Epic White Cake

This is the best White cake....ever

1/2 cup unsalted butter
1 3/4 cups white sugar
4 egg whites
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 pinch salt (if you use salted butter, do NOT add salt)
1 1/2 cup better milk (to make butter milk, for every 1 cup of milk add 1 tbs lemon juice or vinegar.  stir and let stand for 5 minutes)

1. pre-heat oven to 350 F
2. cream butter and sugar.
3. Add vanilla and egg whites
4. in a separate mix together the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt.  Add to wet mixture.  Add milk and stir well.
5. grease 2 round baking pans.  pour 1/2 the batter into 1 pan and 1/2 into the other.
6. bake for 30 minutes or until done.
7. place on a wire rack to cool.  Allow the cake to completely cook before icing.

Red Velvet Cup Cakes with Vanilla Cream Cheese Frosting

Yield: 24

Ingredients

• 2 cups flour
• 1/3 cup and 1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup and 2 teaspoons butter, softened
• 1-1/2 cups and 2 tablespoons sugar
• 3-1/4 eggs
• 3/4 cup and 2 teaspoons sour cream
• 1/3 cup and 1 tablespoon milk
• 3/4 (1 ounce) bottle Red Food Color
• 1-1/2 teaspoons  Pure Vanilla Extract

 Vanilla Cream Cheese Frosting:

• 3/4 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
• 3 tablespoons and 1/2 teaspoon butter, softened
• 1 tablespoon and 1-3/4 teaspoons sour cream
• 1-1/2 teaspoons Pure Vanilla Extract
• 3/4 (16 ounce) box confectioners' sugar

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Mix flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt in medium bowl. Set aside.
2. Beat butter and sugar in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed 5 minutes or until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at a time. Mix in sour cream, milk, food color and vanilla. Gradually beat in flour mixture on low speed until just blended. Do not overbeat. Spoon batter into 24 paper-lined muffin cups, filling each cup 2/3 full.
3. Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until toothpick inserted into cupcake comes out clean. Cool in pans on wire rack 5 minutes. Remove from pans; cool completely. Frost with Vanilla Cream Cheese Frosting.
4. Vanilla Cream Cheese Frosting: Beat cream cheese, softened, butter, sour cream and  Pure Vanilla Extract in large bowl until light and fluffy. Gradually beat in confectioners' sugar until smooth.

YUMMY donuts!

This recipe makes about 3 baker's dozen donuts (that's 39!).  You can scale it down - or up - as you need! They are not Krispy Kreme's but they are GOOOOOOOD!

Donuts
3 (1/4 ounce / 7g) packages yeast (3/4 oz / 21g total) - I used "Rapid Rise" but traditional is fine too - it just affects the rising times
1/2 cup (120ml) water  (105-115F / 40-46C)
2 1/4 cups (530ml) milk, scalded, then cooled
3/4 cup (169g) sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
3 eggs
1/2 cup (113g) shortening
7 1/2 cups (940g) all-purpose flour
canola oil for frying

Glaze
1/2 cup (113g) butter
3 cups (375g) powdered sugar
2 1/4 teaspoons vanilla
6 -9 tablespoons (90-135ml) evaporated milk (can substitute regular milk or water for milder flavor)


MAKING THE DONUTS
Proof your yeast by adding it to the warm water.  Mix it up and let it rest.

Scald the milk in your microwave or on top of your stove, and let cool.

Combine yeast, milk, sugar, salt, eggs, shortening and 3 cups (375g) flour.

Beat on low for 30 seconds, scraping bowl constantly.

Beat on medium speed for 2 minutes, scraping bowl occasionally.

Carefully (not like me), stir in remaining flour until smooth.

Cover and let rise until double, 30-60 minutes, depending on the yeast you used.
After the dough has risen, turn dough onto floured surface; roll around lightly to coat with flour.

Gently roll dough 1/2-inch thick with floured rolling pin.

