Whipped Cream

To be honest, I really haven't done much worthy of writing about lately, so in the interest of posting for the sake of posting, I thought I'd write about whipped cream. Last summer, I had the time and opportunity to frequent the library daily (all right, not always by choice...we were in the process of house buying and due to the incompetencies of Comcast, spent nearly 2 months without internet, therefore sending me to the library daily to communicate with our realtor, lenders, insurance agents, utility providers, etc. More than annoying.) This did give me lots of time to peruse the shelves while waiting for a computer to open up, and I spent most of my time in the food section, reading books like Twinkie: Deconstructed by Steve Ettlinger, Real Food by Nina Planck, Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver, and most recently, Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan. In short, after reading those books I decided to eliminate a lot (not all, let's be reasonable...every so often, you are going to have to eat high fructose corn syrup...it is in everything. If you go out to eat at all, there is a good chance every item you order contains some. That is perhaps an over generalization, but I'm just trying to point out that even though I try to be really conscious about it, I am aware that I do eat some) of processed foods from my diet. Starting with high fructose corn syrup and hydrogenated oils. Which is why the Ward household no longer buys "frozen whipped topping" and instead makes our own whipped cream. Which is so easy, I am ashamed to admit that I just started doing this a year ago.

A note: I am only posting these pictures because they are the only ones I have of whipped cream making. They are from earlier this week, and the only reason I have them at all is because I used too small a bowl and splattered the whipping cream all over my shirt (and the kitchen), which Lucas found hilarious, therefore prompting him to fashion for me the "paper towel bib" you see me wearing in the photos. He thought he was quite funny, so he proceeded to take these pictures. Ha.


Whipped Cream
ingredients:
whipping cream
sugar or agave nectar
flavoring (vanilla, almond, liquor, etc)


Unfortunately, I can't offer you measurements or quantities for the ingredients. I just eyeball it to however much we need. I taste as I go until it is sweet enough for us. I like to flavor with almond extract, but vanilla is good too, and when not pregnant, I like amaretto or creme de caramel.



To make:
1. Pour desired amount of whipping cream into an appropriately sized bowl (I have learned that you should always go bigger than you think you need...).
2. Begin whipping with an electric whisk, or make in a stand mixer with the whisk attachment. I suppose you could also whisk it by hand, but be prepared to be whisking awhile.
3. Gradually add sugar or agave nectar and continue whisking until cream starts to thicken. When soft peaks begin to form, add in flavoring and continue whisking until desired consistency. Don't over beat, or you will make butter. Very sweet and tasty butter, but probably not what you want on your dessert...

The almond flavored whipped cream is especially good with fresh berries. Mmmmm. Enjoy!

Peach-raspberry pie

Lucas and I had a few guys from his office over for dinner on the 4th of July. In the spirit of the holiday, I thought I would bake a pie, because what goes better with the 4th of July than pie? I had planned to make peach-blackberry pie, but when I got to the store after saving my shopping for the day of the holiday, I was saddened to discover they were sold out of blackberries. So, I swapped the blackberry idea for raspberries at the last minute. In hindsight, I maybe should have just made a peach pie and left out the other fruit entirely, but there's always next time. As a warning, peach-raspberry pie is very, very, sweet.

This pie was my first attempt at a lattice top pie. I made the crust from scratch, and probably should've made a bigger batch as it turns out I made a crust for a regular dish pie, and the dish I own happens to be deep dish. So, the edges weren't turned under as nicely as they should have been, and there are fewer lattices than I wanted, but an overall respectable attempt. Last summer I found an all butter pie crust recipe that I loved, and then promptly lost it. I have tried several times to replicate said pie crust, but cannot recreate the delicious flaky butteriness of the original. This crust was just a version of the Better Homes and Gardens red plaid cookbooks pie crust, substituting butter for the shortening. Eh. Nothing special.

