There is an ideal way to do things, and then there is the way you actually end up doing them.

I’ve been doing this project with my kids for years.  Usually I do it right, mixing up frosting and gluing the little houses together ahead of time so that the kids can decorate them later, when they’re dry and sturdy.  This year, friends came over and I didn’t have any frosting mixed up, so I let the kids put the houses together with spray-can frosting and decorate them an hour or so later.  There was lots of shoddy construction and many walls collapsed and had to be pushed back up and reinforced with candy canes, but it didn’t really matter.   The kids loved it as much as ever.

To make graham cracker cottages, you will need graham crackers, paper plates, spray-on frosting in cans (the kind that comes with plastic decorating tips) and lots of candy to decorate with.  Making your own frosting is simple too.  I’ll include the recipes at the end of this post! For the hard frosting used to glue the crackers together, you’ll need powdered sugar, egg whites (I’d recommend pasteurized eggs), and cream of tartar. For the softer decorating frosting, you’ll need powdered sugar, butter, and a little milk.  If you make your own frosting, don’t forget to have a pastry tube and decorating tips for applying the frosting to the graham crackers!

Building the cottages:  First, break the graham crackers into squares.  Put a dab of frosting (spray-can or egg-white frosting)  on a paper plate and stick a square to the frosting.  Then, pipe frosting around the square (on the plate) and put up four square walls by sort of leaning the crackers together.  Pipe frosting between the cracks to hold the walls together.  Now, pipe frosting around the tops of the walls and lean two graham cracker squares together to form a roof for your cottage. Pipe more frosting at the top of the roof and onto any exposed graham cracker edges to make it look pretty.  If possible, allow the cottage(s) to dry until the frosting is hard.

Decorating the cottages: Have your child pipe spray-can or soft frosting onto the cottage and stick pieces of candy and cookies onto the frosting to decorate the them.  Younger children may need help applying the frosting, but they like to do it themselves, so let them try, even if it doesn’t look perfect!  I always make a cottage that I can decorate too, so I don’t try to take over my kids’ projects.  After all, why should  kids have all the fun?

Royal Icing (for gluing cottage together): To one pound powdered sugar, add three egg whites and 1/2 tsp. cream of tartar.  Beat until firm.  (The more you stir this icing, the firmer it will get.) Cover with a moist cloth until use.

Butter Icing (for decorating): Cream 4 Tbs. butter until very soft.  Add two cups powdered sugar and mix thoroughly.  Add a drop or two of milk at a time if the mixture is too stiff to pipe through your decorating tube.  You want to make it soft enough for your kids to push out easily, but not so runny that it won’t hold its shape.  Don’t worry, you’ll figure it out and it doesn’t have to be perfect!

Separated by a common language, sometimes following recipes in the US / UK can prove difficult if you’re apparently not familiar with the ingredients mentioned.  Here is a simple run-down of equivalents that I hope will help.  Please let me know, by leaving a comment below, if you come across any more and I will include them.

BRITISH VERSION                       AMERICAN VERSION

Aubergine                                        Eggplant

Beans, Broad                                   Fava Beans

Beans, Soy                                       Edamame

Beef, Flank Steak                           London Broil

Beef, Rump Steak                          Beef, Top Round

Bicarbonate of Soda                      Baking Soda

Caster Sugar                                    Granulated Sugar

Cheese, Emental                            Swiss Cheese

Clotted Cream                                No equivalent  (The closest equivalent to this would be to use stiffly whipped heavy cream)

Coriander                                         Cilantro

Cornflour                                         Cornstarch

Courgette                                         Zucchini

Cream, Clotted                               No equivalent  (The closest equivalent to this would be to use stiffly whipped heavy cream)

Cream, Double                                Heavy Cream

Cream, Single                                  Half and half cream

Cream, Whipping                           No equivalent  (Whipping cream has the consistency of single [half and half] cream but with a higher fat content it can be whipped into peaks)