Cut with floured doughnut cutter.  Separate donuts and holes, as they take different frying times (but are equally delicious).  Save your scraps - they are both great to test your fry time and to snack on while you're making the rest!  You could even get REALLY creative and use various shaped cookie cutters!

Cover and let rise until double, 30-40 minutes.

MAKING THE GLAZE
I like to make up the glaze at this point because it can sit at room temp until the donuts are fried and ready to be dipped.

Melt the butter and stir in powdered sugar and vanilla until smooth.

Add milk (or water) until desired consistency is reached.

*** to make chocolate glaze, melt 6 ounces of chocolate along with the butter!***

FRY TIME
Use a deep pan to heat the oil.   I used a shallow one to be able to take better pictures, but this provides a real fire hazard.  So be safe!

Heat your oil to 350F (180C).  A thermometer makes this part fool-proof, and you can monitor the heat to make sure it stays in this prime frying range.

Even after you take the donut out of the oil, the remaining oil on it is hot enough to continue cooking it!

Carefully place the donuts in the oil. I personally found that about 30 seconds a side does it. Flip the donuts and remove them from the oil.

Place donuts on a rack or paper bags or paper towels to drain.

TIME FOR THAT SWEET GLAZE!
Now is the time to take your donuts into a magical dimension.   Dip them in the glaze and set them on a rack to dry
 

Apple-Bowl Pies

You will need
6 granny smith apples,
1 pie crust,
1/4 cup sugar and
1 tablespoon brown sugar.

Cut off the top of 4 apples off and discard. Remove the inside of each apple with a spoon very carefully, as to not puncture the peel. Remove skin from 2 additional apples and slice very thinly. These apple pieces will give you filling needed to fill the four apples you are baking. 

Mix sliced apples with sugars and cinnamon in a bowl. If you prefer more or less cinnamon and sugar, make adjustments as desired. 

Scoop sliced apples into hollow apples. 

Roll out pie crust and slice into 1/4 inch strips. You can also add a strip of pastry inside the top of the apple almost like a liner to add a little more texture/sweetness to the pie. 

Cover the top of the apple in a lattice pattern with pie crust strips. Place apples in an 8×8 pan. Add just enough water to the cover the bottom of the pan. 

Cover with foil and bake for 20-25 minutes. Remove foil and bake for an additional 20 minutes or until crust is golden brown and sliced apples are soft.

Crackers

These are SO easy to make it's not even funny.

Ingredients

• 1 3/4 cups whole wheat flour
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 1 cup water
• salt for sprinkling

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. In a medium bowl, stir together the whole wheat flour, all-purpose flour, and 3/4 teaspoon salt. Pour in the vegetable oil and water; mix until just blended.
3. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough as thin as possible - no thicker than 1/8 inch. Place dough on an ungreased baking sheet, and mark squares out with a knife, but don't cut through. Prick each cracker with a fork a few times, and sprinkle with salt.
4. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes in the preheated oven, or until crisp and light brown. Baking time may be different depending on how thin your crackers are. When cool, remove from baking sheet, and separate into individual crackers. 
    

The possibilities are endless......

Tortilla Bread

Tortilla Bread
Yield: 12

You will need:
3 cups of flour
4 TBS butter or shortening
about 1 1/2 cups water (may need more or less)
extra  flour





1. in a bowl put in flour and cut in butter until crumbly - like pastry. 
2. add in a little water at a time (2 or 3 TBS) and mix well with a fork until mixture is moist.
3. on a lightly floured surface, kneed dough for 4 or 5 minutes
4. divide the dough into 12 pieces and shape into medallions.  They should look like this:

5. With a rolling pin, roll out into a round (or round ish) shape very very thin.  It should look like this - you can eve see the table cover through the dough it is rolled so thin.

