Saturday, February 27, 2010

Daring Bakers - Tiramisu!

The February 2010 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Aparna of My Diverse Kitchen and Deeba of Passionate About Baking. They chose Tiramisu as the challenge for the month. Their challenge recipe is based on recipes from The Washington Post, Cordon Bleu at Home and Baking Obsession.

Now, I've made tiramisu before, many times. Many varieties...berry, pumpkin, deconstructed...But, I've never made it completely from scratch. Savoiardi (lady fingers) are $1.50 per package at Trader Joe's and
mascarpone (like an Italian version of cream cheese...only better) is pretty cheap there as well. I do always make my own zabaglione and cream.

So when the challenge called for making everything completely from scratch, I thought "EEK!" It sounded like a lot of work, and frankly, work that didn't seem worth it to me.

But...Joel was out of town and I had some free time on my hands so, I went for it! And I am SO glad I did. It really wasn't very time consuming at all...the mascarpone took 15 minutes of stirring and then 24 hours in the fridge. The savoiardi took about 15 minutes, and I made the pastry cream and zabaglione while they were baking.

Cooking the cream for the mascarpone:


Draining the mascarpone:


Meanwhile, the girls called Daddy to say their good nights:


The savoiardi ready to go into the oven:


And coming out of the oven:


While they were baking, I made the zabaglione. YUM:


For some reason, I didn't take a picture of the pastry cream. But the next night, here's what the mascarpone looked like:


And here's what the sink looked like:


I used some decaf espresso to dip the savoiardi in:


Here's the final product:


And another one:


You can really see the layers in this shot...mmmmmmmmm:


4 year old approved:


This was such a fun challenge! I admit, I thought tiramisu was one of those desserts that had been done too many times before and that this would be boring. But making everything from scratch was awesome, and really, not too taxing. Thanks for a fabulous challenge, Deeba and Aparna! This was truly a Daring challenge!

And now I am off to run at the gym...for the rest of the day :P

Monday, February 22, 2010

the monday meal plan

February 22 – February 28

MONDAY
Breakfast: smoothies, granola
Lunch: leftovers
Dinner: white bean stew

TUESDAY
Breakfast: eggs, toast
Lunch: taco salad
Dinner: out

WEDNESDAY:
Breakfast: lemon ricotta pancakes, berries
Lunch: leftovers
Dinner: homemade bbq chicken pizza, salad

THURSDAY:
Breakfast: oatmeal, berries
Lunch: sandwiches, salad
Dinner: sushi

FRIDAY:
Breakfast: zucchini bread, smoothies
Lunch: butternut squash soup, grilled cheese
Dinner: spaghetti and meatballs, roasted broccoli, fruit

SATURDAY:
Breakfast: waffles, fruit
Lunch: out
Dinner: shrimp and quinoa jambalaya, cut up raw veggies

SUNDAY:
Breakfast: baked eggs, toast, fruit
Lunch: leftovers
Dinner: pulled pork sandwiches, vinegar slaw, cut up raw veggies

Extras:
Oatmeal molasses bread, chocolate chip cookies

on another note...this is the last week of February already?!?! Where has the time gone?

Thursday, February 18, 2010

you know you're two when...

...you fall asleep in your lunch.

...you've been running around completely naked since 7 am. and you like it.

...you describe everything as "yummy! juicy! crunchy!"

...your mama asks you to count how many raisins are in your oatmeal, you screech "two! three! fi-eeeeeeeeeve!"

...your sister hits you, you cry "no love ay-ah!" then you go give her a big, wet kiss because she's sad that she's in time out.

...you have awesome tantrums about how NOT tired you are...then your proceed to pass right out on the bathroom floor.

...there are only girls and mamas and daddies. no boys. those icky things don't exist (yet).

...you want to read Curious George Has a Birthday Party at least 18 times a day.

...you like dirt. a lot. heck, you don't even mind the taste. and it's fun to rub it all over your body.

...you know right when to turn on the charm. like when you toss your mama's book into the toilet. that kind of thing just can't be taught.

