Yule Log Cake

I know on the day after New Year's, when everyone is trying to be healthy, the last thing you all want to see is a giant chocolate cake! I'm sorry!!!

At Christmas, for the first time ever, I made a chocolate Yule log cake. I had to save a picture of it here so I can find it again another year.


Meringue mushrooms are surprisingly tasty!! (The cake is delicious too....although I'm in more of a salad mood today!)

The recipe (a giant tutorial from King Arthur Flour) is here.

I hope your holidays were wonderful and that 2012 brings so much light, laughter and love into our lives!

Almost Like a New Year's Resolution

Am I posting about food again???


Somehow, the spirit of the New Year and the idea of making a fresh start has me committed to improving my bread-baking prowess.

We don't eat tons of bread, but most of what we do eat comes out of our bread machine.


I'm following King Arthur Flour's online Bread Machine Basics & Beyond class to branch out and understand what I'm doing a little better.

That sounds more complicated than it really is, because the class only involves making 3 different breads.

Today was my second time making the Harvest Cracked Wheat Bread. We loved it so much the first time, I had to try it again.


The first time, the loaf was kind of gnarly (which is apparently the word for the weirdness that comes out of your bread machine when you don't add enough water.) The flavor was great, but the shape was very weird and the crust was super crunchy.

This time, I monitored the bread while it was kneading, added 1/4 cup of water a tablespoon-ful at a time, and the bread came out much better. (The first time I made the loaf, the instructions told me to pay attention, but I was doing something else....hopefully weaving-related... and the time to intervene passed me by.)

The recipe is for a smaller size bread machine than mine, so I'm still going to experiment with making the recipe bigger so it can be part of our regular bread rotation.


Jim (AKA Mr. LifeLoomsLarge) likes to use power tools (an electric knife) to slice the bread. We freeze it in two-slice pairs, perfect for sandwiches. I guess we like gadgets whether they're used for weaving or for bread-making!!

DPS: Holiday Food

This week's assignment at Digital Photography School.

Food photography is always a challenge for me!

On a non-photographic, but foodie note:

Today I'm cooking Spicy Beef Roast in my crockpot. (Love the crockpot website for recipes.) The whole house smells like Worcestershire sauce....which makes me crave Chex party mix, a holiday staple when I was growing up!

Happy Halloween!

From your favorite chick and chick magnet!!!

Plus, a recipe! (They call them cheesy fingers, but I like mummy fingers better!)

Don't get too scared!

Strawberry Shortcake

Strawberry season is one of the pleasures of summer. We still have local berries in season, so this is a great time for berry shortcake.

My favorite recipe is good with strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, blueberries or a mixture of berries.


To me, the best thing about this recipe is the hint of ginger and citrus in the shortcake.

From Gourmet's Parties

Ginger Shortcakes

3 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 sticks (6 US ounces) cold unsalted butter, cut into bits
2 tablespoons finely grated peeled fresh gingerroot
1 1/2 teaspoons finely grated fresh orange zest
1 cup sour cream
1 cup milk

Preheat oven to 425 F and lightly butter 2 baking sheets (or cover with parchment).

In a large bowl, whisk together flour, 1/3 cup sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. With your fingertips or a pastry blender (or in my case, your kitchenaid mixer) blend in butter until the mixture resembles coarse meal.

In a small bowl, whisk together gingerroot, zest, sour cream and milk.

Add wet ingredients to flour mixture, stirring until a soft sticky dough just forms.

Drop dough in 10 - 12 mounds about 1 inch apart on baking sheets. Sprinkle with remaining 1 tablespoon of sugar.

Bake shortcake 12 - 15 minutes or until pale golden. Transfer to rack to cool.


I've made this recipe with regular milk and sour cream, or with skim milk and fat free sour cream (depending on what's in the fridge.)

These shortcakes freeze well if you can't eat 10-12 large shortcakes all at once!!!

Enjoy!

DPS: Dessert

Food photography is surprisingly difficult.

Take something delicious, and try to photograph it. Often it looks awful.

Digital Photography School has the theme "Food" for the month of February. The first assignment is "Dessert".

I considered cooking something photogenic, but decided to buy a few desserts at Popovers.


The fruit tart looked best in photos.

I shot these photos on our porch with the early morning sun shining on the tart.

It was 17° F (-8 ° C).


Perhaps I'm getting more eccentric the longer I live in New Hampshire!

Pear Tart

Invite me to a late summer or fall gathering and it's likely that I'll bring a Rustic Fruit Tart. I love this recipe at this time of year.

In summer, blueberries or peaches (or both together) are my faves. As fall arrives, apples and pears, and once an apple quince mixture, become my favorites.

Sometimes I make dough for several tarts at once and freeze them, ready to get rolled out.



For Thanksgiving tomorrow, we're bringing a tart with:

• 4 cups pears
• 1/2 c toasted pecans
• 1/2 c craisins
• 1 tsp vanilla

I hope that whether you're celebrating Thanksgiving tomorrow or not, you're able to enjoy some of nature's beauty and bounty!

Cider

A group of weavers gathered to make cider yesterday. 3 varieties of apples (Freedom, Ida and one variety I can't remember) turned into the best cider I've ever tasted! Quite the backyard cider-making success!

