I May Have Done Something Right....

The holidays are a baker's time to shine--it's our time to do it up big and show off and wow everyone's pants off and then sit back and grin. We plan for a month or two ahead of time and stockpile supplies and bake at night and hid our concoctions until the moment arrives and *POOF!!* there are goodies and candies and confections and yule logs and pies and you totally didn't know we could do all this.  Bakers are like little elves only we have social security numbers and can reach the gas pedal in the car while steering....well, most of us can.




Every year, that's my deal. I revel in that sort of thing.  I start baking the day after Thanksgiving. I use every available piece of tupperware available to me. I fill the freezer with so much stuff, we don't have room for real food.



I show off.  And I get to live out that principle my mother taught me to go no where during the holidays empty handed. It's about hospitality and generosity and good will.



I didn't do that this year.



Instead, we moved to a new house. And I spent enormous amounts of time cleaning the place and trying to figure out the best way to make my little family feel at home. And my in-laws came from the Old Country (Pennsylvania) and they really helped the kids feel like this was home and warmed our home with their love. This was the first time they could hold their new grandson and nothing beats the love grandparents exude.

paparazzi

After all that, we finally managed to shop for Christmas and put up the tree and join in on the feeling that everyone else seemed to already be enjoying-like coming late to a really good party. Holiday specials on tv and hot chocolate and kids in footie pj's and Christmas music and the church choir at Mass....

I don't know why...

And I did bake. I just didn't squirrel away goodies. I didn't stay up late at night isolated in my kitchen. I DID however, stay up late at night and rock babies and sing songs and tickle children and tell them stories of my childhood. I spent time with my family. I was in the moment with them.  And I don't think a big pile of goodies for my husband's associates or the neighbors can really replace that. (In fact, the neighbors brought US stuff instead!)






So we made cookies for Santa and goodies for class parties and cinnamon rolls for Christmas breakfast and I cooked some glorious meals but I also got down on the floor and played with my kids and went on a date with my man. And smiled. And laughed. And felt like a real human being.





Yule log that.

We have the saddest tree

school party treats

Here are a few pics of the last month. I pray the New Year brings you joy and happiness and many fabulous meals with people you love.

her future's so bright...

dreaming of a white Christmas

she took a bite out of each of them

this was supposed to be
for Thing 2's dress up....

she loves these...
I was worried they came with
a pole

legomaniacs

my mom said it looked like
King Tut's face but, Honey,
it sure as hell didn't
taste like it...

that's right-I wrapped a turkey
in bacon....

seafood stuffed mushrooms

crepes for dinner...why not?
we never got out of our pj's
that day

quiet wonder. perfection.

hand made gifts are
the kindest

HAPPY NEW YEAR

Happy Birthday to the Damned Dog

**What I'm about to say may actually piss a few of you off, so let's be clear about something please: I don't care.

I was raised in the country with farm animals and gardens and dirt and dogs. Glorious dogs, smart dogs, mutts from other farms, born from other smart dogs that would protect and defend the homestead and the children, dogs that sat next to you while you fished and ran next to you as you played. Dogs you cried over when they died.

I love dogs.

 I actually feel a certain affiliation with dogs for their loyalty and fierce devotion. And much like a mother for her pups, come near my kids and I'll do more than just growl at you, trust me.

Dogs should be protected from abuse; they should never be used for fighting or illegal sport; they should never be left in your hot car, your cold back yard, your abandoned house to fend for itself. A dog should never be kicked (that's what husbands are for....I'M KIDDING),  dropped off in the country (where some of our dogs came from when I was a child), or let loose to continually breed.

Every kid should come home from
school to find a puppy....

That said, my dog is not my child. A dog is not a human being and not a person and their rights are limited....they don't get a vote on what's for dinner and they don't sleep in our bed. I'm not going to build my future around the dog, the way I do around my kids. I don't buy them gifts at Christmas; I don't refer to them as members of the family--I'm not the dog's "Mom"....that's some other bitch. The bottom line: I don't treat the dog better than my kids; I know some people that do that and it infuriates me to a blinding rage.

Our dog came from a craiglist add that turned out to be posted by a puppy mill. We didn't know that when we saw her picture but after seeing what conditions she was living in ("in spite of" is more like it), we not only took her home, we reported the farm. No creature should be forced to live that way.

The dog came home with us. The dog had never worn a collar, never been on a leash, never been inside a car or a house, never had a dish of food for itself, never had toys, never been bathed, groomed or loved. It took a couple of days just to convince her to step out of her open crate and explore our little home. Poor puppy.

And then the dog got comfortable. The pro's: she guards the house and children, she helps the Dev's relax, and she hoovers the floor around the dinner table like a hair-covered shop vac. The con's? hair hair hair everywhere, half-gnawed rawhides on the stairs in the middle of the night, cold noses shoved under the covers in the middle of the night, hair hair hair, the inability to tell the difference between  someone knocking on the door and someone one in a movie knocking on a door....and, my personal space issue-she likes to lick my toes and it makes me a little crazy. In fact, as an introvert, I find the dog a little smothering in general--the worst being the week before I delivered the wee lad when she herded me from room to room all. day. and. all. night. And did I mention the hair????

