Vanilla Icing

No retreat. No surrender.

Around this time every year, I notice my roses and other plants are struggling and not at all lush in growth as they should be.  Closer inspection always shows an army of aphids that has moved in, intent on destroying my plants.

I put out a call to arms to MY army and in two days they are marshaled and ready to fight.  Then, just like last year I make lots of references to 300.  I'll try to spare you that this year. 

I do have a new Second-in-Command this year.

He is very hands on.

Very careful and diligent.

Patient, exacting...

and unafraid to send his men into enemy territory.  He shouts one thing as his army marches to do his bidding:   

"Pile those Persians Aphids high! For unless I miss my guess, we're in for one wild night."


Sorry, couldn't resist

The Kitchen Table

Chuck Does Italian

Chuck is a versatile guy.  In the course of this past week or so, he's given me Sweet Sopressata Bread, French baguettes, Walnut & Blue Cheese Bread and Italian Bread*. 

I think I might give him a little rest the remainder of this week.  After all, he's worked so hard giving me this wonderfully, blistered crisp crust.

Of course, now that I have gotten the tiniest of smidgens better with the lame, it helps to show off Chuck's handiwork.

Now, only if Chuck and I could have a little talk with the Oven.  Just because, the glass on his door has a hole in the first layer that I could put my fist through with several cracks radiating out from that doesn't mean that Chuck and I don't expect him to work just as had as we do.

Chuck and I are quite upset that the Oven has hot and cool spots instead of a regular, even temperature.  The grief that the Oven causes us when spots bake faster than others is a little much to bear.  We shouldn't have to put up with this.

That is why Chuck and I have formulated a plan.  Later today, when I load the Oven with some pizza I'm going to deliberately let some mozzarella melt off the edge of the pizza, ooze over the baking stone and drip onto the Oven's floor.  It'll be well timed to happen just as I take the pizza out and proceed to forget to turn off the oven for a few minutes.  Just when the Oven thinks he's going to be smoked out by burning mozzarella I'm going to come along with that nasty metal spatula and scrape off the cheese.

And I ain't gonna be gentle.

*Seeing as how Chuck's a guy he doesn't get his Italian Bread to be all fancy like the way I shape non-sourdough raised Italian Bread.  I didn't want to hurt his feelings and told him that his Italian loaves  are shaped differently so that everyone knows the important difference between Italian bread by Chuck and Italian bread by his mortal enemy Commercial Yeast.  I think he bought it.  He has a very inflated sense of self-worth.

Blue

It was a long weekend; I'm glad it's through.

                    Walnut & Blue Cheese Bread--The bluish cast of the bread
                    comes from the oils in the walnuts and not from the blue
                    cheese like one might think.  The color intensified on the
                    second day.

Falling In Love

I'm really fussy about flowers.  I ADORE flowers but I have very particular and peculiar feelings about each and everyone I meet.  Let me give you some examples:

I hate daffodils.   In fact, I despise these flowers so much that it takes ALL of my willpower to NOT stomp down each and everyone I see.  Willpower and fear of my neighbors that is.

Petunias are beautiful...until I think of the name.   I never think of the name if I can help it.  I call them Fluttery Flowers in my head.

Pansies are smug.  I waver on these guys.

Tulips are divine.  They are one of my favorites unless it is dark purple.

Irises.  Ugh.  Don't like irises at all.  The white ones are somewhat bearable.

Salvia has the bonus of flowering all summer but rarely do I see it anywhere that it seems to fit.

I dislike most marigolds.  Something about them just really bothers me.  Especially those orange ones with red bits on them.  But I the yellow ones are okay and I like their spicy scent.

I could keep going...but I won't.  Maybe one more. 

Roses.  Pinks and Reds.  Tree, bush, or climbing.  I love them all so long as they have scent to them.   Or if they are yellow.   Nope, don't like yellow roses.  

And then.

