it and bake it. Don’t let the fact that you have to make the crust from scratch turn you off! It’s a simple process and can be made as far in advance as 36 hours. It does require a 45 minute rise followed by at least four hours in the refrigerator, so you do have to think ahead a little bit, but its easy to make the night before and pop it in the fridge. The next morning, the dough is proofed, ready to go, and the Breakfast Sandwich Pizzas can be whipped up in just a little time!

THE DOUGH

King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
Semolina Flour
King Arthur Easy-Roll Dough Improver
Pizza Dough Flavor
instant yeast
salt
olive oil
cool water

For a change, I had on hand all of the “extra” ingredients that this recipe uses – Easy-Roll Dough Improver and the Pizza Dough Flavor. I have used the Pizza Dough Flavor before in the dough for traditional pizza. It is a mixture of cheese flavor, garlic, and spices. Though you could probably make a similar concoction on your own, this is a quick and easy way to take your pizza dough up a notch. I had not used the Easy-Roll Dough Improver before so I can’t speak to the difference that it makes in a recipe. What I can say is that when it came time to roll and shape this crust, it was super easy to work with. This dough had no “snap-back” at all! That is the one thing that frustrates me the most about making homemade pizza dough; you roll it into a 12″ circle and the next thing you know it has shrunk back to a 10″ circle…no fun! I’m anxious to try the Easy-Roll Dough Improver with other pizza dough recipes.

When you are ready to make your Breakfast Sandwich Pizza, divide the dough into four, six, or eight pieces, depending on the desired size of your pizzas. I divided mine into four pieces, which, as you can see in the above photo, yielded some good-sized thick crust pizzas. I love crust so I was happy with the thickness of the crust, but a pizza this size was too much food for me. My husband said that he would prefer a thinner crust next time. I think that dividing the dough into six pieces may be the best option for our preferences. With this batch, we split one of these pizzas in half and shared and it was plenty filling.

The topping is easy and flexible.

TOPPING

large eggs
shredded cheddar, Swiss, or Monterey Jack cheese
bacon, diced ham, or cooked, crumbled, sausage

I used Monterey Jack cheese and diced Canadian bacon. Next time, I am going to saute a little bit of onion and bell pepper and add it to the mix. We need our veggies at breakfast too, right?

All of the topping ingredients are mixed together and then spooned onto the crust that has been baked at 450 degrees for 8 minutes. The one place where you need to pay close attention when putting the pizzas together is in the final shaping of the crust. You need to make sure that you have enough of an edge that the egg doesn’t run off of your crust. Once the egg mixture topping is added, the pizzas are returned to the oven to bake for another 16 minutes.

That’s it! Really very simple.

I froze my remaining pizzas with the hope that on busy work mornings I can pop them into the toaster oven and I’ll have a homemade filling breakfast with no effort. I’ll report back as to how these taste after having been frozen and reheated. If they taste just as good, this may become one of those recipes for which I set up an assembly line and make a few different kinds over the weekend, freeze them, and have breakfasts covered for a few weeks in advance. That would sure simplify my life!

If your college days of cold pizza leftover from Friday being your Saturday morning breakfast are past, but that pizza for breakfast thing still sounds good, give this recipe a try. You won’t be disappointed!

Oh, and you probably want to trade in the Friday night beer for Saturday morning juice or coffee! 🙂

Food for Though Friday – Looking Forward

31 Friday Aug 2018

Posted by Kris Baker in Food for Thought Friday

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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 For Thought Friday – Nutty For Nuts.com

24 Friday Aug 2018

Posted by Tracey Somos-Gehring in Food for Thought Friday

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

dried blueberries, dried cherries, dried fruit, eating healthy, nuts.com, PB2, seasonings

As you all know, Kris and I love most everything from King Arthur Flour! I’m pretty sure all ingredients I’ve tried, I’ve had great success with and have repurchased when I run out.

But, thanks to Kris, I have a new love in addition to KAF – Nuts.com.

My first introduction to them was when she’d sent me some fun Coffee Flour – I’ve added it into my brownies and it’s wonderful! It’s not what you’d think – it’s made from coffee fruit, and it does not taste like coffee, lol! Very little caffeine, and loads of health benefits, there’s too many to mention and such a great story to this product you’ll have to check out the product here: Coffee Flour from Nuts.com.