6. Heat a frying pan for 4 or 5 minutes at a medium heat. I like to add about 1/2 tsp of olive oil and coat the pan and THEN put the bread in, but that is not necessary.
7. once it starts to bubble a little bit more that shown in the picture below, flip it over. (if you're cool like my hubby, you can do it without a spatula.  I however am not that cool)

Make sure you watch closely or it will burn. And don't turn the heat any higher or it will burn (I ha a few casualties)

Once you are done, you will have a yummy stack of flat bread ready for eating.  WAY better than store bought!  Enjoy warm or cold.  You can store in a plastic bag and use just like store-bought bread.

Would you like Butter or plastic on your toast?

Margarine was originally manufactured to fatten turkeys. When it killed the turkeys, the people who had put all the money into the research wanted a payback so they put their heads together to figure out what to do with this product to get their money back.
It was a white substance with no food appeal so they added the yellow coloring and sold it to people to use in place of butter. How do you like it? They have come out with some clever new flavorings....

DO YOU KNOW.. The difference between margarine and butter?
Read on to the end...gets very interesting!

Both have the same amount of calories.

Butter is slightly higher in saturated fats at 8 grams; compared to5 grams for margarine.

Eating margarine can increase heart disease in women by 53% over eating the same amount of butter, according to a recent Harvard Medical Study.

Eating butter increases the absorption of many other nutrients in other foods.
Butter has many nutritional benefits where margarine has a few and only because they are added!
Butter tastes much better than margarine and it can enhance the flavors of other foods.

Butter has been around for centuries where margarine has been around for less than 100 years.

And now, for Margarine..
Very High in Trans fatty acids.
Triples risk of coronary heart disease ...
Increases total cholesterol and LDL (this is the bad cholesterol) and lowers HDL cholesterol, (the good cholesterol)

Increases the risk of cancers up to five times..

Lowers quality of breast milk

Decreases immune response.

Decreases insulin response.

And here's the most disturbing fact... HERE IS THE PART THAT IS VERY INTERESTING!

Margarine is but ONE MOLECULE away from being PLASTIC... and shares 27 ingredients with PAINT

These facts alone were enough to have me avoiding margarine for life and anything else that is hydrogenated (this means hydrogen is added, changing the molecular structure of the substance).

Open a tub of margarine and leave it open in your garage or shaded area. Within a couple of days you will notice a couple of things:

* no flies, not even those pesky fruit flies will go near it (that should tell you something)

* it does not rot or smell differently because it has no value ; nothing will grow on it. Even those teeny weeny micro-organisms will not a find a home to grow. Why? Because it is nearly plastic. Would you melt your Tupperware and spread that on your toast?

I've got a lovely bunch of Coconuts...

...there they all are standing in a row
Big ones small ones, some as big as your head
Give it a twist, a flick of the writs and here we go again....."

But this is not about the song.  It's about the power of the coconut.

First let me dispel a myth that is currently floating out there:
MYTH: Coconuts are bad for you.  They are high in cholesterol. 
FACT:  Coconuts are GOOD for you.  They are high in cholesterol, but it's the GOOD kind - like the kind found in almonds.

I came across this link about  Coconut Oil from my good friend Carey (who also has this blog) and the research about the amazing health benefits of consuming coconut oil are amazing.

Important note: if you are going to use coconut oil, you need to be sure that you are buying PURE coconut oil.

"Researchers say the ketones found in coconut oil have slowed the progression of Alzheimer's disease in some people and may actually prevent it."

My grandmother has dementia and so there is a part of me that is fearful that I too may get it.  So as a preventative measure, I'm starting to use coconut oil in my cooking and baking.

SIDE NOTE:  Although coconut oil is made from coconuts, it actually doesn't taste like a coconut.  I was worried that everything I cooked or baked would have an overtone of coconut, but it actually doesn't.

Chicken stock

Chicken stock, like beef stock, is very high in sodium if bought at the store.