"unbreakable squeaker" huh? 

Said dog, Silhouette or Sil, also just so happens to share the same birthday as Thing 2 so it became an issue as to wether or not we would "celebrate" with the dog. Why an issue? because while I'm all about finding fun things for the kids to experience, never in my life have I ever had a dog birthday party (let alone really know the exact day any of our dogs were born on, to be honest). I felt some kind of moral confusion to be honest...there are children out in our world that should be so lucky to be celebrated, why am I baking for a dog???



But in the end, the excitement of small children is a powerful motivator (could imagine if they organized and lobbied Congress?).  Thing 2 got yellow cake with flowers; the dog got cupcakes.







A couple of things about this recipe....first of all, no special ingredients--you will probably have all of these items in your house already. Secondly, you'll never have to worry if the kids try to eat them because you know what's in them and none of it is 'bad stuff.' Third, you can freeze these, just like muffins and pull them out as desired. This batch yields approximately 2 dozen standard size muffins.  Mini muffins are perfect for smaller dogs.

Preheat your oven to 325 and pull out two bowl.

In the larger bowl, blend together the following:

3 cups flour (I use a blend of whole wheat and ap)
1 tbs baking soda
3 cups of shredded carrots....the smaller the shred, the better

In a separate bowl, whisk together

3/4 cup of vegetable oil
1 cup of honey
3 eggs

Now add this to the dry ingredients and add

3/4 cup of peanut butter (don't use the "all-natural" type whenever you are baking unless it specifically says to by the way)

Blend all of this together and scoop into the muffins cups so they are about 3/4 full (they don't rise much).  The larger muffins take about 18 minutes, the smaller ones around 112-15. Allow to cool before serving to the pooch or freezing.

...and if it happens to be the silly beast's birthday, by all means, pipe a bit of peanut butter on top to let them know you are really glad they bark at people in the middle of the night, even if it's just at you holding a sleeping child....

Moving Day

....anybody have a truck?



Just kidding.  Kind of.



So, um, yeah, in the never ending adventure that is life with a Gypsy like Mr. Devlin, we are moving soon. Not far, like the last 3 times, but, you know, with 3 kids in tow, any distance can seem great.



I mention this partially because it's my latest distraction (when I'm not cooking, cleaning, nursing an infant, chasing a toddler and trying to remember how to do long division for the sake of Thing 1). I also mention it because if any of you dear readers have any tips or pointers or things that just worked so absolutely wonderfully for you, please share. Help me and help any of the other readers as well.....what's your best moving tips?

The Pumpkin Bread Recipe I Can Never Find

When the frost is on the pumpkin and the fodder's in the shock and the duh duh duhduh duh duh something something turkey cock....yeah, I know I had to recite that poem 5th grade but every year I forget a little more of it....which isn't the only thing I find I forget every year. 

I have this nice little pumpkin bread recipe that I really like and every year, I dig through about 20 books and a box full of slips of papers and then I remember what book it's actually in.

 This year, I'm going to be the smart one and just post it on my blog so I know where to find it. You'd be surprised how often I actually do that-post something here so 

I don't lose the darn thing. Often, very very often. 

So, Saturday, I'm stalking my way through facebook and I swear every friend I have was making pumpkin bread and it reminded me of college when somebody would pop some microwave popcorn in the dorms and the next thing you knew, everyone was popping some because the power of suggestion was too great (that was back when the college I went to had one microwave in the dorm, down in the laundry area so if you didn't hurry, you'd by waiting with your little bag for 30 minutes in line behind every one else...I'm so old).

Anywho...

This recipe makes a nice couple of 9x5 loaves so you can store one in the freezer if you'd like. We've been eating it for breakfast over here and it's been nice and moist for quite a few days now. 

Here's what you need:

Preheat the oven to 350 and prepare your pans. I think this also breaks down to 7 mini loaf pans if that's your thing. 

In a medium bowl. blend together the following dry ingredients:

3 1/2 cups AP flour

2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

Now for the spices....true confessions, I don't measure my spices because I love fall spice and the idea of measuring 1/4 tsp of fresh ground nutmeg has always seemed ridiculous to me. Basically, you want a blend of  cinnamon, nutmeg, clove, ginger and black pepper. However it is that you want to get down with your spices is your thing. I like a lot of cinnamon and about a 1/2 tsp of the rest. Mix all of this together with a fork and set aside.

In your mixing bowl, blend

2 1/2 cups sugar

1 cup brown sugar

1 cup oil (vegetable, canola, corn, whatever)

Once this is fully blended, add in

3 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

Now open that 15 oz can of pumpkin puree...make sure it's NOT pumpkin pie filling by the way.

Blend this in and then scrape down the bowl before adding in the dry ingredients. Just mix until nearly combined before pouring in 

1 cup of buttermilk (sour milk, yogurt, sour cream)

Blend smooth and scrape down the bowl to be sure it is well blended. Now, if you're a nutty kind of person, you could also fold in 1 cup of toasted chopped pecans and it will be lovely but I actually like this recipe without. It makes a really beautiful but firm bread that slices nicely.Divide the batter between the pans and tap them on the counter to remove any bubbles. I sprinkled the tops lightly with cinnamon sugar as well to create a bit of a crusty crunch on top. 

