Happy Birthday to ME (and my sister)

Today, April 18, is my 22 birthday and because I am a twin... it is also my sisters birthday.

 Happy birthday Jill!

This is Jill (annddd me). She is so awesome and a great gardener and can bake like nobody's business. She also likes flower patterned shorts and to embrace messy hair and Harry Potter is totally her thing.

 Last night we went to see hunger games because I have been dyyyyinnngg to see it. This was her third time! What the heck! By the way, Jill told me we could only go see it Tuesday night. Why? Because that's cheap night and " there's no way I am paying full price when I can go on Tuesday for so much cheaper!" I have lost that extreme frugalness apparently. Thankgoodness she still has it!

Because I love food, specifically sweet, homemade food, I decided yesterday that on my birthday I am going to eat good food.

Last night I searched through the blog Joy The Baker  to find exactly what I was going to eat for breakfast. I chose joy's blog mostly because she shares my love of making dessert into breakfast. How can you go wrong eating chocolate cake for breakfast?
Answer- you can't.

 But because I am trying to eat better. ( ahem no cake for breakfast) I decided to go with orange and chocolate scones and rice pudding.... Totally healthy I know!

Some people really don't like rice pudding, I on the other hand love it.
I could eat it everyday.
Preferably with only a few raisins and maybe a touch if cinnamon here and there.
But, to be honest, I have never met a rice pudding I didn't like.
The newest way I have cooked it is kinda like risotto... The rice is cooked in milk with sugar. Ummm sooo good!! There are also crock pot variations, oven baked variations, left over rice variations, custard variations. The list goes on.

Anyways I am sure you don't really care about the numerous ways to make rice pudding... Especially because this blog post is actually about the chocolate orange scones.

Oh man.
They are just so good!

Orange Chocolate Scones
Recipe from Joy The Baker

1 1/2 cups Flour
2 tbsp Sugar
2 tsp Orange zest
2 1/4 tsp Baking Powder
1/4 tsp Baking Soda
1/2 tsp Salt
6 tbsp cold Butter
1 large Egg Yolk
1/4 cup plus 2 tbsp buttermilk (or soured milk)
1/2 cup Semi-sweet or dark Chocolate chips

Move oven rack To upper third of the oven. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

Mix together flour, sugar, orange zest, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
Cut butter into dry ingredients until butter chunks are very small and mixture looks coarse. I like to use my pastry blender, but you can use your fingers equally well.

In a small bowl combine egg yolk and buttermilk and beat till combined. Add to dry ingredients and stir with a fork till moistened. Add chocolate chips.

Use your hands to bring dough together, kneading a bit so it holds together easily.

Place dough onto a lightly floured counter. Flatten till 1 inch thick. Cut into four squares. I like to make eight smaller scones so I then cut the four large scones in half.

Bake immediately on a parchment paper lined cookie sheet at 425 for 12-15 minutes.

Best eaten the same day they are baked.

Also, after scones are shaped, you can place them on a cookie sheet and freeze until solid then transfer to a plastic bag and keep in the freezer for a quick breakfast treat!. Then when you are ready to bake them, preheat oven, place scones on a cookie sheet and bake from frozen. They may take just a few extra minutes to bake.

Freezing scones is always a good idea if you can not bake immediately. Even if your just waiting for room in the oven. Putting the scones in the freezer even for 15 minutes, helps to keep your butter cold (for flakier layers) and slows down the baking powders rising action (higher, more even rise of the scones in the oven) .

Sunday Morning Baked Oatmeal

Happy Tuesday!

Weekend breakfast in my house is generally nothing special. Almost always Gary has to milk and I stay in bed too long and then we are running around like crazy people to get to church on time. Once in a while though, I pull myself together and make bacon and eggs or french toast. There was even a few fantastic mornings when I would wake up to the smell of bacon and pancakes! Gary was actually cooking breakfast! Whhhaaatttt???

Yeah, that happened 3 Sundays in a row. I was impressed.

In actual fact, Gary loves breakfast, specifically bacon and eggs "sunny and runny" with toast and on a good day a few slices of french toast.

Well, this weekend I made baked oatmeal instead

This is baked oatmeal. If you haven't tried it, you should! Its great to prepare the night before and then throwing in the oven before you get in the shower. This is just a basic recipe that can be made even better by adding fruit, spices, nuts, or peanut butter. Yum!