Digestive Biscuits                          Graham Crackers or similar

Flour, Plain                                     All Purpose Flour

Flour, Strong                                  Bread Flour

Flour, Wholemeal                         Flour, Wholewheat

Gelatine                                            Gelatin

Glucose Syrup                                 Light Corn Syrup

Golden Syrup                                   Corn Syrup

Icing Sugar                                       Confectioners’ Sugar

Madras Curry Powder                     Curry Powder

Mince (meat)                                    Ground meat

Mincemeat (for cakes)                    No equivalent  (A ‘preserve’ or mix of finely chopped fruits like apple, raisins, sultanas and citrus peel, with shreds of suet – often used in ‘Mince Pies’)

Pastry Case                                         Pie Shell

Pine Kernel                                         Pine Nut

Plain Flour                                          All purpose flour

Polenta                                                 Cornmeal

Salad Onion                                         Spring Onion, Scallion

Self-raising flour                                No equivalent  (Substitute All Purpose Flour with a raising agent)

Swede                                                   Rutabega

Tomato Puree                                    Tomato Paste

Vanilla Essence                                  Vanilla Extract

Vegetables:  Beans, Broad                 Fava beans

                              Beans, Soy              Edamame

                               Courgettes             Zucchini

                               Swede                     Rutabaga

Whipping Cream                                Heavy cream  (Whipping cream has the consistency of single (half and half) cream but with a higher fat content can be whipped into peaks)

One of my favourite applications for the iPhone in regards to recipe ideas is the Whole Foods Market iPhone app. I don’t really shop at that grocery store, but they have some amazing ideas on their website! I tried out this recipe, and was so happy with it! If a gingerbread man and a graham cracker were mixed together, this is what you’d get! For Christmas time, you can even sprinkle some red sugar sprinkles onto the cookies prior to putting them into the oven, or even decorate them with some icing.  This recipe was adapted from the full 24 cookie recipe on the Whole Foods Market recipe application for the iPhone, and makes 12 small to medium-sized cookies. (Note: in the original recipe, for 24 cookies it calls for only 2 eggwhites. For this half-sized version of the recipe, I had to keep the egg white quantity at 2 because the dough was too crumbly and fell apart when kneading.)

Graham Cracker Cookies

Ingredients: 

• 156 g flour (whole wheat or unbleached)
• 1 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 each baking soda and salt
• 1 tbsp cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
• 2 egg whites
• 3 tbsp brown sugar
• 1 tbsp liquid honey
• 1/2 tbsp vanilla

Glaze:

• 1 egg white set aside in a bowl
• 1 tbsp white sugar
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp brown sugar
• mix the sugars and cinnamon in a small bowl, and set aside. 

Method:

• pre-heat oven to 350 degrees farenheit. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside. 
• In a large bowl, whisk together flour, cinnamon, baking soda and salt. Add butter and work into the flour with your finger tips until completely incorporated and mixture resembles fine meal. In a medium bowl, whisk together the 2 egg whites, brown sugar, honey and vanilla. Add this to the flour mixture and stir until a sticky dough forms. 
• Turn the dough out onto a very well floured surface and roll out into a (10-inch) square that is about 1/4 inch thick. Cut into 6 squares, then cut each square in half-length ways or on an angle. (Or even use a cookie cutter for different shapes!) Transfer onto prepared baking sheet about 1 cm apart.
• Lightly and carefully brush the tops of each cookie with the egg white you have set aside in the bowl. Ensure you don’t allow any egg white to get onto the parchment paper, otherwise the cookies will stick. Sprinkle the cinnamon sugar mixture lightly over each cookie. Bake until a darker shade of brown and fragrant, for about 14 minutes. (Check the cookies after 12 minutes.) Set aside to cool completely before serving. The cookies will harden as they cool. 

Graham Cracker Cookies

For my friend’s birthday, he wanted a plain cheesecake with cherry pie filling as a topping. I made him a cheesecake homemade but the one part of the cheesecake I found to be the best part of making homemade was the crust.

Instead of buying a pre-made graham cracker pie crust, I made my own. Having never made a cheesecake on my own, I looked to the internet for a recipe in which I could make the pie crust. I found an easy-to-make recipe on about.com.

The recipe is as follows:

Here’s How:

1. In a small saucepan or the microwave, melt 6 tablespoons of butter.
2. Place about 24 graham crackers in a plastic bag. Roll with a rolling pin until finely crushed. This may be done in small batches.
3. Measure 1 1/2 cups of graham cracker crumbs into a medium bowl.
4. Add 1/4 cup of sugar to the graham crackers.
5. Add the melted butter.
6. Stir or blend together with your hands.
7. Press into the pie plate or other pan.
8. To pre-bake the pie crust, bake for 8 to 10 minutes in a preheated 350 degree F. oven.

