About Me!
I'm a busy stay-at-home mommy of a 2 year old monst-- er toddler. This is a blog about stuff I like to cook, including recipes and pictures. <3
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 Slow-Cooker Black Bean Soup
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French Croissants
Stovetop Popcorn - Way Easier Than Pie!
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Sweet Potato Pie Cupcakes
Monday, February 23, 2009 | Time: 1:09 PM
Today, I woke up craving Sweet Potatoes. Um, yeah I guess thats weird. But when I got up I popped a big juicy sweet potato in the oven and went about my business, letting my mind wander in case I came up with any brilliant ideas.
About four in the afternoon, the idea came to me - Sweet Potato Pie Cupcakes! I've got half a jar of marshmallow fluff in the pantry. Perfect!! So I did a little research on sweet potato style cupcakes and decided to use this one. It was originally Burbon Sweet Potato cupcakes, from Bakerella.
I omitted the Burbon (though I'd love to try that some time) since I'm on a roll here with the whole Pie thing... They turned out beautifully. I am soooo proud. And they didnt take long to make, at all. Granted, the Marshmallow Cream topping did tend to crack, instead of spreading gooey-like all over the cakes. I have no complaints though, these were really good!
 Sweet Potato Pie Cupcakes
1 1/2 cups firmly packed brown sugar
1/3 cup butter, room temperature
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
2 3/4 cups all purpose flour
1 Tbsp baking powder
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice (OR mixture of cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, allspice, etc)
3/4 tsp salt
3/4 cup milk
1 cup cooked sweet potatoes
1/2 jar Marshmallow Cream
* Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
* Line cupcake trays with 24 baking cups.
* Whisk together flour, baking powder, pumpkin pie spice and salt in a large bowl.
* In another large mixing bowl, mix brown sugar, butter and eggs until fluffy.
* Add sweet potatoes and vanilla. Mix well.
* Add 1/3 of flour mixture to sugar mixture until combined. Add second 1/3 of flour mixture. Add milk. Add final 1/3 flour mixture.
* Mix well with each addition.
* Fill baking cups. Top each with Marshmallow Cream.
* Bake for 12-15 minutes or until done.
Waffles! Oh Waffles! YUM
Sunday, February 8, 2009 | Time: 5:36 AM
 I just made the best EVER waffles! They were perfect, even better than store-bought!
The secret is probably mixing the egg whites seperately (so theyre fluffy) and folding them in last.
However, me being me, I made a few changes to the recipe. I used half rice flour and half wheat flour. I also used 3/4 cup (cooled) coffee + 1 cup milk instead of 1 3/4 milk.
I was surprised when I opened the waffle iron and they were... SHINY! LOL XD Also they are nice and crispy but perfectly done, not over done at all. Not to worry though, they do get nice and soggy under butter and syrup ;)
Not sure if that was due to the eggs or to the rice flour. Or maybe the addition of coffee?
Anyways I also changed the sugar content - from 1 tablespoon to about 1/3 cup. 1 tablespoon is NOT enough sugar, the waffles are too bland. Also, just a tad more salt, about a teaspoon.
If I had any, I might also sub applesauce for the oil.
Anyway these were really cool waffles. Im happy to say I've finally found the perfect recipe for mass production, lol. I shall make many of these and freeze them for easy breakfasts <3 style="font-weight: bold;">
Perfect Waffles Recipe
adapted from Allrecipes.com - 2 eggs, separated
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 1 cup rice flour
- 1 cup milk
- 3/4 cup brewed coffee
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 1/3 cup white sugar
- 4 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Preheat waffle iron. Beat egg whites in a bowl until fluffy, set aside. In large bowl mix together egg yolks, flour, milk, vegetable oil, sugar, baking powder, salt and vanilla, just until smooth. Fold in egg whites.
- Pour mix onto hot waffle iron. Cook until golden brown (and shiny!). Serve hot with butter and syrup. Or honey butter. Or cinnamon butter.
Try adding in something special like chocolate chips, strawberries, blueberries, nuts, raisins/dried fruit, etc.
Of course, I used chocolate chips. Being close to Valentines Day, I've got alot of chocolate around the house ;)
Next time, I may try with all rice flour and some strawberries. Sorta mochi-waffles? :)
Also, I will attempt this technique (egg whites) with Maseca. Maseca makes wonderful pancakes but my last waffle-iron attempt ended badly, I guess it burns too quickly. Maybe with more air in them, they wont burn as quickly *shrug.
All about Mochi!!!!