Time: about 3 hours, largely unattended

3 to 4 lbs chicken parts and/or bones.  I usually use an entire chicken carcass.  (you can also use raw chicken pieces)
1 cup chopped onion (don't bother peeling)
1 cup chopped carrot
1/2 cup chopped celery
1 spring fresh thyme or a pinch of dry thyme
1/2 bay leaf
several springs of fresh parsley
1 tsp kosher sea salt (more if necessary)
16 cups of water

1. combine everything in a stock pot

2. bring to just about a boil, then partially cover and adjust heat so the mixture sends up a few bobbles at a time.  Cook until the meat falls off the bone and the bones separate.  About 2 - 3 hours.

3.Strain, pressing on the veggies and meat to extract juices.  Taste and add more salt if necessary

4. freeze or refrigerate.   Then skim fat from the top.  Can stay in the fridge for 4 to 5 days (longer if boiled every 3 days).

I divided mine in to 4 cup portions and froze them.

Beef Stock

After looking at the sodium level of stocks at the store, I decided to make my own.

Time: at least 3 hours, largely unattended.

3 to 4 lbs meaty beef bones, such as shank or short rids (I use short ribs)
1 cup chopped onion (don't bother to peal it)
1 cup chopped carrot
1 cup chopped celery
2 parsnips, peeled and chopped
2 springs fresh thyme, or 1/4 tsp dried thyme
1 bay leaf
at least 10 springs of fresh parsley
1 tsp kosher sea salt (more if necessary)
3 to 4 garlic cloves
10 peppercorns
about 16 cups of water.


Optional step 1 - roast the meat first for a dark stock

1. Combine everything into a stock pot.

2. bring to just about a boil, then partially cover and adjust heat so the mixture sends up a few bubbles at a time.  Cook until the meat falls off the bones - about 2 - 3 hours.

3. strain, pressing on the veggies and meat to extract as much juice as possible.  Taste and add more salt if necessary (i didn't find it necessary)

4. freeze or refrigerate.   Then skim fat from the top.  Can stay in the fridge for 4 to 5 days (longer if boiled every 3 days).

I divided mine in to 4 cup portions and froze them.

white wine alfredo

This dish tastes AMAZING.  wow! You will NOT be disappointed, I promise.

You need:
1 cup Heavy Cream
(if you do NOT have heave cream, use 4 TBS each butter and flour and 2 cups milk)
1 1/2 cups Parmesan cheese
1/3 cup dry white wine
Milk
2 finely chopped garlic cloves
3 TBS fresh parsley
1/2 tsp nutmeg
salt and pepper to taste

1a). if you do no have heavy cream - in a sauce pan melt butter and stir in flour.  Then add milk and whisk together and simmer
1b. if you DO have heavy cream, simmer in a sauce pan (do NOT boil!)
2. add garlic and cheese.  stir until cheese in melted.
3.mix in wine, parsley, nutmeg and salt and pepper
4. add milk until desired consistency is reached.
5. simmer for about 6 - 8 minutes.

Pour over your favorite pasta and enjoy!

You can add chicken or fish plus whatever veggie you want.

Mac and Cheese

I love mac and cheese.  It's a real comfort food for our family.  It's one of those dishes that you can do a million things with and it still will taste great!

You will need:
Kosher sea salt
6 TBS unsalted butter
1 medium onion, finely diced
6 TBS unbleached all-purpose flour
1 quart milk, heated
1 large sprig fresh thyme, plus 1 tsp chopped thyme leaves
1 bay leaf
2 cups, packed , extra sharp white cheddar
1 cup packed, Monterrey Jack
1/4 tsp Worcestershire sauce
pepper
1 lb macaroni or other small pasta
2 TBS extra virgin olive oil
2 cups bread crumbs
1/2 cup parmigiano-Reggiano (or Parmesan cheese)

1.pre-heat oven to 400F
2. cook pasta
3. in a heavy sauce pan, melt butter over medium heat.  Add onion, 1/2 tsp salt until onion soft (4 - 5  minutes) add flour and mix well.  Switch to a whisk and add the milk.
4. stir in thyme and bay leaf and Worcestershire sauce and bring to a slow boil.
5. remove from heat and stir in cheese until melted. Add salt and pepper.

