Tuesday, August 31, 2010

What We've Been Up To...Cupcakes, Treat Pops, & A Baby Shower


Behind the scenes, upstate NY, setting up our cupcakes and treat pops for a baby shower. We had a time baking for our ultra cool client and we especially want to thank Chef Pablo and his team for all their help AND for the trip to the Warwick Winery afterwards. I don't know about the wine but that food was delish! Thanks so much!
♥The Buddies.

Saturday, August 14, 2010

Allergy Free Desserts

I'm super excited....I received a nice pleasant surprise in the mail, Allergy-Free Desserts by Elizabeth Gordon, ordered for me by, Buddy Y (Yvonne). Isn't that cool.....so thoughtful! Time to pull down the kitchen aid and experiment baking all kinds of sweet treats for "mah babey". It's been fun figuring out ways to broaden my daughter's options in foods that she can, not only eat but really enjoy. A lot of my recipes for her specifically come from pure trial and error, my absolute favorite way of doing things.
Just the other day I bit into a plum forgetting I was allergic to them, I have selective memory ;) as I too suffer from some food allergies i.e. shellfish, raw nuts and FRESH fruit...bummer!! I'd give anything to bite into an apple or pear, I didn't develop the fresh fruit allergy until I was about 21 so I do know what I'm missing. Anyway, I took a couple of bites of the plum, Oh My Gee, (as Cymae says it), that plum was absolutely delish! I started an allergic reaction to it shortly there after. I don't like wasting anything, so instead of throwing it away, I made plum apple sauce. There was about 3/4 of an apple left from my girls' snack so I decided, hey, why not. I simmered the apple and plum, unpeeled, added a little water, a little sugar, covered, about 30 minutes or so, it was a pretty vibrant wine color and looked like jam. I then strained it through a sieve to separate the peel and viola, plum apple sauce. I spread it on some toast because I didn't feel like making anything else, it was like 12 or 1am...I'm a night owl. So I ate it on whole wheat toast. It had a tart note to it with a bit of sweetness, tasted like a freshly baked cherry or some sort of warm berry pie filling. THAT was definitely serendipity! I gave some to my sister and now whenever I visit, she asks me to make it. Once I figure out how to make a batch with the precise measurements, I'll post the recipe. You could probably look around on the Internet and find a recipe for it if as well.
Now back to what I was writing about, I go off on tangents quite often, actually so do the rest of the buddies, we understand one another though so it's OK. So, in thumbing through this book, I see some things that I've made before, my version of how I thought it should be prepared plus some desserts I've never thought of. I've had a lot of help via the Internet and vegan sites finding substitutes to take recipes I had and turning them into a dairy free, egg free, and *soy free delicious treat or meals. So what I'm going to do is sort of like a count down on  recipes in this book that I'll share with you. Did you ever see Julie & Julia, well something like that except my rules are different (BTW, I absolutely adore Meryl Streep, I think she's brilliant). I'm going to follow some recipes exactly as it is written, which as explained before is very difficult for me, I just like trying things my way. With the chosen few, I'm going to try it using my alternative or my little tweaks to fit our needs. Since this book also incorporates gluten-free ingredients to accomodate those who suffer from wheat/gluten, it uses things that I do not but am willing to try. These particular ingredients can be quite expensive, however I do understand that there are people that suffer from way more allergies than we do, so I'm going to give you the recipe in the book as it is written, as well as mine if I do have a different version. I want you to go ahead and make these recipes and tell me what you think, I'll take the good, the bad, and the ugly, I won't get sensitive if you don't like my recipe, promise, well I'll try not to, I'm pretty sensitive and wear my heart on my sleeve (batting my eyes with a smile). I have yet to determine whether I'm going to try a different recipe weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly. I think I'll try it randomly for now since I'm kind of random, my ways are pretty arbitrary. Plus I have lots of other things on my mind to blog about!
Consequently, allergy free cooking is a bit healthier than "regular" cooking so even if you don't suffer from food allergies, give some of these recipes a try, it might be a nice healthy alternative to what you are used to.
Happy baking! ♥Chyna

*(Just to clarify OUR Soy allergy, it is not pertaining to all soy, just mainly soy milk, cheese, soy ice cream, but we can have soy products like tofu, vegan butters made from soybean oil etc., don't know why, it just is. However, if you do have a soy allergy you're probably better off staying away from soy completely unless of course you know exactly what soy products you can't and can have if any. Through experience, I'm fully aware of most soy products we can and cannot have)

Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Kids Craft: Polymer Clay Day

...so for this week's CSI Project Kid's Craft challenge, I decided to designate Monday, Polymer Clay day. Which was perfect since it was so hot outside and we've exhausted the pool, the beach, the park, etc. Well,  maybe I'm the only one exhausted with those particular summer "adventures," with two little ones, everyday is an adventure! Besides, my husband's back to work from his little "vacation" and there's no way I'm taking them to the water park, pool, or beach by myself, ahh ahh, no way, José. So a great, super inexpensive, stress free, fun kid friendly craft is molding all kinds of mini cuteness with polymer clay. After just a few moments of starting this project I soon realized this was as therapeutic as baking, as long as I did not worry too much about the kid's techniques or the mess which wasn't bad at all. It was quite a controlled and organized mess. I threw caution to the wind and let them do their thing which is not easy for me because I tend to micromanage. Sweet treats were on my mind of course so that was my subject. We made charms, key chains, barrettes, and little miniature accessories and food for their doll house. I didn't think I was going to enjoy myself so much creating these little charms. This is definitely a craft for mostly all ages, from my 4 year old, to my 14 year old sister, to myself; we genuinely enjoyed playing with clay and was proud of our creations! Too bad these aren't edible, I surely don't feel like cooking dinner now!

I've included pics for your viewing pleasure, well not really, they are there so you can take a look at what you need and see a visual tutorial. I would have 'Vlogged' it but I don't want to hear my own voice and trust me you don't want to either....happy polymer clay day, enjoy!

Supplies: ●Molding Clay from your local craft store ($1.99 small pack of one color, or $9 pack of 12 different colors, you can also buy a pack of white and just paint it with acrylic paints after it's molded if you have some on hand and don't want to spend the extra money) ● Work Surface (I used an old left over ceramic tile) ●Something to cut the clay (I used a paint scraper because I didn't want any blades left around)●Something to bake the clay on designated for the clay and not food ever again(I used tin foil)
Optional Materials● A Glaze which makes the pieces have a nice shine, but please parents do the glazing, it's a toxic paint but if you look around you could probably find something that is not as toxic●A paint brush to apply the glaze (it's best to use a paint brush that won't shed bristles, an old make up brush that won't shed is a good option)●Pin heads to make charms●Findings around the house like ribbon, hair clips, key chain rings, paper clips, cheap measuring spoons(measuring spoons in the picture are not for measuring anything for this project, it was just something I found around the house that was no longer useful)●Craft Pasta Machine(This is not necessary at all especially for small projects, all you really need is a little elbow grease. The only reason I bought this tool was because someone in the craft store handed me a 40% off coupon and I just couldn't let it go to waste, could I now? I only paid $15 for it from original price of $25. My sister did enjoy playing with it but not suggested for little fingers)

Step 1: You have to condition your clay, make it soft and pliable. To do that you press with fingers and roll into a ball in the palms of your hands, roll into a snake, and repeat that process until it's nice and soft. The kids will enjoy this part.

Knead and Roll the clay to condition it, make soft, and pliable

Step 2: Once it's soft enough to mold with ease, shape it into anything your little hearts' desire. Below are step by step photos on making a cupcake charm.
                           
After you have baked it in the oven for 15 minutes @ 275°, then let it cool. You can stop right there or choose to glaze it. Glazing should be done by the parents or children old enough to do so carefully and responsibly, please use your discretion. Remember the dish or surface that you used to bake the polymer clay on, please designate that for clay only and never use it again for food. Along with any tools you use.
See below for glazing after it is out the oven and has cooled:
                            
Add your charms to a necklace, charm bracelet, key chain; glue to hair clips, ribbon, or just play with them
 
    
 My cute, sweet, yummy oldest baby Cymaé, enjoying her cute, sweet, and yummy charms!
❀Chyna

Check out the CSI Project for weekly craft challenges and join in the fun.
Visit thecsiproject.com

Monday, August 9, 2010

No Need To Order Out Tonight

Margherita Pizza-(Sorry I forgot to take the picture)

When I was younger I use to make garlic bread with Wonder Bread and my family loved it and thought it was genius. I also often made pizza and pretzels from wonder bread...Hey, I did what I had to do for an after school snack. LOL

So Italian bread was on sale the other day, which is rare, it always seems to be $1.79, well I got two loaves for that price. One loaf I made good ole cheesy garlic bread and the other I made a margherita pizza. I wanted to make something fast so I could relax, here’s what I did.