Baked Oatmeal
Recipe adapted from Mennonite Girls Can Cook

3 1/2 cups Oatmeal
2 tsp Baking Powder
1/2 tsp Cinnamon
1/2 cup Brown Sugar
1/2 cup Coconut (optional)
1/4 cup Oil
2 Eggs
1/2 cup Apple Sauce
1 cup Milk

Mix together ingredients in order given. Pour into a greased 8x8. Bake at 350 degrees F for 30 minutes. This is also great reheated and eaten for many days! Top with milk and sugar.
To make this oatmeal even better try topping with fruit, nuts, coconut, peanut butter, and what ever else you can think of!
* You can also mix all the ingred togther and keep in the fridge then bake in the morning. I like to crumble up the cooked oatmeal in my bowl before warming up with milk and sugar.

Banana Coconut Ceam Pie.

Its 10:35 on Sunday night.

Gary went to a guys night...so obviously, I baked.

I NEEDED to bake actually.
So, I made Joy The Baker's Banana Coconut Cream Pie.

This recipe is from her new cookbook which I highly recommend! I have made 4 things so far and have only had it two weeks! I fully intend to try every.single.thing.

This recipe is not on her blog as far as I can tell, but is probably worth buying the book for...um actually totally worth buying the book for.

Here is a bad picture of the pie I took with my ipad. Let me tell you. This looks not so pretty. Joys pie looks pretty. Mine is minus the whipping cream and good lighting. But I died from deliciousness. Before I had actually cut into the pie and had just licked the bowl and spatula and stuck my finger in the pie a time...or three, I thought " holy, I dont even need the crust! Just give me a spoon, I am eating this out of the bowl!" and to be honest, it would be so good that way. But the crust...just kicks things up 100 notches. All coconut-y and kinda chewy and totally good.

So now that I have told you alll about it, I am not giving you the recipe. Mostly because its not on Joys blog, and her book just came out, and you should TOTALLY buy it .. and then maybe come to Seattle with me ( and 3 other friends) for the weekend and get your book signed and actually MEET JOY THE BAKER! AHhhhh SO excited! Anyways. I am not an excitable person but this pie and joy the baker has just got me all fired up.

I need to get this pie out of my house but 9 am. Somebody else has to eat the other 3/4.
( um I only at 1/8th tonight...but you bet I am eating 1/8th for breakfast.)

Maybe I should divide it into 6 pieces and put them on plates and wrap them up and take them to 6 different people rather then just one? Because I really cant decide who I should feed this to.

Chocolate Toasted Coconut Doughnuts

Its been about six months since I wrote and posted my last blog post. I guess I needed to take a break and wait till I knew I could blog once in a while and be ok with one post a week rather then four. Four is too many! That is just too much food for two people to eat and for me to write about and be happy with. So I am going to come back and try and relax and just blog when and how I wanna blog. Ok?

Great.

I made Chocolate Coconut Doughnuts. Baked doughnuts actually, in a special doughnut pan.

If you have a spacious kitchen and a addiction to pans, like me, then I highly suggest you order yourself a doughnut pan. Your friends will thank-you, but your jeans...well, they will just get tighter. Sorry.

I am not sorry.

I bake in yoga pants. A while back, I read something about how women who wear yoga pants all the time actually gain more weight compared to women who don`t. Now this was probably not some special study or anything, but still. Doesn't it make a bit of sense? You would have no idea that your hips were expanding (or your thighs in my case) until it was much too late. I was just going to say something about hole-y crotch yoga pants, but I am not going there today. (Yes there has been such thing once in my life...they were my fav)

Anyways, I took the doughnut pictures with my iPad are kinda...blurry? Or is it me?

Here is the step by step:

 First, sift together flour, cocoa, baking powder and baking soda

Whisk in sugar, nutmeg and salt. 

( I know nutmeg seems weird, but trust me, 

it is the difference between these tasting like 

cupcakes or doughnuts) 

Scoop two tablespoon of coconut oil into the dry mixture and rub in with your fingers until crumbly and well combined. ( You can totally use butter, but I lllooovvveee coconut oil! ) 

Kinda like this. 

(Note to self, yellow bowl + bad light = not good picture) 

Pour milk, yogurt, vanilla and egg into a small bowl or measuring cup and stir and until well combined. 

Pour liquid ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir gently with a spatula until just combined. 

Think, muffin method. 

Fit a piping bag with a medium round tip and fill with doughnut batter. 

Grease doughnut pan and fill 1/2 full with batter. 

