Monthly Archives: July 2017

Friday Book Whimsy: The School of Essential Ingredients

Posted in Book Reviews by

Erica Bauermeister’s novel,The School of Essential Ingredients, SHOULD have been a book that I really enjoyed. It is all about food and cooking and how the two can shape your life, and that is something I believe and about which I enjoy reading. And in fact, the story started out grabbing my attention.

Lillian is a successful chef and restaurant owner, who once a month closes her restaurant and teaches cooking classes. The classes, however, are not just about food and the preparation of meals. She believes (as do I) that good food and friends and family gathered around the table are essential ingredients for a happy life. So her classes were as much about enjoying life and friends and family as they were about preparing food.

So about the first third of the book, as Bauermeister introduced us to the characters, I was all in. I liked the variety of people and life backgrounds and reasons for taking a cooking class. But unfortunately, it didn’t take long before the characters all started seeming exactly the same. They even talked the same.

I am more than willing to suspend reality when reading a novel. But the class consisted of eight people, all of whom it seemed had lives that were coming apart at the seams. But after a class or two, and upon learning the proper way to prepare a roast turkey, their lives changed. No matter their background, suddenly they develop a suburb nose for good wine. They can differentiate between different herbs and spices in a dish simply by a single taste.  All this in a couple of classes.

Bauermeister’s writing is flowery and reminded me of drinking a wine that is just a little too sweet for the meal being eaten. Her characters ended up being boring and annoying, at least to this reader. By the end, I wanted one of them to take a taste of something and not like it. It didn’t happen.

I don’t think I will attempt another of the author’s food books. I’m not that hungry.

Here is a link to the book.

Thursday Thoughts

Posted in Whimsies by

Scream for Ice Cream
If you read yesterday’s post, you will have learned that I’m the sort of cook/baker who uses salt instead of sugar or forgets to add the chocolate chips to chocolate chip cookies. Well, maybe not quite as bad as that, but I am forgetful. However, one of my favorite activities with the grandkids is making homemade ice cream. To that end, I own not one, but two, ice cream makers. One has a single one-and-a-half quart canister and the other has two one-quart canisters. The other day, Maggie Faith and I decided to make three flavors — one chocolate, one vanilla with caramel, and one birthday cake batter flavored. The latter was Maggie Faith’s idea. Knowing my family well, I elected to use the larger ice cream maker for the chocolate, and then made vanilla and cake batter in the two smaller canisters. The chocolate ice cream froze just as it was supposed to; however, neither ice cream in the double canister maker froze. I was puzzled, because it seemed to be running just fine. It wasn’t until much later that I realized that the reason the ice creams weren’t freezing is because there were no paddles churning the ice creams. Since then, I have searched my house from top to bottom to no avail. Both paddles are missing in action. Still, Maggie was able to enjoy the fruits of the chocolate ice cream labor…..

Explosions in the Sky
Like nearly every other American, we celebrated Independence Day with great vigor. On Independence Day Eve (also known unceremoniously as July 3), we met Allen and Emma at Civic Center Park between the City and County Building and the State Capitol to picnic and watch fireworks. Bill and I took Dagny and Maggie Faith along with us to enjoy the evening. We nibbled on fruit and cheese and meat and cookies while listening to a welcome from our Governor, who frankly sounded as though he might have been enjoying some of the beverages from his own brew pub, particularly when he told us all to “enjoy the explosions in the sky.” Whatever. He has a right to have fun too. Maggie was very patriotic….

Grand Finale
For the July 4th holiday, Bill and I did as we always do, which is celebrate with Jen and her crew. Maggie and Mark and the kids always visit from AZ during this period of time, and BJ always joins us as well. Here were two of my contributions to the meal….

We end our day of celebration at the Fort Collins city fireworks. The firework show is always impressive, but I will tell you that this year the City Officials out-officialed themselves. The show was stupendous, and it ended with what I believe was the most magnificent grand finale I have ever seen.

Time to Duck?
Bill and I always spend the night of July 4 in Fort Collins, since the fireworks show gets over late. This year, we stayed at the La Quinta Inn. We checked in early, and then spent the rest of the day at Jen’s and at fireworks. We told everyone just how nice we thought the hotel seemed. The staff was friendly and the hotel was clean and bright. When we awoke this morning, Bill opened the curtains and found this…..

