Lazy Writer

And a fairly lazy baker ...

Well, we'll see how lazy. Below are some pictures from what I have baked since my last posting. First up, the prototype for my *pucker up* cupcakes. These only had lime zest in a classic yellow cake batter and were then topped with a lime icing. The next round will have lemon and lime zest and lemon and lime icing.



Then there was the Gingered Almond Apple Pear Pie ... A basic flaky pie dough crust. The top layer cut out with fluted biscuit cutters and then individually layered on the filling. I think I could have used more pears to balance out the apples and I think an extra bit of candied ginger sprinkled on the top pastry layer instead of just plain sugar could have made a lot of difference.


There was the apple pie that actually came before the above pie. It was the first pie I baked this fall and the first for quite a while. Perhaps an entire season? It seems I became a little too lost in cakes, cupcakes, and cookies. It was baked for a night of great discussion and conversation with friends. The next day I received an email from one friend saying she ate every crumb of the last two remaining slices on her counter. And she kept asking about the crust, how she had never had anything like it, and how she never eats all of a pie's crust but that she could not stop herself with mine. A true compliment indeed. The best a baker can receive.


And then there were last night's cookies. Keith came over. I had beer to help celebrate the Angels win over the Yankees but nothing sweet to offer. Mini muffins full of blueberries, cranberries, and cherries (sorry, no pictures) were tucked away in a container, wrapped in plastic, and in the freezer. I jokingly offered to bake cookies. He took me up on the offer and we spent a late night in my kitchen, talking, cleaning, baking, and then enjoying the cookies. They came out quite plump and cake-y. I love them!

Rich Chocolate Cake

With a bittersweet chocolate buttercream.

I wish I had more to say or more to write. Some clever words and musings. But nothing. It has been a rough week of battling a sore throat that seems to refuse to want to get better despite medication and enough tea and honey in my system that I'm now sweating the stuff. I swear my armpits smell like chai. Okay, that's just crass. But it's staying in here because, well, I'm tired and slightly annoyed and, frankly, don't care if I am crass or not.

Later this week there is a bake sale. Brownies perhaps. Blondies for sure. Or maybe just cookies. Apples keep calling me. I picked up two at the farmer's market yesterday. One is already gone. Along with some celery, potatoes, a bell pepper, and some onion (for the honey home remedy ... yummy. Seriously).

I am surrounded right now by cookbooks (didn't I just complain I didn't have any more to say or write?) and I can't think of one thing to do with them. Actually, I'm surrounded by a number of books I can't lift a finger to flick. This is what happens when a normally active mind and body suddenly has to rest to take care of a throat that isn't getting any better anyway. A week wasted? Perhaps. More time wasted by bitching right now? Most definitely.

Here's a bit of wisdom on this rainy Sunday evening. Blah.

What will I bake?

Dear lord, what will I bake? What will I bake? What have I baked??? I don't believe I have shared.

Let's start with the walnut brownies with a white chocolate swirl.

Here are the brownies ...


Here is the swirl ...


And then Keith turned 33. And I had NO idea what to make for him. I think I moved into my brain for a good two weeks until something hit me with a "duh" stick the night before the festivities were to begin. How could I not bake him black and white cookies ...


The recipe was okay but I was a little distracted and I mixed the flour more than I wanted to so the cookie was too dense for my taste. But, well, if you don't mind me patting myself on the back, not bad at all for the first attempt. The taste was exactly where I wanted it. EXACTLY. Just a touch of lemon coming through the cookie. The texture is what I'll work on. Improve upon. But it was worth it to walk into my living room with three cookies on a plate and sing him Happy Birthday a few moments after midnight.

Oh, and his birthday "cake?" A lime tart. A little on the thin side (what do you expect when you stretch it out into a 10-inch tart pan ...


Now, on to the question of what to bake for this Friday's dinner. I'm thinking I might attempt the Root Beer Chocolate Cake courtesy of Baked. But today is the first day of fall. And I let the entire summer go by without one stinkin' pie. I think this Friday calls for an apple pie. With apples purchased straight from the market and my dough made from scratch. Yum. Yum. Yum. The minutes are slowly ticking my. Slightly in tune with the new grumbling in my belly.

Reading Material Received

This wasn't the first choice when I flipped through the Appendix of my CIA "Baking and Pastry Arts" book. The book whose image appears below was the first choice. But this is here now (along with the one below) and I am a little too excited to sit here with their spines uncracked as I wait another 2-3 hours before being able to go home. And, well, truth be told, this nagging sore throat and cough means I will snuggle up with nothing more than my prescribed Robitussin with codeine when I finally crawl into bed.

