Baking FAIL

This weekend some friends and i went camping, to celebrate Aimee's birthday.  Birthdays require cake.  But she is not eating much animal product (vegan as practical?), and seeing if removing gluten from her diet helps with some health stuff, which means not just any store-bought cake would do!  OK, and it's Miss Aimee the Cookie Mistress and no store-bought cake would do anyway, she's one of the best bakers i know!

Aimee loves salt.  She's taught me to be a little less fearful of it, and even taught me to add it to things i might not otherwise, like frosting, to add a little pop.  Also, we recently went to Tanglewood, and passed on some local salted caramel ice cream that all made us go "oooh".  I've never made caramel before (and it will show during this saga), but thought it sounded like a fun challenge.

It's a good thing sugar isn't expensive this was a complete fail, even after several tries.  And so the trash can had a feast.  These were my first attempts at a gooey filling (the sugar never melted enough) and harder decorative caramel (burnt).

Try #1 for filling came out grainy and gritty.  The sugar never melted enough, I think because i left out the 'optional' water, there was never enough moisture for it to get really soft.  

Try #1 for a harder caramel that i could break and use for decorating the cupcakes.  I let it get too dark and it burned.

I feel like maybe next time i should do some research about caramel before hand, as i ended up scrambling and not sure what i was looking for (hence so many failures!).  

This just wouldn't get hard, it kept melting at room temperature!

And here is Try #2 for a filling.  It's was way too thin.

The second time i adapted a non-vegan recipe, and substituted almond milk for the heavy cream.  This obviously cut the fat content way down.  Again, i maybe should of let this boil longer, as it was thin when i transferred it to the jar, but i was afraid of repeating my previous over-cooking error.  After a night in the fridge it was much more sticky and caramel like, but when i tried to use it, it was clear, it was way too thin.

I decided that the cupcakes should have a little more depth, rather than a single flavor note, so I made chocolate cupcakes, using a similar process to my lemon cupcakes.  These, however, were gritty, somethign didn't properly incorporate, either the flour or the cocoa.  But they looked ok, right?

Sadly, Aimee did not get cupcakes.  My time ran out before i could make a new batch of anything.  I would totally fail a reality TV cooking show audition.  We did, however, put candles in a cooked banana with chocolate chips and marshmallows for her on Saturday.  

Still, i will make these darned cupcakes for her!  Ian says that this is a sign i'm becoming a better baker, that i can tell things are not right and pitching them rather than making my friends suffer through my mistakes or something.  

CSA

Another weeks farm share, with Lucky investigating.  Lettuce, eggplant, tomatoes, peaches, heirloom cranberry beans, tomatoes and lots of peppers!

My First Cooking Class (but not the last!)

peach preserves

Last night, after work, i headed over to Billings Forge Community Works, in the Frog Hollow section of Hartford.  For those of you not familiar with New England's rising star, this is a neighborhood that is not-so-great, in charitable terms.  Billings Forge has decided to invest in probably the roughest area of Hartford, including the very fancy Firebox restaurant, as well as the Kitchen, which grew out of the catering side of the restaurant.  Both are farm-to-table style businesses.  There are also artist workshops, a community garden and a weekly farmer's market.  Oh, and did i fail to mention the mixed-income housing?  Or that it's all in former industrial buildings?  I know this blog is often about domestic things, but yours truly is an civil/environmental engineer who has a love for urban planning, so places like this do fill me with a certain joy, particularly when they succeed as well as Billing Forge appears to.

Among the many programs at Billings Forge, are some cooking classes at The Kitchen.  I was a little intimidated, having never attended a cooking class outside of 7th grade home ec, but a girl has to learn somehow, and books and youtube only go so far.

I'm happy to say this won't be my last time there.  The class was great.  We met in the dining area, and had an introduction to what Billings Forge is about, what the Kitchen does and met our instructors.  There were about 8 students in the class (3 pairs, me and another woman who came by herself) and 2 instructors, so there was lots of attention.  We had a short lecture on safety, and why it's important to follow instructions when it comes to preserving fruits and vegetables (botulism, among other reasons).  We also learned the difference between 'refrigerator' recipes versus recipes which require hot water baths and proper sealing.  We would be making refrigerator types of preserves, which won't last as long, but are much faster to make (and, after tasting my peach preserves, these won't be lasting long anyway, as i want to eat it all NOW!).  

We also learned that we'll be using a lot of sugar.  And this is critical, because that's what acts as the preservative binding with water in the fruit and preventing the growth of microorganisms, much like salt does in some recipes.  Then we headed to the kitchen to begin our hands on work!