Bake in a 350 degree oven for 5 minutes. Let cool in pan for 1 minute and remove from pan. 

Let cool completely on a wire rack. 

Dip in a glaze of icing sugar and milk. and sprinkle with toasted coconut. 

Recipe adapted from Lara Ferroni's website.
She published a book all about doughnuts a while ago so she must be an expert!

Chocolate Cake Doughnuts with Toasted Coconut

1 cup Flour
2 tbsp Cocoa
1 tsp Baking Powder
1/4 tsp Baking Soda
2/3 cup Sugar
1/2 tsp Nutmeg
1/2 tsp Salt
2 tbsp Coconut oil
1/4 cup Buttermilk
1/4 cup Yogurt
1 tsp Vanilla
1 large Egg

1. Sift first four ingredients together into a medium sized bowl.
2. Whisk in sugar, nutmeg, and salt.
3. Rub coconut oil into dry ingredients until crumbly and well combined.
4. Mix wet ingredients together in a small bowl and pour into dry ingredients.
5. Stir carefully until just combined.
6. Scoop into a piping bag fitted with a medium tip.
7. Pipe into a greased mini doughnut pan.
8. Bake at 350 degrees for 5 minutes.
9. Let cool in pan for 1 minute and then remove from pan. Let cool completely and dip in glaze or sprinkle with powdered sugar.

Optional: sprinkle with toasted coconut, sprinkle, nuts, what ever you like!
*Keep in an air tight container, best eaten within a couple of days.

Cereal

Every single day, Gary has cereal. Two bowls when he comes in from the barn and then two bowl right before bed. That is a lot of cereal. I have estimated that one large box, lasts about 1 1/2 weeks. I should clarify, he only eats Bran Flakes. There is no substitution. No Honey Nut Cheerios, no Shredded Wheat, no Honey Bunches Of Oats. Just Bran Flakes. 

 I do not like Bran Flakes. I will eat them if you make me, or if I decide for 5 minutes I want to eat healthy breakfast. Blah. You have to eat them sooo fast or else you have soggy bran-y mush and that is a consistency that I just can not swallow. 

Back 11months ago, when Gary and I got married, I knew this about him. What I didn't know was how this was only a glimpse into the crazy things he does. (crazy in the most loving way of course) 

I think in the past two weeks, I have said to him " you are just insane!" so many times...I can't even count. 

I usually laugh, shake my head, and then wonder what our kids are going to be like. 

When ever I tell Gary he is insane, his most common response is " hahaha honeyyy, its not that bad, your forgetting about how good I am to you hahaha, remember last night we went out for quality time and I bought you ice cream, you should blog about this. You are sooo funny when you are frustrated, your hair just bops around and you say funny things" 

ps. Quality time when he bought me ice cream was going across the boarded to look at cows and we stopped at a dairy store so Gary could go to the bathroom and I bought myself ice cream and then we looked at cows for 2 hours and then came home. Obviously, this was a date night...

Seriously, he says my hair "bops" around. and then he can't stop laughing.  I usually laugh too. It makes it hard being frustrated. 

Anyways. Gary's strict cereal  preferences are a metaphor for his life...unexpected, strange and a little over the top

And if cereal is a metaphor for Gary's life...

Maybe it is for mine too...

I bought Halloween Captain Crunch. Its like candy for breakfast. 

I would be lying, if I said the fact that the ghosts turn the milk green wasn't a selling feature. 

Marketing companies really know how to suck me in. 

My Cereal shelf also contains Mini Wheats

Honey Puffed Kashi ( Basically Sugar Crisp...with a little less sugar) 

Apple Cinnamon Cheerios

 I also have instant chocolate oatmeal and 2 varieties of granola. Unfortunately I do not usually eat cereal or yogurt or anything like that for breakfast. I much prefer pie. 

I am not sure what this says about me other then the fact the I like to eat sweet stuff. Perhaps that I am a bad decision maker? 

I really just wanted to show you my Halloween Captain Crunch. Its tasty. 

A Whipped Cream Disaster

The other day I made Gingerbread Scones. They were so amazing, and perfectly spiced and sweet, but not too sweet. I was impressed with myself and Allrecipes for another tasty dessert.

[gingerbread scone in limited day light]

I couldn't just eat a scone and be happy though. I wanted to improve my skills or learn something new. I decided to try caramelizing pears. Sounds easy enough. And it totally was. I didn't take any pictures, but basically you melt butter in the frying pan, throw in your pear quarters and soften a bit then add some brown sugar and cook till the sauce is thick and the pears are tender. Easy peasy.