Tips:

1. Add a little cinnamon, nutmeg, or allspice to the crumbs for a spiced flavor.

What You Need:

• 6 tbsp butter, melted
• 24 graham crackers
• 1/4 cup sugar

Rain Rain go away… Come again another day…

Alas… it looks like the rain is going to be with us for a few more days, but while you are stuck inside I have a new recipe for you to try!

My younger brother loves anything with marshmallows! (I think it stems from his sick habit of ripping the heads off of Peeps)  So, last weekend when my parents and I went to visit him at college for family weekend, I decided to make him S’Mores Cookies. I looked up a bunch of recipes, combined  a few, and added some tips I learned while cooking them. They are S’Mores’ less messy relative!

S’Mores Cookie Recipe

• 2 cups mini chocolate chips
• 2 cups mini marshmallows
• 2 Hershey bars, chopped
• 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 cup graham cracker crumbs
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/8 tsp cinnamon
• 1 cup softened butter
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 eggs

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

First, combine the flour, graham cracker crumbs, baking soda, salt and cinnamon in a bowl. Next, in a separate large bowl, bleat the butter, both sugars and vanilla extract until well blended. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in the dry ingredients ¼ of a cup at a time until the mixture is smooth.

Stir the mini chocolate chips in. Drop by rounded teaspoon onto an ungreased cookie sheet about 2.5 inches apart. These cookies spread out!  One of my sheets turned into a giant cookie! You should get about 4 dozen cookies out of this.

Bake the cookies for about 7-8 minutes, then remove from the oven. Push 5-6 marshmallows and a couple of pieces of the Hershey bar into each cookie. Put back in the oven for approximated 3-4 minutes. Let the cookies cool on a wire rack.

Everyone loved these little monsters! My father said they were great and he doesnt even like marshmallows- which doesnt make much sense… but I’ll take it!

Enjoy and let me know what you think!

Spoken in a thick southern accent– “Now Shane, I made you beer bread. And Melinda–your favorite! Coconut cream pie!”

This was the typical scene whenever my brother and I went to visit our Grandma Betty. She gave him this little loaf of beer bread (if you don’t know what that is…well sorry…that is like a WHOLE other post) and to me she bestowed a coconut cream pie. An entire pie. Which weighed like 1o pounds, and I usually had to eat it by myself because Shane didn’t care too much for coconut. So after a few years of having to down pie after pie, well, I got a little tired of coconut cream pie (Wouldn’t you??)

This week, Grandma Beachy showed me how to make her coconut cream pie and homemade graham cracker crust. I had such a fun time; she is a really good teacher. She keeps saying things like “Oh, smell that crust!” and “Mmm, doesn’t that smell good?” and it makes you feel like you are doing a really fantastic job or something. Anyways, this pie is so tasty that it brought me out of my coconut pie shunning.

Graham Cracker Crust – preheat oven 350

1 2/3 c. graham cracker crumbs (we used real crackers and smashed ‘em with a rolling pin!)

1/4 c. white sugar

1/3 cup butter (not quite melted, but malleable)

1/4 tsp cinnamon

Mix dry ingredients in a bowl. Add butter and mix until it’s all crumby, then dump in your pie dish (Grandma sprayed it with Pam) and press all over to make your crust. Bake this about 8-10 minutes, until it gets a little brown and smells up your kitchen.

Coconut Pie Filling

3 egg yolks

1 tsp coconut extract

1/2 c. sugar

3 heaping Tbsp cornstarch

3 c. half and half

1 c. flaked and sweetened coconut

1. Mix together yolks and extract; set aside
2. In a heavy saucepan, combine sugar, corn starch, and half and half
3. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly, until it gets thicker and starts bubbling.
4. When bubbling, add about a half a cup of the warm half and half mixture to your yolks to warm them up.
5. Return all egg mixture back into the saucepan and continue cooking.
6. Keep stirring until mixture is well combined and bubbling again.
7. Remove from heat and stir in flaked coconut. Cool to room temperature, then pour into your pie crust.
8. Put in the fridge, and serve topped with whip cream! Also could add some toasted coconut or almonds on top.

