My First Daring Baker's Challenge!

I was very excited when my good friend MS told me about the Daring Baker's Challenge. Of course, I requested to be part of this wonderful group (there's a link off to the side there, if you're interested). June marked my first month involved and, let me tell you, it certainly was a tough one.

Danish Braid was the challenge set by Kelly of Sass & Veracity and Ben of What’s Cookin’? .

When I was growing up, we used to call them Butter Braids and we would sell them as a fund raiser for the dairy 4-H project. They were always soooooo good. Cream cheese was my favorite. But they also looked soooooooo hard to make.

When the challenge was posted I let out a little sigh. Oh geeze. Of COURSE it has to be super hard for my first month. But I didn't let it get me down. I went to the store and found all the necessary ingredients and got started.

Here's the finished product. I think I left it in the oven a little too long...it got a little too dark on the top. But it tasted SUPER GOOD.



We were provided with a recipe for an apple filling, but my pregnant tummy needed not only my childhood favorite of cream cheese, but apricot as well. So I made up some filling. I couldn't tell you now what I put in it. It was awesome, though...if I do say so myself!



Of course I used a nice light glaze for the top. The Other and I ate it right out of the oven. Ugh. It was so worth all that hard work (it took an entire day to create this beast!)

And here is a delicious slice.



Sam and I both took the extra braid (it made two) into work and it was a big hit, so I'm pretty sure it will be a repeat recipe.

Actually, I have TONS of cherries ripening on my tree right now, so maybe I'll make some cherry ones this week to freeze for later....yum. yum. yum.

Thank you, Daring Bakers, for making my first month awesome! Can't wait for many more months to come :)

And just to leave on a good note...here's a picture the Other took of Mont and I a few weeks ago. You can see my baby bump a little (it's MUCH bigger now). This was in between a streak of many storms we've had around here. Mont LOVED the rainbow and watches for them every time it rains now.

My biggest challenge

So last February I promised a friend that I'd make her wedding cake. It was a fantastic experience, but I now have a complete understanding for why wedding cakes are so dang expensive!

So here's a play-by-play of the entire experience.

I made a classic white wedding cake with raspberry filling. I couldn't find a filling recipe I liked so I just took some frozen raspberries, sugar and a little corn starch to thicken it and put it on the stove. It was SUPER good. The entire cake turned out moist and wonderful. And, of course, I used my favorite buttercream frosting. Yum.


This is the top cake. Three layers with raspberry filling between each one (and a band of frosting around the edge to keep the filling contained.


Here is the top cake...four layers!


Both frosted. Fondant is icky so i worked hard at making my buttercream super smooth.


Eep! They're stacked....let me tell ya, I held my breath through this whole process. Bride wanted black ribbon around bottoms...which worked well for covering up the layer seam.


The final product! Those are fake flowers...but it still looks nice. I mounted it on a wooden pedestal at the reception and it looked very pretty.

All in all it it took close to 12 hours from start to finish. But, man oh man...it was goooood!

Baby Belly

So, I have lots of pictures of things I've baked. Really. I do. Just not with me right now. So you'll have to wait a little longer.

I noticed this weekend that my baby bump is poking out rather far. I noticed this because I got terribly hot sitting out at the lake in 90 degree heat. Ugh. But it was nice to get some sun, enjoy the water and watch Mont play and splash.

In other news, the biggest thing on my mind is what to do for Father's Day for the Other. I'm half inclined not to do anything because, well, he didn't help me celebrate Mother's Day. But that's a bad attitude to have and he's a great dad and should be recognized for that.

So, after much thinking and keeping in mind my very tiny bank account, I found the perfect homemade item for him. I'm SO excited I can't even stand it. I just hope I can do it. It involves Legos.

Cool. I know.

Out in the Boonies

Sorry for the delay in updates, everyone. We're without Internet and now that I'm down to part-time it's becoming increasingly difficult to update. But I assure you that a schedule will fall into place and I will have some productive updates soon! I have some excellent oatmeal muffins to inform you of. Lick your chops while you wait....

Until then, my friends...

Tie 'em up!

A few weeks ago I found a recipe for homemade pretzels like Auntie Annie's. And my pregnant mind thought, "I MUST HAVE THEM." Last night the Other went out for Korean food (in which my pregnant mind said, "Puke!") so I thought it was the perfect time to give them a try.

The ingredients are pretty basic (except maybe bread flour...but I have that). After mixing them together, it forms a nice ball. I kneaded it for 5 minutes and let it relax for 5 more minutes. Then I cut it into 6 sections.



Then Monty helped me roll them all into "snakes" and we shaped them to look like pretzels. While I was doing this I thought it would be a really fun birthday party idea to have kids make their own special shape. Or to make them smaller, you could just roll them into small sticks.



After they are shaped, I had to boil them. I thought this was an odd step, but after baking I could tell that boiling them made the outside crispy once baked. I just simmered some water and added baking soda, set the dough in the water and Monty helped me count to 5. Once they are floating, I put them on a greased cookie sheet (next time I need to grease it more...) and I sprinkled them with some Kosher salt. The Kosher salt we have has big grains, which is exactly what you'd get from your favorite pretzel place.



I baked them for 12 minutes and they came out looking like this:





They were SOOOO good. Monty ate his plain and loved them (he ate the two "baby ones") and I had mine with some cream cheese. This will be a returning recipe. I even saved one for the Other and he loved them, too!

I have to give props to my little helper:



He was so excited to make "snakes" and count and sprinkle salt. What a good little guy...

By Request, here is the recipe:


2-3 cups bread flour
1 tsp yeast
1 tbsp brown sugar
1 cup warm milk (110 degrees, or about a minute in the micro)
1 tsp. salt

Mix all of these together until they form a ball. Start with 2 cups of flour and then add it a tablespoon at a time until it becomes workable with your hands.

Knead the dough for 5 to 10 minutes. Let it relax for 5 more minutes

Meanwhile, get a pot of water and 4 tbsp. baking soda to a simmer.

Cut your dough into 6 pieces. Roll them into "snakes" and make the pretzel shape. Carefully, with a spatula, dunk the pretzels into the simmering water for 5 seconds. They should begin to float.

Take them out and place them on a greased cookie sheet. Sprinkle with Kosher salt and bake for 12 to 14 minutes at 425 degrees.

Rag Quilt

So my newest adventure, I believe, is to make a rag quilt. They seem rather simple and I think I can find cheap flannel shirts at second hand shops to cut the squares from. I'd like to make one for my baby and one for my sister's (she's due about 2 weeks before me!).

So....if you have any old flannel shirts to get rid of, let me know!

Puppy

I want one of these:






They are in Michigan, about 2 hours away. *squeal*

Monty has been asking for a dog for some time now...so maybe we should get a puppy. However, Monty's mommy has also been wanting a doggy...so maybe we should get a puppy.