Tooona

¡Hola Los Blogos!

Did you know that Vanna White is an avid knitter?  Oh yeah?  Well aren't you special!
In case you didn't, she happens to be the spokeswoman for Lion Brand Yarns.  She even has her own line. 

Give me a "Y", Pat.

I found this pattern on the Lion Brand website and was quite surprised. I figured Vanna for a chunky scarf, sensible cardi kinda gal.  Who knew she was into amigurumi??  Amigurumi, according to the oh so reliable Wikipedia is, "the Japanese art of knitting or crocheting small stuffed animals and anthropomorphic creatures. "  This was a crochet pattern and was pretty quick and easy to make.

Just three fish bodies, three tails and the can.

The can takes the longest which is slightly a drag since it's probably the least interesting part, but it wouldn't be nearly so cute without.

I made this for my cat-in-law, Tycho, who lives in Dutchess County NY, and from what I gather, spends the majority of the day sleeping and occasionally stretching.

I'm told he enjoyed it, but really, these levels of cuteness are really meant for the human recipients, aren't they?

Byeeeee.

CORN!

Back again, blogofriends.
I don't know about you, but summer to me means three things:

Wimbledon
Mosquito bites
Corn

I can't even tell you how much I love to eat corn.  Grilled, boiled, steamed... as long as I can sink my teeths into its juicy, succulent flesh, I'm golden.  Get it?  Golden.

Sorry.

The problem with corn is the many annoying layers of amour that must be removed in order to take part in its delicious corniness.  UNTIL NOW!  I don't know where this method has been all my life but let me tell you, it has totally upped my corn game.

Here it is.  Are you ready?  It's super intricate.

Step 1
Take a corn

Step 2
Put said corn into microwave.  Don't peel it, don't shuck it, just leave it the heck alone.

Step 3
Microwave on high for 4 minutes for a smaller cob, 6 minutes for a big fatty.*

 *Note: I guess microwaves are different in their waviness so you might have to fiddle a bit with your times.

Step 4
Take cob out of microwave. USE A POTHOLDER, DUMMY! It's hot!

I didn't mean to yell at you, but yeah, burns.

Step 5
Slice off fat end of cob.  Be sure to cut enough off so that opening is as wide as widest girth of cob.  I know, this is some complex geometry here.

Step 6
Squeeze cob (you still have that potholder on, right?) from skinny end downward.

You might have to jiggle it a little.

jiggle jiggle

Keep squeezin'!

And like some kind of dark magic, VOILA!  A perfectly cooked, perfectly threadless cob o' corn.

Of course this method is not conducive to large crowds, but if you've got a hankering for a few cobs, say at around 11:00 at night (not saying I've ever done this) it's the way to go. Now go forth and get thyself some ears, my friend.

You're welcome.
Byeeeeeee!

Kaka

Happy New Year, yuleblogs!

It's been a crazy fall, but half a dozen Nutcracker performances later, and I finally get a break!  Robiño and I decided to lay low for Christmas and had a nice quiet holiday apart from the furnace crapping out and leaving us huddled around the tiny gas stove for a week. We went to the movies, I cooked real food for a change, and basically vegged out to Storage Wars all day. 

Christmas dinner was pot roast and for dessert I tried out a new recipe I found online for a Swedish almond cake called... wait for it... Toscakaka. 

It's a basic moist white cake on the bottom with an amazing caramel almond party on top.  The recipe was pretty easy to make and the results are much more impressive looking than the effort.  Never a bad thing. 

Mmmmm... kaka.

Sorry I don't have conversions for this one since I have a scale and can do the whole metric thing. I'm sure equivalents can be found online.  Oh, and if you have buttermilk around you don't need the milk and lemon juice at the beginning of the recipe.   

Byeeeee!