This is an adaptation of my mom’s most popular dessert ever. I made it the other night because I really felt like having cheesecake for some reason. It is pretty super! And if its homemade, its good for you, right? Riiiight? This is, as the cookbook title below reveals, a great thing to bring if you want to be a popular guest at a Potluck. You have to plan a day or so ahead though. Worth it!!

Drumstick Cake

(Adapted from the Kenora City Hall Potluck Pleasers Cookbook and my mom)

BASE:

• 1-1/2 c. Graham Wafers, crushed (Or Graham cracker crumbs)
• 1/4 c. Melted Butter
• 3 Tbsp.  Crunchy Peanut Butter

1. In small bowl in microwave, melt butter and peanut butter. Add remaining ingredients, mix.
2. Press 3/4 of the mix into a layer in the bottom of a 9X12″ cake pan.
3. Set aside rest of mix for top.

CAKE:

• 24 oz. Cream Cheese, Softened (I used light, to make myself feel better. Mmmm, guar gum!)
• 1/2 c. White Sugar
• 1/2 c. Peanut Butter
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp. Vanilla
• 6 squares Semi-Sweet Chocolate

1. Heat over to 425 degrees F.
2. Gently beat together cream cheese, sugar and peanut butter until smooth. (Try not to get too much air in)
3. Beat in eggs one at a time, then fold in vanilla.
4. Now we divide the cake mix into chocolate and vanilla. Melt chocolate in another medium bowl, then add half of the cake mix to it, mixing well.
5. Drop alternating spoonfuls of white and chocolate mix onto the graham crumb base, then drag a spoon or butter knife through to create marble effect. Smooth top.
6. Sprinkle with reserved crumbs.
7. Bake at 425 for 15 minutes with a pan of water on the bottom rack of oven. Reduce temp to 250 and bake 1 hour longer. Run knife around edge of cake. Allow to cool, then chill in refrigerator.

Enjoy! If you drink it with red wine, it keeps your blood thin.

Yesterday, I finally got a chance to search through my Moosewood Cookbook that I’ve had for ages. I tried not to get too distracted on the desserts, since we were looking for easy entrees that we would both enjoy. We found lots, and we were inspired to make calzones last night. I also wrote down the names of a bunch of other recipes that we want to make so the next time we are contemplating what to make for dinner, we can go to that list, instead of searching the Internet.

Since we were making calzones, however, I couldn’t help but want to make the ricotta cake, since we were going to have a big tub of ricotta anyway. This recipe is based loosely on the Moosewood Cookbook recipe, however, I’ve made a handful of changes, like adding a graham cracker crust, for example.

Do yourself a favor. Use a springform pan if you’re making a cheesecake. If you’re not using the graham cracker crust that I recommend, use an aluminum pan that you can just eat out of, or, I suppose you could try cupcake liners. Putting them in a regular pan…. just will not be successful!

Ingredients

2 cups ricotta
2 eggs
1/4 cup sugar
5 tablespoons flour
1.5 teaspoons vanilla
1/8 teaspoon almond extract
1.5 teaspoons lemon zest
1.5 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
6 fresh mint leaves, put through a food processor or minced extremely finely (I used my SlapChop)
1/4 cup mini chocolate chips (more if you like)
12 mini graham cracker crusts (I bought them pre-made)

Directions

Preheat oven to 350.

I used my stand mixer, but you can use a food processor or a bowl and a hand mixer.

Add ricotta, sugar, flour, eggs, vanilla, almond extract, vanilla, lemon zest, lemon juice, and minced mint to the bowl and stir completely. Scrape the sides of the bowl and stir again.

Fold in mini chocolate chips.

Scoop about 1/4 cup of the ricotta mixture into the premade graham cracker crusts. Place crusts on a baking sheet and bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes or until solid in the center.

Cool completely, then chill until cold.

Charlie’s been making this pie for a while, and he always gets extremely rave reviews with it. (This photo is from when he and Ben made the pie for me once!)