Bake for 35-50 minutes, depending on your oven. Check with a toothpick or thin-bladed knife to be sure it is fully done on the inside before removing to a cooling rack. Let it cool in the pans for 10 minutes before turning out to cool completely. Wrap in a bit of waxed paper or parchment and seal in a ziploc bag for storage once the bread is completely cooled. 

There, now I won't loose this silly thing again....

Happy Birthday To The Maid: Butter Cake with Caramel Frosting

A vintage cake cover for a vintage cake

Butter and milk

Eggs and sugar

 Thing 1 informed me the other night that she knew what I liked to do with my time: cook and clean. Couple that with a birthday, all the extra baby weight I'm carrying and the natural restlessness I tend to feel at this time of year and you've got the makings of a breakdown.

...but I don't have time for a real breakdown because there's laundry to do and meals to cook and somebody colored all over the kitchen table without paper.

 Ok, maybe I can see why my eldest child just assumed that I was living my dream. Wow. Seriously, I must be, like, no fun at all....cue reservations for Breakdown City...for later, much later.

On the other hand, to be utterly and perfectly honest, I DO enjoy making my own birthday cake. It's an indulgence in my mind. Partly because it's something that is solely based on my preferences and partly because I never ever ever ever use a box mix (pahhtooey) for my cake.  Cake snob? Bet your ass.

The ingredients for this cake are simple and classic. The cake itself would be just a nice with any form of buttercream frosting but is sturdier than a box mix so it can also be filled with heavier fillings such as jams, caramel, fudge or ice cream.

Preheat your oven to 325. Grease two 9 inch round cake pans (or one 9x4 round pan--that's how I have 3 layers instead of the customary 2).

For ingredients, you will need:

1 1/2 sticks (3/4 cup) butter
1 cup milk
Melt these two together in a saucepan over medium heat and set aside. You just need the butter to be melted so don't bring the milk to a simmer or anything. Set it aside to cool.

In a bowl, blend together--

2 cups AP flour
2 3/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt

And, finally, in your mixing bowl, measure out
2 cups sugar
4 eggs

The eggs and sugar need to be beaten on high until their color changes to a pale yellow and the mixture is thick and light. You will notice the sugar dissolves somewhat and the blend will climb higher up the side of the bowl.

Scrape down the bowl to remove any sugar clumps that may have formed at the bottom of the mixing bowl before folding in the dry ingredients. Don't try to get all the flour absorbed at this point. You just want it somewhat incorporated because you still have some mixing to do and you don't want to make the cake tough.

Now fold in the milk/butter blend and to this add
1 tsp vanilla extract
Fold everything together until just incorporated and there are no pockets of flour. Be sure to get down to the bottom of the bowl.

Pour the batter into your pan(s) and place in the center of the oven. For two pans, bake for 20-30 minutes. For a single pan, bake for 30-45 minutes. The cake will get golden and begin to pull slightly from the sides of the pan when it is done. Check the center before removing from the oven.  I will also say this is one of the few cakes I've made that was perfectly level on top, no peaking or sinking--beautiful!

When the cake is finished, allow it to cool in the pan for 10 minutes before turning it out on a cooking rack. The cake must be completely cooled before you can ice it.

So let's talk frosting. The caramel frosting here is an old-fashioned cooked frosting that takes about 15 minutes to make. You need a solid, high-sided saucepan and a wooden spoon. The wooden spoon is actually non-negotiable for authenticity so don't get all oxo good grip on me, k?

I used a double batch of frosting because I had more layers. I'll give you the single form of the recipe but it can be doubled.

1 pound (about 2 2/3 cups) light brown sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
7 tablespoons evaporated milk (NOT condensed milk)
You'll need a tablespoon of vanilla at the end.

***At this point, have your cake ready to frost, because once you start the frosting, you have to

complete the cake.



Put everything in a the saucepan and turn to a medium heat. Stir together as it melts and bring to a boil. Turn down the heat so the mixture bubbles gently and set a timer for 7 minutes. Keep stirring to make sure nothing is burning but don't pull a muscle at it anything. Remove from the heat after 7 minutes and let cool for another 5 minutes.

After the cool down period, use that wooden spoon to beat the frosting for 2-3 minutes until it thickens.

Time to frost the cake!  Be sure to spread things quickly. Let the frosting roll over the sides of the layers as you go and then smooth them out at the end once the top is covered. Work quickly. Also, if you are going to garnish with pecans or walnuts, sprinkle on before the frosting sets or they will just fall off.

IF the icing gets too hard to fast, you can soften it over low heat. Stir in a little milk to soften it. If you have a "blemish" in the finished product, try dipping your spatula in hot water before smoothing out the area.

I know everyone likes to quote Forest Gump and say that life is like a box of chocolates, but I tend to think it's more like a scratch cake--you get the quality you put in to it and the results can be delicious or disappointing, but that depends on your expectations.