Wednesday, June 1, 2011
Beware of dog
I've been wanting to make this for quite some time and finally got around to doing it: Trace stencil onto freezer paper. Cut out with exacto knife. Iron freezer-paper stencil onto t-shirt and dab on fabric paint. Let dry and peel of paper. Iron.
Thursday, May 26, 2011
Graduation
Congratulations, Joy School Class of 2011! I can't believe the school year is already over.
Sunday, May 8, 2011
Saturday, March 12, 2011
The perfect loaf
I know you've been wondering where I've been for the past couple of months, so let me tell you: I've been busy. Very busy. Busy trying to bake the best bread this side of the Atlantic has ever seen. Because let's be honest, while Southern California may be famous for all kinds of yummy food (i.e. Mexican), great bread is certainly not one of them.
So over the past couple of months I decided to take matters into my own hands and immersed myself in the process of Artisan Bread Baking, which meant studying, researching, taking classes and most importantly: LOTS and LOTS of practice. Luckily I have a husband who caught onto that whole bread baking thing pretty quickly and now might just be even more obsessed with baking that perfect loaf than me.
We're of course still at the very beginning of what will most likely be a long, long journey, but we've already had some pretty amazing successes with all different kinds of bread.
While taking that perfect loaf out of the oven sure is very exciting, the biggest step so far has definitely been, that we are developing a deep enough understanding of the processes of bread making, that we are more and more able to eliminate the surprise factor and create fabulous loafs on a consistent basis.
Tartine Wheat Sourdough. Nothing but flour, salt and water. The hardest one to conquer so far, but so worth it.
Big airpockets = happy baker
Rye Sourdough. Carrying on a century old family tradition.
Schwaebische Seelen (Hearty Seed Bread)
Gruyere Wheat Bread
REAL pretzels, made with REAL lye. No cinnamon sugar here.
Spelt Croissants. Got to have some fancy pastry, too.
And of course, you can also use that bread to make some pretty tasty dishes...
...like these Wheat Sourdough Paninis with red and green pesto, provolone cheese, arugula and grilled tomatoes. Yum.
Like what you see and want to volunteer as a test eater? Let me know.
So over the past couple of months I decided to take matters into my own hands and immersed myself in the process of Artisan Bread Baking, which meant studying, researching, taking classes and most importantly: LOTS and LOTS of practice. Luckily I have a husband who caught onto that whole bread baking thing pretty quickly and now might just be even more obsessed with baking that perfect loaf than me.
We're of course still at the very beginning of what will most likely be a long, long journey, but we've already had some pretty amazing successes with all different kinds of bread.
While taking that perfect loaf out of the oven sure is very exciting, the biggest step so far has definitely been, that we are developing a deep enough understanding of the processes of bread making, that we are more and more able to eliminate the surprise factor and create fabulous loafs on a consistent basis.
Tartine Wheat Sourdough. Nothing but flour, salt and water. The hardest one to conquer so far, but so worth it.
Big airpockets = happy baker
Rye Sourdough. Carrying on a century old family tradition.
Schwaebische Seelen (Hearty Seed Bread)
Gruyere Wheat Bread
REAL pretzels, made with REAL lye. No cinnamon sugar here.
Spelt Croissants. Got to have some fancy pastry, too.
And of course, you can also use that bread to make some pretty tasty dishes...
...like these Wheat Sourdough Paninis with red and green pesto, provolone cheese, arugula and grilled tomatoes. Yum.
Like what you see and want to volunteer as a test eater? Let me know.
Sunday, February 6, 2011
Carrot Cravings
Yesterday I had some insane cravings for anything carrot-y, so I decided to whip up some of these babies. Can you guess what makes them so super smooth and moist? Carrots, yes, but not the normal shredded ones. Nope. It's carrot baby food! Genius, I know. I can't take any credit for that, though. It's one of my sister in law's fabulous recipes. (Thank you, Claudia).
I did, however, come up with that decorating idea all by myself. Little carrots made out of..... TOOTSIE ROLLS!
I hope for you that you own a metric kitchen scale, because otherwise you're going to miss out on a real treat.
Claudia's Carrot Cake
230g flour
2 tsp baking powder
4 eggs
200g sugar
200ml canola oil
1 tbsp vanilla extract
2 tbsp (organic)lemon peel
1 tsp salt
190g carrot baby food
Frosting:
200g cream cheese
90g powdered sugar
1 tbsp vanilla extract
Decor:
Fruity Tootsie Rolls in orange and green
Beat together wet ingredients, then add the dry ones. Mix just until combined. Fill into cake pan or muffin cups. Bake at 350 F. for about 30 min. Mix together frosting ingredients and pipe on cooled cake/cupcakes. Shape tootsie rolls into carrots and stems and place them onto frosting.
I did, however, come up with that decorating idea all by myself. Little carrots made out of..... TOOTSIE ROLLS!
I hope for you that you own a metric kitchen scale, because otherwise you're going to miss out on a real treat.
Claudia's Carrot Cake
230g flour
2 tsp baking powder
4 eggs
200g sugar
200ml canola oil
1 tbsp vanilla extract
2 tbsp (organic)lemon peel
1 tsp salt
190g carrot baby food
Frosting:
200g cream cheese
90g powdered sugar
1 tbsp vanilla extract
Decor:
Fruity Tootsie Rolls in orange and green
Beat together wet ingredients, then add the dry ones. Mix just until combined. Fill into cake pan or muffin cups. Bake at 350 F. for about 30 min. Mix together frosting ingredients and pipe on cooled cake/cupcakes. Shape tootsie rolls into carrots and stems and place them onto frosting.
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
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