Sugar Shock

We have eggs, more eggs than we need (I sold a dozen today.) so yesterday I decided to use four and make bread pudding. I warmed the milk, broke the bread into pieces, and beat the eggs, slightly. Sugar. I needed 3/4 cup sugar. I got out the canister and peeled off the lid. I do wish I could have seen my own expression when I caught a glimpse inside.

The mind is a funny thing. It works fast, so fast I scarcely had a chance to look inside, be shocked, wonder what in the world was inhabiting my sugar canister before I realized what was going on. They looked like manure balls, nine of them, dark brown and half covered with sugar, but of course they weren't.

A week and a half ago I'd made a double batch of molasses cookies and rather than roll the balls of dough in a bowl of sugar, I dropped them into the sugar canister. It worked like a charm and the last couple sheets I'd even snapped the lid in place and given it a bit of a shake to cover the balls with sugar. The cookies were beautiful and cooling on the table. I remember turning around, feeling like there should have been another sheet of cookies to bake, but both cookie sheets were empty so I cleaned up the kitchen and put everything away. Oops! It's a rather good thing I decided to bake a bread pudding. Sometimes months go by between baking adventures and I can only imagine what those dough balls might have looked like by the end of May...

I am not alone in my brain lapse. My sister, intending to make cookies from a cake mix, put her brain into autopilot and instead of cookies ended up with a cake. She started reading the recipe and blindly followed along. She may not of gotten cookies out of the deal, but she did end up with a lovely dessert.

Cookies and a Day at Work

I stayed home on Saturday. It took some stubborn willpower, but I did it, just to prove I could. I even made a couple batches of cookies, just because I wanted to. And I learned not to warm coconut oil in my microwave if there is vanilla sealed in the bottom of the jar along with it. That vanilla warmed up and blew the coconut oil right out of the jar and made a mess of my microwave.

I did not stay home today. I traded my Wednesday at work for Superbowl Sunday and after church I headed off to "The Pen". It was a crazy place today. Too many of the members who need assistance walking were hopping out of their chairs. The poor CNA's ran from one to another trying to keep everyone safe. I tried to help but there is really very little I can do aside from hold a hand or be another pair of watching eyes.

My "dear friend" was not pleased with me today. She is the anxious sort and her anxiety is getting the better of her lately. She wants me to "help" her do things like go to the toilet or get into bed, but I am hired to be a hands-off companion and am not able to assist her with such things. She asked me, in a nasty tone, why I had to be so nasty. She told me I only think about myself. She called me a Son of a -----. She let me know, in no uncertain terms that she was highly displeased with my performance. I answered her kindly and was thoroughly amused, which, come to think of it, would probably annoy her no end. Ha ha!

Tired and Cranky

I am beyond tired and probably fighting something that wants to make my eyes ache. I was already cranky this morning when I found a cold and empty coffee pot on the kitchen counter. (so sad...) I solved the problem by making a fresh, hot pot and poured some into My Favorite coffee cup along with a dab of French Vanilla creamer.

While my morning coffee brewed, I checked my computer and ordered myself a lunch at Panera Bread. I picked it up on my way to see my favorite chiropractor. I had time between leaving his office and getting to work, so I called my favorite Hannah and chatted with her for a few minutes. Daughters are a nice thing to have. I arrived at work with enough time to change from street clothes into my work clothes. Good thing I changed because my boss made a visit after lunch.

It was a long and sleepy afternoon, but it was also my short day. I got home while it was daylight and even collected today's offering of eggs. We have more than we can eat at the moment, so I decided to use several in a bread pudding this evening. They're small so I beat up six instead of four. I added raisins and sprinkled the dish with cinnamon and nutmeg. It baked for an hour and came out sicky sweet and not looking like any bread pudding I've made previous. It does help if one actually adds the eggs... Maybe it will be funny tomorrow.

Pizza Party Night (with pie)

I made too many pies... maybe. We'll see how many are left on the counter once the company has dispersed this evening.

I offered a pizza party and Ben requested pie for dessert, apple and pumpkin. Yesterday I considered my apple collection and decided to build a fleet of pastries, six in all. Although six pies waited upon my kitchen table, not one of them was pumpkin, so this morning I set out to fulfill the remainder of the order.