Thursday, February 5, 2009 | Time: 4:54 PM
Mochi is like... the best thing EVAR!
Seriously.
At first, you might be like - eww its like chewwy and weird... but then you eat another bite. And its weird but interesting, so you take yet another bite...
In a word its... addictive.
There are loads of different types of mochi. Actually 'mochi' is the Japanese word for it, and even they have loads of variations. Mochi is basically a chewwy sort of 'cake' made from gluetenous rice flour and water or milk or whatever. There are many different ways to make it, but my two current favorites are the basic Japanese mochi and the Filipino/Hawaiian Butter Mochi (which is sorta like Bibingka but without wheat flour)
 Mochiko Butter Cake Recipe
Adapted from Aunty Yochana
i HALF this recipe for one pie plate full, becase its realy for making in a big cake pan. dont have one of those. it makes alot anyway. measurements in red are halfed.
Ingredients:
1/2 (1/4) c melted butter
1 (1/2) c sugar
3 (1) large eggs
3 (1.5) cups milk
1 (1/2) teasp. Vanilla extract
1 (1/2) Box Mochiko rice flour (16 ozs.)**
1 (1/2) teasp. baking powder
1/8 (a wee pinch) tsp. salt
(1) Mix all the above ingredients together and pour into a 9" x 13" cake pan and bake at 175C for one hour till top is golden brown.
(2) Cool over a wire rack and then slice and serve.
**You can buy a white box that is Mochiko flour brand for 4-5 bucks if you can find it. But I perfer to just buy the plastic bags of gluetenous rice flour at the Asian shop for about 1.25. Same thing, less packaging.
My notes on this: I used 1.5 cups (or most of a can) of coconut milk instead of regular milk. you can use regular milk of course, too. Or cream or half and half or evaporated milk, or any kind of mixture therein. I'm just personally fond of coconut milk. Actually, I've made it with just what I had leftover in my fridge with delicious results - part coconut milk, part evaporated milk, part buttermilk.
Also, before baking, I like to sprinkle a little coconut milk and some sugar on the top of the cake. This gives it a lovely, sweet, crunchy crust.
Warning!! Its very very hot when you take it out, the rice cake is kind of a thick liquid when its hot and sticks to your fingers, so be careful. its hard to wait and let it cool but if you dont have uber fireproof fingers like I do, go ahead and wait a good 10 min before slicing at least :) Also when you slice it while hot it kind of 'goo-es' and runs a little. So slicing while cool helps keep its shape.
 Japanese style mochi
This makes about a dozen mochi, depending on how big you make the balls or slices. - 1 cup mochiko sweet rice flour (glutinous rice flour)
- 1 cup water
- 1/4 cup sugar
- corn starch for dusting (or more mochi flour or potato starch)
1. Mix mochiko and sugar in a bowl.
2. Add water and mix thoroughly. (will be watery).
3. Put in a microwaveable dish. Cover with plastic wrap.
4. Microwave on high for 4 minutes. Take off plastic wrap. Stir, if it is still liquidy and put it back on. If its thick like solidifying glue - Cool for a few minutes, enough to handle without being scalded (hint - dust with corn starch to make it easier to handle and if you can use plastic gloves or maybe some plastic wrap in your hand - it sticks to that though). You can just cut them into chunks and eat them, but I like to shape them into little balls and fill them.
Variations for Filling: You can add red bean paste (found in cans at asian stores), ice cream (freeze a small bit of ice cream, fill mochi when cooled, seal edges and freeze the whole thing), chocolate, peanut butter, jam, various extracts, etc. in the middle if you want BEFORE you dust with the starch (nothing will stick to it after the starch)...
Filling method: flatten a walnut sized ball in your hand or on the counter (dusted with starch), add a teaspoon of filling and pinch edges closed.
Also try: intsead of dusting with starch, roll in colorful cereal (like fruity pebbles). Its really good in ice cream like this too. Or try coconut/toasted coconut, sesame seeds, etc.
Variations for Dough: Add a few drops of food coloring into batter for color variation. A few drops of flavoring (strawberry, grape, orange, blueberry, etc.) may also be added. The best test is to taste the batter before cooking!
My favorite flavors:
>For chocolate flavor, stir about 1/4 cup melted chocolate chips into mochi batter before cooking. Dust with cocoa powder and a little sugar when forming into balls or cutting into blocks, instead of starch/flour.
>For Orange / creamsicle flavor - use milk (I use vanilla soymilk) or coconut milk, instead of water for the liquid and add a few drops of orange extract before cooking.