Things You Will Need:

-Fresh Italian Bread(be sure to check the sell by date)
-2 Roma Tomatoes
-Fresh Mozzarella
-2 table spoons of chopped garlic(in oil), (you can also chop a fresh garlic bulb) 2 cloves would be good, finely chopped
-Olive Oil
- basting brush
-fresh basil
-kosher salt and pepper(optional)

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Slice the roma tomatoes. Slice the fresh mozzarella. Slice the Italian bread lengthwise and then crosswise into about 4 pieces. Then brush olive oil on the inside of the bread, don’t drench it, just cover it well. If using garlic in oil, use less olive oil on the bread. Spread garlic on the bread, give or take how much depending on your tastes. Add sliced roma tomatoes, again more or less to taste. Add the cheese and top with fresh basil. You can sprinkle a little salt and pepper over the top, if you wish. Keep in mind the mozzarella has salt in it. Bake for 10-12 minutes(some ovens vary, I would check it after 8 minutes)

I served this with an ice cold Cherry Pepsi 


*Also tastes very good on whole wheat pita(4-5 min in the oven)

Sunday, August 8, 2010

My Little Man's 1st Haircut !!!







Hey guys! I just wanted to share a small milestone in my son's life---his 1st haircut. Now when you see the before and after photos, you'll know what a big deal this really is. He went out this afternoon with Daddy as a little baby in my eyes, but he came back a "real little boy." I had tears in my eyes when I saw how handsome he looks. I am so giddy about his haircut. When my little girls first heard that Ty no longer had a head full of hair, they were upset, but when they saw him they both grinned from ear to ear. I am completely in love. He looks so darling! Wouldn't 'cha agree? :-) Shakira







Dolly Donation

Yet another great blog dedicated to using their God given talents for the greater good. Sarah at Dolly Donations Mission: "My mission is to make a difference in the lives of those less fortunate, especially orphaned children around the world ....... to provide them with a source of comfort ...... to send them love, one dolly at a time!Her current doll drive is for, Free the Kids in Haiti: Project Hope, to provide their orphanage with 132 dolls. Their dead line is Novemeber 1, 2010. Although, I have never made a doll I'm going to attempt to before that date. If you want to help check out her blog. She also has alternatives to contributing if you "want to help but can't sew." Check out her blog, I also grabbed her button which is at the bottom of this page for future reference. When I'm done with my doll I'll send pics, promise not to laugh :D. ❀Chyna

Friday, August 6, 2010

Discipline

When do I start to discipline my daughter, at almost 7 months she is so defiant and it seems as if she is purposely testing me. For the last 5 1/2 months nursing has been rewarding and beautiful to say the least. I love nursing the bond is incredible between she and I, until recently. Recently my little Caterpillar sprouted teeth, not one, but two. Even more recently she has realized that she has teeth that can do things, like...BITE. She now bites at least twice a day, the first time it happened ladies, I lie to you not, it took great restraint not to throw her across the room. Of course this was my instinct but to be very clear I did not toss her. I don't want anyone to think I abuse my child. She in fact is abusing me. LOL I knew this would happen and the naysayers regarding breastfeeding would probably laugh and say "I told you so." Ha!! With all the abuse, I will not give up breast feeding, I just have to figure out how to get her to quit nipping my nips. Any suggestions???

BTW, Happy Breastfeeding Month!

Thursday, August 5, 2010

Give A Kid A Quilt

http://giveakidaquilt.blogspot.com/
I stumbled upon this really awesome blog about sending in quilts to children who are going to need them this winter. Please check it out, link to the blog is☝and below ☟ is the info off their site:

Oh How I Love Gravy

I have always been a fan a gravy, ever since child hood. You add gravy to it and I will eat it. So today’s post is about making a great gravy for any poultry or beef.

