Christmas Baking

That most magical of seasons is upon us... the season of BAKING till we drop!
I made a list of things to bake (in no particular order):
Lemon Loaf
French Bread
Carla's Shortbread
Mom's Shortbread
Paula's Pecan Puffs
Welsh Cakes
Ooeey Gooey Chocolate Cheesecake Brownies
Chocolates
A huge Gingerbread Mansion with lights and stained glass windows
Oh, the list goes on, believe me!

The problem is that I also have quite a few crafts on the go as well... and then I have this lazy streak that often shows its ugly face when I have to make a choice on what to do. Hmmmm, I think I'll go take a nap right now.

The Grey Cup - Poulin Style...

"He's at the 30... the 20... he's passing the garden rake...it's a TOUCHDOWN!!!"

Seth's new craze is playing football - any time. He will drag us out to "go to the touchdown zone" and will interject comments such as:
"Mommy, we are both blue. We are both on the blue team. Here's your blue shirt. I am number 1453. You are just blue. I will score. I am running. I am blue..." He says these things over and over. Then when he scores he does his little dance of joy and shouts "YES!! YES!! IT'S THE TOUCHDOWN ZONE!!!"
...and...
"You are NOT my best friend." This happens when I happen to score a touchdown. I discovered that all of my kids hate to lose at any game. I think this is probably due to me letting them win all the time. I tell them I'll beat them racing up the stairs, and I always lose... I play "Let's get dressed faster than Mommy" in the morning... but now they all HATE to lose. Any of you parents out there figure out how to fix this particular character flaw? I was thinking I might just start beating them at stuff and then tell them to "suck it up, buttercup"... but is that really the best way? How else do they learn this kind of stuff?
Anyone?
Anyone?
Bueller?
Bueller?

What's up with my blog??

I don't know what I did, but I think I might need to call in the expert... my hubby!
More soon...

I'm a pecan-burn victim.

Who knew that those yummy nuts could be the cause of such pain? Such agony? Such humiliating stories for all my friends to see and laugh at me about?
Here's the Cooking Crimestoppers Official Report:
"It was a dark and stormy night in the kitchen at Jen's house. She was trying out a new recipe... one which was almost finished baking, when an idea popped into her fevered brain. 'Why don't I just stick my finger on the baking treat, just to see if the middle of it is still gelatinous or not?' And so, the fateful decision was made, and Jen pushed her finger too far into the middle of the pecan-encrusted pumpkin cake...ALAS! AND ALACK! A pecan seized her finger and in a fit of hands-waving-about-all-over-the-place, it was dislodged and settled on a new location... the top of her upper lip. There it sizzled until Jen finally got it off and rushed to put ice on the scene of the crime. Now she looks as if an amazingly huge cold sore volcano erupted over her upper lip. The Polysporin ointment only increases the beauty of this third eye."
The pernicious pecan has vanished. It has not been seen since. There is a warrant out for its arrest. If you see this pecan please call 555-5555 and report your tip. Oh, the treat was lovely, by the way... even with its nefarious nuts.

Ode To My Bosch.

How do I love thee, Bosch?
Let me count the ways...
I love thee when thou dost mix my bread dough up for me,
Leaving my hands free to stop my munchkins from killing each other...
I love thee because thou canst even handle mixing my fondant for candy-making,
Only when I use thy dough hook.
I love thee when I use thee to whip cream,
For thou art ever so quick and timely,
I use thee for the mashed potatoes, when I feel lazy,
Thou dost whip them into oblivion.
I love using thee for cookies, cakes, muffins, pie crust, breads, and anything else I need to mix. There is no way I could love thee better, except if I didn't have to clean those little groovy things inside the bowl, that really bugs.


That was my ode to my favorite appliance of all. The BOSCH. I have enjoyed a very successful relationship with "Bo" the Bosch for 12 years now. He was a wedding present from Handsome Man's parents. 12 years, and we've never had a fight, that Bosch and I. He was a little angry when I used him for the fondant, it's true: but, he never gave up and is still kicking. I've replaced his bowl and gotten him some new paddles. His motor is still fab. Love you, Bo.
I name all of my appliances. Bet you didn't know that about me!

Here's a recipe that I enjoy using "Bo" for.

Grandma's Buns

1 c. scalded milk
1 c. warm water
3/4 c. sugar
1 tsp. salt
1/2 c. oil (save some for the edge of the bowl)
3 beaten eggs
5 c. flour
2 TB. instant yeast

Mix the first 6 ingredients together in the BOSCH. Make sure your liquid isn't too hot (it will kill your yeast in the next step).




Combine yeast and flour in a separate bowl. Add to wet ingredients. Then let your Bosch do all the work! Let it knead for about 7 minutes until dough is elastic.

Pour saved oil in a big bowl and add the dough. Or, just spray the bowl with cooking spray like I did here.



This is how I test to see if the dough is the right consistency. It should still be a little sticky, but not "coagulated Elmer's glue" consistency.





Place wax paper on top of the dough and place in a warm oven (I usually turn the oven on to 180 degrees for a few minutes at the beginning of my bun-making adventures, then I turn it off. Then, it's lovely and warm for my dough when it's time to put it in.) Let the dough rise for an hour until it has doubled.