I was at the hardware store yesterday looking at flowers.  In the midst of all these beautiful reds and pinks came a wonderful scent.  But it belonged to none of the red and pink roses and finally I identified its source.

In the center of all of the showy pinks and reds were three scraggly rose bushes with dried and dying yellow roses on them.  It couldn't be, I thought, but I leaned over to have a whiff.  It was.  There was nothing for it then but I buy one of these bushes with the ugly brown-yellow roses on them.  I had to have that scent no matter what the flower looked like.

I brought the pitiful thing home and planted it.  I trimmed off all the dead roses, leaving only a few buds left.  I hoped they would flower but I didn't have much hope because the plant looked rather sickly.

Then look what I found this morning:

I am in love.  With yellow roses.  How could I ever thought they were ugly before?  They are perfect bits of summer sunshine.  I want an entire garden of yellow roses.

I might have to make a trip to bring home her siblings.  =)

Mysteries of Banana Cream Pie

What do you like in bed at night and think about?

When I haven't anything stressful occurring in my life, I think about baking.  Not surprised are you? 

Specific to the other night--

• When making banana cream pie, is it better to use a graham cracker crust or regular pie crust?
• If I use graham crackers--what flavor of graham crackers?
• Should I use whipped cream or meringue on top?
• Should I layer it bananas-pasty cream-whipped cream?  Or should it be pastry cream-bananas-whipped cream?
• Why can I never cut clean, sharp slices of pie?
• Why is banana cream pie so good but coconut cream pie is so not?
• Maybe it's because the former has more fruit to it?
• What other fruits would make a good cream pie?
• Mmmmm....and what about a Chocolate & Strawberry Cream Pie???

Must obtain strawberries soon.

Sweet Sopressata

Sourdough bread is a bit trickier to give exact times for as one person's sourdough starter might be more or less active than another's.  You will need to adjust the time accordingly to YOUR sourdough starter and the temperature of the room you are working in.  The recipe that follows is for how Chuck and I roll.  I like to start at about 8:30 in the morning for a 5:30 dinner.  This is with a house temperature of about 66 degrees Fahrenheit.  I've not needed to adjust for summer temperatures yet.

Sweet Sopressata Bread
                 by Michelle

4 ounces sourdough starter
25 ounces bread flour
2 teaspoons salt
12-14 ounces water

sweet Sopressata, thinly sliced, 8 ounces
Provolone cheese, thinly sliced, 8 ounces

1.  Combine the sourdough starter, the flour and the salt.  Slowly add the water until the dough forms a ball.  Knead 8-10 minutes or until the dough is soft and supple.  Place in a lightly greased bowl and cover with plastic wrap.

2.  Allow to rise for 7 hours.  Every 2 hours during the first six, stretch the dough and fold in on itself twice.  This helps strengthen the dough.

3.  Preheat the oven to 500.  Carefully turn the dough out onto your workspace and divide in half.  Working with one half at a time, pat dough into a rectangle about 1/2 inch thick.  Don't worry about pulling out a ruler; eyeball it.  Lay out your provolone on the dough, leaving a small frame of dough around the edges.  Top with sopressata.  Roll the dough up from the long side.  Tuck ends under and pinch seams. 

4.  Carefully lift the roll onto a no-edge cookie sheet(or a peel) lined with parchment paper.  Repeat shaping process with other half of dough and set the second roll on the parchment paper about 6-8 inches apart.  Mist with Pam or other oil spray and cover with saran wrap.  Allow to rise 60-90 minutes.

5.  Uncover the bread and slash the loaves with a sharp knife of lame.  If you have a baking stone, jerk the loaves parchment and all onto the stone.  Otherwise, place the cookie sheet in the oven.  Mist the walls of the oven with water until they are good and steamy and close the oven door.  Repeat in 30 seconds.  Lower the oven's temperature to 450.

6.  Bake for 10 minutes and then check the loaves.  Rotate as necessary to ensure even browning.  Bake another 15-20 minutes or until the loaves are golden brown.  Serve hot and with pizza or spicy marinara sauce.