Things you will need:

Stock or broth -poultry or beef canned ( I prefer the juices from whichever meat I am using)
Whisk
Flour or Corn Starch ( I prefer flour, but both work great)
Kitchen Bouquet-browning agent

This is pretty basic and very hard to mess up. Now many people when they are making gravy, make it right in the pan with the meat that they are using, I found that this does not always work well. So here is the trick, if you didn’t know. Depending on the amount of stock or broth that you are using spoon out and separate a little less than half in to a bowl(make sure the liquid is very hot) add in a teaspoon of flour or cornstarch at a time. Whisk swiftly, as you add in more dry ingredients(flour or cornstarch) the gravy will thicken. Remember that you still have liquid left over so you can make it thicker if you wish. Remember to keep whisking, you don’t want the dry ingredients that you added to make your gravy clumpy. After you have reached the desired thickness add a teaspoon of kitchen bouquet(FOR DARKER GRAVIES) , add your liquid back to your meat. Done. I made some chicken breasts with bow tie pasta just last night and cooked the pasta in the chicken gravy, it was just divine. I think I will eat the leftovers for dinner. :-)

Who Needs That Bottled Stuff ???

So I already had some chicken marinating in the fridge that I planned on grilling later on that evening. I'm a big fan of bottled honey barbecue sauce, but I was fresh out. Not wanting to pack the kids in the car or have hubby stop on his way home from work just for BBQ sauce, I decided to whip some up myself. Good idea! It was totally DELISH! All I did was saute some chopped onions and garlic in a splash of olive oil until tender. I then added about a cup and a half of ketchup, a tablespoon of mustard, a 1/4 of a cup of dark brown sugar, a tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce, a tablespoon of teriyaki sauce, a splash of hot sauce, a little garlic powder, kosher salt and black pepper. I was out of honey, but if it was on hand I would have added it. I let it simmer slowly for about 20 minutes and brushed it on the chicken about 10 minutes before removing it from the grill. My family LOVED it. The kids were licking their fingers, and needless to say, they were looking for 2nd's. It was so good, I'm almost positive you could pour it atop of those buttermilk pancakes and use it as a dipping sauce for those fried apple pies. ;-}

Wednesday, August 4, 2010

Just Gotta Finish Up That Left Over Buttermilk...

Buttermilk Pancakes 
*(I never follow recipes to the T, something in me just doesn't allow it, I'm defiant in that way, but this one I did and they came out just right)
The Wets
1.5 cups (350ml) buttermilk
1 egg
3 Tablespoons (50g) melted butter - use microwave *(I just melted in the pan I cooked the pancakes in)
2 Teaspoons (10ml) Vanilla 
The Drys1 cup (125g) white flour
3 Tbsp (40g) sugar
1/2 tsp (3g) baking soda (make sure it's not 3 years old... ;-)
1/2 tsp (2g) baking powder
1/2 tsp (4g) salt


Put the wet and dry ingredients into separate bowls. Whisk each one lightly. Add roughly half of the dry mix into the wet and whisk smooth, not too long. Add the remainder of the dry mix and barely whisk together. Make sure all of the flour is mixed in. You don't want to beat this too much as it strengthens the gluten in the flour and makes the pancakes tougher. Don't worry, you can't screw this up; just don't put it in an electric mixer and let it run forever.... If possible, let the batter rest for a few minutes to allow the baking soda and baking powder to perform their magic. This will make for airier pancakes.
NOTE: The batter should be fairly thick, not runny. The perfect batter should pour onto the fry pan and not move much; it should only require a few taps of the measuring cup to spread it out. A few UK readers have commented that they get runny batters and this is most likely due to thin buttermilk. If this happens don't worry, just add a bit more flour, a few tablespoons at a time until it thickens up.

Cooking the pancakes

A simple non-stick fry pan is all you need. Heavier is better as it spreads the heat, prevents burning, and browns the pancakes nicely. Heat the pan on the lowest setting on your stove top as it is easy to burn pancakes. If you have an electric skillet, set it to 325°F. By the way, don't try to make it work with a scratched 20 year old camping pan. This has to be a good quality non-stick surface to work well.

TRICK: Usually, it helps to put a few drops of oil on the fry pan and rub it around with a paper towel. Even with a non-stick surface, it helps the batter release easier.
Drop a 1/4 cup scoop of batter onto the pan. You might need to spread it around just a bit if the batter is extra thick.  You should hear a *slight* sizzle when you pour the batter; if it sizzles loudly, or worse, big bubbles form as you pour, the heat is way too high, turn it down.
The most important point is to cook these pancakes slowly. Too fast and you'll burn them, or worse yet, you'll have pancakes with gooey liquid centers. A good rule of thumb is 90-120 seconds per side. If they burn before that, your pan is still too hot. If things are at the right temperature, you'll know it is time to flip, without timing, by the small bubbles forming at the top of the pancake. When it is covered in small holes, the edge of pancake will start to look dry. This is the time to flip.