Then this happened...

I just wanted to whip a little bit of whipped cream to top my tasty dessert. 

Apparently my container was a bit too small. 

My computer is still sticky. So is my phone.

Facebook is open...yes. 

Messy hair, grade 12 PE shirt, disaster kitchen...everyday life. 

It looks kinda gross. 

It tasted really good though! mmm

So finally, here is the recipe for the scones. Add pears, add whipped cream, or just eat with some butter and a pumpkin spice latte. Mmm. 

Gingerbread Scones, adapted from allrecipes.com 

2 cups Flour

1/4 cup Brown Sugar

2 tsp Baking Powder

1 tsp Ground Ginger 

1/2 tsp Baking Soda

1/2 tsp Salt 

1/2 tsp Cinnamon 

1/4 cup Cold Butter

1/3 cup Molasses 

1/4 cup Milk 

1 egg

Sugar  for sprinkle over top 

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F

2. In a large bowl, combine flour, brown sugar, baking powder, ginger, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. 

3. Cut in cold butter until it is the consistency of course crumbs. 

4. In a separate bowl, combine all the wet ingredients until smooth. 

5. Add to flour mixture and stir till just moistened. 

6. Turn out onto a floured surface and kneed a couple of times. If the dough is way to sticky, add a bit more flour about 1 tbsp at a time. 

7. Pat out into a circle about 1/2 inch thick and cut into wedges. ( I pat into a rectangle and cut with a biscuit cutter to get round scones. ) 

8. Place onto a greased or parchment lined cookie sheet. Brush with milk then sprinkle with sugar. 

9. Place in the freezer for 5 minutes and then take directly to preheated oven. 

10. Bake for 10-15 minutes until they bounce back slightly when touched. 

 * serve warm with whipped cream or butter, cream cheese icing on top would also be amazing* 

When "Bake Zucchini Cake" is on Your To-Do List, Your Bound to Get at Least One Thing Done

I need lists. I am probably the biggest procrastinator you know. I can waste too much time on Facebook, Pinterest , and blogs that I get nothing done for hours!

So I make lists. Every morning while I eat breakfast and check Facebook, I make my list of things that need doing that day. Usually there is at least one house cleaning item, dinner, some yard work and some impossible task that getting written down day after day and never actually gets done. ie. paint the living room, clean the fridge, go to the bottle depot ( I hate going to the bottle depot...is like...wahoo I am going to bring in all these bottles and cans I have been saving all this time and get some money and then I can feel awesome...and then you go and empty out the sticky bags and take all the lids off the bottles and sort all the different sizes and then bring them up to the counter and they ring it through..."and you get $4.67 back today, don't spend it all in one place!" gee...thanks...)  . Anyways, that was a little side note.

So yesterday I started my day by making a list...

 Yeah, its messy...but really who else was supposed to read it? For about 30 seconds I considered making a nice neat one and fakin' it for the picture...but this is real life. 

I like how I felt the need to clarify that I only "sort of" needed groceries. Meaning, of course, that I only needed eggs and cinnamon sticks. 

By the end of the day, I had completed all of the things on my list except cleaning the upstairs bathroom, and reprocessing my unsealed pears. 

I did find it funny that I added "Bake zucchini cake" to the list. Because really...since when did I need to remind myself to bake? It probably would be better if I forgot once in a while. Haha..not likely. 

Anyways, I made the zucchini cake. This was my second time and my oh my..its just so tasty. Just a little chocolatey, and a little zucchini-y and perfectly soft and tender and moist and really really great for breakfast. (But really, what cake isn't?)  Um on the topic of eating cake for breakfast, just the other day, somebody was quite shocked that pie is a regular breakfast item at my (and my parents!) house. I think I have a dessert problem. 

Ugh I keep getting off topic! So I made the cake. And its really really good. And you should totally make it. 

This is what it looks like. Kinda plain, I know. The actual recipe says to top it with chocolate chips, but you know me..always trying to cut down on the sugar, so I left them out. 

Actually I just forgot. And I found it totally tasty this way. 

This recipe I found through Tasty Kitchen  and is actually from another girl/lady's blog, so when that happens I don't generally like to post the recipe on my blog. So here is the LINK . I have not spent too much time on this blog yet, but it looks interesting! She even took step by step pictures! Yay. :)