>For Strawberry - Add a tablespoon or so of strawberry jam and food coloring to batter. i use cherry juice for extra sweetness and color.
>For coconut flavor - use coconut milk instead of water, a few drops of coconut extract. Roll in toasted sesame seeds or toasted, shredded coconut.
Links to more Mochi stuff:
Mochi style ice cream:
http://www.ehow.com/how_2041584_mochi-ice-cream.html
This site has loads of different mochis with fillings
http://www.eatshowandtell.com/2008/11/19/shu-shin-bou-haymarket/
Chicken Pot Pie :)
| Time: 3:58 PM
I looooooooooove Chicken Pot Pie. Its like a comfort food and its very rustic and inviting. Besides, any kind of yummy goo in a pastry crust is pretty high up in my book.
This is a very rustic pie. Unless you have some kind of allergy/aversion, you simply must put potatoes in this, its just so very 'meat pie' ish.
I like to use red potatoes, in general. They taste nicer in my opinion. Also I believe they have a small amount of protein and other vitamins, therefore not 'just' carbs like white potatoes.
I made a lovely lattice style crust (although its not mathematically exact, I just kind of laid them on haphazardly) that is a 'flaky' style crust. I like this crust because (it tastes good and) it tends to hold up better than a softer crust, as the insides are somewhat 'gooey'. So you dont get 'crust and goo' when you slice it, but rather a beautiful slice of pie :) Nummy!
 Of course you can use a storebought crust. I happen to be overly excited about the whole 'from scratch' thing, as well as the 'using what I have on hand' thing. Being as I live way out in the country and can't really just nip over to the grocery to pick up one little pie crust. Also, its fun making things from scratch if you have the time. Still, a storebought crust is very yummy and saves quite a bit of time.
Flaky Pie Crust
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup butter, chilled and diced
1/2 cup ice water
1. In a large bowl, combine flour and salt. Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in water, a tablespoon at a time, until mixture forms a ball. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for 4 hours or overnight.
2. Cut dough in half. Roll one half out to fit a 9 inch pie plate. Place crust in pie plate. Press the dough evenly into the bottom and sides of the pie plate.
3. Roll out other half of dough and eaither slice into strips to use as lattice** OR just put the whole thing on top, seal the top and bottom edges together and poke a few holes for ventilation.
Brush top with egg wash (1 beaten egg + 1 tsp water) before baking.
**Lattice - You can do what I did and just sort of lay the strips kind of haphazardly about the top of the pie, alternating horizontal and vertical peices. But if thats too general, (and you want it to look really nice) there is a nice Tutorial on latticing from ZoeBakes.com.
Chicken Pot Pie
Adapted from Allrecipes.com
1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - cubed
1 cup sliced carrots
1 cup frozen green peas
1/2 cup sliced celery
(Or whatever veggies you still have leftover in the freezer/fridge. Think Rustic.)
1/3 cup butter
1/3 cup chopped onion
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 3/4 cups chicken broth (or 1 3/4 water mixed together with 1 large bullion cube)
2/3 cup milk
2 (9 inch) unbaked pie crusts
1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C.)
2. In a saucepan, combine chicken, carrots, peas, and celery. Add water to cover and boil for 15 minutes. Remove from heat, drain and set aside. Note:You can save the water for chicken broth if you're using buillion to make it - extra vitamins and flavor!
3. In the saucepan over medium heat, cook onions in butter until soft and translucent. In a bowl or large measuring cup, whisk together chicken broth, milk, flour, salt, pepper, and garlic. Make sure there are no lumps from the flour, then pour into the chicken mixture. Simmer over medium-low heat until thick.
4. Place the chicken mixture in bottom pie crust. Cover with top crust, seal edges. Make several small slits in the top to allow steam to escape (OR lattice crust, as above). Brush with egg wash.
5. Bake in the preheated oven for 30 to 35 minutes, or until pastry is golden brown and filling is bubbly. Cool for 10 minutes before serving, as it is very hot and gooey.
Cheese Stuffed Burger Things
Sunday, February 1, 2009 | Time: 2:54 PM
 Reading through one of Rachel Ray's magazines, I came across a little article about these neat looking breaded burgers-on-a-stick. Sort of like croquettes on a stick, I guess. Me being the bento enthusiast I am, as well as always interested in something cute for a snack, I had to try this.
My origional results weren't so good though. The meat is wrapped around some cheese on a stick and pan-fried. But around the edges and, especially, where the meat meets the stick, it doesnt ever touch the pan and therefore does not cook.