...you constantly have a swollen lip because you just can't stop running into stuff face first.

...you grab your mama's face in your chubby little hands and pull it towards you...and then you lick your mama's nose like you are a puppy. and you kind of smell like one too.

Monday, February 15, 2010

meal plan monday

I never made the red beans and rice last week...bad meal planner!

February 15 – February 21

MONDAY
Breakfast: eggs, toast, fruit
Lunch: out
Dinner: red beans and rice, salad

TUESDAY
Breakfast: oatmeal, applesauce
Lunch: quinoa taco salad
Dinner: whole wheat pasta with mushroom sauce, steamed veggies

WEDNESDAY:
Breakfast: banana flax bread, smoothies
Lunch: chef salad
Dinner: lemon pepper fish, quinoa, roasted broccoli

THURSDAY:
Breakfast: oatmeal, berries
Lunch: soup, sandwiches
Dinner: lentil and brown rice soup

FRIDAY:
Breakfast: omelets, toast
Lunch: leftover soup
Dinner: black bean chilaquiles, salad

SATURDAY:
Breakfast: ebelskeivers, fruit
Lunch: leftovers
Dinner: honey mustard pretzel chicken, roast green beans, sweet potato fries

SUNDAY:
Breakfast: granola, yogurt, and fruit parfaits
Lunch: roasted tomato soup, grilled cheese sandwiches
Dinner: salad nicoise

Extras:
Whole wheat bread, lemon curd, scones

Sunday, February 14, 2010

valentine's day

We had fun making cookies and treats to hand out to friends and family. I used my favorite sugar cookie recipe, and we made some white chocolate peppermint hearts out of leftover candy canes.

I'd seen this idea in the blogiverse for a few years, and this year we actually had leftover candy canes. Ava helped me unwrap the candy canes and make hearts out of them. We baked the hearts at 350 for about 4 minutes. I just used white chocolate chips, melted in the microwave, to pour the centers. Then Ava sprinkled the hearts with pink sanding sugar. We packaged them in little bags and tied them with pink ribbons - perfect to give away to our playgroup friends and to family members.



The girls had fun making valentines (and dusting the entire house with red and pink glitter!).

This morning, we had chocolate french toast - yum!

I added chocolate chips to a loaf of Amish White Bread (thanks for the idea, Shelley!), and then we added a few tablespoons of cocoa powder to the egg batter. Needless to say, the french toast was completely gobbled up before I got a picture!

Here's wishing you and yours some love today :)

February Daring Cooks Challenge - Mezze



I'm so excited - this is my first time completing a Daring Cooks Challenge and it was so much fun!

The 2010 February challenge was hosted by Michele of Veggie Num Nums. Michele chose to challenge everyone to make mezze based on various recipes from Claudia Roden, Jeffrey Alford A mezze is a traditional spread of small Middle Eastern plates, a la Spanish tapas. Michele required everyone to at least make a traditional humus and pita bread, and left the rest up to our imaginations. You can check out the recipes we used on Michele's blog.

I had a great time doing this, especially since this is the type of food I great up eating. I rounded out the meal with baba ganoush, falafel, olives, veggies, and raita. I also made a jar of preserved lemons, which I plan on using throughout the year.



The first thing I did was to make the hummus - I used traditional tahini to flavor it, although it was hard for me to find peanut free tahini and I almost used sunflower seed butter. I finished the hummus with some good quality olive oil and a sprinkling of cayenne pepper...yum!

Making the pita bread was pretty easy - I used half whole wheat flour and half bread flour and the dough came out pretty well. I don't think that I let it rest long enough after separating it into individual balls before rolling the pita out - my pitas shrunk up and were a bit thick. They did split beautifully though, and were perfect for stuffing with our falafel.


pitas, all puffed up

The girls gobbled everything up - they're pretty used to this type of food already, and of course, since hummus and baba ganoush are basically dips, they had a great time. Ava ended up making a Middle Eastern pizza that I wished I would have gotten a picture of - she topped a pita with hummus and made a happy face out of the veggies I put out.


not pictured: the falafel and the jar of preserved lemons

This was such a fun meal for our family! Thanks to Michele for such a great challenge!

