The Holy Grail of Baking

Well I finally did it….I took the macaron plunge, and now there’s no looking back. They are the cutest cookies I’ve ever laid my eyes on and they’ve worked their way into my heart.

They are fairly easy to make, but I say that after my 1st 2 attempts at meringue failed. How does that even happen? meringue is something I make all the time for my buttercream frostings! Thankfully I caught it before I added it to the almond flour. Seeing as almond flour is almost 12.00 for 400 grams, I’m glad I caught the mistake before rather than after.

So I tried Ms Humble’s recipe and I really do like the way they turned out. Do I wish the feet were bigger, and the tops were rounder? absolutely. But I got feet, and the tops ere smooth and “eggshell-like”.

These are filled with a vanilla buttercream, a recipe I tried from Tartelette’s fabulous recipe collection. I plan on trying her mac recipe next, but as she says on her blog….if you find a recipe that works for you, stick with it.

Oh…some other things I noticed. I stacked my pans, which really did make a difference, I feel, but the bottom rack yielded MUCH better results than the top rack. In fact every mac from the top stuck. booooo. First batch (teal ones) had beaks as well. If that happens to you, give the batter a couple more turns and it will thin out enough to stop that from happening. I was terribly scared that my meringue would fall that first batch that I didn’t mix them enough.

Anyway…enjoy the pictures:

What a week!

I don’t really know where to start with this week. It was so up, down, left, right…it’s amazing I’m not crossed-eyed. Last weekend classes started up for me, so come Sunday, I was exhausted. My professors are great, and I’m so lucky to have me the girls I have during last semester. These are friendships that I appreciate. Their support, jokes and laughter help me get through the semester, and I’m sure it will be the same for this one.
So on Sunday, I wanted to make cookies….and I really wanted something lemony. Sadly, I couldn’t find very many “cute” lemon cookies. Just when I was about to give up, I went to Cannelle et Vanille’s site and stumbled on a very darling lemon spritz with lemony buttercream. First attempt=bizarrely horrible. I know that it had to have been user error because I tried the recipe again and it turned out lovely. I was sad, though, because I wasn’t able to pipe them into rosettes like the recipe suggested. That was some stiff batter and my hand was sore after piping 3 out. I ended up making little shortbreads instead.

Spent lunch with my besties, Becky and Lindsey…PS Linds is getting married in July and I’m making cookies as wedding favors in lieu of a gift. She had such a great idea to bake one type of German and one type of Polish to pay tribute to her and Josh’s heritages. love that idea!!! That is going to be a beautiful day, and I just can’t wait.

Onward! Tuesday I had my tarot cards read. whoa. I’ve always wanted to, but have been pretty skeptical about it. I’m no longer a skeptic. It was a really cool experience and very enlightening. As a result, I’ve taken up yoga! Had my first class on Wednesday. So great. Halley at Halleybird Studios is amazing. Super bubbly, refreshing, supportive. I love it there and can’t wait until this Wednesday.

Friday brought news at work that I’m pretty excited about. I was recently promoted to a Sr Purchasing Specialist, and now I’m making a lateral move out of a Purchasing role onto an escalation team that works primarily on invoice and supplier issues. I’m so excited about the new role and I’m confident that it’ll be a good move for me. I really feel blessed to have such an amazing career. Who would’ve thought I’d be in this point in my career 3 years ago when I was bouncing around from job to job?

Anyway, enough reminiscing and tooting of my own horn. This weekend I’ll be attempting macarons, so wish me luck!!

Coconut Cake with Swiss Meringue Buttercream

So I bought a book, Rose’s Heavenly Cakes, and decided to make a coconut cake. Just really wanted coconut. The cake is delicious, but the frosting. THE FROSTING. it’s a swiss meringue buttercream….shit. i wish you could taste this. Can I also say 2 more things? Thanks. Rose is a genius. A fricking cake-making genius. Second….stop using measuring cups. Throw them out and start weighing your ingredients. I can’t believe what a difference it made. For example, the recipe called for 6 egg whites, or “x” ounces. I weighed them out, and it turned out to only need 5! Anywho. Get a kitchen scale. Stat.

kinda pissed..bought 2 coconuts and this one was rotten on the inside. Still looks pretty.