In the end, I ended up X-ing the sticks and just making breaded, cheese-stuffed, burger patties.
And they are excellent!! The breading gives it a lovely crunchy coating and the inside is filled with seasoned meat, plus a gooey creamy cheesy center! Cant go wrong with these.
Ingredients:
1 pound Ground Turkey
1 tsp onion powder
2 tsp garlic powder
2-3 peices Laughing Cow Cheese (or other melty cheese)
2 cups panko (or bread crumbs)
about 3 tbs olive oil
Method:
In a large bowl, mis ground turkey, spices and 1/2 cup bread crumbs. Make little patties (about walnut size) and wrap them around a nickle-size peice of cheese. Rollin remaining bread crumbs to coat.
Heat a skillet up with some olive oil and fry patties on both sides until brown. Load them onto a baking sheet with a rack and bake in oven (375 F) for about 15 min or until done though.
Serve with your favorite condiments!
These aren't so good refridgerated, as the breading tends to get soggy.
 I also made these using crunched up corn chips (instead of panko) and I put salsa in the meat mixture. Mm! Yum! Lots of different possibilities with this one :)
Squishy, Sweet-y, Cinnamon-y... and Er, Oats!
| Time: 9:17 AM
Ok here's a weird thing I did today.
Cinnamon - Raisin - Oat roll Bread
 After seeing a post at Big Red Kitchen involving the refrigerated bread dough technique, I decided to give the 'bread in 5 minutes a day' thing another shot. My last post about it was rather disappointing, as I was attempting to make sourdough style bread and kind of fudged it up in the end. Frustrated, I'd given up on bread for a while.
Now, I know Hubby is trying to eat less wheat (due to a skin condition), but I just cant help wanting to make bread. Got the Bread Fever!! Especially because I've decided to join the SCA, and what is more Medieval than a big, wonderful, fresh loaf of bread?!Mmm! Everybody drool with me now :)~
Anyways it was a toss up between The Fresh Loaf's Raisin Oat Bread or Cinnamon Rolls. So I, er, ended up doing both. Sort of. See, with the Raisin Oat Bread I would've had to mix the oats and things into the batter, which at this point isn't possible because the dough is already made. I suppose I could have kneaded the stuff into the bread but I didn't think it would turn out quite the same. Also, its breakfast time and cinnamon rolls are delicious!!
Oh and did I mention cinnamon rolls are delicious?
However, since I simply must do things my own style no matter what, I went ahead and added the oats in too. And I made it a 'roll' bread instead of cutting into little rolls. I thought it might be interesting, yknow. Something a little different?
Anyways its really simple if you already have the dough in the fridge.
Honestly, I usually eyeball this stuff. I tried to estimate the measurements for you though:
Ingredients:
Refrigerated Dough
1 4oz yogurt cup (individual serving size)
3-4 tablespoons butter
3-4 tablespoons cinnamon
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup nuts (walnuts, etc)
1/4 c pre-soaked raisins **
1/4 c oatmeal
** Put the raisins in a dish and cover with water. Let sit about 20 mins before adding to dough. This way, the raisins are more plump, and helps any you put on top for decoration not to burn while cooking.
How I did it:
Break off a big chunk of dough (from your 'fridge stash') about the size of a softball. Roll the dough out on a lightly floured surface to get long rectangle, around 1/4" thick. Spread with butter, yogurt (one of those 4oz individual yogurt cups is more than enough for this), cinnamon, brown sugar, raisins, nuts... whatever else you have on hand (ex: other dried fruit, chocolate chips, etc).
  Roll dough up from the end into a log. Place in greased (or parchment lined) loaf pan. Let rise at lest 1 hour before baking 375 F oven for 30-35 minutes.
You generally know its done when it starts getting nice and golden on top and feels sort of hollow when you tap it.
Let cool before slicing. Serve with globs of butter :)
 Easy. Only a few minutes actual 'work' to prepare it. Its pretty hands free, from there.
I suppose you could do this in a bread machine too, in the bake(?) cycle. I'm really liking my 'fridge dough' so far.
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Sweet Potato Pie Cupcakes
Monday, February 23, 2009 | Time: 1:09 PM
Today, I woke up craving Sweet Potatoes. Um, yeah I guess thats weird. But when I got up I popped a big juicy sweet potato in the oven and went about my business, letting my mind wander in case I came up with any brilliant ideas.
About four in the afternoon, the idea came to me - Sweet Potato Pie Cupcakes! I've got half a jar of marshmallow fluff in the pantry. Perfect!! So I did a little research on sweet potato style cupcakes and decided to use this one. It was originally Burbon Sweet Potato cupcakes, from Bakerella.