Tuesday, February 9, 2010

bowling!

Joel and I used to bowl every once in a while PK (pre kids). It was a fun, cheap date and since neither of us is any good, it made for interesting competition.

Ava has been bowling quite a few times, but we decided we were ready to go on our first family bowling outing...we had so much fun! Little E only had enough of an attention span to bowl one game, but she actually led the pack for most of the game! *Ahem* I had the only strike though :o)

The girls used the ramp and bumpers and the little kid balls, and it was perfect. Joel and I can't wait to take the girls bowling again!




I *heart* her



Last night while the girls were taking their baths, I whipped some cute headbands using this awesome tutorial. Two headbands literally took me 20 minutes total. I can't wait to make the flower version!

Monday, February 8, 2010

February 8 – February 14

MONDAY
Breakfast: oatmeal, applesauce
Lunch: bean and vegetable soup
Dinner: Cincinnati chili over potatoes or spaghetti, salad, veggies

TUESDAY
Breakfast: eggs, toast, fruit
Lunch: quinoa taco salad
Dinner: whole wheat pasta with red wine, red bean, and portabella ragout, sautéed broccoli

WEDNESDAY:
Breakfast: lemon sour cream muffins, smoothies
Lunch: out
Dinner: red beans and rice

THURSDAY:
Breakfast: oatmeal, fruit
Lunch: leftovers
Dinner: out

FRIDAY:
Breakfast: eggs, toast, fruit
Lunch: soup, salad
Dinner: basmati & curry casserole

SATURDAY:
Breakfast: waffles, fruit
Lunch: leftovers
Dinner: baked lemon chicken, quinoa, spinach

SUNDAY:
Breakfast: chocolate French toast, fruit
Lunch: out
Dinner: spicy beef with shrimp and bok choy, fried rice, Chinese egg tarts

Extras:
Multi grain bread, applesauce muffins, lemon bars

Thursday, February 4, 2010

right now...

listening:: to a sweet little two year old sing along to her Fairies CD

drinking:: the last of my insanely expensive yummy chai tea from Teavana

eating:: some interesting hummus. I wasn't aware that I was out of tahini so I substituted sunflower seed butter. Not bad, but not right.

anticipating:: spring! The daffodils are almost in bloom!

excited:: about a stress free, plan free weekend. The first in MONTHS. Ahhhhhhh...

taking a break:: from making a muslin mock-up of this shirt. So far, so good. Will definitely remember to post pictures if the finished product turns out cute.

planning:: a crop for next month...much needed. Can't remember the last time I actually completed a layout.

Monday, February 1, 2010

meal plan monday

February 1 – February 7

MONDAY
Breakfast: baked oatmeal
Lunch: soup, veggies
Dinner: spicy thai tofu stir fry, whole wheat noodles

TUESDAY
Breakfast: eggs, toast, fruit
Lunch: black bean and rice salad
Dinner: white bean and vegetable soup

WEDNESDAY:
Breakfast: quinoa pudding
Lunch: turkey, cheddar, and apple sandwiches, salad
Dinner: sautéed chicken, spinach, baked sweet potatoes

THURSDAY:
Breakfast: eggs, toast
Lunch: turkey noodle soup
Dinner: taco salad

FRIDAY:
Breakfast: applesauce oatmeal muffins, smoothies
Lunch: soup, salad
Dinner: tilapia with tomato-caper sauce, quinoa, roasted green beans

SATURDAY:
Breakfast: pancakes, fruit compote
Lunch: leftovers
Dinner: lentil and brown rice burritos, salad

SUNDAY:
Breakfast: goat cheese and chive omelets, toast
Lunch: appetizer buffet
Dinner: chili

Extras:
Whole wheat bread, blueberry muffins, granola bars