Our instructors already had all the prep done for a pepper jelly, which they gave us the recipe for.  I don't have a lot of experience with savory jellies, but after trying a sample of this recipe the instructor had made a few days earlier, i'm excited to try some new things out!  The smells from the pot as it boiled were amazing.  

As we learned about pectin, we began to cut up our peaches for a preserve.  Pectin is extracted from fruits (some fruits have more pectin in them than others) and is used to make things gel.  It's in a number of products, in liquid or powder form.  We were recommended to check out Pomona Pectin, produced in Massachusetts, not only because they apparently make a great product, but it comes with a recipe book and a how to do your own recipe guide.  Liquid and powder pectins will produce different results, so you can't just substitute one for the other.  We would be working without pectin, which means we wouldn't be getting a really hard set product (hard set would be like Smucker's, when you scoop it out of the jar it sort of holds it's shape). 

I cut up 6 peaches unpeeled cut into small chunks and added 2.5 cups of sugar and just a little water to prevent the sugar burning before putting it on the stove. A good stir to get things going and then we let them go!  Some people added herbs to theirs, such as rosemary (i got to try a drop of this, and it was ZOMG good).  Basically we just let them boil, stirring occasionally, hoping to get to approximately 220F.  

Finished products

Because there are only so many burners on a stove, we made 1 large batch of the blueberry preserves (i forget what this was officially called), using the same process.  Lots of fruit, lots of sugar & a little water, setting to a boil and stirring occasionally.  Again with the wonderful colors and smells!  

We were told we could skim off the foam if we wanted from our preserves, it was just an aesthetic thing.  Some folks use a little butter to deal with the foam.  I didn't, and mine looks lovely anyway.  We also discussed how to tell if things were set without a thermometer.  Our instructor had a very fancy instant read thermometer, but you can also get an idea of your set with a frozen plate, and seeing if a skin forms or if it is runny.

We also spent some time discussing techniques for packaging, fancy jars, and trying some pickled items that had been made at the Kitchen, including beans, beets, onions, radishes and garlic snapes.  When things were ready we used a canning funnel to pour into our jars and ta-da!  Really, it was as simple as cut, stir, heat, stir more & pour.  

This class really boosted my confidence about making preserves,  both sweet and savory, and answered a lot of my questions regarding technique.  I just ordered a copy of Well Preserved, which focuses on small batch preserving, which fits with my food quantities better, and am looking forward to more adventures in preserving!.  

Last weeks CSA

Thought I would share a photo of last week's CSA share from Fair Weather Acres.  I've not been great at blogging our harvest, as Duncan has been picking it up, but it does give you an idea of just what comes in when, here in southern New England.  

On the streets of Hartford.

Thought I'd share this pic of a yarn bomb outside the Wadsworth Atheneum in Hartford on Sunday. It made me happy.

Gluten Free Peach & Blueberry Cobbler

yum!

It was a very, very busy weekend.  And despite my best efforts, my food didn't cook itself, nor did the yummy fresh peaches get eaten.  They were on the verge of getting too soft, so i thought hard for a moment.  Then another.  Then another, until cobbler happened.

This cobbler has blueberries and a bit of ginger for flavor.  I added brown sugar, lemon juice, salt and cinnamon as well.

The topping is a mix of white & brown rice flours, almond flour, oatmeal, almonds and even a little ground walnuts, because i am a wild person.  With gluten free crumble tops you can get away with a lot of different mixes of grain and nut combinations.

This all went into a small baking dish at 350 F for about 30 minutes.

I get to taste it today.  I can't wait!

Update: despite the cat STEPPING on it, it still tasted awesome (Lucky may be adorable 90% of the time, but occasionally his name ought to be Lucky-We-Don't-Throw-Him-Out-A-Window).  I need to be more brave when adding spices, as the ginger was not very noticeable.  Also, i think i want to up the ratio of nuts or oatmeal, to give the crust more chew.  Still, for a throw-together, this worked!

Spice jars are love

In process

Duncan is away for EAA Air Venture and thus I began my home projects to surprise him. Last night was using the Crate & Barrel spice jars (thank you 4+ year old gift card!) and my label maker to organize the spice cabinet.

See, I LOVE our spice cabinet.  It's a former ironing board cabinet in the kitchen, right across from the sink.  It is one of the reasons our kitchen feels so vintagey and cool.  That said, it's also totally awkward to fit everything in there.  The jars from most spice companies are small enough there is plenty of room on the shelf, but too big for two across.  Also, we don't always buy the same brands, so there are different dimensions to deal with, making stacking a challenge!

