2014 - Book 42

"Go Big or Go Home" - South Dakota

This book was definitely written for young boys. It's all about having "extreme" adventures with your best buddy and the rivalry with the neighbor boys down the street. So for that reason, I didn't enjoy it too much, but that doesn't mean it's a bad book. It's pretty well written for a basic book, and there is nothing inappropriate in it, which I appreciated. It's a story about a boy who finds a meteorite and then develops some strange talents. The quest for figuring out about the meteorite and all the extreme challenges along the way made it a pretty easy read. So, not really something I really like to read, but not a bad recommendation for a younger boy.

This week I have a couple of cakes (Gingered carrot cake and German Chocolate cake), some easy sauteed kale, and a neat "wobbly apricot tart".

I made this gingered carrot cake with lemon cream cheese frosting quite a while ago, so I don't remember exactly what the occasion was or my specifics about it, but I do remember that it was pretty good. The layers turned out nice and even too. One of my favorite features of this recipe was that it actually made the right amount of frosting . . . I didn't run out, and I didn't have a ton left over . . . excellent :)

So pretty

Mmm . . . layers

This German Chocolate cake was the same recipe I made during my cake month (Cake Month - Day 1), but I made it into a round cake this time instead of square. I wanted to make a special birthday cake for my friend Bill (who I made this raspberry ganache cake for a few years ago), so I even got a nice box to put it in. It turns out that I was able to buy the box from the bakery department of my local grocery store for about half of what it would cost at the baking supply store . . . saves time and money :) Anyways, it is a pretty reliable recipe and everyone loved the cake, as far as I know. If I'm not mistaken, I think I made German chocolate German buttercream frosting, but it was a while ago, so I don't remember for sure. Anyways, I just love how the box gives it a really final, professional look.

The easy sauteed kale was exactly what it claimed to be. I had a little trouble with the minced garlic burning in the oil though, so I would just use chili or garlic olive oil and add the chili flake or garlic closer to when you add the kale. The cooking times otherwise were just right, and adding that little bit of balsamic vinegar at the end really added a nice flavor. I don't usually love kale, but I ate this right up.

And finally, this fancy wobbly apricot tart, another attempt to recreate a cool recipe from one of the bakers on the Great British Baking Show (this time one of the hosts, Mary Berry). This recipe is not exactly for the faint of heart, because the crust was really finicky. The only way I managed to get the top crust thin enough to mold to the apricots, yet firm enough to stay in one piece was to roll it out really thinly on a silicone mat and then invert the mat over the tart and slowly peel the mat away. It still wasn't perfect, but I think it turned out really well. Also, I couldn't find apricots that weren't in heavy syrup, so I did rinse them before draining and drying. My marzipan was rather old, but had been in the freezer, so it was still okay to use. I thought the taste was a little off, so using fresh marzipan probably would have given better results, but everyone else loved it and they were all really impressed :) It certainly is a "show-stopper"

That's all for now, hope you all have a great week :)

2014 - Book 40 c & d & Book 41

 "Opal" & "Origin" (Luxe series books 3 & 4) and "Hourglass" - Tennessee

I don't really have a lot to say about "Opal" and "Origin". They were okay, and "Opal" pretty much satisfied any curiosity I had left about the series. I kept reading "Origin" hoping I would get drawn back into it, but I just didn't. I had the fifth (and final) book checked out from the library too, but I ended up taking it back without reading it, because (although this may sound harsh) I didn't really care what happened to the characters anymore. The story just got sort of weird and I wasn't really interested in it anymore, so I figured my time was better spent trying out a new book.

"Hourglass" was surprisingly good. I reminded me a lot of "X-Men", but all the people had abilities that had sometime to do with time. It was really interesting how the main character could see people from different time periods, and she's really just starting to discover what her power means, and come to grips with the fact that she's not the nut-case she thought she was. Of course, this is another series, so there is a lot more to the story that I don't know, but it was a decent first book, not the best, but not bad either. The relationships were good, not a lot of bad language, and besides seeming similar to "X-Men", it was a pretty original concept.

For my recipes this week, I have chocolate chip beet cookies, "Doritos" nacho popcorn, and a cardamom, pistachio, and coffee Swiss roll. Unfortunately, none of these recipes were "keepers".

The chocolate chip beet cookies were just okay . . . they were kind of chewy/gummy and not as pink as the photos of the original recipe. I tripled the recipe, because seriously, who makes just 8 - 12 cookies at a time? If I'm getting all those dishes dirty, I'm making lots. Also, I used canned beets, and the one can was ~ 190 grams, so I just tripled everything. I pureed the beets with the oil and vanilla in the food processor. It was just a really thick "batter", more like bread dough, so I think cutting down on the flour would have helped them be more cookie-like and less cakey. Also, her cookies look really flat, mine definitely stayed ball-shaped, so maybe if I would have pressed them thinner, they wouldn't have been so gummy? Anyways, I am very thankful for my nice friend who gave me all the canned beets, but since this idea failed, I don't know what to do with the rest of them. I still have five cans, I think, so if you have any ideas, please let me know :)

On a savory note, I really love Cool Ranch Doritos, so I when I saw the recipe for Doritos popcorn, I was hoping it was going to be ranch-flavored, but it's not . . . it's the nacho flavor. Oh well. Like the author of this recipe, I'm not crazy about all the artificial flavorings in Doritos either, so I decided to give her copy-cat recipe a try. It was my first time using nutritional yeast. It's supposed to be a natural cheese-flavored substituted for fake cheese powder, and sort of healthy too. I found it in the bulk bins at Whole Foods, so I was able to get enough to make the recipe for only 96 cents. It didn't really taste cheesy to me, but the taco flavor from the spices was good. After coating all the popcorn, there was extra seasoning left over in the bottom of the bowl, so I saved it and I'll probably use it to make taco meat. This trial was my entry in a friendly "Popcorntest" (aka Popcorn Contest) I had with some friends, but I didn't win . . . take that for what you will, but you might still catch me eating Doritos now and then ;)

The cake was something that I wanted to be really special because I made for my husband's surprise birthday cake. I'd seen it on the Great British Baking Show and thought it was just beautiful. It was neat to experiment with the cardamom pods, spice grinder, and pistachios . . . three things that I'd never used while baking before. The chocolate for the flowers looked beautiful for about 3 seconds and then sagged because I didn't temper it correctly :(

This is what it was supposed to look like:

Photo credit: http://www.thebakingexplorer.com/2014/08/chocolate-lime-swiss-roll-gbbo-season.html

My version . . . it would have been prettier if I hadn't forgotten
the pistachios and had to unroll and re-roll it. Also, I have no
idea how they get such a clean end cut. 

In the end, I didn't really like the cake, but I'm not a big fan of any of the flavors (besides the chocolate), so it's not really surprising. It was a very "grown-up" cake, not very sweet at all. I don't think kids would like it . . . but maybe it would be good with a cup of tea ;) I think that in the United States we have become so over-sugared, that anything like this tastes so savory because it's not packed with sugar. Oh well, sorry I don't have anything better this week. Stayed tuned for hopefully some better recipes and books next week :)