WFMW: Self-Rising Flour

(This is my offering for Works For Me Wednesday. Where I share something that...works for me.)

Kids, gather around and I will tell you the secret to really, really fluffy pancakes.

Ready?

Self-Rising Flour. No joke.

I bought a bag of SR Flour to make some biscuits last weekend. (The biscuits were heavenly, by the way. The recipe is here.) Then, Ming Wai was begging for pancakes, and I just wasn't in the mood to measure, sift and stir.

So. I dumped some SR flour in a bowl, added an egg and enough milk to make a batter, and cooked them up.

Holy Fluffiness, Batman! I think they topped out at about 1/2". That "rising" bit is no joke!

So. Keep SR flour on hand, and you are always minutes away from fluffy pancakes or biscuits.

The End.

Cupcakes I Have Made (and eaten)

Have I mentioned, yet, that I am on a cupcake kick? I actively seek out excuses to make, and consequently eat, cupcakes. YUM.

Over Memorial Day weekend, my father showed up and gave us a few hours of his time…doing manual labor. We had him cutting, ripping, and removing sod. When he polished that job off, he grabbed a shovel and “just for the fun of it” dug holes for all of our new shrubs. The next day, my brother in law showed up to help finish the barking in the yard, and our new front yard was done! (I’ll have to show you guys. It’s AWESOME. Or at least, it’s way better than it was before…)


Anyhow, the next day was Sunday, and I was in charge of dessert for our family get together. I asked my father what he wanted, and (with a twinkle in his eye, and a nod at his filthy dirty jeans) he said “mud pie.”

(Chocolate cupcakes with cream cheese frosting rosettes)

I couldn’t pull off mud pie..but I could do dirt cakes.

When I showed up with these babies, I gave my little brother a peek. “What do they look like?” Trying not to offend me, he said, “Umm..chocolate cupcakes?” “You mean, they don’t look like they’re covered in dirt clods?” “Well….YEAH. But I didn’t think that was the answer you were looking for!”

Silly brother. Dirt clods are ALWAYS the answer.


Oh, and check out this cupcake carrier. My father saw it at Costco and just knew that the teal one had my name allllll over it. I can carry 36 cupcakes, no problem. Or slap in some handy dandy liners and carry pies. Or brownies. Or use just one tier, and a liner, and carry a huge cake. The possibilities are endless. And now my life is complete.

Ming Wai has been eyeing my new hobby, and decided that she, too, would like to decorate cupcakes in her spare time. I gave her a bag full of icing, and a plate to practice on. Mostly, she just decorated herself, but I really don’t think she minded that much. I saw her trying to eat her wrists and sucking on the cuffs of her shirt. Heh. Atta girl.

Oh, and these guys? Well, a friend asked me to bake these for her dessert that night. Her brother in law was freshly home from a tour overseas, and she thought a dozen cupcakes would make a nice end to their Welcome Home meal with him that night. I didn’t want the cupcakes to be too girly for our soldier, so I eschewed my favorite little rosettes (see above) and just went with a little dollop of icing. That looked plain, though, so I added a jelly bean to each one…which, of course, made them into little flowers. *facepalm*


Oh well, at least they were tasty!

Hobby Turned Crazy Maker

Do you ever stop to examine your life and realize, Hey, self! When did you become a crazy person?

 

Well, for me, that moment usually comes when I start going through pictures stored on my iPhone. That silly gadget makes it ENTIRELY too easy to quickly memorialize the more trivial aspects of my day. (Then again, that’s what blogs do, too…so….whatever. Moving on.)

 

I might have mentioned it here before once or twice, but I bake. A lot. I started when I was just a wee little thing, and have always loved it. My parents supported my hobby, and still do. A few weeks ago, this beauty showed up on my doorstep, with the understanding that, in return, a few fresh loaves of bread would show up on their doorstep each week.

 

Seems like a MORE than fair trade to me!

(The WonderMill quickly grinds up to 8 cups of whole wheat into flour. Can I just tell you how much I love this thing? I grind at least four cups a week, and feel SO much healthier when we are eating fresh, homemade whole wheat bread…with home-ground flour!)

Recently, my passion has been bread and cupcakes. Never one to leave well enough alone, I experimented with my few tried-and-true recipes, adding in flavors, or new mixing techniques, to see what would come out the other side. (And when it turns out really good, I add it to my Baking List and sell it to my friends. Because mama wants a gardener to come and trim her bushes, and he isn’t going to pay himself!)

 

Sometimes the results are beautiful and tasty.

(French bread, Honey Whole Wheat, Sun-Dried Tomato and Mozzarella, and Chocolate cupcakes with the cutest little flat tops I’ve ever seen.)

 

 

 

 

 

Today, I am not here to talk about those accomplishments, lovely and tasty though they may be.