The current state of the cabinet

I'd look for one cinnamon, and have jars of cloves, pepper and sesame fall out.  Or Duncan would want cumin, and it not being immediately apparent, would purchase a second bottle.  And then a third.  (No lie, we have more cumin than a small country, and it's not a flavor i particularly enjoy!!!)

I ordered 3 dozen of these bottles, which were on sale for about $18 a dozen.  They feel heavy and solid, and the mechanisms feel secure.  The mouths are large enough i could get a stack of bay leaves into them, and i suspect most of my measuring spoons will have no trouble getting things out.  There are gaskets around each which seem to work well and ensure a good closure.

I think this week, if i have time, i will slip in a few more shelves so i don't need to actually keep them stacked.  I have also ordered a 3 dozen more, knowing we have more spices, and our collection will continue to grow, silly me and my enjoying time in the kitchen.

Zoomed in.  Sprinkles are a spice.

One of the things that did strike me is just how beautiful these things are.  The colors, textures and smells were just a wonderful thing to take in and enjoy.  Even with the grainy close up you can see the variety of colors involved.  I didn't realize until this exercise what a variety there is!  The store labels are so big they hide the beauty of what is inside.  The glass jars allow me to really see what i'm working with (as well as how much there is!).  I think it will help me become a better cook as i get to understand my ingredients better.

Filling the Freezer with Fritters

Honest, i don't always make total junk food.  Sometimes i take healthy things and turn them into junk food.

All this without grating my fingers!

The CSA from Fair Weather Acres is great.  But like most folks in the summer, we've got an abundance of zucchini and summer squash.  I've already made a few batches of zucchini bread, and even brought some to work, where it quickly disappeared, but i still had way too much to use up and squash bread is less popular.

Then i saw a recipe for zucchini fritters... this sounded interesting!  Grated zucchini with a little flour, egg, spices and fried?  And promised to freeze well?  Hmmmm.  It was rainy out, and supposed to cool off (once again the weatherman LIES!).

This time i followed a recipe by Smitten Kitchen, which was amazing and yum.  My changes were using whole wheat flour, and making a second round with summer squash (which used a little more scallion).

Tasty tasty zucchini

Seriously? Make these.  Try not to eat them as they come out of the pan.  OK, eat the little bits that aren't a whole piece right out of the pan.  Or the ones that are a little too crispy.  Or not round.

Who am i kidding.  These and two muffins (and two hard ciders) were dinner last night.  And some more are lunch today, with some cherry tomatoes and a plum.

Some tips - definitely use a cheesecloth for de-watering the veggies.  I used a towel for the zucchini and it may be green forever.  Also the pore size was too small and took longer.  There is a LOT of water in these veggies and the full 10 minutes with salt makes a difference.

I only have a grater, but the texture was fine, sort of like a hashbrown of sorts.

These should freeze fine, and will update if not.  We'll probably know soon, because i want more already.

Muffin Experiments

Peach muffins

First off, although i didn't run yesterday because of the weather, i did make a rather crazy fitness choice - I signed up for the Warrior Dash.  This is a race that is around 3.5 miles, with a series of obstacles including climbing over walls, balancing on narrow boards, crawling through mud and jumping over fire.  Aimee, who is my running inspiration, as well as my brother will be joining me.  I've got until September to try and gain some upper body strength, as well as continue working on my running.

I did use the evening for productivity.  First off, i made a batch of peach muffins, using Alton Brown's muffin recipe from I'm Just Here for More Food, with a slight modification.  I used half whole wheat, half white flour (by weight).  I sifted the dry ingredients twice, to make sure things were incorporated.  I also used greek yogurt, because that's what i had.  I didn't measure, just went with what i had left in the container, which looked to be about a cup.  Because that's what i had.

I had wanted to use some raspberries in these, but sadly mine had gotten moldy, and the ones that were salvageable were too soft, and i didn't want pink muffins.

Blueberry muffin

I love the flavor the whole wheat added, but i think next time they will need a lower temperature, as the outside came close to being burned had i not turned off the oven and let them finish as the heat reduced.  These muffins were also a little more dense in comparison with the blueberry muffins i made several days ago using the same recipe except using only white flour.  I have done a little reading and learned there is such a thing as pastry whole wheat flour and may investigate such a product.  I don't believe white flour is the devil but any change to get a little better nutrition is nice.

Both batches were not sweet, nor cakey, but felt like something old-fashioned and comforting.  I'm interesting in trying a savory batch sometime soon, perhaps some sort of herb and cheese thing.