You may have noticed when I posted the recipes from All Over Your Face, I omitted the apple pie recipe. That’s because when we made our pies, we weren’t happy with the quality of the apples we were able to get during the first week of August. It really wasn’t quite apple season yet. I decided to hold off and post this recipe during peak Granny Smith apple season, since that’s our apple of choice for pie-making. In the New York area, that’s about the third week of September.

Our process with the assembly line pie-making madness for the pie-eating contest was that Charlie would make the dough, I would peel all the fruit, and I would put together the spices and sugars and flavors for the filling. He almost took over on the apple crumb pie, but it ended up being a team effort. I made the filling, and he made the crumb and the dough. Although this is a recipe that he often is wholly responsible for, I’ve taken the liberty, for the purposes of this blog, of making the adjustments that I would make were I making the pie entirely on my own. That is, his version is quite a bit sweeter than mine, but otherwise, it’s essentially the same.

A few more notes on picking your apples… We’re fond of the Granny Smiths because they’re a bit tart and they’re sturdy, so they won’t break down into mush in your pie. You definitely want to avoid Macintosh, as even though those are great for eating, they’re not ideal for baking pies with. Some good options for acquiring your apples are at farmers markets, pick-your-own farms, or leeching off a friend’s CSA. Farmers markets will have a live person to make recommendations about which type of apple from their crop they’d recommend for pie. Pick-your-own farms usually have a map of the orchard with a “Good for eating vs. good for pies” breakdown. Farm shares might have a website or an email that they send out regarding their harvest, or you might just have to guess. In general, you want a firmer, somewhat tart apple.

If you’ve always wanted to try out buying from a farmers market but never did, autumn is the time to do it. Last year I was horribly depressed about our food production situation in this country because I walked into a chain grocery store in September and saw the beautiful displays of apples, of varieties that are local to New York state, but upon closer examination, the apples that were on the shelves were from Washington state, thousands of miles away.

Farmers markets have produce that is local to the area, often organic, and it’s obviously a much closer connection to your food if you’re able to talk to the people who grew it. Although farmers markets sometimes are rumored to have notoriously high prices (these rumors have some truth and some fiction), depending on where you live, apples are often even cheaper at farmers markets than at the grocery store during peak season.

Pick-your-own farms are a really fun alternative to shopping at the grocery store. They’re another way to get fresh, local produce, and have an adventure. This Pick Your Own website can help you find a pick-your-own farm near you. Produce often ends up being super cheap because the farmers don’t have to pay for labor. Some of the farms are quiet, family places, and others are monstrosities with corn mazes and petting zoos and country stores and live music, so you can choose whichever you feel is appropriate for your adventure.

Another way to get local food into your pies is if you have a friend who belongs to a farm share, or Community Supported Agriculture organization. They sometimes get more apples than they know what to do with during this time of year. Let them know that you’re planning to bake, and they’ll likely share the bounty with you when they end up with 30lbs of apples over a couple of weeks. We belong to Catalpa Ridge Farm’s CSA and we love it. (I’m pretty sure I’m going to use all my apples, though!)

Onto the recipe…

Ingredients

1 pastry for double-crust pie (I used Charlie’s Consistent Win Pie Crust)

Crumb Topping:
1 sleeve crushed graham crackers (plain is recommended or it will be quite sweet)
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
3 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1/3 cup butter

Filling:
6 to 8 apples, peeled and sliced
1 1/2 teaspoons lemon juice
1/3 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1-2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg

Directions

While you’re slicing up the apples, keep them floating in some water and the lemon juice so they don’t turn brown. When you’re ready to start, drain off the water. Next, add the cinnamon, sugar, nutmeg, and flour, and give it a good stir. If you don’t like things very sweet, add the sugar a little at a time and taste it as you go.

Next, in a separate bowl, prepare the crumb topping. Mix graham cracker crumbs, brown sugar and flour. Cut in butter with a pastry blender or a fork until crumbly. Set aside.

Preheat the oven to 375.

Roll out half the dough and place it into the pie pan. Give the apples another good stir, then dump the mixture into the pie crust, mounding them in the middle if possible.

Wash your hands, since we usually do this next part with our hands. Carefully pour the crumb topping into the center of the pie crust, leaving about an inch of apples showing around the edge in between the crust and the topping. Pack the crumb fairly tightly, again, creating a mound in the center of the pie.