Pastry was mixed, rolled, and fitted into pie plates. I'd planned to make two pies, but when I looked into my supply of eggs, I found they were lacking. I decided to make one pie instead of two. I could freeze the extra crust. I beat three eggs and set them aside, collected the remaining ingredients, and in my distraction knocked over my bowl of eggs... blah! Another baking mishap...

I was delivered from exasperation by my daughter who offered to run get another dozen eggs. While she was gone I cleaned up the mess, washed the dishes, and mixed together everything but the eggs. With her help I was able to bake both pies and get out early enough to visit the bank and accomplish my shopping.

Homemade pizza is on the menu. Not everyone is able to come, but we'll have enough for a celebration. I hope my boy knows how much he is loved.

Monday, Monday

We did not have small children today. It was quiet. It was weird. For four days we had small children and suddenly they were gone.
The snow fell on us through- out the night, beautiful, fluffy, lake effect snow. It was stuck to the tree branches and piled atop the cars. If I was just a little more spry and active, I might have wandered off into the orchard again, but it was cold and after the bus came for Emma, I wandered back int hehouse instead.

I did laundry the semi-old fashioned way. I washed them the new fangled way, in my washing machine, and then I draped them around the wood stove and hung them up to dry. I found a handy dandy clothes dryer at Aldi on Saturday and it is truly a godsend. Between it and an old crib side, on which I hung socks and underwear, the clothes dried in a few hours time. Then I tossed them into the dryer for a cold air fluffing. (Aren't I a genius?)

This afternoon I baked two loaves of  bread, just to show My Darling that I truly do love him as much as my dear daughter in law Michele loves my son Jim. It was pretty easy to mix up the dough in my Kitchen Aide mixer. What a handy attachment that dough hook is! Now I am back on James' good side, I think... At least until I sneak around the other side again.

I won't bother to tell you about the batch of cookies I ruined... Okay, maybe I will. It was a double batch. They were supposed to be yummy, but they didn't turn out right. I messed up and used baking powder instead of baking soda. Blah! Tomorrow I shall attempt to remedy what is left of the uncooked dough.

More Adventures in Baking

Today I made more Boston Brown Bread and a batch of Chocolate Drop Cookies. Have I told you how much I love parchment paper? Well this afternoon I found a reason not to like it. (And here I thought I'd learned this lesson already. Well, that was a long time ago. Perhaps I just needed a refresher course...)

I'd already baked two cookies sheets and was putting the third into the oven. Slightly distracted by the chicken cooking on the stove, I didn't pay enough attention to my tray of cookies. I held it at an angle and the paper, cookies and all, slid right off the cookie sheet and into the bottom of the oven. Did you know parchment paper catches fire when it touches glowing oven coils? I blew at the flames but they didn't want to go out. "You can't put it out that way," said Hannah.

"And just how would you do it?" I asked.

"You have to smack it," she answered. And so I smacked it, twice, with my potholder, and the flames were gone. I looked at the burned paper and melting cookie dough... I decided to plop the entire thing back on the cookie sheet, unfold the parchment paper, and bake it anyway.

They don't look quite like the others, but they still taste good. Maybe they'll still be pretty with white frosting and sprinkles.

(Do I need to tell you My Darling laughed when he heard I tried to blow out the flames?)

Cookie Trouble

I've been doing a little work on my Christmas goodies. On Saturday evening I made two batches of toffee and this morning I baked Pfeffernusse Cookies. They are a spicy little molasses cookie that is rolled in powdered sugar, one of Mom's favorites. I've learned that I can save time and sugar by tossing the slightly warm treats and sugar inside a ziplock bag. I used a gallon size bag and added each sheetful as they cooled. I was just able to fit all the cookies inside the bag. As I rolled the bag about in my hands, checking to see they were all coated, the bag popped open and the cookies tumbled out. I let out a scream and heaved myself toward the counter.

All of the cookies had been saved, but the tummy of my dark, blue turtleneck sweater was graced with an ample amount of powdery sweetness. "And I just finished all the laundry," I remarked to Hannah.


She laughed. "You should have been wearing your apron," she told me. Ha ha! She was right.

Death By Banana Bread

R is for Retrieve and Revive. (This was not originally intended as and ABC Wednesday post, but I think it works nicely. We could call it "recycled.")

Four nicely spotted bananas sat on the counter, waiting to be made into banana bread. Today was the day. (Actually, it was yesterday...) With supplies and ingredients at hand, the task was begun. Sugar and shortening had been creamed, eggs and milk stirred in, when the phone rang. I left the partially mixed batter in the kitchen and stepped outside to talk.