It is a good idea to get good at 'peeking' under the edge of the pancake with the spatula. This gives you a good idea of how quickly the bottom is browning. Still a bit yellow? Keep it on for a few more seconds. Browning too fast? Flip it and turn down the heat.
Flipping takes a few tries to get the hang of it. If you've got a good thick batter, there will still be plenty of 'goo' there in the center. When you flip, you've got to do it quickly so it doesn't sploosh across the pan. It might take you a few tries at first but it isn't hard, just do it fairly quickly. This is REALLY fun to do with your younger kids, just start off with scant cups of batter to make them even smaller and easier to flip.
TRICKIf you want, substitute Splenda instead of sugar. This makes the batter handle higher temperatures without burning and doesn't affect the texture or flavor much.
The first pancake usually has 'white spots' on the first side. However, after the first one, the following pancakes will have much more uniform color and pattern. If you want 6 bigger pancakes, use a 1/3 cup instead of 1/4 cup. They are harder to flip so make sure you're comfortable with the smaller ones.
Recipe and photo courtesy of Scott Jenson

Tuesday, August 3, 2010

I Really Want Some Apple Pie

I woke up the other day thinking, I really want some apple pie. So I decided to attempt to make one. After all, how hard could it be, I have had apple pie so many times, so many different ways...I went off to my kitchen to see what I had. Now, I know to caramelize apples, I need butter for sure. So butter...check. I had brown sugar and cinnamon...check and check. And flour...all in my cabinets. I had apples too, so with the McDonald's apple pie in mind, all I needed was a pocket for my ingredients. Last but not least I went to my favorite tool...the Internet, The Food Network. Low and behold I found exactly what I was looking for, now based on what I had in the house, I tweaked it so I would not have to spend extra money, after all I am always on the look out for the cost effective way to do things and this recipe takes 20 minutes. The only thing that I purchased was the pie crust for $3.49 and the Gala Apples for $.69 and the unsalted butter, store brand for $1.29. Total cost. $5.47 for 8 little pies. See recipe below. Hot or Cold, tastes great with ice cream or a cup of coffee. Enjoy!  ❀Yvonne

Fried Apple pie
•4 tablespoons unsalted butter
•1/4 cup light brown sugar (I used dark brown)
•2 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and chopped
•2 Gala apples, peeled, cored and chopped
•1 tablespoon maple syrup
•1/2 lemon, juiced (I used about a tablespoon)
•2 tablespoons ground cinnamon, divided
•1/4 teaspoon ground ginger(Didn't have any)
•1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg(Didn't have any)
•1 box ready-made pie crusts (recommended: Pillsbury)
•Peanut oil, for frying
•1/2 cup granulated sugar
•1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

Yvonne's Fried Apple Pie
-To a large saute pan over medium heat, melt the butter. Stir in the brown sugar, and the apples and saute until they are tender, about 5 to 6 minutes. Drizzle in the maple syrup, lemon juice, cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg. Continue cooking for 5 minutes more until the apples are completely softened. Remove them from the pan and allow them to cool while you prepare the dough.
-Roll out(not with a rolling pin) both pieces of pie dough onto a floured surface. Cut out 8 (6-inch) circles and lay them out onto a parchment-lined sheet tray. Put a heaping tablespoon of the apple pie filling into the center of each round Fold the circles in half and seal their edges with the tines of a fork.
-In a deep-fryer or heavy-bottomed pot, heat enough peanut oil to come halfway up the sides of the pot, to 350 degrees F.
-Whisk together the sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl and reserve.
-Fry the pies, 3 at a time, in the hot peanut oil until they are golden brown and crisp, about 3 minutes. Transfer the finished pies to a paper towel-lined sheet tray. Once they are cool, toss them in the cinnamon sugar.

Monday, August 2, 2010

So What Do I Do W/This Left Over Buttermilk ?




…what else but make some Red Velvet Cupcakes…but there's still buttermilk left over and I hate to waste so, Buttermilk Pancakes it is. I found a great recipe for buttermilk pancakes and they were pretty scrumptious. I'll post the recipe on our EveryBuddy Bakes page.
❀Chyna (sheesh, look @ that thumb, gotta do my nails, pretend you don't see that☺)