Certainly, you can use your choice of meats and cheeses for an equally delicious bread!

Weekend Ravages

Between wind and children, the outside of our home is looking most untidy!

The wind sent down some old dead branches from the trees and sent hundreds of those little seed helicopters scattering.  The first batch of those came down a few weeks ago.  Already there a dozens of baby trees sprouting in my yard that have to be plucked out.  I don't think I can blame the stone from the wall on the wind.

But the wind can certainly take the blame for covering all of the stepping stones!

Look.  Here is another one of those darned seed helicopter things.  But let's move on to the children...

Look at this great heap of bikes and scooters!  There simply isn't a way to keep these looking nice; Tristyn and Maia pull them down off the porch several times a day.  I can't keep up.  Notice the dirt and pollen coating my porch?   I'm waiting for the tree across the street to stop blowing pollen (that wind again!) before I scrub the porch.   I'll not do it twice.  Work smarter, not harder--it's the Air Force Way!  I learned that lesson well when I was in the Air Force.  =) 

Lots of chalk dust on the porch too.  

 

Lots of chalk dust here too.  This is what is left from a great heap of wet mushy chalk.  Maia and her friend, Persephone, made 'clay' out of some chalk and left me with a beautiful rainbow colored front walk.  After two good rainstorms, this is what remains.

Hey!  Don't judge us because of our current state of disarray.  We're a real family over here with lots of children running about--our own and their playmates--with more important things to do like playing having fun.  Plenty of time to straighten up this week.  Once it warms up.

I am still holding the wind responsible for 95% of this mess.

Baked Socks

Hmmmm...well they aren't actually baked.  But this is a baking blog...and I thought if I had yet another knitting post that some people who visit for baked goods might be a little upset. Hence the little trying-to-be-clever-but-perhaps-massive-fail-trick.  It didn't used to be a baking blog; it used to be a more typical mom blog with kid stuff and crafty stuff.   But that's before I realized none of my family came to 'visit' to see what the kids were up to.  So.  I made it mostly baking.  But knitting has really taken a hold of me.

After all, I need something to do while I'm waiting for the cookies bread cake pie baked goods to be eaten.  

Bedraggled Strawberry

A good photographer uses props to highlight the subject, right?  Right?  (Or am I just making that up? No wisecracks on the 'good photographer' thing either!))  Anyways, I made strawberry ice cream and deliberately saved one strawberry to use as a prop for Strawberry Ice Cream's photo shoot.

Then, Tristyn came along.

And he wanted to eat the strawberry.   He wanted to eat my prop!!  I had to fight him for it.  The strawberry didn't come out looking good at the end.  Hence the focus being on the big bowl of ice cream in the background and not on the smaller bowl in the foreground.  (I have the picture with the focuses reversed and let me tell you the state of that strawberry would frighten you off eating strawberries for at least a week!)

Strawberry Ice Cream
               by Michelle

1 pint of strawberries
2 tablespoons of lemon juice
1/3 cup sugar
3/4 cups whole milk
2/3 cups sugar
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups heavy cream

1.  Hull and slice the strawberries.  Place in a bowl and combine with the 1/3 cup of sugar and the lemon juice.  Allow to sit for 90 minutes.

2.  Whiz the strawberry mixture through a food processor until it's as smooth as you like your strawberry ice cream.  If you like chunks of strawberries process it for only a minute or so.  If you prefer it smoother like we do, process until no chunks of berries remain.  Pour back into the bowl.

3.  Add the 3/4 cups whole milk and the 2/3 cups of sugar.  Stir until the sugar is dissolved.  Add vanilla and cream and stir until well combined.

4.  Pour mixture into an ice cream machine and process according to the manufacturer's suggestion.  (I find 25-30 minutes works well).  Store in an airtight container and ripen in the freezer for several hours before serving.  This will firm up the ice cream though you certainly can eat it sooner.