2014-2015 - Book 36

"Blood Magic" - Missouri

While interesting, this book was a little dark, and could be taken the wrong way by some people. The main characters are experimenting with blood magic, which involves cutting their fingers or palms to get enough blood to do the spells. In the wrong situation, I could see this being taken as a self-destructive behavior. It isn't portrayed that way, and that isn't the character's motivation, but some of the other characters in the book think that it is. Besides that, the story is pretty good. It's a bit violent though, so it's better suited for older teens.

For my recipes this week, I have almond cookies with blanched almonds, homemade caramels, and some really yummy banana bread.

These almond cookies are just like the ones that you can find at Chinese buffet restaurants. One of my coworkers really likes them, so when I found this awesome book on my library's free book shelf, I knew just what to make :) The book was published in 1962 and has a bunch of interesting Chinese recipes geared toward American kitchens with relatively simple ingredients. I haven't tried any of the other recipes yet, but the cookies turned out just right. I know the size of eggs can be an issue in recipes though, especially those with not much other liquid, like this one. I did have to add an extra egg, but the rest of the recipe was spot on:

2 1/2 cups flour
1 cup sugar
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 cup shortening (lard, chicken fat or butter . . . I used butter)
2 eggs, beaten (I used 3)
1/8 tsp salt
1 Tbs almond extract
1/4 lb whole almonds blanched

1. Mix dry ingredients
2. Cut shortening into dry ingredients.
3. Add beaten eggs. Stir until well mixed. Add almond extract.
4. Roll out dough. Shape into circles 1 1/2 inches in diameter. (I used a small shot glass as my cookie cutter)
5. Put on a greased baking sheet with an almond in the center of each cookie.
6. Bake in a 325 degree oven for 25 minutes.

I have never blanched almonds before, but it turned out to be very easy, and the 1/4 lb that I measured out worked out perfectly to cover the cookies. I don't remember exactly how many I got, but I want to say it was about 4 dozen. I guess I need to be better about taking notes while I'm baking . . . oops. Anyways, this is the website that I used: How to Blanch Almonds. Basically, you just bring some water to a boil, drop in the almonds for exactly one minute. Put them in a strainer and rinse with cold water. Squeeze the almonds out of their skin, and pat dry . . . how easy is that?

Mmm . . . caramels

As for the caramels, the recipe that I used (Creamy Caramels) was really good and very easy. Much easier than the recipes I've tried in the past. The tip in there about testing your candy thermometer was very helpful to me too . . . that might have been why I had troubles in the past . . . mine was off by 7 degrees. Everyone really raved about the caramels, especially the ones that I dipped in semi-sweet chocolate. Personally, they were a bit too soft for me . . . I like the chewier caramels like Riesens, but these would make a great gift. If anyone knows a foolproof caramel recipe that's chewier, I'd love to try it :)

This banana bread recipe came from the grocery store Hyvee's magazine. They have amazing food photography, and apparently, really good recipes in there. If you live near a Hyvee, see if you can sign up for it. The only part that didn't really work was the banana slices on top. I think if they were more in the middle, they might work, but since they were next to the sides, they kind of stuck to the pan and when I tried to get the bread out, they all peeled off. The bread didn't need them though, it was fantastic without them. Give it a try.

That's all for today. Hope you have a great week.