According to the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources, the difference between apple juice and apple cider is that juice is filtered to remove more of the solids and sediment. (We filtered our cider by straining it through cheesecloth 3 times).

I was surprised that the cider was brown as soon as it drained from the cider press into the bucket. I thought it might need to be exposed to air for some time. Here's an explanation as to why, although this writeup makes it sound like the cider should have been golden to start with. Ours looked brown immediately.

Maybe I'll go have a glass right now!

Nice day for soup

We had a cool, rainy day today. Definitely a good day to be occupied with indoor pursuits.

We eat a lot of soup during the winter. I jumped the gun a little and made soup today.

What's a girl to do when she has farm fresh leeks in the fridge?

I followed Jane Brody's recipe for Potato Leek Soup

She includes parsley and cheddar cheese. I don't.

Yum!

Sweet Tooth

At Digital Photo School, the assignment for this week is "Sweet Tooth".


Enter Popovers in Market Square, Portsmouth, NH, USA

Jim and I both had business to attend to in Portsmouth, so we met for a quick afternoon snack at Popovers.


The weather was perfect for enjoying their outdoor tables....plus Bailey is well-trained as a cafe dog. He knows that lying under the table looking cute is his best begging strategy.


As you can see, they have beautiful and delicious desserts.


Plus cakes.

Plus it's a great spot for a cup of coffee or tea, lunch, a snack, a light dinner, or late night munchies after a weekend performance at the Music Hall.

Jim tells me there's even free Wi-Fi, for the blogger on the go!


My pick: fresh fruit tart. Yummy!!!!

Rhubarb

3 stalks of rhubarb lurked in my kitchen after my visit to the farmer's market.

This morning I tried a new recipe: King Arthur Flour's Walnut-Rhubarb Muffins

It's a quick-bread recipe, but I baked muffins. I sprayed the muffin tins with oil, baked at 400° for 18 minutes.


The recipe called for cooked rhubarb to start, and suggested microwaving it....super easy and quick!


The muffins have a hint a lemon because they contain lemon zest.


Definitely yummy - even if you aren't inundated with rhubarb from your own garden just now.

Happy Easter

A chocolate rabbit is always part of my Easter celebration!


Often, that bunny is from my favorite local chocolate store, The Chocolatier, Exeter, NH.


Just walking in the door and being overwhelmed by that chocolate-y smell. Yum!


They make chocolates....in some cases using their antique chocolate molds.


On Wednesday afternoon, the shelves still had plenty of bunnies. I know they expected the shelves to be almost bare by Saturday afternoon.

Happy Easter, Happy Passover, Happy Spring!

Restaurant Week Portsmouth

Today is the start of Restaurant Week Portsmouth. Many local restaurants are offering special menus for 3-course meals.

Tonight we had dinner with friends at the Dolphin Striker. Crowded and yummy!

Not sure we'll fit any other restaurant visits into our week - but I overheard a couple who had selected four different restaurants where they'll dine. Don't miss out!

2 Good Not 2 Share

2 orange things that brightened up my Saturday....One involves yarn, the other food!

First, the yarn. Look at the size of this kit I ordered from Knitpicks.com!! I pictured teeny tiny balls of yarn, but this is substantial! Bailey is having fun in his job as model! Too much fun!


What is all this yarn for? These cool knitted tote bags. Each kit makes 2 bags....and there are 3 colorways. The kits weren't available for the last month, but they're available now. Knitpicks says this is our last chance! So I wanted to let you know because I think these bags are so cool. (And no, I have no relationship with them except as a satisfied customer!)

Knitpicks.com

As if that weren't enough orange-y goodness for one day, I also tried a new recipe in my bread machine for tomato olive bread from King Arthur Flour. Smells good and tastes great!!


Orange yarn, orange food - quite a nice Saturday!! Hope your world is bright today too!

Birthday Trip to Dartmouth

Jim and I celebrated my birthday this week with a trip across the state to Hanover, NH, home of Dartmouth College.


The main goal of the trip was a photography exhibit at the Hood Museum. There was also a small exhibit of Wabanaki basketry.


We thoroughly enjoyed the exhibits, although my interpretation of the photo guidelines for the museum means I can't post any pictures from the museum. Sorry!!

The photography exhibit closes on Sunday, March 8. The baskets continue until June 28.


We visited the murals at the Baker Library.

Bailey got to go for a walk around the quad - where he was chased by some fraternity dogs - who then went back to loll on the frat house doorstep.


We visited Dan and Whit's General Store, where their motto is "If we don't have it, you don't need it." They didn't have any yarn. (But they did have a large selection in a small space.)


Our last stop was King Arthur Flour. The store carries everything in the Baker's Catalogue and more.


We ate these great birthday desserts - a raspberry square and chocolate indulgence. I'm still enjoying the chocolate indulgence days later - it's very rich so I brought most of it home.


The Baking Education Center is here too. I think this is a wood-fired hearth used for classes.


I was treated royally all day. Wait, where's my crown and scepter?


We returned home with some birthday loot.....including our favorite Girl Scout cookies from our California nieces!!


It was a good start to what I hope will be a very good year!