Toscakaka (Swedish Caramel Almond Cake) (adapted from Signe Johansen's Scandilicious Baking) 

For the cake: 

70ml milk 

1 tsp lemon juice 

75g unsalted butter 

3 eggs 150g caster sugar 

1 tsp almond extract 

150g plain flour 

1 tsp baking powder 

1/4 tsp fine sea salt 

For the topping: 

150g flaked almonds 

125g butter 

125g light brown sugar 

50ml milk 

1/2 tsp sea salt 

1/2 tsp almond extract

Preheat oven to 160C/320F. Grease a deep 9" round tin (preferably with a removable bottom) and line the bottom with baking parchment. Stir the lemon juice into the milk and leave to sit (to make buttermilk, you can replace with 75ml if you have it on hand). Toast the almond flakes in a oven tray for 5-7 minutes until they're a light golden brown, then set aside. Melt the butter for the cake in a saucepan then pour into a bowl and leave to cool (keep the pan to use later). Whip the eggs, sugar and almond extract together on medium-high for 5 minutes, until the mixture is a yellowy-cream colour and very thick. While it whisks, sieve the flour, baking powder and salt together. Sieve 1/3 of the flour mixture over the egg bowl then gently fold in with a big metal spoon or large spatula. Drizzle half of the milk over the top and fold in. Repeat with the next 1/3 of flour, the rest of the milk, then the rest of the flour. Finally drizzle half of the butter over the top, fold in, then repeat with the remaining butter. Be gentle but thorough, scraping the bottom - it's easy to get little pockets of flour. Carefully transfer to the tin. Tap on the counter once to remove any big air bubbles. 

Bake for 25-30 minutes until golden and set - when 15 minutes have gone, start making the topping. Place the toasted almonds, butter, sugar, milk, salt and almond extract into the saucepan and stir as the butter melts. Keep heating for a few minutes - it should bubble and thicken slightly. Turn the oven up to 200C/390F, then remove the cake to a rack and pour the glaze over the top. Spread the almonds out into an even layer. Place in the top of the oven and bake for 8-10 minutes until the glaze is dark brown and bubbling. Cool for a few minutes then slide a knife around the edge of the tin to loosen it and remove the cake to a rack. 

3 Little Dresses

Yes, blogfans, I am alive.   I have been trying to keep up my reputation as the world's worst blogger.  Have I succeeded?   (don't answer that)

Truth be told, I've been super busy with all kinds of uncrafty, not so interesting things so I haven't had time to devote to this blog.  I have a lot going on in my life right now, but rather than bore you with details I will just plead the fifth for now.  Let's just say I'm contemplating major, life-changing decisions, and I'd rather just talk about food and sewing and stuff instead.

So.  I am taking a trip to Boston this weekend to visit some dear friends.  Two of them just had a bébé (named Jane) and so of course I had to make her a new dress.  The other friends I've known since college and have two beautiful girls now, one of which is Babs, who you may know from such blogposts as this one or this one.  She is all grown up now (well, she's 4) and I've never met her little sister, Holly, who is now 2.

I have to give a big shout out to Rae from Made By Rae who designed this pattern, named Geranium Dress.  It was a "downloadable" which I don't normally like to get because you have to print out the pattern yourself and assemble it and sometimes things get dicey.  This one, however, was really straightforward and easy to put together.  I printed out three different sizes and assembled them so I speak from experience here, people.  The pattern is super simple but still has a lot of nice details.  There are options for the neckline, as you will see.  There are optional skirts (gathered or pleated) and optional sleeve designs.  The larger sizes have side pockets (not shown) which I love.  What's better than a dress with pockets?  NOTHING, I SAY!

Exhibit A:
Babs' dress, size 4T.  Fabric: "Geneva" in Coral by Hoffman Fabrics.

Front 

 Front detail.  Little notch.

Back.

 Back detail. Lilac buttons.

Exhibit B:
Holly's dress, size 2.  Fabric: "Sugar and Spice" in Argyle Blue by Riley Blake.

Front.

 Front detail.  V notch.

 Back.

Back detail.  Red buttons.

Exhibit C:

Baby Jane's dress, size 12 months.   Fabric: "Charleston Farmhouse" in Parchment by Felicity Miller.  BTW, I was kind of obsessed with this fabric and almost didn't give the dress away because I'm a freak and didn't want to part with it.  Is it not to cutest/coolest print ever??

