They are all home made. At least in our house they are. And they are all easy to make with very little time and effort involved. Bread takes five minutes of my time to put the ingredients in the bread machine and turn it on. Peanut Butter takes about 10 seconds to put the nuts in the food processor, and requires just one or two scrapes of the bowl and scooping it into a container. Salsa involves just a few minutes of cutting and dumping into a food processor. Ice Cream, again, just a few minutes to put the ingredients into the ice cream maker and turn it on.
Showing posts with label Baking. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Baking. Show all posts
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Friday, February 12, 2010
I Made Bread: Part III
Today, I made a loaf of Italian Herb Bread. I think I've died and gone to heaven. After it baked, I put a few slices under the broiler with some parmesan cheese and some more italian seasoning. It was soooo good. By the time we each tasted a piece, 1/3 of the loaf was gone! I'm making spaghetti for dinner, so more of the bread (with more cheese, garlic and italian herbs) will be going under the broiler.
The only thing I've noticed about this bread maker is that the left side of the loaf is usually deformed in some way. In the herb bread today, it didn't rise as high as the right side. In the wheat loaves, the left side isn't smooth....it's lumpy. The bread won't be getting any awards for aesthetics, but it doesn't affect the taste and that is all I really care about.
The only thing I've noticed about this bread maker is that the left side of the loaf is usually deformed in some way. In the herb bread today, it didn't rise as high as the right side. In the wheat loaves, the left side isn't smooth....it's lumpy. The bread won't be getting any awards for aesthetics, but it doesn't affect the taste and that is all I really care about.
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
I Made Bread: Part II
I am loving the bread machine I talked about in this post. It is so very easy to use and I am making a new loaf of bread every other day. I have tried out a few other types of bread as well with pretty good success.
We have been big eaters of organic Honey Whole Wheat bread from the store. I used the whole wheat recipe that came with my bread maker and just substituted some organic honey for some of the molasses called for in the recipe. I have to say that this bread turned out just as good, if not better, than the stuff from the store.
I also made a loaf of what is called Trail Mix bread. This loaf was moderately successful. I think the dough was just a bit too wet. Next time I need to check it better and add some more flour if necessary. Plus, with this recipe, you only get to add 1/2 cup of "trail mix" which just did not seem like enough. The bread maker allows you to make 1.5lb and 2lb loaves. I have been making 2lb loaves but for this one, just made the 1.5lb loaf. With the 2lb. loaves, you get to add 3/4 cup of trail mix. I may just add 3/4 cup to my 1.5lb loaf next time and see how it turns out.
I think tomorrow I may make either focaccia dough or cheese/onion bread. They both sound so yummy.
Can you tell I'm having fun? Did I mention I love to bake? I think I need to get serious about my walking program if I'm going to keep making all this delicious bread, otherwise Pillsbury may be contacting me to be the next Pillsbury Dough Person! LOL
We have been big eaters of organic Honey Whole Wheat bread from the store. I used the whole wheat recipe that came with my bread maker and just substituted some organic honey for some of the molasses called for in the recipe. I have to say that this bread turned out just as good, if not better, than the stuff from the store.
I also made a loaf of what is called Trail Mix bread. This loaf was moderately successful. I think the dough was just a bit too wet. Next time I need to check it better and add some more flour if necessary. Plus, with this recipe, you only get to add 1/2 cup of "trail mix" which just did not seem like enough. The bread maker allows you to make 1.5lb and 2lb loaves. I have been making 2lb loaves but for this one, just made the 1.5lb loaf. With the 2lb. loaves, you get to add 3/4 cup of trail mix. I may just add 3/4 cup to my 1.5lb loaf next time and see how it turns out.
I think tomorrow I may make either focaccia dough or cheese/onion bread. They both sound so yummy.
Can you tell I'm having fun? Did I mention I love to bake? I think I need to get serious about my walking program if I'm going to keep making all this delicious bread, otherwise Pillsbury may be contacting me to be the next Pillsbury Dough Person! LOL
Rainy Day
We're getting the tail end of the big storm that is heading to the northeast. We are going to have a cool rest of the week with temps only into the 50's. This has been a cold (I know it is a relative term considering what the rest of the country is getting) winter for us. I was hoping we were done with winter and moving into our spring. But, Mother Nature is playing a cruel joke on us sun/warmth worshipers. At least it is rain, not snow!
It's been a lazy day due to the rain. I went for a walk with a friend this morning before the rain started. Had a late breakfast and went back to sleep for 3 HOURS! *yawn* I'm still tired! LOL
After E's nap, we mixed up a batch of chocolate mint brownies. They are baking in the oven now and smell soooo good! This recipe is different than the one I used before. It has a layer of mint icing on top. Can't wait to taste them later.
That's all from Boringville! Things will liven up around here pretty soon as we have some home improvement projects coming up in the next month or so. Oh, and I'm going to plant a small garden. Fresh veggies for our meals...can't wait!
It's been a lazy day due to the rain. I went for a walk with a friend this morning before the rain started. Had a late breakfast and went back to sleep for 3 HOURS! *yawn* I'm still tired! LOL
After E's nap, we mixed up a batch of chocolate mint brownies. They are baking in the oven now and smell soooo good! This recipe is different than the one I used before. It has a layer of mint icing on top. Can't wait to taste them later.
That's all from Boringville! Things will liven up around here pretty soon as we have some home improvement projects coming up in the next month or so. Oh, and I'm going to plant a small garden. Fresh veggies for our meals...can't wait!
Friday, February 5, 2010
Do you like to cook/bake?
I really love to do both. Over the years, I've tried so many different things: woodworking, sewing, web design, to name a few but have never found anything that I enjoyed as much as I enjoy cooking and baking. I enjoy everything about it: finding recipes, buying the ingredients, making the food, cleaning up the mess, except for cleaning up the mess.
I'm lucky to have a husband who will eat anything. Anything. He is like Mikey, for those of you who might remember the popular Life Cereal commercials. I jokingly tell him that he WOULD eat anything because before we got married, his meals consisted mostly of frozen dinners, so the bar is not set very high. LOL
I'm lucky to have a husband who will eat anything. Anything. He is like Mikey, for those of you who might remember the popular Life Cereal commercials. I jokingly tell him that he WOULD eat anything because before we got married, his meals consisted mostly of frozen dinners, so the bar is not set very high. LOL
I Made Bread!
In an effort to eat as much fresh, healthy food as possible, I recently bought a Breadman TR875 Breadmaker from Amazon. After researching online, I found this one had good reviews, and the price was right. Since I had never made bread before, I didn't want to invest a lot into a bread maker until I was sure this was something I would want to keep doing. This machine also makes pasta dough, pie crust dough, cookie dough, gluten free bread AND jam!
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