Peach-raspberry pie
1 recipe for a double crust pie (use your favorite)
7-8 peaches, peeled and sliced
1.5 cups fresh raspberries
1/2 c. sugar
3 T. all purpose flour
1 tsp. lemon zest
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1.5 T. unsalted butter, cubed (I forgot this step. Do Not forget this step!!)
1 egg, mixed with a little bit of cold water (to brush on the crust)
sugar (to sprinkle on the crust)

Directions:
1. Make pie crust for double crust pie. Divide dough in half and refrigerate 30-60 minutes. Roll one half of dough to 1/4" thick and place in 9" pie plate. Allow dough to overhand the edges.
2. Mix peaches and raspberries with sugar, flour, lemon zest, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Spoon into crust. Dot with the cubes of butter.
3. Roll out second half of dough to 1/4" thickness. Use a pizza cutter, pastry wheel, or knife to cut 10 strips of dough 3/4" thick. Weave into lattice top over filling. Turn bottom crust edge over edges of strips and roll and pinch together.
4. Brush egg over the strips and sprinkle with sugar.
5. Bake 40-50 minutes on a baking sheet in a 350 degree oven (based on original recipe. my oven never works right, so I baked it close to 1.5 hours. maybe your's will work better...). Crust should be golden brown and filling should be bubbling when done.

Garden

So....haven't posted anything for awhile. I have had a few failed baking attempts (I entirely blame my oven. More on this later), have started a backyard garden, went through a few weeks where I made things, but didn't think to photograph them (guess we'll just have to make homemade ice-cream with homemade caramel sauce again...oh well!), and was mostly lazy. I thought I'd attempt to make up for my laziness by promising a series of posts--as in one each day this week. This is a lofty goal, however, and you will be lucky to see one every other day. Though I will try my best.

Today I thought I'd share about my garden. Since we moved in a year ago, I have been talking about the wonderful garden I would have now that I had my own backyard. I suppose I could have managed something during the "apartment days," but the closest I got to gardening then was my window oxalis, which could live anywhere and I'm sure could be tended to by a hamster or other small brained creature with moderate rate of success. Pondering just how we were going to get anything to grow in our clay soil lasted nearly the whole first year we were here. Then, our neighbor told us about square foot gardening, which would eliminate any soil preparation and contain the garden to a set spot all at the same time. Perfect!

3 weeks later...


We have a garden! Looking at the picture above, from the bottom left hand corner, going from bottom to top, then top to bottom: 2 squares of watermelon, cherry tomatoes, basil, empty square (was going to be zucchini, but no stores seemed to carry those seeds this late in the summer), zinnia, mesclun, zinnia, spinach, empty square (was to be zucchini, again), 2 squares of peppers, 2 squares of squash, parsley, and mesclun. All except the tomato and zinnias were from seed. I also have a larger tomato plant in a container on the deck. So, we'll see how well we do! I've already found a worm and some sort of tiny grasshopper looking thing eating the leaves on the watermelon sprouts, which is why I have thinned the sprouts back yet. Want to make sure I leave the strongest one! I am pretty sure I have over planted in terms of big plants--the book recommended one squash plant for every 3 squares. I went ahead and planted 2 next door to each other. Oh well. If one doesn't make it, I guess I have a back up.

In the picture, you will also notice the presence of our dog, Wembley. He thinks it is his job to dig up any bark, pieces of mulch, or large clumps of dirt that might be present in the garden. If you spend any time near our yard, you will most likely hear the sounds of: "Wembley! No! Get out of there!", followed by a crazed black dog streaking through the yard at a speed way to fast for a human to catch. He will then proceed to streak straight by you, through the garden, and start the process over. We are going to look into a small fence. This in lieu of Lucas' suggestion to just get rid of the dog. Deep down, I think he really does like him.

Tomorrow (or the next day, whichever...): Peach-raspberry pie

Breakfast Couscous

In an attempt to eat a more varied breakfast, I made this Breakfast Couscous dish last week. I had made it once before and remembered it was easy, so decided to give it a second try. It is in fact very easy to make. I adapted it from the original recipe found in Cooking Light because I didn't have all the ingredients. Also, the recipe was intended for use while camping, so it did provide directions using dried milk, but I went ahead and used regular 2% milk instead. It made enough for 3 breakfasts, about 2/3 c. each serving.


Breakfast Couscous
adapted from Cooking Light

Ingredients:
1 cup milk
1/4 c. water
1/2 c. uncooked couscous
1/2 c. dried cranberries (or 1/4 c. dried cranberries, 1/4 c. raisins)
2 T. brown sugar
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp. salt
optional: toasted walnuts or pecans, chopped

Directions:
1. Boil water and milk in a small saucepan.
2. Stir in remaining ingredients and remove from heat.
3. Cover and let stand 10 minutes.

See, very very easy!

