Can Me Have This: NYE CUPCAKES!!!

The countdown begins! #10 - chocolate and vanilla cupcakes, dusted with sprinkling sugar, topped with a chocolate sugar cookie.

Can Me Have This: Pumpkin Muffins

My very dear friend, Teresa gave me a delicious recipe for one of my favorite things in the world - pumpkin muffins. The recipe calls for whole wheat flour, applesauce - ingredients that take the tinge of guilt away from eating such great food. However, one desperate afternoon, I did not have those things at hand. I hit the web in search for another recipe to curb these crazy pregnancy cravings.

Enjoy!

RECIPE FOR PUMPKIN MUFFINS From Gourmet November 2006 Adapted from the American Club Makes 1 dozen Active time: 15 min. Start to finish: 1 hour

INGREDIENTS:
1.5 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 cup canned solid-pack pumpkin (from a 15-oz can) (I accidentally put the entire 15 oz. can in, with no ill effects at all)
1/3 cup vegetable oil
2 large eggs
1 tsp pumpkin-pie spice (a combo of cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, ginger, and allspice)
1.25 cups plus 1 Tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon

Equipment: 12 foil or paper muffin liners; a muffin pan with 12 (1/2-cup) muffin cups

DIRECTIONS:
Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 350F. Put liners in muffin cups.

Whisk together flour and baking powder in a small bowl.

Whisk together pumpkin, oil, eggs, pumpkin-pie spice, 1.25 cups sugar, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl until smooth, then whisk in flour mixture until just combined.

Stir together cinnamon and remaining 1 tablespoon sugar in another bowl.

Divide batter among muffin cups (each should be about 3/4 full), then spinkle tops with cinnamon-sugar mixture. Bake until puffed and golden brown and a wodden pick or skewer inserted into center of a muffin comes out clean, 25 to 30 minutes.

Cool in pan on a rack 5 minutes, then transfer muffins from pan to rack and cool to warm or room temperature.

Can Me Have This: Chocolate Chip Cookies

There is one nemesis in my cooking/baking world - it is the chocolate chip cookie. The perfect cookie alludes me. I follow the Toll House recipe and it never comes out....right. The family eats it and I will too but I know there is a better cookie out there.

So, this is my cry for help. If you have a tried and true recipe, bring it on!

Can Me Have This: The breakfast sandwich

Good Morning!

My sister recently had a birthday party and the theme was sandwiches. This got me thinking about how really wonderful and versatile the simple sandwich is. The vessel (bread), holding the goods (insides) is a self containing bundle of goodness. Sandwiches are a pretty common commodity in our home - this morning was no exception.

Behold the breakfast sandwich. An egg, Vermont white cheddar, honey baked ham, all sandwiched between homemade, simple white bread. I advise that you make one for everyone that is in your proximity. I learned my lesson.

Can Me Have This: Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

The only thing better than chocolate chip cookies in my opinion is chocolate chip cookies that have been infused with peanut butter. Here my friends - peanut butter chocolate chip cookies.

Preheat oven to 375
1/2 c. Crisco
1 stick butter
1 c. brown sugar
1 c. granulated sugar
1 c. peanut butter
2 eggs
2 1/2 c. sifted flour
1 t. baking soda
1 t. baking powder
pinch of salt (depends on how salty your peanut butter is to begin with)
1 bag (about 2 cups) chocolate chips

Mix the shortening, butter, sugars, and peanut butter in the mixer. If using a KitchenAid, you can go up to 6. Add eggs, one at a time, blending well after each. In a small bowl, sift the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Add to the butter mixture in small batches. Add chocolate chips.

Roll dough into rounds. Make the 'peanut butter cookie' indentation on each.

Bake for 8-10 min.


Kids make the best cookie shapers...

I caught Aiko mid-sentence - "Can me have more?"

Can Me Have This: Sourdough Bread with Hearty Tomato Cabbage Soup

My very dear friend, Teresa gave me a sourdough starter, which jump started my desire for a KitchenAid Mixer. Another very dear friend, Mary gave me a recipe for a Hearty Cabbage Soup. Now, if life would slow down and we can all share this culinary experience together, THAT would be perfection.


More pictures of the sourdough:


The perfect companion to sourdough is a good, hearty soup. Here, my friends is Tomato Cabbage soup with Italian sausage - enjoy!

Hearty Tomato Cabbage Soup with Italian Sausage:
1 1/2 lb. combination of ground beef and Italian Sausage (loose)
1 onion
handful of carrots
2 stalks celery
1 onion
7 cups water
1 T. salt (I know, I know, sounds excessive but I never claimed that this was healthy...)
1 T. sugar
2 T. Worchestershire
4 Jamaican all spice, whole
2-3 bay leaves
1 head of cabbage, coarsely chopped
2 cans tomato paste
lotso pepper

Brown meat with onions. Add in carrots, celery.

Add water. Add the salt, sugar, Worchestershire, all spice, bay leaf and cabbage. Simmer for an hour. Add tomato paste. Simmer for another hour. Salt and pepper to taste.

Me Want This: Foodie status

I want to be a foodie. I really do. Having 2 kids, 5 and under and #3 on the way means I probably won't be a Lynn Rosetto Kasper (foodie goddess in my eyes). But I march on. I spend lazy Sunday afternoons scouring Mark Bittman cookbooks, along with old issues of Cooks Illustrated with Emiko.

On another note, I will be making sourdough bread tonight. Stay tuned...

Can Me Have This: KitchenAid Mixer

My latest baking crazy has led me to re-evaluate my need for a mixer. Within minutes of showing up on my doorstep on Friday, she was put to good use. 5 dozen chocolate chip cookies and a couple of dozen sugar cookies for Emiko's throngs of friends that came over. Today (Sunday) was no different.

Here to entice tastebuds....Sour Cream Coffee Cake.

1/2 c. firmly packed brown sugar
1 1/2 t. cinnamon
1 c. chopped walnuts or pecans (I used a 1/2 c of both)
3 c. all purpose flour
1 1/2 c. granulated sugar
3 t. baking powder
1 t. baking soda
1/2 t. salt
1 c. butter
1 c. reduced fat sour cream (I used a little more...)
1 t. vanilla (I used a little more)
3 eggs

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Combine brown sugar, cinnamon, and nuts in small bowl, set aside

Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in mixer bowl. Add butter, sour cream and vanilla. With a flat beater, mix for 45 sec. until ingredients are well combined. Turn to speed 4 and beat about 2 min. Stop and scrape bowl Turn to STIR speed and add eggs, one at a time, mixing 15 sec. after each addition. Turn to Speed 2 and mix about 30 sec

Spread half of batter in greased and floured 13x9x2 inch baking pan. Sprinkle with half of cinnamon-sugar mixture. Spread remaining batter in pan and top with remaining cinnamon sugar mixture. Bake at 350 for 40-50 min.

Serve warm.

Aiko obviously liked it:
Happy baking!

Here we go!

This is probably my 3rd attempt at a blog but I am inspired to make this one go. I haven't really decided what my motivation or my goal is but I am hoping that will take form fairly soon.

I am just really happy that I can name this blog after Aiko's favorite thing to say :)