6. Pour pasta into a casserole dish and mix in cheese sauce.
7. In a  medium bowl, toss the breadcrumbs Parmigiano, olive oil chopped thyme 1/2 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp pepper.  Scatter the crumbs over the pasta.
8. Bake until crumb topping is golden, about 15 minutes.  Let stand for 5 - 10 minutes before serving

you could add bacon, or tomatoes or Tabasco sauce or ground beef.....or whatever else you can think of.

If you have a picky eater you can make cauliflower puree.  Use 1/2 puree. 1/2 milk and then add the rest of the ingredients.

For a more sophisticated mac and cheese you could use 31/2 cups of milk and 1 1/2 cups of dry white wine.  Then sub in cheese like Gruyere, Emmentaler and grated fontina.  Use sage instead of thyme in the dish and chives in the topping instead of thyme.

Rainbow Cup Cakes

These fun cupcakes are no cake-walk to make.  They are by no means challenging in terms of skill, just time consuming.

After you mix up your cake batter either from scratch or from a box, you divide the batter evenly as possible into 5 or 6 bowls.

n each of those bowls, you add food colouring to obtain the colour you desire.  I tried to make Red, Yellow, Orange, Green, Blue and Purple.  As you can see, yellow and orange mixed together while baking.

After that, you with grease or use muffin cups and scoop a generous teaspoon of one colour in each cup.  Then a generous teaspoon of the next colour. And so on and so on, until all the colour are in the muffin cups. 

It will look something like this when you are done.  Then you bake then in the oven until cooked and the result is this:

12 yummy muffins, 2 very happy children and a LOT of dishes!


Variations on a theme:
You could also layer different colour, like pink, purple, pink purple.  or lots of orange and a green top for carrot looking cup cakes etc.

Roasted Red Pepper Chicken

You need:
Chicken breasts cut into cubes
roasted red peppers
garlic
olive oil
cream of chicken soup
Brown rice

1. a few hours or in the morning soak your brown rice. in the pot you are going to cook the rice in, put the rice and water (2 cups of water for every 1 cup of rice)
2. put the rice pot on the boil and keep covered. Once it boils, turn down to low (like 2 or 3) and let simmer until all the water has been absorbed (usually about 20 minutes from start to finish)
3. mean while, put a bit of olive oil in a frying pan and add the garlic and chicken. Cook until chicken is almost cooked.
4. Add roasted red peppers and cook until they are warm
5. add soup and simmer until soup starts to bubble Serve over rice and with whatever green veggie you like (broccoli or asparagus work nicely) Enjoy!

Granola Bars

When i go to the grocery store and look at the boxes of granola bars, carefully reading the ingredients and nutritional information, I always think "well, I might as well buy cookies!" So I am experimenting with making my own chewy granola bars that are actually healthier than what is offered at the store. Most of what's at the store except Kashi also have high fructose corn syrup as a main ingredient. Disgusting! While I LOVE Kashi products, they are expensive.

Pre-heat oven to 400 F
You will need:
3 cups oats (not instant)
3/4 cup wheat germ
1/4 cup flax meal
3/4 seeds (your choice)
1 cup crushed nuts
2/3 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup honey
4 TBS butter
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/2 tsp Kosher salt (if you use salted butter, do NOT add salt)
8 oz dried fruit

** To crush your nuts, put them in a plastic bag and smash them with a mallet, rolling pin, sauce pan etc.

Mix the nuts, oats, wheat germ, seeds in a baking dish with sides Toast them in the oven for 10 – 12 minutes. Stir every few minutes so they don’t burn. Meanwhile, line a glass baking dish (11X13 inches or there abouts) with wax paper. Parchment paper works too.