I omitted the Burbon (though I'd love to try that some time) since I'm on a roll here with the whole Pie thing... They turned out beautifully. I am soooo proud. And they didnt take long to make, at all. Granted, the Marshmallow Cream topping did tend to crack, instead of spreading gooey-like all over the cakes. I have no complaints though, these were really good!
Sweet Potato Pie Cupcakes
1 1/2 cups firmly packed brown sugar
1/3 cup butter, room temperature
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
2 3/4 cups all purpose flour
1 Tbsp baking powder
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice (OR mixture of cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, allspice, etc)
3/4 tsp salt
3/4 cup milk
1 cup cooked sweet potatoes
1/2 jar Marshmallow Cream
* Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
* Line cupcake trays with 24 baking cups.
* Whisk together flour, baking powder, pumpkin pie spice and salt in a large bowl.
* In another large mixing bowl, mix brown sugar, butter and eggs until fluffy.
* Add sweet potatoes and vanilla. Mix well.
* Add 1/3 of flour mixture to sugar mixture until combined. Add second 1/3 of flour mixture. Add milk. Add final 1/3 flour mixture.
* Mix well with each addition.
* Fill baking cups. Top each with Marshmallow Cream.
* Bake for 12-15 minutes or until done.
Waffles! Oh Waffles! YUM
Sunday, February 8, 2009 | Time: 5:36 AM
I just made the best EVER waffles! They were perfect, even better than store-bought!
The secret is probably mixing the egg whites seperately (so theyre fluffy) and folding them in last.
However, me being me, I made a few changes to the recipe. I used half rice flour and half wheat flour. I also used 3/4 cup (cooled) coffee + 1 cup milk instead of 1 3/4 milk.
I was surprised when I opened the waffle iron and they were... SHINY! LOL XD Also they are nice and crispy but perfectly done, not over done at all. Not to worry though, they do get nice and soggy under butter and syrup ;)
Not sure if that was due to the eggs or to the rice flour. Or maybe the addition of coffee?
Anyways I also changed the sugar content - from 1 tablespoon to about 1/3 cup. 1 tablespoon is NOT enough sugar, the waffles are too bland. Also, just a tad more salt, about a teaspoon.
If I had any, I might also sub applesauce for the oil.
Anyway these were really cool waffles. Im happy to say I've finally found the perfect recipe for mass production, lol. I shall make many of these and freeze them for easy breakfasts <3 style="font-weight: bold;">
Perfect Waffles Recipe
adapted from Allrecipes.com - 2 eggs, separated
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 1 cup rice flour
- 1 cup milk
- 3/4 cup brewed coffee
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 1/3 cup white sugar
- 4 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Preheat waffle iron. Beat egg whites in a bowl until fluffy, set aside. In large bowl mix together egg yolks, flour, milk, vegetable oil, sugar, baking powder, salt and vanilla, just until smooth. Fold in egg whites.
- Pour mix onto hot waffle iron. Cook until golden brown (and shiny!). Serve hot with butter and syrup. Or honey butter. Or cinnamon butter.
Try adding in something special like chocolate chips, strawberries, blueberries, nuts, raisins/dried fruit, etc.
Of course, I used chocolate chips. Being close to Valentines Day, I've got alot of chocolate around the house ;)
Next time, I may try with all rice flour and some strawberries. Sorta mochi-waffles? :)
Also, I will attempt this technique (egg whites) with Maseca. Maseca makes wonderful pancakes but my last waffle-iron attempt ended badly, I guess it burns too quickly. Maybe with more air in them, they wont burn as quickly *shrug.
All about Mochi!!!!
Thursday, February 5, 2009 | Time: 4:54 PM
Mochi is like... the best thing EVAR!
Seriously.
At first, you might be like - eww its like chewwy and weird... but then you eat another bite. And its weird but interesting, so you take yet another bite...
In a word its... addictive.
There are loads of different types of mochi. Actually 'mochi' is the Japanese word for it, and even they have loads of variations. Mochi is basically a chewwy sort of 'cake' made from gluetenous rice flour and water or milk or whatever. There are many different ways to make it, but my two current favorites are the basic Japanese mochi and the Filipino/Hawaiian Butter Mochi (which is sorta like Bibingka but without wheat flour)
Mochiko Butter Cake Recipe
Adapted from Aunty Yochana
i HALF this recipe for one pie plate full, becase its realy for making in a big cake pan. dont have one of those. it makes alot anyway. measurements in red are halfed.
