April Daring Bakers Challegne - English Puddings

The April 2010 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Esther of The Lilac Kitchen. She challenged everyone to make a traditional British pudding using, if possible, a very traditional British ingredient: suet.

This was definitely a daring challenge, but I'm sad to say I was only able to moderately complete it. This month has been rather insane, so I really didn't have time to try all of the variations that I wanted to.

What's daring about an English Pudding? Well...first, it's knowing what a pudding is: something cake-like that is steamed for several hours and contains suet, or beef fat. I'll admit...I'm one of the most daring eaters that I know, and there was no way I was going to try using suet in my dessert. Esther gave us a few options for savory puddings (basically, a meat filling wrapped up in a suet based pastry crust), but as I said, I just didn't have the time to try all of the variations. Luckily for vegetarians and non-daring folks alike, there were a few options to use butter or shortening.



I actually ended up using a Donna Hay recipe for a golden syrup pudding. This was a new ingredient for me. It's kind of like a cross between honey and corn syrup, but not nearly as sweet. I found it at Cost Plus and am now addicted. It's great on toast, in tea, on pancakes, and yes, in a lovely steamed "pudd."




The process for a sweet pudding, is actually pretty easy, once you have the right equipment. I borrowed a metal pudding mold that has a tight fitting lid, but you could easily just use a glass or porcelain bowl covered with parchment and wrapped with kitchen twine. I steamed it in my crock pot, but again, if you don't have one, a nice big pot on the stove with a rack in it would be just fine.

All together, it took exactly 3 minutes to whip up the batter and 2 1/2 hours to steam it on high. The result: a moist sponge cake with a golden syrup topping. Delicious!











I'm definitely going to make a savory version soon, and will post those results separately.

This was a great challenge and I can't wait to try cooking more with this method. Take a peak at the Daring Kitchen to see the creative dishes that the other Daring Cooks came up with! Thanks Esther - this was so much fun!

***These pictures were all taken by Ava...not too shabby for a 5 year old!

meal plan monday

April 26 – May 2

MONDAY
Breakfast: eggs, toast, fruit
Lunch: leftovers
Dinner: lasagna, roasted broccoli, salad

TUESDAY
Breakfast: smoothies, muffins
Lunch: turkey wraps, soup
Dinner: quinoa and black bean taco salad, fruit

WEDNESDAY:
Breakfast: yogurt, berry, and granola parfaits
Lunch: out
Dinner: miso glazed salmon, sautéed cabbage, asparagus

THURSDAY:
Breakfast: eggs, toast, fruit
Lunch: grilled cheese and tomato soup
Dinner: chicken pot pies, salad

FRIDAY:
Breakfast: smoothies, muffins
Lunch: salad, soup
Dinner: lentil and vegetable burritos, salad

SATURDAY:
Breakfast: whole wheat pancakes, applesauce
Lunch: out
Dinner: Brunswick stew, bread, salad

SUNDAY:
Breakfast: eggs, toast, fruit
Lunch: soup, salad
Dinner: leftovers

Extras:
Whole wheat bread, morning glory muffins, brownies

earth day

We had some fun at a local nature center with some of our playgroup friends.






Emily is OBSESSED with slugs. It's kind of funny...until she steps on them. I thought I'd spare you that particular picture...

things to ponder...

...such as, why is it that when I've wrapped something up and put it away, the two year old always asks, "me have dat? NOW."

...such as, can beta fish get depressed? I've heard of them being suicidal and jumping clean out of their bowls, but ours is acting depressed. He actually swims into a shell and just kind of sits (floats?) there for hours on end.

...such as, why are artichokes so freaking good? Especially when grilled. Yum.

...such as, do you ever feel like you really know someone and then one day you look at them and you ask yourself, "why do I associate myself with you?!"

...such as, is it wrong to be somewhat excited that your husband is off on (yet another) business trip so you get the whole bed to yourself for a few sleeps?

...such as, should I be on beta fish suicide prevention watch?

...such as, is there a perfect banana bread recipe out there? I'm beginning to think not...

...such as, when you're about to be too tall for your car seat but at least 8 pounds away from a booster, why your parents won't just spring for a high backed convertible model. Instead, they just try to fatten you up with lots and lots of avocado, bananas, and whole milk. Hey, 5 year olds ponder things too.

The answers, my friends are c, to get to the other side, and cupcakes. When all fails, bake some!

P-Dubs in person

after 5 hours of waiting...

If you know me, you know I have a slight girl crush on Ree. She's so funny, possesses mad photography skills, and comes up with some delicious recipes. So of course, when I found out that she would be signing copies of her cookbook at the local bookstore, I called my girlfriends and we met up to meet her.

I'm sad to say that I didn't get video of her lovely rendition of Oklahoma! because she was awesome. We got to chat for a few minutes and she was as sweet as I thought she would be.

So, if PW comes to your town - go out and greet her! She's a lovely lady :)

And now, on to bake something fattening...

my lunch

Today has been one of those days...the days where I have a great plan. And the energy to accomplish it all. Then something happens (ahem, maybe two somethings...) and it all goes to hell. To sum it all up, I've mopped the floor twice and it's not even dinner time.