But anyway, after that intro to this delightful website packed with major yum-factor, and one Birthday gift certificate later, I am head-over-heels, lol. I didn’t think there’d be another one I love as much as KAF for fun food items and ingredients, but Nuts.com is it. I love the bulk packaging, it makes everything really affordable!

I have gone on to order:

Ranch Seasoning

Garlic and Herb Seasoning

Sour Cream and Onion Seasoning

Sour (Tart) Dried Cherries

Juice-Infused Natural Dried Blueberries

PB2 Peanut Butter Powder

Now most of these could use a post unto themselves, prime example the PB2 Peanut Butter Powder! That’s another item Kris has gotten me hooked on…hmmm, I’m seeing a pattern here! LOL

But anyway, I just had to sing Nuts.com’s praises, as they aren’t just all about nuts that’s for sure! And they make it super affordable to eat fairly healthy as well – the Ranch and Sour Cream and Onion seasonings I’d bought to toss with my air-popped popcorn, but there’s loads more uses! Dips! Seasoning on vegetables! The possibilities are endless for those two!

The Garlic and Herb seasoning is fabulous on vegetables, I used it in my foil-packet potatoes and onions side-dish that I toss on the grill with whatever I’m grilling that night. I’ve yet to try it on anything else, but I’m sure it will rock no matter what it’s on.

The small containers of PB2 are rather pricey in the grocery stores, and I think my one-pound package of it from Nuts.com was only 3 bucks more than a mere 6 oz size I got in my grocery!

I’ve been needing to get back to adding in foods that are helpful to healthy cholesterol levels, as once again, I’m back up to ugly numbers. But with some quick research, dried cherries come up often, so I snagged a pound of them at pretty good price – their selection of dried fruit is amazing. And the dried blueberries I bought are only sweetened with apple juice, so no added sugar to speak of other than natural sugar from juice.

I’m still working my way through my items – my Vanilla Beans are to make homemade vanilla, the BBQ Seasoning was a whim, so not sure how I’ll use that yet, lol and the Caramel Bits I bought to add to my chocolate chip cookies for my guys.

So as you can see there’s a lot to love going on here – lots of goodies and healthy items at prices and product amounts that are healthy for my wallet!!! And if all that isn’t enough to make you smile, their shipping boxes should do it!

Food Friday – A Taste of Alaska

17 Friday Aug 2018

Posted by Kris Baker in Mix It Up Friday

≈ 1 Comment

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

Posted by Kris Baker in Food for Thought Friday

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in the garden, words

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!

Mix It Up Friday -Pancakes and Waffles

03 Friday Aug 2018

Posted by Tracey Somos-Gehring in Mix It Up Friday

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breakfast, easy, King Arthur Flour, King Arthur Flour baking mix, King Arthur Flour Essential Goodness mix, King Arthur Flour Mix, pancakes, protein, waffles

from Tracey G

Essential Goodness Protein Pancake Mix

With the new school year approaching, I’m on the look-out for easy breakfasts for Harry, that are fairly good-for-him and that will keep him going until lunchtime or snack time. I’m not exactly the most with-it person at 6 am (or earlier), so anything I can have ready the night before and just reheat the next morning – I’m all for it! And pancakes (or waffles!) are excellent for that sort of thing. Make a bunch, freeze them then pop them in the toaster or toaster oven to reheat. Boom. Breakfast is served!

As soon as I saw the Essential Goodness Protein Pancake Mix on the King Arthur Flour website, I knew I had to give it try, it was offering everything I was looking for! And this mix boasts 14g of protein per 3-pancake serving. That’s pretty darn good in my book!