Yes, Ladies and Gentlemen. Our hotel window had what appeared to be a hole from a gunshot. I spent considerable time trying to think of alternative possibilities — a hailstone gone awry, a very strong person tossing a stone at the second story window. At the end of the day, however, gunshot seems to be the only logical solution. Sigh.

Ciao.

Baking Angels

Posted in Desserts, Recipes, Whimsies by

My dad was a professional baker, as was his dad before him. My brother baked with Dad from the time he was old enough to hold a rolling pin in his chubby little toddler hands. He has worked in the baking industry his entire life, and still does. My sister Jen says she can’t bake a lick, though I’m not entirely sure that is true. My sister Bec is the one in our family who we count on when we want baked items at our family gatherings. Bundt cakes and brownies are her specialties. Ask Bill, who enjoys the fruits of her labors.

As for me, I absolutely LOVE to bake. However, for the most part, I stink at it. There you have it. My name’s Kris, and I’m a Horrible-Baker-Who-Should-Be-Better-Because-My-Dad-Owned-A-Bakery. Maybe there’s a support group.

So, now that I’ve given you background, let me tell you a story.

The other day I got a hankering for biscotti. You know, those hard cookies that you dunk in coffee or tea, or if you’re in Italy, maybe Vino Santo after a wonderful dinner al fresco. My favorite biscotti recipe comes from Giada di Laurentis, but they contain pistachios (yum) and dried cherries or cranberries. Though I shouldn’t eat the dried fruit, I could possibly let that slide; however, the pistachios are a firm no-go on my low fiber diet, no matter how delicious they are.

So I got the notion to bake chocolate biscotti. I knew Bill would be happy, and I was confident I could find a recipe for chocolate biscotti without nuts. And so I did, Double Chocolate Biscotti from Once Upon a Chef blog.

Biscotti are not terribly hard to make. The trick is that you mix the dough, form it into a log, and bake it for a half hour or so. You then remove the baked dough from the oven and slice them into the familiar biscotti shape. Then, bake them again for 10 minutes or so, until they sort of dry out and become hard.

The reason I’m a sort of hit-or-miss baker is because I’m sloppy and apparently quite forgetful. I’ve always been sloppy; I grow more and more forgetful as I grow older.

So, using my beloved Kitchen Aid mixer, I mixed the ingredients, all of which, surprisingly, were in my pantry. I took the sticky dough and formed it into two carefully shaped logs. I was about to put them in the preheated oven when the guardian angel in charge of food preparation landed on my shoulder and said, “You forgot to put in the chocolate chips, Stupid.” Who knew angels used such hurtful language?

So here was my conundrum. The logs were beautiful, glistening with chocolaty goodness. As I saw it, these were my two choices: 1) Dismantle the logs and put the dough back in the Kitchen Aid mixer, add the chocolate chips, and re-form into new logs; or 2) Change the name from Double Chocolate Biscotti to simply Chocolate Biscotti and don’t do a damn thing…..

As you will see from the photo, I chose the former solution. I just could picture Bill’s face when he bit into a soft chocolate chip in his cookie. These are doubly chocolaty delicious, he was bound to say…..

Double Chocolate Biscotti

Ingredients
1-3/4 c. plus 2 T flour, measured carefully
¼ c. plus 2 T unsweetened cocoa powder
1 t. baking soda
¾ t. salt
1 stick butter, at room temperature
¾ c. plus 2 T granulated sugar
2 eggs
2 t. vanilla
1 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips

Process
Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt.
In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar until fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each egg and scraping bowl with a spatula. Add the vanilla. Then add the dry ingredients and chocolate chips and mix on low speed until just combined.

Dust a work surface with flour. Scrape the sticky dough out onto the work surface and dust the top of the dough to make it workable. Shape the dough into a ball and cut in half. Form each half into a log, and place on the parchment-lined cookie sheet. Shape into longer logs about ¾ in. high and 2 in. wide. Allow enough space for the logs to spread a bit while they bake.