Farmer's Market

Yesterday, Lucas and I drove up to Houston to attend the Bayou City Farmer's Market. There was a nice selection of vegetables, meats, honey, cheese, and some prepared foods. Unfortunately, it took us nearly 45 minutes to get there. I would definitely return, but probably won't make it a weekly drive. In Omaha, my brother lives within walking distance of a weekly farmer's market--hard not to be jealous of that! Below are pictures of what we made it home with--we are really excited to try the steak!

Above are fresh bell peppers and a Japanese eggplant.

Sirloin Steak, grass-fed in Waller, TX. Can't wait to try it!

Fresh baked Naan.

Honey with the comb.

Chocolate Chip Cookies with Whole Wheat Flour

I have been wanting to experiment baking with whole wheat flour for awhile, so I finally picked some up the other day at the store and pulled out my new favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe. I was also considering substituting agave nectar for the sugar, but after learning that agave nectar can change the texture of the cookie, opted to go only with the flour change for this batch (since the reason I love these cookies so much happens to be the texture in the first place). These are the perfect combination of chewiness and crunchiness. Delicious. The change to whole wheat flour also can affect the texture, so for my first batch, I used a little more than half whole wheat flour and half all purpose flour. The result was an even chewier cookie--yum! The recipe makes a lot of cookies (near 5 dozen--which no, we did not eat all by ourselves...), so consider halving it if you are just baking for 2 (which we were, but I tend to go overboard anyway).

Chocolate Chip Cookies with Whole Wheat Flour
adapted from The Pastry Queen by Rebecca Rather

1 c. unsalted butter at room temperature
1 c. packed brown sugar
1 c. granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 T. vanilla extract
1 1/3 c. whole wheat flour
1 c. all purpose flour
1 1/4 tsp. baking soda
1 scant teaspoon salt
semi-sweet chocolate chips (I like Guittard)
white chocolate chunks (not white chips...I just chop up a white chocolate bar)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper (or spray with cooking spray).
2. Cream the butter in a mixer with the paddle attachment. Add in both sugars and continue mixing until fluffy (2-3 minutes). Add in the eggs and vanilla and mix on medium speed 1 minute.
3. Combine the flours, baking soda, and salt in a bowl and whisk together. Add to creamed mixture in 3 batches, mixing on medium-low speed just until combined between batches.
4. Stir in chocolate chips and white chocolate chunks by hand (use as much or as little as you prefer).
5. Drop dough onto cookie sheet using 2 spoons or a 1 3/4" dasher (which I am not lucky enough to own). Leave about 1.5-2" between cookies. Bake 10-12 minutes until the edges are lightly browned. The middles may still look light or under cooked, but as they cool that will go away. Allow to cool on pan 2 minutes, then remove to cooling rack.

Yum!!!

Basil Pesto

So, I thought about just pretending I didn't abandon this blog for 2 months and just go ahead and make a new post like it was totally routine....then I decided that no one probably checks this anymore anyway, so I should probably make some mention of the fact that I am starting to post here again. Most people who read this blog read our other blog as well, so this news should be a shock to....no one. I'm pregnant! Being pregnant put me off of cooking and baking for fun for awhile, but I am happy to announce that the second trimester seems to agree with me and baking and cooking are no longer a problem. So, coupled with the fact that I am not working this summer, I should have plenty of time to post here. Starting with.....

Basil Pesto!


My neighbor, Sam, grows basil and was kind enough to give us some regular and lemon basil, with which I made my first batch of pesto. I found some recipes online, but pretty much just eyeballed it until it looked like the right consistency. The lemon basil gave it a nice citrus-y kick and it was a very refreshing dish for a hot summer day. I made the pesto a few weeks ago and froze it until we used it this week. I had read varying reviews on if you should freeze the pesto before or after adding the cheese. I finally went with after, just for the sake of easiness. It froze very well, no flavor or texture concerns to speak of. Below is what was added--I pureed all in a food processor until smooth, adding more olive oil until the consistency I wanted was achieved. I say just experiment with the quantities of ingredients. Seemed to work fine for me!

Basil Pesto
Fresh basil leaves, stems removed (at least 1.5 cups)
toasted pine nuts
olive oil
salt
grated parmesan cheese

Puree basil, pine nuts, salt, and cheese in food processor. Drizzle in olive oil until smooth. Serve over pasta, or I suppose it could also be used as a spread on bread or sandwiches. Freezes well.