Vericomposting

It was a very wormy Christmas this year for the Lamon/Smeiska family…ok who am I kidding? it was just the Lamons who had a very wormy Christmas this year. I know, I know, this deserves an explanation. Perhaps a big one?
A few months ago, my dad acquired his Master Gardener’s license…something I’m proud of him for. A month, or so, before Christmas I got a call. “Jodi, I saw the coolest thing..this lady kept worms as pets…indoors….vermicompost!!!!!!!!!” I was only partially listening because of 2 reason. 1. I was doing homework and couldn’t be bothered with a phone call, and B. who really gets excited about worms?! I’ll eat my words now, but first let me finish my “wormy Christmas” story.
When contemplating what to get my father for Christmas, a few things came to mind…you know the typical dad gifts-socks, chocolate, gadgets, fishing things. But then, allofasudden, I had perhaps the best idea to have ever graced my feeble mind. A WORM FARM! yes…I must buy my dad a worm farm. He would love it! So, *ahem*the week before Christmas *ahem* I navigated to Amazon (you know, the place we go for worm farms/accessories?) and purchased *cue dramatic music* THE WORM FARM 9000. Ok, I don’t know if the “9000″ was part of the title, but by-golly I’m going to keep calling it that.
2 days before Christmas, a big box arrives. Wait. I should back up a little bit. I told my mom what we had bought for my dad for Christmas, to which she responded….”he’s already made his own.” Well shit…what am *I* going to do with a stinkin’ (they don’t stink, btw) worm farm?
Well I wrapped that sucker up and shoved it under the tree for Christmas morning’s gift exchange. Although he had farms of his own, none of his included the masterminded “spiggot” function. wahooo. He was pretty excited. We were very happy he liked his present because…well what the hell would we do with a worm farm?
So now it is my turn to open the gift from my mom and dad. Big box…”THIS IS GONNA BE GOOD,” I thought. I tore it open, and it was a large Rubbermaid container. Okay…what’s the joke here? I opened it up…and it was….a worm farm of my very own.
*sigh* I must say that I wasn’t too excited about having worms in my house, but they’ve grown on me somewhat. I even felt bad for the little guys when half of them tried to commit mass worm suicide because the farm was either too wet, or anaerobic. They’ve wiggled their way into my heart so much so, that they are now residing in our bath tub. Well not directly…their container is.
Something you might not know about worms is that their skin is photosensitive…meaning they hate light. So, by placing their home under a light 24/7, it kept them from crawling out. (thanktheheavensabove)
We’ve since turned the light off at night and only have a couple renegade worms attempting to crawl out.
Which leads me to this morning. For whatever reason, I started getting concerned that the little guys (I’ll call them collectively Roger) had all died. So i grabbed a stick, hey I’m still a girl, and started rummaging through the castings and wet papers trying to find some sign of life. Nothing. ROGER HAD DIED!!!!
…
Then I started digging in the corner. It happened to be the last place I had given Roger food. Holy cow. So apparently worms form balls around food when they are in a sort of feeding frenzy. It was crazy. Big worms, small worms…ROGER WAS ALIVE AND WELL! *whew* My dad won’t kill me.
So what I’m trying to say is…get a worm farm. It will be the best thing you do for the environment and your garden. These bad boys…I mean Roger, can eat up to half their body weight PER DAY! That is amazing. And they don’t stink. Except for the corner that my parents originally fed them in. It had turned anaerobic (lack of oxygen) due to the worms not eating the food that had been given to them. I removed the yuckiness that was left in that corner, added some fresh bedding and another pound of food, since they had already consumed all of what I had left them last week.
So what are you still doing here reading? Go buy a worm farm!

ahunka hunka banana bread

Yeah I know…poor pun, but in remembrance of “the king”, I made a, now wait for it, peanut butter, chocolate chip, banana bread. This dense cake was finger-licking delicious and could possibly have been the non-publicized cause of the king’s death.