One little thing though, I don’t have the best relationship with pancakes. Not the making of the batter, but actually cooking them! I have one of those griddle things that span two burners on your stove, and while it’s convenient to cook at least 6 at a time, the heating tends to be uneven and it’s a constant battle for me to get them fairly even looking in the browning department. Usually, when we have pancakes for breakfast/brunch or dinner, I make the batter and Jeremy cooks the pancakes! So, I was keeping my fingers crossed that I could actually get them cooked and look halfway decent for appearances-sake! I really need to replace my electric skillet that died years ago, I miss greatly…

But anyway, onward to the matter (or batter!) at hand. This mix was EASY to mix to prepare – just add eggs, oil and milk. Or if you prefer a vegan alternative they give the directions for that too – it’s for a small batch (6), and it just involves 1 cup of mix, water and oil. You can also make this mix up for a waffle-version, and for that you just increase the oil! They also provide some alternative ways to use the mix on the Essential Goodness Protein Pancake Mix Product Page!

When it comes to cooking the pancakes, they recommend 1/4 cupfuls per pancake – it’s stated you should get 20-24 (or 5 waffles). I got exactly 24, so that was right on the mark.

After they were done – I had them on cooling racks so the bottoms wouldn’t get soggy since I knew I would be stacking these between wax paper later to freeze them, Harry popped in and snitched an “ugly one” as he called it, and ate it out of hand like a cookie! They were right then given a two-thumbs-up review and he asked when he might be able to have more. Of course he got the standard “after they’ve had their portraits taken” answer! But after his taste-testing, I felt compelled to give one a taste too – and I agree, they are very yummy! Not too sweet, just right if you ask me.

After they had their photos taken, we all had a nice little brunch of pancakes and I’m happy to report that they reheated nicely in the microwave, a 3-pancake serving, wrapped in a paper towel for about 25 seconds. I too had the recommended serving size (3) and I can say that they are filling! Normally I eat way more than 3 (unfortunately for my hips, lol), but with these – I’m happy and content with that serving size!

I can state with confidence I will buy this mix again – this is something I can mix up in a hurry and get prepared to be pulled out for school morning breakfasts! It’s time and cost-effective (at the time of this writing they are selling for 4.95 a box) if he eats a serving of 3 on school mornings, that’s about a month’s worth of breakfasts right there! Totally worth it for me!

Oh! And as a side note, a little tip I discovered in my make-my-mornings-painless-as-possible quest, are the little plastic souffle cups with lids – I can pre-portion out some syrup (or anything else small really) the night before for the week or just the amount needed the next day, snap on the lid and I don’t have to worry about the disaster-potential of me trying to pour sticky stuff in early morning! I found them at Amazon, they were really inexpensive and I’ve actually found tons of uses for them!!

from Kris B.

Belgian waffle Mix

These are not your mother’s waffles!

Well, they are not my mother’s waffles.

When I was a kid, pancakes and waffles were a favorite dinner for my mom and me during times when my dad was deployed. Pancakes and waffles were quick, easy, and we both loved them. This was a quick and easy meal because my mom whipped out the Bisquick, added a few basic ingredients, and they were done.

I still love waffles and pancakes at any mealtime, but I now make mine from scratch. It really isn’t that much more trouble than using a mix. When I decided to try King Arthur Flour’s Belgian Waffle Mix, my head went back to the simplicity of those quick meals of my childhood. I planned that Weber and I have would have the waffles for dinner.

About 4pm, I started slicing the fruit to top the waffles. (The big change from my childhood waffles is that now we top them with yogurt and fruit rather than butter and syrup.) I then reached for the box to whip up the waffle mix. It was not until this point that I read the instructions. How difficult could waffles from a box be, right? Well, to my surprise, there was a little more to the making of these waffles than there is to the Bisquick waffles.

The King Arthur Flour Belgian waffles contain yeast. And you guessed it…that means that the yeast needs to proof…OVERNIGHT! Yep, the batter is mixed, rests at room temperature for an hour, and then in the refrigerator overnight. Aside from this minor little detail, the making of the batter is simple. You add warm water, milk, and eggs. As I usually do in baked goods, I used almond milk.

There went our dinner plans. 🙂 In case you are wondering, Weber had hot dogs and I had an English muffin with peanut butter that night for dinner. On the upside, we enjoyed a really nice breakfast the next day!

The waffles themselves are delicious! The box says that it makes 10 7 inch round waffles. I have a Breville waffle maker that makes four 4″ waffles at a time. A box of the Belgian waffle mix made fourteen 4 inch waffles. They cooked nicely on the Belgian waffle setting at medium darkness.