Bake for about 35 minutes, until firm to the touch. Let the biscotti logs cool on the pan for about 5 minutes. Carefully remove logs onto a cutting board. Using a serrated knife, slice the logs on the diagonal into ¾ in. slices. Don’t worry if they crumble a bit.  Put the cookies back onto the cookie sheet on their sides (cut sides down), and place back in the oven for 10 minutes to dry and harden. Cool on the pan for a few minutes; then transfer to a cooling rack until completely cool.

God Shed His Grace

Posted in Whimsies by

O beautiful for spacious skies,
For amber waves of grain,
For purple mountain majesties
Above the fruited plain!
America! America!
God shed His grace on thee
And crown thy good with brotherhood
From sea to shining sea!

Yesterday in church, our recessional song was America the Beautiful. I, of course, cried, as I do every time I hear that song sung, especially in church for some reason. I wish I didn’t cry, because it prevents me from belting out the song as I would if tears weren’t rolling down my cheek. It is sung every Sunday closest to the Fourth of July at most churches.

Yesterday, when I should have been listening to the homily — but wasn’t because our priest is from India and reads his homily thereby resulting in my mind wandering and Bill’s eyes closing — I was instead thinking about freedom.

I can only speak for myself, though I suspect I speak for many Americans, but I take freedom for granted. I get up every morning and look at the news on my iPad. If I didn’t like what they said, I could post my disagreement on social media, or write an opinion letter. If I want, I could go to church. In fact, if I wanted, I could go to a synagogue or a mosque. All of my grandkids – boys and girls – will have the opportunity to go to school, and it’s free. I can go to a library and check out all sorts of books, even books that are anti-government, and they’re free.

For heaven’s sake, a Hollywood entertainer posted a picture of herself holding a facsimile of our president’s decapitated head on social media. There was an appropriate amount of pushback, but as far as I know, she wasn’t imprisoned or put to death herself. Imagine if something like that happened in many of the countries around the world even today. Imagine if a Chinese man or woman posted a picture on Facebook of himself/herself holding the head of Chairman Mao. Oh, that’s right. China doesn’t allow Facebook.

And not only do I take freedom for granted, I also take for granted all of the people who fought in wars, and who continue to fight in wars, so that all of those freedoms we take for granted remain part of our lives in the United States of America. Brave men fought for our freedom from the British in the Revolutionary War, creating the United States, and cementing its Bill of Rights. Young people fought and even gave their lives during two world wars to keep America — and our friends in Europe – free. Wars continue, sad to say. But brave men and women are responsible for the lives we live without giving freedom a second thought.

I hope tomorrow, amidst the hamburgers and hot dogs, the red, white, and blue desserts, and the fireworks, I take a bit of time to thank God for making me an American, and for all of the blessings he has given our great country.

Here are the rest of the words to my favorite American hymn….

O beautiful for pilgrim feet,
Whose stern, impassioned stress
A thoroughfare for freedom beat
Across the wilderness!
America! America!
God mend thine every flaw,
Confirm thy soul in self-control,
Thy liberty in law!

O beautiful for heroes proved
In liberating strife,
Who more than self their country loved
And mercy more than life!
America! America!
May God thy gold refine,
Till all success be nobleness,
And every gain divine!

O beautiful for patriot dream
That sees beyond the years
Thine alabaster cities gleam
Undimmed by human tears!
America! America!
God shed His grace on thee
And crown thy good with brotherhood
From sea to shining sea!

This post linked to the GRAND Social

Saturday Smile: Say Cheeeeeez

Posted in Whimsies by

All of my grands can swim (or in Cole’s case, is learning to swim). As a non-swimmer who is too scared to learn to swim (though most of my grandkids have offered to teach me), I am happy that they all can enjoy the water and be safe. But I believe every last one of them wears goggles if going underwater. Most insist on it, I believe. And I don’t blame them, because I wouldn’t like getting water in my eyes either.

My niece Maggie is also making certain that Austin and Lilly can swim. They are both taking lessons. Apparently wearing goggles is optional for those two…..

And it amused the heck out of me when I saw this photo. Apparently, if you are as much of a ham as Lilly, when a camera is in the vicinity and you’re told to say cheese, you smile for the camera like a supermodel, no matter your circumstances…..

Say cheese, indeed.

Have a great weekend.