Ingredients:
1/2 (1/4) c melted butter
1 (1/2) c sugar
3 (1) large eggs
3 (1.5) cups milk
1 (1/2) teasp. Vanilla extract
1 (1/2) Box Mochiko rice flour (16 ozs.)**
1 (1/2) teasp. baking powder
1/8 (a wee pinch) tsp. salt
(1) Mix all the above ingredients together and pour into a 9" x 13" cake pan and bake at 175C for one hour till top is golden brown.
(2) Cool over a wire rack and then slice and serve.
**You can buy a white box that is Mochiko flour brand for 4-5 bucks if you can find it. But I perfer to just buy the plastic bags of gluetenous rice flour at the Asian shop for about 1.25. Same thing, less packaging.
My notes on this: I used 1.5 cups (or most of a can) of coconut milk instead of regular milk. you can use regular milk of course, too. Or cream or half and half or evaporated milk, or any kind of mixture therein. I'm just personally fond of coconut milk. Actually, I've made it with just what I had leftover in my fridge with delicious results - part coconut milk, part evaporated milk, part buttermilk.
Also, before baking, I like to sprinkle a little coconut milk and some sugar on the top of the cake. This gives it a lovely, sweet, crunchy crust.
Warning!! Its very very hot when you take it out, the rice cake is kind of a thick liquid when its hot and sticks to your fingers, so be careful. its hard to wait and let it cool but if you dont have uber fireproof fingers like I do, go ahead and wait a good 10 min before slicing at least :) Also when you slice it while hot it kind of 'goo-es' and runs a little. So slicing while cool helps keep its shape.
Japanese style mochi
This makes about a dozen mochi, depending on how big you make the balls or slices. - 1 cup mochiko sweet rice flour (glutinous rice flour)
- 1 cup water
- 1/4 cup sugar
- corn starch for dusting (or more mochi flour or potato starch)
1. Mix mochiko and sugar in a bowl.
2. Add water and mix thoroughly. (will be watery).
3. Put in a microwaveable dish. Cover with plastic wrap.
4. Microwave on high for 4 minutes. Take off plastic wrap. Stir, if it is still liquidy and put it back on. If its thick like solidifying glue - Cool for a few minutes, enough to handle without being scalded (hint - dust with corn starch to make it easier to handle and if you can use plastic gloves or maybe some plastic wrap in your hand - it sticks to that though). You can just cut them into chunks and eat them, but I like to shape them into little balls and fill them.
Variations for Filling: You can add red bean paste (found in cans at asian stores), ice cream (freeze a small bit of ice cream, fill mochi when cooled, seal edges and freeze the whole thing), chocolate, peanut butter, jam, various extracts, etc. in the middle if you want BEFORE you dust with the starch (nothing will stick to it after the starch)...
Filling method: flatten a walnut sized ball in your hand or on the counter (dusted with starch), add a teaspoon of filling and pinch edges closed.
Also try: intsead of dusting with starch, roll in colorful cereal (like fruity pebbles). Its really good in ice cream like this too. Or try coconut/toasted coconut, sesame seeds, etc.
Variations for Dough: Add a few drops of food coloring into batter for color variation. A few drops of flavoring (strawberry, grape, orange, blueberry, etc.) may also be added. The best test is to taste the batter before cooking!
My favorite flavors:
>For chocolate flavor, stir about 1/4 cup melted chocolate chips into mochi batter before cooking. Dust with cocoa powder and a little sugar when forming into balls or cutting into blocks, instead of starch/flour.
>For Orange / creamsicle flavor - use milk (I use vanilla soymilk) or coconut milk, instead of water for the liquid and add a few drops of orange extract before cooking.
>For Strawberry - Add a tablespoon or so of strawberry jam and food coloring to batter. i use cherry juice for extra sweetness and color.
>For coconut flavor - use coconut milk instead of water, a few drops of coconut extract. Roll in toasted sesame seeds or toasted, shredded coconut.
Links to more Mochi stuff:
Mochi style ice cream:
http://www.ehow.com/how_2041584_mochi-ice-cream.html
This site has loads of different mochis with fillings
http://www.eatshowandtell.com/2008/11/19/shu-shin-bou-haymarket/
Chicken Pot Pie :)
| Time: 3:58 PM
I looooooooooove Chicken Pot Pie. Its like a comfort food and its very rustic and inviting. Besides, any kind of yummy goo in a pastry crust is pretty high up in my book.