Lightly spray with nonstick spray Put the brown sugar, honey, butter, vanilla and salt into a sauce pan and bring to a simmer, stirring constantly. By now, your nuts and grains should be toasted, so mix everything in a large bowl. Add dried fruit. Turn off your stove – you don’t need it anymore.

Mix everything REALLY WELL!

Dump your granola mixture into the baking dish.

Fold over the sides of the wax paper or add a sheet on top. PRESS HARD all over the granola. You want to compact it together so that the bars won’t fall apart when you cut them.

Wait 2 – 3 hours or until the granola had totally cooled. Then open the waxed paper. Firmly pressing down with a big knift (not swinging) cut your granola into whatever size you want. You can either wrap in plastic wrap, or store in an air tight container with wax paper in between layers.

OR  you can bake them in the oven at 350 for about 20 minutes.

oats and beans and barley grow

More like cauliflower, broccoli and peas.

My kids were anxious to start the garden, so we started a few plants inside and we will transfer them outside when it's spring time.

We also have oregano and basil trying to grow, but Boo was a little overzealous in watering them, so I'm not sure they will make it.



We also have pumpkin seeds and a few other veggies we like to eat. Their great-grandmother has a huge garden of blueberries and raspberries. She said in the spring we can come and help ourselves to some of the plants, so we will have some fruit as well!

Pumpkin is excited that it will rain tonight "so we can plant the garden tomorrow". Of course, it still being the middle of winter, I explained that we have to wait a couple of months for the season to change.

fresh baked bread

For Christmas I received the wonderful gift of a bread maker! That has been a real money saver. The money I spend on flour and yeast (and other ingredients) is far less than what I would spend on buying bread! With groceries being significantly more expensive here than in Toronto, I have to cut costs where ever I can.

I make my own bread
I buy eggs from a farmer ($2.80/dozen lrg far fresh eggs delivered right to my door!)
This summer I will be planting a veggie, herb and berry garden.
I will also be canning this summer some fruits and preserves that are simply too expensive in the winter. Like peaches that cost $4/lb!

Home Made Laundry Soap

Although this isn't something that you eat, it is very handy.

It is good for ALL kinds of washers - High energy, front load, top load, heavy duty, you name it.

It's fairly easy but a little time consuming. It's very frugal - each batch costs only around $2 to make (works out to about 6 or 7 cents per load).

1 batch will usually last my family of 4 for about 3 or 4 months.


You will need:

a large container of some sort
1 bar Soap
1 cup Arm & Hammer washing soda
1 cup 20 Mule Team Borax
28 cups hot water

Grate (as finely as possible) your soap into a medium saucepan.

Add 6 cups hot water and heat on stove until the soap is dissolved. Remove the pan from heat and add 1 cup washing soda and 1 cup borax. Stir until everything is mixed together well. Pour the soap mixture in your container and add 22 cups of hot water. Stir well and let sit for up to 24 hours.

This makes about 7 litres. After it has set, it will be a sort of gel. Stir it up and then you can transfer it to storage containers if you want. I usually dilute it more at this point so it's a little more pourable.

When you're using this for laundry, you'll probably use about a cup per large load. You need to let it mix with the water before you add whatever you're washing or you might get streaks of residue on your stuff. I usually wash in cold water but I don't think it would be as tricky to use in hot water (because it would dissolve more quickly in hot water).

Vanilla-Almond Granola

6 Cups Rolled Oats (do NOT use instant oats)
1 1/2 Cups Honey
1/2 Cup Flax Meal
1/2 Cup Almond Flour (this is optional)
1/2 Cup Oil
1/2 Cup Sliced Almonds
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/2 tsp pure Almond extract

Pre-Heat the oven to 300F

Mix everything in a bowl. line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Spread granola evenly on the 2 sheets.

Bake for 10 minutes

Turn over granola and turn oven up to 350F

Bake for another 10 - 15 minutes or until golden brown.

Remove from oven and allow to cool. Once cool, break it up as desired and store in an air tight container for about a week.