I am here to laugh…about how I got to that point. So, gather ‘round, young ones, and learn from my mistakes.

 

Lesson one: When I bake free-form loaves, I slash the tops. I’m not sure why, but it seems to make a more uniform rise (unless the slash goes too deep, and then my loaf just breaks in half when I take it out of the oven. Oops.) Feeling fancy one night, I decided to bake a round loaf of french bread and slash it horizontally – one, two, three – and then vertically – one, two three.

 

I have no idea what I thought would happen…but it certainly wasn’t this!

Look familiar? Think back…way back.

(via)

 

Yeah, that’s what I thought.

 

I’ve discovered the Bread Bumble Ball.

 

Lesson number two: When combining flavors, sometimes it is better in theory than it is in practice.

That gorgeous loaf is marinated artichoke hearts and cheddar cheese, in french bread. Doesn’t it sound amazing? Like mind-blowing good?

 

Yeah. It wasn’t. Oddly enough, it was REALLY bland. I learned here that grated cheese, in a loaf of bread, does very little good. The cheese should be in 1/2” cubes if you really want the flavor to stand out. Maybe I’ll try this one again…but probably not. It was that *meh*.

 

Finally, children, understand what mix-ins will do to your bread. Try to get inside the mind of your loaf, and figure out what is going to happen. Find your inner Alton Brown!

 

For example, did you know that sugar is hydroscopic? That means it sucks water out of whatever is around it. (Which is why sugar on top of sliced strawberries will result in mushy strawberries and cups of juice after a while. The fancy name there is macerate. You’re welcome.)

 

So, if you take a really moist bread dough, and then roll it up with sugar and cinnamon…you’re going to have to adjust your baking time.

(Honey White Cinnamon Chip)

I’m just sayin’.

A bountiful, Beautiful Basket

A friend clued us in to a service in our area that some of you might be interested in. It’s called Bountiful Baskets, and it’s a produce co-op. On Monday, everyone who wants produce that week goes to a website and puts in their money. On Wednesday and Thursday, buyers go to growers and buy produce. And on Saturday, the produce is delivered to a pick up point and divided into baskets by volunteers.

Our pick up point gets fruit and veg every two weeks. We have no say in what we get, but it’s always a comparable, or BETTER, price than the local grocery store. It is a set price, and the produce is as local as possible. For us, in Seattle, that means that our veg usually come from Eastern Washington and our fruit comes from California or Mexico. (Yes, Mexico is far away, but getting fruit here by truck is more “green” than flying it in from Argentina, right?)

This was last week’s haul – sweet potatoes, bananas, pineapple, apples, oranges, kale, broccoli, carrots, strawberries, a cucumber and two mangos. For less than $20.

 

I like it because a) it is forcing me to eat in a more local/in-season way and 2) I know how much fruit and veg I have, and I plan on using it over a two week period. My meals are a lot more produce-centric now, and it’s made meal planning a lot easier.

 

Oh, and bonus? We all found out that we like kale. Who’da thunk?? (It can be cooked just like any Chinese Green, steamed and topped with oyster sauce. It can also be oven roasted until crisp, and the kids gobble it up. Kale chips!)

 

Go here if you would like more information. (If you live in Utah, Arizona or Washington state, chances are there is a pick up point near you. The more popular pick up points have “add-ons”, like cookies, bread or specialty vegetables.)

 

PS – This is just for your information, and I wasn’t compensated in any way. I’ve enjoyed using this service for my family, and like that it is saving us money. We use the money that we saved on produce and put it towards higher quality meats and dairy products to use through the week.

 

PPS – Lo Gung returned from a business trip to Chicago the night before our produce pick up, and brought the kids presents from the Field Museum store. SJ especially likes his new dino glasses. Heh.

Mardi Gras Cupcakes

 

Embarking on the quest for the perfect (read: my favorite) white/yellow cake, I had to go through a recipe or two until I hit pay dirt. Luckily for my waistline, I only had to go through two recipes. This was recipe number two. The kids liked that the cupcakes were all multi-colored and crazy, but I could not figure out how the purple got down on the bottom. I put it in last, and there was hardly any in each cupcake. Somehow, it grew and took over so that it 1) was on bottom and 2) was the most dominant color.

(Oh, and the cupcakes also came out with a huge “crumb”, insanely sweet, and reminiscent of cornbread.)

Weird.

PS – Growing up, I always loved to bake. My house was full of cake eaters, so I never lacked an appreciative audience, and my father had an awesome attitude (considering he footed the bill for all my “experiments). After each attempt, no matter what I made or how it turned out, he would respond (with a twinkle in his eye), “It’s awful. You’ll have to make it again.”

 

And then he’d lick his plate clean.

A Party Dedicated to Cream Cheese!