Still on the phone, I returned to the house and stood before the waiting assemblage, when out of the corner of my not-so good eye, I saw something move on my left fingertip which was rather close to my face. Instinctively, I shook my hand. Was it gone? I returned my hand to its former position. No, it was still there. I shook my hand again, not even sure what it tiny object was. This time it was gone. I had seen something fly away. I turned off the phone, set it aside, and returned to my baking.

Taking a fork, I proceeded to mash the two bananas before me. Something small and dark appeared in the bowl. What could it be...? I took up my glasses to identify this foreign object, and there she was, a tiny red ladybug, slathered in mashed banana. She struggled to move, her little legs wiggling. Moved with ladybug compassion, I turned on the water faucet to see if I could rinse away some of the offending substance without killing her. I found it quite difficult to bathe a ladybug. When she stopped moving, I feared the worst.

Not wanting to manhandle her any more than I already had, I dumped the now still creature into a small potted plant on the window sill. An hour or so later she remained, silent and upside down, her underside covered with banana. I went on with my chores.

Two batches of banana bread came and went from the oven, children napped and went home, supper was served and dishes were washed and put away. Late in the evening I glanced into the small pot in search of my little friend but she was gone. Oh wait, there she was! Crawling up the window screen.

Anybody for some coffee and a slice of Ladybug Bread? Er, I mean, banana Bread?


To see the other participants in the new round of 
ABC Wednesday, click here!

Volcanic Banana Bread

A friend of mine had surgery last week and I thought it would be nice to send her a loaf of homemade banana bread. I mixed up two batches, one for us and one for her. About 40 minutes into the baking Hannah came and said, "Your banana bread is running over." I thought the pans looked fuller than normal when I filled them, but I have used this recipe for years without any problems... I did change it slightly, but exchanging the milk for a container of vanilla yogurt never caused an eruption before... I looked in the oven. Big blobs of batter were blackening on the oven floor while more continued to ooze down the edges of the pans. I grabbed an old cookie sheet to catch whatever else might fall and turned on the exhaust fan. I rechecked the recipe which I had followed mostly by memory... "1 beaten egg..." Hm... I suppose two beaten eggs might cause a bit of a problem... and a rather big mess. Needless to say I will not be giving any of this particular bread to anyone living outside of my house. It has a very crunchy upper crust and a very moist inside, kind of like a banana pudding bread or Banana Bread Pudding... It would be wonderful served warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, if I only had some.

Lessons in Parchment Paper

I decided to try a new cookie recipe, Homemade Oreo Cookies. Things were going well, the dough looked good and smelled wonderful. It tasted good too, but I was missing parchment paper to bake them on. A quick run to the local grocery store. Now, I have never used parchment paper. It seemed a wonderful way to bake cookies. No greasing of the baking sheet and easy cleanup. The first sheet worked like a charm. Twenty perfect circles were on the table cooling when the timer went off for the second sheet. I opened the oven, grabbed the edge of the cookie sheet, and started to remove it from the oven...

My husband heard my desperate cries. "No, no, no! No, no!" I cried. The oven was billowing smoke already! The slippery paper had slid right off the sheet, turned upside down, and dumped my precious cookies into the bottom of the oven where they were quickly turning to charcoal. My Darling came to the rescue and helped me scoop the blackened remains from the floor of the "cookie furnace."I learned a quick lesson about parchment paper and flat baking sheets.

The remaining cookies turned out pretty good in spite of it all, and I may have to attempt another batch tomorrow as I have a little bit too much filling left over. (No surprise there.) What I'd really like to try making are those Dutch Windmill cookies. If only I could find a good cookie mold...

Blackened Blueberry Pie

Someone mentioned "just desserts" and I think I really got mine this time. I'm sure somebody out there will be amused. (see today's original post below...)

My Cake Runneth Over

I have a renewed interest in my Red Plaid Cookbook. This afternoon I decided to make Kaffee Kuchen. The recipe called for a 9 x 9 x 2" pan. I didn't have one. The best I could do was an 8" round. Knowing I was short on baking room, I greased two pans, but decided there wasn't enough to fill both. I put it into one pan and set it on a tray, "just incase". The good news is that it tastes yummy and didn't end up all over the bottom of my oven, even if it was slightly volcanic. Maybe I'll try again tomorrow, increase the recipe by half, and bake it in a 9 x 13" pan.