Lesson Number 1: Understanding the Basic Ingredients

Do I understand them any more than I did with my first reading? Maybe during the second reading when I also let my pen bleed along the important points and etched thoughts in the margins? No. Perhaps this third time is the charm. A plan in place and to follow. And five more pages of notes to place in my binder.

Why does my head hurt? Why so long between posts? Why writing aimlessly now? Easy to answer the third; definitely the second -- procrastination. There is approximately one punctuation mark remaining to put these five additional pages to rest and I am instead writing here. Babbling really. Pointless perhaps.

I need my kitchen.

Is Summer Really Over?

And has it really been almost a full month since my last entry?

Before I get into what could have been or what was not done this summer let me bring you with me to a memory that I want to etch forever in my mind. Late last week I turned 30. Yes, the big, and seemingly obnoxious, 3-o! I don't feel 30. I don't know what 30 is supposed to feel like. What I felt on that day, however, was overwhelming love from friends. Keith surprised me with a dinner party with the closest friends I have, most strangers to each other, but absolutely and 100% beloved by me. At one point in the evening, as I was walking back to my apricot ale and fried pickles the following stopped me:

Jackie: Jenny, what is it that you're supposed to bake for me?
Me: A berry crisp.
Adam: And what are my favorite cookies?
Me: White chocolate dipped almond shortbread.
Carlos: And what did you promise me for my birthday?
Me: A white chocolate cheesecake with a hazelnut crust.

I then looked to Rachel and David who were beaming with smiles and I thought of my "brookies."

So many great friends and if there was one overwhelming emotion, thought, expression, etc., it was this "I have had the pleasure of baking for all of you. And I will continue to have that pleasure. And I thank you for allowing me to do so. Thank you for my very happiest of birthdays!"

Back to the summary of this summer: I didn't bake or experiment quite as much as I would have liked. But I baked. And I paid attention to what was around me. And I thought a lot. And I read a bit. And I think I have a handle on something more than nothing, which is better than where I have been.

But where am I really now that the summer season has come to a close and work sets into full swing tomorrow?

I am sitting here none too pleased or tickled with my blog name. Time to change. Something less harsh sounding. Recommendations accepted.

I am seriously contemplating another internship instead of my original plan to just sit tight in my apartment and experiment and read and learn.

On the other hand, I am also seriously contemplating moving into my kitchen, setting out a more detailed plan (horribly lacking this summer), get to reading and studying and really focusing on laying out a self-educating plan. On the side I might take a business class or two.

What can I take away from this summer?

Two cakes. One chocolate and paid for. Another lemon and adored.

A pancake recipe I can finally love. No milk. Some soy. Some yogurt. And lots of fluff and tangy taste.

Brioche that sweetly sits and waits for me to turn into a loaf and then a snack or breakfast. The next loaf absolutely must become a bread pudding.

Cookies and muffins galore.

The absence of a pie and looking forward to a fall season of pumpkins and apples.

Flan. Regular. Coffee. Coconut. Sweet. Too sweet. Just right. Needs rum.

Another About Me and Flan!

I have edited info about me and fell in love with this piece:

Two parts passion. One part hope. Yet one can so easily find her pantry lacking. Hope settled in somewhere in the back and its expiration date quickly settled in and set up residence for the week. Passion, left to dry on the counter, floundered about looking for another recipe that could use its room temperature state. And one can easily be left questioning what to do. Explore. Measure out the bit of passion still fresh. Scrape at the top of hope and burrow for the flesh still ripe. Assemble its simplicity and enjoy the show of the smells floating around the kitchen space, wafting from the cracks in the oven door.

Wait ... the flan! One can condensed milk, one can evaporated milk, a lite spring shower of vanilla extract. Place on stove top. Beat five eggs and stir into milk mixture. Allow to heat, not bubble, until mixture is warm to the touch. Meanwhile (or before, I tend to do this before) place 3/4 cup of brown sugar and 1/4 cup of liquid (water, orange juice, apple juice, rum, etc.) into a saucepan, bring to a boil, lower temperature, and allow to simmer until the mixture is dark brown and syrupy. Pour into individual ramekins or a pie plate (I prefer the pie plate), and allow to set/cool. Check on your milk mixture. And then smack yourself upside the head for forgetting to preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Another slap for forgetting a 1/2 cup of sugar in the milk mixture (I forgot the first time, it was fantastic, I didn't forget this last time, it was a little too sweet). Add any variation you wish to the milk mixture. Yesterday I added slightly over 1/4 cup of strongly brewed coffee. Um. Now what? Oh, strain the milk mixture (when ready) into the pie plate or ramekins. Set into a bain marie, put into oven, and let cook for 45 minutes.

Run your knife around the edge to loosen. When cool invert onto plate. Note this is messy and will result in caramel dripping everywhere. No fear. Just dip your finger into the mess and enjoy a bit of dessert before dessert. Happy baking!