Roasted Banana Cupcakes with Salted Caramel Frosting

My first baking endeavor of 2010 and I can honestly say I am not disappointed in the least. I’d consider these a more “grown-up” cupcake with the salted caramel frosting adding a depth that a typical cream cheese or buttercream doesn’t. I ended up having to substitute vanilla yogurt (won’t do it again, but ended up ok) for the sour cream, and it turned out alright. I think they’d be even moister – if that is POSSIBLE – with the use of a full fat sour cream or yogurt. Here are some pictures to instigate salivation:


Can I also say how much I love our china?

XOXOXO
Jodi

2010

2009 proved to be a difficult year for me, and since I pass my emotions onto others so easily, I know it was also difficult for Kurt.
Not only did I lose a good friend (growing apart sucks) but I lost my aunt to cancer as well. My family’s hearts have been very heavy with grief this year having lost not only my Aunt, but also her husband (not through death). Death tends to bring families closer of push them further apart. We’ve experienced both of these within our family. Mourning has been difficult amidst the drama, and sadly it will continue into 2010. Trying to maintain a smile on one’s face when you are crying on the inside is never easy. Each day brings smiles and tears as we remember the good times with her.
This year has also been hard for Kurt and I in our quest to start a family. Who knew it would be this hard? For every time I hear “everything happens for a reason” or “it will happen when it’s time” I go deeper and deeper into this downward spiral or anger and frustration. 2010 will bring more doctor appointments and possibly other doors opening for us.
Enough focusing on the negative though. We both have our health, jobs, home…our parents are supportive and involved in our lives. Kurt got a 4.0 his first semester and a 3.9 the second, and I passed all my classes. Since I’m attending a pass/fail style school, I’ll consider myself as achieving a 4.0.
May this year fill you all with happiness so much so that the sorrow has no place in your hearts.

Love, Jodi and Kurt

RIP Patty Kelly. You are missed by so many people, and our hearts are not complete without you.

Fall Cookies

So after years of being jealous of Anne’s talents with royal icing, I broke down and made some sugar cookies with my own royal icing. Yeah…I’m still jealous of Anne. Mine turned out ok, but you can definitely tell that they are a beginner’s work. Here are some pictures:

Bacon, bacon everywhere…

So this is more of a rant than anything else. What is the obsession with bacon lately? Why are amazing bakers insisting on adding bacon to things like chocolate ice cream and cake? Is our cholesterol not high enough? Are we not obese enough?!? ARE THERE NO OTHER ENVELOPES TO PUSH?! omg. **deep breath** Here are some recipes I’ve stumbled across the past couple of days that include bacon. blurgh.

on Cakespy:
Chocolate Bacon Ice Cream

Ingredients:

1 cup whole milk (I used Organic Rice Milk, pick your variation, but the less fat, the less creamy)
6 ounces of bittersweet or semisweet chocolate
2 cups low-fat vanilla yogurt (I used Organic Greek Yogurt to make up for the thin Rice Milk)
1/4 cup sugar (Organic)
6 strips of organic bacon
6 tablespoons organic brown sugar

Does using “organic” ingredients suddenly make this recipe better for you? yikes….

Oh boy. How about a chocolate bacon whoopie pie? This is from g-ma’s bakery.

I think I need to quit while I still have food in my stomach, otherwise this may not end well for my computer screen.

Destination: Procrastination

Ugh. I need to get over waiting until the last minute to do things. Here it is Tuesday already. Parents are coming into town Friday, which means I need to clean. Plus I have class this weekend, which equals a freaking ton of homework, including a speech.

help?