 Front. 

Front detail.  No notch, too small.

Back.

 Back detail.  Coral colored buttons (and I didn't have three buttons that matched, but who cares?).

So that's the story, friends.  It felt really great to be sewing again and even greater to be posting a blog about it.  Until the next one (or the next millennium)...

Byeeeee!

 

Bunnykins

Happy Friday!
I have a fast little project for the one year old in your life.  I made this for my friend's daughter's first birthday.  She seemed more interested in the tissue paper from whence it came but, oh well. Those one year olds are tough customers.
I got the idea and pattern from the Chubby Hobby blog.  It's called the "Ballet Bunny Plush" which is why I clicked on it of course.  I don't really see why it's a ballet bunny but it's still pretty darn cute.  I made a few little tweaks to the design because I didn't have the same fabric on hand.
I decided to use fleece instead of the muslin-type fabric she used.  So I printed out the template and cut out my pieces like so.

Since my floral fabric was considerably thinner than the fleece I ironed on some leftover fusible fleece I had.

 

In the tutorial, she embroiders the face, arms and tail onto the bunny.  I did the face but then thought it might be nice to applique the arms and tails on. Since I was using fleece I didn't have to worry about fraying edges either which is a plus.  So using the blanket stitch on my sewing machine I sewed those suckers on. 

Can you see the blanket stitch?

I can't see it either, but you'll just have to trust me.  I'm sure you could use a tiny zigzag stitch instead.

The tail.

So I had all my pieces parts done and the legs stuffed.

I sewed it all together then stuffed the body and head.  One important note is that I made this bunny about 3/4 inch bigger all around than the what the pattern said.  When I printed it out it seemed pretty small even before sewing with seam allowances.  I'm really glad I did because stuffing the legs and ears would have been nearly impossible and I have teeny tiny fingers.  So here she is!

Here she is sitting atop my ironing board.

This project was fast and simple--something I'd definitely do again.

Byeeee!

The Queen

Happy Spring, blogospheroids!
I was invited to a lovely dinner party a couple weeks ago and was asked to bring dessert.  I inquired what the main course was going to be which turned out to be that oldie-but-goodie, Beouf Bourgignon.  So upon hearing "Beouf Bourgignon" (buff bore-ging-yawn) the first thing that came to mind was... The Queen!

 No no no. Not that queen, although isn't she cute?  This one:

Yes, folks, for those of you who have been living in a cave, that woman with the fish is Julia Child: The Queen of Cooking.  The woman responsible for bringing french kweezine into the homes of Americans, saving us from a world of chipped beef on toast and Jell-o ham salads.

Mmmm... Jell-o

So I thought if I was going to do it right and honor The Queen, the obvious choice of desserts would be Julia's famous "Reine de Saba" or "Queen of Sheba" cake.  It's a very dense, very moist, quite stout little cake, made of chocolate, almonds, and rum.  What's not to like there, right?

I got a slightly modified version from the interwebs that simplified the mixing process and went to work.

I do believe that almond extract has 0 calories.

I whipped up the cake pretty easily, popped it in the oven, and voila!

Agh!

I should have taken a picture of what really happened which was that, upon turning out the cake, the middle portion decided to remain stuck to the pan, while the outer edge came out rather cleanly. I was basically left with a giant chocolate donut and a few tears. I scooped out the very gooey center from the pan and attempted to shove it back into the center of the cake (shown above). Obviously, this was not going as planned.

This cake recipe is rather tricky in that it's not the usual "cook it until the toothpick comes out clean" situation. It's supposed to be slightly "underdone" which is a very hard thing to gauge as it forms that kind of shiny, brownie crust on the top so you can't really tell what's going on underneath.

This disaster was entirely my fault, though. I left my pizza stone in the oven like an idiot so of course the bottom of the cake did not get the direct heat it should have gotten. But you know what? Cooks make mistakes—I certainly have made more than a few—and I think it's only fair to share that with the world. No need going around thinking everyone else can follow recipes and turn out perfect food every time when that's simply not true.