But hey, it's all good...in a few hours I'll be in line waiting to have my measuring cups signed by Ree, completely pesky free. And I had this for lunch:

Tilapia en Papillote

4 tilapia fillets
1 lemon, thinly sliced
olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
1 bunch asparagus, trimmed to the same length as the fish

Heat oven to 400 degrees.

Cut parchment paper into 12 inch squares, fold in half. Divide asparagus equally and place on one side of each square of parchment. Top with tilapia, sprinkle with salt, pepper, and olive oil. Place several slices of lemon on top of fish. Fold parchment over and fold ends to seal. Bake on a cookie sheet for 13-15 minutes. Parchment should brown slightly and puff up.


To serve, cut a slit in the parchment (be careful not to burn yourself from the steam!), and enjoy.


Yum! And healthy. But mostly, yum!

meal plan monday

April 19 – April 25

MONDAY
Breakfast: smoothies, banana bread
Lunch: lentil soup, salad
Dinner: Moroccan chicken, quinoa, green beans

TUESDAY
Breakfast: eggs, toast, fruit
Lunch: salad, soup
Dinner: fish in parchment with lemon and asparagus, quinoa

WEDNESDAY:
Breakfast: smoothies, banana bread
Lunch: grilled cheese and tomato soup
Dinner: sandwich buffet for potluck

THURSDAY:
Breakfast: oatmeal, fruit
Lunch: chicken ceasar salad
Dinner: basil grilled chicken, grilled veggies, salad

FRIDAY:
Breakfast: smoothies, banana bread
Lunch: grilled veggie wraps
Dinner: shredded pork sandwiches, sweet potato fries, fruit, oil and vinegar slaw

SATURDAY:
Breakfast: eggs, toast, fruit
Lunch: leftovers
Dinner: lasagna, salad, roasted broccoli

SUNDAY:
Breakfast: pancakes, fruit compote
Lunch: leftovers
Dinner: black bean and quinoa salad, sliced cucumbers and carrots

Extras:
Banana bread, whole wheat bread, chocolate chip cookies, catsup

And as an aside...does anyone else notice how quickly this year seems to be flying by?! Where did April go?!

Daring Bakers April Challenge - Brunswick Stew

The 2010 April Daring Cooks challenge was hosted by Wolf of Wolf’s Den. She chose to challenge Daring Cooks to make Brunswick Stew. Wolf chose recipes for her challenge from The Lee Bros. Southern Cookbook by Matt Lee and Ted Lee, and from the Callaway, Virginia Ruritan Club.




This was super simple - which usually means it's going to turn out brilliantly. I think that what made this a daring dish was that you can get pretty creative with the ingredients, but I didn't do that. I attempted to find a decent price on rabbit, but the best I could find was $15/pound and I didn't want to risk paying for rabbit and then having a family that wouldn't touch it. From my own personal experience, whenever we were served rabbit as kids, my mother would make a great deal about eating Bambi's friend, Thumper. And as we had spent all afternoon playing with a bunny the day before I made this stew, I wasn't sure how the girls would take rabbit stew.

So, I used bone in chicken thighs and skinless breasts for this stew. I'd love to try it again with more rustic meat just for a change in flavor. I also think that using a really good quality bacon is a must - even though there is only a tiny bit of it in the dish, bacon has a huge role in the overall flavor.


This is what your stew should turn out like - this enough for a ladle to stand in:




Thanks, Wolf, for a great challenge! Want to see what the rest of the Daring Cooks did? Click here.

five

This is what I was doing 5 years ago:

Hard to believe that she want from this:

To this:

Happy Birthday Ava Rose! I so lucky to be your mama!

meal plan monday

April 12 – April 18

MONDAY
Breakfast: baked eggs and spinach, toast
Lunch: turkey sandwiches, salad
Dinner: soba with pork and mango, sautéed snow peas

TUESDAY
Breakfast: oatmeal, fruit
Lunch: salad, soup
Dinner: tilapia with lemon caper sauce, roasted asparagus, roasted cauliflower

WEDNESDAY:
Breakfast: pancakes, fruit salad
Lunch: A shaped nutella and banana sandwiches, carrots, apples
Dinner: taco salad, birthday cake

THURSDAY:
Breakfast: smoothies
Lunch: grilled cheese sandwiches, tomato soup
Dinner: enchiladas, salad, veggies

FRIDAY:
Breakfast: soft boiled eggs, toast, fruit
Lunch: sandwiches, salad
Dinner: chicken thighs with creole mustard-orange sauce, spinach salad, quinoa

SATURDAY:
Breakfast: french toast, fruit
Lunch: leftovers
Dinner: sloppy joe’s on whole wheat buns, coleslaw, veggies

SUNDAY:
Breakfast: yogurt parfaits
Lunch: soup, sandwiches
Dinner: shrimp scampi, whole wheat linguini, salad

Extras:
Granola bars, banana oatmeal muffins, whole wheat bread

making butter

We've been reading Little House in the Big Woods as part of our school for this month. I've been waiting for Ava to be old enough, since these are my absolute favorite books of all time. The first book takes place when Laura is 4 and 5 years old, so Ava really loves it (although, she wants to know why the story isn't just about Mary, the older sister). We've talked a lot about how different life was 140 years ago, and it's sparked some interesting questions:

"1870! That's when the dinosaurs lived, huh, Mama?"