Next, roll out the rest of your pie crust, making strips to form a lattice top crust. If you need detailed directions on how to make the lattice crust, they’re also in Charlie’s Consistent Win Pie Crust recipe. Optional: For complete irony, cut out an Apple logo and affix it to the center of the pie. Brush an egg wash (one beaten egg and one tablespoon water) over the top lattice crust if desired.

Bake at 375 for about 45 minutes or until the crust is browning and the apple filling is bubbling. Depending on how much filling you have or how picky you are about having a clean oven, you may want to set your pie tin on some aluminum foil or on top of a baking sheet covered in parchment to catch any drips of sticky fruit.

This is the last in the trilogy of bridal mania posts. I just wanted to show you guys the cute mini versions of my strawberry Oreo pies that I made. They were so much fun to make, and probably the easiest dessert for this bridal shower. I simply doubled the recipe, bought a bunch of disposable mini tart shells and pressed the graham cracker crust into them. Then just scoop the filling into each tart shell and top off with half a strawberry.

The Oreo truffles I usually make are smaller but Shirley asked me to make them a bit bigger for the bridal shower. So, I obliged and it made the dipping a bit more difficult – not to mention the fact that the hot kitchen made it impossible for the chocolate to set. I ended up making these in shifts and putting them into the fridge until they set. It took a bit longer than usual, but they are soo worth it.

In the end, it was a lot of fun to have an excuse to bake these many goodies. I think the selection was pretty good: refreshing strawberry oreo pies, decadent oreo truffles, rich buttermilk chocolate cupcakes and moist buttermilk vanilla cupcakes. Delicious.

a taste of summer: mini oreo strawberry pies

a taste of decadence: giant hand-dipped oreo truffles

a taste of everything: the bridal shower desserts

xo dessertchick

Ok I feel like I have been missing out on life. I see these little cheesecake pops all over the place, especially on Bakerella, and it was high time that I made some myself. And let me tell you… my life has been better since making these! They are cute, playful and the best part is that they are bite sized! Who doesn’t love bite sized food???

Plus they were the perfect snack for a Labor Day fiesta!

Now to make these you will need to first make a cheesecake. I guess you could use a store bought cheesecake too… but if you want to make your own here is the recipe I used: Cheesecake

Once the cheesecake has baked and completly cooled I scooped out tablespoon sized balls and rolled them in graham cracker crumbs. Then, stick them into the freezer for about 20 minutes and prepare your chocolate.

In a double boiler melt 12 oz of bittersweet chocolate. Once melted, remove from the heat and remove the cheesecakes from the freezer. Dip each ball into the chocolate mixture and then stick a lollipop stick into each one. Before the chocolate melts coat the balls in a topping of your choice. I dipped mine in….

Graham Crackers

Coconuts

And more chocolate…

Aren’t they adorable… you could eat about 10 of these and be so happy! Which is pretty much what I did. I am going to make these in all different flavors and cakes and colors… they are just too fun!

The other Saturday I got out of my class (yeah Saturday class!), and biked over to an outdoor market called Antiques on Broad. I was starving so I had Kim meet up with me and bring me some biscotti and Matilda (didn’t eat her though).

It was so hot that day we could feel the sweat dripping down our backs.

We just browsed around and found some inspiration for our apartment. A couple posts ago I was talking about summer coming to an end, and how that means less cold salads to enjoy.

I just mixed in some rice, romaine, tomato slices, white beans, corn, cauliflower, red onion, cilantro, and sour cream. The only thing that was missing was avocado!

So this salad had romaine, tomatoes, corn, red onion, black beans, cilantro, sour cream, bulgur, and cilantro dressing! Yum yum yum. I love buying a big head of romaine lettuce from the fresh produce section rather than the bagged kind. It’s a lot cheaper too.

For this tofu I just coated it with unsweetened coconut flakes and agave, then fried it on the pan with some chopped red onions. I laid out a nice bed of romaine and tomato chunks, and used a sesame ginger dressing. On the side I made my first tomato sandwich! I added a little something special: Old Bay Seasoning. This meal was so delicious and refreshing. What a summer meal should be, no?

