"L is for...."

LUKE!  Today I went to the 1st birthday party for one of my best friend's little boy.  I introduced you to him a year ago...and now here we are a year later. 

Sarah decided to be quite the creative (and I'm sure frugal...I'll probably do this, too!) mom and make the cake for Luke.  She used this fondant recipe and I think it turned out really well. 

We did a test run a couple of weeks ago and determined that it does need to be VERY thick, probably thicker than you think, in order to roll out AND make it onto the cake smoothly.  I found a lion cake and since Sarah was doing a safari theme, she decided that would be the perfect cake.  I think it turned out super cute! 

Guess who the "C" is for!  :-)  Luke and I ALMOST share a birthday.  So, if you have to make a cake for someone, try this fondant recipe.  I want to try it sometime as well...fondant just seems intimidating but apparently it's not too bad!

Buttercream Fondant
1 cup light corn syrup
1 cup shortening
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon clear vanilla extract
2 pounds confectioners' sugar
food coloring you desire

Directions
In a large bowl, stir together the shortening and corn syrup. Mix in the salt and vanilla flavoring, then gradually mix in the confectioners' sugar until it is a stiff dough. If you are using a stand mixer, use the dough hook attachment. Otherwise, knead by hand. If the dough is sticky, knead in more confectioners' sugar until it is smooth. Store in an airtight container at room temperature or in the refrigerator.

 To use, roll out on a clean surface that has been dusted with confectioners' sugar until it is 1/8 inch thick or thinner if you can. Drape over frosted and chilled cakes and smooth the sides down, or cut into strips to make bows and other decorations.

Twins?

Around my church, there is a certain cookie that is famous...a cookie that is immediately GONE when the plate is put on the table.  This cookie is the sharpei cookie.  I shared it with you on my first blogiversary.  Well, a few weeks ago, I saw a recipe on Anna's site that looked a lot like the cookies. 

So, I decided that I had to try them.  I have been having issues (as has my mom...with a different oven and in a slightly different part of the country) with the recipe I shared with you earlier, so I wanted to see if the small differences in the two recipes brough success.  The outcome...these were VERY good cookies.  However, I did think that they were better with the butterscotch chip than with the chocolate chips...though I'm not sure my co-workers thought the same, the chocolate chip cookies were GONE while there were a couple butterscotch left!  These didn't have quite the same taste in the dough as the sharpei cookies, which is likely due to less butter and brown sugar, but were still delicious!  Another highly recommended cookie! 

Crinkly Butterscotch Pecan Cookies
1 3/4 cups all purpose unbleached flour, spoon, sweep, level (don’t scoop and pack)
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
4 oz unsalted butter, cold, cut-up
1/2 cup shortening (I used butter flavored)
3/4 cup granulated sugar
½ cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
1 large egg
1 3/4 cups butterscotch chips
2/3 cup pecans, toasted and chopped (I omitted these)


Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. 
Beat the cold butter and shortening with an electric mixer until creamy. Add both sugars and continue beating for another two minutes. Beat in the vanilla. Scrape sides of bowl. Add egg and beat for about 30 seconds or until egg is incorporated. Stir the dry ingredients into the butter mixture—dough will be pretty thick. Mix in the butterscotch chips and pecans, if using. Chill the batter for ½ hour or until ready to bake.

Scoop dough by generously rounded tablespoons and shape into large balls. Space about 3 inches apart on the cookie sheets. Bake one sheet at a time for 12-15 minutes or until cookies are brown around the edges. They won’t be extremely brown when they come out of the oven, but if the edges are browned at all they’ve probably baked long enough.
With the edge of a spatula, gently nudge cookies into neat circles. Doing this will enhance the wrinkles and folds in the cookies.  You can also use the backs of two spoons to do this.
Let cool on the cookie sheet for about 3 minutes, then transfer to wire racks to cool.
Makes about 28 cookies

Daring Bakers in Canada

The Olympics this winter are in Canada. So, in honor of that The January 2010 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Lauren of Celiac Teen. Lauren chose Gluten-Free Graham Wafers and Nanaimo Bars as the challenge for the month. The sources she based her recipe on are 101 Cookbooks and www.nanaimo.ca.I had heard of these before but wasn't really sure what they were.  I really liked the picture and was pretty excited at the possibilities.