Because i made the blueberry muffins before leaving for a trip to Massachusetts for a family gathering, i froze them and found they were still great post-freezer.  They also defrosted quickly, which is handy.  I decided to freeze all but 3 of the peach muffins (two i ate for dinner, plus one for today's lunch, don't judge!).  We'll see if the flour choice has any impact there.

In related news, i recently read two posts from Food 52, one on Food Styling and the other on Food Photography.  Please bear with me as i try and learn (and also use my iPhone 4S as my camera).

Creating my own systems

I recently started reading Get It Together Girl!: A 28-Day Guide to Practical NOT Perfect Home Organization, and was terribly disappointed.  It is another book with specific steps to home organization, which is fine, but either I'm more organized than i think i am (a realistic possibility) or the exercises were a poor fit for me.  I do a fridge purge weekly, and already group like with like in my pantry.  Under the sink is for dish towels and cleaning supplies, over the fridge is for emergency supplies.

And i thought about why i'm not doing the Kelly's Missions or monthly habits as part of FlyLady, and again, they just didn't fit for my life.

One of the reasons I think i've struggled with these sorts of things before is i was trying to follow the systems too closely, but until someone comes up with an organizational system for geeky girls who have a full time job, a role in an activist organization, live with their spouse part time, own a cat, and have an active social life there will never be a perfect fit!  And trying to adapt a life to a system is a recipe for frustration and even failure.

So what elements are working for me?

• Write things down - This is something i learned through Getting Things Done by David Allen, and is admittedly a skill i need to keep improving.  Jotting down ideas takes minutes at the most, and prevents them from being lost in the shuffle of daily life.  
• Create a manual - Many organizational systems encourage a journal or manual of some sort, to serve as a reference for yourself, but also anyone else should they need to step into your shoes.  I am still in the process of creating mine, but hope to share it as it grows.
• Break things down - Many projects can seem daunting initially, but if you set reasonable time limits and work on the tasks that make up a project, anything is possible.  This method lets you tackle big projects over time, rather than exhausting yourself trying to get everything done at once.  This is where that 15 minute thing comes from, as well as the idea of breaking your home into zones.  
• Dedicate time - When you are doing something, try to remove distractions like TV or internet chats. I like to keep music on to keep me motivated, but try not to change the station once i'm going.  If your family all working together is beneficial, do that, but if not, try to make time when you can work alone (which is usually my preference).  I make sure i build time into my weekly plans to work on the most relevant projects.
• Follow routines - Routines mean you can rely on yourself to get certain things done.  I have a morning routine, an after work routine and a before bed routine.  They are all short, simple tasks than ensure i'm ready for the day, and can rest easy or focus on more critical things.  The scale and scope of your routines is up to you and your needs.
• Be flexible - For me this is critical.  My schedule changes often, and my work hours are not always consistent.  I need weekday routines that are short in time span and can be done before work, after work or before bed.  I also don't follow a days of the week plan except for calendar activities (Monday yoga class for example).  Having every Wednesday be grocery day would be way too challenging!  I try to keep a few projects ready to go for when i have time, and schedule things early enough that there is a little wiggle room should something come up.  
• Experiment - There is no one-size fits all for organization.  Be open to new ideas, and give experiments enough time to see if they work.  If they don't, try something else, if they do and it makes you happy, stick with it.  
• Let go - Sometimes there aren't enough hours in the day.  Don't hold onto guilt or shame about not getting everything done, just be OK with what you did do and move on to tomorrow.  Let go of stuff you're not using, is bad, broken, or you just don't like.  Its not as simple as it sounds, but really, give yourself some compassion and create space for the things that make your life better.  

Busy Week

This week was super busy!  Lots and lots going on at work that left me very tired by the time i got home.  The good news is that using my book really helped me get going and kept me on track.  This week is also pretty busy looking, and i'll be spending the weekend in Williamstown with Duncan's family, so being organized will be really important to getting everything done.

Here's this week's plan to get an idea of what i'm looking at!

Gluten-free, vegan lemon & raspberry cupcakes (AKA Baking without a net)

July 4th was an important day in the domestigeek's life.

See, there was a low-key bbq to attend, with the usual Olympus family.  The perfect opportunity to attempt the kohlrabi chips i'd been thinking about.  And make up some German potato salad, an easy crowd pleaser that is safe for most diets because the ingredients are so simple.  But of course, i wanted something sweet.

I'd just done the fat kids salty-sweet cookie day, and it's been hot here in CT.  Stupid hot.  And humid.  (And awful for spending time in the kitchen, but maybe i'm a little twisted). I'd been thinking about doing chocolate cupcakes with coffee icing and heath bar chips on top, to play on Duncan's favorite ice cream flavor, but it felt too hot for chocolate.