The waffles themselves are not sweet, so topping them with syrup or sweet fruit does not make them too sweet. I think they would be really good topped with ice cream, bananas, and a little hot fudge sauce. You get banana split and waffle cone all at once! I froze my extra waffles. After I give them a try as a vehicle for ice cream, I’ll report back to you!

Making Belgian waffles from this mix instead of completely from scratch saves a little mixing time. The fact that the batter rests overnight gives them a fantastic made-from-scratch taste. If you learn from my mistake and plan appropriately, this mix is well worth trying!

Breakfast, lunch, dinner, and dessert…the King Arthur Belgian Waffle Mix fits the bill!

Food Friday – Cookie Decorating Adventures!

27 Friday Jul 2018

Posted by Tracey Somos-Gehring in Food Friday

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Tags

baking, butter, cookie decorating, cookies, dessert, King Arthur Flour, roll-out cookies

Photo of my latest work-in-progress!

Welcome to what I am hoping will be a semi-regular occurrence around here – my Cookie Decorating Adventure! While discussing my newest obsession with Kris, we kind of decided it would be fun to keep tabs on this newest endeavor of mine. I’m still learning, and maybe as I go there’s something I useful I can pass along that I learn the hard way.

I’ve always loved decorating cakes and cookies, and while my skills were passable, they weren’t allowing me to do all the beautiful creations I kept seeing all over the place. I’ve had books, and they have helped immensely, but only took me so far.

Then, I discovered Craftsy. I could WATCH someone do this stuff, make the needed decorating mediums etc. – it was fantastic! I found a few classes that intrigued me and as they went on sale, I’d pick one up here and there. I originally found cookie decorating classes, then that led me to cake classes. I started with a class for making piped flowers out of royal icing with the mindset the techniques would translate to buttercream etc. And they will. But, it seemed my timing was not the greatest – it was starting to get warm out. That’s not exactly a good set-up for success with frosting that can get droopy and melty, and I was running out of room to store the royal icing flowers I was making while practicing!

So, I went back to my class library and chose a cookie decorating class, and was seriously inspired! I could whip up a bunch of rolled-out cookies, bake them and then pop them into the freezer to be pulled out as needed/wanted for practice during the warm months! If I planned enough ahead, I could have enough to keep me set up for awhile. So, that’s what I did. I had a few marathon baking days, and now have some in the freezer ready to go when I am.

I decided a Food Friday was a good time to start! So, I will share with you one of my favorite roll-out cookie recipes from King Arthur Flour called Holiday Butter Cookies. It’s one I’ve used now for quite awhile and it always comes out nicely for me. I like it because it doesn’t use any leavening, therefore they don’t puff up and have too much spread – when they do that they can lose their nice shape and crisp edge.

First bit of “homework” from Craftsy class!

The cupcake cookies in the above photo are my first attempt from one of the classes on Craftsy by Anne Yorks, owner of Flour Box Bakery. Her website, Flour Box Bakery.com is a wealth of supplies and knowledge, seems like I’m there at least 3 times a week! I love her selection, prices and the customer service is fantastic. Plus she and her team ship things out really fast!!

It had been a couple years since I’d decorated cookies like this, and it was likely Christmas cookies, and it was a lot harder than I remembered, lol. The instructor makes it look soooo easy! But you have to start somewhere, and the hard part for me is trying to NOT be disappointed that they don’t look like a pro’s the first time out. The point of learning is to experiment, make your mistakes and hopefully learn from them, and keep on going – not to give up after the first try if it’s not on par with someone’s skills who has been doing this for years! It’s really hard though! Having practice cookies has seemed to help – I’m not “practicing” on cookies I’m planning on giving to anyone etc. Now’s the time to push your limits, mess things up to see what doesn’t work!

So, there it is, my newest thing to work on. Hopefully I can document things along the way, share what I’ve learned as in what works and what doesn’t, lol. I have learned though that this “craft” is one that can be very individual, seems there are loads of royal icing recipes out there, techniques and so forth. It just takes some time and a lot of trial and error to find what works for you!

Have a great weekend everyone!!!