 I decided that I would try to make the gluten free version of the graham crackers.  HOWEVER, I do not think I succeeded because the gluten free flours (outside of rice flour which I love) were too pricey so I got oat flour, which I think has gluten...oh, well.  At least I didn't use all-purpose flour!  The graham crackers were actually my favorite part!

I did have a bit of trouble getting them off the board to the baking sheet...the first time.  Then I used more flour and it worked better!  Yum!  On to the actual bars.  The filling is SO SWEET!  It's like icing...which is my favorite part of cake, usually.  I honestly didn't care for the texture of the coconut and nuts together, and the graham crackers were lost in the mixture...sadly!

Overall, I liked the bars but some of the elements I would try to change if I did them again.  Check out more bars here. 

For Gluten-Free Graham Wafers
Ingredients
1 cup (138 g) (4.9 ounces) Sweet rice flour (also known as glutinous rice flour)
3/4 cup (100 g) (3.5 ounces) Tapioca Starch/Flour
1/2 cup (65 g) (2.3 ounces) Sorghum Flour
1 cup (200 g) (7.1 ounces) Dark Brown Sugar, Lightly packed
1 teaspoon (5 mL) Baking soda
3/4 teaspoon (4 mL ) Kosher Salt
7 tablespoons (100 g) (3 ½ ounces) Unsalted Butter (Cut into 1-inch cubes and frozen)
1/3 cup (80 mL) Honey, Mild-flavoured such as clover.
5 tablespoons (75 mL) Whole Milk
2 tablespoons (30 mL) Pure Vanilla Extract

Directions:
1. In the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade, combine the flours, brown sugar, baking soda, and salt. Pulse on low to incorporate. Add the butter and pulse on and off, until the mixture is the consistency of a coarse meal. If making by hand, combine aforementioned dry ingredients with a whisk, then cut in butter until you have a coarse meal. No chunks of butter should be visible.
2. In a small bowl or liquid measuring cup, whisk together the honey, milk and vanilla. Add to the flour mixture until the dough barely comes together. It will be very soft and sticky.
3. Turn the dough onto a surface well-floured with sweet rice flour and pat the dough into a rectangle about 1 inch thick. Wrap in plastic and chill until firm, about 2 hours, or overnight.
4. Divide the dough in half and return one half to the refrigerator. Sift an even layer of sweet rice flour onto the work surface and roll the dough into a long rectangle, about 1/8 inch thick. The dough will be quite sticky, so flour as necessary. Cut into 4 by 4 inch squares. Gather the scraps together and set aside. Place wafers on one or two parchment-lined baking sheets. Chill until firm, about 30 to 45 minutes. Repeat with the second batch of dough.
5. Adjust the rack to the upper and lower positions and preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit (180 degrees Celsius).
6. Gather the scraps together into a ball, chill until firm, and reroll. Dust the surface with more sweet rice flour and roll out the dough to get a couple more wafers.
7. Prick the wafers with toothpick or fork, not all the way through, in two or more rows.
8. Bake for 25 minutes, until browned and slightly firm to the touch, rotating sheets halfway through to ensure even baking. Might take less, and the starting location of each sheet may determine its required time. The ones that started on the bottom browned faster.
9. When cooled completely, place enough wafers in food processor to make 1 ¼ cups (300 mL) of crumbs. Another way to do this is to place in a large ziplock bag, force all air out and smash with a rolling pin until wafers are crumbs.

Nanaimo Bars

Ingredients:
For Nanaimo Bars — Bottom Layer
1/2 cup (115 g) (4 ounces) Unsalted Butter
1/4 cup (50 g) (1.8 ounces) Granulated Sugar
5 tablespoons (75 mL) Unsweetened Cocoa
1 Large Egg, Beaten
1 1/4 cups (300 mL) (160 g) (5.6 ounces) Gluten Free Graham Wafer Crumbs (See previous recipe)
1/2 cup (55 g) (1.9 ounces) Almonds (Any type, Finely chopped)
1 cup (130 g) (4.5 ounces) Coconut (Shredded, sweetened or unsweetened)