Here's what you do. Option A: go out to Price Chopper and buy a ready made cake and tell everyone your house burned down, otherwise you would have baked a wildly amazing dessert. Option B: try, try again. Since I had enough ingredients, that is exactly what I did. I took the #$%@!&%*$ pizza stone out of the oven and lo and behold:

Parfait!

Those holes you see are from me obsessively poking it to determine whether it was just the right "not quite doneness".  I decided to flip it over for the frosting part which I don't know if that's what one is supposed to do but nonetheless.

Flip.

My frosting came out very light and fluffy.  There are many people who've made this who say the frosting comes out like a glaze or a ganache but for me that wasn't the case.  I really don't know how it's supposed to come out but it was just enough for me to frost this cake with a very modest layer.  I did use a 9" pan instead of an 8" so perhaps that was why the frosting just covered it and could also have been part of the donut disaster.  But really, who has a 8" cake pan??
Anyway, here she is, clothed.

I decided to adorn her with a few sliced almonds and some raspberries.

She was a big hit at the party.  Warning, this cake is a lot richer than you'd think for such a demure, petite little thing so you only need a very slender piece.  We cut this one into 1/8s but even those pieces were a lot to handle (of course I didn't have any problem shoving it down). 

Small but powerful.  Like Mary Lou Retton.

Looks kind of like an alligator, too.

So there you have it.  The Queen of Sheba!

Bon Appetit!

Reine de Saba Cake
adapted from Mastering the Art of French Cooking, by Julia Child, Simone Beck and Louisette Bertholle.

For cake:
4 ounces or squares semisweet chocolate melted with 2 Tb rum or coffee
1/4 lb. or 1 stick softened butter
2/3 cup granulated sugar
3 egg yolks
3 egg whites
Pinch of salt
1 Tb granulated sugar
2/3 cup pulverized almonds
1/4 tsp almond extract
1/2 cup cake flour (scooped and leveled) turned into a sifter

For the Icing:
2 ounces (2 squares) semisweet baking chocolate
2 Tb rum or coffee
5 to 6 Tb unsalted butter

Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C). Butter and flour a 8" cake pan. Set the chocolate and rum or coffee in a small pan, cover, and place (off heat) in a larger pan of almost simmering water; let melt while you proceed with the recipe. Measure out the rest of the ingredients. Cream the butter and sugar together for several minutes until they form a pale yellow, fluffy mixture.

Beat in the egg yolks until well blended.

Beat the egg whites and salt in a separate bowl until soft peaks are formed; sprinkle on the sugar and beat until stiff peaks are formed.

With a rubber spatula, blend the melted chocolate into the butter and sugar mixture, then stir in almonds, and almond extract. Immediately stir one fourth of the beaten egg whites to lighten the batter. Delicately fold in a third of the remaining whites and when partially blended, sift on one third of the flour and continue folding. Alternate rapidly with more egg whites and more flour until all egg whites and flour are incorporated.

Turn the batter into the cake pan, pushing the batter up to its rim with a rubber spatula. Bake in middle level of preheated oven for about 25 minutes. Cake is done when it has puffed, and 2-1/2 to 3 inches around the circumference are set so that a needle plunged into that area comes out clean; the center should move slightly if the pan is shaken, and a needle comes out oily.

Allow cake to cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Run knife around the edge of the pan, and reverse cake on the rack. Allow it to cool for an hour or two; it must be thoroughly cold if it is to be iced.

For the Icing:
Place the chocolate and rum or coffee in the small pan, cover, and set in the larger pan of almost simmering water. Remove pans from heat and let chocolate melt for 5 minutes or so, until perfectly smooth. Lift chocolate pan out of the hot water, and beat in the butter a tablespoon at a time. Then beat over the ice and water until chocolate mixture has cooled to spreading consistency. At once spread it over your cake with spatula or knife, and press a design of almonds over the icing.