This is the first time I made stir-fry with noodles – I used egg noodles. I’d say this was Thai inspired. I stir-fried some broccoli, corn, carrots, tofu, garlic and onions in sesame oil. Then I added some lime juice towards the end and garnished it all with cilantro and sesame seeds. My dad brought those chopsticks back when he was opening up an office over in Hong Kong. Jumbo is a floating restaurant that serves Dim Sum. I think it’s a major tourist attraction over there.

In recent news, my mom went to Colombia over the labor day weekend. I wanted to go with her but I have that darned Saturday class! I really miss her. She said that she would visit me this month, and all of my friends up here want to meet her so badly! My friends that already know her want to take her out for drinks. Then my guy friends all have a crush on her. She just radiates a lot of love I guess! It’s funny because when I was in Germany after high school my friends would still hang out with her even though I wasn’t there. I also have some more travel related news! My friend Sway and I are planning a trip to Europe over the winter. I haven’t gone back there in a couple of years, so I’m extremely excited about this!!!

Anyway, I’ll leave you all with a midnight snack.

I heated up the apple with some soy creamer and cinnamon. Then crumbled some graham crackers on top.

Yummy apples from a local orchard.

What do you guys like to snack on?

]]> http://marthamiller.wordpress.com/2009/09/01/smores-ice-cream-tart/ Tue, 01 Sep 2009 21:05:53 +0000 Martha http://marthamiller.wordpress.com/2009/09/01/smores-ice-cream-tart/

S'mores Ice Cream Tart

When meeting new people and since starting this blog, I’m frequently asked in hushed tones – “And what about your dad?”  I’ve written freely and openly about my mom, sister, aunts, uncles, cousins and grandparents but there is one topic on which I have little to say.  I don’t blame people for their curiosity or well-meaning conversation starters, because the question itself is not what bothers me, it’s the answer.  The truth is, it’s complicated.  And over time became too complicated until – Enough.

But before it was too complicated there was some good.  There’s his story about attending the March on Washington, teaching me the words to all of Simon & Garfunkel’s, CSNY’s and the Beatles’ songs and hikes to the top of Stone Mountain and Hanging Rock in North Carolina.  There was the time he pulled an all-nighter to super glue and paste stickers on an exact replica of Disney’s Main Street that Santa was supposed to bring.  Years spent working at a men’s clothing shop made him the best gift wrapper around and I’ll never forget the time he belted out the entire French national anthem while watching the Olympics.

My sister and I spent several weekends learning the ins and outs of camping at his side. Collecting firewood,  skipping rocks and wiping sticky marshmallow residue from under dirty fingernails as we bit into our third s’more (or “Sh’moore” as my sister would say in her best Sean Connery impression.)  In the morning we’d watch in awe as he whipped up a hearty breakfast of eggs, bacon and pancakes with little more than a campfire and single propane burner.

And then people change – sometimes for good, sometimes not, and sometimes to such a degree that they become unrecognizable.  Though ugliness seemed to win out in the end,  I try to focus on the good no matter how small.  So this recipe is my take on a childhood favorite with a decidedly adult point of view.  Feel free to poke fun at my retro use of store bought fluff here but when you’re making your own ice cream, fluff from scratch is a low priority.

S’mores Ice Cream Tart

This recipe is so simple it’s almost a non-recipe. A basic graham cracker crust topped with softened chocolate ice cream and toasted marshmallow fluff is a combination that you can make as difficult or as easy as you like.  For those lacking an ice cream maker, store bought chocolate ice cream will definitely work – though the homemade variety packs an extra chocolatey punch.

Ingredients

For the crust

1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs

6 Tbs unsalted butter, melted

For the filling

Ice cream adapted from David Lebovitz

8 ounces milk chocolate, chopped

1 1/2 cups heavy cream

1 1/2 cups whole milk

3/4 cup sugar

Pinch of salt

4 large egg yolks

2 Tbs cognac (for texture, optional)

1 jar marshmallow fluff

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Combine the graham cracker crumbs and melted butter in a bowl and toss to combine.  Lightly coat a tart pan with nonstick spray and pour in the graham cracker mixture.  With the bottom of a small, flat measuring cup or glass press firmly along the bottom and up the sides to distribute the crust. Bake until deeply golden and firm, about 10 minutes. Allow the crust to cool completely.