For whatever reason, lemon was calling to me, and i thought lemon squares, but that seemed too advanced, and most of the vegan recipes called for tofu, something i knew i wouldn't be able to get Duncan to even try.

But then i found inspiration!  Lemon and raspberry cupcakes!  But this recipe was complex and i didn't want to spend the small fortune on the various flours and whatnot, if they even all were available at Stop & Shop or Whole Foods (and who wants to make 2 grocery store trips?).

So i did some more research, looked at several gluten free cupcake recipes and went to town.

Although it's not perfect, the Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free All Purpose Flour is decent for a base flour.  I hope to experiment more and maybe come up with a better blend when Aimee and Ian and i do Science Day (stay tuned for that adventure!), but i was willing to dumb down the flours to that.

I then had to consider the vegan element.  A cake needs the proper proteins to get the right texture.  I hate using egg replacer, because there is something kinda sketchy about it in my head.  So what would work?  I decided that this gluten free vegan recipe would be my base, which has apple cider vinegar, baking soda and water.

So for the cupcakes, this is approximately my recipe:

2-3 cups gluten free all purpose flour
1 cup sugar (yes, i know, sugar can contain bone char, which isn't vegan, but the lovely folks i'm most often baking for are comfortable with sugar, if you want an alternative, i'd suggest researching your brands or using turbino sugar)
1.5 teaspoons baking soda
0.5 teaspoons salt
0.3 cup canola oil
1 teaspoon lemon extract
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
1 cup water
zest of 1 lemon
squirt of lemon juice

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 
2. Line a dozen cup muffin pan with paper liners. (i also used a silicone liner to make a 'test' cupcake, there was plenty of batter
3. Sift together the dry ingredients (start with 2 cups of flour and sugar, baking soda, salt).
4. Add the oil, extract, vinegar, and water, and zest. Mix together till smooth.  My batter was very loose and i ended up adding more flour until i liked the consistency.  You want something akin to a cake batter, loose, but not watery.  I also tasted it and decided to add some lemon juice to up the flavor.  
5. Pour into lined muffin cups, filling 3/4 full. These seemed to rise fairly well.
6. Bake for 20-25 minutes.  Test with a toothpick, if it comes out clean you're good. 

These had a dense, spongy but soft texture.  I think next time i may reduce the amount of water to account for additional wet flavoring (lemon juice).

As i waited for these to cool i made a raspberry filling.  This was definitely a little tart.  If you'd like something sweeter, add more sugar.

1 bag frozen unsweetened raspberries

1.5 cups sugar

1-2 cups water

1. Thaw the raspberries with about 1/2 cup sugar
2. Put the raspberries in a saucepan and cover with water, add another 1 cup of sugar.  Simmer, stirring often and allow mixture to reduce to a thick consistency.
3. Strain some of the seeds out with a strainer.  
4. Fill a pastry bag with the mixture.  Using a narrow tip, insert into the cupcakes and squeeze gently (Wilton has some pictures to explain).  

Mine weren't perfect, but it did work!  Expect some leakage on the tops, but you'll cover it with frosting, so it'll be ok.  Next time, more sugar and maybe something to thicken it up better?  I'll do some research and report back.

The last part was the frosting, after all, a nice creamy frosting is one of my favorite cupcake elements!  

I've grown up on Domino Sugar's buttercream frosting recipe (although now i know Aimee's secret of a little salt, it'll never be the same).  Of course, this relies on butter, which is not so vegan.  Here's where a little playing comes into effect.  Earth Balance is great for baking, so long as you can do soy, but it's texture isn't as hard as butter, so the frosting isn't quite right.  You need to up the ratio of sugar to get the right thick texture.  I can't exactly quantify this, but i tested it as i went by seeing how stiff the frosting was on the spatula.  When it held it's shape without melting, i decided it was thick enough.  Because of the heat in my kitchen i also suspect i had a harder time establishing the right texture.

3 cups confectioners sugar

1/2 cup earth balance (i usually get this at stop & shop in the butter/margarine area)

3-4 tablespoons lemon juice

1 tablespoon lemon extract

zest of 1 lemon

1. Combine ingredients in a bowl and mix on medium, adding sugar as necessary for a thick texture.  This isn't a strict recipe, you can alter the flavor elements to taste, just remember the more wet you add the more sugar you'll need for that thick creamy texture.  You want to minimize the amount of liquid you add, so start small and add slowly.  If it's too thin add more sugar, too thick, add more wet flavor in the juice or extract.  

I topped these with raspberries.  Ta-da!