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Channeling My Inner Domestic Goddess September 26, 2012

Posted by cirellih in Baking, Food, Goals, Health.
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There are some days where I feel as though in order to be productive, I need to create something physical.  When I am finished completing my project, there needs to be something that I can see, feel, or taste as proof that I accomplished something! Today was just one of those days.

Yesterday evening, I had started making apple butter… not realizing that it takes ten hours of baking to finish. Yes, you read that correctly… 10 hours!!! This stuff had better be delicious.  So this morning, I woke up, and immediately turned on the oven and popped in my spiced apple puree to get the process going. Ten hours of low and slow cooking, stirring, and canning later:

In the mean time, as the apple butter was doing its’ thang, I decided to make some raspberry jam… as you do. Raspberries were on sale last week, what could I do? Now, jam and I don’t really get along. I forget this until  I am smack dab in the middle of the process where there is no turning back.  Usually when the jam starts boiling, and I’m supposed to be checking to make sure it is at the perfect temperature. It was at this point that I again remembered that jamming is no fun. As I stirred the boiling jam, it turned angry and violent, splashing ridiculously hot stickyness on me. Not cool, jam, not cool. But the end result seemed to turn out deliciously… can’t really complain!

As the jam jars were cooling, I decided to bottle my brewed kombucha. Fingers crossed that this turns out to be fantastic! This batch took my 21 days to ferment, and I have to wait another 5 days before I can try it! For those of you who may not know, kombucha is a fermented tea that is brewed using a SCOBY (symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast). Sounds gross, but it is delicious, and supposedly has lots of health benefits. For my kombucha, I decided to have one bottle of original flavor, one bottle of ginger flavor, and one raspberry-lemon-ginger flavor. As I said, hopefully this is delicious stuff, because I have another gallon brewing as I write this.

Doesn’t everything look so pretty? I definitely felt as though I had accomplished a lot! Look at all my goodies!

Simple Pleasures February 8, 2012

Posted by cirellih in Baking, Food, Lunch, Travel.
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Some times it is the simplest meals that are the most satisfying.

Today, it was fresh bread and cheese that made for the perfect lunch.

I gently toasted two small slices of the baguette I made on Sunday, and added a little boursin onto the top.

A slice of tomato on the side. Perfection on a plate.

It reminded me of going on travels. Picnics in the park with fresh bread and cheese. All that could have made it better would be a glass of wine. It would have transported me to Paris in an instant!

Channeling My Inner Domestic Goddess February 5, 2012

Posted by cirellih in Baking, Craving, Dessert, Food.
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Friday was a snowday! A much needed day off from work, indeed. Boulder was covered in a cozy blanket of the purest snow I have ever seen in Colorado. Twenty-four inches in all!

What to do with a day off?

1. Take Oliver on numerous walks… well I struggle to call them walks. More like slogs, or expeditions. Oliver enjoyed himself greatly, bounding through the drifts of snow and munching on every flake that came his way.

2. Channel my inner domestic goddess. I opened up The Joy of Cooking, and perused the recipes until I came upon one for baguettes. I had all of the ingredients: yeast, flour, salt, and water.  It is not a recipe for the faint of heart, or the short on time. Only to be used if you are in it for the long haul!

3. While the bread is rising (the first and second times) start baking cupcakes for the Superbowl! Again, I looked to The Joy of Cooking for inspiration. In it I found a recipe for four egg yellow cake, which I decided would be perfect for a non-chocolate loving nephew. I don’t usually make cakes from scratch, but this was relatively easy, didn’t have that many ingredients, and above all I had time.

An incredibly fluffy, moist cake with a sweet butter cream frosting. Of course, they had to be decorated to support the team… Go Giants!

I made the butter cream swirls and Chris added on the blue lettering. A big hit for the big game. Of course, they tasted all the sweeter when our team won!