For Nanaimo Bars — Middle Layer
1/2 cup (115 g) (4 ounces) Unsalted Butter
2 tablespoons and 2 teaspoons (40 mL) Heavy Cream
2 tablespoons (30 mL) Vanilla Custard Powder (Such as Bird’s. Vanilla pudding mix may be substituted.)
2 cups (254 g) (8.9 ounces) Icing Sugar

For Nanaimo Bars — Top Layer
4 ounces (115 g) Semi-sweet chocolate
2 tablespoons (28 g) (1 ounce) Unsalted Butter

Directions:
1. For bottom Layer: Melt unsalted butter, sugar and cocoa in top of a double boiler. Add egg and stir to cook and thicken. Remove from heat. Stir in crumbs, nuts and coconut. Press firmly into an ungreased 8 by 8 inch pan.
2. For Middle Layer: Cream butter, cream, custard powder, and icing sugar together well. Beat until light in colour. Spread over bottom layer.
3. For Top Layer: Melt chocolate and unsalted butter over low heat. Cool. Once cool, pour over middle layer and chill.

Would Julie or Julia Make This?

Over my New Years break I went to TN just lounge around with my parents. I took some good crusty bread with me with the plans of making French Toast. Growing up, we always made French toast with "normal" sandwich bread. It was always really good...but after using this bread, my mom said "Man, we've been messing up all these years using sandwich bread for French toast." The thick crust of the bread gave a good substance to the dish and held up well to the soaking. I also changed up my soaking mixture just a bit. Usually, I use just a splash of milk. However, somewhere I remember seeing that you should use more milk to egg. So, I tried that this time. It seemed to work well. I topped mine with strawberries and a bit of syrup. 'Twas a yummy breakfast! So what do YOU this, would Julie or Julia have made this? Somehow, I think they both would...though it's probably not found in "Mastering the Art of French Cooking!"

French Toast
several slices of crusty (even old) bread
2 eggs
1 cup milk
cinnamon
vanilla

Heat a griddle to medium heat. In a wide based, short bowl or baking dish (the baking dish allows more bread slices per soak) whisk together the egg, milk, cinnamon and vanilla. Soak slices of bread for at least one minute per side. The longer they soak, the better the mixture penetrates the bread and the more decadent your completed dish will be. Spray the griddle with cooking spray OR spread a little butter on it (the butter makes it more decadent and probably give a better brown color). Place soaked bread on the griddle. Cook until each side is slightly browned (about five minutes depending on how hot your griddle is). Serve with fruit and syrup. Enjoy!

Is Nutter Butter Better?

Nutter Butter was a treat
Everybody liked to eat
Add cream cheese it makes them Nutter Better!

Over Christmas I worked. In my department, we have a holiday schedule that allows everybody to get six days off...either at Christmas or New Years. I decided that since I don't have my own family and my brother would be here anyway to be with his fiance, that I would work Christmas. It was a busy six days...I was on call (overnight at the hospital) every other day for six days! I did, however, continue to take on call snacks! The first day I took nutter butter truffles, a take-off of oreo truffles. I love peanut butter, prefer it actually over chocolate. So, I thought I'd try the well known oreo truffle with nutter butters. Well, they were good but not quite as gooey (a good thing) as the oreo truffles. I think the cream in the middle of oreos is moister that the peanut butter stuff in the middle of nutter butters. I ended up adding about 1-2 tablespoons of cream cheese icing to the mixture and that helped a lot! In the end, I still got compliments on them and they were gone before the day was over (with only about half of the number of residents as normal!). Nutter Butter Truffles
1 package Nutter Butter cookies
1 package cream cheese (I use the Nufschatel)
1/2 package chocolate bark - use what you need (the melting chocolate that comes in rectangular containers)

Crush cookies in a food processor or a bag using a rolling pin. Soften cream cheese and stir into the cookies. Roll mixture into walnut sized balls. Place in refrigerator or freezer to firm. Melt chocoate bark. Roll balls in the chocolate to coat. Allow to set and enjoy!