This is a very rustic pie. Unless you have some kind of allergy/aversion, you simply must put potatoes in this, its just so very 'meat pie' ish.
I like to use red potatoes, in general. They taste nicer in my opinion. Also I believe they have a small amount of protein and other vitamins, therefore not 'just' carbs like white potatoes.
I made a lovely lattice style crust (although its not mathematically exact, I just kind of laid them on haphazardly) that is a 'flaky' style crust. I like this crust because (it tastes good and) it tends to hold up better than a softer crust, as the insides are somewhat 'gooey'. So you dont get 'crust and goo' when you slice it, but rather a beautiful slice of pie :) Nummy!
Of course you can use a storebought crust. I happen to be overly excited about the whole 'from scratch' thing, as well as the 'using what I have on hand' thing. Being as I live way out in the country and can't really just nip over to the grocery to pick up one little pie crust. Also, its fun making things from scratch if you have the time. Still, a storebought crust is very yummy and saves quite a bit of time.
Flaky Pie Crust
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup butter, chilled and diced
1/2 cup ice water
1. In a large bowl, combine flour and salt. Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in water, a tablespoon at a time, until mixture forms a ball. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for 4 hours or overnight.
2. Cut dough in half. Roll one half out to fit a 9 inch pie plate. Place crust in pie plate. Press the dough evenly into the bottom and sides of the pie plate.
3. Roll out other half of dough and eaither slice into strips to use as lattice** OR just put the whole thing on top, seal the top and bottom edges together and poke a few holes for ventilation.
Brush top with egg wash (1 beaten egg + 1 tsp water) before baking.
**Lattice - You can do what I did and just sort of lay the strips kind of haphazardly about the top of the pie, alternating horizontal and vertical peices. But if thats too general, (and you want it to look really nice) there is a nice Tutorial on latticing from ZoeBakes.com.
Chicken Pot Pie
Adapted from Allrecipes.com
1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - cubed
1 cup sliced carrots
1 cup frozen green peas
1/2 cup sliced celery
(Or whatever veggies you still have leftover in the freezer/fridge. Think Rustic.)
1/3 cup butter
1/3 cup chopped onion
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 3/4 cups chicken broth (or 1 3/4 water mixed together with 1 large bullion cube)
2/3 cup milk
2 (9 inch) unbaked pie crusts
1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C.)
2. In a saucepan, combine chicken, carrots, peas, and celery. Add water to cover and boil for 15 minutes. Remove from heat, drain and set aside. Note:You can save the water for chicken broth if you're using buillion to make it - extra vitamins and flavor!
3. In the saucepan over medium heat, cook onions in butter until soft and translucent. In a bowl or large measuring cup, whisk together chicken broth, milk, flour, salt, pepper, and garlic. Make sure there are no lumps from the flour, then pour into the chicken mixture. Simmer over medium-low heat until thick.
4. Place the chicken mixture in bottom pie crust. Cover with top crust, seal edges. Make several small slits in the top to allow steam to escape (OR lattice crust, as above). Brush with egg wash.
5. Bake in the preheated oven for 30 to 35 minutes, or until pastry is golden brown and filling is bubbly. Cool for 10 minutes before serving, as it is very hot and gooey.
Cheese Stuffed Burger Things
Sunday, February 1, 2009 | Time: 2:54 PM
Reading through one of Rachel Ray's magazines, I came across a little article about these neat looking breaded burgers-on-a-stick. Sort of like croquettes on a stick, I guess. Me being the bento enthusiast I am, as well as always interested in something cute for a snack, I had to try this.
My origional results weren't so good though. The meat is wrapped around some cheese on a stick and pan-fried. But around the edges and, especially, where the meat meets the stick, it doesnt ever touch the pan and therefore does not cook.
In the end, I ended up X-ing the sticks and just making breaded, cheese-stuffed, burger patties.
And they are excellent!! The breading gives it a lovely crunchy coating and the inside is filled with seasoned meat, plus a gooey creamy cheesy center! Cant go wrong with these.
Ingredients:
1 pound Ground Turkey
1 tsp onion powder
2 tsp garlic powder
2-3 peices Laughing Cow Cheese (or other melty cheese)
2 cups panko (or bread crumbs)
about 3 tbs olive oil
Method:
In a large bowl, mis ground turkey, spices and 1/2 cup bread crumbs. Make little patties (about walnut size) and wrap them around a nickle-size peice of cheese. Rollin remaining bread crumbs to coat.