Yes, really. We lovingly called The Cream Cheese Party. This past Saturday, I was the host for a House Party featuring Philadelphia Cooking Crème. The party? Was a blast. Just a few family and friends, and me going all Vanna-White on their dinner. Oh yeah, it was awesome.

Since I love to bake, and Ming Wai loves to help, cookies for the parties were an absolute must. I wanted to try out a new “wet on wet” technique, but I think I should have made sure that my colors were a little brighter. And more different from each other. Heh.

This is SJ’s “helping” pose. Notice how he’s sitting at the table eating while Ming Wai and I play. That’s how he helps!

Aunt Myrnie brought her famous Kale Chips, a favorite with adults, children…and even Kale Haters. (Toss chopped kale with olive oil and salt, and roast until crispy. Yum!)

We served a yummy breakfast casserole, a creamy teriyaki dish over rice, and pasta with broccoli and chicken.

 

 

PS – I was given coupons for free Philadelphia Cooking Crème, plus some other swag for my dinner guests, by House Party and Kraft. I was not otherwise compensated for this review.

My favorite cupcakes

 

Just popping in to say that you need these cupcakes in your life. Like, REALLY need these cupcakes in your life. I’ve been searching for a great, from-scratch, white cake recipe…and I’ve found it.

 

And you can get the recipe here, on my foodie mcfood blog.

 

You’re welcome!

Raspberry Thumbprint Cookies?

Or, as I like to call them - The Cookies that Got Lo Gung to Enjoy Rhubarb. (It's true!)

Head over to Chow Review for the write up. Yum.....

Posting on Chow Review: Pig Tongues!

Yes, really. Yes, they're delicious. Yes, you'll just have to go and see for yourself. Bon apetit!

You Know You Want Some…

You know those days when you just feel bleh? Your skin is breaking out, you bit your cheek during breakfast because your mouth is somehow swollen, and your husband mentioned (ever so kindly) that your breath is a little more off than normal? Yeah. In China, they call that yiht hei. It comes from eating too many rich foods, like chocolate cake…hamburgers…and everything else on my comfort food list.

So, if you’d like to learn how to combat the evil effects of over-indulgence (heh), then pop on over to the Chow Review today and learn how to make some Ching Bo Leung with me!
Hint: You won’t be able to pronounce most of the ingredients…but that just makes it more fun, right??!

Posting on Chow Review Today

When life gives you extra baked potatoes...make soup.

(I posted over at Chow Review today with a yummy Baked Potato Soup recipe. See you over there!)

Love,
Aunt LoLo

PS - My mother in law is flying in...as we speak! She'll be here through Chinese New Year, so posting might be a little sparse for the next few weeks. I will try to pop in and give you some ideas for celebrating Chinese New Year, though.

Toodles!

Kitchen Tips, From Aunt LoLo to You

 

1. When combining ingredients, add them in piles next to each other. That way, if you get distracted while you’re mixing up your famous pumpkin bread, you’ll know that the baking soda is already there, but the salt is still to come.  (Got this tip from the King Arthur Flour blog.)

2. In most recipes that call for sifting, you can get by with a large bowl and a wire whisk. Really get in there and fluff it up to make sure you don’t have any lumps of anything. Like Baking Soda. (*ahem*) BLECH.  Not that I did that or anything… (This tip is from Dorie Greenspan’s cookbook, Baking: From My Home to Yours)

3. As it turns out, the best way to scoop and measure shortening is to scoop it up with a knife and press it into a metal measuring cup. Use the knife to level the shortening off, and then a small silicone spatula to scoop it out of the cup and into the bowl.  (Trust me. This wisdom comes after years of using a spoon…or a silicon spatula…or just a measuring cup to scoop with. Just go with it, cricket.)

4. If at all possible, gather all your troops to a central location. Everything else you’ll need will be in your refrigerator (eggs, milk, butter, cream).  You may not be able to devote an entire cupboard to it…but if the stuff is already in your cupboards, with a little finagling, you should be able to find a spot where it will all fit together!

5. I like to make pumpkin bread every December. Lots of pumpkin bread. (We’re looking at 30+ loaves this year so far.) I bake it in these “disposable” aluminum pans, and have for at least the past 10 years. You can buy 3 of them for less than $2 at the grocery store. It’s super easy to pop the loaves out after just a few minutes, and nothing ever sticks to them if you give it a quick spray with cooking spray. They cool down quickly so, if you happen to be baking several dozen loaves of bread a day, you can quickly fill them again and get them back in the oven.

I wash mine carefully with hot water, soap and a sponge. Stack them up and store them in a drawer during the off season, and they will last for years and years!

6. All “helpers” love whisks. It’s just a fact of life, and it’s a great way to buy yourself an extra ten minutes of kitchen time after their attention span has run out!

 

Enjoy your holiday baking, y’all!!