For the ice cream, in a large bowl set over a pot of simmering water combine the cream and milk chocolate.  Stir frequently until chocolate is completely melted.  In a separate saucepan over medium heat, warm the milk, sugar and salt and stir until the sugar dissolves.  In another bowl, lightly whisk the egg yolks and slowly temper the mixture by adding the warmed milk, a 1/4 cup at a time, to the yolks.  After adding about 1 cup, whisk the egg and milk mixture back into the saucepan and cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens.  Pour the thickened custard through a strainer and into the chocolate cream mixture and stir in the cognac.  Cover and chill in the refrigerator overnight.

Freeze according to your ice cream maker’s instructions.  When the ice cream reaches the consistency of soft serve, spoon it into the pre-cooked graham cracker crust and spread evenly.  Freeze until the ice cream is firm, at least 4 hours.  Once firm, spread marshmallow fluff on top of ice cream filling.  Occasionally dipping your knife or spatula in a bowl of warm water will keep the fluff from sticking and make it easier to spread.  Return the tart to the freezer until ready to serve.

Just before serving, remove the tart from the pan and place on serving platter.  Using a small culinary torch* gently toast the marshmallow topping and serve immediately.

*Note: If you do not own a culinary torch, quick trips under the broiler will give you a lightly toasted look. Be careful! If the ice cream begins to run, return the tart to the freezer immediately.

I’m in class. Shhhhh.

I miss people.

I need to get more productive this summer.

Yes.

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I haven’t posted on this blag in a long time because I’ve had Horace as an outlet for my daily happenings. And Project Horace. Well, they’re basically the same thing lawl. Anyway.

Because I am a Mac whore,

Within two days I bought an iPhone 3GS and a MacBook Pro (13.3″). adsfkjwlkejrkwer. I need to earn a lot of money in the future so I can give back to my parents. A jillion dollars. A jillion dollars. So expensive. But sooo worth it.

Unfortunately I wanted to connect my external harddrive to the MacBook but it was like oh lalala Apple decided to use the Firewire 800 and f-ing change the port size on me. So I had to go to Fry’s and get a converter from the 6-pin to 9-pin. Oh dear. At least it was like $10 cheaper than it would’ve been from the Apple Store. Misers.

Started learning Python from this Intro to Programming course at UCI. Fortunately it is a lot easier than Java, and there are a lot of concepts about programming that I already understand. I really like this kind of stuff. It’s very interesting. Hopefully I can just start off doing EECS at Cal instead of having to wait an entire semester to transfer from Environmental to EECS. Blargggg.

I kind of miss everyone because I’m not going to all these grad parties and I’m looking on facebook at all of the pictures that I’m not in. Yes. Alas, if I’m going to be in California, why not go all the way? lawl but I will keep in contact with all my NJ people. Or at least as many people as I can. For example, Horace and Greg. Best friends ever.

Mochi passed away yesterday. He didn’t even make it to his first birthday, but he was able to celebrate all the birthdays of the rest of our family. Mochi traveled all the way to California even if he couldn’t walk, even if at the end he couldn’t even close his left eye because his entire left side became paralyzed. He was such a soft, cute cat. I cried when he left. Rest in Peace, Mochi; you will live a good afterlife/have an amazing reincarnation. Because you were so good to us, and we tried to reciprocate that as much as possible. We loved you, Mochi, and we still do.

…

I’m actually typing this during a Programming lecture. Fortunately I have already read the chapter and I understand it because it is so very silly. Or basic. Yes, basic.

Fiddling around with a new computer is so much fun.

I miss you all!

Horace, I have yet to type you like five billion emails. I will get started on that after I look through my class schedule for Cal.

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The moment the snacking world has been waiting for…Snack Bracket is under way with #1 seed Ding Dong taking on Little Debbie S’mores in the East Regional! The vast majority of you, including both myself and Dr. B, had Ding Dongs winning easy here, but S’mores had something to say to Big Flax, and his opinion is the one that matters.

Takes just a couple minutes to assemble.

Whip 2 containers mascarpone with 1/3 cup powdered sugar and 1 tsp vanilla.Clean and cut the stems off a carton of strawberries. Fill a store bought graham cracker crust with mascarpone, top with strawberries, placed cut side down.