Heat a skillet up with some olive oil and fry patties on both sides until brown. Load them onto a baking sheet with a rack and bake in oven (375 F) for about 15 min or until done though.
Serve with your favorite condiments!
These aren't so good refridgerated, as the breading tends to get soggy.
I also made these using crunched up corn chips (instead of panko) and I put salsa in the meat mixture. Mm! Yum! Lots of different possibilities with this one :)
Squishy, Sweet-y, Cinnamon-y... and Er, Oats!
| Time: 9:17 AM
Ok here's a weird thing I did today.
Cinnamon - Raisin - Oat roll Bread
After seeing a post at Big Red Kitchen involving the refrigerated bread dough technique, I decided to give the 'bread in 5 minutes a day' thing another shot. My last post about it was rather disappointing, as I was attempting to make sourdough style bread and kind of fudged it up in the end. Frustrated, I'd given up on bread for a while.
Now, I know Hubby is trying to eat less wheat (due to a skin condition), but I just cant help wanting to make bread. Got the Bread Fever!! Especially because I've decided to join the SCA, and what is more Medieval than a big, wonderful, fresh loaf of bread?!Mmm! Everybody drool with me now :)~
Anyways it was a toss up between The Fresh Loaf's Raisin Oat Bread or Cinnamon Rolls. So I, er, ended up doing both. Sort of. See, with the Raisin Oat Bread I would've had to mix the oats and things into the batter, which at this point isn't possible because the dough is already made. I suppose I could have kneaded the stuff into the bread but I didn't think it would turn out quite the same. Also, its breakfast time and cinnamon rolls are delicious!!
Oh and did I mention cinnamon rolls are delicious?
However, since I simply must do things my own style no matter what, I went ahead and added the oats in too. And I made it a 'roll' bread instead of cutting into little rolls. I thought it might be interesting, yknow. Something a little different?
Anyways its really simple if you already have the dough in the fridge.
Honestly, I usually eyeball this stuff. I tried to estimate the measurements for you though:
Ingredients:
Refrigerated Dough
1 4oz yogurt cup (individual serving size)
3-4 tablespoons butter
3-4 tablespoons cinnamon
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup nuts (walnuts, etc)
1/4 c pre-soaked raisins **
1/4 c oatmeal
** Put the raisins in a dish and cover with water. Let sit about 20 mins before adding to dough. This way, the raisins are more plump, and helps any you put on top for decoration not to burn while cooking.
How I did it:
Break off a big chunk of dough (from your 'fridge stash') about the size of a softball. Roll the dough out on a lightly floured surface to get long rectangle, around 1/4" thick. Spread with butter, yogurt (one of those 4oz individual yogurt cups is more than enough for this), cinnamon, brown sugar, raisins, nuts... whatever else you have on hand (ex: other dried fruit, chocolate chips, etc).
Roll dough up from the end into a log. Place in greased (or parchment lined) loaf pan. Let rise at lest 1 hour before baking 375 F oven for 30-35 minutes.
You generally know its done when it starts getting nice and golden on top and feels sort of hollow when you tap it.
Let cool before slicing. Serve with globs of butter :)
Easy. Only a few minutes actual 'work' to prepare it. Its pretty hands free, from there.
I suppose you could do this in a bread machine too, in the bake(?) cycle. I'm really liking my 'fridge dough' so far.
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Of course you can use a storebought crust. I happen to be overly excited about the whole 'from scratch' thing, as well as the 'using what I have on hand' thing. Being as I live way out in the country and can't really just nip over to the grocery to pick up one little pie crust. Also, its fun making things from scratch if you have the time. Still, a storebought crust is very yummy and saves quite a bit of time.
Reading through one of Rachel Ray's magazines, I came across a little article about these neat looking breaded burgers-on-a-stick. Sort of like croquettes on a stick, I guess. Me being the bento enthusiast I am, as well as always interested in something cute for a snack, I had to try this.
I also made these using crunched up corn chips (instead of panko) and I put salsa in the meat mixture. Mm! Yum! Lots of different possibilities with this one :)
After seeing a post at Big Red Kitchen involving the refrigerated bread dough technique, I decided to give the 'bread in 5 minutes a day' thing another shot. My last post about it was rather disappointing, as I was attempting to make sourdough style bread and kind of fudged it up in the end. Frustrated, I'd given up on bread for a while.
Roll dough up from the end into a log. Place in greased (or parchment lined) loaf pan. Let rise at lest 1 hour before baking 375 F oven for 30-35 minutes.
Easy. Only a few minutes actual 'work' to prepare it. Its pretty hands free, from there.