"Mama, what did the daddies do all day if they didn't have computers?"

"Mama, why do they eat bear meat? Can we go to Fred Meyer and get some bear meat?"

"Where are Laura and Mary's toys?"

"How do they watch movies?"

We've looked online at pictures of covered wagons and log houses, and also watched a video on YouTube showing how butter was made in a crock. Ava asked if we could make some butter (complete with steeping grated carrot in some warm cream to dye the butter yellow), so I decided to try it again. If you want instructions, check out the River Cottage Family Cookbook from the library. It's a great book!

Shaking the jar of cream. We put a silly song on repeat and took turns.


After about 5 minutes, the cream was more like whipped cream:


This picture is so blurry, but you can definitely see the butter that has formed and the buttermilk that separated from it. We talked a lot about how this buttermilk is nothing like the sour stuff you buy at the store.


Once Ava agreed that it didn't smell or feel like store bought buttermilk, she agreed to drink some. She loved it!


Then we washed the butter in cold water and molded it, just like in the book.


Last but not least, we spread it on some fresh made bread. YUM!

fun photo friday

I misplaced the cable for the camera so here are some pictures from the past few days:

Ava holding the sign we made when we picked Joel up at the airport. The girls thought that was the best part of his trip (they've never been on a plane, so any chance to go to the airport is super exciting):

For April Fool's Day, I wanted to do something fun with food that didn't involve turning a normal meal into a dessert (a la the pound cake and frosting "grilled cheese sandwich"). I found a Fauxberry Pie recipe at Family Fun and it was a hit! The mashed potatoes are tinted with beets...extra healthy:

I made these cute bunnies for the girls and their cousin for Easter treats from this tutorial. It was so fun and easy! Also a great way to use up fabric scraps. I think this would be cute for a baby shower gift too!

These crayon rolls are a project that I've been wanting to complete for a LONG time (as in, this is why I originally bought my sewing machine last year!). I made small ones that would fit in my purse to bring to occupy the girls at doctor visits, etc. They were a huge hit :) I love this fabric...it's from Amy Butler's Love line.

Of course, I also made some springtime skirts. I just can't resist!

Every year we go to three (!!!) gatherings on Easter and the last gathering is a dessert buffet. I made some French macarons and filled them with chocolate ganache. These were yummy and so easy...I don't know why I don't make them more often!

Some of the eggs that Joel and the girls decorated. I made Paula Deen's deviled eggs out of them, and replaced the mayo with fat free Greek yogurt...holy yummy!

Finally, so many people have asked about the bibimbop...here's a picture:

This was one of the best dinners I've made in a long time. I used kimchi that I purchased at H Mart and then seasoned everything else myself. It was healthy, filling, and really pretty. I think that the next time I do it, I'll marinate some steak or chicken and slice it up to add to the dish.

the big announcement

No, I'm not pregnant.

No, I'm not going back to work.

Instead: We're moving to Seattle! Joel's company has offered to help us move to the Emerald City in exchange for him to take on the role of head of software development for his company. We've been talking about moving to Seattle every since we met (I like a big city and he likes that the mother ship - Microsoft - is there).


Once we convinced Ava that they also have ballet, soccer, and art classes (and kindergartens, too!), it was easy for her to get excited. Luckily, we've visited quite a few times and she knows that it's not too far away. So...stay tuned for (not very) exciting posts about packing, garage sales, rentals, and home purchases. Oh yeah, and I'm sure TONS of pictures of our new home city. And, if you have any tips for making a move easier with kids, please share!

the monday meal plan

April 5 – April 11

MONDAY
Breakfast: eggs in a nest, fruit
Lunch: minestrone soup, salad
Dinner: chicken with mustard greens, olives, and lemon

TUESDAY
Breakfast: smoothies
Lunch: salad, sandwiches
Dinner: potluck

WEDNESDAY:
Breakfast: oatmeal, berries
Lunch: salad, lentil soup
Dinner: Asian salmon patties, oil and vinegar slaw, sautéed snow peas

THURSDAY:
Breakfast: yogurt and fruit
Lunch: chicken Caesar salad wraps, fruit
Dinner: Bi Bim Bop

FRIDAY:
Breakfast: smoothies
Lunch: sandwiches, salad
Dinner: Brunswick stew, salad, rolls

SATURDAY:
Breakfast: applesauce pancakes, fruit, eggs
Lunch: out
Dinner: leftovers

SUNDAY:
Breakfast: smoothies
Lunch: pizza and birthday cake
Dinner: chef salad

Extras:
Chocolate cake