Punch dough down, roll into buns, and don't bug me about the state of my cookie sheets. It's almost December, and I am due for some new ones...


.


Back to the buns - let them sit for 15 minutes. Fire up your oven to 350 degrees. Bake those babies for 12-15 minutes.

Then they look like this.





Eat a few while they are hot. Stinking good.

Where The Wild Things Are... READING?

You mothers know that eerie feeling you get when the house is TOO quiet? From previous experience you dread what you are going to find - flour spread all over the kids and the kitchen, toothpaste and toilet paper everywhere, all your kitchen chairs and walls drawn on by permanent marker... you know what I mean. My monsters must be making mischief somewhere so I started to search for them. I turned the corner to find this scene... and then got my camera. Awww. My hairy monsters.



I'm glad I caught my baby critter before he actually got the finger inside the nose. Why must they do that?
We are in desperate need of haircuts at the moment. Why is it that my boys got the thick, fast-growing locks and my little girl has fine, curly, "grow at the speed of a snail's crawl" hair? I'm not truly complaining, really, but with both Handsome Man and my hair being what it is, I'm shocked that they all didn't get Chia Pet Hair like us. My hair was identified as green at one time, so I'm a true Ch-ch-ch-chia!
Here's my favorite family photo from the infamous family photo shoot of 09. Seriously, I think this one was the best of all of them. Sleep deprivation and family photo shoots are the most effective form of torture, I believe.

The Grouse Grind

Part of our Vancouver Vacation included conquering Grouse Mountain.
It was a beautiful day... sun shining, birds chirping, Jen grumbling and complaining all the way up the steep stairs, watching wistfully as lucky people flew over our heads in a gondola. It really was a beautiful setting. I found it difficult to appreciate the view, seeing as how I needed to keep my eyes on the rocks/stairs/tree roots all over the path. Every once in a while it dawned on me just how fantastic this place was. Seriously, GORGEOUS! This is me with a pained look at the half-way mark... do you feel the angst? There were very, very old men who passed me quickly on the trail. I was impressed with the number of people who do this trail in less than 30 minutes. I did it in 90. But... I did it! I'm glad I did. It was so worth it! There's a chalet at the top where we had lunch. We could see all of Vancouver and out to Vancouver Island. It was breathtaking.

This is me at the top. Relieved. Covered in sweat. Apparently trying to swallow bugs for extra protein? I know you want my autograph now.

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween!!

I thought you should all see me at my finest. A lifelong dream is realized... I have always wanted to be the Wicked Witch of the West for Halloween but I never quite get to the green makeup or fake nose/chin. This year I did it... and I won a prize at the party!!! I scared small children all night. I also received several comments about how I really should have supported the organizers and dressed up. Hardy har har. "I'll get you my pretties, and your little dog TOO!!"
Have a great night!







We are the Witches of the East and the West. Abby was trying to look evil but I think she just comes across as uber-cute.

Welcome To My World!

Friday, October 30th, 2009


This is my first official post on my new blog. I have been toying with the idea of leaving dear coldstreaminformatics.com to my hubby (a computer geek to the nth degree) and creating my own place for quite a while. This way I can make it cute/pretty if I feel like it, and I will have no disgruntled male looking over my shoulder, itching to change it back to a more "arrrrgh... I'm a MAN" theme.

Let me tell you about ME.
I'm Jen.
I tend to be slightly silly at times.
I'm Chief Snuggler to 3 crazy monsters, who I adore.
I love recipes oh so much. I sit and read cookbooks and other cooking blogs for fun.
I also enjoy playing the piano, reading, playing soccer and screaming like a banshee at concerts and all sports games. It's truly embarrassing to those who are in my company.
I now officially open this blog to those who feel like reading it, regardless of your name. You don't have to be a Jen.
Jenn... you get to do this with me, by the way. You are definitely my co-conspirator. Tee hee.


On to Halloween.
I'm doing Witch Hats for my crazies' classrooms, and so this post must be short, as I need to go and construct them.
Materials needed:




Hershey's Kisses
Fudgee-O's (NOT the "double stuff" kind. The proportions are way off if you use them, trust me.)
Red Icing

To assemble:

Blob some red icing on the bottom of the unwrapped kiss and stick it to the top of a Fudgee-O.



Then, if you are NOT doing this in the middle of the night before your kids' class parties, make a little red bow out of the icing to make it extra special. I might attempt one, but I will deny I did it if it looks dumb.




Aren't they evilly cute?


Ghost/Bat Chips
Grab some tortillas and some Halloween cookie cutters.
Cut out your critters and lay them on a cooking spray-spritzed pan. Spritz the tops of your tortilla cut-outs and sprinkle seasoning on them (I used a mixture of seasoning salt and Mrs. Dash) and stick them in the 350 degree oven for 8 minutes. Let cool on a wire rack to maintain crispiness.



Serve with chunky salsa, creamy sour cream and ooooooooey gooooooey cheese dip. Divine.

Have a safe, happy HALLOWEEN!!