A Casserole for the New Year

When I was at home over New Years, my parents had a party to attend and gave me the task of making dinner. Mama suggested pizza but I had seen a recipe from Kraft that I thought looked good, so I made that instead. It was really good and could be made with left-over chicken (that's what I used). I don't think I quite used the full amount of chicken (probably would have been 3-4 breasts and I used about 2-3). Even at that, I would have preferred more veggies/beans and less chicken. However, the flavor is really good and the tortilla, which gets very soft, adds a nice change in texture. This recipe has cream cheese mixed in, which probably serves to soften the spice from the salsa and to thicken the sauce but you don't really taste, and cheddar cheese on top. I honestly did not taste the cheese at all; so, you could probably leave it off without a decrease in taste, though it wouldn't look as pretty! This is a rare casserole that is healthy and zesty at the same time. I'd likely make it again, maybe with a few minor changes. I think it could be kid-friendly as well, especially if you use mild salsa.

3/4 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-size pieces (or any leftover chicken you have)

1 tsp. ground cumin

1 green pepper, chopped

1-1/2 cups Thick 'N Chunky Salsa

2 oz. (1/4 of 8-oz. pkg.) Neufchatel Cheese, cubed

1 can (15 oz.) no-salt-added black beans, drained, rinsed

1 tomato, chopped (I did not add this)

2 whole wheat tortillas (6 inch - mine was a full tortilla)

1/2 cup Mexican Style 2% Milk Finely Shredded Four Cheese, divided (or cheddar - whatever cheese you have if you decide to use cheese)

HEAT oven to 375ºF.

COOK and stir chicken and cumin in nonstick skillet sprayed with cooking spray on medium heat 2 min. Add peppers; cook 2 min., stirring occasionally. Stir in salsa; cook 2 min. Add Neufchatel; cook 2 min. or until melted. Stir in beans and tomatoes. (If using leftover chicken, cook the peppers and then stir in the chicken and cumin until warm)

SPOON 1/3 of chicken mixture into 8-inch square baking dish; cover with 1 tortilla and half each of the remaining chicken mixture and shredded cheese. Top with remaining tortilla and chicken mixture; cover.

BAKE 20 min. or until heated through. Sprinkle with remaining shredded cheese; bake, uncovered, 5 min. or until melted.

The Dangers of the Pediatric ER

Monday I began my first month in the ER. It's a pretty good rotation as you work 14 or 15 12-hour shifts. Some of these go quickly and some (specifically 7p-7a and likely 2p-2a) go very slowly. My day was pretty quick. It wasn't too busy and I didn't see anything unusual. We had a string of lacerations and broken extremities. I didn't see any of those...now, unfortunately...I saw the scabies, well restrained child s/p MVC, walking pneumonia, and, my bane, TWO gastroenteritis! I even specifically and carefully washed my hands after seeing those patients! Guess it didn't work (unless that asparagus was bad)! Felt fine yesterday until around 4 then just didn't feel normal...definitely wasn't normal all night! Today, I'm feeling better, just resting up before I return for two days of 2p-2a shifts. What's your favorite thing to eat when your tummy is upset? I like chicken noodle soup and popsicles! I'm about to go make some soup (from the can...just something about that sodium laden liquid) but here's some soup my family and I made right after Christmas. I got a Le Creuset pot for Christmas and wanted to use it, so I found a yummy looking lentil soup. It was REALLY good, though I wished that the lentils were more part of the soup rather than being mushed within the soup. I changed the cooking process just a little bit and have made those changes in the directions.

Winter Lentil Veggie Soup from AllRecipes.com

• 1/2 cup red or green lentils
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 1 stalk celery, chopped
• 2 cups shredded cabbage
• 1 (28 ounce) can whole peeled tomatoes, chopped
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 3 carrots, chopped
• 1 clove garlic, crushed
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon white sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/4 teaspoon curry powder

Directions

1. Place the lentils into a stockpot or a Dutch oven and add 2 cups water. Bring to a boil, then lower heat and let simmer for about 15 minutes. Drain and rinse lentils.
2. Meanwhile, place onion, celery, cabbage, tomatoes, chicken broth, carrots and garlic to a large pot. Cook on medium heat until lentil are done. Add lentils and season with salt, pepper, sugar, basil, thyme and curry. Cook, simmering for 1 1/2 to 2 hours or until desired tenderness is achieved.